Pro Wrestling Ponderings

Kevin and Jerome make their grand return to podcasting, and they’re not alone. Drew Cordeiro from “Beyond Wrestling” joins the dynamic duo for a discussion on Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, and of course Beyond Wrestling. What is this company you ask? Just listen and find out.

Share This

-Overdramatic video package shows us the risk of being in Hell in a Cell. Still can’t believe they’re doing three of these.

-Live from Newark, New Jersey (home state of Jason Sterlacci)

-Your hosts are six of Vince McMahon’s bitches.

-Hell in a Cell World Heavyweight Championship: C.M Punk (champion) vs. The Undertaker

To save time, just pretend I inserted a bunch of questions why THIS IS THE OPENER. Ross said the world title has never changed in Hell in a Cell, thus insuring Taker is winning. Guess this also insures these two have enough time. I’d also like to point out that the world heavyweight title match was the opener at No Way Out. ‘Taker no sells a couple of Punk’s shots. He then gets rammed into the cage a few times. Bodyshots now. Kick knocks Punk off the apron into the cage. Punk rolls underneath the ring and dropkicks the steps into the Undertaker’s knee. Punk goes to the work on the knee and I’d like to point out that there are A LOT of CM Punk chants. Very rare to hear backlash directed at Undertaker. Punk’s offense doesn’t last long as he gets thrown into the cage again. Taker is now gimping around. Part of that is a shoot I’m sure. Kick into the cage by Pun followed by a dive. Back inside the ring as they exchange shots. ‘Taker prepares for the chokeslam but Punk hits more shots to the knees. Attempted tombstone leads to the same thing. Punk grabs a steel chair and lays ‘Taker out but gets a two count. Punk tries a knee into the corner but is the victim of a powerbomb. Long two count. ‘Taker hits the ropes but Punk drags him off. Punk goes for a series of three counts but can’t get three. Punk does a blind charge with a chair but ‘Taker boots him in the face. Chokeslam. Tombstone. New champ. Fuck you WWE.

-Winner/Time/Rating: NEW World Heavyweight Champion-The Undertaker/10:24/**1/4

-So after all the controversy surrounding last month and Hell’s Gate being reinstated, Punk absolutely gets buried in the opening match. This is one of the most appalling decisions of 2009. Period. Do I have a bias towards Punk? You damn right I do, butI have this bias because he’s a great wrestler, a great promo, and doesn’t have the look of a guy who’s on the gas. Guess the oft-injured guy who can barely walk should have the world title right now. Way to build new stars and get guys over WWE.

-Intercontinental Championship: John Morrison (champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler

These two are competing for the ugliest tights ever award. Ross refers to them as the future cornerstones of WWE. Maybe they too can job to The Undertaker in an opening Hell in a Cell match. Chain wrestling to start meaning these two will actually get time. I approve. Ziggler takes control and grabs a side headlock. Shoulder tackle. Off the ropes both men go and Morrison hits a dropkick. Artistic legdrop (had to use JR’s description). Ziggler now gets a chinlock. Morrison comes back with a springboard crossbody and another dropkick. Attempt at Starship Pain doesn’t go well as Ziggler takes over. Modified chinlock as Ziggler works on the neck. Powerslam. A running neckbreaker. Wow, that was very Curt Hennig like. Ziggler with a splash in the corner . Crowd actually lightly chants “Mr. Ziggles.”For the most part though? Dead. Morrison reverses into a DDT. Right hand exchange but Morrison gets a high kick and standing shooting star press. Suplex reversed into a roll-up. Morrison with a roll-up. Morrison tries a running knee, but Ziggler stops that too. Morrison leaps up and tries a dive. Ziggler gets up but Morrison sess what happened and gets a slingshot. Morrison tries another leap, but Morrison gets a German suplex. Long two there. Some of the crowd chants for Ziggler. Fameasser by Ziggler. Morrison goes for the finisher again, but gets taken down hard. Just a two count. Zig-zag attempt doesn’t work. Running knee does. Starship pain does and this match is ovuh.

-Winner/Time/Rating: STILL Intercontinental Champion- John Morrison/15:44/***1/2

-Ziggler has a lost tons of momentum since he was supposed to win the I-C title months ago. The segment with Pat Patterson and the “Mr. Ziggles” crap doesn’t help. Ultimately, I think Morrison is going to be ready for a world title run first, and I feel he should hold onto the belt until it’s closer to the end of the year. Very good match though.

-Josh Mathews is there. Batista kicks him out and introduces Mysterio himself. Then it’s interview time. That was awkward. Rey’s feud with Jericho is brought up. That whole deal feels like it happened years ago.

-The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are shown in a luxury box. I’m not kidding. This leads to a commercial for their video game. Normally, this would piss me off, but I’m actually curious to see what it looks like. It doesn’t look half bad actually. Cole brings up the irony of Hell in a Cell taking place in New Jersey. I think it’s because Jersey is in fact hell (Sorry Jason).

-Diva’s Championship: Mickie James (champion) vs. Alicia Fox

That title is ugly. I maintain my refusal to do commentary for WWE women’s matches. Amazingly, this turns out to be the best women’s match I’ve seen in months as there’s a little psychology involved and very few botched moves . The crowd once again doesn’t care, but you can’t win’em all. Mark me down as wanting to see this match again and give them more time.

Winner/Time/Rating- STILL Diva’s Champion-Mickie James/4:18/*3/4

-Unifed Tag Team Championship- Chris Jericho and Big Show vs. Batista and Rey Mysterio

If I have to watch Batista wrestle on Pay-Per-View, I’m glad it’s a tag team match. Jericho and Rey start. No brainer there. They have a great sequence. Then the party’s over as Batista comes in with a shoulderblock. Clothesline in the corner. Into the face corner. Rey Rey gets sent flying into Jericho. Batista back in now. Rey Rey leaps off Batista shoulders into Jericho. Big Show gets tagged in as I shudder to think of some of the moments he and Rey have had together. Rey Rey stupidly stays in and promptly gets manhandled. Mysterio gets deposited to the outside. Jesus, what a slap. Mysterio gets in at nine. Show uses one hand to bring him back fully inside the ring. Jericho tags in as Rey Rey is dragged into the corner. Rey Rey plays “Batista’s little buddy in peril.” Jericho has a great spot as he lures in Rey Rey to try a 619. While both men are on the top rope, Jericho goes for the mask. Rey Rey reverses and tags in his big buddy. The Animal goes wild. Spear leads to a set up for the Demon Bomb. Big Show tries to interfere but he gets sent back outside. Spinebuster gets two. Show interferes again, but Jericho gets the Codebreaker. Show and Batista in together. This really is hell. Chokeslam by Show but Mysterio breaks the count with a springboard. Lionsault misses and Batista just makes it to his partner. Show also tags in, but Rey Rey hangs around by sticking and moving. Impressive looking DDT. Show charges but is sent outside. Jericho is positioned for the 619, but he is moved. Rey Rey still hits the move on Show. Jericho also thrown outside. Show catches him, but Batista spears them both. Rey Rey and Show end up in the ring. Springboard leads to THE PUNCH OF DOOM. That gets three. Hmm. Think Rey is getting punished for the suspension? Methinks so.

Winner/Time/Rating: STILL Unified Tag Team Champions- Chris Jericho and Big Show/14:44/***1/2

-Despite the opening match, this has been a decent show thus far with two really good matches and a Diva’s match that actually wasn’t offensively horrible.

-WWE Heavyweight Championship: John Cena (champion) vs. Randy Orton

Good to see both heavyweight titles are not as important as D-Generation X. Crowd doesn’t like Cena very much. Orton has the advantage for much of the early part of the match with some Cena flurries interspersed. Cena gets sent into the cell for the first time and Orton tries to grate Cena’s face against the fence. Cena tries to put the cage to use, but he eats steps instead. Orton uses the steps in numerous ways and even tells a fan “Up Yours” after almost failing to get them in the ring. That was awesome. DDT attempt thwarted as Cena tosses Orton over his shoulder. Cena grabs the steps and tries to take Orton’s head odd. Thankfully Orton gets out of the way in time. Back inside, Orton hits his backbreaker. Cena hits some moves now and climaxes with the Five Knuckle shuffle. Orton gets out of the Attitude Adjustment and finally gets his DDT. RKO doesn’t work but Attitude Adjustment. Orton kicks out. Cena looks incredulous. To the second rope now, but Orton gets an electric chair. Battle on the top rope with Cena eventually missing the legdrop. Orton goes underneath for a chair and goes to town on Cena’s neck. Cena crawls back and hooks in the STF. Even though Orton gets to the ropes and goes underneath, the referee can’t break it up since it’s no DQ. Orton kicks Cena into the ref. He’s down as Cena gets the STF again. Orton taps, but there’s no ref to see it. Cena goes to check on the referee and even places him back in the ring. Orton gets the RKO, but that only gets two as well. Orton has Cena in the ropes now and applies a… chinlock? Only this guy would find a way to get a “devastating” chinlock. Cena is basically out after the choke. Orton hits the punt to the head now and gets three. New champ. Yippee.

-Winner/Time/Rating: NEW WWE Champion- Randy Orton/21:26/***1/4

-Another title change? This is ridiculous. Way to make John Cena look like a total bitch in jobbing clean to Orton twice. Not to mention this is the second time they’ve given Cena a three week title reign. It is amazing to see how the WWE works these days, and it’s shows like this, regardless of the quality of the matches, that make me want to quit watching forever. Booking them in a 60 minute match doesn’t help either.

-Drew McIntyre vs. R-Truth

Case in point. McIntyre has been talking about how is the future of Smackdown. Where is his debut match? A Pay-Per-View. It’s little things like this that add up to me not caring. And speaking of not caring, the crowd (which has been fairly awful the whole night) starts chanting “boring” a record thirty seconds in. Not that I blame them in this case because this match has no business on the card. McIntyre wins a match that feels about six hours long with a double arm DDT. I am not impressed at all. Oh, and his music is awful.

Winner/Time/Rating: Drew McIntyre/4:40/*

-Legacy congratulates Orton for winning the belt and hitting the town. Cody makes an offhand remark about Orton sounding like his dad. Orton makes a good point about being champion and the cell. This is followed by Dibiase further teasing a break-up.

-The Miz walks out and cuts a promo. Ever since his “feud” with Cena, I’ve lost all interest in him.

-United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (champion) vs. The Miz vs. Jack Swagger

Too complicated to give a blow-by-blow. Needless to say the heels double team the champion early but neither will let the other get a pinfall. Finally Miz turns on Swagger and controls a portion of the match. Kofi gets a crossbody on Miz while he is on Swagger’s shoulders. That was cool. Kofi and Swagger brawl in the corner. Swagger then takes control and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Kofi gets a nice back suplex from the second rope. Swagger hits a nice couple of moves as well. Kofi responds with a leaping lariat and a legdrop. Trouble in Paradise clearly knocks Swagger loopy because he is unable to stop the count after Miz hit his Skullcrushing Finale. Swagger finds his breakings and gets the gutwrench powerbomb. Another Trouble in Paradise on Swagger and Kofi covers Miz for three. Bet Swagger is thrilled he had to take a second one after being knocked out for a moment there.

Winner/Time/ Rating: STILL United States Champion- Kofi Kingston/8:00/*1/2

Hell in a Cell: D-Generation X (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) vs. Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase)

Legacy actually attacks D-X as they make their entrance. That’s a really nice touch to show that this is in fact a blowoff between two teams that don’t like each other. It also differentiates this match from the other two since this is in fact starting on the outside. D-X comes back and even gets a suplex on Rhodes on an announce table. Dibiase goes nuts on Hunter while Shawn beats up Rhodes some more. All four guys end up in the crowd on opposite sides. Rhodes then grabs the chain that locks the cell and hits Michaels. He goes up the entrance aisleway and lays out Hunter as well. DDT on the actual ramp. Rhodes hits what I can only refer to as “Hero’s Welcome.” Legacy drags commences a big ole’ beatdown on Shawn Michaels, with particular emphasis on the knee. Inside the cage and Rhodes locks the door behind him. That’s polite. My parents used to yell at me all the time for forgetting to lock the door behind me.

Bell finally rings and I guess we’re officially underway. Shawn looks around and sees he’s kinda SOL. HBK hangs around, but succumbs to the work of Legacy for the most part. More work on the leg. Michaels goes under the ring and flings a chair at Rhodes. Dibiase is rammed into the cage as well. Michaels holds off his tormenters a little more but is finally slingshotted into the cell again. Michaels climbs the cage and falls on Rhodes. Hunter, who was laying on the entranceway for a long time, finally makes his way to the cell, but he can’t get in since the door is locked. Ummm, where is the other referee who mans the door? In every other Hell in a Cell match ever, this is the procedure. Inside the ring now and Shawn hits a superkick on Dibiase. Triple H climbs to the top of the cage. Michaels only gets two because Rhodes pulls his out. Another chairshot lays Shawn out once again. Hunter tries to smash his way into the cage with a chair. Rhodes powerbombs Shawn into the cell. Again. Taunting by Legacy directed at Triple H. And he leaves? Well, that’s just strange. Beatdown continues as Shawn conveys his pain and suffering quite well. This match is another excellent example of storytelling although the quality of the actual match isn’t as good. Inside the ring and Legacy appears ready to finish this sucker up. While Rhodes up a chair, Dibiase dropkicks it in the face of HBK. They then mock D-X by holding up the symbol of the group. Time for the move that won them the “I quit” match. Triple H runs with boltcutters and finally makes his way into the cage. Oh. My. God. Hunter of course saves the day and no sells the big old beating he took earlier. As Hunter sets up for the pedigree on Rhodes, Dibiase stops him. Michaels interrupts and the other referee finally shows up. Hunter won’t let him close the door, but he instead takes the chain and punches Dibiase. Pedigree on the floor. They leave him on the outside of the cage. Double team on Rhodes with Michaels elbowing a steel chair. Hunter grabs Mr. Sledgey as Dibiase whines. Tune up the band. Superkick and Mr. Sledgey put us out of our misery.

-Winner/Time/Rating: D-Generation X/18:06/***

-Not a bad match by any means, but I don’t understand why D-Generation X just had to win two of these three matches. I guess them winning the blowoff is fine, but if you ask me, I don’t see how we’re supposed to take these guys against Randy Orton(if that’s where they’re going) seriously. Not to mention this truly had no business being the main event because it was obvious who was winning and the feud damn sure wasn’t as heated.

Final Thoughts: I’m willing to give this a thumbs up, but it’s not with a great deal of any enthusiasm. Most everything was good and a couple matches exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, I think there continue to be issues with a lot of the booking, particularly in the big championship matches. I’d recommend renting the DVD since there were a few good matches but nothing I’d go out of my way to see.

Share This

This Saturday night, I will have the unique opportunity to leave my comfort zone and attend my first out-of-state wrestling show. While I am not a fan of the direction Ring of Honor has taken over this last year, I am intrigued by the concept of Survival of the Fittest. It is one of the most unique tournaments in professional wrestling, and this is probably my best (and possibly last) chance to see this tournament.

What I love most about what this tournament offers is the unpredictability. Ring of Honor takes 12 stars that are at various positions on the card and match them up against each other. Instead of going through various rounds, each of the six winners advance to the finals and the ending is a sometimes chaotic match with all kinds of upsets and different match-ups. In 2004, during the first ever Survival of the Fittest, Colt Cabana pinned then Ring of World champion Samoa Joe in what may still be the biggest upset in the history of the competition.

Speaking of the first ever Survival of the Fittest,  it came amidst the fallout of the Feinstein scandal and turned out to be the breakout performance of Austin Aries, a man who was only a couple months into his Ring of Honor career. Aries made it to the first finals, a trend he continued through the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Survival of the Fittest tournaments. Bryan Danielson is the man who would become the first winner after having an incredible ending sequence with Aries that would be the start of one of the finest rivalries in company history. Interesting to note that the 2009 version of this tournament comes the first week after the departure of Danielson.

Roderick Strong was a man who stepped up to the plate in the first half of 2005 by having great matches with Steve Corino, Samoa Joe, Alex Shelley, and CM Punk. Unfortunately, Strong wasn’t exactly picking up a lot of victories during this period.  That all changed in the 2005 version of Survival of the Fittest as Strong stepped up to the plate and beat Austin Aries, his partner in Generation Next at that time in another excellent final sequence. Strong was considered by many to be the MVP of 2005, and this was his first signature singles victory.

The next year exemplified just how unpredictable this tournament truly is. Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe would go to a 20 minute time limit draw. Davey Richards and Jimmy Rave, two man believed to be the favorites, lost in the first round. Two of the biggest singles stars in the company, Strong and Homcide, lost a tag team match to the Briscoes. At least Austin Aries got to continue his almost Susan Lucci like streak of making the finals but never winning. Delirious and Matt Sydal, two of Ring of Honor’s biggest underdogs, had a fantastic sequence to end the 2006 Survival of the Fittest. Sydal was primarily used in tag matches with his Generation Next teammates while Delirious was almost out of the company if not for a victory against Ricky Reyes over Wrestlemania weekend. In a year of unpredictability, it’s only Delirious came out of this tournament the winner.

In a sense, Ring of Honor took it’s biggest gamble by heading to the West Coast. Two nights before the chaos at the Cow Palace, Ring of Honor took Survival of the Fittest to Las Vegas. Chris Hero, a man who never seemed to be able to get any traction in the company, broke through in a big way by not only winning the whole thing but also eliminating the other five men. While there were no four star matches, I think 2007 is my favorite year because of how strong Hero was put over and the simple story the final told. To me, this entire tournament isn’t necessarily about having the best matches, but trying to actually put new guys over.

This leads into 2009. With new stars absolutely needed for Ring of Honor to continue its’ own survival, this might be the most important Survival of the Fittest ever. Perhaps this is a chance to elevate Kenny King or Kenny Omega over. These are two men that are highly regarded, but they haven’t won a lot of big time singles matches. Maybe Tyler Black can win this tournament and set up a world title match at Final Battle 2009, where he can once and for all take the championship he’s spent the last two years chasing. How about Claudio Castagnoli or Colt Cabana? Two guys who seem to have gone directionless the entire year. Maybe Chris Hero, Roderick Strong, or Delirious can win once again to give him something that no other Ring of Honor star can claim, being a two time winner of the biggest and most consistent tournament Ring of Honor has. Petey Williams and Rhett Titus might also win, but I’d prefer to not even think of that as a possibility.

What is needed almost as much as a winner is a clear direction, good matches, and clean finishes. No BS. Whomever is booked to win should do it in the cleanest way possible to establish that this is a wrestler who could possibly be the world champion. Even if King or Omega have to wait their turn, there needs to be the sense that these two are being elevated and might be the ones to win the belt in 2010. I guess you could say that while Survival of the Fittest might just be the name of the tournament, we’ll find out how fit to survive Ring of Honor really is.

Share This

Justin Houston replaces Kevin Ford this week as he and Jerome discuss the weekend that was in Ring of Honor.

Share This

It would be easy to write about the world title reign of Nigel McGuinness, but he had the distinction of bringing another title so much prestige, the company felt that no one man could possibly top his title reign. For just under a year, Nigel McGuinness took the Pure wrestling title from a goofy second-tier belt into something that people cared about.

On August 25, 2005, Nigel McGuinness wrestled an ROH legend in Samoa Joe. Joe was the Pure champion and since he had already been a world champion, Joe was trying to add prestige to the Pure championship because of his status. Everyone seemed to expect the same long title reign that had accompanied Joe’s world title reign. It was not meant to be as Nigel McGuinness became the fifth Pure champion in company history.

McGuinness’ title defenses were not very frequent due to lack of challengers and a couple tours to the orient. However, his work as a heel champion who would do anything to retain his title, made him one of the most elite players in the company. Even if the matches were not four star classics, they were at the very least compelling pieces of storyline nirvana. He would defend his title against a wide variety of challengers that included both Ring of Honor world tag team champions and the Ring of Honor world champion. He would also defeat two TNA stars in Joe and Jay Lethal while also defeating a former ECW superstar in Tony Mamaluke.

His most notable rivalry in the first half of his title reign came against Claudio Castagnoli. Castagnoli was brand new to the company and got a huge rub just from narrowly beating McGuinness twice in title matches. Even with a match involving two referees and a climactic battle in New York city, McGuinness found a way. Just as he did in his entire ten month reign.

He was not involved with the CZW feud during any of 2006 but was instead content to just play the foil. That is until a unification match on April 28, 2006 against world champion Bryan Danielson. It was on that night that McGuinness retained his pure title by count-out. The world title could not change on the countout necessitating a rematch on July 29, 2006 where only Danielson’s world title was on the line. McGuinness would lost this match via small package and one more unification match was set up to take place in McGuinness’ home country.

On August 12, 2006 McGuinness lost in his championship in one of the best matches in company history. He had defended the Pure title in a way no one else had. He practically made bad finishes, count-outs, and disqualifications into an art form. In a company founded on the principles of great wrestling with clean finishes, McGuinness defied these things in such a way that it came off across as brilliant instead of eye-rolling.

Perhaps the finest example came in a title defense that took place against Homicide on June 24. Homicide had earned this title chance by helping ROH in the war against CZW back on May 13 against Necro Butcher. With the need for Homcide to once again help the company out against CZW on July 15, it would have only been appropriate to possibly have him as one of their champions, but it was not meant to be. McGuinness and Homicide brawled in the crowd for roughly 18 seconds until McGuinness scrambled into the ring. Homicide also scrambled in one second too late.

McGuinness retained his title but the win created a question in the minds of fans. Would Homicide join Team ROH? We did get our answer three weeks later, but it was the type of storytelling that made ROH such a great company in 2006. And the final story about the pure title did indeed come on August 12 as the greatest Pure champion in history lost his belt to perhaps the best world champion in history.

Share This

Jerome and Kevin discuss Ring of Honor. Yup, that sounds about right. 45 minutes summed up in three sentences.

Share This

This is the first of three straight days of this column as we gear up for a huge weekend in Ring of Honor’s big weekend as Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson say good-bye to the company that made them.

In the career of Bryan Danielson, there are a lot of moments that stand out, moments that have granted him practically legendary status among hardcore fans. There is one singular moment that might be most important, a moment that took from a great worker to someone who could carry a company on his back. It was on September 17, 2005 that the seventh Ring of Honor world champion was crowned. In just over 35 minutes, Bryan Danielson became the man in ROH.

In this title reign, he would take on all comers. He’d defeat future WWE superstars like he did when he beat James Gibson for the belt. He would defeat TNA contracted stars like Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin. He would defeat former a former ECW champion in Steve Corino. He beat a CZW invader in Chris Hero. He would beat two future TNA world champions in A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe. He even beat a man coming out of retirement in Lance Storm.

Yet, what many consider the greatest title reign in the history of the company started out rather tepidly. Danielson didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his first weekend defending the belt against Austin Aries and Steve Corino.Then it all changed in Bridgeport Connecticut two weeks later when an apparent incident took place between Roderick Strong and Danielson. Danielson snapped some 35 minutes into the match, and some thought this might have even been become a shoot. He had shown a heelish attitude and temper that was rarely seen in the world of Ring of Honor.

As the months wore on, Danielson continued to exhibit a more heelish attitude with every show. More importantly, Danielson as a heel was able to dictate the pace of his own matches and have near four star matches up and down with everyone on the roster. ROH would feed all these big name stars just so they could put Dragon over clean in the middle of the ring. Naomichi Marifuji made his Ring of Honor debut at Final Battle 2005 and despite being a rather large star in NOAH, he fell victim to Danielson as well.

His title reign was so long that you could practically divide it into three categories. The first carried through the end of 2005 as he established himself and became more comfortable in his heel skin. The next would not deliver as many as classic matches, but it would turn out to be a monumental period for the company and Philadelphia wrestling in general.

From January 2006 until July 2006, Ring of Honor and Combat Zone Wrestling, better known as CZW, engaged in an interpromotional war that was highly successful on its’ own scale. Men from each company would put each other in a way to get the company over. There was one many, however, who never lost to CZW and in fact came to be almost a killer of the company. Danielson dispatched of Chris Hero and would continue to tease what he considered to be the rather bloodthirsty CZW fans. His booing fed Danielson’s anger as he unmercifully beat up Delirious at the 100^th show. Finally, he destroyed Sonjay Dutt at Death Before Dishonor IV before agreeing to help the company he had help just a few minutes later in a match that would decide who would win the feud.

Danielson would cement his heel status in that very match, but in Cage of Death when he turned on Samoa Joe and gave the finger (both literally and figuratively) to the company which he had been  part of for the last four years up to that point. Danielson’s third phase was about to begin, and it would be the most rewarding and the most taxing at the same time.

He would engage in a series of brutal matches with Nigel McGuinness to unify the world and pure titles. It all climaxed with Danielson winning both belts over the Atlantic Ocean at “Unified.” The month of August was indeed very noteworthy as Danielson also engaged in three one hour draws. One with Samoa Joe. One with Nigel McGuinness. And then one the next night in Chicago, the hometown of challenger Colt Cabana.

It was on this night that Danielson separated his shoulder and somehow someway gutted his way to a draw with Cabana. No one would have blamed Danielson for simply ending the match early, but he found a way. Just as he found a way to pick his spots over the next four months to have even more classic matches and defend his title until Final Battle 2006. His match with KENTA might be the best in company history. It was a sterling title defense with all the drama, workrate, and crowd reaction of something born out of the 1980s NWA. Even with an injury, Danielson defeated KENTA and marched on.

It was obvious to everyone where Danielson’s road would end. Homicide was another longtime member of the Ring of Honor roster. He had never been any kind of champion before in this company and vowed to leave the company if he did not win a championship by the end of 2006. Danielson seemed to lose some momentum and was just biding his time during the fall as he faced off with Austin Aries, Delirious once again, and had a cage match with Samoa Joe to end their feud. Then on December 23, 2006, 15 months after it all began, Homicide ended a legendary title reign with lariat and three count. Instead of being the heel he had been for the last year, Dnaielson showed true honor by handing the title that he had helped make even more prestigious over to Homicide.

The title reign of Bryan Danielson is one that will never be forgotten by the fans of Ring of Honor. Anyone who saw even one title defense saw a man who harkened back to the old days of professional wrestling. Danielson always mentioned this world title as being “wrestling freedom.” In his freedom, Danielson made a hunk of tin actually mean something. His representation of that title made people care about not only whether or not there would be a title change, but of the company as a whole.And for that, Bryan Danielson truly might be the best in the world.

Share This

Share This

It was 12 long years ago that the infamous ” Montreal Screwjob” took place at Survivor Series. On that night a number of forces came together. Because of previous incidents involving championships being thrown in the trash, the financial issues within the WWF, and the looming threat of WCW, Vince McMahon felt he couldn’t allow Bret Hart to walk out of Montreal with his championship belt. Conspiring with a number of other individuals, including the man who would be the biggest benefactor of this screwjob, Bret Hart would be put into his own submission and a bell rang. But there was no submission. This was as real as real could get.

Fans talked for days and days about what really happened. To this day, some think this just has to be a work because nothing like this could ever happen in professional wrestling. Right? I’m not in the business of pointing the finger in one direction, and after reading numerous accounts and listening to numerous perspectives, I think it’s only fair that the blame go around to everyone involved.

To this day, Bret Hart seems to be more remembered for being screwed then the numerous great matches and angles he has in the previous 13 years of his WWF career. Earl Hebner hears the chants throughout every arena he walks into despite the fact he was only preserving his employment by following orders. Vince McMahon, the actual man behind the screwjob, rarely feels any of the heat. In fact, he created a heel character to feud with Steve Austin that would help turn him into a billionaire and the WWE into a major American corporate conglomerate.

The audience has almost completely turned over since this fateful day. Fans who weren’t even born on November 7, 1997 are now enjoying professional wrestling. To them, Vince McMahon is a crazy old man. To them, Shawn Michaels is a religious degenerate. Most importantly, Bret Hart is just a name from the past. Yet 12 years later, the WWE reminded everyone just how petty and immature they can be.

It all started almost innocently with Triple H making reference to the incident in Montreal and saying people can’t get over it. Matt Stryker made reference to an important title change that took place 12 years ago, but he never mentioned what happened. Finally, there was the main event. We all should have seen it coming. Here it was. A submission match in the main event of a Pay-Per-View in Montreal. Hell, the match practically screamed screwjob since there was no possible way either man could get a clean win with “Hell in the Cell’ three weeks away.

So while Triple H makes references to fans not being able to get over what happen, here you have WWE using one of the laziest booking tactics ever. They’ve taken a real life incident, something that dramtically changed the lives of so many involved, ands cheapened it so many times. To “screw” one of their talents, even it’s only an angle, is a disturbing reminder of what happened with Bret Hart. How are the fans of Montreal supposed to get over what happened when they’re constantly being reminded of it?

From Survivor Series 1998 to No Way Out 2003 to now Breaking Point 2009, the WWE has showcased their immaturity by taking a real life incident and turning into another hokey wrestling angle multiple times. Even worse then what WWE has done in the past, they’re not the only guilty parties.

WCW tried to harken back to this incident at Starrcade 1999 and at Bash at the Beach 2000 with Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Vince Russo. TNA, who now employs Earl Hebner, has also played off the incident in Montreal. The most vivid example concerned Christian’s NWA world title victory when the annnouncers speculated about Hebner possibly screwing Christian. A sharpshooter spot only reinforced the fact that TNA was just as small and lazy at WWE. Considering Vince Russo was the booker for much of these spinoffs,  I guess it’s only appropriate.

The solution is to leave what happened in 1997 in 1997. If it is important to look at this incident from a historical perspective, then by all means discuss it. But cut the lazy booking out of this equation. It isn’t fair to the individuals involved, and really most importantly Bret Hart, to simply bring this up whenever there is an itch that needs to be scratched. The WWE has a creative team for a reason. Maybe they could actualy come up with something… I don’t know… creative.

Lucha and Burlesque? I’m always encouraging people to check out their local indy feds, and an event this Friday is no exception. Taking place at the same building that hosted the Dragon Gate Pay-Per-View, Lucha VaVoom comes to the Congress Theater Friday, September 18 at 7:30 PM. If I did not have tickets to Kevin Smith, I know I’d be attending this show if for no other reason then curiosity. You must be over the age of 17 to attend the show.

For more information on the company, check out their website. For information on tickets, check out the Congress Theater website.

Share This

Kevin and Jerome wlecome Justin Houston into the world of podcasting. In this edition of the show, the gang talks about a huge weekend in CHIKARA. Then it’s on to Ring of Honor where they get stuck in a time warp briefly. A full rundown of Dragon Gate’s Enter the Dragon is next on the docket. Find out just how many stars can possibly be given out. Let’s just say… quite a bit.

Share This