Total Non-Stop Networking

TNA is dying, albeit very slowly. It's been dying for a while now. Long enough for this not to be the first time I've started a post by talking about the promotion's fascinating spiral into history. Truth be told it's been dying for years. Easily since the time Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff were signed (to unwarranted fanfare in retrospect) to big money contracts. Likely since years before then.

EC3 wins lol.

But what if it's actually not dying? What if TNA has a future? The company is furiously recording TV content while it can and although all the rumours under the sun assert that Destination America is going to cut ties with the fed as soon as they're contractually able (next month, apparently) company management are unlikely to simply shrug their collective (or should that be metaphorical?) shoulders and meekly accept their fate. They will actively look for a new home for Impact Wrestling, the most underwhelming weekly wrestling show known to humankind.

Which brings me to my point. One option open to TNA, should they be prepared to negotiate (and let's face it, they need to be prepared to negotiate), is to take Impact to the Gabe Sapolsky-fronted World Wrestling Network. Yes, I'm brushing over a lot of wrestling politics and grudges with the "negotiating" term there but it's not impossible. Representatives from WWN and TNA could all sit down in a room together and work something out. On the surface it may sound a ridiculous suggestion but it's impossible. It could happen.

Both companies would benefit from a working relationship. WWN would get a regular stream of fresh content to add to their website each week. Despite its many faults TNA still seems to have a loyal group of fans who will stick with it no matter what. They'd sign up to WWN in order to keep up with their wrestling promotion of choice, netting WWN some dosh and giving them a larger audience to market their other shows at.

There was talk a while ago of WWN offering subscriber deals. The current trouble with this seems to be the irregular schedules of their various leagues. You can't charge people a flat rate every month without giving them assurances on a minimum amount of new content. TNA could help fix this with a weekly episode of Impact and monthly or bi-monthly specials. If at least one weekend of EVOLVE shows could be guaranteed each month (and that doesn't seem too much of a stretch given the recent increased output) then you'd have a fair basis for some sort of subscription deal. If TNA's back catalogue could somehow be utilised so much the better. There are some gems from the first few years of TNA in particular that could help a streaming service attract viewers.

Meanwhile TNA would find the thing it needs most: a home. It would also give them access to new talent, something they'll always be in need of but are particularly desperate for right now. They'd almost certainly have to reformat their presentation to fit in with the umbrella style of WWN but that wouldn't be that bad a thing: TNA's needed an overhaul for years. The prospect of Gabe Sapolsky taking over as the company's lead creative force is a nice one but too ridiculous to get excited about, even for an article as farfetched as this one.

I know it's unrealistic. TNA bosses likely wouldn't want to take a step away from being on an actual television channel because of the negative connotations of such a move. TV means you're a success, only having an internet presence is small time. WWN quite possibly wouldn't be able to handle a weekly two hour show, live or not. If they could take care of it from a technological standpoint and they could attract audiences surely they'd be doing it already.

Which raises the subject of the value of the TNA brand name. Personally I don't think there's much worth to the TNA name at all. I've acknowledged there's a dedicated group (sect is probably a more fun word to use here) that would follow TNA anywhere but they only account for a small portion of the promotion's TV viewership, and that's not a massive number these days as it is. There's also WWN's unofficial status as WWE's indy feeder group of choice. They wouldn't want to risk that, especially for a company as toxic as TNA.

EVOLVE and OTFG champion Timothy Thatcher
could be a good addition to the TNA roster.

Realistically, the closest we'll come to seeing this suggestion play out is TNA moving to some other US channel barely anybody's heard of after Destination America dumps them and striking some sort of deal with WWN to do lengthy monthly or bi-monthly streams to replace the pay-per-views they can no longer afford to produce. For all Eric Bischoff's talk of the PPV model being outdated for modern wrestling it helps instil a necessary sense of pacing to a wrestling product and, when done right, creates a reliable source of income. It is, in other words, something TNA needs to give itself structure and a sense of momentum. Because it's a company that's always followed that rhythm. It's ingrained in everyone that works there and the people that watch it.

TNA never got the whole making money from pay-per-views thing right. WWN seems to make enough to tick over and keep everyone involved getting paid. Gaining exposure via a TNA that has Impact on some low rent TV channel or other would be good for WWN in the long term and would provide TNA with the platform it requires to implement the structure it needs. It seems like a natural pairing to me, despite the obvious political problems of the scenario.

But I know it won't happen.

The Age of Obsession

I'll start this off by flatly stating my point: Caleb Konley is an underrated wrestler. Over the last year he's become one of the most reliable performers on the EVOLVE roster. He's had a string of enjoyable matches against everyone from Rich Swann to AR Fox to Johnny Gargano to Ricochet. He wasn't a passenger in any of them, he carried his weight and kept the crowd invested. But his talent never gets the praise it deserves.

It's possible that part of the problem stems from the reason he's been pushed. He's very obviously had his profile raised because Gabe Sapolsky knows he can rely on being able to book him. He's not as celebrated as many of the other men on the roster and as such he's in less demand. Neither TNA or ROH seem to have any interest in using him and WWE definitely doesn't. Having someone that can go in the ring that isn't likely to go elsewhere is an attractive thing for a booker. Sapolsky saw that in Konley and started building him up.

But this doesn't mean 'The Obsession' doesn't deserve the position he's in. Since disbanding The Scene and doing the tried and tested "I'm getting serious" routine Konley has displayed a marked improvement. And not just in the matches listed above either, he had better than expected lower profile bouts against The Colony, Timothy Thatcher and the Bravados. He's gotten into better shape too, possibly a side effect of being teamed with gym freak Anthony Nese. Basically, he's proven he can wrestle well and he's started to look like someone who wrestles for a living (even though he's not).

Konley and Cage would have made a good long-term team.
Nese could have gone singles. Disappointing it didn't happen. Pity.

The WrestleMania Weekend shows were not the best advertisement for Konley. He was the designated jobber in the EVOLVE 39 six man tag (review here) because neither of his teammates were in a position to lose: both Brian Cage and TJ Perkins were making their returns to the promotion. Having them lose would have dulled their impact. after years away. Things weren't much better at EVOLVE 40 (review here). Although Konley and Cage got the win in their match against Swann and Gargano the match was cut short.

He was back to losing at Mercury Rising (another review here), falling to Ethan Page in the opener. That seemed like a massive step backwards at the start of the show but Page's turn on Gargano helped put the move in context: Page needed a win in a solid match so that his turn meant more later in the evening. Konley was chosen because it was known he'd give Page the match he needed.

Konley has earned his spot towards the top of EVOLVE. It would be nice if the tag team division was deeper so that he and Nese could have a reign memorable for its good matches instead of a lack of defences. Sadly that doesn't look to be on the cards, which is a disservice to a talented, dedicated wrestler. A disservice to a talented, dedicated roster for that matter. The Open the United Gate titles could mean more with just a couple more teams added to the roster, as I've written before.    

Long term I think it will be interesting to see how far Sapolsky is willing to go with Konley. As a guy who's likely to remain a fixture of EVOLVE for at least the next few years he's probably going to wind up as a headline guy. The ex- and future-WWE guys on the roster are going to need meaningful names to be pitted against and Konley will likely end up joining names like Fox, Swann and Gargano on that list. A reign as the EVOLVE champion may seem unattainable now but I think things could look different a year from now.

Galloway for the Gold

Back in June Drew Galloway was released by WWE. This weekend he was involved in the EVOLVE reboot shows. His most notable performance of the weekend came on Friday at the EVOLVE 31 event. There he defeated reigning EVOLVE champion Chris Hero to win the gold.

Drew Galloway with the EVOLVE championship and a leering English face.

The championship win really wasn't much of a surprise. It had originally been advertised as a non-title affair but the out of the blue defence is one of booker Gabe Sapolsky's favourite tricks. On top of that it seemed completely natural for a new champ to be crowned during what had so openly and frequently been talked about as a reboot weekend. A new figurehead for a new direction. Makes sense.

There was also the Chris Hero problem. After getting himself into the best shape of his life prior to being released from WWE in 2013 Hero has had what's probably best described as a relapse in 2014. He has very clearly put on a large amount of weight, all of it in his gut. A promotion like EVOLVE, built around the concept of wrestling being a sport featuring world class athletes, could not have Hero, in that shape, as their champion. It would have jarred with the league's image. Not everyone can have a six pack, but there's a difference between having a larger body type and letting yourself go. So him losing the strap was to be expected.

Galloway is a fresh name for a fresh era of EVOLVE. Thanks to his time in WWE he stands a chance of attracting fresh eyes but because he's a newcomer every match he can be placed in is something new for the company's established fans. But his title reign is still far from an ideal situation. His post-match, show-closing promo (available in full on YouTube (just click here)) demonstrated why he never rose above the mid-card ranks in WWE. In fairness EVOLVE is less about a wrestler’s ability to talk and more about their ability to, y’know, wrestle. But it’s still not a great idea to have a middling promo guy close the show by attempting a rousing speech. It came across as rambling and directionless more than once.

The addition of Galloway and Matt Sydal (formerly WWE’s Evan Bourne, as you probs know) is not a bad thing. It gives Sapolsky some known quantities to play with and the chance to attract new viewers. Matches pitting the newcomers against company big hitters Ricochet, Johnny Gargano , Trent Barreta and Uhaa Nation should all be worth a watch.

But ultimately Sapolsky’s focus should be on creating his own names because they’re the ones who are going to help his company grow. As good as they are the Galloways, Heros, and Sydals of the world are always going to be former WWE guys. It’s guys like Biff Busick and Drew Gulak, in addition to those mentioned in the last paragraph, who set EVOLVE apart as they’re the ones who’ve never worked for mainstream US wrestling. New names help to make a promotion seem vibrant and interesting. And that’s what wrestling at the EVOLVE level needs.

EVOLVE 30 review

The theme of 2014 for Gabe Sapolsky’s EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA seems to be unfortunate last minute changes. They were scheduled to have CIMA appear at Open the Ultimate Gate and Mercury Rising in New Orleans (the two shows held over WrestleMania weekend, likely the biggest cards the promotions will put on all year) but he was pulled due to an injury. A couple of months earlier Roderick Strong’s debut had to be postponed after a neck scare he suffered on an ROH show kept him from competing. The trend continued here with Johnny Gargano being forced onto the sidelines after suffering a jaw injury at EVOLVE 29.

He’d originally been announced to face Rich Swann in an I Quit match. Frankly that match didn’t hold much appeal for me as I’m not at all invested in the Swann character. I don’t care about him gaining retribution on Gargano, the man who selfishly turned his back on him. The line-up rejig was not the negative that it could have been, for me at least. While I was disappointed Gargano had been pulled (for completely understandable reasons) it’s not like I was missing out on a match I’d specifically been desperate to see. In fact I think the main event that replaced it, a six man tag, was probably better than the I Quit offering would’ve been.

But I’m not EVOLVE’s sole audience. As such they’re probably going to reschedule the Gargano-Swann meeting. When they do I hope a stronger undercard is put together than the one that would have supported the match here. Swann and Gargano both have their followings but I don’t think they’re big enough names to attract a sizeable audience without strong support from the rest of the roster.

This ties in to what I wrote in the EVOLVE 29 write-up (read that here). Sapolsky should be expanding the roster and aggressively building new top line acts. If he’s left with his current batch of guys for much longer the company’s fan base can only shrink.

EVOLVE 30 kicked off with Caleb Konley v AR Fox. You could be forgiven for thinking that Fox being in the opener means a packed show. He's one of the promotion's top talents and seeing him wrestle outside of the top two or three matches on a show is noteworthy. Sadly it just meant Sapolsky wanted to kick the show off on a strong note. You can't blame him, but it did mean an opener that was better than much of the card that followed. That’s never an ideal situation.

Fox got in his usual spots. The crowd was mostly in his corner, although one very vocal Caleb Konley fan was in attendance. There was a snug dive over the top rope from Fox and an impressive double stomp from Konley on the apron. In the ring Fox got plenty of hang time on a Swanton and later performed a textbook 450 splash. The latter was met with knees, which gave Konley an opening to perform a small package for the win.

That marked the Premier boy's second singles victory in a row over 'The Whole Foxin' Show'. The first win was at EVOLVE 28. It was not, as Lenny Leonard pointed out on commentary, a decisive win but it was clean. If this is Gabe’s way of elevating Konley I’m all for it: he’s a good wrestler with and interesting look but lacking the proportions that make a move to WWE or TNA likely in the near future. That’s exactly the sort of guy EVOLVE needs: a talented dude unlikely to move on.

Match two pitted Ryan Rush (me neither...) against Blake Edward Belakus. During the course of the match we were told that Rush was from the New York area and had come up with Curt Hawkins (which means he's a contemporary of EVOLVE regulars Trent Baretta and Anthony Nese too, although that wasn’t acknowledged). That might endear him to you or it might put you off him. The choice is yours.

The match was wrestled at a steady pace and didn't last long. Belakus won with his Bad Wolf slam but Rush got time to work in a bit of offence before he lost, including a tasty Doctor bomb. I reiterate my desire from the EVOLVE 29 review for BEB to be a guy Gabe has plans for.

Josh Alexander v Tim Donst followed that. They were a little uncertain in places but got a good stretch of time to play with and produced a fine match. Alexander won with the most devalued move in independent wrestling, the Tombstone piledriver.

After that Lenny Leonard clambered into the ring for an interview with Ivelisse Velez. Instead of the SHINE champion he got Larry Dallas. As he had the night before Dallas said he'd been there since day one (maybe he should change his name to Larry Briscoe) and said that the fans wanted him to get his job back. They were close to evenly split in their response. These Dallas interruptions will continue for a while yet. He strikes me as a cheap hire and the payoff to it, whatever it is, can be held off pretty much indefinitely. It’s almost a case of the longer the better. Almost.

Ivelisse came out and talked about Christina Von Eerie. Specifically she called her a bitch for jumping her from behind the night before. C Von E answered a challenge to go to the ring and the two had a brawl. After several attempted they were separated by two referees.

Next up was Ethan Page (here's as good a place as any to say he puts me in mind of Bobby Roode, for no reason I can put my finger on). He was facing Jigsaw and Chuck Taylor in a three-way match. It was short and never really seemed to get going going. The three men didn't really mesh and there was no story behind the match. Triple threat matches, more than any other multi-man matches, benefit from having a reason to exist. That's my view anyway. Jigsaw won with a double stomp on Chucky T, with Page being trapped in a tree of woe and unable to make the save.

The show got back on track with an appearance from The Colony, challenging the Bravado brothers for the Open the United Gate championship. The audience was into The Colony in a big way. There were some Bravado bandwagoners in the audience too. At this point that's to be expected. The Bravados are a solid act.

Within a few minutes of the opening bell Fire Ant had been shoved into a ring post by Moose. Referee Brandon Toley sent the former footballer backstage, saying he'd strip the champs of the titles if he didn't leave. That still didn't create a completely fair environment as the Bravados spent several minutes trying to yank off Green Ant's mask (a DQ in CHIKARA, fact fans). After finding himself isolated for a few minutes Green Ant managed to make a tag.

Fire Ant took a Chaos Theory German suplex. Green Ant and Lancelot traded blows. Green Ant got the better of that and followed up with a strange version of the Michinoku driver for two. Harlem came in with a Superman punch (not that this should need saying but it was not as impressive as when performed by Roman Reigns). A double team attempt from the challengers backfired when Harlem gave Fire Ant an exploder suplex onto Green Ant.

A blockbuster to Fire Ant was followed by the buckle bomb-enziguri combo from the Bravados. A second attempt at that was reversed into a pin by Fire Ant but only got two. A double super kick sent the champions out of the ring, setting up a suicide dive and a top rope body block. Seconds later Fire Ant dove again as Green Ant hit a top rope splash. He applied the CHIKARA Special but Lance escaped by tinkering with his mask. A jackknife pin didn't put Green Ant down but a Gentlemen's Agreement did. It was a very good match but didn't exactly establish the champions as a team that can win fairly when they choose to. It could have done without Moose at ringside, and that would have been a good decision: the Bravados could be switched babyface fairly easily and would have a programme with The Premier Athlete Brand waiting for them.

Speaking of the Brand the second half opened with Anthony Nese, Mr A and Su Yung walking to the ring. Nese berated Mr A for his recent blunders. Not just happy with dishing out a telling off Nese called Moose up the ring and set up a big man match between the two bodyguards.

They punched and slapped each other. A got the better of that and shoved Moose around the ring for a while. He even busted out his spinning heel kick. I think he's proud of it, he uses it at every opportunity. Moose regained control by dodging a charge into the corner. He followed up with splashes and a shoulder tackle then got flattened with a spinebuster. Moments later they were back on their feet and Mr A fell to a spear. The match was better than I expected. It was pleasing to see the fans get behind Moose. He's yet another guy they could turn into something.

After that loss Konley and Baretta strolled to the ring. Then Su Yung ordered Mr A back to the locker room. He looked upset. Nese took a turn on the mic, telling Rich Swann to get his "stupid black ass" to the ring. The fans got on Nese for that as Lenny Leonard issued an apology. I’ve no idea why Nese said it, beyond a desire to get some cheap heat. Whatever his reasoning it wasn’t cool. And if he did desire some cheap heat it was a stupid move: there weren’t enough people in attendance to whip into a frenzy no matter what he said or did.

Swann had AR Fox and Uhaa Nation in his corner, for what that’s worth. It took an age for the match to get going. The pair were more interested in working the crowd than locking up. In fairness they were good at it and the audience enjoyed it.

When they did start they set a fast pace. Nese performed a stalling suplex, cartwheeled off the apron and dropped Swann head first on the apron. Seconds later he hit a double rotation back drop. Swann came back with a tumbling frog splash. A phoenix splash missed, and a kick attempt got turned into a pump handle power bomb by Nese. Swann hit a DDT into a dragon sleeper. Nese powered out and dropped Swann with an emerald Flowsion variant. Nese went for his one arm buckle bomb but Swann slipped out, kicked him in the head and gave him a frog splash. Seconds later he got in the one arm buckle bomb after catching Swann during a handspring attempt. A knee in the corner and a 450 splash later and Nese got the one-two-three.

Up next was the third and final Premier Athlete Brand challenge. What that was hadn't actually been elaborated on, although it had been referenced during each Premier Athlete Brand match. The lack of information strikes me as a bit of an oversight from Lenny Leonard. Anyway, it was the final PAB member Trent Baretta facing Uhaa Nation.

Baretta took a drop kick from Uhaa and went for a breather outside. Back in the ring Baretta gave Uhaa a hip toss and slapped on an arm bar. Uhaa powered up and gave the PAB member an electric chair drop. He followed that with a distinctly un-face-like water bottle shot. 'Trentylocks' regained control with drop kicks. Uhaa nailed a German suplex trio then moonsaulted onto Baretta at ringside. Back in the ring he got a two count from a top rope splash. Baretta snuck in a tornado DDT for a two count of his own.

Uhaa used the deadlift suplex from the apron that Michael Elgin frequently (as in, every match frequently) uses. Baretta rocked Uhaa with a dragon suplex. Trent’s running knee was countered into a triple power bomb, with the kick out deserving a stronger reaction than it got: it was a good near fall. There was another seconds later, Baretta slipping out of a military press to perform a reverse hurricanrana. Uhaa then belly-to-bellied Baretta on the apron.

‘The One Man Nation’ tried a top rope move of some sort but got caught with a German suplex. A Dudebuster seemed like it was going to finish Nation off but Uhaa escaped. Another running knee was avoided and then Trent was flattened with the Uhaa Combination, finally ending a very good match.

Konley and Nese immediately slid into the ring to give Uhaa a kicking. They wanted an advantage before the six man tag main event, pitting the Brand against Fox, Nation and Swann. It was fought under anything goes rules and started with the faces bringing ladders out to the ring. It got wild in a hurry, everyone using the ladders to great effect. Swann hit a tumbling splash onto a ladder. Uhaa electric chair dropped Fox onto a ladder propped in the corner. Fox leapfrogged (sort of) a ladder on the outside to hit a high senton. It all looked very painful. It probably was.

Getting more furniture involved, Fox drop kicked a chair into Konley’s face from the top rope. Uhaa tried his Combination but ended up moonsaulting onto a ladder after Baretta moved. Konley baseball slid a ladder into Fox's personal area. Swann bent a ladder by hip tossing Nese onto it. Perhaps the spot of the match was Fox going for a springboard and being met with a drop kick that sent him flying onto a ladder perched between the ring and the guardrail. Neglecting to sell it, he was back seconds later to give Konley a Van Daminator.

Nese was flapjacked onto a pile of chairs by Uhaa. The faces stuck a ladder between two chairs, with Nese taking a power bomb onto it. After that a standing 450 from Rich Swann was enough to put him down for three, ending an entertaining stunt brawl.

The challenge was tied at two a piece, ultimately rendering it pointless, surely? The faces posed themselves off air and the fans seemed happy enough. But as I’ve written several times across these two EVOLVE reviews, that’s not going to be the case indefinitely. Reasons to keep coming back need to be given. That means elevating new stars and coming up with some compelling long term storylines. Good luck with that Gabe. You’re going to need it running the light schedule you do!

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.

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 22

That Wrestling Podcast Episode 22 by Dave Hatton on Mixcloud

I’ll start with an apology. Due to circumstances beyond our control there’s some pretty irritating background noise on this episode (more so than usual). The conversation can still be heard, it just requires attention.

JIMMY RAVE!!

The topic? It’s another Mount Rushmore discussion. Last time we discussed a hypothetical Rushmore for World Championship Wrestling, which was fairly straightforward because there aren’t a huge number of names that can realistically be suggested. This time we tackle Ring of Honor. It’s harder because ROH has had a larger number of names pass through that can be strongly associated with them.

This leads us on to a tangent about Jimmy Rave and Prince Nana. I reminisce about the period of time when they were the promotion’s top heel act. ROH has arguably never had a more effective bad guy than ‘The Crown Jewel’.

Also featured is a chat about how wrestlers carry championship belts. It’s niche but we manage to get some damn fine chat out of it. And yes, that was supposed to sound Alan Partridge.

The Audio Visual Club

The general feeling is that a large TV presence legitimises a sports or entertainment product. This is as true in wrestling as it is anywhere else. Monday Night RAW is what helped the WWF to survive during the difficulties of the mid-90s. A national TV deal is what Paul Heyman was always chasing to take ECW to a fresh operational level. The lack of TV exposure is what caused Eric Bischoff and his backers to pull out if buying WCW.

There's a strong historical precedent and logical reasoning for television to be a high priority, probably the highest priority, for a wrestling company. Promotions like WWE and TNA do need television. Their sports entertainment approach necessitates a weekly TV show because they present wrestling more as a soap opera than as a sport. Sports entertainment is also built heavily around marketing the product successfully, with a TV deal being a large part of that.

While television will always be important to WWE, times have changed over the last decade and I don't think that having a TV presence is as important as it was for smaller wrestling companies. The internet has created other ways for them to make their product known. Sites such as YouTube and Netflix along with the general watch-on-demand culture that has arisen mean that a promotion has the option of putting out shows at their own pace. If they're capable of efficient creative and financial planning it's possible for a wrestling company to make a profit this way. They simply have to know what their audience wants to see and give it to them, dispersed across shows to keep them coming back.

Gabe Sapolsky's Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE promotions are using this approach. They run batches of live internet pay-per-views and then upload them to be watched as VOD content. They’re also selling them as DVDs, providing another source of income. I'm not privy to the financial success of those companies but there must be some or the two promotions wouldn't still be around.

This is an environment that the original Ring of Honor approach seemed tailor made for. When ROH launched they would run shows intending to either break even or make a small loss, making their money back flogging DVDs. That approach served the league well for a number of years, both creatively and financially. In 2009 it came to an end when ROH announced they'd gained a TV deal with HDNet.

The HDNet deal saw mixed results for ROH. The weekly show took a long time to hit its stride and arguably never truly got as it could have been considering the roster of the time. That didn't matter too much. In one of the finest traditions of the wrestling business, it was a setup all along: the HDNet deal was something ROH did to gauge the level of interest in their product from a TV audience. Their intention was always to wrangle themselves a better deal with a bigger broadcaster at the earliest opportunity. HDNet gave them the stats and figures they needed to do that.

 

The ROH on SBG roster

 

That superior deal rocked up in 2011 when ROH was bought by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, a TV network. The purchase came with the announcement of the ROH on SBG show, which begun airing in September that year.

The show was quicker to hit its stride than the HDNet incarnation but it's suffered from its own set of troubles. A poor creative vision throughout 2012 (thanks, Jim) meant the TV show was mostly uninspiring and lacked a meaningful direction. It's gotten better this year thankfully, but it could still be better.

Basically, I don't feel that Ring of Honor is cut out for weekly TV instalments. The promotion's style of presentation has been proven to work better with two or three larger shows clumped together each month. Switching back to their old operational model and focusing heavily on DVD sales and VOD content would allow storyline pacing to be improved and a greater level of experimentation to be employed when putting together cards.

Obviously this is not going to happen. ROH is paid to produce a TV show and it opens them up to a wider audience, who will in theory be keen to attend shows. Had online viewing been as prominent ten years ago as it is now ROH may never have moved to TV. But it wasn’t on they did, and they’re unlikely to leave TV behind now they’re there, because television will always be the holy grail for wrestling promotions.

Gabe Sapolsky Versus Ring of Honor

Usually a hot feud is a good thing for a wrestling company. But they usually take place in the ring as part of the scripted show. When feuds take place in the back, behind closed doors, they’re usually detrimental to the product. Take, for example, the Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart rivalry from the nineties. They had some good matches opposite one another, but imagine how great things could have been had they gotten along and been willing to do things properly, instead of having an unprofessional and childish point scoring, tit-for-tat feud.

A more recent example (and the one that forms the basis of this post) is the ongoing rivalry between Gabe Sapolsky and his former employer Ring of Honor. Gabe was released from booking duties by ROH in late October 2008 and has gone out of his way to take digs and swipes at the promotion, on and off, ever since. ROH staff have always refrained from commenting on Gabe’s career and comments made since the firing.

Gabe’s most famed outburst came after ROH was bought by SBG and they suffered a number of iPPV broadcast problems. Gabe’s point was that Ring of Honor, being owned by a television production company, was well placed to avoid broadcasting issues. He was absolutely right. But when making the point he couldn’t help but come across as a bitter ex-employee, approaching the subject with a tenacity that a neutral bystander would have had no need for. It didn’t help that he never explicitly stated he was talking about ROH. That only served to make him come across as passive aggressive.

It’s unknown whether anyone in ROH still harbours ill will towards the Gabester because, as already mentioned, nobody from the promotion ever comments on him. Which is the professional way of doing things. Personally I think ROH made the wrong call firing Gabe in 2008. They should have told him to take a year off to refresh himself. But that doesn’t mean they were wrong. People get sacked, and Gabe seems unable to come to terms with Ring of Honor letting him go.

 

Gabe wearing some subtle merch

 

If the hatchet were to be buried both Ring of Honor and Gabe’s Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE promotions would benefit. This would require work on both sides. Gabe may be the more outspoken of the two parties and have a clearer reason to carry the nonsense on but there must be a reason the animosity is still so raw. It takes two to keep something like this running for so long.

At the moment guys wanting to work for either ROH or Dragon Gate and EVOLVE must make a choice and sign with one or the other. If they do appear for the rival organisation clauses in their contract prevent them from working broadcast matches. This means that an ROH guy can appear for Dragon Gate, but ROH has to okay it and the match must be a dark match. Which is great for fans attending the events in question but an irritation for anyone watching at home or buying the DVDs because they miss the appearance of a big star. It’s an annoyance for the companies too, as it limits their selling and marketing options.

An end to the Sapolsky v Ring of Honor hostilities could bring a much needed freshness to the US wrestling scene. With guys not being forced to pick where they have to work a plethora of fresh matches would be opened up.

The Young Bucks are the obvious names to mention here. They got released by ROH as a cost-cutting measure during the summer of 2012, along with TJ Perkins. They’ve since appeared for Dragon Gate and EVOLVE and doubtless helped to improve the product. They probably hold somewhat of a grudge against Ring of Honor themselves, and I don’t blame them if they do, but I’m sure they’d give a return a try for the right amount of cash. The Bucks against reDRagon, the Wolves, C&C, and ACH and Tadarius Thomas would all be solid matches that could help ROH to flog DVDs and iPPVs.

The likes of Johnny Gragano, Chuck Taylor, Sami Callihan, Ricochet, and Samuray Del Sol could all make a similarly exciting impact on the Honor roster. Going the other way I’m sure Gabe would love to work with the Briscoes, Davey Richards, Eddie Edwards, Michael Elgin, and Roderick Strong. He may even be willing to admit that Kevin Steen is a guy worthy of wrestling regular main events now, what with Steen having carved out a headline niche for himself in ROH and all. Considering the history Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish have with Dragon Gate and EVOLVE I think reDRagon would be an interesting combo to give Gabe access to as well.

 

One of the many guys I'd like to see cross over

 

It doesn’t even have to be an overt feud or storyline or anything. It could simply be a working arrangement that lets the wrestlers appear for the other company when they’re not booked with their home promotion. A simple announcement on the relevant websites would be enough to get things rolling.

This isn’t to say that a Ring of Honor versus Dragon Gate programme wouldn’t be nice to see. Booked right I think that could improve iPPV business and live attendance for both groups. The DG USA roster would also benefit from the exposure of ROH’s TV output.

It’s a pipe dream of course. Part of the reason ROH are currently running a SCUM invasion storyline is that it’s a way of presenting an inter-company angle without needing to cooperate with another company. SCUM’s roster contains just enough guys to make it come across as a separate roster. They don’t need Dragon Gate for this story right now. That’s not to say they couldn’t arrange something for a year or two in the future. Getting a working relationship up and running would actually increase the chances of that by establishing a status quo and allowing the feud to develop naturally.

The indy scene simply doesn’t have a deep enough talent roster to sustain this sort of divide indefinitely. Sooner or later something is going to have to change. That’s either going to be the working relationship (which would be best for everyone, especially paying customers), one of the leagues ceasing to exist, or one gradually signing a larger portion of the top talent, leaving the other to struggle on with mid-card level guys in top slots.

While they’re at it ROH should try sorting out their problems with Low Ki. Nah… one thing at a time.

EVOLVE 19 review

Before this I'd watched only one EVOLVE event. I can't remember many details although I do recall Chuck Taylor wrestling barefoot and Johnny Gargano being a heel. He possibly wrestled Ricochet but I could be wrong. Arik Cannon was on the card too. I'm not overly familiar with the promotion's current storylines but I know the main players. Be aware of this as you read this review.

Taking place during the biggest wrestling weekend of the year and hosting a tournament to crown an inaugural champion EVOLVE 19 struck me as a pretty good jumping on point. I wasn't wrong. There were various references to past shows and events but they were easy enough to follow. For the most part the wrestlers all did a good job of getting over their characters, which always helps make a show more enjoyable.

The tournament was set up using a seeding system. The top eight competitors in the company were determined by looking at win-loss records. The top two guys were given byes to the semi-finals on opposite sides of the bracket. Seeds three and four tangled in a singles match with the winner progressing to face the favourite. Seeds five to eight wrestled in a four-way match, the winner of which met seed two in the semi-finals. Sound complicated? It wasn't. It was a refreshing approach for a pro wrestling championship tournament.

I didn't watch the show live. If I had I'd have been one of a large number of people unable to view the beginning of the opening contest. Purchasing it as a VOD from the WWN website sadly means you miss this too, although I was aware of that before purchasing. The same can't be said for anyone who watched (or, more accurately, tried to) on Friday.

I'm not going to criticise the people in charge of EVOLVE for this. They've apologised and offered free access to any past event for anyone affected by the streaming failure. I was irritated by the similar problem ROH had during their Friday show but they're a bigger outfit which should make such occurrences less likely. Plus they've got a history of flogging iffy iPPV streams. As this is the first time EVOLVE have failed in this area (that I'm aware of at any rate) they deserve a bit of leeway.

Neither of these two would leave with the new belt

The match already in progress as the show started was a one fall four-way affair. The competitors were Sami Callihan (seed seven), Rich Swann (seed five), Samuray Del Sol (seed six) and Jigsaw (seed eight). The action got a little sloppy in places and for the most part the psychology was awful. Guys would sell during sequences they weren't required for and make a superhuman comeback the moment they were up for a spot. The sequences were pretty good but these flaws detracted from the match.

Sami Callihan was the star. For the most part he avoided those psychology failings and paced himself well. He advanced in the tournament when he got Del Sol to submit to his Stretch Muffler hold.

One man announce team Lenny Leonard entered the ring next. He was there to introduce new signing 'The Premiere Athlete' Anthony Nese. Yep, that guy who used to work for TNA. He cut a heel promo saying that wrestling is no longer about wrestling. It's become about trying to out-brand others. He told us he's going to introduce a support team that will take him to the top... whether we like it or not. I don't know about anyone else but I'm okay with this. His support team have my blessing.

Lenny Leonard was joined by Colt Cabana when he got backstage. This was a blessing: Leonard is awful doing commentary alone. Sadly, Colt didn't stick around for the rest of the show. He did a couple of stints, neither of which took in the main event. That really would have benefited from his input.

Match two was the battle between seeds three and four, AR Fox and Jon Davis respectively. Davis got some boos before the match, though not many. Disappointing for someone who’s meant to be one of EVOLVE's lead antagonists.

'The Whole Foxin' Show' controlled the earliest portion of the match but Davis eventually gained control after turning an attempted springboard attack into a spinebuster. They went outside the ring and AR took a hip toss onto the apron. After some further ringside scuffling they headed back into the ring and AR took further punishment from a Davis Buckle Bomb.

Back on the apron (yeah, they were all over the place in this one) the former Dark City Fight Club member went for a choke slam to the concrete floor. AR countered with a spike DDT onto the apron, following up with a springboard Whisper in the Wind. That was a very impressive move that took a great deal of skill to pull off and was a great risk for Fox. Sadly the audience barely reacted. So many wrestlers perform similar but less risky feats on a regular basis that genuinely impressive moves like this don't get the reactions they deserve. It's the law of diminishing returns.

Back in the ring (again) Fox went for a Swanton but was met with knees. Davis leapt up and kneed his opponent in the face for a close two count. A lively sequence of big move attempts and counters followed that, culminating in Three Seconds Around the World from Davis. Fox kicked out.

A frustrated Davis slipped under the bottom rope and yanked a table out from under the ring. He set it up in the aisle as Lenny Leonard reminded us (or told newcomers like me) about him hitting an Awesome Bomb on someone at a recent show. AR Fox was hoisted into position for the move but the referee made the save.

Yes, the referee made the save. That annoyed the crowd and triggered a "Kill the ref!" chant. Davis was understandably irked and went to take his frustration out with a stiff clothesline on Fox who ducked, Matrix style, and also avoided the second attempt that whistled his way seconds later.

The referee was not so lucky. The ref bump got a massive cheer from the fans who were annoyed that the official had denied them the chance to witness an Awesome Bomb. The bell rung, signalling a David loss, although we were left in the dark as to who had ruled the match over. The timekeeper maybe?

A second ref arrived on the scene to tell Davis he'd be suspended if he continued his angry ways. Davis took a microphone and asked the audience if he should Awesome Bomb the ref and skip the rest of the weekend. They wanted to see that. Davis said they were stupid but he wasn't ,then left to mild heat. Someone needs some sessions with Dr Shelby.

Up next was (The) Brian Kendrick and Dragon Gate USA Open the Freedom Gate champion Johnny Gargano against Gentlemen's Club members Orange Cassidy and Drew Gulak. I liked the Gentlemen's Club. They've been gifted with the always entertaining entourage gimmick. At ringside they had The Swamp Monster (who received one of the loudest cheers of the night) and the Colonel. The former was dressed a monster from a swamp (obvs) while the Colonel was wheelchair-bound and had a US flag draped across his lap. All of this is probably standard stuff for a lot of people reading this but it was a first for me and I thought it was great. I love this sort of stuff in wrestling.

The match started out as a comedy affair but got serious after Kendrick grew tired of the Club's silliness and shouted at them to take a shot at him. They did and the match transitioned into a more serious contest (although they were still some odd moments involving Cassidy and the entourage). Kendrick and Gargano won when Kendrick pinned Gulak off a Sliced Bread Number Two.

The EVOLVE roster has less use for this guy's belt now they have their own

We were back with the tournament next. 'Kentucky Gentleman' Chuck Taylor (seed one) took on Sami Callihan. 'The New Horror' tweaked his knee leaping over the top rope into the ring. It seemed genuine but was revealed to be a work when Chuck Taylor targeted the leg as soon as the bell rung.

The story of the match was that Callihan was disadvantaged because of his tweaked knee and ankle. Taylor targeted the leg on the outside, wrapping it in the crowd barrier and wrenching and kicking on it before throwing Sami back into the ring.

 

Taylor slapped on a figure four. Sami didn’t quit. Taylor went for a moonsault only for Sami to roll out from under it and come back with four belly-to-belly suplexes. Taylor slapped on a single leg Boston crab, one of his finishing moves, but Sami didn’t tap out.

It struck me that this would have been a good finishing point had Chucky T been booked to win. Sami could’ve tried to hang on through the pain, inched his way to the ropes only to get dragged back to the centre of the ring and be forced to tap out to a reapplied hold. Sami would’ve been kept strong in defeat and Taylor’s single leg crab would’ve been given a boost.

But that wasn’t to be. Callihan got the win out of nowhere when he reversed a pin attempt into the Stretch Muffler. Taylor gave up incredibly quickly considering Callihan was injured and he was the number one seed. It made him look pretty weak when, especially when Callihan had endured so much pain with his “injury”. Another case of questionable psychology.

AR Fox v Ricochet (seed two) was up next. We were told they are the top two high fliers in wrestling today. You wouldn’t have guessed from the first half of the bout. Ricochet slapped on a few submission holds and the pace was, for the most part, pretty sedate. Perhaps this was a part of their ongoing dispute but if that was the case Leonard did a lousy job of making new viewers like myself aware of it.

Things picked up considerably in the latter half of the match as the two started diving about all over the place. Eventually Christina Von Eerie showed up at ringside, presumably to continue or start another ongoing story. In the ring Ricochet went for his 630 senton off the top rope. He missed, which allowed AR to roll him up for the match-winning pin.

Ricochet and Eerie exchanged some words in the aisle afterwards, with Eerie turning her back on Ricochet and getting a shove for doing so. Trouble’s brewing there. Mark my words.

Next was another non-tourney bout. Scott Reed entered first, accompanied by fellow members of The Scene Larry Dallas, Trina Michaels and Caleb Konley. His opponent was Arik Cannon. He was a heel on the only other EVOLVE show I've watched but now seems to be a pretty popular face. They had a no DQ match which became a handicap match after a few minutes  thanks to interference from Konley.

Dallas and Michaels got involved after a bit too, prompting the return of Uhaa Nation to. Leonard informed us Uhaa had been out for a year with a neck injury and we would also learn that he doesn’t much care for Arik Cannon. Which sort of begs the question of why he came out to make the save. Strange guy.

Trina Michaels tried to work her charms on Uhaa which prompted Marti Belle (a female wrestler or valet I’ve never heard) to come to the ring for a random catfight. Leonard tried a Joey Styles impersonation. It failed.

Cannon won with a brainbuster. Officially it was a one-on-one match but it was actually the most packed segment on the show. Following the match Cannon had a beer and offered Uhaa a sip (or perhaps the whole can, it wasn’t clear). Uhaa slapped it into the crowd and dropped Cannon with a belly-to-belly suplex. This was the evidence of them not getting along that I mentioned above.

The penultimate match was the best of the night. A fast, spot-heavy exchange between The Young Bucks and The Super Smash Bros. The crowd, who had been quiet for a lot of the show, came alive during this match. Perhaps they’d been holding out for wrestlers who like to play air guitar all the time. If so they were spoiled rotten by Nick and Matt Jackson.

The SSB won with a Gory Bomb-Blockbuster combo. Afterwards Players Uno and Dos offered handshakes. The Bucks teased that they’d accept (it’s something they never do, apparently) but ended up super kicking the winners instead. They then shouted at the crowd and sneered their way backstage. What heels!

Lenny Leonard neglectfully abandoned his booth again moments before the main event. He was on aisle interview duty. Sami Callihan said he always gives everything in the ring but it’s never enough for the fans. He said he'll be the first EVOLVE champ whether people like it or not. Same sentiment as Anthony Nese earlier in the show really. Deliberate? Probably not.

AR Fox told Leonard that he may not look one hundred per cent but he feels it. He then started screaming and shouting so much that his words became indecipherable because of the shoddy audio. I think the gist was that he, not Mr Callihan, that would be the first EVOLVE champ.

The new belt was held up before the bell was rung. It’s far nicer than WWE’s new championship. Leonard was blown up when he got back to commentary. Yep, a play-by-play guy who gets blown up walking and talking. Extraordinary. That’s the level of quality available to EVOLVE and Dragon Gate.

 

A good-looking slice of belt

 

The audience was split throughout the match. ‘The New Horror’ was on offence early, targeting the damaged neck of AR Fox. Yes, it was his neck that was the worse for wear, even though Jon Davis had been focusing on his back for most of their first round contest.

Fox eventually got some offence in after hitting a cannonball and two running boots into the corner, followed up with an Ace Crusher and a Swanton for two. Callihan went back on offence, undoing his knee pad to cause greater pain to his opponent despite it supposedly being injured. Yeah, there were psychology problems in this match too.

The crowd, who had died down after the excitement of the Bucks v SSB bout, returned to life after Callihan hit a German suplex and a power bomb on ‘The Whole Foxin’ Show’ for two. That was immediately followed up with a Stretch Muffler. As that had taken him to his first two victories of the evening it made for a believable potential finishing sequence.

Ultimately the hold was ineffective. Fox got the win out of nowhere after he hit a Side Effect type move off the top rope to a seated Callihan. The crowd popped like The Swamp Monster had returned. Callihan grabbed the belt from the ref to boos, but redeemed himself by being the one to hand it over to the new champion. That got him a cheer. The two competitors shook hands and hugged. Callihan then left to let the new champ enjoy his moment, but not before he gave some hug action to Lenny Leonard.

Fox told Leonard that he dedicated his win to the “number two high flyer” Ricochet. He put over EVOLVE, saying it’s a company for wrestlers of all styles as long as they work hard. He’s looking forward to meeting guys of all styles, apparently. He also told us the EVOLVE roster shuts up and wrestles. As victory speeches go it was subdued. But that’s fair enough, considering the message it had to get across.

The Young Bucks came out to congratulate Fox and tell him he was going to lose the Open the United Gate championship he held with CIMA. There was no cheap shot, no intense rebuttal from the newly crowned EVOLVE champ, and no run-in from the other United Gate champ CIMA. It was simply an angle tacked on to remind everyone that there was a Dragon Gate USA show scheduled for the following evening. The highlight of the Bucks’ appearances was a fan shouting "Haters gon' hate!" as they left.

AR Fox then went back on the mic to shill for the Dragon Gate show. Personally I think that’s a fairly peculiar thing to have your new champion do. But what do I know? I’m just a member of the paying public.

I’m more familiar with Gabe Sapolsky’s Ring of Honor work so his approach here came as something of a surprise. It still has more in common with the average ROH show than it does with WWE or TNA with the emphasis more on the in-ring action rather than skits and angles. That said he takes a different route to get there, channelling the WWF’s Attitude Era and elements of ECW. Large entourages, random run-ins, ringside brawling and ref bumps anyone?

I thought it was a very enjoyable show and excellent value for money (ten quid for us Brits, fifteen dollars for Americans). Based on this I’ll be tuning in to EVOLVE 20.

The Past is Another Company

I'm a fan of Ring of Honor. I like the company's realistic presentation of pro wrestling. I like their believable and logical approach to storylines. I like the company's young, athletic roster.
 
Well, I used to like these things.
 
While I remain a fan of ROH I am not happy with its current predicament. Reading comments on the ROH World (the premier ROH fan site) chat room shows I'm not alone in my opinion.
 
Ring of Honor made a name for itself as a company that portrayed wrestling as an athletic, competitive sport. Its priority of pushing talent was clear from the start: the best workers would rise to the top based on their performances and fan support. Politics, we were told, would not be a factor in Ring of Honor.
 
Over the years this was proven to be true as the likes of Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Davey Richards, Kevin Steen, El Generico and others rose to the top based on their ability to wrestle a compelling match rather than play politics. Some of these men have more on to more political promotions (WWE and TNA, mainly) and met with success there.

But others haven't and never will. This isn’t to say that those who have moved on have had to learn how to play politics, more that some people are blessed with a marketable look than others. It's hard to imagine El Generico headlining RAW, for example.
 
The current state of Ring of Honor is something I've discussed before. I still want it to succeed and provide a genuine alternative to both WWE and TNA but it isn't going to do that in its current slump. Under the direction of Jim Cornette (and, allegedly, Hunter 'Delirious' Johnston) ROH has had a critically disastrous two years. Things have been bad commercially as well but it's not fair to blame that on Corny.
 
Cornette has stated that the rise up the card of Michael Elgin, Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole is proof that ROH is dedicated to finding, pushing, and rewarding the finest young talent. While I won't argue that all three men are excellent choices to carry the promotion forward and becomes its next crop of headliners I wouldn't go as far as to say that they have been used flawlessly. Nor would I say that having only three examples of well-pushed youngsters is a good position to be in. Especially for a promotion that was originally supposed to cater to the needs of unknown, talented grapplers.

O'Reilly and Cole should have had a far longer run together as Future Shock and O'Reilly's heel switch should have been held off until next year at the earliest. Meanwhile Michael Elgin's glacially paced rise through the ranks has seen him enter some cracking, white hot performances but now runs the risk of seeing him go off the boil because management have held off that final shove for too long.

Pacing things properly and sticking to a plan is all well and good but if waiting too long often does more harm than good. There are only so many times he can challenge for the ROH world title and fail before fans will stop seeing him as the next big thing.
 
Cornette has also said that ROH fans who dislike his approach to booking the company are simply pining for the past. It seems he thinks this because fans talk fondly of the era of Danielson, Punk and Joe. The trouble here is that ROH was better when those men were around.

 

This guy's had his day

 

ROH wasn’t better solely because those men were present but they certainly helped. The company's philosophy of showcasing talent based on ability rather than name value has evaporated over time. The hiring of Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team was a good move: Haas and Benjamin have star power but are also capable of wrestling the style that made ROH famous. Rhino, though? Mike Mondo? Matt Hardy? These are men hired more because they're former WWE employees (and-or Cornette favourites) than because they can continue the legacy of Jamie Noble, Chris Daniels, and Low Ki.
 
Cornette himself is the biggest difference between Ring of Honor then and now. Understandably he cannot see this. He sees his booking ideals as necessary changes for the continued expansion of the promotion rather than a dated style that Ring of Honor had evolved beyond from its very first show. Corny is very good at booking the style he enjoyed when he was young but he seems incapable of helping the sport to evolve. Perhaps that's why he had such a problem with ECW back in the 90s: it was wrestling changing before his eyes and he couldn’t understand why fans responded so enthusiastically to it.
 
As I said, Cornette himself is the chief difference between what is considered ROH's golden age and its current output. He made appearances for the group during its early years but he had no backstage influence (or none of note anyway). What made ROH a success initially was the vision of Gabe Sapolsky.

Gabe’s approach to finding and showcasing young and-or unknown talent gave a new generation of wrestlers a place to expose themselves. It’s noticeable that his current booking interests (Dragon Gate USA and EVOLVE) have made very little use of former WWE, TNA, WCW and ECW talent. Even men he previously worked with in Ring of Honor have been somewhat of a rarity.

My point (yes, I do have one) is that it was Gabe Sapolsky as much as the guys in the ring who helped to make ROH a success when it launched. It was his booking, his talent selection and his vision for the future of professional wrestling that helped the company stand out.

Ring of Honor can’t have it all. It can either be company that mixes veterans and youngsters with a traditional approach to feuds and pushes or it can be the home of young wrestlers. The latter is what it used to be but it involves those in charge taking a risk and giving up any and all name talent they have not created themselves. Personally I think it’s a risk worth taking, but in order for it to truly work they need a booker who hasn’t been around for decades who wants to bring change to wrestling. That ain’t Corny.

One final thought on Jim Cornette: there’s a reason nobody has ever referred to themselves as “a Jim Cornette guy.”