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.

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-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.

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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.

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls alike I welcome you to the second ever ECW recap, presented by yours truly, Michael Robertson. First off this week I’d like to thank you guys for your hundreds upon hundreds of well wishes, good luck messages and positive feedback in the comments section last week, it’s very much appreciated. With that being said, let’s get this show on the road…

After a brief recap of last week’s mischief, the brand new female announcer introduces us to the “Interim General Manager” for the second straight week, one William Regal. Flanked by Ezekiel and Vladimir, Regal claims that it was unfair he was not allowed to put Christian in a 4 on 1 handicap match last week. Since he hasn’t had a fair shot at the ECW Title, Regal plans on making himself number 1 contender. Shock horror this brings out Zack Ryder to no music and I kid you not, silence. Christian comes out and sarcastically remarks that this is great television, this coming from the guy who was in TNA by the way. For some reason Christian brings out Angelo (a janitor), who cleaned a couple of toilets, apparently far more deserving for this than Ryder or Regal. We then move to the next in the line, the awesome Tony Atlas, the only good part of the Abraham Washington. Atlas begins to laugh, which is apparently more of an accomplishment than Regal and Ryder have ever mustered. Next is Yoshi Tatsu, who actually won some matches, against Ryder and Regal too. Christian believes that Tatsu is a more deserving No.1 contender, as they start the very same joke that happened last week. Christian introduces the hottest GM in WWE, which isn’t too difficult, the returning Tiffany. Ryder will face Christian tonight in a rematch, whilst Tatsu faces Regal. Not forgetting the badass two, Jackson and Ezekiel will also be in tag team action, right now.

1. Vladimir Koslov and Ezekiel Jackson vs. Tommy Dreamer and Goldust.

A battle between two trim and lean stars, against two out of shape fat asses in Tommy and Goldust. Dreamer and Koslov start this one, as the Ivan Drago of WWE is hit with multiple elbows, before Goldust is now tagged in. The two begin to work on the shoulder, connecting with a double Russian leg sweep. Goldust and Jackson tag in now, Jackson flying to the outside. Dreamer charges from the apron and connects with a front senton of sorts, as Jackson is thrown back into the ring. As Goldust gets distracted on the apron by Koslov, Jackson recovers, knocking Goldust to the outside. Some typical heel shenanigans by Koslov, who repeatedly head butts Goldust in the chest. Multiple tags by Koslov and Jackson, who beat the snot out of Goldust, as the fans once again, remain silent. Goldust makes the hot tag and in comes the only person the crowd cares for, Tommy Dreamer, going wild on both of his opponents. Mere seconds after Dreamer’s entrance and the crowd fall into silence again, god what an awful crowd. As Dreamer gets distracted in disposing of Koslov from the apron, he turns around and is thrown to the mat with the Rock Bottom type finisher, this one’s over guys.

Winners: Vladimir Koslov and Ezekiel Jackson.

Thoughts: **. Could have been way better if the crowd gave even a tiny bit of interest in the match, tell me the point of paying to go watch a show and then making not a single sound for the night.

That smooth talking devil William Regal tries to influence Tiffany to announce him as No.1 contender, but to no avail. Tiffany confidently says, without any irony, that John Cena could pick ECW over Smackdown if he loses at the next PPV.

2. Yoshi Tatsu vs. William Regal.

Poor Yoshi, he tries his very best to get the crowd on their feet, but to no avail, god damn it. Intersting story about Yoshi, numerous allegations of sexual harassment have been made apparently against young Yoshi, who’d have thought? As the bell rings the referee realizes Regal’s laces are open, in truly brilliant television. Yoshi straight on the offensive with Uppercuts and dropkicks, as Regal’s laces are apparently still open. Matt Striker repeatedly refers to Bill as “Master Regal”, it’s not the 90’s anymore Matt, and this isn’t WCW. The poor man’s Tajiri goes to the outside now, as we head to a commercial break. Back now and Regal just picks up Tatsu and drops him through the middle rope and to the outside, bashing his head into the announcers table. Brutal clubbing elbow by Regal, as he locks in a sleeper hold, constantly using submission holds to keep Tatsu grounded. Butterfly suplex by William, as Striker again calls him Master, a “this is boring” chant begins, really showing how awful the ‘E’s fans are. You thought ROH fans were bad, at least they kind of appreciate good wrestling. These morons think just because John Cena isn’t in the ring or that people aren’t flying about in fast paced matches, it must be an awful match. Tatsu almost gets the win with a Roaring elbow, as he heads to the top rope, only to miss a spinning heel kick. As Regal goes to finish him off, Tatsu clubs him with the same kick as last week, Yoshi wins again! Oh wait, “Master” Regal’s leg was underneath the bottom rope, as Koslov and Jackson come out. All three men back the referee into the corner, oh snap this is not a good situation to be in. Nothing comes of it though, apparently it’s completely fine for a man to be screwed of the win these days.

Winner: Yoshi Tatsu (kind of).

Thoughts: **. O.K match I guess, nothing too special, the fans made it worse yet again.

3. Zack Ryder vs. Christian.

As Ryder makes his entrance, William Regal is STILL bickering with the referee. In fact Regal and his buddies are going to stay and watch this one, I’m still not sure if this one’s a title match or not though. Competitive back and forth actions to start this one, as both men try to gain the upper hand in the early goings. Top rope Uppercut by Christian, only for Ryder to soon after send him neck first into the bottom rope. Baseball slide by Ryder, as Christian is sent to the outside, commercial time! Both trade back and forth only for Ryder to connect with a Fame Asser of sorts, two count only though. At last the mute fans come alive, getting behind Christian, who almost gets the three count, but alas to no avail. Momentum is beginning to be built now, as Christian connects with an unexpected spinning heel kick. Back to the top rope now and Christian connects with a cross body, only a two count though. Just in case you needed more of Christian climbing to the top rope, he connects with a top rope DDT, only a 2 count again though. He goes for the terribly named Kill Switch, only for Ryder to counter into an awesome Tiger Bomb, 1…2 kick out! To the outside goes Ryder, as Christian ridiculously again climbs to the top rope, cross body to the outside. Oh I wonder what’s going to happen now, as Vladimir Koslov head butts Christian, DQ finish. The awesome Ezekiel Jackson throws Christian from the outside into the ring, as William Regal waits inside, charging and kneeing him in the head. Ryder is incredibly ticked off, so much so that he thought stepping into the ring against the badass three was a good idea. Jackson finishes him off with his finisher, as the three stand victorious; Regal reigns supreme as we fade to darkness.

Winner: Christian (via DQ).

Thoughts: ** ¾. Nowhere near the quality of their last two matches, plus the horrible crowd didn’t get into the match until the closing stages. I didn’t actually mind the finish though, since I’m a big fan for the badass three. Hey I know it’s an awful name, but if the WWE can’t put any effort into naming them, why should I come up with a good one?

Final Thoughts: An O.K show I guess, nothing particularly worth watching though. To the fans in Trenton, New Jersey, you were so quiet tonight, I alone in that arena could have made more noise. This show could have been at least a little bit better if you guys would stop sitting on your hands, have a good time and use those vocal chords.

Thank you for reading this recap and in fact Pro Wrestling Ponderings as a whole, as we continue ascending with a new website on the horizon. We wish all of you will join us as we seek to make PWP the best site for news and articles on the independent scene. My name’s Michael Robertson, stay classy San Diego.

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Yes my legions of fans, it is I Michael Robertson, but not quite how you remember me, perhaps? Well due to the sad departure of one Zach Danielson, who’s work I very much enjoyed by the way, plus the small matter of no one showing any interest to recap the show, good old Mike has had himself a promotion!

So William Regal starts off this show in the backstage area, announcing that ECW GM Tiffany has been in a car accident. Therefore for one night only, due to his past experiences of being Raw GM, good old Bill will be taking over tonight. No longer will Christian face Zack Ryder, oh no, but he will face Ryder, William Regal, Vladimir Koslov AND Ezekiel Jackson in a 4 on 1 handicap match. Good luck with that, Christian.

Tony Atlas announces that Abraham Washington’s guest tonight will be John Morrison, this is my first ever time witnessing the Washington show. Is this guy meant to be heel or face, because he is very annoying. Abraham hypes up Hell in a Cell PPV, along with Smackdown’s 10 Year Anniversary, before proceeding to welcome one John Morrison. Oh great, if this couldn’t get any worse, John Morrison is on the mic. In the third cheap plug, Morrison plugs his t-shirt, before praising “Abe’s” show, to numerous boo’s. Atlas’ laugh is actually pretty funny, which is a lot more than can be said for Abe. Now to Dolph Ziggler, who Morrison criticizes for being far too arrogant, plus that Ziggler won’t be coming out victorious this Sunday. This brings out the greatest man ever, ever, Dolph Ziggler, which brings out another awful “comedy” spot. Washington says there isn’t enough time and that he has to wrap up the show, but Morrison is far too pre occupied in starting a Mr. Ziggles chant. Just before Mr. Ziggler gets to reply, the music hits and the show comes to an end. So they give Washington and Morrison plenty of mic time, but Ziggler just sits there brooding? Brilliant job.

Backstage and the badass three are joined by one Zach Ryder, who doesn’t want a handicap match, instead a singles. Regal says that the board of directors aren’t too happy with the 4 on 1 handicap match, god knows why, instead making it a 8 man tag. Our main event now shall be Zach Ryder and the badass three facing Goldust, Yoshi Tatsu, Tommy Dreamer and Christian.

1. Paul Burchill/w Katie Lea Burchill vs. Shelton Benjamin.

Now this one has potential, as we get a recap of last week’s Washington show, where Sheamus beat down on Benjamin. As Benjamin makes his entrance this week, Sheamus beats the snot out of him, throwing him into a ring post and then throwing him into the ring. Casper the Ghost walks back up the ramp with a smirk on his face, as the referee tends to Benjamin, not starting the match. As the bell is rang, Burchill drives Benjamin into the corner and delivers multiple kicks. Working on the same arm that was thrown into the ring post now, the fans rally behind Burchill’s opponent, but to no avail as he’s thrown shoulder first into the ring post. We are back and Burchill is still working on the arm, as the Boston crowd come up with an extremely original “U-S-A” chant. Burchill gets a close two count with a back body drop, before surprise surprise, locks in on the arm. Burchill’s attempted suplex is reversed into a neck breaker as the referee begins a ten count, The Gold Standard first to his feet. Just as he begins to find his feet for the first time in the match, Burchill elbows Benjamin in the head. Up on the top rope and Burchill is sent careering right back down to the mat again, as Benjamin goes for a cross body, but misses. Burchill with a diving knee drop, only a two count though as he goes back to work on the arm. Both men are back to their feet and just as Burchill charges off the ropes, Benjamin connects with a Pay Dirt out of nowhere. 1,2,3, this one’s over bizzach.

Winner: Shelton Benjamin.

Thoughts: ** ¾. Would have been even higher if Benjamin had any remote offense, bar a couple of punches. Nevertheless the match did tell a good story, as Benjamin continues to build up those W’s.

Cena/Orton hype video, as we get another display of what I call “Superman” Cena’s ridiculous display. Of course knowing Cena, it was followed by a corny ass, cheesy promo, I hope Orton knocks the bejeezus out of that piece of poo.

Striker and Mathews hype up the card, the match I’m most looking forward to is DX/Legay, which has been a very good feud in my opinion. I’m making a bet right now, Legacy are coming out of this one winners, tune in to the column next week to see if I’m right.

Christian gives a pep talk to all three of his team mates, as we head to ringside…

2. The Badass Three and Zack Ryder vs. Christian, Yoshi Tatsu, Goldust and Tommy Dreamer.

Now I love Zack Ryder and Regal’s trio are just beyond awesome, so it’s pretty clear who I want to win this one. Plus, Yoshi Tatsu is on the other team for god sakes, he sucks balls. Ryder and Dreamer start this one off, only for Dreamer to tag in Goldust soon after, Ryder tagging in Koslov. Jackson is tagged in soon after though, as Tatsu is brought into the fray. Tatsu’s pace helps him out as he avoids the aggressive Jackson, who tags in Goldust now. Jackson squashes Goldust like a bug, shouting like a madman, he’s awesome. Lord Steven Regal is in now, but again he tags in Ryder, as Goldust tags in Christian. Top rope uppercut by Ryder as Christian gets rid of all three of his partners, before tagging in Dreamer. Sidewalk slam and inverted DDT combo by Dreamer and Christian, followed by a powerslam by Dreamer. Back from the commercial and Jackson is beating up Dreamer, of course he is, it’s Ezekiel Jackson damn it. In comes Koslov now, repeatedly ramming his shoulder into Dreamer’s stomach, before the leader of the badass three is tagged in. Regal calls Dreamer “bloody pathetic”, as he clubs the fat ass ten times with elbows. Christian gets the hot tag but as he runs off the ropes, Koslov pulls them down, sending the ECW Champ outside. As Christian climbs back up to the apron, Jackson hoists him up with the suplex, lets him stay there for a while and then plants him down with a suplex. Ryder is in now and just as I type that, Koslov is tagged back in. Top rope drop kick by one Christian, as he makes the tag to Yoshi Tatsu, as Ryder is tagged in for the opposite side. Yoshi in firm control now, connecting with a top rope spinning heel kick, damn impressive. All hell breaks loose now as all of the participants brawl on the outside, Christian diving from the top rope onto all of them. Regal and Tatsu are the only men still in the ring, as the poor man’s Tajiri connects with a kick to the head. Tatsu gets the win!

Winners: Yoshi Tatsu, Goldust, Christian and Tommy Dreamer.

Thoughts: ***. What an enjoyable match that was, just a shame that the one guy I disliked the most, got the freaking pin! Still the majority of the match was controlled by the Badass 3, along with a bit of Ryder too. Let’s hope for a Extreme rules rematch sometime in the future, that would be even better.

Final Thoughts: Pretty good show, yet ECW prides itself on having at least three matches a show, this time it was two. It was also brought down by the awful Abraham Washington show, but the two matches themselves were actually entertaining.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this recap, leave any feedback at all, even if it’s sending hate mail and begging for Danielson to come back. My name’s Michael Robertson, thanks for reading, Yoshi Tatsu sucks.

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Hello wrestling fans and welcome to a later than usual recap of the most frustrating and yet sometimes entertaining show on WWE television. Will we get a good show tonight, or another god awful one with five matches that last about two minutes.

1. Chris Masters vs. Primo.

In what is becoming an annoying trend, Masters is in the first match on Superstars yet again, facing the man with the campest entrance music ever, Primo. Jerry Lawler keeps using the same line of “Chris Masters has muscles in places you don’t have places”, yeah I know, not particularly witty or funny is it? To start this one Primo keeps up a high pace with flips, drop kicks and a hurricaranna. The high flying comes to a premature end in the form of a brutal clothesline. Running sidewalk slam onto the knee by Masters, as he bends the body of Primo in quite the uncomfortable position. Masters misses a leg drop and Primo begins to rally back into contention, only to be thrown straight into the turnbuckle. It doesn’t stop him though, as he repeatedly connects with clotheslines, trying to get Masters to fall down. A top rope drop kick does the job, but only gets a two count. A cross body is blocked by Masters, who tries to lock in the Masterlock, only for Primo to roll out of it with a schoolboy for the 3 count.

Winner: Primo.

Thoughts: **1/2. Pretty damn enjoyable match actually, despite his awful music I’m beginning to enjoy Primo, at least more than his grumpy brother anyway. Good way to start the show, let’s hope it doesn’t falter from now.

Walking through the backstage area is William Regal and (in Michael Cole’s words) his “entourage”, not the words I would use to describe those two but it’s Michael Cole, what did I expect?

2. Goldust vs. William Regal/w Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Koslov.

Oh this should be good, since Regal’s awesome and his badass henchman are also, indeed, badass. Anyway he will be facing the “eccentric” lets say Goldust, who’s been locked in a feud with Sheamus lately of course. This one starts with Regal in complete control, until Goldust begins trading blows with Regal in the middle of the ring. The gold covered superstar delivers a pair of clotheslines, an atomic drop and a bulldog, but only gets a two count for all his troubles. Koslov distracts the referee as Jackson enters the ring, aiming to take out Goldust for his leader. Koslov doesn’t do the best job of distracting the referee though, it helps when you’re a hot valet Vladimir, as the referee catches Jackson in the act of the crime. DQ finish!

Winner: Goldust (via darn D.Q).

Thoughts: *. God damn why not give this more time?! Anyway it was O.K for what it’s worth I guess, but Regal really should have just gone over clean.

After the match Regal locks in the Regal stretch on Goldust, only for Christian, Tommy Dreamer an Yoshi Tatsu to make the save, running off the Round Table of Regal, Jackson and Koslov.

Batista hype video, he sucks, that is all.

3. Michelle McCool and Layla El vs. Melina and Maria.

Despite McCool being supposedly the biggest heel in the Woman’s division, not a single person boo’s her. Her and Layla will be facing Melina and Maria, in what should be a average match at best. I’ve got to be honest, women’s wrestling is not something I enjoy at all, since most of them freaking suck. McCool and Melina start this one, Melina getting the better of her as both women tag in their partners. Maria the wrestling perfectionist gets her hair pulled by McCool on the outside. Layla attacks Maria and tags in McCool, who knees her straight in the face. Layla’s back in now and trying to keep Maria from tagging in McCool, just before Maria makes the tag Layla knocks Melina off the apron. As the referee checks up on Melina on the outside, McCool steps inside and boots Maria in the face, as Layla gets the 3 count. 

Winner: Michelle McCool and Layla.

Thoughts: **. That’s me being kind too, since half of the participants aren’t very good inside the squared circle. McCool seems to have changed her finisher from the Styles Clash to a big boot, probably due to the “wrestler’s code”, plus the fact she stole AJ’s finisher without asking.

It’s time for everybody’s favourite segment, Ask the Diva’s! The philosopher’s greatest piece of advice this week was by Maria, who when asked “how can I lose weight?” Maria answered “just exercise”. Jeez, thank god for Maria! 

4. Matt Hardy vs. Kane.

Oh boy, this one doesn’t look very good on paper, at least. Chubby Matt Hardy faces the creative team’s favourite member of the WWE roster, Kane. Hardy tries to keep out of Kane’s way, working on the arm and then scurrying before the big man has the chance to retaliate. Sadly the game plan doesn’t work for very long, put to an end in the shape of a big right hand by the Big Red Machine. Kane connects with his running drop kick to the face, as we head to the commercial break. Hardy is on the top rope and goes for his brutal double axe handle (ha ha ha ha) but is caught by Kane, who goes for the Chokeslam. Hardy just about manages to wriggle out of it, only to run off the top rope and be met with a big boot to the face. Apparently Kane hasn’t lost a match since coming back to Smackdown, a push at long last perhaps? Sidewalk slam by Kane gets a two count, before he locks in a bearhug lock on Hardy. Matt Hardy starts a comeback and trips on his ass, Grisham claiming he was going for a chop block, what an ass. Hardy then mere seconds after the botch, botches a bulldog! DDT by Hardy gets a close two count, as he goes for the Twist of Fate, only for Kane to raise him in the air and drops him groin first on the ropes. He does it again two times, which apparently prompts a lame ass D.Q. Kane isn’t finished though, as he drives Hardy to the mat with a Chokeslam.

Winner: Matt Hardy (via Lame Ass Finish).

Thoughts: **. It was O.K, but there wasn’t a chance in hell this one was going to be any good in all honesty.

Final Thoughts: This was an average show, with pretty average matches involving average superstars. The best match of the night was Primo/Masters, which says a lot, plus we got to see one of the dumbest ever finishes to a match in the main event. Don’t waste your time on this week’s edition of Superstars, because to quote one Jerome Cusson, it was a very “ho-hum” show. I said that right, didn’t I?

Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for reading, I am Michael Robertson, see you next week.

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“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson is on his way to World Wrestling Entertainment. Say it out loud, right now. It still doesn’t sound right, does it? I mean, the first two words in the company’s name fit Dragon perfectly. He is “worldly”, honing his craft on every continent habitable, fighting within the borders of every country that truly cherishes this sport. And “wrestling”? For the last five years, on the independent circuit, he has been wrestling, perhaps the only legitimate coast-to-coast draw left in the indy business. But Bryan was more than just the best in the country. That ain’t how the nickname goes. It’s brazen, borderline arrogant…and as accurate as sun is scorching. “Best in the World”. World. This was not a man who settled upon dominating one country, oh no. He would travel to Europe with PWG as its world champion, infuriate the chant-crazed, diehard German über fans in wXw, and make the fans “oh” and “ah” on his biggest stage, Pro Wrestling NOAH. And it was in NOAH that he achieved some of his greatest moments: defending the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, challenging for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles, and facing off against legends of puroresu such as Jun Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Mitsuharu Misawa. Here’s a look back at Dragon’s ride within the company, tour by tour.

……………Bryan Danielson’s first tour in NOAH can only be considered a success. After his confrontations with KENTA in Ring of Honor, during a three-way involving Samoa Joe and a ROH Title match in which Danielson, despite a severely separated shoulder, came out victorious, fans in Japan took notice of Dragon and treated him with uncommon respect for a debuting wrestler, let alone a debuting gaijin. Danielson spent a majority of the tour tagging with fellow gaijins and NOAH veterans Bison Smith and Eddie Edwards. His first match in the company saw the trio take on Akitoshi Saito, Ricky Marvin, and his international rival KENTA. He would go on to tap out Marvin in the match securing the win for his team. In the opening nine bouts on his first NOAH tour, Bryan would gain a total of six victories, five of which he earned himself with his feared Cattle Mutilation submission. His tenth and final match of the tour would be against KENTA in the Yokohama Cultural Hall. NOAH, perhaps sensing fan response growing for Dragon, declared the contest a “Special 45-minute Match”. Danielson would suffer his first and only fall on the tour after getting put down by KENTA with his Go 2 Sleep maneuver.

…………...Dragon’s second tour with NOAH started similarly to the previous one; he participated in a six-man tag, once again at the Korakuen Hall, once again gaining a victory, though he did not get the fall himself. In quite an odd pairing, Bryan teamed with Joe E. Legend and future WWE Tag Champion Ted DiBiase. It was Legend who got the pinfall that night, and Danielson would go on to tag with Joe E. and Ted in much the same frequency as he did Bison and Eddie on the previous tour. This tour would prove to be an up-and-down affair for Danielson; his record of 7-10 on this excursion was much worse than the 6-4 record from his previous tour, but unlike his first one, he took no falls. Furthermore, he participated in his first main event on a NOAH show, teaming with Bison and DiBiase in a losing effort against a trio lead by puroresu legend Mitsuharu Misawa. He would go on to main event three other shows that tour, all in six-man tag matches, all losses. His final match on the tour was his debut in the revered Nippon Budokan Hall, NOAH’s largest venue. Danielson’s triumvirate lost, but because he was never pinned or submitted, he lost no favor in the eyes of the Japanese fans.

……………Only two months later, Bryan began his third NOAH tour, this time as a participant in the NTV Junior Tag League Tournament. Once again, Danielson would take no falls on the entire tour. He and his partner, Davey Richards, would compete against some of the best junior tag teams in the world: Naomichi Marufuji and Kota Ibushi, Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin, fellow Ring of Honor roster members The Briscoes, and KENTA & Taiji Ishimori. Of the five tourney matches Bryan and Davey had, they had three losses. The two non-losses were against KENTA and Ishimori, which went to a draw, and Suzuki and Marvin, the latter of which Danielson pinned with a jackknife cut-back pin, Bryan’s first pinfall victory in NOAH. This would prove crucial, and would turn out to be the loss that cost Suzuki and Marvin the tournament, won in epic fashion by KENTA and Taiji after Suzuki and Marvin failed to beat the Brisoces before the match’s time limit expired. Danielson’s last match of the tour was contested at the Budokan and saw him team with Rocky Romero and ROH rival Nigel McGuinness. Once again his squad fell, this time to the team of Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone, and Go Shiozaki.

……………In late March of 2008, Dragon began what would become his longest tour for Pro Wrestling NOAH: a nineteen-match, month-long stay in Japan. His time away proved fruitful, as this was statistically Bryan’s best NOAH tour to date. Of the 19 contests Danielson competed in, he won 14 of them, getting 10 of the falls himself, including one pinfall and 8 contests in which he tapped his opponent to Cattle Mutilation. Of note was the fact that, for the first time in his NOAH career, he landed a submission win without using his signature move: against Atsushi Aoki, using a modified neck lock. Despite his impressive 14-5 record on the tour, including an 11-2 start, he did have his share of downs. For the second time Dragon would be pinned, this time tagging with Go Shiozaki against the team of KENTA and Marufuji. Marufuji picked up the win, becoming only the second man to beat Dragon in a NOAH ring. The match, lauded by the fans in attendance, has yet to see the light of day, and will probably remain so. The tour ended on an all-too-familiar note: Danielson’s partner taking the fall at the Budokan Hall, this time in a standard tag match.

…………...A couple of weeks later, Dragon would be back in NOAH, starting the expedition in fantastic fashion. First, he tapped Atsushi Aoki at the Korakuen Hall with a triangle choke, followed by a submission victory via the neck lock over BJ Whitmer the next night in Differ Ariake. But it was his third night that proved most eventful for Bryan. Once again at Differ Ariake, Bryan would see his first victory in the main event of a NOAH show. Bison Smith, along with Bryan and Akitoshi Saito, bested a team lead by Jun Akiyama with his finishing maneuver, the Bisontennial. Danielson would go on to once again take no falls and amass an 8-4-1 record, the draw being a highly-touted contest with tag partner Yoshinobu Kanemaru against KENTA & Taiji Ishimori. This would lead to a tour-ending GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Title shot against KENTA & Ishimori at the Coventry Skydome in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, Bryan’s partner, Eddie Edwards, would succumb to KENTA’s Go to Sleep, once again ending a tour on a sour note.

…………...62 days later, on his sixth tour, it was once again time for the NTV Junior Tag League. With partner Davey Richards returning with Danielson, both men set out to make a much bigger splash than they had in their previous attempts to win the tournament. Facing several of the same wrestlers as the previous tournament, the duo found much more success this time around. They would not reach the finals, but they did amass a 3-2-1 tourney record, their only losses being to the young duo of Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kota Ibushi, and to the eventual tournament winners, KENTA and Taiji Ishimori. Despite getting statistically knocked out of the competition rather early on, Dragon would persevere, winning his final three NTV Cup matches, his last five matches overall and, with the help of Davey Richards, finally netted his first win at the Budokan. Davey got the pinfall victory over Kento Miyahara as Danielson held Kento’s partner Naomichi Marufuji at bay. Bryan would finally depart a tour with a win, but that would not be the story upon his NOAH return. Less than a week later, after a hellacious title match with Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Ring of Honor’s Tokyo Summit event, Bryan Danielson won GHC Jr. Heavyweight champion.

…………...Danielson’s first defense of the GHC Jr. Title came at Ring of Honor’s Glory by Honor VII event against the man that pinned Davey Richards and accounted for one of Dragon’s two tournament loses during the second NTV Junior Tag League: Katsuhiko Nakajima. Dragon was victorious, earning the right to enter his next tour with NOAH as one of its champions. This was another tour that had its share of ups and downs. Unfortunately for Danielson, the first challenger for his GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title was a man that knew him all too well: KENTA, still the only man at that time who had bested Dragon in a singles match in NOAH. A Go 2 Sleep later and Danielson was now a former champion and 0-2 against his rival. Shockingly, this would also be the first time that Danielson took more than one fall on a tour; Bison Smith, the man that tagged with Danielson so frequently when he started out in NOAH, pinned him in a six-man tag using the Bisontennial. Things picked up directly afterwards; Dragon would main event the next two shows, teaming with Nigel McGuinness and Doug Williams. For the first time, Dragon picked up the fall in both main events, tapping Atsushi Aoki and Ricky Marvin using Cattle Mutilation. Once again, his tour ended with a loss at the Budokan Hall. It would be almost nine months before Danielson would return to tour with Pro Wrestling NOAH. Unbeknownst to fans at the time, it would also be his last.

…………...Bryan Danielson’s final ride in NOAH was, fittingly, his third attempt to win the NTV Cup. This time, his partner would be Roderick Strong. He started the tour with a six-man tag in his final appearance at the Korakuen Hall. New partner Strong picked up the win for partners Dragon and Akitoshi Saito. Once the tournament began, Dragon and Roderick won their first match-up against the bizarre tandem of Genba Hirayanagi and Kikutaro. Unfortunately, that would be their only win of the tournament. The other two tourney matches, against the teams of Kota Ibushi and Atsushi Aoki and, of course, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori, were hard-fought loses, the KENTA & Ishimori match actually main eventing a show in Akita. Dragon, who had taken his team’s fall the night before to Takeshi Rikioh, took the fall in his tag match against KENTA as well, the first time he took falls on back-to-back shows. His last match in NOAH was a victory over a trio lead by Tsuyoshi Kikuchi; he did not pick up the fall. (Roderick did, using a powerbreaker.)

There’s a scene in the film Good Will Hunting where Ben Affleck’s character Chuckie explains to Matt Damon’s character Will, the mathematical genius, why he can’t work construction for the rest of his life like Chuckie and his friends. “It’d be an insult to us if you’re still here in 20 years,” Chuckie declares, “Hangin’ around here is a…waste of your time.” This has been a long understood truth about Bryan Danielson since…hell, since the first time he faced KENTA one-on-one in New York City. You just knew that if he somehow, someway didn’t move higher in this business, it’d be an absolute tragedy. In the film, Chuckie would go on to express his desire to show up at Will’s door one day, like every day, and instead of coming out the front door…Will would be gone, having moved on to bigger and better things. That’s what it felt like when I first read that Dragon had signed; it was a bittersweet sense of pride. We, the independent faithful, had the privilege of watching a budding legend long past gratuity. He never got the chance to get a pinfall or submission in the Nippon Budokan Hall. He never beat KENTA in a Pro Wrestling NOAH ring. And, if there is any justice in the world, he never will. The “American Dragon” has ascended. The sky’s the limit.

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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.

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

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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.

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