NXTweet 08.04.15

Wish you'd seen some of the NXT matches held over WrestleMania weekend? WWE's got you covered with the semi-finals and finals of the tournament held for a spot in the 'Mania battle royal.

Intro

Tweet 1: NXT! NXT! NXT!

Tweet 2: I am watching NXT. I am informed it's not a filler episode.

Shots of WrestleMania Weekend festivities

Tweet 3: Crowd chanting. Graphic for the eight man tournament. Then into some tasty filler.

Tweet 4: Randy Orton telling us WWE takes over towns. Bad. Tyler Breeze playing golf. Good.
Tweet 5: Owens, Enzo and Cass saved that. Those lads can talk.
Tweet 6: Round one "highlights". Can anything involving Barry Corbin be considered a highlight?
Tweet 7: Wouldn't have minded seeing Kalisto versus Neville.
Tweet 8: Corey Graves' use of the name Adrian was dubbed out just then. Vince, you're a rascal.

Andre Battle Royal qualifying tournament semi-final: Adrian Neville v Hideo Itami

Tweet 9: This crowd needs to shut up with its "This is awesome!" chant before anything's happened.

Genuinely been haunted by this Sheamus poster for years. I can't forget it exists.

Tweet 10: Rich Brennan referring to being the GHC champ as a measure of success in a belittling manner there.
Tweet 11: This crowd is getting on Neville. It's like when ECW guys were leaving for the WWF or WCW and the fans turned on them.
Tweet 12: Because how dare guys want better pay and bigger crowds, am I right?
Tweet 13: Sexy knee to Neville's face from Itami. It's stuff like that that got him signed.
Tweet 14: Bring back Punk's "Knees 2 Faces" shirt as Hideo merch, innit.
Tweet 15: Lots of strikes going on here. Started a sequence of thoughts that reminded me that Da Undertaker is WWE's Best Striker Ever™.
Tweet 16: "Hideo is the embodiment of the Japanese fighting spirit" - Corey Graves on the Japanese fighting spirit
Tweet 17: Sleeper! Sleeper! Bah Gawd, the sleeper!!
Tweet 18: Itami ran in for a corner drop kick. Nev kipped up into a super kick. Perfick.

Well done, Adrian. That was textbook.

Tweet 19: Great finish to that. When Itami finally gets the G2S on someone the building's going to explode.
Tweet 20: Maybe the world will even end. Who knows?

Andre Battle Royal qualifying tournament semi-final: Finn Bálor v Tyler Breeze

Tweet 21: Just noticed this is a bit like a TNA taping where there's one side of the ring completely empty of fans.

Tweet 22: Unlike TNA this will be to do with some sort of tech issue as opposed to lack of interest.
Tweet 23: Mate, Breeze is bringing his A game in this match.

Nippiness.

Tweet 24: Breeze's boots always remind me of CJ Parker's hair.
Tweet 25: Why is there never a Zoolander chant during Breeze matches?
Tweet 26: Liking Graves and Brennan as a two man announce team, for the record.
Tweet 27: "Bálor looked like he was going for that reverse lifting DDT!" - Corey Graves, demonstrating that Bloody Sunday was a far catchier name

Consider the similarities to Okada's Rainmaker pose noted.

Tweet 28: I liked that match. Why can't RAW be like this? Said everyone.
Tweet 29: Up next: more filler.

More WrestleMania Weekend festivities

Tweet 30: Good work on these Dana Brooke vignettes, guys.

Tweet 31: Triple H playing hype man. Probably his second greatest skill behind booking NXT, tbh.
Tweet 32: "It's the hottest wrestling show on TV" - Scott Hall on a show that isn't on TV... mang
Tweet 33: Corey Graves rocking an Indiana Jones look there.
Tweet 34: Next week: Sami Zayn versus Rhyno, ROH versus SCUM.

Andre Battle Royal qualifying tournament semi-final: Finn Bálor v Hideo Itami

Tweet 35: How long until Bálor stops getting announced from Bray, County Wicklow on the grounds that it features another rassler's name?

Tweet 36: Commentary team being instructed to talk up Erick Rowan, Jack Swagger, Kane and Big Show, my word.
Tweet 37: Hideo Itami chinlocks > Randy Orton chinlocks
Tweet 38: "C'mon, Finn! Get up!" - Some kid
Tweet 39: Big fan of Itami Hulking up.

Hideo Hogan.

Tweet 40: He should reverse the trend and nick someone else's move for once. Hogan's leg drop is wide open, brother.
Tweet 41: This match though. It's excellent.
Tweet 42: Hideo's such a tease. #G2S
Tweet 43: Itami is celebrating his win by pointing at the WrestleMania sign. He gets it. He'll go far.

Hideo Itami's journey to WrestleMania 31

Tweet 44: WrestleMania 31 weekend was the most important weekend in Itami's career, apparently.

Tweet 45: Not sure he realises that by saying the crowd got louder when KENTA entered Hogan's admitting KENTA got a bigger pop than him.
Tweet 46: Hillbilly Jim sighting.
Tweet 47: Reigns was good with Itami's kids but, if it came to it, he'd beat them to stay looking strong.
Tweet 48: OMG KENTA HIT A G2S!!
Tweet 49: Even Big E was impressed. And Big E is not a man easily impressed.
Tweet 50: Dean Ambrose outrageously flouting the company's dress code with a leather jacket and T-shirt combo. Who does he think he is? Orton?!
Tweet 51: *Compulsory shot of documentary subject sitting in the stands looking thoughtful*

Let's not overlook the fact that that's a former NXT champion Itami's eliminating.

Tweet 52: Still depressed by the bloody Big Show win. At least Itami went out to the winner though.
Tweet 53: Really good documentary that. NXT just found yet another way to upstage main roster WWE.

Mr Wrestling

I doubt Ring of Honor would have retained as much of its fan base as it has over the last few years without Kevin Steen. Turning on his pal and tag partner El Generico at Final Battle 2009 started a chain of events that eventually made him the most popular man in the company.

It started with the Generico v Steen feud. The former tag champions spent 2010 warring with one another and headlined Final Battle in a wild and allegedly unsanctioned brawl. A loss there meant Steen had to leave the promotion. When he returned six months later Jim Cornette’s booking had taken its toll on the product. Fans were losing interest. The American Wolves had senselessly been split up and shoved into a rivalry over the ROH championship and a poor job was being done of creating new names. If you think this is a trouble for WWE it’s even worse for a promotion operating at ROH’s level. They can’t rely on a handful of stars and a highly successful brand name, their success comes from a steady flow of exciting, fresh talent and high quality matches. But that’s by the by.

Despite being booked as a heel that wanted to tear Ring of Honor apart Steen was greeted as a face at the majority of ROH events in the second half of 2011 and early 2012. The reason for this is almost certainly that Steen tapped into the audience’s frustrations about the state of the company. He said things that those watching felt. His cries for change and the removal of Jim Cornette meant that fans were never going to boo him. He was calling for the things they wanted.

 

ROH fans just don't want to boo Kevin Steen

Things could have gone wrong for him when he won the ROH world title. ROH fans have a history of turning on popular wrestlers once they win the championship. Not only that but Cornette left the company five months into the reign. Without Cornette around Steen could have become directionless. Fans continued to support him. Perhaps they appreciated the hard work he’d put in across the preceding two plus years. I know I did.

In addition to his work in ROH he also appears regularly for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. His rise in PWG occurred alongside the rise he enjoyed in ROH as his war with Generico was a big deal there too. The turn and feud helped to fashion both men into top names on the indies. For Generico this led to tryouts with TNA and WWE and offers of work from both. Like any sane person Generico wound up opting to take up WWE’s offer. He can now be seen in NXT wrestling as Sami Zayn.

Steen remains on the indies. To the best of my knowledge he has had no tryout with either TNA or WWE. As far as WWE is concerned this is perfectly understandable. They have the money to be able to sign practically anybody they want to a developmental deal. Not only that but they have a roster full of guys in NXT ready to be moved to the bright lights of Monday Night RAW. It’s no secret that they like their guys to be in shape. It’s also no secret that Steen, while incredibly agile for a man of his size, is not in the shape WWE would require.

Basically WWE don’t need to concern themselves with Steen. As good as he is they can afford to overlook him. TNA, on the other hand, should be emailing, calling, tweeting and touting ‘Mr Wrestling’ every day to try and get him to become part of their product. He would be a fantastic addition to Impact Wrestling. He’s affable, funny and likeable enough to succeed as a face but can just as easily summon a brutal intensity to his actions and words, meaning he’d excel as a heel there too. Hiring him wouldn’t instantly turn their flagging TV show around but it would be a step in the right direction.

It’s likely that Steen is perfectly happy where he is. As one of ROH’s top names I imagine he makes a decent living, supplementing it with appearances with other, smaller companies. If he wants to make the move to WWE in the future he’s still young enough to do so, it would simply be a case of getting back into shape. I can’t imagine he’s distressed at the (assumed) lack of interest from TNA. It’s a sinking ship that would almost certainly do his career more harm than good.

I’d love to see Steen in WWE one day. Whether it happens I’m happy to see him doing well in Ring of Honor. And avoiding TNA.

Replacing Briscoe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

A potential tournament final

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best in the World 2013 review

The title of Satursday’s Best in the World presumably didn’t refer to the quality of the internet stream. Yep, ROH had issues in that area again. I've written about ROH's streaming problems so many times that I'm bored of the subject. The sentiment I've expressed before is basically that ROH should have more respect for their fans than to continually offer shoddy streams and that being owned by a broadcasting company should mean these issues are far rarer.

Since Saturday it’s become something of a moot point. Finally admitting defeat, Ring of Honor announced that they are discontinuing their internet pay-per-view offerings. They will instead record their shows and upload them as video on demand content, allowing them to ensure the highest quality possible.

I think this is a move they should have made a while ago. Streaming issues have been plaguing ROH’s internet broadcasts for years, so much so that it had reached the point that a flawless stream was considered newsworthy. The lack of a live atmosphere and the floods of spoilers are a small price to pay for offering a reliable product that fans know won’t let them down.

Anyway…

Best in the World’s opening match saw BJ Whitmer tangle with Mike Bennett. Their match was nothing special. What happened afterwards was more interesting. Maria blamed 'Brutal' Bob for 'The Prodigy's' loss. She didn't really have much of a point: Bob had run into the ring and been immediately thrown out by Whitmer. He had no impact on the match outcome. Bennett lost clean after being hit with an Exploder suplex.

Maria shouted at Bob as she left with Bennett. Bob followed them, bellowing pleas for reason. I assume the group is being split to free 'The Brutal One' up to manage someone else once Bennett leaves for NXT.

The second match was the one I'd looked forward to most: the American Wolves versus Adrenalin RUSH. What I saw of it lived up to my high expectations. Thomas and ACH didn't look at all out of place opposing two former world champions. Richards seemed to be on form, having fun encouraging "Yes!" chants and good naturedly using traditionally heel tactics. Free of the pressures of the main event Davey is a far more enjoyable personality.

The Wolves won. Adrenalin RUSH put up a strong fight though. I'd like to see a rematch on TV at some point. Singles matches wouldn't go amiss either. Richards v ACH could be incredible.

Match three was preceded by footage of recent altercations between Adam Cole and Roderick Strong. The story was that Cole refused a handshake after losing to Strong in San Antonio, which irked Roddy. They shook hands here though, which Kevin Kelly theorised was Adam Cole admitting he was wrong to refuse it to begin with. If only we could block Kev out.

The streaming issue cuts seemed particularly prevalent in this match, so certain transitions were lost on me. What I managed to see was great. Cole and Strong work very well against one another.

Eventually they headed on to the ring apron. Chops (needlessly stiff ones of course) were exchanged, with Cole ultimately giving up on them in favour of a superkick. That sent Strong tumbling off the apron and through a table.

Cole made out as though he was torn on what to do, take the count out win or be the good sportsman and help his opponent. Corino screamed at him from the commentary position, telling him to think of himself and take the victory. Cole's conscience seemed to get the better of him as he slipped out of the ring to help Strong to his feet.

Cole revealed his true nature after a few seconds, pushing Strong down to the floor and getting back into the ring just as the ref reached twenty (yeah, they get a twenty count in ROH, deal with it). He seemed very pleased with himself. I was just pleased the stream had held out long enough for me to make sense of the sequence.

Steve Corino followed Cole to the back. The official heel turn is a step closer.

Yet another chunk of footage went missing after that. The next thing I saw after Corino gushing over Cole (not like that) was Kevin Kelly being joined by RD Evans and Veda Scott. For some reason Kelly said he'd rather have RD with him at ringside so Veda Scott left. If there was a point to her presence it was lost on me.

A man of questionable morals

The final match of the first half was Michael Elgin versus Tommaso Ciampa. The audience was split on who to support and remained so throughout the match. They did react more to 'Unbearable's' delayed suplex than to Ciampa's if that means anything to anyone. But then it's his move, so you'd expect that.

Thankfully the stream held out for the particularly exciting end sequence. Ciampa blasted Elgin with Project Ciampa and was astonished when he kicked out. 'The Sicilian Psychopath' took his foe out to the apron and gave him a Kryptonite Crunch, then took him back into the ring to attempt another Project Ciampa. Elgin reversed into a conventional power bomb and followed up with a buckle bomb. Ciampa managed to kick out and apply a triangle choke.

Elgin hoisted the mohawked one up and dropped him with a powerbomb but it wasn't enough to break the hold. Elgin went for another buckle bomb but 'The Dominant Male' rolled through and scored with a hard knee to the head.

That still wasn't enough to end the bout. Nor was the lariat that Elgin pounded Ciampa with seconds later. It would take three spinning back fists, a rolling elbow to the back of the head, and a final hellacious lariat for Elgin to finally put Ciampa down for the count.

The match, particularly the finishing sequence, was expertly paced. That's becoming one of Elgin's more obvious strengths as a performer. His bigger matches tend to build to frantic exchange of big moves and finishers.

After the match QT Marahall strolled to the ring. What he and the rather natty suit he was wearing got up to will remain a mystery as the video I watched cut out just as he neatly folded up his jacket. When it came back on QT and Evans were stood outside the ring. Presumably he attacked both Ciampa and Elgin. Maybe the two powerhouses will team up to take on the amusingly named Marshall Law? Hey, it's not like ROH prioritise turning Elgin into a star or anything.

The second half opened with a video that showed how the two triple threat matches came about. It was pretty well edited but it didn't do anything that Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness (who commentated the second half) couldn't have done with a sentence or two.

Matt who?

The TV title match was one of the more severe casualties of the streaking troubles. One moment I was watching Taven get introduced to some impressively loud boos, the next I was watching him land on his opponents at ringside to cheers. He followed that up with a Mark Henry impression, shouting "That's what I do!" into the camera. At least the stream managed to catch that!

The middle portion of the match was pretty slick. You'd expect that from MTV though: he's been in a ton of three-ways over the last few months (and I'm not talking about the Hoopla Hotties!). Everyone carried themselves well. It was a lively affair.

What I assume was the ending sequence was bizarre. Scarlet entered the ring to distract Jay Lethal and got her top yanked off for her troubles. As the referee pawed at her (by which I mean gave her a towel) Truth Martini entered the ring, allowing Jimmy Jacobs to spear 'Black Machismo'. Truth begged off from 'The Zombie Princess' until Solicia (the other Hoopla Hottie, whose name is probably spelt incorrectly) got in between them. Jacobs pie faced her out of the way. It was a bit of a dodgy thing to book but he is a heel and fans are smart enough to know it's an act. What came next is far harder to shrug off. Solicia scooped Jacobs up on to her shoulders and then took a full force super kick to the face from Jay Lethal.

Pie facing someone is one thing, booting them in the head is quite another. On top of how uncomfortable it was to see it was also done by a babyface. They're the ones who are supposed to have moral fibre and a sense of honour. Or at least they used to. Apparently in 2013 it's absolutely fine for a good guy to kick a defenceless woman in the head.

What that led to I have no idea. The next thing I saw was Taven celebrating and Jimmy Jacobs angrily pushing his way backstage as Kelly intimated that he'd had the match, and the belt, won.

The technical issues really ruined the flow of the match. I've no idea how it started or how it finished. The middle was good, as was the beginning of the presumed finishing sequence, but it felt very disjointed.

The three-way tag team title match, reDRagon defending against the C&C Wrestle Factiry and SCUM boys Rhett Titus and Cliff Compton, was decent enough. It was never going to be anything special with Compton and Titus involved. The good news is that O'Reilly and Fish defended the titles against Coleman and Alexander in a conventional two-on-two match at Sunday's TV taping. We'll get what I'm sure will be a superior match for free. That's not bad.

Back to Best in the World. reDRagon retained their titles after Fish knocked out Alexander with a kick to the head. It was a believable, if slightly sudden, finish.

The evening's penultimate bout saw Matt Hardy defeat Kevin Steen. Before the match started Corino cut a cheap heat promo and provided an introduction for Matt Hardy. Not to be outdone Steen performed some mic work of his own, requesting that matchmaker Nigel McGuinness add a no disqualification stipulation. McGuinness complied, which allowed 'Mr Wrestling' to once again draw inspiration from the Attitude Era in a wild brawl that went all over ringside and saw various objects, including a crutch, a trash can, and a ladder, incorporated into the madness.

Naturally SCUM intervened. Titus and Jacobs were first out, saving Hardy a trip through a table. Titus got a Package piledriver for his troubles while Jacobs got an apron bomb. Hardy eventually gained the advantage after Compton hit Steen with a chair.

Steen came back with a Codebreaker variant and an F5, which 'The Wrestling Jesus' kicked out of. Hardy hit a low blow and one of the match's many side effects on to the ladder for a two count of his own. Hardy finally secured the win when he gave Steen a Twist of Fate through some chairs.

Corino announced the victory as part of another attempt to convince people he can do the overblown announcer shtick (which he can't). SCUM continued to beat up Steen as referees came to the ring and the bell was rung (because heels always stop beatdowns when bells are rung). Eventually they just wandered off. Nobody made the save. Presumably this was designed to illustrate that Steen is still an unpopular member of the roster.

It was not a good night for Kevin Steen

In what has to be considered one of Ring of Honor's worst ever production choices Papa Briscoe was interviewed before the main event. He said the word family around a dozen times. It was awful. He'd clearly enjoyed a drink or six throughout the course of the evening.

I really wasn't into the Briscoe v Briscoe match. Neither was the crowd. They came alive at certain points but they were quiet for a lot of the exchanges. I think a large part of the problem was the lack of a storyline feud. Matt Hardy would have been a far more sensible choice of challenger, especially when you consider he faced Jay the following evening.

The pair went overboard when it came to the finish. Mark kicked out of a Jay Driller so Jay lariated him and hit a second. That also got two. Jay hit a series of superkicks (during which audience members were shown for some reason) and then hit a third Jay Driller for the win. The audience livened up during points of this bit for the most part they didn't seem to care. Frankly, it was not the greatest of matches.

The following evening's TV tapings saw Jay retain the championship against Hardy. Reading that on Monday morning was a big surprise. If you've read anything I've written about ROH over the last few months you'll be aware that I was convinced Hardy would have the belt by late June in order to setup a future clash with Kevin Steen. Not only is that not happening but it appears the SCUM stable as we knew it is over: the faction lost a stipulation match at the tapings which means they must disband.

So, where next for ROH? In a way the move away from iPPVs will benefit them. They now have a greater degree of freedom when it comes to pacing their stories. Without the need to ensure bigger matches are reserved for pay-per-views any card can now be turned into a "supershow". Obviously venue size and the town the show’s being held in will still need to be taken into consideration to an extent but with every show now potentially becoming a VOD ROH can do more with some of their smaller shows.

Storyline-wise I think a union between Adam Cole and Steve Corino seems like a safe bet. I don't think Matt Hardy's going anywhere either. He nicked Jay's belt at the TV taping, which indicates he's going to get a second shot at the title. If he doesn't win it I think Adam Cole will. I can't imagine (nor do I want to) a world in which Jay Briscoe is the ROH champion until the end of this year.

Best in the World 2013 preview

This Saturday Ring of Honor will present its third annual Best in the World pay-per-view. Over the last two years the event has been used as a mid-year turning point for advancing or starting feuds and storylines, most notably the Eddie Edwards v Davey Richards rivalry in 2011. The previous BITW events have been worthwhile affairs, second only in importance to Final Battle.

This year's show is going to have its work cut out if it's to compete with its predecessors. The Jay Briscoe v Mark Briscoe main event does not, in my eyes, immediately scream "quality". That's not helped by the fact that I'm not the Briscoes biggest fan. Yes, they've been with the company "since day one", but they're a tag team. Tenure does not (or at least it shouldn't) entitle anyone in wrestling to a spot they're not necessarily cut out for. And I don't think the Briscoes, as opponents, are cut out for the main event.

The Briscoes battling for the ROH championship will, in short, be a peculiar sight. Hopefully their match will be kept under the twenty minute mark and they'll be allowed to brawl around ringside. That's the best way to handle the match, letting them play to their strengths.

I expect Jay to win. The champion will defend the title against Matt Hardy at Sunday's TV taping and I expect the belt to change hands there. Having Jay lose to Mark only for Mark to lose to Matt the next night doesn't strike me as something ROH would do. Mark doesn't strike me as a world champion either (but then neither did Jay). I think it'll be Jay entering Sunday's match against Hardy with the belt.

 

Jay Briscoe, centre stage on another poster

 

Speaking of SCUM, the group has been included in Best in the World's other two title matches. This is the result of storyline complaining from Steve Corino about his boys being locked out of title contendership. I was perfectly happy with the original matches that were announced. ROH could have afforded a night light on SCUM.

The tag team title match will see champions reDRagon defend against Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander and SCUM members Cliff Compton and Rhett Titus. The prospect of C&C facing Fish and O'Reilly alone appealed to me far more. I've wanted to see them given a larger role for around a year now and it seemed as though they were finally going to get that here. Perhaps the match will be revisited in the future. I remain hopeful that Coleman and Alexander will get their turn as a top team eventually.

As far as the match goes I think the addition of Titus and Compton will hamper the quality. The original match could have seen some fast and slick exchanges. A triple threat will make that trickier to accomplish.

I'm going with reDRagon to win. They still have plenty left to do as champions. They could lose the titles and then win them back later but what would be the point? The current approach seems to be longer reigns for the secondary titles.

The other match SCUM have been added to is the TV title match. It was originally going to be Matt Taven defending against Jay Lethal. MTV will now defend against Jimmy Jacobs as well. This will be the third iPPV of the last four that sees the television belt defended in a three-way match. Someone should remind the booking team that it's not the X Division championship.

Unlike the tag match I think the inclusion of 'The Zombie Princess' could enhance this match. He's had some highly regarded matches with Lethal this year, which bodes well for some good exchanges in this bout. Taven's not a slouch himself, he'll contribute to the match too. It could be a surprise match of the night.

I'm going to predict a successful defence for Taven, but that's as much wishful thinking as anything else. I like his current status as a slightly unworthy champion who has to rely on Truth Martini and the Hoopla Hotties to win. We could just as easily see Jacobs benefit from SCUM interference to win his first ROH singles title or Lethal become the first multi-time TV champ. Long term it's Taven that needs the title most.

Speaking of the TV title two former holders of it will clash at Best in the World: Roderick Strong and Adam Cole. A few months ago Strong was a heel. Without any particular turning point or change in character he has become a babyface. Cole'a the opposite. He was a happy, smiley good guy into hand-slapping and morals a few months back. Losing the television title to Matt Taven and then failing to defeat Jay Briscoe for the world title has made him bitter. He is now an out and proud bad guy.

There's not a particularly interesting reason for this match to happen, not that that matters. Strong and Cole will tear it up and do their best to have the match of the night. Both men could do with a win because their iPPV records this year aren't the greatest. I think a Cole win would make more sense so that's what I'm going with.

I originally said that Tommaso Ciampa v Michael Elgin would be held off until after this show. Looks like I got that wrong. I think it could be a great match. The story is basically that 'The Sicilian Psychopath' feels he could have made it to Elgin's spot on the card had he not been injured last year. For his part Elgin wants to beat Ciampa to prove he's the more worthy of an ROH title shot (which, for the record, he's already earned).

I'd like to see Ciampa win but I think Elgin will get the nod. He's not had a huge amount to do lately and is closer to being a major star than is Tommaso. Perhaps a loss will be used to tip Ciampa over the edge and make him a heel, although he's had stirring responses since his return so perhaps not.

Perhaps the least interesting match on the card is BJ Whitmer v Mike Bennett. Whitmer is like the Briscoes, respected more for the length of time he's worked for ROH having hard-hitting matches as for the quality of his wrestling. I like Bennett as a character, and it's always nice to see Maria at ringside, but his wrestling style always feels a little out of place in ROH. He has improved since debuting a couple of years ago though. That's a positive.

I'd like to see 'The Prodigy' win this match. There are still rumours floating around that he's heading to NXT. ROH could make use of that by building him up with plenty of wins, making a loss in his final appearance mean more. If that happens then it could be ROH trainee 'Cheeseburger' that gets the honour of a stature enhancing victory over Bennett. He's been moved into a rivalry with Bennett by kissing (or sexually assaulting, call it what you will) Maria so a match between the two seems likely.

All that said I've predicted a lot of heel victories so far (and I'll be predicting another below). I don't think the promotion will present such an unbalanced card so I'm going to predict a win for 'The Buzzsaw' here. Perhaps 'Cheeseburger' will interfere to protect 'The Prodigy' in defeat. I'll be cheering for Bennett.

The second tag match on the card will see the American Wolves face ACH and Tadarius Thomas, who have picked the team name Adrenalin RUSH. As far as actual wrestling goes this is the match I'm most looking forward to. Both teams are fast and I think the intensity of the Wolves will work well with the high flying of the RUSH boys. That Richards and Edwards are very generous when it comes to making their opponents look good wont hurt either. It should be a fantastic match.

A month ago I thought Adrenalin RUSH were being built up for a title match with reDRagon, so I was puzzled when they lost a number one contenders match on TV. That loss now makes sense. It was done to keep them free for this match. Winning here would make them very credible challengers but I don't think it will happen. I think the Wolves will win a tough contest, only barely overcoming the younger team.

Finally there's the storyline main event: a singles match between Kevin Steen and Matt Hardy. As I mentioned above I think Hardy, 'The Jesus Christ of Professional Wrestling', will be winning the ROH world title on Sunday. That creates reasons for him to both lose to and beat Steen.

If Hardy defeats 'Wrestling's Worst Nightmare' and goes on to capture the top prize then there will be a natural story of Steen having to spend six months earning a title shot at Final Battle. The audience would be encouraged to be more supportive of him whenever his title match with Hardy came because he would have been cast in the underdog role by the BITW loss. Beating Steen would also make Hardy even more unpopular than he already is. The win would also allow Hardy access to the cowardly heel tactic of refusing a title match because he's already beaten 'Mr Wrestling'.

Steen beating Hardy on Saturday would give him a legitimate argument for a title match as soon as Hardy's the champ. Hardy could then spend six months avoiding a rematch with Steen, creating more heat, before finally having to face him at Final Battle.

Of the two stories I think the one that would most make sense is the first. I think Matt Hardy will win and that Corino will spend months claiming that Steen's loss means he doesn't deserve to get in the ring ever again with Matt Hardy.

Of course I could be wrong about everything regarding the next six months for ROH. Perhaps Jay Briscoe's reign is going to stretch into 2014. Who knows?

I've really enjoyed the pay-per-view and TV product of Ring of Honor over the last six months. They've got a strong central plot with the SCUM invasion and they've finally expanded the roster and started pushing new talent. I'd love to see Best in the World get the second half of the year off to a good start for the company. I think it will.

Predictions summary:

Jay Briscoe to defeat Mark Briscoe
Matt Hardy to defeat Kevin Steen
reDRagon to retain the tag team championship
Matt Taven to retain the TV championship
American Wolves to defeat Adrenalin RUSH
Adam Cole to defeat Roderick Strong
Michael Elgin to defeat Tommaso Ciampa
BJ Whitmer to defeat Mike Bennett

Border Wars 2013 review

Border Wars didn’t break the curse. It was another commendable (internet) pay-per-view offering from Ring of Honor. Unfortunately it kept another running theme going as well, the technical problems that plague seemingly every internet offering the company makes. These sorts of issues are what prompted ROH to move away from Go Fight Live and start producing them in house. That was a wise move. It doesn’t appear to have been followed up by the equally wise move to involve people who know how to avoid streaming issues.

There’s nothing I can say on the topic of streaming problems and Ring of Honor that I haven’t said before but I can’t provide a recap of the show without mentioning the problem. It’s something ROH need to sort out. Until they do they’ll continue to have rightly dissatisfied customers and an image of a small time indy fed.

The promotion and its talent deserve better than that but they won’t get it until they prove they can give us iPPVs without fault. The more things that go wrong the longer stretch of successes they’re going to have to shed the image.

I really hope that I can do a write-up of Best in the World in June without mentioning any of these problems.

Border Wars took place in front of a lively crowd at the Red Reeve Arena in Toronto. The C&C Wrestle Factory opened up the show with a victory over the super-popular ACH and  his tag partner Tadarius Thomas (who really need a team name). The win came after Coleman hit a no hands hurricanrana on ACH and Alexander followed up with a springboard frog splash.

The fans were into the bout, granting it with early chants of “This is awesome!” Things quietened down considerably when Thomas got isolated, a sign that ACH was the star of the four. He's a highlight of the current ROH roster, charismatic and incredibly nimble. He could make it to the top of the company given the time.

In the short term he and Thomas are likely going to get themselves a tag team title shot. I thought they’d be getting a win on iPPV to set that up but apparently not. It’s still something they’re heading towards though.

 

Streamers in the opening match? You bet!

 

Match two was Mike Bennett versus Roderick Strong one-on-one. Mike Mondo had originally been set to be a part of the match but suffered an injury while training so got pulled. Yep, his return has been delayed again.

Bennett was sporting a haircut. I prefer the shaggy look he had going on before.

The match was the average Bennett affair, meaning that there was nothing bad going on but also nothing particularly exciting either. The finish came when Roddy slapped the Stronghold on Bennett, spurring Maria to cause a distraction as her man tapped out. Strong went to chide the ref for his inattentiveness and turned around into a superkick and a Box Office Snash for two.

Cheeseburger rocked up and forced a kiss on Maria, which as basically sexual assault and was presumably done as payback for getting decked by ‘The Prodigy’ at Supercard of Honor. Bennett then dashed around ringside after the crew member, sliding back into the ring to eat the match-winning Sick Kick.

A recap of Steen speaking out against Matt Hardy and getting booted out of SCUM followed that. If you've watched the TV show you’ll be aware of the footage.

BJ Whitmer v Rhett Titus, fought under I Quit rules, was match three. ‘Addicted to Love’ was wearing Scott Hall nWo style trunks. Pretty cool touch for a guy who's part of an invading faction.

The match started with the two men brawling. That was overshadowed by Nigel McGuinness getting referees to eject Steve Corino from the arena. The fans resurrected WWE's old ‘Get the F Out’ campaign as a chant, replacing the F with something that wasn't “federation”.

The crowd were into the match. I wasn’t. I can’t be part of the in-crowd all the time. Titus brought in zip ties after the standard issue tussling. ‘The Buzzsaw’ fought him off and ended up locking Titus into the ropes. The SCUM man refused to quit as he was punched repeatedly in the face by his former tag team partner. Eventually he spat at him.  

That prompted BJ to bring in a chair. He prepared to smash Titus with an unprotected shot but Corino returned and distracted him. ‘The King of Old School’ turned his back and sank to his knees, sacrificing himself to Whitmer’s wrath. Titus quit to save his pal form the chair.

Jimmy Jacobs and Cliff Compton hit the ring and flattened BJ, which brought out Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal for the stipulation tag match. Jacobs was sporting a new hairdo too. It was clearly new haircut night in Toronto. Corinio stayed at ringside as the combatants rucked around ringside, providing time for Rhett to be cut out of the zip ties back in the ring.  

Once both teams were back into the ring a regular tag match got underway. Elgin did his stalling suplex spot to a booming reaction. It got a "That was awesome!" chant. Moments later he did it again on Compton. Lethal joined him with a stall on Jacobs. Elgin remains amazingly over despite underwhelming presentation so far this year. That’s a positive sign.

Lethal was written out of the match when he “tweaked his knee” on what appeared to be a standard suicide dive. Corino demanded a count out but it didn't happen. Instead Lethal was helped backstage, leaving 'Unbreakable' to continue the match alone. It was a work designed to keep Elgin looking strong and set up a surprise run-in from Kevin Steen.

It accomplished both goals. Jacobs was caught in mid-air and slammed with a suplex. Moments later Elgin powered both men off the mat, one on his shoulders and one in his arms. The numbers bettered him after that but he looked like a beast while battling the odds.

When Steen appeared he got officially added to the match by McGuinness. Elgin tagged him in and 'Mr Wrestling' cleaned house on SCUM. After hitting a pop-up power bomb on Compton he went for a package piledriver but ‘The Zombie Princess’ clipped his leg and snuck in a schoolboy for a victory. Steen looked crushed as Corino beamed and celebrated at ringside.

The match was a good piece of work. It created a way to get Steen on to the card and protected Elgin. It was well received. Excellent use of four guys and continuation of the SCUM plot.

During the interval we were shown two matches. Taiji Ishimori v El Generico from Tokyo Summit (Ishimori won) and Paul London v Michael Shane (remember him?) from Unscripted (London won).

The second half opened with 'Barrister' RD Evans (inexplicably dressed in wrestling gear) and 'God's Gift' QT Marshall sauntering to the ring. They got hefty streamer treatment. Fans were probably just pleased to have the chance to throw stuff again after intermission. Evans asked for silence because his voice was hoarse. That got the fans Fandangoing. Evans asked if it was the Canadian national anthem. A humorous quip from Evans? That’s his strength.

Evans said reDRagon should be stripped of the tag belts because they'd no-showed the event. No-showing was a bit strong: they were never announced to be there. As he spoke a series of beeps started up and images were shown on the screen above the entrance of Tommaso Ciampa working out.

Moments later ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ strode out with a new (and impressive) entrance that made him look like a major star. Evans bailed and left Marshall to eat a double leg takedown and a knee to the face. The heels fled. It was a well booked return segment and Ciampa got a great reaction. He should have hit his finisher on Marshall though. The fans needed something to give a definitive pop to.

Corino returned to ringside to gloat about being the company’s new colour commentator. He promised something big for later in the show and then left. It was a peculiar addition to the show. Corino could have said what he had to say during his earlier appearance. That would have allowed the audience to hear what he had to say too.

Eddie Edwards v Taiji Ishimori was match five. Kevin Kelly frustratingly claimed this was Ishimori's ROH debut even though we'd seen him wrestle Generico in an ROH ring not half an hour earlier. Okay it was in Japan, but it was still an ROH card. Seconds after that claim Kelly followed up with "I've had the opportunity to speak to him quite a bit... through translator, over the last few days." Oh, Kevin Kelly. When will you learn?

What followed was the match of the night. It was stuffed with great exchanges and near falls. I strongly recommend checking it out. Eddie eventually got the win with a Die Hard Driver. After his victory ‘Die Hard’ did the “motion-for-the-title-around-the-waist” that wrestlers tend to do. A match for the GHC junior heavyweight championship on his next NOAH tour looks likely.

Following that we all took our pants off to enjoy the TV title match. Truth had two Hoopla hotties with him. Taven again had the belt stuffed down his tights. And JBL thinks Dolph Ziggler wearing a championship backwards is disrespectful.

I’d said in my preview that this match needed to give Matt Taven a chance to have a match free of stalling and storylines on pay-per-view. It did that and MTV had a satisfactory, technically sound match. It didn't blow anyone away but it as the outing that champ needed. That he won via Hoopla hottie distraction and a handful of tights didn't hurt him at all. It's in keeping with his character.

Following the match Truth offered a handshake to Briscoe. There was literally no reason for this. He had to return to the ring to do it. The life intervention expert got a karate chop for his trouble. The newest Hoopls hottie carried him backstage. That’s particularly impressive when you factor in her impractical heels.

London versus Richards was the evening's penultimate bout. The stream cut for London's steamer treatment. Richards' got a lot so I imagine the returning star did too. London wrestled in the same trunks he wore fit your per ROH match in 2003. That was a nice touch.

Mat and submission wrestling was the story of the first few minutes. The fans turned on Richards early. He’s had a storied history with Toronto: challenging, and failing to defeat, Tyler Black for the ROH championship and losing the belt to Kevin Steen at last year’s Border Wars being the most memorable examples. I like this sort of thing in wrestling. It’s impossible to script and adds realism.

This prompted ‘The American Wolf’ to begin playing heel, becoming more aggressive throughout the match and taunting the fans continually. His cry of “best wrestler in the world" after booting London in the face was thoroughly antagonistic.

London got a convincing near fall off a Dragon suplex. Moments later Richards retaliated with a Tombstone piledriver on the ringside mats in the second biggest move of the match. London made it back in at the count if nineteen as Richards shouted for him to stay down. ‘The Lone Wolf’ immediately nailed him with a baseball slide drop kick and followed up by a mistimed double stomp off the top rope, landing right on London's face. That was the biggest move of the match.

Richards stalled as the referee helped London to recover. The decision was made to go to the finish in order to protect him from further damage. That was a wise move. London placed Richards on the top rope and connected with a hurricanrana. He went for the Shooting Star press. Richards countered with his knees and then rolled London up for the win. Botched stomp aside it was a very good match. Had that not happened they may have topped Edwards versus Ishimori.

Davey reverted to face mode after the bout, saying ROH and guys like him, Jay Briscoe and Adam Cole wouldn't be there without him. He then asked for a standing ovation for ‘The Intrepid Traveller’. The fans obliged.

London wasn't to be outdone. He took the mic to say that the honour had been all his, proclaimed Richards will do great things and thanked the fans for the streamers. I want to see him as a regular in ROH. He’s popular, talented and willing to put the company and its stars over. Let’s hope it happens.

The on-screen graphic declared Jay Briscoe to be the "new" ROH champion as he entered for his first defence of the ROH world title. That's milking it a bit. I don't think a champion can be considered new a month into their reign, first defence or not. Cole got a mixed reaction when he was announced. Fans were massively into Briscoe.

 

The "new" champ is here

 

Things were slow and even in the early going, the story being that Cole was slightly awed by the big match situation. Tings eventually turned in favour of the challenger  when he hit a drop kick to Briscoe’s knee. That was followed up by the corner figure four spot. As that had been made famous by beloved Canadian hero Bret Hart it got a good reaction.

From there Briscoe made a few attempts at comebacks but always had to go back to favouring the knee, allowing Cole recovery time. After a failed Jay Driller and a couple of neck breakers from Cole the action picked up with a Death Valley driver on the apron from Briscoe. Back in the ring Briscoe went for the Driller again but Cole countered into the figure four leg lock.

One rope break later both men were up on the top rope and Cole nailed Briscoe with a German suplex followed by a pair of superkicks, the Florida Key and then a second figure four. The challenger was more reluctant to release the hold to the rope break the second time around.

Todd Sinclair took a bump, setting up a Steve Corino run-in. He tossed a SCUM shirt to Cole, who stood looking confused while McGuinness got into the ring, crotched Corino on the top rope and hit the Tower of London. As Nigel tossed Corino backstage Jay returned to his feet and finally connected with the Jay Driller on Cole, giving him his first successful title defence.

Briscoe celebrated in a shower of steamers as Cole pouted like a petulant child. The two shook hands and all seemed right with the world but Cole teased a superkick when Jay turned his back. It didn't happen. The challenger stormed backstage when Briscoe figured out what he was up to. It pretty much confirms Cole is now a bad guy though.

The card did a good job of satisfying on the night and building further plot developments and storylines. There wasn’t a single match that could be described as bad and the central feud, SCUM versus Ring of Honor, continued with Corino earning a commentary spot and a SCUM member being guaranteed a world title match at some point in the future. I’m expecting that to happen at next month’s Best in the World. Based on recent form that should be a great show.

Border Wars 2013 preview

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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