We’re back with another installment of A Modest Response. This week’s issue will include my Ring of Honor weekend previews, including all our regular features: news links, reader commentary, a match review, and the Modest Response itself.
News
Bam Bam Bigelow dies
I’ve always liked Bam Bam, but a hugely overweight gentleman who has tattooed fire on their scalp would generally not be thought to have the longest lifespan. When you combine that with the generally short expected lifespan of others, this one was sad, but not shocking
Punk has been drawing heat lots of ways
Ah, some half baked rumors to set off the proles and the boss. Let’s analyze this quickly.
Punk made out with Maria in Iraq excessively
They want their divas to appear single, but really, so what? They’re in a war zone half the world away. If it didn’t piss off someone backstage, no one would have ever heard of this. Way to draw attention to something meaningless.
Punk complained backstage when he heard plans were changed and the Big Show wasn’t going to tap to him in Elimination Chamber
Kind of like Batista complained about Lashley, but that’s besides the point. Punk should have complained. Tapping out Big Show in one of his last matches would have been huge for Punk’s career. If there was a chance of getting things changed back, he has to take it, especially consider the plans were changed to him being eliminated first.
When Arn Anderson — a legend — tried to give him advice on his match at the 12/19 TV show, he reportedly blew AA off and said something along the lines of “well, what I’m doing is working, since I’m over.”
No detail on Arn’s complaints, but why assume he was right? Supposedly the complaint was something about simulating wrestling as opposed to actually wrestling a match. If so, Arn’s complaint is that Punk is simulating wrestling while guys like Lashley, Holly, Test, Thorne, Dupree, etc all know how to actually wrestle. You don’t see Punk having a reason to be ticked off here? Really?
Furthermore, on the indies Punk was a favorite of pretty much every vet he came into contact with, making particularly strong impressions on Steamboat and Foley. He’s renowned as a guy who took everything he could from vets. Does this sound like somebody who’s blowing off a legend for no reason?
Stop freaking and jumping to conclusions. At the very worst, he’s a bit of a jerk, nothing compared to the heyday of main event stars like Batista, Austin, Michaels, Triple H, and Hogan. At best he’s being misrepresented. Calm down. I don’t know for sure which and neither do you.
Survivor Series to be in Miami not Montreal
In a rare show of good sense, maybe we’ll finally let this go. I really wish it weren’t the most lasting image of Bret’s great career.
Tom Prichard to replace Bill DeMott as Deep South Wrestling’s head trainer
This is a curious move without any immediately obvious benefits.
WWE reportedly wants to hire Matt Sydal and Ruckus
This is obviously to keep them off of WSX, but I can’t imagine the ‘E using either well considering their size. With their new exposure, I’m sure TNA would be interested, and far more likely to use them well. Guys their sizes generally don’t get into the business for the paycheck.
According to 1wrestling, Steve Corino is planning to retire at year’s end
Lord I hope this is nonsense. Corino will never be appreciated by the majority of fans, but the indys, pre-TNA and pre-ROH were built around Corino, Daniels and AJ Styles. He kept things going and reaped the benefits better than most. I haven’t seen him live since the end of ECW and really would like to again before he retires, so if anyone knows if/when he’ll be in NY, drop me a line.
News of Honor
Morishima signs on with ROH for the first part of the
Morishima is viewed by many as the next big Japanese star in the vein of Kawada, Kobashi and Misawa so him coming over to face ROH’s best should be really special. In related news, looks like I’m going to Philly!
Latest ROH Video Wire features Jimmy Jacobs’ new video (see ROHvideos.com)
If you haven’t seen them, be sure to check out The Ballad of Lacey and Victory of Love, as well. All three are fantastic and show the character progression of Jacobs. Also included is a bit on the Joe-NOAH issue worth seeing. More on Jimmy Jacobs shortly.
11/24/06 “Black Friday Fallout” and 11/25/06 “Dethroned†are released
The first show is rather bad with a terrible crowd, but 11/25 in Edison is must see. There’s a buy 3 get one free sale on so now’s a great time to get caught up.
ROH to visit Japan in July for two shows, one with NOAH and one with Dragon Gate
Wow. Just wow. Danielson should be back by then. Kobashi should be back by then. KENTA, Marufuji and Morishima are there. Joe, Homicide, and Nigel are going over. This is special. Dragon Gate will be nice spot fests, but NOAH is where the money is. Oh, I almost forgot one guy- one of the best wrestlers ever- Mitsuharu Fucking Misawa.
Manhattan Center looks to sell out again on 2/16
I’ll be there if I have to crawl over each and every one of your bodies to get in. Just remember that. Don’t miss Joe-Morishima. It won’t be as good as Joe-Kobashi, but it’s still an amazing match and absolute must see dream match material.
Respondents of Honor
There are several deserving e-mails this week, but I have to go with my friend Stacy for this one, for sheer perfection of observation.
Well, knowing Stacy’s musical taste, I sent her the three Jimmy Jacobs songs (Ballad of Lacey, Victory of Love and Kiss to Kill should you wish to find them yourselves). She loved them and asked me who the artist was. I told her it was a wrestler. Here’s the exchange that followed:
Stacy: He should totally quit to just do music.
Aaron: I guess. He seems to really love wrestling. Most guys his size wouldn’t get into the business unless they really loved it.
Stacy: Well, is he any good?
Aaron: Very good, there’s just probably not any money in it for him because of his size.
Stacy: That doesn’t make any sense. If he’s good he should succeed. What difference does size make?
(After a few seconds, during which I’m laughing)
Stacy: Well, if you were 6’7†and 5142838 lbs would you be a better English Teacher?
So, Vince, if a non-wrestling fan can figure it out and wrestling fans have long known it since you’ve spent your entire life in the business, why don’t you know it?
This has been Respondents of Honor. Current Members are below. Want in? Send in a response in the next week to anything in the column.
JMull
Stacy J.
This Week on Pulse Wrestling
Vintastic discusses basically the same two things as my last two columns in a more conventional manner.
Biscuiti misses Bam Bam and dedicates a song.
Blatt basically crushes my intended column topic this week. While discussing ECW we discovered it was an MMA rip off, specifically Marquis Cor Von being a fairly blatant rip off of Mirko “Cro Crop†Filipovic. Since Blatt’s article is so well written, we’ll leave the topic entirely to him to develop as he sees fit in his ECW articles
Just like this excellent ECW commentary from Blatt. If he doesn’t examine what happened to the Japanese business after a shoot fixation soon in relation to the New ECW, I’m calling shenanigans though.
Bambi talks RAW as usual and doesn’t plug me as usual. I see how it is Weavil.
Clark considers Trip’s quad trouble to be karmic.
Scott Keith is back with a tribute rant to Bam Bam. Good, but has a been there done that feel to it since the Pulse posts his rant for WM 11 every year.
VS with both my bosses at the Pulse Widro and Matthew Michaels needs to be plugged. You don’t want to know what will happen if I don’t. They discuss the winner of the Rumble- HBK or The Undertaker. Good read and always good to hear from the boss but which boss?
Brashear goes long form on OVW and Johnny Jeter vs. Matt Cappotelli. Must read. You don’t get columns like this elsewhere.
The King is back!. Sir Eric takes us through his thoughts on Hitlary (who is a Republican in all but name), the Oscars, and, of course, RAW. Absolutely killer column.
The Link of Honor sees Danny Wallace run through all the Royal Rumble entrants and discuss each.
I will be doing the same list adding my own comments, but with one major difference. I will be adding in the ROH or TNA worker who could replace a guy at his current spot without a noticeable drop in anything really but name value.
A Modest Response – Rumblemania Kicks Off, The Participants and their Indie Counterparts
If you think this is a cheap way to get some Rumble commentary in while plugging the indies to WWE fans, well, you’re quite perceptive. Keep it up.
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton’s a top notch worker and one of the few young guys who can avoid becoming stale in ring while working the WWE Main Event Style. He’s in a tag team now, but looks to be a future main eventer. He doesn’t have much of a shot in this as a regular tag team workers, but a good showing would certainly help his credibility.
Comparison – Shelton’s in basically the same boat as Homicide in TNA. Both are great workers with varied skills, but are not perceived as ready yet for singles stardom so they get to be the main part of a major tag team.
Chris Benoit
Quite possibly still the best wrestler in the world today. He’s vicious and lacks nothing for credibility at this point. Unfortunately for him, he currently seems to be just a step or two below the top of the card and really could use something to push him over the top again. Sadly, this Royal Rumble will not be it.
Comparison – So, this is tough, but overall, I’d say AJ Styles. A guy who was previously on top, but for whatever reason seems to be stuck perpetually in the upper mid-card even when they’re some of the most over guys on the roster. AJ is a high flier and Benoit a technical star, but their spots and situations are eerily similar. Is it time for a Benoit heel turn as well?
Carlito
The face Yin to Chavo’s heel Yang. He can certainly be a great worker, although he doesn’t always show it and is perpetually in the upper mid-card. It would be a giant shock to see him win the Rumble, but he’s almost got enough credibility to make it viable. He continually rubs elbows with the Main Eventers and has the Pedigree to succeed. I don’t see him winning here, but I do see more involvement with Shawn Michaels and a greater rub in the future.
Comparison – Colt Cabana is a better version of Carlito. No wonder Eric hates them both. Cabana’s better on the mic, funnier and better in the ring. He’s even cooler. His comedy carries over in the ring really well, always making him a live favorite. I’d rather see him with Carlito’s spot today.
Super Crazy
I’m actually amused by his new speaking gimmick and it should get over. He’s basically a luchador with no mask and some name value from ECW. He won’t last long.
Comparison – El Generico the generic luchador is funnier and a better high flier than Crazy. In time he’ll likely be as good as crazy in the ring. Olay!
Tommy Dreamer
Or, as Blatt christened him, the Yonkers Brawler. He has no shot and probably can give more of a rub at this point out of the ring.
Comparison – And his career stays intertwined with that of Raven. A new age of extremists brought in by Dreamer would work at least as well as Raven’s new Flock under a different name.
Kenny Dykstra
The next big thing is only 20 years old. He’s working with and learning from Flair so they clearly have big plans for him, but it’s far too soon for those to come to fruition.
Comparison – The next big thing on the indie scene is Davey Richards. Davey is a lot smaller than Dykstra but has serious upper echelon worker potential. That’s the buzz word on both these guys though, potential, we’ll need to see if Dykstra becomes the next Triple H and Davey the next Benoit over time.
Edge
The Rated R Superstar has to be a dark horse here. Not for another match against Cena, that wouldn’t help buy rates, but for a change of plan brand jump title shot. Batista vs. Edge would certainly be interesting to say the very least. Edge is in an interesting spot as he’s finally being booked like a real main eventer and his entrance into this one should feel special for the first time ever.
Comparison – What you know about shrimp cocktail mah friend, huh? Jimmy Rave has come a long way since the Embassy in a very short time. A man with no direction for most of the year, when he finally found direction it took him straight to the main event, just like Edge. Both are fabulous heels as well and draw genuine hate from people.
Finlay
It’d be nice to see him get his due, but realistically, he’s a heel, and likely one not over enough for the win. Like Edge, a win for him could let him jump brands and fight Cena in a fresh matchup, but he might be too integral for Smackdown for that to be possible, let alone likely. This seems like the perfect spot for him to begin a feud that can carry through Wrestlemania.
Comparison – Old Man Finlay meet Old Man Daniels. The senior statesman of the indie circuit, Christopher Daniels is known to make sure everyone’s okay and comfortable so that they can bring their best, similar to a road agent’s role. They’ve both been everywhere and seen it all in the business. Both are phenomenal and often overlooked workers.
Ric Flair
Guys, come on, it’s Naitch. He isn’t winning, but he’s still Naitch.
Comparison – To be the man, you gotta beat the man, and baby, Naitch is the man. No comparison. Kurt Angle in his wildest dreams maybe.
Chavo Guerrero
Chavo needs that damn U.S. title, not a win here. A great worker, he’s too often overlooked because of the rather famous family and friends he runs with.
Comparison – Michael Shane, Maverick Matt, you pick a name. The guy can flat out go and needs out of Seratonin. Matt is HBK’s cousin, trained with Paul London, Brian Kendrick and Bryan Danielson, and is now under the wing of Raven. Way to get lost in the fold Matt. He deserves better and, while he isn’t quite as good as his brethren, he’s still pretty damn good.
Jeff Hardy
So much for the next HBK. Clearly, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, but there’s no shame in being a competent mid-carder for life. His daredevil act still allows for some amazing moments, but not a Rumble win.
Comparison – This is tough. Of everyone around, I’d probably go Jimmy Jacobs. They share the emo appeal, the ability and willingness to be daredevils, and a likelihood of never quite making the main event (Jimmy due to an unfortunate incident with the IWA-MS belt). Fortunately for indie fans, Jimmy is totally original, makes fantastic music, and is an awesome wrestler, all unlike Jeff, but still, he’s the closest comparison.
Matt Hardy
A personal favorite from his V1.0 days, Matt is pretty useless to the WWE unless the Hardyz reunion goes off, so zero chance here.
Comparison – Adam Pearce is a lifelong lower mid-carder. He does a lot better than those above him and when put in the right spot often gets over huge. Just as often, however, he looks lost and gets little to no heat. The styles are different, the situation the same.
Gregory Helms
A bit over-rated but still a very good worker. He’s a cruiser and not especially over, so it’s particularly unlikely he does anything but be eliminated quickly here.
Comparison – Gregory Helms meet BJ Whitmer. Both of you are consummate company men who’ve been around for quite a while and are just beginning to be appreciated for what they bring to the company. BJ puts his body on the line like few since Dreamer, but still, the comparison is apt.
Hardcore Holly
Hopefully it isn’t time for his yearly push and he’s quickly eliminated. I find him distasteful.
Comparison – Ricky Reyes is fairly similar in ring to Holly. Both guys are bruisers. They seem to be often pushed, much to the chagrin of their respective company’s fans, but neither is actively bad. Holly should have found a Rocky Romero to team with long ago.
Kane
The Big Red Machine lacks any direction at all, as usual. He’s a solid glue guy to help get over angles and keep the show together. He’s legitimate enough that no one will ignore him, without him being over enough to demand they find him something to do. No chance of a win here, although a big elimination by a young guy could start a good feud.
Comparison – Abyss is just like Kane. See above. Seriously, copy and paste it. Same exact thing applies.
King Booker
Often overlooked, rarely outdone, King Booker could conceivably challenge Cena for the belt. It likely won’t happen, but it isn’t the longest of long shots. He’s over and does what’s asked of him. He isn’t quite the worker he once was, but he’s still one of the better guys on the roster.
Comparison – Austin Aries is a former Ring of Honor champion and hugely over. He does whatever is asked of him and doesn’t seem hesitant to job. He’s a great worker and was given a silly gimmick to help him get over in TNA as Austin Starr. He fits Booker to a T.
Chris Masters
Chris got back on steroids and so is still gainfully employed. It’s almost an insult to even consider that he might have a chance.
Comparison – It’s almost an insult to compare anyone in the indies to him, but I suppose Tank Tolland will fit the bill. Both are ‘roid freaks who keep getting chances, thus appeasing a small, vocal minority (yes, a smaller and less vocal minority than the IWC).
Shawn Michaels
Shawn is always good for storybook stuff, and winning his third Rumble in his home town is storybook. I’d expect the win here, but not the Wrestlemania title shot. For that, a Four Way with Cena, Edge and Orton seems to fit the requisite star power and leave us with no real clue who might win. Good thing Shawn can still bring it in ring, with Cena and Orton, he and Edge will have to.
Comparison – Homicide in Ring of Honor is just like HBK. A fantastically over and totally unique performer, they both worked their way to the top of the card after Tag Team stints. Both arrived in the main event as heels, but were turned face due to the immense crowd support. The Notorious 187 is even close to the worker Shawn is at this point in Shawn’s career, which even now, is amazingly impressive.
The Miz
Oh, that guy.
Comparison – A Jason Blade type who’s signed occasionally to fill out the roster. Leave me alone, the Miz is an instant channel change. I actually like Blade, but most seem rather apathetic to him and his matches are very often a skip on the DVD.
Johnny Nitro
I actually wish he would win. He’s impressed me more and more each week and has clear star appeal. With the MNM reunion a win is unlikely, but still would be nice. He’s at least a fresh challenger for Cena.
Comparison – A Jack Evans look at me type. Both have immense charisma. Jack’s a better high flier than anyone, but Nitro is no slouch there, but their charisma and “watch what I’ll do next†is the basis for this comparison.
Randy Orton
On his way to the big one’s main event if I’m right. He’ll do something funky with Edge and Shawn here to set up the four way.
Comparison – He bores the crowd often as a heel tactic. He talks more shit than anyone should ever have a right too. He’s obnoxious, arrogant, and he backs it up. He’s Chris Hero.
MVP
Jobber boy ahoy. Supposedly he isn’t as bad as his WWE run has shown.
Comparison – Kevin Steen under whelmed in his only Ring of Honor appearances. He gets another shot in February. MVP keeps getting shots, just like Steen. Hopefully both produce.
CM Punk
My favorite person on the roster besides Michaels and Flair is CM Punk. A win here and a huge push would make me the happiest ROH Reviewer ever, but pissing off Arn and Finlay leaves little to no chance of that.
Comparison – Totally unique, gets most of the bigger pops on the show, a great worker, but doesn’t seem to have any direction Alex Shelley is the winner here. Punk’s more advanced at this point in there careers, but both are great.
Sabu
He’s over, but pisses off people in the back often. He has a mystique few can match and, despite, or because of his personality, has been criminally underrated throughout his career overlooked for guys like RVD and Taz. Sabu is one of the most influential performers of his generation. He won’t win.
Comparison – Low Ki, or Senshi if you prefer, has always been over. He has a mystique few can match and, despite, or because of his personality, he has been criminally underrated throughout his career, passed over for guys like AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. Low Ki is one of the most influential performers of his generation.
The Great Khali
Ah, well, he might win. Don’t just leave me alone about it.
Comparison – Much like Bryan Danielson, he might be the best worker of his generation and is capable of a broomstick act with nearly anyone. Okay, you got me, I just wanted an excuse to mention Danielson. Next.
Kevin Thorne
I’m in the minority who don’t think he’s so bad. I actually wish he were pushed more. The fake vampire with a hot valet works out surprisingly well, and in ring he reminds me of
Comparison – Brent Albright. He was also saddled with a questionable gimmick, but is a hard hitter and hard worker who once was reasonably over. A shame about the misuse, useful mid-carders don’t grow on trees.
The Undertaker
The only man with anywhere near the presence and credibility of Michaels and Flair in this match. He has to be a favorite due to the heavily rumored Batista Wrestlemania main event. If he’s motivated, you could do worse.
Comparison – The only man in the indies to come close to matching the presence of The Undertaker is Samoa Joe. He’s the independent circuit’s resident monster and has a presence about him that carries over no matter where he goes. He’s also quite agile and fast moving for a big man and has very good timing for his no-sells. All of those are things ‘taker has built a career around.
Rob Van Dam
Always underappreciated and the best he’s been in his career after carrying Test and Holly to great matches, Rob Van Dam doesn’t appear long for the WWE. He’s unhappy with his depush after a drug bust and may just leave. No shot of winning here, but still, so over as to be interesting to watch.
Comparison – A unique charisma and upper card spot he doesn’t really want leave him quite close to Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio tried running to the ‘E, while RVD is trying to run away, but both are in awkward spots in their unique situations.
Viscera
Here to be eliminated and make someone look strong in the process.
Comparison – He’s fat naked oily guy from TNA. At least Visc wear’s clothes. At least oily was never pushed.
There you have it! a full Royal Rumble Rundown complete with an introduction to some major independent stars. Please give some of these guys a shot. You can find work from pretty much all of them at ROHwrestling.com where they’re running a $10 DVD sale. Go give it a shot.
Ring of Honor Preview – January 26 in Braintree, MA
The first Ring of Honor show of the year has traditional not been so hot, but this year well, they stacked the card. Let’s see what we’ve got.
World Title Match
Homicide(c) vs. Chris Hero with Agent Larry Sweeney
Homicide is the new champion and the most over man in the company since the heyday of the Joe title run. Hero, the main heel from the CZW invasion, is an evil man who gets the title shot by virtue of his agent’s wheeling and dealing. The outcome isn’t really in doubt, but the road there should be a lot of fun. Super face vs. Super heel.
Winner – Homicide
2/3 Falls Match
Aries and Strong vs. The Briscoes
The two best tag teams in the world go 2/3 falls. They feuded for a bit in 2006 with Aries and Strong as champions. The Briscoes view this as their shot at revenge, which they should get here. My pick for match of the night and an early Match of the Year Candidate.
Winner – The Briscoes
Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness
Nigel has been defending Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he tours, while Joe has been running down the promotion he sees as invading his house, Ring of Honor. Joe has a huge match with Morishima coming up and needs momentum going in, while Nigel has been ice cold, losing match after match to Jimmy Rave, who he faces the next night. This should distract Nigel enough for Joe to get the win.
Winner – Samoa Joe
No DQ Mixed Tag Match
Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer and Daizee Haze vs. Jimmy Jacobs, Brent Albright and Lacey
The debut of a more deranged Jimmy Jacobs. Jimmy loves Lacey. Lacey was spurned by Cabana and hates BJ. Jimmy injured BJ and BJ wants revenge. Albright is a hired assassin. This should be a gore fest with Jacobs coming out ahead due to his new vicious streak shown in the Kiss2Kill video.
Winner – Jimmy Jacobs, Brent Albright and Lacey
Davey Richards vs. Rocky Romero
These two have supposedly put on quite the shows over at PWG. Romero is returning and could use a win to get this return underway the right way. An outside shot to steal the show, but this likely doesn’t have those kind of legs consider where on the card it is.
Winner – Romero
Christopher Daniels vs. Shingo vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Jason Blade
This is just to keep the guys booked on the card on the show. I see Shingo taking the win here. He hasn’t been doing well lately and could use the push up the card beating guys the caliber of Rave and Daniels.
Delirious and Pelle Primeau vs. Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn
Better than you think it’ll be. All these guys are consummate professionals and will go out and tell a good story with a good, if formula match. Delirious and Pelle could use some revenge here to get them a bit of heat back and warm up the crowd.
Winner – Delirious and Pelle
Jack Evans vs. Eddie Edwards
Jack’s back! Poor Eddie gets Aries in his first match and now a returning Jack Evans. He doesn’t have a prayer.
Winner – Jack Evans
Overall a show to see with the big returns and a big speech from Homicide on winning the title that should be absolutely hilarious. Briscoes vs. Aries Strong 2/3 falls nearly had me traveling farther than is sane for this show. If you’re in the area there’s no excuse to not see this.
And Night 2 is even better
Ring of Honor Preview- January 27 in Edison, NJ “Battle of the Iconsâ€Â
I’m in the house for this one. When you see the main event, you’ll know why and actually, I think we’ll save it for last.
I Quit Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
Ice cold vs. Lava hot, Jimmy has had Nigel’s number for the past few months. Rave should be able to continue his streak here fighting a Nigel weakened by Joe to maintain momentum going into his title match at the next show.
Winner – Jimmy Rave
Last Man Standing
Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
Oh happy day! This feud is finally winding down. I can’t wait for this absolutely brutal gorefest that’s sure to go all over the building. Jimmy has something to prove to Lacey, and revenge driven or not, BJ has got to be worried about what sick ideas Jimmy can come up with.
Winner – Jimmy Jacobs
Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans vs. Delirious, Davey Richards, and Shingo
Gen Next Reunion! It just gets better and better for this one. Replace Shingo with Sydal and you’d actually have Gen Now vs. Gen Next in another form, again. I can’t imagine the reunited Generation Next losing here, but will mark out hugely to see them together again.
Winners – Generation Next- Aries, Strong and Evans
The Briscoes vs. Reyes and Romero
The best tag teams of 2004 reunited to do battle again. Reyes and Romero are better together than they are apart and while I’m not the biggest Reyes fan, he can be brought up to the level of the other amazing workers in this match. There are no other tag matches on this card for a reason. They’d pale in comparison. Time to man up. A rusty, just reunited team isn’t beating Jay and Mark.
Winner – The Briscoes
Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Claudio is a man without a country nowadays. Former Kings of Wrestling partner Chris Hero left Claudio to side with Larry Sweeney and the ROH locker room has not forgotten Claudio’s betrayal during the CZW war. This could be a giant swerve to take out Daniels, one half of the tag champions, but either way this should be a great match with Daniels between the two former best friends.
Winner – Chris Hero
Lacey and Brent Albright vs. Daizee Haze and Colt Cabana
Colt has defeated Albright in singles already and Daizee seems to get her butt kicked by the men regularly. I’d see Brent getting his win back here, likely after destroying Daizee.
Winners – Lacey and Albright
Adam Pearce vs. Pelle Primeau
Oh dear, poor Pelle is facing one of the bigger men on the roster with no masked lizard-men to save him, this should be quite the beating.
Winner – Pearce
And the Main Event
ROH World Title Match
Homicide (c) vs. Samoa Joe
Homicide really should finally beat Joe, although Joe has completely owned him in Ring of Honor thus far. Joe, as champion, beat Homicide time and again and drove him a bit insane in the process. Homicide, now a face and champion, will look to show he’s just as good as Joe and it was merely the champions advantage that kept Joe on top for so long. This is, in Homicide’s words, the Ring of Honor Mega Powers time for Wrestlemania V then!
Winner – Homicide
If you’re within three hours, come see this show. You hear me Andy? Come see this show! Goodness, I’m excited about this.
Upon Further Review
Well, my fiancée picked me a DVD at random and I got World Title Classic. You ROH fans know what that means: the first in the Epic Trilogy. Joe vs. Punk I
World Title Classic
6/12/04
Dayton, Ohio
ROH World Title Match
Samoa Joe (c) vs. CM Punk
At this point Punk is a tweener, one half of the tag champs with Colt Cabana. He really isn’t on Joe’s level in the fans view. Joe has been the champion for 15 months at this point and looks unbeatable. The crowd is hyped.
Les Thatcher comes out to give Joe the new Ring of Honor World Title Belt.
Lockups start and go nowhere. Punk gets an early advantage and gives Joe a clean break in the corner. He’s cocky in doing it though, setting up his baiting of Joe. The feeling out process continues.
They go to the mat and Joe shows an advantage there, but he then breaks clean. Joe gets another advantage and breaks clean once again, but shows himself to be cocky the way he lets Punk up.
Punk grabs a headlock and begins working it to ensure Joe can’t work his strikes. Joe keeps attempting to strike while Punk wears him down with the headlock. The strategy is clearly to make the big man work more than he’s used to.
Joe finally gets strikes on Punk and takes him down to gain control. That doesn’t last long, just as Punk begins to be worn down; he goes back to the headlock.
Joe gets up and now he’s taunting the proud challenger Punk into going into the ropes with a shoulder block. Punk cannot move Joe, but a sucker punch allows the shoulder tackle to work for Punk. He had seemingly been playing Joe’s game, but it was just bait to regain advantage.
They begin trading moves quickly, but both men are unable to get anything more high impact than an arm drag. Joe eventually tries a big kick, but Punk avoids that. They stare each other down for a while. The announcers wisely note that Punk gave Joe too long to recover during the stare down. Why will become apparent later on.
They go knuckle lock and Joe begins striking. Punk covers up in the corner and the ref breaks them up. Blocking those strikes causes Joe to expend energy while letting Punk conserve some.
Punk, playing mind games, goes back to the knuckle lock. Punk, of course, is out powered. Punk rolls out and attempts to go to the mat. Joe powers out and sets Joe up for the facewash. Punk rolls away to the floor for a breather.
Punk begins arguing with a fan in the crowd who’s pulling for Joe. Punk back in and covers up while Joe strikes again. The ref again separates the two men. Joe got a lot more through that time.
Punk senses the match getting away from him and so goes back to the headlock. Joe finally has to roll to the floor to escape. Out on the floor Joe looks tired and spent trying to figure out CM Punk.
Joe wanders over to a fan and gets the Punk symbol in his face. Joe threatens hitting the fan who flinches like crazy and high fives the other fans in mocking. Punk goes to the floor and fakes giving the same fan a handshake. They both go back to the ring and the crowd loves it.
They go to shake hands and Punk goes right back to the side headlock. Joe escapes and goes for a combo, but again Punk dodges and goes with a chin lock to further wear Joe down. Punk has established that he’s keeping the pace under control and making Joe wrestle a long match he’s unaccustomed to.
Joe goes for a chop-kick-knee combo, but this time he hits it, expecting Punk’s dodge. Joe hits a delayed vertical suplex, but held Punk up, which further tires Joe out even on offense. He hasn’t adjusted himself to go long and goes back to strikes on Punk in the corner.
Punk, naturally, again covers up. Punk goes with a finger to the eye and grabs another headlock for Joe to struggle to escape from. The announcers realize Punk is using the old rope-a-dope, letting Joe punch himself out and picking up the pieces afterwards.
Punk begins to dominate and starts using heelish tactics like choking Joe and rubbing his eyes on the ropes. Joe and Punk end up rolling to the floor and exchanging strikes. Punk’s strategy is falling apart with Joe smashing Punk on the floor.
Joe goes for the Olay Olay kick but Punk has it scouted and reverses it. Punk tries to Olay Olay Joe, but Joe gets up and Punk quickly retreats to the ring.
They finally begin striking each other in the middle of the ring and Joe absolutely destroys Punk, knocking him to the floor with a forearm. Joe hits a tope to the floor. Joe now tries to hit the Olay Olay Kick, but Punk counters with an elbow.
Punk goes for a ‘rana but gets swung into the guardrail. Olay Olay Kick finally connects and Punk is in serious trouble. Punk gets hit with a second Olay Kick. Joe gets in the ring and appears to be catching his breath. Punk drags himself to the apron.
Joe in the ring connects with a huge sidewalk slam. Samoa Joe unloads again and hits the facewash. This is Joe’s match; how he won all those title defenses. Joe goes for a leg scissors and tries to put Punk to sleep.
That move doesn’t end it so Joe goes back to strikes in the corner. Punk finally with a counter top rope cross body and he begins kicking Joe in the face, but the third big boot knocks Joe down.
Punk in control, uses a cross leg submission. Joe uses his head to escape, literally, and Punk seems out of it. Both men begin chopping each other and Punk actually wins because Joe is so tired.
Punk continues to wear down Joe, but can’t keep him down for three. Punk mocks Joe, but that wakes Joe up enough to hit a back suplex and both men are down.
Punk up and manages a sleeper hold, but Punk can’t lock it in well enough. The sleeper is locked in for a long while. Joe struggles mightily to fight out and Joe manages an escape and hits a Pele kick to knock Punk down. Both men are out again.
Joe crushes Punk’s back with a back breaker and locks in a Boston Crab. Punk quickly makes the ropes. Joe kicks the crap out of Punk again and gets murdered with a running knee. Joe puts Punk up top.
Punk fights Joe off the top and nails a fling elbow for two. Punk puts Joe on the top and drops him hard with a back suplex. That took so much energy that neither man can move and we have another double count.
Punk up first in control but he runs into the powerslam combo into a cross armbreaker, but Punk gets the ropes. Joe with the powerbomb into a STF combo, but again Punk gets the ropes. Punk will not lose!
Punk finally counters with a Yakuza kick out of desperation. He puts Joe at the top and nails a top rope hurricanrana for two. Both men are out of breath and Punk is struggling up to follow up.
Mule kick and Pepsi Twist get two and they fight back and forth for an advantage. Joe manages a rolling cradle for two. Punk almost gets three with a crucifix, but Joe KILLS Punk with a lariat. The announcers believe it’s over but Joe takes so long it only gets two.
Both man are up, several reversals and Punk KILLS Joe with a Shining Wizard. That too only gets two.
More reversals and Joe attacks the knees again. He locks in a single leg crab. Both men head up top. Punk sets up for the Pepsi Plunge and connects, but landing on his knees causes Punk to roll to the floor.
By the time Punk gets back in Joe is on his feet and they clothesline each other. Punk hits another Shining Wizard and Punk goes on the offensive, but Punk hits a dragon screw and both men are down. Two minutes remain!
Joe and Punk begin fighting on the top and Joe nails Punk with a reverse DDT from the top. One minute remains!
They begin striking each other. Punk hits a DDT! Can he get the pin? Joe manages to get out and time expires!
Samoa Joe and CM Punk go to a draw (60 Minute Time Limit, ****1/2)
Good god that match is great. It took me about two hours to write up the review and the story they told is fabulous. From Punk’s attempts at controlling the time to Joe refusing to alter his strategy except to attack the injured knee, to how they sold every bit of offense and effort they were expending. If you think wrestling is about big moves, then this is not your match. This is two masters telling a story.
The story of the match is built around Punk’s strategy. He wears down Joe and controls the time. Joe finishes most matches in 15 to 25 minutes so wearing him down gives Punk, who often goes long, an advantage. Punk avoids big moves because while those lead to big payoffs, a counter can lead to a huge downfall. Those pitfalls are the kind of thing Punk could not afford. The main way Punk killed time was working the headlock. This part of the match ran for 40 or so minutes.
After about that time, Joe was clearly winded, but his powerful offense had also taken its toll on Punk. Punk also, unfortunately for him, hurt his knee while trying to lessen the brunt of Joe’s offense. Joe, seeing that, made his only strategic alteration of the match to attack the knee.
Near the end, it appeared that Punk had Joe beat. He was getting the better of most exchanges and even hit the Pepsi Plunge, but his knee betrayed him and the pain of the move caused him to fall to the floor.
The last few minutes were too exausted and worn down men doing their best to absorb their opponents offense and dish back what they could. Every big move left each man so exausted, however, that they could not get the pin in time. As time ran out, both warriors simply collapsed.
After the match Homicide runs in and steals the new belt, destroying Joe in the process. Thus in one match, three legends are made.
Remember to check back this weekend for Ring of Honor results and commentary.
Good Day everyone. This is Pulse Glazer, the Ring of Honor Reviewer; honored to have gotten to cover that match.
