Review: Ring of Honor 01/06/2013

Welcome to Canned Heat Wrestling's inaugural review of Ring of Honor! Coming to us from Toronto, Ontario, this week's episode (assuming you're watching online for free like me!) started off with a fast paced, high impact, triple threat, tag team contest - QT Marshall & RD Evans vs ACH & Tadarius Thomas vs C&C Wrestle Factory. The winners of the match going on to challenge reDRagon for the Tag Team Championships at upcoming iPPV, Best in the World.

Before the bout began, there was a funny spot with ACH & Thomas agreeing to the Code of Honor handshake with the Wrestle Factory, yet almost completely ignoring QT & RD. This resulted in some bad blood from the word go, with the snubbed team lashing out. The match itself can be best described as a whirlwind. Frequent tags were made, members floating in and out within seconds of each other. No one man truly stood out during the bout, as each competitor strived to one up his predecessor. For any uninitiated viewer, they'd be highly impressed by the blur of action on display, but never entirely grasp who was performing at any given moment. Frankly, with the number of lettered names, it's a wonder Kevin Kelly could keep up on commentary, with every other line a mouthful. ROH would do well to get over each man individually before throwing them all in a heap together. The finish came after a beautiful top rope frogsplash from C&C Wrestle Factory, who will go on to face the Champions.

Following up on the events of the recent 'Border Wars', the commentators emphasised the dangers of concussions, the returning Paul London having sustained one during his match with American Wolf, Davey Richards. I know concussions have always been a major issue in the wrestling industry, but for some reason they've become a hot topic of late. Whether it be Dolph Ziggler and Fandango being sidelined with real ones or Triple H being forced into retirement with a fake one, concussions are everywhere at the moment. With the high-impact action of ROH, it's no surprise a concussion sustained in their ring was brought about in spectacular fashion. Cutting to footage from the iPPV, we saw London take a brutal combination of hits. Firstly, a Tombstone Piledriver on the outside of the ring and secondly, a top rope stomp to his torso. The moves were so devastating, London looked legitimately unconscious and the crowd broke out in "You Killed Paul" chants, which were hugely insensitive...and more than a little funny.

Pushing the 'Best in the World' main event of Jay Briscoe defending his World Title against brother Mark Briscoe, the pair had a wonderful series of backstage promos. First up was challenger Mark, who took the guise of a beaten down and bullied little brother, never understanding why his elders would knock him around and treat him like dirt. Following immediately after, we had World Champion Jay defending his actions over the years, justifying them with the end goal of keeping his baby brother on the straight and narrow. This family is dripping with dysfunction and there's no better time for the brothers to butt heads than for the World Heavyweight Championship. Both brothers presented events similarly, but with wildly different points of view. We'll never entirely know which side is the truth, but they both believe them to be. Such conviction is a rare thing indeed.

Next came an in-ring promo featuring Match-maker Nigel McGuinness, 'Unbreakable' Michael Elgin and the concussed Paul London. Addressing fears that London should step away from the wrestling business due to his latest injury, McGuinness was quick to defend the high-flying superstar. Knowing when to retire is something Nigel knows alot about and now is not that time. Having McGuinness address the parallels between the two was a wonderful touch. However, before London could respond, he was interrupted by the bitter pair of QT Marshall and RD Evans, complaining about their recent loss and the state of the Tag Team division. After Evans pushes London by the head, he's summarily dispatched by a pissed off Elgin. Marshall bolts from the ring and attempts to flee up the ramp, only to find a rabid  Tommaso Ciampa waiting for him. Ciampa tears into the coward and runs him head first into the barrier over and over again, most likely giving him a concussion of his own! The real highlight however was Ciampa coming face to face with Elgin, two giants of ROH staring each other down. This made for a muddled segment, never entirely settling on a subject matter. Were they pushing London's eventual return to the ring, Marshall & Evans' status in the Tag Team division or Ciampa wanting a piece of Elgin?

Finally, in the main event of the evening, we had BJ Whitmer vs Mike Bennett vs Jay Lethal, with the winner going on to challenge for the ROH Television Championship at 'Best in the World'. May I just say, it's always a treat to see Maria accompanying Mike Bennett down to the ring. If your jaw wasn't already hitting the floor from the wrestling, it sure as hell is for Maria. Unfortunately, her stunning beauty didn't do a lick of good for her man, as Bennett was quickly set upon by Whitmer and Lethal in a series of debilitating double teams. The momentum of the match switched between all three contenders with regularity, with one man typically sitting out proceedings due to fatigue or injury. Speaking of which, Jay Lethal's bandaged knee soon came to the attention of his opponents, who showed no mercy and promptly focused their offense there. But even that couldn't keep the young man down, going on to stage multiple comebacks and even landing a big elbow from the top rope. The finish came as Mike Bennett retreated to ringside to catch his breath, giving Jay Lethal the opportunity to hit the Lethal Injection on BJ Whitmer for the three count and become the number one contender to the Television Title. The show ends on Maria imagining a slight from BJ Whitmer, sparking a brawl with her man, Mike Bennett. The match was perfectly acceptable all in all, but rather average in the grand scheme of things and never came alive like a good triple threat can. The focus was repeatedly on Maria at ringside on commentary, pulling Bennett's strings from afar. Not to mention Truth Martini skulking around the ramp. The action in the ring was almost secondary.

7 out of 10

Trash Talking: Gut Check

written by Rob Poulloin (@Robbie_G_CH)

Since 2004, 'Gut Check' has been apart of TNA. Starting off as a tryout program, the process has now evolved into what we see on Impact Wrestling once a month. But now that TNA's landscape has changed due to the shift in Pay-Per-View lineup, where does it leave Gut Check and in what format?

Gut Check started as a one off competition, with various categories testing the competitors. The winners were rewarded with a cash prize and an appearance on TNA programming. After a few years of development, the process moved into the seminar format, where independent wrestlers pay for a place on the course, to be put through their paces and show off their skills in front of TNA representatives, such as D'Lo Brown and Jeremy Borash.

Crimson was spotted through Gut Check
(photo by Lee South)

This process benefits both parties, as it allows TNA to witness the ability of new wrestlers, whilst also creating extra income. As for the independent wrestlers, they are in front of people who could make their dreams come true and sign them to either a developmental deal or even a full time contract. As beneficial as the seminars are, I can't help but feel that they are exploiting the wrestlers, as the company should be looking to sign the best and should be using their own resources to find those talented enough. Looking at the wrestlers to make it to Impact thus far; Crimson and Jesse Sorensen; would suggest that going out and watching other shows would be a better way of talent spotting. 

From April 2012, Gut Check has appeared once a month on the 'Open Fight Night' episode of Impact Wrestling. This is usually the second show after a pay-per-view, giving the opportunity of a contract to unsigned wrestlers, who would show their skills in a match against a roster member and then be judged the following week by Bruce Prichard, Al Snow and Taz (replacing Ric Flair). The segment of Gut Check seems completely unrelated to the seminar side beside the name. The talent picked for television have either previously been in TNA's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (Alex Silva and Taeler Hendrix) or independent stars who could have easily been given a contract without the segment (Sam Shaw and Christian York). The process being used as an angle multiple times, firstly to create hype around Joey Ryan, who was unsuccessful in his bid to win a contract and took to Youtube to protest and 'invading' multiple wrestling shows; and more recently, to add Wes Brisco to the roster, despite being seen as a masked member of Aces and Eights for months before his 'tryout'.

Joey Ryan failed in his Gut Check Challenge
(photo by Lee South) 

Officially, six out of the nine wrestlers to 'tryout' for a contract have been successful, with Ryan being the seventh as he had to fight for his contract in a match against Al Snow at Bound For Glory. Out of the seven only Joey Ryan, Christian York and Wes Brisco have been seen on Impact Wrestling on a regular basis with the others being sent to OVW to improve their skills, so it questions the need to have them taking up valuable television time where full time roster members can go without a match in months.

TNA will always need to be on the look out for the next stars to keep their product fresh but Gut Check doesn't seem to be the way to do it considering the best additions to the roster in recent history have been Austin Aries and Kenny King who have both come from Ring Of Honor. Comparing TNA's new recruits to those that WWE are assembling in NXT there is no competition, WWE are signing talent who are ready to go and have proved themselves as the biggest names on the Indy circuit, the likes of PAC (Adrian Neville) who has been Dragons Gate and New Japan, former ROH wrestlers including World Champion Tyler Black (Shield member Seth Rollins), Tag Team Champions Claudio Castagnoli (Antonio Cesaro) Chris Hero (Kassius Ohno) & El Generico; these wrestlers will not only be future stars but help improve the 'home grown' talent with their experience. 

With the wealth of talent currently on the Indy circuit TNA should be looking to those as the future of the business, Crimson was given a monster push on television whilst being relatively green where he wasn't actually ready for it where as someone who has proved themselves, Austin Aries, took the ball and become TNA World Heavyweight Champion within a year of debuting. 

Davey Richards is one of wrestlings
great unsigned acts

I have nothing against Gut Check or OVW but the future of WWE currently looks a lot brighter with wrestlers that TNA most likely overlooked who will also pass on their knowledge and experience. With TNA looking to move up to the next level they need to build a strong undercard; as the roster is starting to look a little top heavy; and rebuild the tag and X-Division who have gone unnoticed for far too long. Names like Adam Cole and Davey Richards would do this much better than Jessie Godderz and Devon. 

Gut Check will continue to hold seminars and recently launched an online voting process of former participants, but this has been suspended due to voting issues. The future of the televised version is unknown as OFN has not been apart of Impact since the January 17th show. I would much rather see TNA make more of a competition out of the process with a separate program in a style akin to UFC's Ultimate Fighter and early series of NXT which would allow the wrestlers to gain TV exposure whilst not taking away time on Impact. This would allow for a winner to be crowned and a deal offered but would be less frequent than the current process meaning that the roster and viewers wouldn't be flooded with a string of new names.  

I hope that TNA keeps Gut Check in one form or another but the seminars should be invitational rather than at the cost of the attendee, the cream of the crop can should then be moved up to the next level, either to be offered a developmental deal on the spot or entered into a separate television show. This would weed out those who are not yet ready for the big time and would mean fans can enjoy the best wrestling from the top to the bottom of the show.

Ringside Report: NBW Southside Wrestling: Ill Manors (30/11/12)

After attending Southside's Supremacy in August there was no chance I was going to miss the natural follow on event which was Ill Manors. SWE have run a number of shows in between the two events; including their 2nd Anniversary show; but this show was billed as SWE vs House Of Pain (HOP) whose rivalry had been boiling over since Supremacy with this seemingly being the 'pay off' event. 

The event took place in a different part of the arena than the last event, presumably down to the fact the event had changed date, with the ring side area feeling more open than last time with dual entrance tunnels  and the ring being lower than normal. Again I was seated at ringside, on the opposite side of the ring to last time, but again on the HOP side which I chose to embrace this time round. 

The show kicked off in similar fashion to last time with Harvey Dale and Diamond Dale Mills taking to the ring to set up the show and start banter between the two sides, with both men being the ring announcer for their sides and responsible for riling up their side of the crowd respectively. Dale is so entertaining on the mic,   is always in character and can draw heat with the best in the business, he reminds me of Paul Heyman and if he keeps up the good work will be one of the biggest characters in the industry.

BBB and El Ligero take things high risk

The first match saw El Ligero pick up the first victory for SWE against Bam Bam Barton. I had previously seen Ligero before in his 1000th match at LCW and he had left a good impression mixing high flying action with comedy and in this match he brought intensity to match the serious nature of the evening. The match was solid but did little to last in the memory with the dueling chants from the crowd taking over a little from the in ring action.

Up next was Max Angelus; who at Supremacy rolled up TNA British Boot Camp contestant Rock Star Spud after being told to lie down by Harvey Dale; against former SWE Champion T-Bone. The two put on a good showing and I was glad to see more of Max this time round, although he played to the HOP side of the crowd despite the underlying issues he seems to have with the organisation, but he picked up the win evening up the scores.

The Predators showing unity

The third match saw the Tag Titles on the line as The Hunter Brothers made their debut for SWE against The Predators. The Champions looked a tighter team than the last time that I saw them as they were now wearing matching ring gear and looked like they had toned up, whilst I had seen the Hunters a couple of times before and have been impressed with the brothers who remind me of the Hardy Boyz circa 1999. 

The match lived up to my expectations as both teams are up there as the best in the country, both teams gave it there all which saw the champs retain their belts although I expect a rematch will be booked for one of the next events.

Robbie X defended his Speed King Championship against Alex Gracie who was defending his Full Throttle belt in a 10 minute time limit match (which is Full Throttle rules). Despite the time limit the two seemed to not want to go 'full throttle' until the second half of the match, once the last minute had been announced Robbie X locked in a few different submission moves but Gracie held on until after the bell without tapping out ending the match in a draw. 

Once the ring bell had rang Max Angelus' music played to bring him out with his MITB briefcase in hand with Harvey Dale yelling at him to win him the title (Speed King) as he wanted it, this caused Max to turn on Dale who threatened to fire him before Max quit and left through the fan entrance. 

Devitt playing to the crowd

The last match of the half was billed as an 'International Dream Match' between ROH's Michael Elgin and New Japan's Prince Devitt, and boy did it live up to it's billing. The two pulled out all the stops to impress the crowd which showed what true pro's they are as they could have done half as much and still put on a excellent match.

Although the two wrestle different styles with Elgin being more power orientated to Devitt's 'high flying', they showed that two different styles can work together really well with risks, reversals and great mat wrestling thrown in. Devitt picked up the win but the real winners were the crowd, I would highly recommend tracking down a copy of this match!

After the intermission it was back to the theme of the night with HOP leading 2 -1 going into the second half, with the odds looking stacked in their favour going into the next match as it was a triple threat match pitting SWE's Nathan Cruz against HOP's 'Diamond' Dave Andrews and the HOP Champion LJ Heron who was billed as a tweener for this due to him wanting to become a full time member of SWE roster. Heron's alliances or lack there of were made clear straight away by helping Cruz clear Andrews out of the ring, who spent the majority of time out of the ring but his personality shone through for me with out bursts like 'come on sunshine' which made him my favourite in the match. The match took on a familiar triple threat formula with two guys in the ring with one outside, with the odd triangle moments thrown in including a three man suplex from the top. Cruz picked up the victory after Heron hit 'Dave' with a spear and Cruz then dispatched  LJ with a punt to pin Andrews.

Up next in the penultimate match of the evening was SC Supreme (HOP) taking on Mad Man Manson in a light hearted affair before the seriousness of the main event. The match was as expected to be with Manson including nipple twists and comedy moves all to aggravate SC, which worked with Supreme taking multiple trips to the outside of the ring to vent his frustration until finally picking up the victory.

Heading into the Main Event, Southside were 3 - 2 up, bringing on the title re-match of Stixx defending against Mark Haskins in a Last Man Standing match. The last time these two faced each other at Supremacy was brutal so expectations were high and these two didn't let down the crowd as they started brawling outside the ring straight away which saw Haskins Irish whipped into a wall and then Stixx take out multiple members of the crowd as he charged at Haskins who avoided contact with a leapfrog. The match found its way into the ring eventually where the action was back and forth until the introduction of a chair which is when all hell broke lose, brutal chair shots, ref bumps and the emptying out of the locker room which saw Robbie X hit a moonsault to the outside of the ring onto the ensemble of wrestlers brawling at ring side.
Once everybody had brawled to the back Haskins put Stixx through a table causing both men to be down, the ref started the count to ten, at the seven mark Haskins started making his way to his feet but was nailed with a chair by Harvey Dale and just before the ten Stixx rolled out of the ring to his feet to be declared the winner and to retain the title.
The match was excellent until the end, I am only able to tell you the ending because that is what I have read online, from my viewpoint I thought Haskins had won after seeing him get up and not seeing Stixx up until after the bell so was slightly confused.

Max celebrates his title win over Stixx with the crowd 

After the match Stixx re-entered the ring to celebrate with Harvey Dale which was short lived as the music  of Max Angelus hit again with him holding the MITB briefcase in hand. After entering the ring Max nailed Stixx with the briefcase and despite Harvey pleading and apologising for his actions against him, he cashed in the title shot to become the new Southside Heavyweight Champion.
Max left the ring with the belt and celebrated with the Southside fans as Stixx lay prone in the ring to end the show.

The show as a whole was solid and the rivalry between the two promotions was stunned into silence with the ending but left open as technically the scores finished at three apiece. The card may not have been as strong as Supremacy but it was still worth the price of admission just for the Devitt / Elgin match, Southside have recently celebrated their second anniversary and from this showing they will be having many more years with quality events; just looking at some of the stars they have lined up for the start of next year is an exciting enough prospect for all British grapple fans.

Words and Photos by @Robbie_G_CH  

April In Review

April has been and gone and despite not having the time to add much on here, the goings on of TNA have still been viewed and despite what was quite a lackluster month still drew up some points worth mentioning.

Hogan Knows Best

Hogan with Sting and Dixie
(Image by Impact Wrestling)

The Hulkster took over from Sting as the GM for Impact Wrestling. In doing so he has opened up various different avenues which has seen some knock on effects, such as adding the stipulation to the lethal lockdown match that the losing Bischoff would leave Impact Wrestling and announcing the end of the Crimson / Matt Morgan fued, I hope in which that promise isn't broken. 

The problem of Hogan being GM is that he now seems to appear on Impact much more than what is needed, maybe this may slow down but at the minute he's making about 5 appearances a show which is just too much 'brother' for my liking. 

Not So Lethal Lockdown

The annual pay per view for April is the much look forward to Lockdown. This year the event was the first on the road and had much to look forward to, unfortunately it all fell rather flat! 

Lethal Lockdown kicked off the event for the first time ever and in predictable fashion it came down to the two Bischoff's facing off against one another, I have no issue with this as it was the whole reason the match was being contested, but the manor it was booked was a little weak, the fact that everybody lay around the ring apron where a much better option would have been to allow them to escape the cage and be scattered around the arena. 

My main issue with this PPV was not with the ring action but with the crowd, as good as it is to see TNA out on the road Tennessee really let themselves down as the roof should have been blown off the venue but that didn't happen and you could hear the individual heckles. 

Ric Flair also got some air time on the event to everybody's embarrassment with a segment which looks like it will end in a match against Hogan at Slammiversary, not that this match is what anybody want's but if it has to happen can Flair keep his clothes on from now on and not throw his shoes!   

Angle and Hardy had a decent match that was probably the best of the night and the other worthy mention is that Bobby Roode retained the title after another gimmick ending after being superkicked through the door of the cage.

Open Fight Night 

Impact held is first Open Fight Night which was one of the few new introductions that were announced after Lockdown. Essentially this once a month special show means that anybody can challenge anybody else and no isn't an option, with a title holder having to defend against what seems to look like Hogan's selection. 

On OFN there was also the first Gut Check where an unsigned wrestler got a chance to shine and get a chance at a TNA contract. This month's was Alex Silva who didn't impress me much against Robbie E as my main enjoyment in this segment was seeing Al Snow on TV, which I didn't think would ever occur on purpose again.

Devon defends his TV title on Impact
(image by Impact Wrestling)

I like the idea of OFN and hope it develops well over the next few months as it could become the must watch Impact of the month, even if it does seem as if management have been reading through ROH's 'Code of Honor' with their 'Proving Ground' policy. The roster doesn't actually need boosting that much unless cuts are going to be made so I hope they don't give contracts out every month but it would be interesting to see well known unsigned talent given a chance, even if they only take the 5 minutes to boost their name value. 

Moving on into May we have a TV title that is finally being defended on Impact on a weekly basis, a PPV that is looking more like filler while the main happenings will take place at Slammiversary X. 

RVD has a shot at the title after winning a number one contenders match against Jeff Hardy and Mr Anderson, the losers received a tag title shot and now face each other at Sacrifice, while previous title challenger James Storm hasn't been seen since saying his luck had run out after Lockdown. We are also one step closer to finding out why Kazarian turned his back on A.J. with a photo of some sorts seeming to be something so horrific that friends will turn on one another and A.J. would rather take a beating from Angle and lose a match than risk anybody seeing what it is, obviously we will find out soon.

The final note I have for May is that the ratings have been dreadful and the buy rates for Lockdown not so great, hopefully these will begin to turn but with Lesnar making waves in WWE and Extreme Rules apparently being a top PPV, TNA will have to pull out all the stops over the next month to stop the rot and turn things around.

@Robbie_G_CH

Drafting In New Faces

After picking up the latest Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM - http://www.fightingspiritmagazine.co.uk/), the article 'Trading Places' set my thoughts alight. Having been a big EWR player, among other management simulations, I couldn't stop thinking about which athletes I would draft into TNA to improve the product. The article in FSM looks at those in TNA and WWE who are being used improperly, require a fresh gimmick and those who would just fit better within the other company. They list a number of people to bring into TNA, including the likes of Dolph Ziggler, Rey Mysterio, Beth Phoenix and Jack Swagger. Whilst I agree with the trades and reasons given, I have been thinking of others who would (not necessarily for personal reasons) better TNA.

Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team - Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin - ROH

With Beer Money going their separate ways and the World Heavyweight Title coming between Storm and Roode, there are now only a handful of recognisable teams left in what was once an exciting cornerstone of the company. WGGT would fill the hole that Beer Money have vacated and unlike other teams, fans will recognise the pair from their time with WWE, either as singles or as a team; depending on how far back people can remember as TWGTT or Team Angle. As such, they would not have to be built up as other new teams coming into the company would be.

WGTT could enter the division and immediately mix it up with the current teams on the roster, provide entertaining matches and elevate the division back to the point where Beer Money and Motor City Machine Guns were prominent parts of TV and PPV shows. 

Haas and Benjamin have proved themselves a top team and would fit perfectly into the TNA tag division. Both are also accomplished in their own right, should they ever wish to pursue a single's career. They would bring a much needed stability and excitement to the division,  providing entertaining match ups with a number of the current teams on the roster. 

Jack Evans - AAA

A face and name known to TNA fans after his exceptional performances in the build up to and the contract match at Destination X, where he lost out to Austin Aries. Although, despite losing out, he was the one name on all the fans lips and even trended on twitter after his first appearance on Impact Wrestling.
Evans would fit right into the X Division and would put on show-stealing matches with a number of the talent already in the division, whether it be a title match against Austin Aries or rivalries with Jesse Sorenson or Zema Ion. He is the athlete that every fan wanted  on the roster when the X Division was relaunched and would be a welcome addition to the roster.

CM Punk - WWE

Not that TNA needs any more top tier talent, but who wouldn't want CM Punk in the main event of a TNA PPV? I was excited when his contract was up in WWE and the slight possibility this move could happen, but more fool me. 

WWE, historically, prefer the big man in their main event, which makes Punk the odd one out. However, his size and in-ring style would fit perfectly into TNA. For instance, he could have a number of high profile matches with his old ROH rivals in A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels and  Samoa Joe. All of which, in my view, have potential to be match of the year.

There is little else that needs to be said about Punk, as his jumping ship would be as massive as Bret Hart moving to WCW in 1997. 

Chris Jericho 

The legend who would be great in TNA. Like Punk, his size and in ring style are perfect to mix it up with the talent currently on the TNA roster and I personally would love to see one last Jericho / Angle match up.

Despite being the first Undisputed Champion in WWE, I have always felt that Jericho has been mistreated by not being utilised in a position he deserves.

Not only being a top draw, he would also be able to boost the stock of some younger athletes by being paired with them in singles match ups. His credibility and draw would boost TNA and bring along a number of viewers who wouldn't normally bother converting from WWE. Which, in turn, would generate a lot of media attention. 

Sadly, this is all fantasy trading, some are more likely to happen than others, but if TNA want to overturn WWE as the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, then these are the sort of acquisitions that would help. I have nothing against building up your own talent and hell, TNA have a lot of talented guys already on their roster, but one or two additions in the right places (especially in the tag team division), would freshen things up and hopefully bring in more viewers.   

Robbie G