Moments Ago: Who Deserves Another Shot?

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Over the weekend Cheech and Cloudy, Deranged, and Eddie Kingston all got the proverbial second chance to make a first impression. Also former Ring of Honor competitors Matt Bentley (aka Michael Shane and ugh Martyr) and Jerry Lynn have received their walking papers from TNA. All of this got me thinking about whom else deserves another shot in Ring of Honor. There are several athletes to choose from. Theoretically anyone from RoH’s past could be considered for a second go around in Ring of Honor. I am going to pick a select few wrestlers and also decide whether they deserve a shot on the main show, like Deranged received, or a pre-show tryout match, like Cheech and Cloudy.

The wrestlers currently active on the American Independent scene that most deserve a second look are “Reckless Youth” Tom Carter, “Hurricane” John Walters, Jerry Lynn, Michael Shane, and Puma.

“Reckless Youth” Tom Carter

Tom Carter was one of the pillars of the independent scene in the late 90s and early 00s. He is also the co-founder of Chikara with Mike Quackenbush. From a technical aspect Carter can wrestle circles around a large number of the current Ring of Honor roster. That is not a slight against the current roster, it is just that with the exception of Dragon, Nigel, and Hero there are few truly great technicians on the roster, as many of the stars right now are more strike based, brawlers, or high flyers. Reckless could also provide a lot of experience and guidance to what is currently a very young roster, even by RoH standards.

Carter also has an uncanny knack for drawing the crowds into his matches and telling a great story regardless of hype or build. He had a near classic with the much reviled Matt Stryker at the original “Do or Die” that had the Philly fans embroiled in dueling chants. Stryker was still a relative newcomer at the time, and despite his reputation it was one of, if not, Carter’s first appearances in RoH.

Carter would be wasted on a pre-show; he is way too much of an established name in the independents to wrestle Ernie Osiris in a four minute match to prove his worth. He could even fit into Jack Evans stable and provide the veteran leadership that neither team really has. Granted; Aries, Evans and Strong have all been in RoH about the same length of time, but none of them, except maybe Aries are veterans in the truest sense of the word.

Tom Carter would be a benefit to any independent wrestling federation out there today.

“Hurricane” John Walters

Walters was the first Pure Champion to have a truly great defense, namely his first against Nigel at All Star Extravaganza 2. He took some much needed time off from the wrestling scene to recharge his batteries, and it paid off. He has recently been wrestling around New England and for 2CW in Syracuse, NY. He has endeared himself to those fans.

Now some might say that he did get another shot when Ring of Honor at “Honor Reclaims Boston.” He impressed at the show against Nigel, admittedly when Nigel was on a role. So, if you want to be technical, consider this a second chance since his return to the business. Walters may be lacking in the charisma department on the mic, but he has great facial expressions in the ring, and pulls fans into the match. He may get lost in the shuffle, but I think another chance to prove himself, especially outside of Boston is more than deserving.

Walters is a guy I could see getting a shot on a pre-show against a guy like Rhett Titus or Shane Hagadorn, or some of the students with a little more size. He could also take Jason Blades place and team with Eddie Edwards to add to the lacking tag team division. They have the New England connection so why not give him another shot.

Jerry Lynn

Jerry Lynn is an elder statesman on the independent scene, and a veteran’s presence is always welcome. He can still go at an alarming rate. Also, he was always over with the RoH crowd. A lot of this could be due to his ECW accomplishments, but he stayed over with his in ring work.

I really don’t need to go into much detail about Lynn’s utility in Ring of Honor. He could form a tag team with just about anyone and give a viable challenge to the Briscoes. He could challenge Morishima for the world title. He could challenge Bryan Danielson and put on a clinic in great wrestling.

Much like Reckless it would be silly to suggest that Jerry Lynn would have to prove himself on a pre-show. The hardest part would be choosing just what role Lynn would fill, but I do not think anyone would object to his presence on the roster.

Michael Shane

If he leaves the Bentley Bounce, the whole Seratonin get up, and ideally the name Matt Bentley behind him I think he could be a welcome addition to the Ring of Honor roster. He was arguably one of the wrestlers to choose TNA over RoH, but he could easily come back to Philadelphia with something to prove.

I doubt it will be the case, but he could fit nicely into the “Abused Society/Project 161” gimmick that is running at the moment. He could claim that he was pushed aside in Ring of Honor, and played second fiddle to Steve Corino and Samoa Joe in the group, and never got his chance to shine.

The other role I could see Shane filling is as a member of Jack Evans’ stable. Now, hear me out on this. The feud between the Resilience, the No Remorse Corps, and Jack Evans’ impending “crew” has been high risk, high incident, and high violence. In the early days of RoH what match had high risk, high incidents, and high violence? It was of course Michael Shane vs. Paul London from Unscripted. This match was the standard by which high incident matches were judged in Ring of Honor for a long time. Jack could choose Shane to help mentor his team in what it takes to go to the lengths needed to win. This is probably not the best role for him but it is a possibility. He is more of a pure heel, and Jack is one of the hardest men to boo on the RoH roster today. Still the two of them could form an interesting dynamic.

Shane may have the stink of TNA on him, and that could hurt him. I think it would be interesting to see him work a pre-show and have it play into his feelings of being misused and mistreated, but in reality he should debut on the main show, and be given a permanent spot on the roster.

Puma/TJ Perkins

I think Puma will follow the tradition of El Generico and Kevin Steen and have that one great match that will cement him as a full time member of the roster. He is as sound in the ring as anyone on the lower end of the card in RoH, and has played a cocky heel and underdog face to good affect around the country.

Puma should be a guy that climbs from the bottom of the card up to the main event, if he should make it that far. He has the training and the tools to be a big star, and Ring of Honor may be the ideal stage for him to show it. He is the type of guy that, as I said, just needs that one shining moment to break through. At the moment, there are a lot of wrestlers in similar places on the roster, but why not add another to the mix and see which one is the cream that rises to the top.

In Conclusion

I would love to hear what my readers think about my choices for who deserves a second chance and what other wrestlers I may have missed or intentionally ignored.

Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Links

You should probably take a look at mine and Aaron’s review for the shows this past weekend, which were stellar, and would be stand out shows were it not for the awesome run Ring of Honor has been having this year.

Also in the triumphant return ofVS. Pulse Glazer and Chris Sicoli talk mostly about Ring of Honor.

I guess that will do it for this week.

I’ll see you next time