Welcome to ROH Weekly! This week we have huge news and a fun ROH meets WWE feature. Come in for more…
News of Honor
Go Shiozaki is coming to ROH
Go is Kenta Kobashi’s NOAH protégé. He’s moving to America so will be around for awhile. He was at ROH “Live in Tokyo†where he had a classic with Bryan Danielson. 2/22 in Long Island he will face Erick Stevens and 2/23 in NYC for the 6th Anniversary he will face Austin Aries. Both should be awesome. Nigel defended the ROH title successfully against Go last week.
The Age of the Fall will debut a new member this weekend
The clue is he was on national TV. My Guess is Justin Credible, though Nate Webb, Zach Gowin and others are distinct possibilities.
On Saturday ROH will announce a new Puro talent from neither NOAH or Dragon Gate
Smart money is on Kota Ibushi, an awesome spotman, but Katsu Nakajima, and several Zero 1 Max Wrestlers are also options.
No Necro Butcher or Jack Evans this weekend
Jack was hurt in Japan somehow and Necro has a personal situation. Wishing the best to both.
Aries will be the guest for a mini-convention this Friday in Dayton
Bonus points for anyone who asks how much he loves me! (I have had no interaction with Aries ever, but Shawn Smith assures me he’s an awesome guy, so enjoy).
Catch the Fourth PPV, “Undeniable†inDemand Friday at 9pm or Saturday at 6pm
I’m finally catching the showing this Saturday. Expect thoughts and all the ROH Coverage from this weekend!
This Week on Inside Pulse
Our Year End Awards are up!. Come see how ROH did (hint: excellently).
Mulligan does an awesome job covering Japan. Ditch is still the King of the business side of things in Puro. Expect more Puro reviews coming soon.
Kirschner covers Canadian promotion UWA Hardcore, featuring Jushin Lyger and Ultimo Dragon, plus the Murder City Machine Guns!
Mark Allen previews the Royal Rumble. Cox hits the Rumble Anthology.
Allow me to echo Blatt’s what the f*ck about the manner Punk lost his title.
The Fool in the Stands: Rumblemania kicks Off, the Participants and their Indy Counterparts
Last Year at this time I compared the current WWE guys in the Rumble with their indy (largely ROH, duh) counterparts. This year, I’ll be continuing the new tradition.
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.
Batista
Batista has finally regained his big match form after a bad few months post returning from injury. He’s been consistently in the upper card all year, having a great feud with the Undertaker and making the rounds of the upper-card on Smackdown. Putting him on Raw after winning the Rumble would be a nice shake up, but the draft will take care of that. He can no longer carry a brand, but as a top guy who can keep the upper-card occupied away from the title, he’s gold. He has a chance, but not a good one.
Comparison – Batista’s situation in the company feels quite similar to Austin Aries. He’s a huge name and a draw, but seems to be there mostly to come up short and make others look great. Both are good at their jobs and remain over, despite not usually getting the big win.
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton is, again, being teased with a push. One of the better in ring wrestlers the WWE has, he can get over purely in ring… if the WWE will let him. He’s on ECW, the right brand for a push, where as either a face or heel, he’s better than the rest of the roster. His push has been teased so many times, I don’t buy it anymore and he has zero chance here, but he might be in the iron man role and look good if they’re serious about him.
Comparison – Davey Richards is at the bottom of the ROH card. He’s got a world of talent and a big push has been teased numerous times. He’s not been buried as much as Shelton and his push actually appears imminent, but to now, he’s still in the same role of great talent awaiting a big push.
Big Daddy V
Viscera is big and squashes folks. He’ll be eliminated here to make someone look Herculean. That’s his role and he’ll do it well.
Comparison – BJ Whitmer, like Visc, he’s pushed but not really over. Visc’s size is impressive, while Whitmer has an impressive moveset. Both are two bland and neither is quite good enough to make the crowd care. Also, both are very valuable in tag teams, but seem consistently miscast in singles.
Carlito
Since resigning with WWE, he continues to be a jack of all trades, master of none. He can be used anywhere on the card and his heelish antics get over, without demanding a push. Over without needing a ton of time or a push? That’s very valuable.
Comparison – The NWA champion Adam Pearce fits Carly’s role to a T. He’s a great obnoxious heel who gets over, but doesn’t need to be a main eventer. Both are great talkers as well, though Pearce is a good deal more old school
Tommy Dreamer
Dreamer on ECW’s role is to go out and make his opponents look good for the benefit of the brand. Despite shaky booking he somehow retains enough credibility to accomplish this effectively. He’s a very good brawler with good charisma who excels at his role. When he’s called on for a bigger role, he always delivers.
Comparison – Necro’s current role in ROH is very similar to Dreamer’s except as a heel. Necro goes out to have a very good match, look dangerous and make his opponent look like gold when he puts them over. Necro feels more special still and Dreamer is far more a company man, but for all that, they still occupy the same spots on the roster.
Finlay
The consummate technician who makes everyone look great is getting over by his association with Hornswaggle. Who’d have thunk it. He has very, very little chance of winning, but is, like Benjamin, a guy who can hold it all together.
Comparison – Claudio is a guy who broke out when older, has a European style and is the heart of the midcard, just like Finlay. They’re almost different generations of the same wrestler.
Mick Foley
Mick is the legend entrant there to add credibility. He won’t win, but his very presence adds credibility and he’s very likely to do something at least interesting. His elimination would be a great way to start a feud and lead to his semi-annual great match.
Comparison – Closest thing to Foley on the indies is likely Jerry Lynn. He seems semi-retired, but has a load of credibility as an innovator of the current indy scene, much like Mick innovated the hardcore style in America. Lynn is still occasionally relevant, like winning the Super 8, but usually is used to make new stars, like Foley is.
Kane
Kane has been around for ages and fills the Batista role in a smaller capacity since he was never really top man. He’s big, he’s solid and he helps keep the show going doing whatever’s asked of him.
Comparison – I know I’m not supposed to compare big and little guys, but Jack Evans fills a very similar role to Kane. Jack is flippy, but is kept near the top of the card where he is generally fed to guys ahead of him on the foodchain. He consistently beats anyone below him handily and keeps the cards strong without needing a lot of time. Besides, both men Transform!
Great Khali
Khali is now a giant, monster former champion. He has a longshot of winning and getting the Yokozuna treatment, but might kill someone accidentally in the process. That’s the fun of Khali.
Comparison – Same as last year. 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.
Mark Henry
Another damn super-heavy. At least two will have a showdown, likely Henry and Viscera. Vince will wet himself. I will not care.
Comparison – Welcome to flippy Matt Cross. Continually pushed due to one major skill (size for Henry, agility for Cross) the crowd has never cared and likely never will. It’s best to just move on.
Hardcore Holly
Crap, is he still Around? And I just used Matt Cross. The longtime vet is too stiff with everyone under him and is a total jerk by all reports. He’s been on the roster for too long and is pushed, despite it failing fairly regularly.
Comparison – Whitmer and Cross might be the two best comparisons to the personality challenged Holly. The CZW owner Zandig has been around for ages, doesn’t add much and seems a jerk. Let’s go with him.
Hornswaggle
He’s a midget, he’s supposedly Vince’s son and he’s over as crap. I can’t explain it either.
Comparison – In Chikara, Robbie Ellis is, at 67, the oldest active professional wrestler. He’s pure comedy, wildly over, and awesome. Hornswaggle is pure comedy and wildly over. Good enough.
Ken Kennedy
Kennedy is a bit of a loudmouth jerk, but he’s a great heel so that works. He has a shot at winning this as he’s basically been winning a feud with the hugely over HBK. A heel challenging at Wrestlemania might not work, but his push will continue irregardless.
Comparison – Chris Hero is a loudmouth jerk and great heel who gets a consistent push too! Both need to take the final step soon or be labeled jokes for life.
Santino Marrella
An obnoxious heel who’s all talk and no action. He’s fantastic at making people care and then taking a beating for his big mouth. He should be a manager.
Comparison – Larry Sweeney is a better, flashier Marrella. He is a manager. If you haven’t seen Sweeney’s magic, make a point to.
Shawn Michaels
HBK is a longtime vet and always superstar. He isn’t at the top of the card now, but he’s never far off of it. There are few better.
Comparison – Bryan Danielson has been in ROH since the start, carried promotion for a time, had the best matches and is now stepping a back a touch to allow others the spotlight, though he’s still in the best matches. Sounds like Danielson is channeling his mentor.
The Miz
The Miz has really come on from a pure comedy joke, to a comedy joke who can go a little bit. He’s over as a total jerk and his team with Morrison is surprisingly effective. Who knows how much more he can grow.
Comparison – The Miz is your normal cocky, annoying heel with room to grow, just like Shane Hagadorn, who might be just as good in ring.
John Morrison
From totally useless to a very solid cocky heel. He really wasn’t ready to carry a brand, but he’s a good guy to have around and might be more one day.
Comparison – Rocky Romero is close in current role, but not long term potential. Nevertheless, as a tag specialist, he fits best, and their cocky, flashy moveset make this work.
Jaime Noble
Noble is the best and most wasted talent around. When given a chance, he’s great, but that’s far too rarely.
Comparison – Like Noble, Mike Quackenbush is a great technician who is quite versatile. He isn’t in ROH much, but when he has his chance, he completely shines. He doesn’t get his chance much because of injury, while Noble is wasted due to (as far as I can tell) insanity.
Chuck Palumbo
A big guy, getting another chance as mid-card filler. He’s nothing special or notable.
Comparison – Ricky Reyes when he’s around is a good, solid worker who lacks anything at all to set him apart, no matter how often its tried.
Cody Rhodes
The son of Dusty is due a push, but lord knows when. He’s a tag wrestler and a solid seller for now.
Comparison – Jigsaw is a small guy, overlooked due to others similar who he has more potential than. He’s a very good seller and often in good matches. He and Cody both deserve a push as a second generation of a great talent, Cody’s obviously Dusty, while Jigsaw is the Chikara trainee most like Quackenbush.
Snitsky
Yet another superheavyweight. He’s big, ugly, and mostly useless.
Comparison – Like Jason Blade, he’s generic and fills the same role as many other men on the roster. Blade is at least crisp. Snitsky is just ugly.
Triple H
The likely winner and recipient of a super-push, Triple H spent a long while toiling in the midcard and will now return to the top of the card for his title.
Comparison – Besides Triple H’s early success, he’s similar to Nigel in the last year in that he did what was needed, stealing the show when he had to, and taking the spotlight when it was time… and even if you hate Hunter, it’s likely the time.
Umaga
Umaga has the best chance of a win of any of the monster’s besides Undertaker. He’s a big badass, and a face turn to kill Orton at mania could legitimately draw. He’s the best monster on the roster and best brawler bar none.
Comparison – Erick Stevens waited his turn in the upper-mid card and now that he’s getting a push, he’s among the best on the roster and it’s going well. Hopefully a Rumble win can do the same for Umaga, who deserves the uber-push Stevens is getting in ROH.
The Undertaker
Taker is the longtime big monster capable of the best matches. He won the Rumble last year and looks a good shot to do it again. He’s certainly always a threat.
Comparison – Takeshi Morishima is the beast in ROH and former champion. Like taker, he’s always the favorite to win. Morishima is a future Ace, while Taker is former, but besides that, they’re strikingly similar in role. Both are also monsters who get by with a lot of no selling but still manage great matches.
There are several more guys to be announced for the rumble, so hopefully some more guys who can glue it together are added and no more superheavyweights!
