The Ring of Honor Wrestler of the Year is up for discussion with only four months remaining in the year. Come join the best ROH coverage on the net for every good, great and classic match by every contender for ROH MVP!
News of Honor
Live Reviews from last weekends shows are up, including the second best match of the year!
Danielson and Morishima tore the house down, the Briscoes were good but not great, and the CT crowd is amazingly terrible.
Bryan Danielson detached his retina in a match against Takeshi Morishima
He’s out 4-6 weeks, has a 90% chance of recovering his vision, but there’s a chance it will be blurry. Get well soon Dragon, with a full recovery.
Pelle Primeau hurt his back at his regular job and will miss time
Get better soon Pelle. The smallest guy in the locker room really has come a long way and I look forward to his ROH return.
Legend Mitsurharu Misawa is confirmed for 11/2 and 11/3 Ring of Honor shows
Oh my. Nothing could keep me away from the best wrestler of the 90s rare U.S. appearance. Let’s see who he faces.
Adam Pearce, Brent Albright, BJ Whitmer, and Shane Hagadorn formed a new stable
This stable will begin with feuding with Delirious and looks like Pearce is being given guys who can’t speak to represent and get over.
Ruckus and Julius Smokes joined Jack Evans Stable
Ruckus is a flippy, black Jack Evans and Smokes is the former manager of Homicide. All they need is Kingston and this stable is absolutely set.
The Briscoes vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico Feud will end on PPV 9/15 in Chicago in ROH’s first ever ladder match
This should be great, but the Briscoes proved themselves the better team and the feud should be over.
Jimmy Jacobs is back and feels 100%
Ah, the power of love.
9/15 in Chicago will see the last Sydal vs. Delirious match
These two came up in the business together and this could steal the show.
Mitch Franklin has the Top of the Class Trophy
Good job on the win, Mitch and hopefully his team with Pelle will continue when Pelle returns. They’re really fun together.
This Week on Inside Pulse
These links will be focused on proving we have the best ROH coverage around. Here’s what’s new.
We’re reviewing from All Star Extravaganza III to Good Times, Great Memories as a staff. Andy Mac got us started and reviewed All Star Extravaganza III and this week, Steve Murray reviews the superior Supercard of Honor II. Next week, award winning columnist Joshua Grutman gets the third, and most suspect show of the series. Be sure to check back.
Andy Mac is taking 2 or 3 weeks off, but he isn’t missing in action. Here’s Hartford’s Caged Rage and New York City’s Manhattan Mayhem II from the big bald phenom.
Ollie Sutherland has his latest Milestone Series DVD Review up, this week Supercard of Honor. Want to see his earlier reviews in the series? Here they are: The Fourth Anniversary Show; Arena Warfare; Best in the World; and Draon Gate Challenge
Phil Clark discusses a wild weekend of shows calling ROH’s the highest quality.
Kevin Wilson, our Puro reviewer, reviews the Japanese version of Live in Tokyo which has an amazing MOTYC with Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki on it. I’ll be reviewing that next week and you can compare my and Kevin’s different views on the match.
Matt Michaels thinks ROH guys working stiff might be as bad as WWE guys having to work big and hurt, but lacks the evidence to back that up properly so far.
Iain Burnside answers questions, this week taking one on Joe’s future and if it could include ROH.
A Modest Response
Every year ROH puts on a plethora of Match of the Year contenders and Wrestler of the Year Candidates. Back in June, I took a look at Match of the Year Contenders so far. This week I’d like to take a look at Ring of Honor’s 5 Major MVP Candidates thus far with a list of all of their matches with ratings of *** ½ or above. It turns out most of the reviews are done (best coverage and all that) so scroll through the list and find links to tons of ROH coverage from this year and figure out who you think is the MVP of this Year from ROH. In the links, I suggest you use Control F to find what you’re looking for. I got a hand from Hayden Munro with certain matches, HayHay17 from the ROH board and one of the best voices for match analysis on the internet who I’m hoping will stick around as a regular contributor.
Once you read through, shoot me an e-mail about who you think is the MVP and why. I’ll run the best arguments next week. Send the mail to hbk826@aol.com. Next Week I’ll be reviewing every match on this list that does not have a link in the star rating, so that’s a ton of new reviews with your own picks for ROH MVP so far for next week. The last week will me be unveiling full pro and con arguments for everyone on the list along with previews for that weekend’s PPV. It’s a huge three weeks in A Modest Response and hopefully you’ll be a part of it!
The Briscoes – 20 matches make the list, 10 **** ratings, 4 MOTYCs.
1. Briscoes vs. Aries and Strong 2/3 Falls – Dedicated (*** ½)
2. Briscoes vs. McGuinness and Cabana – FYF: NYC (*** ½)
3. Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico – FYF: Philly (**** 1/4)
4. Mark Briscoe vs. Shingo vs. Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Matt Cross vs. Pelle – FYF: Dayton (*** ¾)
5Briscoes vs. Daniels and Sydal – FYF: Chicago (*** ¾)
6. Briscoes vs. Doi and Shingo – FYF: Liverpool (**** ½)
7. Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe – FYF: Finale (****1/2)
8. Jay Briscoe and Erick Stevens vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico – Fighting Spirit (**** ½)
9. Briscoes vs. Shelley and Sabin – Good Times, Great Memories (**** ¾)
We’ll have a full review of this show up within the month so, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait.
10. Briscoes vs. Morishima and Whitmer – Reborn Again (*** ¾)
11. Briscoes vs. Claudio and Sydal – Respect is Earned (**** ¼ )
12. Jay Briscoe vs. Takeshi Morishima – Fight at the Roxbury (*** ½)
13. Briscoes vs. Hero and Castagnoli 2/3 Falls – Domination (*** ¾)
14. Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico – Driven (*** ½)
15. Briscoes and Marufuji vs. Sydal, Marvin and Aoki – Live in Tokyo (****) – a Hayden Munro rating.
16. Briscoes vs. Shingo and Yokosuka – Live in Osaka (**** ¼) – a Hayden Munro rating.
17. Briscoes vs. Danielson and McGuinness – Race to the Top Night 1 (*** ½)
18. Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico Street Fight – Death before Dishonor V Night 1 (****)
19. Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico Cage Match – Caged Rage (*** 1/2)
20. Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico 2/3 Falls – Manhattan Mayhem II – (****)
Claudio Castagnoli 8 Matches make the list, 6 **** matches, 1 MOTYC
1. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Shingo vs. Matt Cross vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Roderick Strong – FYF: Dayton (*** ¾)
2. Claudio Castagnoli, Austin Aries, Rocky Romero, and Delirious vs. Team Dragon Gate – All Star Extravaganza III (**** ¼)
3. Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal vs. The Briscoes – Respect is Earned (**** ¼ )
4. Claudio Castagnoli vs. McGuinness vs. Hero vs. Quackenbush – Fight at the Roxbury (****)
5. Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero vs. The Briscoes 2/3 Falls – Domination (*** ¾)
6. Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico – Race to the Top Night 2 (**** ¼)
7. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Takeshi Morishima – Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 (**** ½)
8. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero – Manhattan Mayhem 2 (**** ¼)
Bryan Danielson – 10 matches make the list, 8 **** matches and 4 MOTYCs
1. Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness and KENTA – Respect is Earned (****)
2. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness – Driven (*****)
3. Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima and Marufuji – United We Stand (**** ¼) – A Hayden Munro Rating
4. Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA – Driven (**** ½)
5. Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki – Live in Tokyo (**** ½)
6. Bryan Danielson, CIMA and Marufuji vs. Romero, Richards and Mochizuki – Live in Osaka (****) – A Hayden Munro rating
7. Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness vs. The Briscoes – Race to the Top Night 1 (*** ½)
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal – Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 (*** ¾)
9. Bryan Danielson vs. Quackenbush – Death Before Dishonor V Night 2 (****)
10. Bryan Danielson vs. Morishima – Manhattan Mayhem 2 (**** ¾)
Nigel McGuinness – 15 Matches make the list, 7 Matches are **** and 3 MOTYCs
1. Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave “I Quit†– Battle of the Icons (*** ½)
2. Nigel McGuinness and Colt Cabana vs. The Briscoes – FYF: NYC (*** ½)
3. Nigel McGuinness and Colt Cabana vs. Brent Albright and Jimmy Jacobs – FYF: Dayton (*** ½)
4. Nigel McGuinness and Takeshi Morishima vs. Joe and Homicide – FYF: Chicago (*** ½)
5. Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe – FYF: Liverpool (**** ¼)
6. Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave Fight Without Honor – FYF: Finale (**** ½)
7. Nigel McGuinness and Doug Williams vs. Takeshi Morishima and Chris Hero – This Means War II (*** ¾)
8. Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima – Fighting Spirit (**** ¾)
9. Nigel McGuinness and KENA vs. Bryan Danielson and Takeshi Morishima – Respect is Earned (****)
10. Nigel McGuinness vs. Claudio vs. Hero vs. Quackenbush – Fight at the Roxbury (****)
11. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson – Driven (*****)
12. Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima and Marufuji – United We Stand (**** ¼) – A Hayden Munro rating.
13. Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima – Live in Tokyo (*** ½) – A Hayden Munro rating.
14. Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson vs. The Briscoes – Race to the Top Night 1 (*** ½)
15. Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero – Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 A href=http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/articles/69613/2007/08/13/ring-of-honor-live-reports-for-death-before-dishonor-v-weekend.html> (*** ½)
Takeshi Morishima – 15 Matches make the List, 9 **** matches, and 4 MOTYCs
1. Takeshi Morishima vs. Samoa Joe – FYF: NYC (**** ½)
2. Takeshi Morishima and Nigel McGuinness vs. Joe and Homicide: FYF Chicago (*** ½)
3. Takeshi Morishima and Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness and Doug Williams – This Means War II (*** ¾)
4. Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness – Fighting Spirit (**** ¾)
5. Takeshi Morishima vs. Austin Aries– The Battle of St. Paul (****)
We’ll have this full rant up in a few weeks, so wait your greedy little selves.
6. Takeshi Morishima vs. Shingo – Good Times, Great Memories (**** ¼)
7. Takeshi Morishima and BJ Whitmer vs. Briscoes – Reborn Again (*** ¾)
8. Takeshi Morishima and Bryan Danielson vs. McGuinness and KENTA – Respect is Earned (****)
9. Takeshi Morishima vs. Jay Briscoe – Fight at the Roxbury (*** ½) – A Hayden Munro rating.
10. Takeshi Morishima vs. Roderick Strong – Domination (*** ½)
11. Takeshi Morishima and Marufuji vs. Nigel and Danielson – United We Stand (**** ¼) – A Hayden Munro rating.
12. Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness – Live in Tokyo (*** ½)
13. Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli – Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 (**** ½)
14. Takeshi Morishima vs. Brent Albright – Death Before Dishonor V Night 2 (****)
15. Takeshi Morishima vs. Danielson – Manhattan Mayhem 2 (**** ¾)
Honorable Mentions: Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, El Generico, Kevin Steen, Chris Hero.
