Total Nonstop reDRagon

If rumours are to be believed (and they often are) TNA is interested in signing Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish. The pair, known collectively as reDRagon, are best known for their work in Ring of Honor. They’ve been teaming there, and elsewhere, for the last year and a half and have been a reliable, entertaining duo producing good matches and good promos.

Fish and O’Reilly are currently without ROH contracts, leaving us to presume that they’re working on what is colloquially known as a “handshake deal” until they either sign new contracts or lose the company’s tag team titles and move on. This leaves them with a choice of staying with their current employers or moving over to TNA. Both have their positives and negatives.

If reDRagon stay with ROH they’ll retain their relatively high spot on the card. They’ll perform in front of crowds who know and appreciate them and their work. And they will have further opportunities to work with New Japan talent visiting the US via ROH and also make trips over to New Japan themselves. All very satisfying for a pro wrestler.

ROH will want to hang on to reDRagon.

But staying with ROH is limiting. They’ve faced every regular combo in the company. That includes Bad Influence, who debuted as a pair less than a month ago. There are things that further O’Reilly and Fish versus Daniels and Kazarian matches could offer and accomplish that the first didn’t, but no rematch can feel as significant or accomplish as much as the first meeting.

Short of ROH signing or creating some new pairings, which isn’t beyond them but doesn’t appear to be a priority at the moment, reDRagon will basically be treading water. They can lose and regain the titles to keep them occupied but they’ve already enjoyed three reigns. What will more accomplish without a deeper roster to work with?

In TNA reDRagon would have some new opposition as a team but not as much as could be assumed by a “jumping to a new company” headline. The only regular teams on the Total Nonstop roster that reDRagon haven’t clashed with are The BroMans and The Menagerie. Those matches could be good but it’s not guaranteed, and they’re not the sorts of collisions that could be billed as dream matches. reDRagon versus either of those teams would be nothing more than a generic TV bout.

Having The Wolves on the roster is not the great boon it might appear either. Fish and O’Reilly faced Edwards and Richards many times in Ring of Honor. Anyone desperate to see those teams wrestle can see them do so easily enough via the interweb or a DVD purchase. They could put some new spots together and I’m sure the first meeting could give TNA’s TV tallies a spike but it’s not a feud that’s going to engage everyone watching. Crucially it’s not a feud that’s going to fully engage any of the four men involved, because they’ve been through it before.

But what TNA can offer Fish and O’Reilly is a new platform with new viewers and the promise that they’re trying to expand. The former would allow the pair to win over new people, meaning potential T-shirt and assorted merch sales for the future, while the latter could result in new teams to work with in the future. Plus there’s the fact that TNA would probably offer more money than ROH.

Personally I’d like to see reDRagon stay in Ring of Honor. TNA has done nothing over the last twelve months to make me think they’d do anything interesting with a talented team like Fish and O’Reilly. The fact that they rushed the tag championships on to the not dissimilar Wolves practically confirms they wouldn’t. Short of Fish and O’Reilly getting the chance to move over to NXT (which isn’t inconceivable) I’m fine watching them in ROH.

The TNA New Talent Initiative

Last summer saw TNA start cutting back on the number they employed. British vet Doug Williams was amongst the first to go, followed by the likes Christian York, Crimson, Joey Ryan, Matt Morgan, Tara, and Jesse Sorensen, as well as backstage personnel D’Lo Brown and Bruce Prichard. On November 2 it was announced that the working agreement between TNA and Ohio Valley Wrestling, which saw the latter act as a developmental league, had been dissolved.

The biggest blow came when AJ Styles left in December after a new deal couldn’t be worked out. While I don’t believe he had the star power to turn TNA around he was incredibly popular with the promotion’s existing fans and a talented in-ring performer. He would have been, and still would be, capable of offering TNA a lot.

The roster hasn’t just seen wrestlers departing though. New names have been brought in, replacing those who have left. The newcomers are working under newly structured deals which are more financially advantageous to TNA. That’s obviously good for TNA because they’re saving money. And while the newbies aren’t going to be raking in megabucks they do at least have steady work and jobs that grant them international exposure. Those who have left have the freedom to get work elsewhere, which some already have.

For the most part I think it’s a good thing for viewers too. Changes to the roster had been needed for a while. TNA had a great selection of wrestlers but they’d all been around for so long that it was tough for the company to present anything fresh. By getting rid of some of their established names and bringing in new ones TNA have given themselves the chance to put on fresh matches. That’s one of the things that can encourage people to watch Impact. TNA had different motivations but the result’s the same.

So far the new talent have been a mixed bag. Lei’D Tapa was reintroduced and put into a partnership with lead Knockouts heel Gail Kim. She’s been fine in the bodyguard role so far, but then it’s not particularly challenging. It’s almost certainly only happening in the first place because TNA want to emulate the similar pairing of AJ Lee and Tamina Snuka that WWE already had in place. The real test will come when Lei’d Tapa gets broken off on her own.

The other Knockout TNA have brought in is Alpha Female. She’s a fresh face and has an interesting look but hasn’t really done much beyond exhibit generally heelish behaviour. It’s encouraging to see TNA signing performers for their once mighty Knockout division. With work it could be restored to glory. Were that to happen TNA would be offering something WWE don’t: a genuinely competitive and compelling female division. Alpha and Tapa are a good start but aren’t enough to make this happen by themselves.

Does he look like a Rockstar to you?

Like Tapa Rockstar Spud survived the dissolution of the TNA-OVW relationship and got a spot on TV. In his case he became Dixie Carter’s Chief of Staff. So far he’s done little but talk. He’s done okay with what he’s been given, but that hasn’t been much. He’s a good wrestler, so it’s a promising sign that he’s still knocking about, but it can’t really be taken as a positive until he’s having matches. Because wrestling, not talking, is Spud’s strength.

The man brought in as Dixie Carter’s privileged faux nephew EC3 is former NXT regular Michael ‘Derrick Bateman’ Hutter. He’s never going to be voted anybody’s wrestler of the year but he does at least look and sound the part, something that can’t be said for many people in TNA. In his current supporting role he’s fine. His sparring rivalry with Magnus could lead to something inoffensive if handled right. But going on TNA’s track record that won’t happen.

Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, collectively known as The Wolves, were a pretty big get for TNA. They’d had much talked about tryouts for WWE at the Performance Centre and an NXT taping and since 2010 had been amongst the top stars in Ring of Honor, a promotion that doesn’t share many supporters with TNA. That means there’s a chance ROH watchers could be enticed into watching Impact to see how their former faves are doing.

Unfortunately they could be doing better. They debuted wearing ill-fitting suits and captured the tag team titles within a month of their first appearance. That ensured there was no sense of specialness or something significant having been achieved. It was just business as usual. Perhaps worse is that they dropped the belts after only having them for a week. So anyone tuning in to catch up with them is likely going to be put off pretty quickly. Still, they’re a good team capable of having good matches with anyone TNA fancies pitting them against. They can be assets.

 

Someone at TNA (or Spike) likes this guy

The return of Bobby Lashley at Lockdown is hard to take as anything but a step backwards. The man has never been over and never produced what the majority would consider to be a exciting match. The best that can be said for him is that he has a slender chance of attracting an MMA audience. Although in truth he doesn't really have much of that.

Of course the biggest name so far has been MVP (who has curiously not been referred to by his full title of Montel Vontavious Porter yet, which makes me suspect that TNA can’t use the full thing for some reason). There are two ways of looking at this. The first is to see MVP as a former WWE star who talks well and has the capability to produce above average matches. The second is to see MVP as a forty-year-old several years removed from his most prominent work as a pro wrestler who was only ever average in the ring.

Both views are understandable but depend entirely on your established views on MVP as a performer. Going on his time in WWE it’s certainly possible that he’ll do good work but it’s not a guarantee. Something in TNA’s favour is that he’ll be working alongside creative team member Dave Lagana, who previously worked with him during his peak period in WWE.

Also in TNA’s favour is the fact that ‘Mr 305’ got a loud, sustained ovation when he made his debut for the company in Glasgow on January 30. That crowd was not representative of the average TNA audience but it did indicate that using him is a popular decision. He’s not someone that a wrestling company can build its future around, due to his age and fairly generic ring style, but he at least has the charisma and presence to be accepted by existing fans, not put off newcomers, and do well with the material he’s given.

It’s disheartening that I’ve not mentioned anyone that I think can make the difference that TNA needs, but it’s not surprising. Part of the problem is there just aren’t any names available that can help TNA improve in the areas and at the speed they need. Another part of the problem is that TNA has been so mismanaged for so long that the people who are available are going to have second thoughts about signing contracts. From the outside TNA does not look like a promotion with good long-term prospects.

On the plus side they have a working agreement in place with Keiji Mutoh’s Wrestle-1 which will allow them to send limited performers away to improve and provide them with a source of exciting talent that could bolster the crumbled X Division. And good work has been done with Rockstar Spud, Alpha Female and EC3 and, to a lesser extent, The Wolves and MVP. If TNA can keep going on their current path, getting basic things right and avoiding major missteps, it’s possible that they may be able to attract names that people want to see. Personally I think TNA should be trying to sign The Young Bucks, Kevin Steen and Chris Hero. All four have very passionate followers and can wrestle very good matches. Time will tell if they’re wanted, and if they’re interested in TNA if they are.

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 37

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 37 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

I know the Royal Rumble’s tonight but we discussed that in last Sunday’s episode. There’s only so much that can be said about it in a podcast before it happens.

Talk to the hand, TNA!

As a change from all the Rumble hype Michael and I turn our attention to TNA and the various news and rumours surrounding the company and its staff. Such as Jeff Jarrett leaving and allegedly talking about forming another new company. He’s got the experience to pull that off but I don’t think there are enough guys out there that he could sign to exclusive contracts for it to be a real possibility. He could probably do something on the level of EVOLVE or Ring of Honor, but I get the feeling ‘Double J’ would like to be affiliated with something on a grander scale.

Then there’s the signing of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards, the American Wolves. They’re not guys who are going to turn things around for TNA but they could help improve the tag division and perhaps the X Division too. Ultimately they talented fresh names. That, along with a strong creative vision, is what TNA needs the most.

The final subject discussed is a wonderful conspiracy theory that, in fact, tie in to the Royal Rumble. But it’s so ridiculous that I don’t think it falls under the umbrella of serious Rumble talk. Have Kane and Daniel Bryan been in cahoots since they stopped teaming? That’s the question, apparently…

Evolution of the Wolf

Davey Richards' future gets more interesting by the day. A few weeks ago it was revealed that he was to be part of an extended WWE tryout, wrestling on NXT and SmackDown, alongside his tag partner Eddie Edwards. This in itself was peculiar as it hinted at a new way for wrestlers to potentially enter the company or, at the very least, that WWE were showing uncharacteristic flexibility.

But WWE's hiring policies have been dwarfed by the news that Davey Richards and Ring of Honor have parted ways. The reason for the split is an interview given by Richards to British wrestling magazine-website Total Wrestling (never 'eard of 'em). 'The Lone Wolf' trashed the current direction of the promotion he's called home for seven years, stating that the tag titles "don't mean anything anymore", that the booking of the world title has been "substandard and screwy" leading to the championship's devaluation, and that he doesn't care about the promotion's much discussed iPPV woes.

I agree with most of this. The booking of the world championship <has> been shoddy for a number of years. I'm not sure how long Richards believes this has been the case but I think the belt's dropped a notch since Gabe Sapolsky left. There have been peaks in that time, such as the shock victory of Edwards and the reigns of Kevin Steen and Tyler Black, but mostly the title doesn't mean as much as it once did. I feel Richards was a little too hard on the tag belts. They've dropped in meaning too, but not to the same extent and reDRagon have done a good job of providing a focal point this year.

But as right as Richards is he remains an employee. Wrestlers in these situations have to able to tow the company line. The can tactfully acknowledge that things have been better or that they'd take a different approach but they still need to remain broadly positive. Openly trashing the promotion that pays your wages isn't a smart move, and if Richards doesn't understand that (and this episode indicates that he doesn't) he's going to have a hard time in WWE.

On Tuesday morning Gabe Sapolsky involved himself. He tacked on the question of whether or not he should call Richards to a Dragon Gate USA newsletter, also whacking it up (because he's a social media guru) on Facebook and Twitter. Amongst those to send a positive reply was Wesley 'Davey' Richards.

Future challenger to the Freedom Gate title?

The relationship between these two is made out to be more complex and fraught than it is by many people, but it's complex and fraught enough to warrant a brief recap. When Sapolsky first set up EVOLVE he intended to build it around Davey Richards. 'The Lone Wolf', not then as big a name as he is now but still highly regarded, wrestled on the first EVOLVE show (defeating Kota Ibushi in the main event) but never went back. There are two reasons for this. The first is that he was contracted to Ring of Honor and they decided, as was their right, that they weren't happy with Richards working for Gabe's outfit. The second is that Sapolsky told Richards that he'd set up EVOLVE (and Dragon Gate USA, presumably) to put ROH out of business. Richards, not liking the negativity or the goal of putting people out of work, decided he'd rather not return.

This scenario led to Sapolsky referring to "trust issues" when he asked if he should contact Richards. I can see his point: he'd wanted to build EVOLVE around Richards and only found that he was unavailable after the promotion was up and running. But ultimately the situation was of his own making. He knew Richards had a contract elsewhere and gave pretty questionable reasons for starting his promotion(s).

Things are, of course, different now. Richards is a free agent with some time available before he heads to WWE. EVOLVE has become a known entity in its own right, without regular input from Richards. While it’s not a promotion he’s linked with its one held in high enough regard by fans to be a fitting place for Richards to wrestle his farewell indy match or matches, assuming he goes to WWE and does well enough that he never leaves of course.

Sapolsky would be spoilt for choice when picking opponents for Richards. The obvious name at the top of the list would be Open the Freedom Gate champion Johnny Gargano. He’s the man that Sapolsky pits against any outside talent that comes his way because he’s not only the roster’s greatest US-based all-rounder but also but also because he’s become the wrestler that shows are constructed around. That second fact would add something to a Richards v Gargano match: the man who was going to be the centrepiece against the man who became it naturally.

Akira Tozawa, Chris Hero, Chuck Taylor, CIMA, and Ricochet would all have great, headline-worthy matches opposite Richards too. How many we’d see would depend on how many matches Davey worked in the company. I’m hopeful that it happens. Outside of ROH EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA are the best option to host Richards’ farewell match(es). In a way it’s a shame that he’s heading to WWE: Richards is just the shot in the arm that Sapolsky’s feds need.

The American Pitbulls

The saga of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards continues!

Until recently the last major piece of news regarding the move of the American Wolves from ring of Honor to WWE was that they’d attended a tryout weekend at the Florida training facility in September. They’d returned to ROH after that. There was talk of them being offered developmental contracts but they kept being announced for shows with ROH. There was nothing solid to support an argument for or against them joining WWE.

This was until last Thursday. On that day WWE held an NXT taping in their regular haunt of Full Sail University and Richards and Edwards appeared as a tag team. Billed as the American Pitbulls they wrestled NXT tag team champion The Ascension in a non-title match.

The American Pitbulls

Unsurprisingly Richards and Edwards lost the match. Equally unsurprisingly they were given new individual names to go with the collective one. Richards was introduced as John Cahill while Edwards has become Eric Philbin. There’s nothing about either name that screams “larger than life wrestling personality!” but at least the team name has remained solid.

Despite this surprising development the two are still confirmed for Ring of Honor’s Final Battle show on December 14^th. Unlikely source Rob Feinstein has stated that this is because they’re being given an extended tryout with WWE. According to him Richards and Edwards (or, if you prefer, Cahill and Philbin) will wrestle at the next several NXT tapings before getting a run on SmackDown. If they can forge a connection with WWE fans during this time then, and only then, will they be offered contracts.

If true it’s an interesting approach from WWE. It’s also one I approve of. Giving wrestlers a chance to prove that they can fit into the WWE system is a better approach than just having them strut their stuff in front of company personnel. Getting over takes time. Working on NXT and SmackDown gives these guys, and any who follow them, the chance to create a following and an argument for being signed by WWE. It lets them prove they know how to do more than just have an exciting match.

Can Richards and Edwards get over, that’s the question. They managed to make it to the top of ROH together, but that’s a very different company to WWE. Fans of ROH appreciate lengthy, hard-hitting matches above anything else. They like a wrestler to have some charisma to them, but it’s not a prerequisite for success.

WWE fans, at least those who aren’t actively seeking out other forms of wrestling, are most concerned with characters. If a guy can wrestle well that’s great, but ultimately all someone needs is the conditioning to work a long match when required and a number of signature and finishing moves to slot into their matches.

So the question of success in WWE for the Wolves (or the Pitbulls) is less about their talent and more about whether they understand the key differences between the company they’ll be trying out for and the one for which they’ve spent the majority of the careers working. Both have been in wrestling long enough to know this sort of thing, and even if they had somehow convinced themselves they needed to concentrate on work rate they have friends in WWE (both road agents and members of the active roster) who would advise them otherwise.

Neither is known for their personality but I think they have enough in them to make an impression if they’re given the chance. They’re both worthy of WWE contracts and keeping them together as a unit would be the best (for business) move. I’m interested to see how they looked when facing O’Brian and Victor. And I’ll be looking forward to their matches against the likes of Wyatt Family and the Prime Time Players on SmackDown. If they have good matches against these sorts of guys they’ll deserve contracts.

Beating Cole

Back in June ROH vacated their world championship due to the storyline injuries and real life contract negotiations of reigning champion Jay Briscoe. The tournament held to crown a new champion was a disappointment. Instead of using it as an opportunity to present itself as a company that scours the world for the best wrestlers and matches to give to its fans, and making its world title look genuinely desirable to the wrestling world into the bargain, ROH opted to enter most of its headliners into the brackets plus some mid-card guys everyone knew wouldn’t win. They then put out calls to some indy guys, with guys seemingly being chosen based on whether or not they were under contract elsewhere as opposed to whether they’d make the tournament special.

This approach resulted in predictable semi-finals and finals. I’ve written before that that didn’t have to be a bad thing. If match quality is high enough ROH can get away with being predictable a lot of the time. They market themselves as the sport of professional wrestling and as such match quality is of greater importance than in other North American promotions.

There was not a single unquestionable classic in the entire tournament. There were certainly some good matches but nothing that will be remembered fondly three years, or even one year, from now. There should have been. Wrestlers should have been encouraged to use their involvement in the tournament, one of the most high profile things ROH has done in years, as a way of moving themselves up in the estimations of fans.

Similarly ROH should have brought in big names to illustrate how special the tournament was. The likes of Jushin Liger, Doug Williams, Low Ki, Amazing Red, Jack Evans, Kushida, Keiji Mutoh, Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Crimson, and Colt Cabana were and are all available for at least limited bookings. Not all would have provided wonderful matches but those that didn’t would have helped to present the ROH championship as something desirable to everyone working in wrestling. It could have been used as a way of presenting a stream of dream matches. Instead it became something that the company and its fans just needed to get through.

At least the right man won. Adam Cole being crowned the new world champion has set the promotion back on what looks like the right track. If they concentrate on promoting him as the lead villain of the company and keep lead challengers Michael Elgin and Jay Briscoe close on his tail the main event scene should be compelling until the end of the year.
 

Adam Cole: the man with the ROH championship and the man to beat

 

I’d like to see singles matches between Cole and these two men over the next couple of months before wrapping the programme up in a three-way match at Final Battle. It feels like a nice scenario to take the company through to the end of the year before moving all involved in fresh directions.

I’ve been passionate about giving Michael Elgin the world championship over the last year and a half but I’m beginning to go off of the idea. He can no longer be presented as the hot young upstart that can carry the company. He’s had too many failed challenges for that. Maybe at some point in the future he could become champion but he’s been kept waiting too long now and as such he can’t have the impressive, career-defining run that was his for the taking six months ago.

Basically, ‘Unbreakable’ should have been the man to beat Kevin Steen. Preferably at Best in the World. It’s entirely possible he’ll defeat Adam Cole, but it won’t have the impact a title win would have done as recently as four months ago.

The honour (there’s a U in that one) of beating Steen to Jay Briscoe. It was presented almost as a reward for length of service by ROH and most fans seemed fine with that. I disliked the insinuation, feeling that world championships should be put on skilled or popular (or unpopular, in the case of bad guys) wrestlers rather than dished out to someone because they’ve been loyal over a long period. In fairness to ROH perhaps it was an attempt to keep ‘Dem Boys’ from moving to TNA or WWE. That wouldn’t excuse the decision but would make it a little easier to understand.

It seems unlikely that Jay will regain the title. Not only does ROH seem to shy away from multiple title reigns with their top prize (note that that only one man has won the title twice in its eleven year history) but he is still primarily a tag team wrestler. He can be presented as a credible contender now that he’s a former champion, which is perhaps another aspect of why he had it in the first place, but he doesn’t strike me as a future two time champion. There’s nothing for him to do in the role and he’s proven too controversial for a modern mainstream company.

I suspect Cole will make it to 2014 with the championship and I think it’s likely that he’ll lose it to someone he’s not currently involved with. Jay Lethal, as ever, could stand a chance of being that guy. If ROH want a short term face champion to ferry the belt between more substantial heel acts I could see him getting the nod for a caretaker reign.

A man who warrants a mention based more on his own merit is Tommaso Ciampa. ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ has been presented as a strong contender since returning from an injury a few months ago. He lost to Cole in the tournament semi-finals and doesn’t strike me as someone who could realistically win the title now. But given a year or more to establish himself as a champion-in-waiting by beating bigger names and, more importantly, wrestling a string of excellent matches, I think Ciampa would be accepted as the man to dethrone Cole.

ACH could be considered for a title reign if Cole holds the gold long enough. He’s certainly popular enough. He’s wrestled a string of dazzling matches this year and would bring a style to the top of the ROH card that we haven’t seen in years. He’d be a very different sort of Ring of Honor world champion.

I admit this is incredibly unlikely though. As good as ACH is I think a world title is years away, if it’s in his future at all. Even ROH, the company that likes to present itself as the company that promotes guys based on ability, would struggle to justify booking a man of ACH’s stature and wrestling his style as their top guy. I’d love to see it and don’t think it’s impossible. It’s just massively unlikely, especially right now.

The guy I currently think stands the best chance of beating Adam Cole for the title is Kevin Steen. Although he’s not quite as popular as he was last year he is still the man who gets the biggest reactions on ROH shows. Earlier in the year I was assuming that Steen would lose the belt to Matt Hardy and regain it at or by Final Battle, so admittedly I find it easier to accept the idea of a second Steen title reign than I do one for a Strong, a Richards, an Edwards or a Briscoe.

Of all the former champions on the roster ‘Mr Wrestling’ strikes me as the best choice to regain the title. His first run seemed as though it was cut short. There were things left for him to do and people left for him to face. The timing would work well here too. Steen could swoop in for a run at the title once the New Year begins. Steen v Cole is headlining the November 2^nd show in Cincinnati. Perhaps something will happen there to set up a feud or a rematch later.

Right now Steen is my choice to defeat Cole, sometime in the first half of next year most likely. I’d like to see Cole have a long title reign, until this time next year or longer. That seems unlikely though, based on ROH booking over the last few years. Cole could make such a reign work I’m sure. And he’d deserve that time in the spotlight for being one of the company’s most consistent and hard-working wrestlers.

The NXT Wolves

Over the last few years Davey Richards has intimated he’s going to quit Ring of Honor on two occasions. The first was in 2010 when he stated outright that he was going to leave wrestling behind to become a full-time fire-fighter. That didn’t happen. He instead re-signed with Ring of Honor and was front and centre for the horrendous reign of error inflicted on the company by Jim Cornette.

The second time was when he signed his current ROH deal. He announced that the contract lasted through to August of this year and when it expired he would take a look at his options. That’s wrestler speak for seeing if WWE’s interested.

And in fairness who can blame the guy? Davey Richards has been slogging his guts out as a wrestler since 2004. In that time he’s built up a reputation for working hard and putting on spirited, energetic performances. He’s travelled the world learning his craft and is at an age where he’s probably thinking about whether he’s ready to trade in the creative freedom of the indies for the opportunities only WWE can offer.

With this in mind it should come as no surprise that Richards and his American Wolves tag team partner Eddie Edwards are rumoured to be among the names attending a WWE tryout camp at the company’s new training facility in Florida. It’s these camps that WWE uses to determine whether or not prospective wrestlers warrant being offered a developmental contract and spot in NXT.

 

The American Wolves: future NXT tag team champions?

 

I don’t want to bang on about how good an idea it would be to sign Richards and Edwards. Anyone who’s seen them wrestle will know they could be an asset to WWE’s product, either as a tag team or as singles competitors (and the latter is far likelier). Both would have to work at cultivating suitable personas, their current approach is fine for ROH but wouldn’t go over well with WWE management or audiences. But that’s the purpose of NXT. Were they to sign developmental contracts they’d be amongst the top guys at that level immediately, and their deficiencies in the personality department could be improved.

The Wolves are booked on ROH shows up to September 28^th. Shows after that haven’t yet had appearance lists attached to them. As it’s been reported that the Wolves’ contracts expired in August I have to assume that they’ve either signed contract extensions or verbally agreed to appear at a few more shows.

Worth noting is that only one show actually has them listed in a match: at Death Before Dishonor XI they will challenge the Forever Hooligans for the IWGP junior tag titles. That the match has been announced makes me think whatever agreement the Wolves have in place covers that show. It’s reasonable to assume that the TV taping the next day could be covered by this too, as it will be held at the same venue.

Should Richards and Edwards get WWE developmental deals it’s entirely possible that those shows could be their last. Should that end up being the case I hope Ring of Honor breaks their recent trend and provides a fitting send off for Richards and Edwards. By that I don’t mean making sure they win, rather that they should be given enough time to ensure their final ROH match is an absolute classic.

Considering ROH bills itself as a promotion that promotes in-ring ability over anything else this should be a standard approach, but it’s not and hasn’t been for years. The last time a guy was allowed to go out on a tremendous match was El Generico at Final Battle 2012.But he wasn’t a regular at the time and that felt more like ROH cashing in on a popular feud one final time more than allowing Rami Sebei to give fans a reason to remember him fondly.

The last regulars I remember being given a chance to leave on a classic in a spot that befitted their standing in the company and its history were Nigel McGuinnes and Bryan Danielson. That was back in September 2009. Since then Richards and Edwards have been amongst the names that have kept the company going. If any performers deserve to go out on a high it’s them.

A Night of Hoopla review

On Thursday July 11^th Ring of Honor returned to their onetime stronghold of Chicago. They were there to put on a wrestling show. Nothing unusual about that, you may think. And you’d be right. Because ROH is a wrestling company. But it’s a wrestling company with a reputation for being serious and placing its emphasis firmly on pro wrestling as a sport, rather than as a form of entertainment. That was not the case on July 11^th.

The show was dubbed A Night of Hoopla and featured Truth Martini running things for the evening. The event was so far from what ROH has been presenting under current creative chief Delirious (and indeed what ROH is known for in general) that I wouldn’t be surprised if Truth genuinely had had some input into the direction of the show. Imagine if the WWF had done a house show with The Godfather as the guest General Manager towards the end of the Attitude Era and you’ll have a very clear idea of the vibe this card had.

Despite its status as an unauthorised event, and a house show no less, A Night of Hoopla looked pretty strong going in. They’d announced a three-way between Matt Taven, Eddie Edwards and Adam Cole, a match pitting reDRagon against Roderick Strong and ROH trainee Cheeseburger, a six person tag match featuring the popular ACH and probable next world champ Michael Elgin, and a rare in-ring appearance from Delirious. There was every chance it would be an eventful show.

That parental guidance line wasn't for decoration

 

Things kicked off with a Truth Martini promo. He hyped the evening in general and told the audience to drink responsibly. He set the tone for the evening when he said if people didn’t drink responsibly then they might crash into a school bus on their way home, which could potentially kill a girl and stop her growing up to be eighteen. Which would mean he’d have nobody to have a “good time” with.

That line alone told us this would not be a regular ROH show. And that Truth Martini had carte blanche to say whatever he fancied. The latter was not necessarily a good thing.

Hoopla Hotty Scarlett sang America the Beautiful. The lyrics were altered to be about boobs and stripping and it being okay for men to check her out. Once again this was a tone setting exercise as much as anything else (although one far more enjoyable than Truth’s). I laughed when the accompanying video montage of American icons showed a Walmart.

The first match was the three-way. Matt Taven was introduced first. It seemed weird to me that Truth would book his own guy in the show opener, but what do I know about managing wrestlers? Not as much as Truth Martini, that’s for sure.

Instead of a slick, wrestling-heavy match we got a load of comedic ringside brawling revolving around stiff chops and the wrestlers taking pictures of one another with fans’ cameras. It was good, it just wasn’t what I expected from Cole and Edwards. The crowd enjoyed it. The match also featured the evening’s first referee in underpants, a running theme for the show.

It was a fun opener. Had they been allowed to have a regular match they could have done something great. That wasn’t the point of the evening though. The finish came after Scarlett interjected herself into the match¹ and Cole and ‘Die Hard’ exchanged super kicks, with Taven sneaking in to hit his tumbling DDT on Edwards for the victory. It was a clean win for him, more or less.

Following some simulated spit-roasting from Edwards and Cole Truth returned to the ring to introduce the Ring of Honor equivalent of P Diddy performing at WrestleMania: Jimmy Jacobs singing his new song, Gypsy Soul. The guy was one of ROH’s top villains a few years ago when leading The Age of the Fall. He’s had quite the comedown. The crowd liked him though (which surprised me). That’s what counts.

Match two was ‘Machismo King’ Jay Lethal v Delirious with Maria Kanellis as the guest referee. Lethal was wheeled in through the crowd on a cart of some sort, emulating ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage’s entrance at WrestleMania IV. He was accompanied by Sister Sensational Sherri. I’ve no idea who was playing her, but she was dreadful throughout the entire match.

I found the match awkwardly paced. It was far more miss than hit. Sherri’s timing didn’t help matters. I did enjoy Lethal’s spot on Savage tics and traits, as well as Delirious channelling Ultimate Warrior (Ultimate Delirious? The Delirious Warrior?). Considering how good both men are at actually wrestling their characters shouldn’t have been the highlight.

‘Machismo King’ won with a rollup after Delirious attempted a cocky cover.

After the bout Lethal proposed to Maria (calling her Elizabeth). That upset Sherri. She lumbered into the ring and low blowed Lethal. Maria returned to make the save, which prompted Lethal to say he knew she really cared and issue a second proposal. He tried again and Maria accepted with an “Ohhhh yeah!” Mike Bennett came out to put an end to the fun and games by carrying his girlfriend backstage. The post-match shenanigans were better than the match itself.

Truth came back out to host the Pants Off Dance Off. Solicia and Scarlett were joined as contestants by a third random girl. This was one of only two points when I missed there being a commentary team. It would have been nice to know the identity of the newcomer.

Truth introduced Judge Jeff Jones as the guest… erm… judge of the Dance Off. Yes that is the same Jeff Jones that managed Mike Awesome to the ECW championship in 1999. ROH are now recycling fourteen year old gimmicks that were barely over in ECW. Brilliant.

Personally I’d hoped that Sabu would be the judge and end up smashing the Hoopla Hotties through tables. I admit it wasn’t likely.

The three women danced half-heartedly, ground themselves against Jones, and stripped. It was everything you’d want from this sort of segment.

 

The Hoopla Hotties there, doing whatever it is they do

 

Before Jones could announce the winner he was interrupted by Davey Richards. ‘The American Wolf’ swerved everyone with a promo about how the ROH he’d joined was about wrestling. He made the obligatory mentions of Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, and CM Punk (because those names are shorthand for the glory days of Ring of Honor and always good for a pop) before switching gear and announcing that he would participate in the Dance Off too.

Richards didn’t pull his pants off but what he did do was pretty funny. There was a lot of air humping going on. It worked because it juxtaposed Richards’ serious persona so perfectly. As Richards was announced as the winner ‘Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man’ Silas Young made his way out to the ring, incredulous at what he’d just seen.

The two ended up having their scheduled match early. It looked promising for the first several minutes but took a turn for the worse when Truth came out to inform Silas that he was spending too much time outside the ring. It was turned into a Lumberjill match. Men in drag came out to ringside to chants of “No!” and “This is awkward!” That was to be expected.

Young took a predictable tumble to ringside and got manhandled back in. Richards was in control from then on, although Young did manage to squeeze in an impressive corner headstand into a springboard moonsault. Davey got a convincing near fall after an alarm clock, a running kick and a top rope double stomp, then locked in the ankle lock for the submission victory. Young tapped quickly, as befits his spot on the card.

Adding to the surreal nature of his appearance for the evening Davey Richards sang a few lines of a song as the lumberjills left. The poor audio made it hard to make out what the song was, but that’s hardly the point.

Next, Truth Martini (the hardest working man at A Night of Hoopla) returned for a segment where a man was plucked from the audience for a lap dance. He was sat down in a chair, under the impression the Hoopla Hotties would be dancing for him. He seemed fine with a blindfold being strapped round his eyes. I like to think I would have questioned that.

The “joke” of the segment was that some larger ladies came out to perform the lap dance as Truth and his girls laughed. The audience seemed to think this was brilliant, so I’m forced to concede it wasn’t the most dreadful idea for a segment.

It was during all of this that I thought about Gabe Sapolsky. I bet he’d have loved A Night of Hoopla.

reDRagon wrestled Roderick Strong and Cheeseburger in the evening’s penultimate match. It’s still not clear if this was a tag team title match. It wasn’t announced as one but as Truth Martini was doing the ring announcing that doesn’t mean it wasn’t. Confusing things further ROH’s website simply has a question mark next to the status of the titles in relation to this match.

It doesn’t matter either way because reDRagon won.  The four men had the best match of the evening. Cheeseburger was incredibly popular with the crowd. His diminutive size makes him a natural underdog. It took him a while to really begin selling the beating he was taking and actually become isolated but when he did he was great at it.

Eventually O’Reilly eliminated Roddy with a series of stiff kicks and punches. The champions then hoisted Cheeseburger up and hit Chasing the Dragon for the win.

 

His ring name is Cheeseburger and he wrestles in Ring of Honor. Deal with it

 

Truth returned for his final segment of the evening, Hoopla Unplugged. His guest? Satan². It was a guy painted red with horns sticking out from his hair. The fans initially chanted “Six six six!” but quickly switched to more negative stock chants when the novelty wore off (which took approximately seventeen seconds).

“Satan” cut a tedious promo about how Truth’s debauchery was too much for even him. That’s right, ROH put Truth Martini over the devil. When asked to join in with the pants off party Satan declined and instead told everyone they were going to Hell. He ended up taking a Death Valley Driver from Solicia and having his trousers pulled off. Satan wears silver wrestling trunks under his trousers. Who knew?

Adrenaline RUSH and Athena v Michael Elgin, BJ Whitmer and MsChif was the main event. It was established early on that MsChif and Elgin didn’t like each other locking up with people of the opposite sex. This was the other instance of me missing a commentary team. I had to rely on Google to find out that MsChif and Elgin are married.

 

Matching ring colours...

 

The match was unmemorable but enjoyable enough. It picked up as it went on and featured a fun dance off towards the beginning. Michael Elgin did The Worm. Perhaps ROH should have brought Scotty 2 Hotty in for the title tournament. He’d have been an ideal first round opponent for ‘Unbreakable’.

Elgin saved MsChif from an ACH power bomb. She kissed him. Tadarius Thomas broke that up and got green misted by Elgin for his trouble. Big Michael followed up with a buckle bomb and then an Elgin bomb for the three count.

Truth made his final appearance of the evening to thank everyone for coming. He reminded us that hoopla is not just a word but a lifestyle. The House of Truth theme played and Martini and the Hoopla Hotties danced us off the air.

Anyone tuning in for a standard Ring of Honor show would probably have been disappointed with A Night of Hoopla. The emphasis was far more on comedy than it was competitive wrestling. ROH did do a good job of advertising the show as something different and ended up with something that was like a cross between Attitude Era WWF, latter days ECW, and PWG. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant mix.

As a one off it worked very well. If ROH were to modify this model for more of their smaller shows I don’t think there would be that many complaints. But it’s not a bold new format ROH can adapt without driving away a significant portion of their existing fan base. And I get the feeling a bold new format is what the promotion is currently searching for.

***

¹ Eddie hit Scarlett with some chops to the backside to send her packing. She did a great job of selling her arse after the match. She’s probably had some practice…

² Yep. Satan.

The Second Tournament

Meanwhile, over in Ring of Honor, the world championship has been vacated. The reason? In kayfabe terms it’s that Jay Briscoe is too banged up to compete. In real life terms it’s that his contract, along with his brother Mark's, has expired.

I'm not a fan of the title being vacated. I'd hoped that Jay would return for one final match that would allow him to lose the title to his successor and receive the send-off fans would have wanted to give him. Basically, I thought he’d do right by ROH.

A large part of why I like ROH is the way they present themselves and the wrestling business. That stretches to the way they present their world championship. Since it was introduced in a tournament over the summer of 2002 the ROH world championship has been presented as the top prize in the promotion.

In its eleven year history the title has only seen eighteen reigns shared amongst seventeen wrestlers. The infrequency of the title changes has made the belt seem more prestigious than other indy titles. It's meant something when someone loses it (and indeed when someone wins it). Even keeping track of who's defended against who has helped the title seem special as it demonstrates that ROH champions don't wrestle against the same guy in meaningless house show matches three or four nights a week.

Vacating the championship disrupts its lineage, which had been the longest in North American wrestling. TNA introduced their own world title when their affiliation with the NWA died a death in May 2013, while WWE has vacated their top title for a variety of reasons over the last decade, most recently in 2011 with the bungled “CM Punk’s leaving with the title oh wait he’s not really” storyline.

You expect the shorter, less significant reigns from the sports entertainment companies. You don't expect it from the "real sports" league. In those companies the world title is treated almost as a prop a lot of the time. It’s an excuse to two get two guys into a programme, not necessarily an indication of who’s the top star or the best wrestler. A by-product of that is that titles get vacated and shorter reigns occur. The presentation of those companies makes it a more acceptable approach.

Had the ROH championship been vacated due to an injury or something similarly beyond ROH's control I'd be fine with it. But the company actually had the opportunity to terminate Briscoe's reign during their Best in the World weekend. I can't understand why they didn't elect to have Elgin, Hardy or some other suitable candidate defeat him at the Sunday television recording. The disruption to the impressive title streak is solely of ROH's own creation. It’s a bitterly disappointing state of affairs.

It could, I suppose, be by design that Briscoe didn't lose the title. Perhaps King of the Book Delirious desired a title tournament as part of his storyline plans for the second half of the year. I'd hope that wasn't the case but you can't be sure.

One thing we can be sure of is that Delirious has done enough during the last six months to warrant our trust. He's not only come up with some entertaining rasslin' plots, he's also put together very good cards. I see no reason to think he can't book a sixteen man tournament replete with surprises and excellent matches.

At time of writing the tournament was due to begin in Providence, Rhode Island on July 27^th. So far we know Michael Elgin, Brian 'Spanky' Kendrick, ‘Machinegun’ Karl Anderson and Kevin Steen will be in the brackets. I expect Richards, Edwards, Lethal, Strong, and Cole to join them.

 

Kevin Steen gives a thumbs up to the idea of a second ROH world title reign

 

It's too early to pick a winner (I'll wait until all sixteen men have been revealed for that) but an obvious early pick has to be Elgin. I've been saying ‘Unbreakable’ should be the champion for a long time now. Had I had my way he'd have been the man to defeat Steen, probably at Best in the World. He's been ready to take the mantle for at least a year. The tournament could be his time.

With regards to non-regulars entering the tournament I don't think there are any candidates that can be safely predicted. I'm pleased to hear Kendrick will be back for it but I hadn't expected his name. That he's been wrestling for EVOLVE and other WWN promotions had caused me to assume he'd signed a contract with them that would preclude him from wrestling for Ring of Honor. I'm happy to be wrong.

Paul London is a likely candidate to join his former WWE tag team championship partner in the tourney field. Taiji Ishimori could crop up too, what with his appearance at Border Wars and all. Perhaps Naomichi Marufuji, who was originally due to appear at that event too, could enter too. That will depend on his knee status and NOAH schedule though.

I’d like to see ROH grant some spots to foreign stars. The original title tournament featured Johnny Storm, Jody Fleisch and Doug Williams. Brits like Dave Mastiff, El Ligero and Noam Dar could be amazing additions. All three could be hits with ROH crowds, not something should be overlooked at a time when the roster appears to be dwindling.

 

Nobody can look at Dave Mastiff and say he doesn't have an ROH physique

 

Low Ki, Homicide and Rocky Romero are all former ROH regulars who could conceivably be granted a spot. I admit Ki’s unlikely (because there’s some sort of issue between him and ROH and he’s also been telling people he’s retired) but it would be nice to see him. Considering the quality of names so far I don’t think we’re going to be disappointed.

It’s just a shame the situation wasn’t avoided in the first place.

Replacing Briscoe

Just for fun, you ask, can you tell us how you'd deal with ROH's world title crisis? Ohhhhh, alright then...

I'll give two answers. The first will be how I’d deal with the crisis without any access to Jay Briscoe and working on the assumption that he's leaving for WWE without ever appear for ROH again. The second will be what I'd do if Jay appeared on the July 12^th and 13^th shows as he was originally advertised to, with those being his final appearances for the promotion.

So, without Jay I'd have Nigel McGuinness, Matchmaker, appear at the Milwaukee show on the 12^th to make an official announcement. He would explain that Mark and Jay have left ROH for spots in NXT, which would probably get boos (I know I'm going to be frustrated if this is what they have to do for real). Michael Elgin, as the only man with a world title shot officially announced, would be considered the current champion via forfeit.

Elgin would come to the ring to interrupt this. A promo would be devised for him that would cover a few points. He'd be torn. On the one hand he's wanted to be the ROH champion for a long time but on the other he's always wanted to earn it in the ring by beating the best the promotion has to offer. He wouldn't want it handed to him but he also wouldn't want to see such a prestigious belt vacated.

This would bring out Adam Cole. He would inform Nigel that he'd accept the championship if Elgin had doubts about being able to carry himself as "the man". McGuinness would say no to that, adding that he respects Elgin's decision. McGuinness would announce a shakeup of the announced card in favour of the opening four matches of a two night tournament for the vacated belt.

This is a good point to address the status of the physical championship belt. Matt Hardy and Steve Corino apparently ran off with it at the end of June 23^rd TV tapings. I imagine this was done to keep the pair relevant to storylines with SCUM out of the picture. I’d have McGuinness reintroduce the belt with an explanation that it was retrieved from Hardy by police and lawyers. ‘The Icon’ could be reintroduced alongside Corino in some other fashion.

The opening round matches of that tournament would be Davey Richards v BJ Whitmer, ACH v Roderick Strong, Eddie Edwards v Mike Bennett, and Jay Lethal v Michael Elgin. Richards, ACH, Bennett and Elgin would win, setting up Richards v ACH and Bennett v Elgin for the following evening. The finals would see Elgin beat either Richards or ACH (I’m not sure who would win their semi-final match) to become the new champion.

ACH would be good in the challenger role. Generally speaking I think it's too early for him to convince a crowd he's about to become champion, but people could be encouraged to believe he might win due to the unusual situation. An Elgin v ACH final could have a good atmosphere to it. Obviously the match would be at least decent. ACH seems incapable of anything less.

The alternative, Richards versus Elgin, would be the obvious route to take. Fans would be far more split on who would win that match. Both are realistic replacements for Jay. The match quality would be great too. Showdown in the Sun proved that.

 

A potential tournament final

 

With access to Briscoe I think ROH could present two stirring matches and a great story across two shows. I'd have Briscoe’s final opponents announced as Michael Elgin and Adam Cole. They'd probably be announced on the website, along with an acknowledgement that the Briscoes have signed with WWE and that Mark's final ROH appearance had already been and gone.

As pointless as I find Jay's singles push I think Briscoe v Elgin could he a phenomenal match. Mainly because of Elgin. His excellent pacing ensures the closing moments of his matches are electric (not literally, that would be hideous). A five minute sequence stuffed with Jay Drillers, Elgin bombs, buckle bombs, crossfaces, and stomps could be, as they say, epic.

Elgin would win. Jay would raise his hand. The world would be happy.

Until Dearborn on the 13^th at any rate. I'd have Adam Cole cut a promo about being denied his rightful title match (because he'd be scheduled for a match with Briscoe rather than the champ). Nigel would tell him he should be honoured to face a guy like Jay in Jay's final match. Cole would probably respond that he's not interested in honour, he's interested in the championship.

Elgin would wrestle a non-title match on the show. Cole and Briscoe would go on last. The event’s name would be chosen as something appropriate for hosting Jay’s final bout.

I like the idea of Cole v Briscoe being a no DQ match. That would permit Jay to do all that brawling he loves and also allow interference from Matt Hardy and Steve Corino on behalf of 'The Panama City Playboy'. Elgin would make the save and, if possible, Mark Briscoe would make a surprise appearance too.

Jay would probably win. It would be a popular decision that would allow the Briscoes to go out as winners, which is what ROH fans seem to desire. A win for Cole would be better in the long run and would set him, Hardy and Corino up as a strong faction for the future but I don't think a heel win could be justified. It would dampen spirits a little too much.

Either scenario would have Elgin striding into the summer as the ROH champion. My dislike of multi-time ROH champions (because it's something the company has, Austin Aries aside, avoided promoting) means I wouldn't feel comfortable placing the title on Richards, Edwards, Steen or Strong, who are all wellsuited in principle to replace Jay as the leading man. In the case of Steen I think it's too early for him to regain the belt anyway. He only lost it in April (and I bet ROH are regretting putting it on Jay now).

Having the right mix of wrestling ability and intriguing character Elgin is the right choice to represent the company as the leading man for the foreseeable future. Given a long run he could become one of the biggest names associated with the title. He’s the ideal candidate and perhaps if Jay does leave he’ll finally get the world title reign he’s deserved for a long time.

Border Wars 2013 preview

Whoever puts together event graphics for Ring of Honor has had a busy time over the last month. The original picture showed Pro Wrestling NOAH stars Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori along with the men who would wrestle for the ROH world championship, champion Kevin Steen and challenger Adam Cole. Steen lost the belt at Supercard of Honor VII, meaning he had to be taken off and replaced by new champ Jay Briscoe. Then Marufuji suffered a knee injury so he had to be taken off the graphic too, replaced by Paul London.

It feels like everyone's had a turn being on this poster

Personally I'm more excited about Davey Richards facing London than I was about him facing Marufuji. I'm more familiar with London's work so I have more of an idea of what to expect. Obviously I know enough about Marufuji to know he wouldn't have had a bad match with the former world champion, it's just that I don't feel any particular connection with him.

London hasn't been in an ROH ring in almost ten years. He's spent his time away ageing, smiling manically at Vince McMahon, and wrestling for other promotions. Notably WWE and PWG. Notably not EVOLVE or Dragon Gate USA. I don't know if much can be read into that but I do find it interesting that 'The Intrepid Traveller' hasn't cropped up as a regular for his old boss Gabe Sapolsky. He's the sort of guy I'd expect Gabe to want to bring in. Then again he raves about John Davis so it's not like he's got conventional tastes.

London's match with Richards will be a first time ever encounter and I'm expecting both men to do everything they can to make it memorable. My initial feeling is that London will get the win because he's a returning star. I'm hopeful ROH will want to use him again. If they do then there are few betters ways of reintroducing him than with a win over arguably the company's best wrestler. I'm interested to see what sort of a reaction London gets from fans beyond the obligatory "Welcome back" and "You still got it" chants.

Richards' tag partner Eddie Edwards will face Taiji Ishimori in the only top three match on the card that has remained unsullied since being announced. Ishimori is the current GHC junior heavyweight champion but the title won't be on the line. It could be turned into an impromptu title match at the last minute but I strongly doubt it. Why would ROH forego the chance to advertise a title match just to book a fairly generic surprise.

I was leaning towards 'Die Hard' losing this because when champions lose non-title matches outside of WWE and TNA it tends to mean something. As Edwards works for NOAH I've reconsidered under the logic that him winning here could be used to set up a title match on a future tour of Japan. Whether he'd win that or not I have no idea, but I expect this match to be good enough for NOAH to want to promote it too.

Down on the undercard BJ Whitmer will wrestle his former tag team partner Rhett Titus. Personally I think Titus needs a win more than Whitmer so that's the result I think we'll get. That result will keep SCUM looking strong too, which is a priority for ROH at the moment.

Speaking of SCUM, two members of the stable will face Jay Lethal and Michael 'The Power Mullet' Elgin in a heavily stipulated tag match. If the ROH guys win Steve Corino must leave the company. 'The King of Old School' has stated if SCUM lose he'll leave wrestling altogether. I don't think that's the official stip though, nor do I think it will be true should SCUM lose.

Not that that matters because it seems pretty likely SCUM are going to win. Corino is important as a spokesman for his group. Getting rid of him just doesn't seem possible if the SCUM plot is going to continue, which I think it is. Assuming that's the case then SCUM will earn Matt Hardy an ROH world title shot and Corino won't just stay, he'll join Kevin Kelly at the announce table as a colour commentator. Both things seem like the direction ROH is going in. SCUM needs to become a powerful threat so that when ROH eventually wins the feud they've accomplished something impressive.

The two wrestlers representing SCUM haven't been announced at time of writing. It could really be any of them but I'd quite like to see a team of Jimmy Rave and Cliff Compton. Anyone not involved in this match is probably going to be at ringside or interfering in Titus v BJ so it's not like there's any great need for one SCUM member to be in this match over another.

In another doubles match ACH and Tadarius Thomas will face Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander. This seems like a safe bet for show opening honours. It should be good. It's a pairing I've wanted to see since ACH and Thomas were put together. Either team could win (my most frequently expressed opinion in Ring of Honor previews, I know) but I'll pick ACH and Thomas because I think they're building towards a tag title challenge.

Mark Briscoe versus TV champion Matt Taven (for the title) sticks out as a possible comedy outing. Mark's redneck Kung Fu is the sort of thing you can imagine Truth Martini over-selling while Scarlet is the sort of thing you can imagine Mark over-selling. Hopefully we'll get a few minutes of comedy before the two settle down for a proper match. Taven deserves the chance to have an outing that lasts a decent amount of time. His previous two iPPV outings have both been stuffed with interference and had a generally rushed feel to them. He's been left overshadowed and looking like a bystander. This should he his show to get a decisive victory.

A peculiar addition to the show is the three-way match pitting Roderick Strong v Mike Bennett v Mike Mondo. The reasons for this happening are tenuous. Basically Mondo involved himself in a singles match Strong and Bennett had on the post-Supercard TV show. It's an excuse to get the three guys featured on the card. I don't see a problem with that: Strong and Bennett are good, it's always nice to see Maria Kanellis, and Mike Mondo... well... he's got nice hair and a great beard.

Strong to win. He's lost on the last two iPPVs. He's not the sort of guy that should be losing too often.

Finally there's the main event: Jay Briscoe defending the ROH world championship against Adam Cole. A Cole heel turn has been teased over the last month. He interrupted Jay's inaugural promo as champ to say he was going to beat him and then swaggered backstage, a big fat chip perched on his shoulder. On last week's show he teamed with Jay to take on SCUM members Matt Hardy and Rhino (yeah, the old babyface pay-per-view opponents teaming against a common enemy on TV trick, it's a classic). During that he tagged himself in just as Jay was setting things up for a win, accidentally superkicked the champ and then fell to a Gore from 'The Manbeast'. That the kick was an innocent mistake doesn't matter: it was Cole's selfish glory-seeking that caused his team to lose.

If Cole is going to turn heel this is a good way of building up to it. I said a month ago that it's possible we'll see SCUM interfere in this match, beating down Briscoe and presenting Cole with the chance to go for a pin and win the title in a dishonourable fashion. I still want to see that. It would be a good way of demonstrating his new character and his desperation to be the champion.

Beyond the potential to further the ROH v SCUM story I'm not especially fussed about this match. I like both guys but I'm still not sure of how Jay Briscoe is going to hold up as a featured singles performer. Hopefully this match will convince me that he's a good pick for the role.

I'm expecting Briscoe to retain here and go on to face Matt Hardy at Best in the World in June. Should 'The Icon' win the title there, as I suspect he will, he'll be able to launch straight into a programme with Michael Elgin, who has a guaranteed title shot of his own. If Matt Hardy isn't the obvious pick to beat Briscoe I don't know who is.

The only unanswered question for Border Wars is whether or not Kevin Steen will appear. He's not been seen since he got beaten down by SCUM at the TV tapings in New York (which aired on April 20^th). I'd normally expect him to be off television for longer but as Border Wars is taking place in Canada, and 'Mr Wrestling' is Canadian, it seems fair to assume he'll put in an appearance. The likeliest thing I can think of for him to do is hit the ring to fend off SCUM.

I'd recommend watching this show. ROH have been on a roll with their iPPVs lately. I don't see this one being the trend-breaker.

Predictions summary:
Jay Briscoe to defeat Adam Cole
Paul London to defeat Davey Richards
Eddie Edwards to defeat Taiji Ishimori
Matt Taven to defeat Mark Briscoe
SCUM to defeat Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal
Rhett Titus to defeat BJ Whitmer
Roderick Strong to outlast Mike Bennett and Mike Mondo
ACH and Tadarius Thomas to defeat Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander