Moments Ago: Stables in RoH…continued – The Rottweilers

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Moments Ago:

Stables in Ring of Honor…Continued – The Rottweilers

I think this speaks to the quality of the stables currently involved in Ring of Honor, but one of the most dominant stables in the federation is without a doubt The Rottweilers. And I completely left them out of my column last week. They have been present in some shape or form since 2003 but truly rose to RoH prominence in August of 2004.

The Beginnings:

The centerpiece to the Rottweilers has always been the Notorious 187 Homicide. But the second major player made his debut at the now infamous riot that occurred at the first anniversary show at the Elk’s Lodge in Queens, New York. Julius “The Devil’s Son-In-Law” Smokes, also known as J-Train, was one of the many people involved in the melee. He soon became Homicide’s corner man and the Rottweilers truly began to take shape.
Over the next few months various people began aligning and appearing with the group. The most well known is Slugger, the giant Rastafarian who worked as a bodyguard for Special K. Other wrestlers who have made bigger names for themselves in other Northeast wrestling promotions like Benny Blanco (Benny from the Bronx) as he was sometimes know in RoH, and Grim Reefer who has made quite a name for himself in the NYWC out of New York City. Sadly, despite the talent of these workers, especially Reefer, this incarnation of the Rottweilers never got off the ground.

Before the Current Incarnation:

The Rottweilers was, for the most part, put on hold because of the lack of popularity of the other members. Homicide also became embroiled in one of the most famous feuds in RoH history with Steve Corino, and eventhough Corino had his entourage of Chuck “Guillotine” Le Grande and his trainees Alex Law and Ricky Landell, the Rottweilers never got involved. It seemed as though this idea was going to be permanently put on hold. Then at At Our Best, it seemed that the Rottweilers would be reborn.
During the “Do or Die 2” convention Card, Caprice Coleman and Rainman were teamed up at the behest of Julius Smokes. It seemed that these two would be part of the new Rottweilers. It was not to be, though, because neither man got many RoH bookings after that, and more importantly, a new tag team would become part of the new and improved Rottweilers.

The Road to the Rottweilers:

Products of the Inoki Dojo in Los Angeles, Ricky Reyes and Rocky Romero, collectively known as the Havan Pitbulls, were making waves out west and were brought in to be part of ECWA’s presitigious super junior tournament, The Super Eight. As a result of their performances in this launchpad tournament, the Pitbulls were brought into RoH making their debuts at the Ring of Honor Reborn Midwest double shot weekend. At the Friday show, Homicide battled Samoa Joe for the world title. During the match the lights went out and Homicide through a fireball at Samoa Joe earning himself a disqualification. It was revealed that Ricky Reyes was the man that turned out the lights, and the Havana Pitbulls were the newest members of the Rottweilers.
As a threesome Homicide, Reyes, and Romero with Smokes in their corner ran roughshod over the RoH roster. Homicide’s feud with Samoa Joe led to one of the most brutal six man tag matches in the history of Ring of Honor. At the main event of Reborn: The Completion, the Rottweilers faced Samoa Joe and the Briscoe Brothers. The end of the match came when Homicide once again dipped into the Arab wrestler gimmick bag and threw another fireball, this time at Mark Briscoe, again resulting in a disqualification.
They began beating on Samoa Joe and Homicide showed his disrespect for the world title. Then, in a shock to all of the fans in attendance a familiar song came over the Rexplex loudspeakers. The song couldn’t be playing though, or if it was it could not be signaling the arrival of who we all thought it was. The song was called Fighter’s Passion, and it did indeed signal the arrival of Low Ki, the man that everyone thought would never show up in RoH again.
I am sure that most fans thought that Low Ki was coming to Samoa Joe’s aid. Low Ki made his way to the ring, took the mic and began recounting his illustrious history with the company. He then said that no one would disrespect the Ring of Honor title…except HIM!!! Low Ki joined the Rottweilers officially making them one of the most dominant forces in Ring of Honor.

The Rottweilers – The Analysis:

Now, with four amazing athletes and perhaps the most charismatic manager in Ring of Honor, the Rottweilers are perhaps the epitome of a heel stable. Generation Next is probably my favorite stable in RoH, but the Rottweilers may be the best. And all it took was four of the best wrestlers in the world to finally get over. Homicide was able to go from one of the top good guys to one of the most hated men on the roster. He works amazingly well as the leader of the stable despite not being the best man on the mic. Low Ki’s turn as a heel is even more surprising. Gabe Sapolsky himself never thought Low Ki could get over as a villain. He was able to go from a true man of honor to a despised thug, and generates as many boos as he does cheers. The Havana Pitbulls are one of the best tag teams on the independent scene today, and had a lengthy reign as RoH tag team champions. Julius Smokes is also one of the most entertaining managers in Ring of Honor. Sometimes he runs the risk of putting himself over the wrestlers, but always has just enough restraint to make sure his wrestlers are the primary focus and that more than anything else is the essence of a good manager. That my friends is a great stable.

If you have any questions or comments you can always e-mail me at bigandymac@yahoo.com

I’ll see you next time.