Cult of ROH: London Calling… for Work

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On November 7th Paul London was released from WWE. It stirred many emotions in the ROH community. I felt bad reading the news, even as I was excited at the prospect of his return to an independent ring.

Back in 2003 London did an interview with Powerbomb 2000 Radio where he explained that he loved Ring of Honor and working on the indies, but being in a WWF (or WWE) ring felt right. He was very excited about the prospect of that company and made it clear that it was where he wanted to be. That was apparent to anyone who watched him risk his neck on Velocity all those weeks, sometimes putting on the best match of WWF’s TV week against Akio for a miniscule audience. He went on to much bigger (and later, sadly lower) things in the company, but the notion that he wanted to be in WWE stuck with me.

Maybe his opinions have changed. Hopefully they have, because it’s never positive to hear a talented wrestler is out the job that he wanted.

He shouldn’t hurt for cash if he doesn’t mind travel. Japan can always use another enormously talented cruiserweight, whether it be another face to oppose Low Ki in New Japan, another ROH-related figure in NOAH or the next gaijin in Dragon Gate’s love affair with America. But there are other employment opportunities more immediate to the mind of an ROH fan.

For those who weren’t around over haven’t caught up on early ROH, London was one of the first rising stars in the company. On day one Low Ki, Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson were the godfathers, but London’s character fought for a contract and quickly became a force. London was the first guy not starting off as a main eventer to have an amazing series of matches that made him in the eyes of the fans, a trend James Gibson, Roderick Strong and Tyler Black would follow in later years. He had the major title matches of Xavier’s reign, a hot three-way dance against AJ Styles and Low Ki, nearly had his head taken off by Styles in singles, delivered the infamous Shooting Star off the ladder onto Michael Shane, and most notably, had a standard-setting feud against Bryan Danielson that peaked at Epic Encounter, where the two wrestled for 45 minutes in 2/3 Falls. London had a strange charisma to match his athletic ability, connected with the audience deeply in his short period.

He’s had some amazing experiences over the last few years. For all the japes at his lack of pushes and exposure, he had matches and segments with Eddie Guerrero, Jeff Hardy and HHH. One can only imagine the tutelage he received from WWE’s legendary wrestlers-turned-agents in his long stint as a Smackdown tag team champion. Going on the road with an Arn Anderson, Ted DiBiase or Ricky Steamboat would be a dream come true to most wrestlers.

Aside from opportunities to learn from some of the brightest stars in North America, he has been exposed to a radically different approach to wrestling than he had in 2002. In 2002 he proved himself capable of earning the enduring love of fans who demanded flips and head drops. That had its own merit, but in WWE he was often corralled into matches with only one or two big spots, or in channeling them into match-ending sprints. He was forced to wrestle as a nigh-obsolete flyer in a big man’s world. He was able to wrestle a more reserved style in ROH, but now has years of experience in fitting risky offense into meaningful positions.

With Evan Bourne injured, London may have the prettiest Shooting Star Press in the world. Nobody uses that flying finisher right now in ROH, having cooled down after its overuse to the point of people being able to kick out of it (much to my chagrin) last year. London can plug right in there. But more than having a nice finisher, he may be able to coach guys like Jigsaw and Ruckus into smarter use of aerial offense, just as we’re hoping Jerry Lynn will rub off on other guns.

The matches could be amazing. Most everyone is ready for another Epic Encounter with Bryan Danielson, and frankly there is no better way to reintroduce him to the ROH audience. It is an instant big match even to those who haven’t seen the original.

But there’s also a ready-made dream match with Austin Aries, someone often compared to London for their similar styles. Some are anxious to see him fend off Roderick Strong’s chops and backbreakers, while others want to see what Claudio Castagnoli or Chris Hero could do against his manner of flying. And down the line is a guaranteed money title match against Nigel McGuinness, should McGuinness still hold the title by then. In their jubilation some fans are already claiming for him to be the next champion. While I’d like ROH to pace themselves a little more rationally, it only speaks to the attention and excitement London can draw.

Also around the internet this week:
Vinny Truncellito looks at Caged Rage, a show he enjoyed way more than I did.
-Norine Stice had a blast at PCW in Canada.
-Pulse Glazer analyzes wrestling.
-And there’s my blog of monologues, micro-fiction and list fiction: www.johnwiswell.blogspot.com