Making NXT Phenomenal

AJ Styles. In terms of talent WWE could sign right now he's pretty much the pinnacle. Not because he'd be a nice addition to the main roster (not to say he wouldn't be) but because of what he could do for NXT.

 

'The Phenomenal One' appeals to people who like their wrestlers to wrestle. That's not always something that gets factored in with WWE fans. They like Hulk Hogan because of nostalgia (or maybe racism, who knows?), Steve Austin because he was an outspoken asskicker, Rock because he was a great promo, John Cena because of Reasons™. Styles is light on intangibles but can put together a red hot match given enough time and a semi-decent opponent. That's just not necessarily something that would help him connect with the average WWE viewer who had no knowledge of his former life in ROH, New Japan, and other respected groups.

 

Would Styles want to give up this spot for Monday nights wrestling R-Truth?

Styles would not get to do what he's best at on the main WWE roster. At least not until he'd earned his way to the top of the card with years of paying dues to The WWE System. Which, understandably, probably wouldn't appeal to him because he's getting paid main event money to headline in NJPW now. He'd have no reason to relocate other than money, and WWE are unlikely to pay him big bucks to work his way up through the mid-card. While Styles has stated many times money is his chief motivation for wrestling I can't see him trading his current career for the weekly grind of WWE's mid-card and the whiff of one of Vince's brass rings unless a frankly unrealistic sum of money was involved. 

 

If you're considering that WWE would race AJ to the top don't bother. That would break decades of routine and this is a company that takes routine very seriously. No, he'd have to earn his way there like everyone else. Because Vince is certain that the batch of guys who have come along since 2000 or so are all lazy millennials who just want to coast.

 

But Vince doesn't run NXT. Triple H does, and he's been shown to break routine for his league. Wrestlers who have made names for themselves outside of WWE have been signed and immediately pushed, helping it to become a show with its own style and narrative quirks and a far more satisfying watch than the average RAW. Immediately pushing guys like Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe and Apollo Crews has trained fans to expect the best in terms of booking for debuting stars. It is, as has been noted before, WWE's take on the indies.

 

AJ Styles is a star to any wrestling fan who follows any promotion that's not WWE. He emphatically would not be in Vince McMahon's eyes because he will only truly consider someone a star once they've been built up in his territory. But Styles could come into NXT and instantly be accepted by its fans and that's what NXT needs. A steady stream of fan-friendly signings to keep the momentum going as the men and women deemed prospects get bumped up to the main roster.

 

With the "brand" still being expanded and money-losing kinks being worked out (or at least minimised) signing someone who could help draw crowds on the scale the company wants NXT to operate on would clearly hold appeal. Like Joe, Styles doesn't look like a guy who'd be a sure fire success booked by Vinnie Mac. But booked by people who'd play to his strengths (wrestling) and disguise his weaknesses (talking, although he's miles better than he used to be) he could be an asset to the planned global expansion. 

 

Could this signing happen? Absolutely. Would this signing happen? Well, WWE could outbid New Japan with ease and attitudes to indy standouts have changed significantly over the last several years. Samoa Joe keeping his name shows Styles could keep his, handily explaining why he has a massive AJ tattooed on his side. He'd be of use to an area of the company that seems to be a priority. That had to count for something. It's by no means a definite thing but Styles in NXT could happen. And with Finn Bálor likely not far off a promotion the timing could be getting pretty good pretty soon because that rarely appearing top babyface spot is perfect for Styles.

ADR: The Potential Return

So the current #hotrumour is that WWE is interested in re-signing Alberto Del Rio. If you've lost track he's the guy who was released from his contract in August of last year (feels like a lot longer ago) for assaulting a member of the production crew backstage after they'd allegedly made racially derogatory comments about him. A response which, honestly, seems pretty just.

Yeah, he looks fetch but ADR didn't fit in too well in LU.

Since being released Del Rio has changed his name to Alberto El Patron, capitalising on WWE's baffling decision not to trademark the 'El Patron' nickname he used during his time in the company. His most prominent appearances have come in Lucha Underground, ROH and AAA. Truth be told he actually seemed a little out of place in LU, both in terms of character and wrestling style. In ROH he wrestled a handful of very good matches in early 2015. Then he stopped being booked for whatever reason (it's likely that his work with the other promotions mentioned here were behind that), a pity as 'The Essence of Excellence' felt like a good fit in the Land of Honor. His AAA work has seemed to go down better though. The promotion is clearly happy to have him as they put their top title, the mega championship, on him in December 2014 and he's still got it now.

You may be wandering why WWE would want to rehire someone they released for attacking a co-worker less than eighteen months ago. The answer here is simple: they have also lost Rey Mysterio and haven't managed to build up a new star to market to their Latin American fans. They need the star power.

Which is odd because they have the perfect guy on the roster. Kalisto is young, talented, wrestles the style, is the nationality required, and wears a mask. He's a significantly better worker now than a guy like Rey Mysterio is. He may not be as breathtaking or revolutionary as Mysterio in his prime but nobody will ever be that good (or at least that significant) again. The aerial antics of 90s Mysterio have been replicated, standardised and exaggerated upon too much for that. But Kalisto would still be a good choice for WWE to push if they want to have marketable Hispanic star.

Push this man.

That nothing much has been done with Kalisto is odd. He received a call-up to the main roster the night after WrestleMania 31 and... that's it really. He and Sin Cara, as the Lucha Dragons, have been booked as just another team. They've only wrestled on two pay-per-views, Elimination Chamber and SummerSlam (and Chamber technically wasn't even a PPV). They've not been protected or presented as anything special, nor has the team been booked to make it clear that Kalisto is a singles star in waiting. Had they been given more to do Kalisto would probably be in a good place to wrestle in prominent singles matches on the company's upcoming Mexico tour and act as a draw for the Fed.

It may be WWE's own fault they haven't replaced ADR and Mysterio but that is ultimately irrelevant. All that matters is that they haven't been replaced. Bringing back Del Rio is a good enough answer in the short term. He's an established name and could fill the top Latin star role as well as giving the top of the card a welcome fresh name to play with. If he were willing to go back, and chances are he would be for the right money (and one thing WWE isn't short of is money) and some form of resolution regarding his initial release, he could help WWE. But if he does they should also help themselves and build up Kalisto anyway. Because he's the guy with the long in-ring future who could be selling merch in ten years.

Beating Lethal

Best in the World 2015 saw Jay Lethal defeat Jay Briscoe to become the new Ring of Honor world champion. He's the twentieth man to hold the title and the first ever to hold it in conjunction with another active championship. Yeah, Bryan Danielson won the pure championship from Nigel McGuinness during his world title reign but he retired it immediately. He didn't hold belts simultaneously and work as a double champion.

Apparently Lethal will. Reports from ROH's latest TV tapings indicate that Lethal opted not to vacate the TV championship as he'd put too much effort into building it up. Matchmaker McGuinness then made the ruling that if Jay wants to stay a double champion he will have to defend the TV and world titles as separate entities. All of which makes sense from the point of view of Lethal's character and creates the chance to produce some fresh scenarios for championship defences and show-long stories at future events.

The double champ is here.

I'll be surprised if Lethal doesn't hold onto both belts for a while. It would be fairly pointless to go to the trouble of giving him a lengthy reign as TV champion (the longest ever, in fact) and not have him vacate the title only to lose it in a random title match after a few weeks. It would also be pointless to put the world title on him just to take it away quickly. That's not how things work in ROH. Wrestlers work hard to win titles and get to enjoy substantial reigns with them. It makes the titles and wrestlers, and by extension the matches involving them, mean more.

But at some point Lethal will lose the world championship, just as has happened twenty-two times before. Which is the point of this article: discussing the possible successors (as I perceive them) to Jay Lethal as the ROH world champion. As far as the TV championship goes I think he'll hold it for a few more months before losing it to guy who'd benefit from a surprise upset win, such as ACH, or being stripped of it after some form of shenanigans during a title defence.

I'll start with Jay Briscoe. There's a chance that Lethal will lose the title back to him but I think it would be dependent on him having a long title reign. I don't imagine ROH would take the gold from Briscoe only to get it back to him a couple of months later, even though it's an approach that would fit the sports-emphasis style of the promotion. But if Lethal has been made champion with no long term plan for a replacement (not that I think that's the case considering how well Delirious has done planning things out over the last few years) it's possible Briscoe could regain the belt in the far future (by which I mean some time next year). If Lethal left for WWE Briscoe would be a lead candidate for a short notice replacement.

As would Roderick Strong. My reasoning is the same as with Briscoe: he looks and wrestles the part, would be accepted in the role, and is unlikely to leave for another major promotion. I can't see him beating 'The Greatest First Generation Wrestler' at Death Before Dishonor XIII on July 24 but farther in the future he could be in with a chance. Right now he's more of a credible contender to stabilise Lethal's reign than anything else.

AJ's already got a belt though, so...

Sticking with the theme of men who probably won't defeat Lethal but might there's AJ Styles. ROH seems comfortable in presenting him as a special attraction. As such he doesn't need the championship. He's a draw for ROH with or without it. He's also won the IWGP championship twice since joining New Japan last year and is the champion right now. That places limitations on ROH, because New Japan aren't likely to be happy if their champion starts laying down for people elsewhere. And ROH have benefited too much from their relationship with New Japan to upset them. Styles is best off facing bigger names who aren't champion and losing (or indeed winning) any ROH title matches he's in via disqualification.

The first guy I'll name who I think has a crack at taking the title from Lethal in a long term planning capacity is Michael Elgin. He's one of the better wrestlers in the company despite fans having turned on him. In fact his  current status as a heat magnet is a large part of the reason I think he could end up beating Lethal for the title. People would be genuinely irate if he become a two time champion with his current persona. He has the character and in-ring ability to make a reign as heel work and it would be nice to see him get the championship run he deserved to have last year. Although I think an 'Unbreakable' title win would be reliant on Lethal becoming a babyface at some point the response to his win at BITW indicates he'd be accepted as a good guy. I don't think it's something that's going to come any time soon though, if it comes at all.

Moose is a possibility too, which isn't something I would have expected to write a few months ago. He's comfortable in the big man role and could easily introduce some flashier moves to help him fit in at the top of the card (big lads need to have stuff like the cross body block he used at Best in the World when they're main eventing). He's also really, really over. His burgeoning programme with Cedric Alexander will likely keep him busy for a few months but he should be done with that in plenty of time to challenge Lethal at whatever big show ROH promotes in September or October or perhaps even at Final Battle (although there's someone mentioned below who I think would make a far better opponent for Lethal at Final Battle).

No ROH champion has mastered the point into the crowd... until now.

A wildcard possibility is Nic 'Dolph Ziggler' Nemeth. I mention him mostly because at time of writing there are rumours floating about that he'll be leaving WWE when his contract comes to an end later in 2015. I don't think this will come to anything but if it does ROH has to be the favourite for the company he'd turn up in. It wouldn't rule out him working for New Japan and TNA is a laughable suggestion at this point. He's probably the WWE guy I'd most like to see in ROH. Everything that's needed to make it to the top of the work rate-centric promotion he has, and he could do it as a face or a heel. Nemeth would be a boon to ROH, giving him the title would only help matters.

But I'm not going to make any of those names my official prediction. That honour goes to Adam Cole. Everything I can find on the subject indicates that he has a significant amount of time left on his current contract. If Best in the World and TV spoilers are anything to go by he's on the cusp of turning face. Having him work as a face champion would be something new for him and the company. By the time he's finished with what I suspect could be a lengthy breakup with his Kingdom stablemates we should be just about ready for a build towards Final Battle. Babyface Adam Cole versus heel Jay Lethal would not only be new, it would be one of the biggest matches Ring of Honor could promote. I think this will be the match to headline Final Battle.

That is my official prediction. Now watch as I'm wrong, just as I always am when it comes to predicting ROH title changes.

ROH Best in the World 2015 review

ROH's Best in the World 2015 show started with a video package focusing on the main event, one of the most interesting matches they've presented in a long time, Jay Briscoe versus Jay Lethal. The chief reason this was an interesting match was that it was a champion versus champion scenario, Briscoe being the world champion and Lethal being the television champion, with both titles on the line. There was also the fact that Lethal had held the TV title for well over a year and Briscoe hadn't been pinned since March 2 2013. It felt like a big match because of how well the two wrestlers were presented and the video that kicked off the show only added to that. Everything from the promos the two men cut to the simple touch of listing the bigger names each man had made successful defences against drove home that the match was a big deal.

It was the main event I was most interested in. Whenever that's the case going into a wrestling show something's been done right. ROH did a great job promoting Lethal v Briscoe. Having said that the rest of the card did seen slightly underwhelming. Aside from the number one contender shop three-way nothing really stood out, and the three-way was mostly interesting because I wanted to see how a winner would be booked in a match involving guys who rarely lose in ROH.

The Addiction v reDRagon was a match I'd seen before and which had failed to grab me. The Bullet Club v Kingdom six man was a rematch. While the first encounter had been good I felt it had been slightly overhyped and so I wasn't as excited about this match as others may have been. Castle v Young sounded good mostly because I like the characters of both guys. And everything else looked like standard ROH fare: good but not necessarily the easiest stuff to engage with emotionally.

That last sentence perfectly summed up the first match, Mark Briscoe versus top prospect tournament winner and proud House of Truth member Donovan Dijak. It was a solid opener which didn't drag and saw both men get a turn in control but it didn't draw me in because I'm not the biggest fan of either guy and they did nothing to change that. Briscoe won after blocking Feast Your Eyes (a Burning Hammer into a knee strike) and hitting the Froggy Bow.

Pretty much the same thing can be said about match number two. It saw BJ Whitmer and Adam Page face off with ACH and Matt Sydal. Page and Whitmer had their Decade young boy Colby Corino with them. Colby's dad Steve (now inexplicably going exclusively by the title of King Corino) was on commentary for this match, as he is for all ROH shows, but he seemed reluctant to place any emphasis on his own personal feelings about Whitmer recruiting Colby to further their longstanding grudge. It's possible he doesn't feel comparable with the angle or, more likely, doesn't want to make it all about himself, preferring to keep The Decade in the spotlight. But if that's the case why bother doing it at all? Steve Corino's continued reaction to his son making a poor life choice is the entire story here and if he doesn't want to tell it, for whatever reason, it's not going to work. Which is a shame because there's a lot that could be done with it.

The match was entertaining enough. I like ACH a lot and couldn't help but feel he was a tad wasted here, especially considering how bland much of the rest of the card was (at least in terms of pairings). Page got the victory for his team after Colby pulled Sydal off a pin attempt from the Shooting Star press, distracting him long enough for Page to get the win with his Right of Passage finisher.

Young v Castle was a fun match that was surprising in how hard-hitting and back-and-forth it was. Although the approach they took made sense in terms of story: the match had come about because Castle had been the latest person to find himself accused of being "not a real man" by Silas. The two packed a lot in, including a Silas spear off the apron and a Castle deadlift German. Castle won off a rollup as Young was berating Todd Sinclair for not counting a pinfall, which Sinclair had refused because 'The Last Real Man' had shoved him into the ropes, crotching Castle, to get it. After the match Young hit his Misery TKO on one of Castle's lads. Castle was understandably distraught by this.

That was followed by the reformed C&C Wrestle Factory taking on War Machine. Alexander and Coleman got a nice welcome from the NYC crowd when they entered. Hanson and Rowe did not. They were mostly met with indifference, a worrying sign considering they've been in ROH for over a year.

This match was short and more about story than action. The story it was specifically concerned with was Cedric's continued edging towards the dark side. He tried using a wrench, the same weapon he'd used to hammer Moose and end his undefeated streak, but Caprice saw it in his hand and refused to tag him in. That allowed War Machine to grab Caprice and hit Fallout for the win. After the match Cedric teased using the wrench on Caprice but didn't. He did make it clear that their team was over though.

The first above average bout of the night was the number one contenders match. Michael Elgin, Moose and Roderick Strong had all been put in the match based on the strength of their performances and their win-loss records in 2015. It would be nice to think they were also selected because they're amongst the best guys Ring of Honor has. Elgin and Strong have both had their share of classic matches (and I'll say again that Elgin is a particularly fine finish man) and Moose has been constantly improving since I first saw him in EVOLVE. He understands how to work the role of the big man and doesn't go overboard on the bigger spots he's capable of.

There were plenty of highlights in this match. Amongst my favourites were: Elgin hitting a somersault tope on Moose, bowing afterwards and being jeered by the crowd; Roddy superplexing Elgin then Moose; Roddy performing another feat of strength by giving Moose a double knee gut buster; Elgin buckle bombing on Moose only to be immediately hit with a spear; Moose running across the ring, leaping to the top rope, and hitting a cross body to the outside on both guys; and the finish, which saw Elgin double power bomb Moose and being sick kicked as he tried for a third, with Strong pulling Moose to his feet to hot him with two jumping knees and a sick kick to put him down for three.

There was a handshake between Strong and Moose after the match. We were told Elgin shook Strong's hand but we weren't shown it. Veda Scott slapped Moose twice for daring to follow the Code of Honor, something she'd done before. This time it looked like she'd pushed Moose too far. He hunched down looking like he was setting up to spear Veda but before he could make a move Cedric Alexander ran out and smacked him and Stokeley Hathaway with the wrench. Veda smiled at him then Cedric screamed about how he should have been in the number one contenders match.

I liked this as a development. It creates a reason for Moose to not be in the title picture and freshens up Cedric's act by realigning him and giving him a manager. He and Veda seem promising together, and it neatly covers up his weakness on promos. Maybe caprice will go heel too and RD Evans will return to tag with Moose in a grudge match. Then again maybe not.

The Bullet Club trio of AJ Styles and the Young Bucks versus the Kingdom trio of Matt Taven, Michael Bennett and Adam Cole followed that. As pointed out earlier this was a rematch from the ROH and New Japan War of the Worlds show, one I felt was very enjoyable but mildly overhyped in the grand scheme of things. They did pretty much the same thing here, producing another spot-heavy match with way too many highlights to mention and too fast a pace to do a full write-up.

We got the opposite result to the original encounter. The Kingdom had won at War of the Worlds so it was Bullet Club's turn to go over here. They did so in memorable fashion, wiping out Maria with two super kicks and a Pele kick from Styles (what a southern gent he is) before isolating Cole as Bennett checked on his wife and Taven sold a beating at ringside. Cole fought back valiantly, going for a Destroyer only to be caught by AJ and hit with a buckle bomb-enziguri triple team and then 'The Phenomenal One's' Bloody Sunday, kicking out and fighting back again, but eventually it was too much for him. 'The One' was finally put down with an Indytaker followed by the Styles Clash.

After the match The Kingdom looked upset with Cole. This didn't really make sense. Taven had been lying at ringside for a while when the loss happened and could probably have mustered the strength to get back in the ring. Bennett had a right to look ticked off, yeah, but why would he when his wife had just been knocked unconscious by three pro wrestlers? Logic flaws aside the prospect of Cole splitting from The Kingdom is interesting. A face turn could work well for both him and ROH.

The Addiction's no disqualification match with reDRagon was not as enjoyable as the usual reDRagon effort. Their strength is having exciting strong style matches with plenty of tag work mixed in, not crowd brawling. The stip made sense, of course, because of the personal nature of the feud and because the two teams have already met under regular rules. This meeting needed something extra to give it a bit of variety and set it apart from previous meetings. But it was never going to be as good as a regular match.

They at least made full use of the stipulation. There was plenty of ringside brawling and chairs were used liberally. A table and a ladder were introduced after things had hotted up. The table was there because in 2015 these sorts of matches require a table to satisfy the punters. The use of a ladder was interesting though. It's possible it was done to tease Ladder War VI. Then again, it's possible it wasn't.

The finish saw reDRagon hit Chasing the Dragon on Daniels on for former TNA world champion Chris Sabin to appear and pull the referee from the ring. The Addiction then recovered, Frankie took out O'Reilly by shoving him off the apron and into the crowd barricade, and hit Fish with Celebrity Rehab. The champions retained. Hopefully another team will be added to this rivalry if it continues. Addiction v reDRagon matches haven't wowed me so far.

Then came the Lethal versus Briscoe main event. It's worth sopping for a moment here to point out that the two men both have a lot of history in Ring of Honor. Briscoe has never been shy about reminding people that he was on the promotion's very first show. He's been a two time world champion and a record setting eight times. Over the last few years he's become one of ROH's most reliable headliners, working pay-per-view main events, being involved in heavily featured stories, and being well protected in terms of booking.

Lethal's pedigree is less celebrated but still impressive. He joined ROH a month shy of the company's first anniversary as Hydro, a member of Special K, and went through stints as Samoa Joe's protégé and pure champion before leaving to work for the promising-at-the-time TNA. It was easy to overlook how much he'd improved when he rejoined ROH full time in 2011 but improve he had. In the four years since he's won the television championship twice and, like Briscoe, become one of the company's most reliable wrestlers. The last eighteen months have probably been the greatest stretch of his career as he's been given the TV championship and tasked with making it mean something, which he has, been pitted against leading outside talent, and gradually been positioned as ROH's lead heel.

Briscoe versus Lethal is a match that's been brewing for a long time. Both guys have been built up so well. The atmosphere at the start of this match demonstrated what a great job both men, as well as booker Delirious, have done and how established they are as top names.

Before the first lock-up had even taken place Diesel and Dijak were sent backstage before the after Dijak had swiped his hand at Briscoe's legs. A suspenseful feeling out process, during which the combatants were bombarded by duelling chants from the crowd, was followed by a fight around ringside. Briscoe yakuza kicked Lethal. Lethal suplexed Briscoe. They threw one another into the barricade a bit.

Back in the ring Truth grabbed Briscoe's foot, distracting him and letting Lethal knock Briscoe down. Briscoe recovered and they traded uppercuts. Lethal got the better of the exchange by switching to clotheslines to knock the world heavyweight champion down. Back on their feet they traded jabs before Briscoe hit a neckbreaker.

A Lethal Injection was countered into a full nelson slam. Briscoe went for a Jay Driller but Lethal escaped into the Lethal Combination. Lethal went to the top rope but got cut off by Briscoe, who went for a superplex. Lethal fought him off but Briscoe fired back with a drop kick and went for his superplex again. Lethal fought him off again, this time pushing him down to the mat and hitting the Macho Elbow. Briscoe kicked out and immediately got put in the Koji clutch by the TV champ.

Briscoe made the ropes and rolled onto the apron. Lethal followed him out only to be set up for a Jay Driller. He escaped as Truth leapt onto the opposite apron to distract the referee. Nigel got up and sent Truth backstage as Briscoe recovered and Jay Drillered Lethal through the timekeepers table. Both men sold for a while before making it back into the ring just shy of the twenty count.

Briscoe was first to his feet and lobbed jabs at Lethal. Lethal surprised him with a super kick and went for the Lethal Injection again. Briscoe dashed forward and floored him with a rolling elbow as he rebounded off the ropes, getting himself a two count. Briscoe went for the Jay Driller. Lethal escaped it but got hit with a lariat for another two count.

Only the second double champion in ROH history.

The pair dragged themselves back up again. This time it was Lethal who struck first with a springboard cutter. He connected with another Lethal Injection but Briscoe kicked out. The crowd erupted at that as 'The Greatest First Generation Wrestler' clutched at his head in disbelief. He recovered and tried to hit Briscoe with his own Jay Driller. Briscoe escaped and tried for the move himself. Lethal escaped too, hit the move and then hit another Lethal Injection for the victory, a successful title defence and the ROH world championship.

The crowd gave him a "You deserve it!" chant. After a bit of celebrating from the new champion Briscoe came out of the corner and offered a handshake. In a nice moment Lethal accepted it with gusto before he continued celebrating. It was a touching way to close the show, watching a man who first worked for the company twelve years ago celebrate his first world title win. He'd earned it and it was lovely to see.

***

Results summary:

Mark Briscoe defeated Donovan Dijak
The Decade defeated Matt Sydal and ACH
Dalton Castle defeated Silas Young
War Machine defeated C&C Wrestle Factory
Roderick Strong defeated Moose and Michael Elgin to earn an ROH world championship match
AJ Styles and the Young Bucks defeated The Kingdom
The Addiction defeated reDRagon to retain the ROH tag team championship
Jay Lethal defeated Jay Briscoe to retain the ROH TV championship and win the ROH world championship

Women of Honor

Last Sunday I wrote about women's wrestling being something wrestling companies should concentrate on in order to attract greater numbers of viewers. During that I touched on the fact that ROH doesn't have a women's division (read about this here). I think that's a mistake on their part. ROH would benefit greatly from the addition of a women's division.

Maria Kanellis has been a heavily featured character for a few years now.  She's over as a heel with existing fans. ODB has recently been brought in as an affiliate of the Briscoes. Maria knocking about made sense. She's married to Michael Bennett and has mostly been presented as a manager. She has a reason to be there.

Top stars of a potential women's division right here.

The same can't be said for ODB. Her previous work has always had her featured as an active wrestler. There's no reason why she'd go to work for a company that doesn't have a women's division for her to compete in. Okay, she initially came in to counteract Maria. That worked but it doesn't explain why she's stuck around.

Announcing the creation of an official women's division would create a reason for ODB to be in ROH and would give Maria more to do (yeah, more than managing the IWGP tag champs). It would allow ROH to get in on the popularity of women's wrestling and it would create roles for new stars in the company. With WWE currently turning NXT into its own indy venture ROH needs all the marketable names it can get.

One of the things in favour of an ROH women's division is that the groundwork is already there. ROH has been promoting "women of honor" matches for years. They've featured SHIMMER heavily in the past. They've just never gone the whole way and created an official women's league in the company. This wouldn't need to be a massive change for ROH. They already have ODB and Maria to play the lead face and heel respectively. Hiring three or four other women would allow them to flesh out the ranks, with other people being brought in less often to work as enhancement or lower card talent.

Taryn has proven herself a good wrestler
 in spite of her WWECW background.

Imagine a Women of Honor division built around women cherry-picked from Shine and SHIMMER, like Jayme Jameson, Su Yung, Athena and Andrea. It would easily better anything TNA are doing with the Knockouts these days (Dollhouse have failed to live up to their potential) and could, with enough time, rival the NXT division. In fact if TNA goes under they could bring in some of the better Knockouts.

This assumes that ROH haven't specifically avoided setting up a women's division for some reason. Perhaps their reasoning is that everyone else is making headway in that area and without as many top names to go around they're best off without something official. That would be understandable but it would also be a shame. The approach ROH booker Delirious has towards storylines is enjoyable and something that's not really used anywhere else in wrestling. I'd like to see it applied to a women's division. And I think other people would too.

Key to the (Alleged) Boom

When he was doing initial interviews to hype Global Force Wrestling last April (yeah, fourteen months on and they've still not run a show) Jeff Jarrett talked about how it was a good time to start a wrestling promotion. He predicted another boom period. I was sceptical of that claim. While I don't think it's come to pass on quite the level 'Double J' seemed to be expecting wrestling does seem more popular, more exciting, now than it did fourteen months ago. Or at least wrestling fans have become more feverous with their praise. That's pretty much the same thing, right?

The so-called Wednesday Night Wars are a good example of wrestling being more exciting. ROH is now the lead-in show for TNA's Impact Wrestling on Destination America, in direct competition with WWE's white hot NXT show and the weekly one hour cinematic masterpiece that is Lucha Underground. All of those shows but Impact are great. They have their own distinct tropes and identities and they feel fresh, new and exciting. Impact, despite its numerous flaws and the fact that it's just flat out not good, has a dedicated fan base who will tune in (and, perhaps more importantly, defend it) every week. It's a concentration of shows that illustrates the variety of styles and approaches that can be taken within the pro wrestling format.

Calling it a rise in popularity rather than a definitive boom period also neatly covers the issue of WWE's dominance. The phrase boom period conjures up an image of another wrestling promotion becoming successful enough to challenge WWE's status as top (big) dog. That won't happen. WWE has so much cash flowing in and so many draws and talents at their disposal that they're going to be on top until some sort of major, unpredictable catastrophe befalls them. The company best placed to challenge them, New Japan, are years away from even trying in North America, although they're comfortably smashing WWE to pieces in Japan.

No, a rise in popularity makes it clear we're discussing the status of the wrestling biz as a whole, particularly the non-WWE segment. And this finally brings me around to my point: I think the company that will do best as wrestling gets a little more popular in mainstream culture is the company that makes the best use of female talent.

Give this woman a women's division to head up. Watch the money roll in.

Looking back it's clear that the last few years have seen the status of women's wrestling progress considerably. The prominence of Ivelisse Velez and Sexy Star in Lucha Underground and the entire women's division of NXT has simply helped to highlight the point, because they're TV shows. SHIMMER has been going for ten years now and has, along with Florida-based Shine, helped to create an environment in which all-women companies are a viable option for promoters.

These promotions being in a position to continue running shows illustrates that there's an audience for women's wrestling. So does the reaction that the performances of the wrestlers above get on TV. Just look at the response to the Banks versus Lynch match from Takeover: Unstoppable. WWE and TNA have been letting us down for years with shoddy women's divisions booked as afterthoughts, despite each group having had a solid division at one time or another over the last fifteen years¹. Ring of Honor doesn't even have a women's division at all.

There's a gap in the market for a wrestling TV show that emphasises women's wrestling. NXT has made a lot of headway but so have LU, and it wouldn't be impossible for ROH to look at hiring some more women to go along with Maria, Veda Scott (who never seems to wrestle in ROH despite doing so elsewhere) and ODB. Global Force could theoretically launch with a fantastic women's league if Jarrett wanted to, there's enough available talent to be signed up. You can turn on any wrestling show and see guys killing it great matches. Making women min event attractions would be new and something wrestling fans are ready for. More importantly it would be a way to hook non-fans with something different. That's why I think good quality women's wrestling is going to be of increased importance in wrestling's future, whether there's another boom period coming or not.

***

¹ For TNA it was the Knockouts. In the mid-00s they, along with the X Division, were a reason to watch TNA in the mid-00s. Then the writers decided to revert to the WWE approach of focusing on the world title scene, keeping women and cruiserweights as a side attraction.

A few years earlier WWE had Trish Stratus, Molly Holy, Ivory, Lita, Victoria, Gail Kim and others in a competitive women's division that produced good matches. It's not clear why they decided to scale the division back and reduce it to the filler role it occupied for about a decade. At least the company as a whole remained profitable and had other, enjoyable things going on instead. Which can't be said for TNA.

The Man Beast Does NXT

Back in February Terry 'Rhyno' Gerin returned to WWE. He had previously been employed by the company from March 2001, after the closure of ECW, to 2005, when he was released following an altercation with his wife at the after party of WrestleMania 21. During his initial WWE run he was firmly a mid-card act, albeit one who was protected more than most and received more opportunities to outshine his peers. Since his return Rhyno has been cast in an entirely different role, that of the resident veteran of NXT, the popular developmental brand that is edging further away from its developmental remit by the day.

Putting Rhyno in NXT has been a good move. It makes NXT seem important and legitimises it's claim at being a hot brand by having a guy who's been around for so long wanting to wrestle and be champion there. It gives the younger guys someone experienced to work with and learn from. And it's provided Steve Corino's former 'Rookie Monster' with a deserved career renaissance.

"Bring me Cyrus to do my talking!"

The first two are things I've covered before and are, in truth, the most important things about Rhyno's work in NXT. He's essentially an extra trainer who actually gets into the ring and has televised matches with guys, as opposed to helping them lay things out behind the scenes. It's useful and necessary work. But it's Rhyno getting a fair shake that interests me more because throughout his career 'The Man Beast' has come close to getting the top line treatment several times, always just missing out in favour of other guys who better fit the mould of what wrestling companies look for in their main eventers.

Look back at his first big push. Paul Heyman introduced Rhyno to ECW and built him up as a near unstoppable juggernaut. He steamrolled top star Rob Van Dam and was credited with causing the broken leg that put him out of action. He powered through Yoshihiro Tajiri to win the television champion, was positioned as the company's lead heel, and won the world title at final pay-per-view Guilty as Charged 2001. ECW went out of business just as Rhyno was about to become the focal point of the company, including a presumably lengthy reign as the world champ.

The theme continued in WWE. Within his first month he had one of the most enjoyable hardcore title matches ever with Raven (Backlash 2001) and had great singles matches against The Rock and Kurt Angle during the Invasion storyline. This in addition to being one of the names chosen to represent the ill-fated alliance of WCW and ECW in the main event of the monstrously popular InVasion pay-per-view. His good fortune came crashing to a halt after he suffered a neck injury in October and was written off TV for surgery.

When he returned in February 2003, over a year later, he was not afforded the same opportunities as he had been before (after a promising rumour that he'd be brought back as the bodyguard of Matt Hardy came to nothing). He was shunted from a team with Chris Benoit to a feud with Chris Benoit and then into another team, this one with Tajiri. By the time te incident at 'Mania 21 rolled around Rhyno was just another face in the crowd, although it's worth noting he still routinely got better than average responses.

Rhyno's non-WWE career was characterised by a typically lacklustre stint in TNA and an underwhelming stint in Ring of Honor. There are only two things about his time there that stand out in my mind. One is him winning the NWA world championship (TNA's top prize at the time) from Jeff Jarrett only to lose it back to him two days later. He was popular at the time so this was a particularly dumb move: instead of capitalising on someone's connection with the audience and trying to make a new star TNA chose to troll people instead¹. The other was his worked shoot outrage at WWE resurrecting ECW as a third brand in 2006, which culminated in a hilarious skit in which Rhyno burned the "original" ECW world title belt, safely wrapped up so we couldn't see that it was, at best, a replica. Natch. He did little in ROH besides act as an enforcer for heel stables, although he did get to wrestle a rough 'n' tough match with world champion Kevin Steen.

The routinely strong booking of NXT should ensure another setback doesn't befall Rhyno, allowing him to have the strong run he's deserved to have for years. He's already had the chance to show off his better-than-I-remembered promo skills and work opposite top lads Finn Bálor and Sami Zayn. He's had impressive matches with Kalisto and Bull Dempsey, and he has of course given Baron 'Barry' Corbin the longest, most enjoyable match of his (admittedly short) career so far at Takeover: Unstoppable. And it's being made very clear Rhyno is a candidate for a world title shot. Long may this continue. 

***

¹ This inability to gauge what their audience wants is why TNA is going down the tubes so spectacularly now.

NXT Versus ROH

Triple H wants to expand NXT. He's made many comments in various interviews and Q&A sessions that indicates he believes the league can be expanded to into something that could operate autonomously (or semi-autonomously) from WWE. We've seen steps taken towards this goal with the events held at the Arnold Sports Festival and in San Jose as part of WrestleMania weekend. It's still early days but the fact that these events were able to attract very healthy crowds, the passion fans and wrestlers have for NXT, and the fact that the endeavour is being bankrolled by WWE (essentially meaning they don't necessarily need to worry about making a profit) makes me think that the growth of NXT into a marketable second brand within WWE is an attainable goal. It can afford to run at a loss for a while as it expands, that's not a position wrestling promotions are usually in.

That said it remains a developmental league. It's a place for wrestlers to learn and hone their skills before being promoted to the main roster, where they can earn better money and contribute to the shows where WWE makes its profit. Some people are brought in closer to this point than others. Finn Bálor, formerly New Japan's junior heavyweight ace Prince Devitt, could probably have bypassed NXT altogether. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Tyler Breeze are all as main roster ready as they're going to get. Hideo Itami is still finding a middle ground between his stiff-as-nails NOAH style and the softer, safer approach taken by WWE's sports entertainers and working on his English. These things aside he's ready too.

But these names are in the minority. Most NXT wrestlers need NXT for the learning environment it was designed to be, not the WWE-owned indy fed people (not least Triple H) seem desperate for it to become. For the main roster to benefit from NXT as it's meant to a middle ground needs to be found, one that allows people like Enzo Amore, Alexa Bliss and Baron Corbin to become confident in-ring performers while also drawing sizeable crowds in its own right.

The solution WWE have apparently settled on is targeting indy talent with a proven ability to fill buildings of the size NXT will be holding events in as it expands. Essentially this means they're going after Ring of Honor guys. ROH operates on a smaller scale than WWE and is generally able to draw a couple of thousand or so people to their bigger shows. Although the ROH brand name contributes to this it's not enough by itself. It's the wrestler that deserve the bulk of the credit there. WWE understand this and want to sign these guys to help NXT and set back the competition. And while ROH is not direct competition to WWE it will be to an expanded NXT.

This would go down well with NXT crowds. Or any crowds, for that matter.
But my point still stands: ACH would be a good hire.

There are four wrestlers in ROH that I think WWE would be particularly interested in. At the top of the list is ACH. The most obvious reason is his dazzling aerial ability. He never puts on a foot wrong on his flying moves and never has a bad match. He can make himself look tremendously sympathetic when taking a beating, always handy for a smaller lad. He's precisely the sort of guy that could be signed strictly for use in NXT. This isn't to say he couldn't go far on the main roster, he could, but his style is well-suited to the more indy-flavoured NXT. With WWE on the hunt for a new lead high-flyer, and seemingly unaware that Kalisto is ideal for the role, ACH could be a great acquisition.

The second and third guys are Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly. As reDRagon they've been ROH's most reliable in-house tag team for the last two years. Three weeks in the summer of 2013 and the Young Bucks' two month reign last year aside, they held the ROH tag team titles from March 2 2013 until April 4 this year. They're a team ROH has invested a lot of time in and an act the company continues to rely on for selling tickets, VOD streams, and tickets. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Fish and O'Reilly team has been one of ROH's greatest booking triumphs of the last few years.

ROH can't outbid WWE but even if they could it's possible reDRagon might be tempted away. ROH have treated them very well but there's nothing fresh left for them to do aside from beat the Briscoes for the longest cumulative days as tag champs, something they're only around four months away from accomplishing. Even their first match with the new Roppongi Vice team happened at the first opportunity, a sure sign that ROH booker Delirious is aware of how new things need to be done with the duo.

In NXT the team would have an entire roster of fresh opposition. They likely wouldn't get to display the dominance they have in Ring of Honor but I think it's fair to assume they'd be allowed to look immediately competitive with tag champs Blake and Murphy. It's also worth noting that aside from those two and the Enzo-Big Cass team there aren't that many teams kicking around in NXT right now, the Lucha Dragons having been promoted and the Vaudevillains having disappeared. A renamed reDRagon would be a welcome addition.

That they lost the tag straps to The Addiction, a talented pair of guys but men WWE are unlikely to have interest in, could indicate that reDRagon have announced they intend to leave ROH soon. Getting the titles off of them now avoids any sticky booking situations arising later. Of course it could just as easily be a switch made to tell a story and freshen up the doubles scene.

Bullet Club T-Shirt there. It's very much the new nWo shirt.

Another team WWE could show interest in from ROH is the Briscoe brothers. They've got a solid track record of good matches and have worked out their characters. The only stumbling block that presents itself is that Jay Briscoe is still the same man who made comments about shooting people if they tried to teach his son homosexuality was acceptable. Which, y'know, is a problem. ROH is a company that can get away with publically slapping down a guy like that and then getting back to business as usual. WWE isn't. It would be too big a deal (rightly so) for their sponsors. It could be assumed he's learnt the error of his ways but would they want to take that risk when they don't need to? I'm not sure they would.

Jay Briscoe is also a guy I think ROH would put up a fight for. Like reDRagon he's benefited from some strong booking over the last few years. He's not been pinned for around the two year mark and is only the second man ever to enjoy a second reign as the ROH world champion. He's a company stalwart who has, famously, been there since day one. Losing him would create a big gap in their man event scene. It could also send the message that even the most loyal ROH wrestler is willing to leave if they're offered more cash.

But Jay Briscoe isn't the fourth guy I think WWE would definitely be interested in. He and Mark are guys that I could see WWE hiring but not trying their hardest to lure away. The fourth name is Adam Cole. He's got everything  WWE looks for. The look, the wresting ability, the mic skills. There's nothing about Adam Cole WWE wouldn't embrace. He's probably the most signable member of the ROH roster.

The most important thing to note about Cole is that he would be an ideal replacement for Finn Bálor. They don't work especially similar styles but they can both slot into the experienced babyface role well. With a call-up to the main roster looking likely for Bálor a replacement who has as much appeal to live audiences would be desirable. Cole could fill that role nicely. As with Jay Briscoe I could see ROH making a counter offer but it wouldn't be one that WWE couldn't match. If they wanted him they'd get him. And if they're serious with their expansion talk, which we're assuming they are, they'll want him.

There are a handful of other guys WWE could be interested in. At 29 Jay Lethal is still young enough to enter the developmental system and have a meaningful main roster career. The same goes for 23-year-old Adam Page. Despite having lost steam over the last year or so Michael Elgin remains someone who'd make a solid mid-card addition to WWE and he'd look completely at home in NXT. ACH.

#streamers

Samoa Joe, who last wrestled for ROH at Supercard of Honor IX on March 27, doesn't feel like a true ROH guy after only working four matches for them in the last five-plus years, but he's worth mentioning here. Because obviously Joe could be a draw for NXT and do great things with everyone on the roster. With him being conspicuous by his absence from future ROH show line-ups, most notably the New Japan co-promotions, it seems safe to assume he's going to WWE. I wouldn't be surprised if they next quarterly special ended with him confronting NXT champ Kevin Owens.

But none of these guys other than Joe can be said to be the attractions that ACH, reDRagon, Cole and Briscoe are. They're reliable, exciting, in-ring performers who could benefit both WWE and NXT in the long run but they're not the instant fix that is required for NXT's expansion to work before this time next year. If NXT is going to grow and ROH stars are being targeted to help with that, Cole, O'Reilly, Fish, ACH and Joe are the guys I'd expect to get signed.

The Takeover is Over

AJ Lee wasn't the only person released by WWE on Friday 3 April. Joseph 'CJ Parker' Robinson officially got his walking papers too.

CJP apparently left on good terms. He was rated highly by trainers and his peers (Kevin Owens singled him out as an underrated guy in an interview on WWE's website shortly after his debut) and rquested his release, as opposed to finding himself fired. He's got his eye on a job with New Japan. Which is understandable but possibly a little lofty at this point.

That Parker wanted out is understandable. He'd been in the WWE system for four years and in that time had only managed to progress to the role of NXT's most notable jobber. I enjoyed his work there. I thought the modern day hippy shtick was uninspired at first but it came to life when the negative crowd reaction was embraced and he was turned into a preachy eco warrior. It was a rare example of WWE writers thinking on their feet and altering their plans to fit with audience reactions.

Phenomenal dress sense.

I also liked the way Parker had become the guy who debuting fellas defeated. His appearances started to signal to the crowd that they were going to get to see someone new or watch something noteworthy happen. For someone who lost pretty much all of his matches that was a good position to have. And there was potential for a long term story in which CJ acknowledged his losing streak and went on a quest to end it. That could have turned him into a bigger name within NXT had it been timed right.

But being the guy who loses to everyone who's going to get a big push can't have been fulfilling and while the heel hippy gimmick was enjoyable it clearly wasn't going to get him to the NXT championship, let alone a meaningful position on the main roster. He was best off doing what he did: politely asking for his release. He can use the notoriety he's gained on NXT to get work elsewhere.

The New Japan job he's said to want is, as already noted, probably out of reach at this point. It's not impossible though. Japanese wrestling promotions have an esoteric taste in which westerners they select for prominent roles (look no further than Karl Anderson). He could be just what they're after to spice up their junior scene. It doesn't seem particularly likely.

As far as Japan goes a stint in NOAH seems like Parker's best hope. The company's currently going through a restructuring with Jado implementing the New Japan booking style and attempting to elevate the entire roster with the invasion of Suzukigun. Parker could be brought in as a fresh face for the flagging junior division, which seems far less lively than New Japan's. It would be a low key role but it would be something. And it could lead him to New Japan thanks to the working relationship the promotions share.

A spot in ROH doesn't seem too farfetched right now. Tommaso Ciampa recently revealed he was leaving the company because he felt overlooked, much like CJP had in NXT. The loss of a mid-card guy like Ciampa and the rumours of WWE gunning for some of the company's leading names could make ROH keen to sign a reliable fresh face with decent name value. He couldn't be introduced in a featured spot after losing for so long in WWE, but he could be rehabilitated for something meaningful over time.

He'll definitely receive offers from the usual suspects: TNA and the World Wrestling Network. I'd like to see him in the WWN because I have a soft spot for Sapolsky's approach to booking, although I suspect they're going to start getting wary about using too many former WWE guys soon. I really don't want to see Parker lower himself to TNA. Until that company's back on its feet (which I'm convinced isn't possible with the current creative line-up) it's best of avoided.

I'll miss CJP on NXT. He was always entertaining. But if his departure from WWE leads to him getting a better role elsewhere then I'll be pleased. Plus it opens up a spot for someone new in NXT, even if it is only that of a featured jobber.

ROH Supercard of Honor IX review

While their disgruntled former employee Gabe Sapolsky was busy offering up in excess of half a dozen shows via his World Wrestling Network, Ring of Honor was taking a more conservative approach with WrestleMania Weekend. While they have the name value and roster to be able to put together two, possibly even three, shows on the biggest wrestling weekend of the wrestling year they decided to go for one. Less is more, and all that.

Looking at the line-up they had announced beforehand this is probably a good thing. Despite ROH's name value and roster Supercard of Honor IX looked like anything but a supercard before the fact. Of the six matches announced days before the event only the Jay Briscoe versus Samoa Joe main event and Jay Lethal's TV title defence against Jushin 'Thunder' Liger sounded like anything special. Daniels and Kazarian being placed in singles matches reeked of padding out a card, the Jimmy Jacobs v BJ Whitmer grudge battle was something that had been seen ten years earlier, and the reDRagon v Kingdom match sounded underwhelming.

In ROH's defence they suffered by losing access to regulars AJ Styles and the Young Bucks, all three of whom were busy in New Japan. But while that was beyond ROH's control it can only be taken so far as a defence. The promotion is still ultimately responsible for finding and building up its own new stars. That ACH was merely confirmed to appear with no match announced shows that the company's not as dedicated as it probably should be to establishing its next batch of headliners. And being in the position it's in (basically the last stop guys make on their way to being signed by WWE) that's something that should always be a priority for Ring of Honor.

This said the show was better than my (admittedly low) expectations had made me think it would be. It kicked off with an enjoyable match between Mark Briscoe and ACH. Recent shows had seen ACH lose to AJ Styles, Alberto El Patron and Samoa Joe. He lost again here, coming close with a bombardment of big moves in the closing moments before Mark sat down on a roll-up during a pin exchange sequence.

I understand that a guy can't just start beating big names as soon as they start getting pushed but the regularity of ACH's losses isn't going to do him any favours. They're probably going somewhere with him not being able to win in one of these matches but it's not anywhere interesting. ACH deserves more than he's currently getting and ROH need to be trying to build him up in case they lose some of their top guys in the near future. If they don't then they'll still have ACH but he'll just be the guy who lost to everyone who left.

Match two saw Michael Elgin take on Frankie Kazarian. It was a slower match than the opener and the pair took a while to find their groove. They were fine by the halfway point though, and the match ended in the typically pacey big move sequence most Elgin matches benefit from. The story of the match was that Elgers was being particularly vicious and was going out of his way to try and injure Kazarian. Kazarian survived a chair attack and all of Elgin's big moves before finally falling to a spinning back fist and the Elgin bomb.

Despite having acted like a nasty heel throughout the match the crowd chanted for Elgin after the finish. They returned to booing him as he sarcastically asked a spent Kazarian for a handshake. Kazarian's Addiction teammate Chris Daniels came out to try and keep Elgin at bay but it didn't work. Elgin initially backed off before returning to the ring with a chair and smacking Daniels in the back with it. H gave him an Elgin bomb and then used the chair on Kazarian. Because, in case you haven't noticed, Michael Elgin is now a renegade who plays by nobody's rules but his own.

Andrew Everett, Caprice Coleman, Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa (sporting his MF Doom style mask), Moose and Matt Sydal were guys stuffed into the show's six man mayhem offering. That Sydal, Ciampa and Alexander were thrown into a multi-man match was disappointing. A more meaningful match could have happened in its place, or the card could have been reshuffled to put The Addiction in a tag match. It's hardly surprising that Ciampa asked for his release when he went from main eventing shows to being in filler matches. There were clearly no long term ideas for him.

This match was a good use of Moose though. With five men against him he had plenty of guys to throw around and look powerful against. The match was a fun spot-fest, which is all it was intended to be. Sydal won off a shooting star press on Everett. Moose was just a little too slow to break the pin up.

After the match Veda Scott again stopped Moose shaking hands, as she had at the start and in other matches since she turned heel. Cedric also refused to shake hands with people. He just looked angry as Adam Cole (who was working as guest commentator for the evening) and Kevin Kelly discussed how he'd had lots of exciting matches but couldn't win. That story would be more impactful if they weren't also running it with ACH. They may be building to those two confronting one another on their different outlooks on losing but so what? We've seen them wrestle one another before so the prospect of them facing off again isn't particularly interesting, even if Cedric's a heel when it happens.

That was followed by the Epic Grudge Match between BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs. Whitmer had his new young boy Colby Corino with him (which was why Steve Corino wasn't on commentary). They started with a handshake before immediately pummelling each other. They headed outside, fought more, then got back into the ring and had a chair duel. Whitmer whipped Jacobs into chairs set up in the corner. Jacobs fought back with a spear (which brought about a "Better than Reigns!" chant) and smacked Whitmer with chairs before dropping him with Sliced Bread Number Two onto a chair.

Whitmer got a fisherman suplex for two. Jacobs brought out a table. Whitmer tried to exploder Jacobs through it. Jacobs fought him off. Whitmer helpfully rolled onto the table in just the right place for a Jacobs senton. The table didn't break so Jacobs set it up between the ring apron and the crowd barrier. A second senton in that position worked. Whitmer kicked out of a pin attempt and got clamped in a guillotine choke. Whitmer muscled out into a brainbuster then hit a second brainbuster onto a chair. Jacobs kicked out.

Whitmer tried a top rope power bomb (a call-back to one of their more grizzly encounters against one another). Jacobs back dropped him off the top rope and gave him an Ace crusher, holding on to follow up with another Sliced Bread. Whitmer floored Jacobs twice with lariats before giving him an exploder suplex onto a pair of chairs. That was enough to put 'The Zombie Princess' down for three.

A "Thank you, Jimmy!" chant rang in, it being an open secret that this was Jacobs' final match with Ring of Honor before taking a creative job with WWE. Jacobs went for a handshake. Whitmer pulled away then said he only shakes hands with guys who belong. Colby then smacked Jimmy with a water bottle shot from behind and pummelled him before Lacey ran in through the crowd to make the save. They embraced as the Ballad of Lacey played, finally bringing an end to ROH's ancient Jimmy Loves Lacey story which began back in the Gabe Sapolsky days. It was a nice touch and a fitting end to Jimmy Jacobs' time in Ring of Honor.

The love story moment was immediately undercut by Chris Daniels dancing out to the ring to his jaunty entrance music. It would have been nice if ROH had had a video package to play at this point, or a heel promo to schedule to deliberately kill the mood. But they had neither because despite this show being held on WrestleMania weekend it was still just a VOD event. As  rule they don't get video packages, and there were no heel promos on the show.

Daniels versus Roderick Strong was predictably sharp but I still think it would have been better to have The Addiction in a tag match and Roddy doing something against someone else. Matt Sydal, for example. Strong won with the Stronghold following a torture rack into a back breaker.

That was followed by The Kingdom team of Matt Taven and Michael Bennett, with Maria Kanellis, challenging reDRagon, with MMA personality Tom Lawler, for the ROH tag team championship. The Kingdom played rock, paper scissors to decide who'd start (Bennett won with rock). I've always been a fan of that in tag matches.

As stated above I hadn't expected a great deal from this match. reDRagon are great and Taven and Bennett are good but it just seemed like an awkward bout waiting to happen. It took a while to get going, the first half being characterised by Taven and Bennett employing cheap heat shenanigans, featured a needless run-in from a lone KRD member, and faltered in the closing moments because of an injury to Kyle O'Reilly, but it ended up better than I'd expected. Fish got the pin for reDRagon with a falcon arrow on Bennett.

Cole returned to commentary (he'd left after Kelly had questioned him about The Kingdom's relationship with the Knights of the Rising Dawn during Whitmer v Jacobs) and promised he hadn't been the masked KRD guy. He probably wasn't, but in storyline he likely was. That's wrestling logic, that is.

Jay Lethal's television title defence against Jushin Liger took the semi-main spot. Lethal has been great as the aggressive heel champion and his reign is doing the championship's credibility a lot of good. He's the sort of guy ROH could elevate to the world title picture should they lose a bunch of their top guys. Liger is Liger. Not as good as he is in 80's and 90's videos but still very reliable and a definite crowd-pleaser.

What I liked about the Liger and Lethal pairing was that a title change wasn't inconceivable, something that can't often be said when a champion defends against an outsider. With ROH promoting shows with New Japan a month and a half after this they could have switched the title to Liger and had him enter those shows as champion. The TV title could have been defended on New Japan shows by Liger in the meantime and a rematch would have been a natural addition to one of the four inter-promotional shows. It wasn't likely but it made suspension of disbelief a bit easier than it had been in Liger's world title match with Cole at War of the Worlds 2015.

The match was very good and had a entertaining finishing sequence. After stopping a Lethal suicide dive Liger dropped the champ with a brainbuster. They made it back into the ring at the nineteen count. Lethal grabbed the TV title belt. The referee took it from him and Liger went for a rollup, which Lethal countered into a pin attempt of his own by grabbing hold of the ropes. The ref noticed and called a halt to the count. Lethal took the belt again and tried lamping Liger with it. Liger ducked and snatched the belt for himself. The referee started a tug-of-war over the belt with the challenger, allowing Lethal to sneak in a super kick and a Lethal Injection for the victory.

The main event saw Samoa Joe challenge Jay Briscoe for the ROH world championship. This was a match with a lot of history behind it. Briscoe and Joe had feuded with one another in the early years of ROH, Briscoe never managing to defeat Joe when it really counted. Joe is the man most readily associated with the championship, thanks to his dominant twenty-one month title reign during the company's formative years, a reign yet to be bettered in length. Briscoe is the dominant champion of the present, not having been pinned in two years and having defeated everyone that's been put in front of him just as Joe did during his reign.

Joe got the best of an early feeling out process. The match gradually got more physical with forearms, chops, jabs, a Jay boot to the face and a Joe enziguri. Jay went for a suplex. Got it on fourth try following a jab. He peppered the big man with more jabs and applied a sleeper. Joe muscled out, tweaked his knee on a bungled spill over the top rope, and rolled to the outside to counter a suicide dive with a high kick as planned.

Back in the ring Joe hit Briscoe with jabs of his own and used a Hogan-esque leg drop in place of his usual knee drop. Joe got the best of an exchange of blows with an uppercut. Briscoe tried climbing to the top rope but Joe booted him to the outside and hit a suicide dive. He went for the Olé kick but Briscoe threw a chair in his face (the lack of a DQ being explained away with talk of referee lenience). The champ threw Joe into the barricade before getting grabbed off of the apron and slung into the barricade himself. A second try for the Olé kick was successful. So was a third.

Joe pulled Briscoe back into the ring and got a two count. He peppered him with jabs and hauled him into position for the Muscle Buster. Briscoe fought out of it and dropped Joe with a neck breaker. Jay got more jabs on Joe and went for a Death Valley driver. Joe and his weight blocked it. Jay took some elbow strikes before firing back with a super kick and a belly-to-back suplex as Joe came off the ropes.

Briscoe got in several uppercuts and finally connected with the DVD. Joe kicked out at two. Briscoe went for the Jay driller. Joe back dropped out of it and sent Jay sprawling with clotheslines, an inverted atomic drop, a yakuza kick and a senton. Jay kicked out and slugged away at Joe before hit ting the ropes. He was met with a power slam. Joe went through the power bomb, Boston crab, STF, crossface sequence to loud cheers. Briscoe managed to make the ropes, forcing a break.

The two returned to their feet and traded forearms, slaps, and jabs, just as they had at the start of the match. Just as he had then Joe won out, this time when he smashed Jay with a kick to the chest. Joe again went for the Muscle Buster. Briscoe again fought out and caught him with a Jay Driller for the three count. Jay Briscoe finally defeated Samoa Joe in an ROH world championship match.

After the match the two shared a handshake and hugged. Joe presented Briscoe with his championship belts and raised his hand to end the show. Everything about Joe's performance, from his post-match actions to the fact that he went down to a single Jay driller, was designed to endorse Jay Briscoe as a great champion, which was a good call. In ROH terms Joe is one of the biggest guys a wrestler can receive a rub from. That said, the match wasn't anything amazing. It was good and a worthwhile main event, but Joe and Briscoe have both done far better and ROH has had more fitting headline bouts.

While this event was better than I'd expected it to be it still didn't feel particularly special. There was nothing bad on it but there also isn't really anything worth revisiting. There's nothing wrong with an enjoyable wrestling show (obviously) but sometimes it's nice to make a show feel a bit special, and that's something ROH can struggle with. Which was all too apparent here.

***

Results summary:

Mark Briscoe defeated ACH
Michael Elgin defeated Frankie Kazarian
Matt Sydal defeated Andrew Everett, Cedric Alexander, Tommaso Ciampa, Caprice Coleman and Moose to win a six man mayhem
BJ Whitmer defeated Jimmy Jacobs
Roderick Strong defeated Christopher Daniels
reDRagon defeated The Kingdom to retain the ROH tag team championship
Jay Lethal defeated Jushin Liger to retain the ROH television championship
Jay Briscoe defeated Samoa Joe to retain the ROH world championship