News of Honor
Matt Sydal will be signing a WWE developmental contract
Matt is a very good worker when he wants to be with all the potential in the world, but it’s difficult to see this working out for him due to his extremely small size. He makes guys like AJ Styles look huge.
This is, on the other hand, very good for ROH. ROH has an overabundance of guys who, like Sydal, specialize in high spots from Jack Evans to the Chikarmy, so that this move opens up more bookings and a roster spot for someone who works a different style. This also opens up a spot in Larry Sweeney’s stable, which should be fun as it allows someone to turn on the currently hot Claudio and gain instant heat and credibility. Plus, Sydal should be really hyped up for his final matches and put on great performances.
8/25 in NYC is named “Manhattan Mayhem IIâ€Â
Usually this wouldn’t be huge news but the first Manhattan Mayhem is one of the best ROH show’s ever, in everyone’s top five or better. This show has just about every feud featured and should be something special.
Aries might add new members to the Resilience
On 8/24 in a 6 man match if Jason Blade, Eddie Edwards or Pelle Primeau can pin a Resilience member, they will then take that members place in the group. Since the Resilience have been so unsuccessful this should be useful. I’d like to see Stevens lose so he could join Jack’s stable and get a major push.
The $10 Ticket and DVD Sale is in effect
I don’t usually advertise sales, but this one is, as always too good to pass up. Suggestions for this time are: All Star Extravaganza, One Year Anniversary, Night of the Grudges, Wrestlerave ’03, Bitter Friends Stiffer Enemies, ROH Reborn Stage 1 and 2, World Title Classic, Joe vs. Punk II, Midnight Express Reunion, All Star Extravaganza 2, Final Battle ’04, Escape from NY, Redemption, The Homecoming, Punk: The Final Chapter, Fourth Anniversary Show, Better Than Our Best, 100th Show, Death Before Dishonor IV, Generation Now, and Unified. This is the most stacked sale in ROH history. Take advantage of it.
This Week on Inside Pulse
Iain answers questions. Check him out.
Phil Clark discusses Maivia vs. Helmsley. That’s the Rock and Triple H for anyone really new or oblivious.
Brashear writes about David Young. I don’t really care that Young exists, but Brashear’s still quality.
A Modest Response: Jimmy Rave, Roderick Strong, and Chris Hero
Jimmy Rave: The Selfless Heel
Most heels nowadays fall into one of two camps: You have the Monster heels, like Umaga or Khali and you have the flashy, cocky heels as popularized by HBK and the NWO, where most heels now fall from Triple H to Kevin Steen. These two types get all the credit, get noticed and pushed, but there is another, different kind of heel that can be even more valuable.
That is the cowardly, self-satisfied heel. This heel will do anything to make an opponent look great, but is almost never noticed. There is no flash to distract from the face looking good, which is how the face gets more over. He is the one doing the cool stuff, looking good, while the cowardly heel has to be cheap, to take shortcuts, to injure and re-attack an injured body part, use distractions, weapons, etc. These draw heat to the heel, but that heat is hate not tinged with any liking. It creates hate for the heel and sympathy for the face. This heel won’t stand out, won’t get credit, but a long line of faces who look stronger, who look like supermen is their credit. This is Jimmy Rave.
There are a lot of workers who work the same match whether on match 2 or in the main event. These workers will put on flashy matches with the same intensity anywhere on the card. This lends itself to a disjointed feel for most shows, since everything can’t be a supercard and playing “top this” every show leads to unreal expectations which can kill a company. Jack Evans is the epitome of this, but most are guilty to some extent.
There are other kinds of wrestlers though. The kind that wrestles exactly to the match type and placement on the card. Match 2 does not need the same intensity as a semi-main event, which isn’t the same as a main event or blood feud. This wrestler will be forgotten and thought average because they keep the card moving and make for a solid all around show without necessarily creating a classic. They will again make others look good, this time not even in their matches, but in the process make the show feel rounded and prevent anyone from having to kill themselves to get over. This kind of wrestler is absolutely pivotal for any promotion. This is Jimmy Rave.
Jimmy Rave is the most underrated wrestler around, a Top 5-7 ROH worker and if not in ROH the Top Indy worker who isn’t contracted to either them or TNA. He’s exactly what’s needed to build a feud, to build a face, and to build a card with smart matches, great psychology and making people have sympathy for the faces. That’s pure quality.
Roderick Strong: The Perfect Turn
As a heel, Roderick does a lot right, as well. He began as a face who was noticed due to his high impact backbreakers and chops. This flash, when combined with his ever improving skill in the ring, more than covered up a rather generic persona. Years of success, a classic series with Bryan Danielson and a nearly year long tag title run left him primed to take the next step and add major character to his repertoire since there’s only so far in ring skills will take you before some character development is needed. It’s worth noting that Roderick is considered by the veterans of the locker room to be a sponge that sucks up useful knowledge, so it should not be a surprise what followed.
What followed was the best executed heel turn in company history. Aries and Strong, after being defeated during a tag title shot where Aries was hurt, became no more when Strong, with the help of Davey Richards attacked Aries. This worked brilliantly for several reasons. First was that Aries is wildly over and the NYC crowd was rabid so they ate it up. This atmosphere for the initial turn makes it feel important and cannot be recreated. Next, importantly is that Strong did not turn on Aries alone. He attacked him only with the help of Davey Richards, making it clear that he was a coward to be hated. Strong’s heel turn was off to a great start.
For his next several matches Strong all but eliminated his chops and backbreakers, but did so while teasing them. Teasing these crowd pleasing moves antagonized the crowd who began chanting “Rooooooderick†at him. This visibly bothered Strong, making sure the chants continued and he drew no face heat by refusing to do these trademark maneuvers. Since he was in the ring with major faces like Delirious and Aries and no tweeners for a while, it was easy to get behind the guys making sure to do high impact moves and against the coward who was using help to weaken opponents and ran from them when it was one on one.
The last major success of the heel turn came in the personality of Roderick Strong. It took a bit to develop, but not merely a generic cocky character, Strong became the smug jock who was brave around his friends, in this case the No Remorse Corps, but was unable to deal with the situation when he had to stand alone.
The running and lack of big moves did not last forever. Once he had established his persona and was truly hated, Roderick went back to much of his former style, if being a bit more methodical, but kept the personality and let that, plus the established memory of the fans hate make him the most hated heel on the roster.
Chris Hero
Chris Hero is a cool heel done right. He’s loud and brash, flipping all over the ring, but still remains clearly on the side of evil. All of his flips and fancy maneuvers never amount to anything high impact. His style has become a parody of the indies mat work and spot monkeys, except Hero doesn’t use these moves to pop the crowd, but to mock what they enjoy. Chris Hero, however, posses, a unique enough charisma that despite this mockery, he is still greatly enjoyed.
Currently Hero is the centerpiece of Sweet and Sour Incorporated and has gone from the most hated men on the roster to one of the most enjoyed villains on the indies. When Chris Hero debuted in Ring of Honor it was as the spokesperson and leader of the CZW team that battled ROH in 2006. The hardcore leader, however, left little doubt that he was the heel in this, regardless of which side you took. Hero, far from flashy, either worked a slow mix of brawling and European wrestling or took fabulous beatings. In the violent, crowd pleasing war between the two companies, Chris Hero was easy to hate.
When CZW lost the war, Chris Hero joined by Claudio Castagnoli, brought the Kings of Wrestling to Ring of Honor. The cocky team immediately won the tag belts and remained hated as outsiders who would do what they wanted with the belts. This disrespect of the coveted tag titles so recently elevated by Austin Aries and Roderick Strong left Hero nearly as despised as during the CZW war, yet flashy double teams were slowly winning the crowd over to his side.
When the Kings of Wrestling ended, the fans seemed, and still sometimes seem almost ready to turn Hero face, regardless of his personality. This is because of the great amount of flash he has added to his character, from the entrance pose with his stable to flipping all over the ring to hit simple (if any) moves. This is all fun and gets the crowd behind him even though he cheats, but the realization that Hero, amusing though he is, is laughing at the crowd, not with them, keeps him a firm heel, even if one the audience greatly enjoys and has trouble despising. That, after all, is the true brilliance of Chris Hero: The crowd wants to love him and sees his redeeming features. He just won’t let them.
Weekend Previews for 8/24 in Hartford, CT and 8/25 for NYC, NY
Caged Rage, 8/24 in Hartford
ROH World Tag Team Title Steel Cage Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
At Death Before Dishonor weekend Steen and Generico absolutely dominated the Briscoes. Their match at Night 1 was great and these guys really know how to put together a flashy brawl. This should, at the very least be that. With a rematch tomorrow look for Steen and Generico to steal the victory here to add drama to Saturday’s 2/3 falls match. This should be a serious MOTYC.
Winner – Steen and Generico
Steel Cage Match
Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
These two have fun chemistry. Jack is willing to bend in interesting ways and take a great beating from Roderick, but the matches will never be truly great until Jack remembers to sell that beating when he goes back on offense. Jack needs more impetus to form his stable and Strong winning here provides that in what should be a flashy, fun match.
Winner – Roderick Strong
ROH World Title Elimination Match
Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
Both men took Morishima to the limit in great matches at Death Before Dishonor Weekend, but here the champion looks to be too much for them. Claudio is embroiled in a blood feud with former partner Chris Hero and will likely be distracted, while Albrights best, two half-nelson suplexes were not enough to fell Morishima. Still, this is guaranteed to be very good and might be the best looking three way in the company since Homicide vs. Joe vs. Punk.
Winner – Takeshi Morishima.
Bryan Danielson vs. PAC
This is Pac’s American ROH debut and he should come off looking great facing Dragon who can carry anyone to something near ****. Danielson formerly had a match with Jack Evans which was spent testing the limits of Jack’s flexibility. This should match that, but should be as separate from the Evans-Strong cage match as possible so as not to show that up. Danielson is not losing with a title match the next night.
Winner – Bryan Danielson
Four Corner Survival
Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Adam Pearce
I see something involving Project 161 here. Pearce should win to further his insane mentor gimmick.
Winner – Adam Pearce
Hallowicked vs. Chris Hero
These two have faced off in Chikara and the results are good. Hallow is fairly similar to Claudio in how the match builds, so this should be a nice way to see how tomorrow’s Claudio vs. Hero match will shape up. Hallowicked has no shot at winning but hopefully is impressive enough to earn a full time roster spot. He deserves it.
Winner – Chris Hero
Austin Aries, Erick Stevens & Matt Cross vs. Jason Blade, Eddie Edwards & Pelle Primeau
If anyone pins a Resilience member, they replace that member in the group. I’m rooting for Eddie Edwards to pin Stevens. Stevens should be in Jack’s group to recreate all those fun double teams Evans and Strong used to have, while Andy Mac swears by Edwards and I’d like to see more of him. It’s more likely that Aries loses here as it would be unpredictable and add fun to the angle.
Winner – Blade, Edwards, and Pelle.
Manhattan Mayhem II, 8/25 in NYC
ROH World Title Match
Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson
The first two Pay Per Views lead up to Bryan Danielson dethroning Takeshi Morishima. Well, here Danielson should accomplish this and it should be taped for the PPV.
Winner – Bryan Danielson
ROH World Tag Team Title-2/3 Falls Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
The Briscoes specialty is these matches and they have nowhere to go should they lose here, while Steen and Generico have a lot to add to the singles ranks. The Briscoes will win, but Steenerico will take them to three falls and then break up.
Winners – The Briscoes
Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans
Generation Next explodes in one dream match. Hopefully Aries is healthy enough to glue this together since I’m not sure Strong is up to the task since he’s has a surprising lack of three ways that I can recall. Evans should win here to get his heat back from the night before, maybe recruiting Aries for his stable if he is booted from the Resilience.
Winner – Jack Evans
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero
The Kings of Wrestling Explode. We’re still in the heat building segment of this feud so Hero should escape with a win through nefarious means.
Winner – Chris Hero
Davey Richards vs. PAC
Davey has been great and intense lately. This can be a matchup of future main eventers. Davey works particularly well with fliers and on a less stellar show, this would be a threat to steal it. Look for PAC to win, barring NRC interference. Pac might join Jack’s stable.
Winner – PAC
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer
I think something will occur the night before to ensure this match does not occur. If it does, these two former Les Thatcher workers will hit hard, but Nigel will prevail.
Winner – Nigel
Matt Cross & Erick Stevens vs. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw
This is Quack’s last ROH booking for the year and he and Jigsaw are a really great team. Cross and Stevens will be winning, as they will be on their own from here on without Aries.
Winners – Cross and Stevens
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for all this weekend’s results.
