ROH Newswire – 08.07.2009

News

The following news items were posted on the August 7, 2009 ROH Newswire, and have been further updated to reflect last night’s ROH on HDNet episode:

A match between the Briscoe Brothers and the American Wolves has been signed for the September 19th show in Chicago.  This match is more about simply wins and losses; for the Briscoes, especially Mark, it is about payback.  In Final Battle 2008, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards brutalized Mark’s knee, putting him out of action.  After undergoing surgery and months of extensive rehab, Mark is finally fit to compete once again, as he showed in last night’s ROH on HDNet episode, picking up the win against Alex Payne.  If Richards and Edwards are intimidated, however, they are certainly not letting on:  “I’m glad the match is signed, boys, because the result will be the same. Last time it was Mark’s knee. Well maybe this time it’s Jay’s. Maybe it’s an elbow. Maybe a neck. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you haven’t proven yourselves to us or to anyone else since Piano Teeth came back.  Therefore, the ROH World Tag Belts will NOT be on the line. Come and get it, boys. The hunt it STILL on.”

Also signed for September 19th is a match between Claudio Castagnoli and Colt Cabana.  This match also contains heavy personal implications.  During Castagnoli’s street fight with Brent Albright at the last ROH Chicago event, Castagoli laid out a fan, who was treated on the scene by medical personnel and released with only minor bruising.  That fan was none other than Colt Cabana’s father.  Castagnoli, however, has been less than apologetic, openly questioning whether the incident was accidental or not.  Cabana, upon hearing Castagnoli’s remarks, was quick to request a match with Castagnoli.

If Castagnoli thinks he is going to be able to sit back and rest until September 19th, however, he is sorely mistaken.  The surgery to remove the blood clot from Brent Albright’s leg was a success.  The procedure, which required the doctors to remove the clot in pieces from around his shinbone, was performed with no complications.  Albright’s leg was immobilized for two days thereafter, but he made his return in last night ROH on HDNet taping, teaming up with Colt Cabana against Castagnoli and Jimmy Rave, and looked to have no problems moving around.  Albright insists that will be in Philly next weekend to put an end to the long, heated feud between him and Claudio Castagnoli – in a cage match!

As for Colt Cabana, it has not been all work and no play for “Boom Boom.”  Up-and-coming hip hop artist, Kidd Russell, filmed a music video with Ring of Honor as the subject, titled “Rush.”  This music video, which has been picked up by MTV and featured on “America’s Best Dance Crew”, has finally been completed.  Many stars from ROH are featured in the video, including Colt Cabana himself.  The teaser trailer is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB8vTMYt-pU.  The full video debuts on August 22nd, coinciding with the single becoming available on iTunes.

Between the last newswire and this one, it is clear that the tag team scene is heating up in ROH.  Signed for the September 18th show in Dayton is a clash between two of ROH’s young, up-and-coming tag teams, as Christin Able and Josh Raymond – collectively known as the House of Truth – battle the Dark City Fight Club of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis.  This could be a critical match for both teams to establish some momentum.  The House of Truth looked impressive in their debut against ROH mainstays Kevin Steen and El Generico, and look to build off of that performance.  The Dark City Fight Club, on the other hand, looks to re-establish the momentum they had picked up in early 2009, before Davis’ unfortunate and untimely wrist injury.

As I reported in my last column (and as stated in ROH’s August 3 newswire), Austin Aries is looking to give one of ROH’s “bright shining stars” a shot at greatness when, in the August 14th show, he draws one of 20 names out of a hat, with the wrestler drawn guaranteed a shot at the ROH World Title at a future date.  ROH staff writer Holden McNeil take a look at Aries’ potential challengers at http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=2938. 

Just a reminder to ROH fans:  this past Saturday’s ROH on HDNet episode was the last one to be broadcast on Saturday nights.  From now on, ROH on HDNet will be on Mondays at 8 PM ET, and then replayed at 11 PM ET.  The first broadcast will be on August 17th.