Ring of Honor returns to New York City and Chelsea Piers’ Basketball City with a huge show this weekend. This is essentially the middle of what has been dubbed the “Milestone Series.” It began with the Fourth Anniversary show, which was amazing, continued with RoH’s debut in the New Alhambra Sports and Entertainment Complex, better known as the ECW Arena, in a show that saw one of the most violent happenings in the history of Ring of Honor when the CZW locker room ousted RoH from the building for the second half of a double-header. Following the New York show, which I will talk about in great detail in a bit, is the Wrestlemania Triple Shot featuring the Dragon Gate Challenges series, what will essentially be Night of Grudges III, and a show headlined by Lance Storm vs. the American Dragon. The Milestone series concludes on April 22nd with RoH’s 100th show. All in all this is a great time to be a Ring of Honor fan.
Without further ado here is the Moments Ago Preview for this Saturday’s “The Best in the World.”
Currently booked for the show, but without any matches are the team of Jason Blade and Kid Mikaze, Jimmy Yang, Jimmy Rave, Matt Sydal and Adam Pearce. Pearce has challenged Chris Hero and Necro Butcher (of CZW) to show up at the building and Jimmy Rave will be appearing in a match recorded for www.rohwrestling.com. There is a strong possibility that we will see Jimmy Yang take on Jimmy Rave in a match for the show, but that probably would have been advertised, likewise if Yang were taking on Matt Sydal. It is certainly up in the air what willl happen to these talented wrestlers come Saturday.
SHIMMER Women’s Athletes will be putting on an exhibition in the form of a four corner survival match featuring the lovely Lacey vs. Allison Danger vs. Daizee Haze vs. Mercedes Martinez. Ring of Honor fans are familiar with Lacey and Danger (Allison has been with Ring of Honor since the beginning), Daizee Haze has made several appearances first as a valet for Matt Sydal before turning on him and joining the Embassy, and Mercedes Martinez is one of the top woman wrestlers in the country. These women can all go in the ring, and are more than easy on the eyes. SHIMMER for those of you who don’t know is an all female wrestling promotion with a focus on wrestling as opposed to T and A.
Also on the card is a continuation of the Generation Next vs. the Rottweilers feud and a rematch from Hell Freezes Over as Austin Aries takes on Ricky Reyes. This should be an entertaining match with the strike heavy style of Reyes contesting with the explosive attack of Austin Aries.
In the first Pure Title match in several shows, Nigel McGuinness returns to an RoH ring to defend his crown against Claudio Castagnoli. This is Claudio’s last chance at Nigel’s belt. They had a match at Final Battle 2005 which saw Claudio lose the match in what was essentially a “Dusty Finish.” Nigel has had the belt for a long time, since the end of last summer, and he could have met his match against Claudio. Signore Castagnoli is also a prominent competitor for Ring of Honor’s rival CZW, so he could win the title and show his true colors and bring the Pure Wrestling title to the federation known for Garbage Wrestling which would truly be a cruel twist of fate.
The Briscoes attacked Generation Next of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong at the end of the Fourth Anniversary Show as well as at the ECW arena debut. Generation Next will finally get the Briscoes in the ring as Roderick Strong and Jack Evans battle Jay and Mark. Evans and Strong are one of the most exciting tag teams in Ring of Honor with some of the most innovative double teaming since…well the Briscoes. Roderick Strong is of course one half of the tag team champions, so a win for the Briscoes would guarantee a future title shot.
In a Special Challenge Match “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels will face Alex Shelley of the Embassy. This will be an extremely technical match, but don’t be surprised if it degenerates into a brawl. Shelley came close to winning the Ring of Honor championship from American Dragon, and Christopher Daniels is always waiting for another crack at the Ring of Honor championship. This match could have huge ramifications on the world or pure title picture and could possibly steal the show.
I am inclined to think that as great as Shelley vs. Daniels will be it will not steal the show from the main event. Pro-wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufugi and GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion KENTA battle Ring of Honor World Champion “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson and his partner Samoa Joe. KENTA and Marufugi are perhaps the greatest tag team in the world. Dragon and Joe have teamed once before to my knowledge during Joe’s quest to get the tag straps from the Briscoes. Regardless, they will be a formidable team and this match should be off the charts. Danielson and Marufugi had a great match at Final Battle and Samoa Joe certainly wants to get his win back from NOAH. Since he can’t have Kobashi again at the moment KENTA and Marufugi will have to do.
As anyone can see this is yet another must see show for RoH. Naysayers that claim Ring of Honor puts more emphasis on bringing in foreign stars than building their own be damned. Outside of the Main Event, which does have some history in RoH besides being a dream match, many of the matches advance Ring of Honor storylines, including Gen Next vs. the Briscoes, Gen Next vs. the Rottweilers, and the final installment of Nigel vs. Claudio, and of course the RoH/CZW feud. This is truly a can’t miss Ring of Honor show.
That will about do it for this week’s installment of Moments Ago. This weekend features a very special episode of Wrestle Radio. Ring of Honor owner Cary Silken will be a guest to talk further about this weekend’s show and the big shows coming up over the next few weeks. You can listen in live this Friday at 6pm est. at www.whrwfm.org.
As always, questions, comments and concerns are welcomed and appreciated and they can be directed to bigandymac@yahoo.com
I’ll see you next time.
