The Return of Mr Wrestling

He's wrestled no matches and made only three in-ring appearances for Ring of Honor in 2011 yet 'Mr Wrestling' Kevin Steen is one of biggest names associated with the promotion. At Final Battle on December 23^rd ROH will finally capitalise on this popularity by putting Steen in a match. His opponent will be his former mentor Steve Corino.
 
The story of how this match came about spans two years so I'll try for the truncated explanation...
 
At Final Battle 2009 a babyface Kevin Steen shockingly turned on his long time tag team partner El Generico following a loss to the Young Bucks. Steen would eventually reveal that he believed 'The Generic Luchador' was holding him back and wanted to break out on his own. The man credited for helping Steen realise he felt this way was Steve Corino.
 
After several months of resistance Generico eventually fought back against the two evildoers. Colt Cabana joined the party to keep the feud balanced and the four men had some exceptionally bloody, passionate and well received gimmick matches in the latter half of 2010.
 
Fittingly Steen and Generico had their feud ending Fight Without Honor at Final Battle 2010, one year after Steen’s initial treachery. Corino and Cabana weren't at ringside for that one: Cabana said it was something Generico needed to do alone while 'The King of Old School' had begun to express doubts at the path he'd set Steen on after witnessing his intense hatred for Generico.
 
The masked man won that battle, retaining his mask and banishing Steen from ROH forever (supposedly). Their feud was over but Steen's story was far from done.
 
As 2011 started Corino told fans he was a changed man. He sought retribution and wished to atone for the mistakes he'd made with 'Mr Wrestling'. For several months Corino worked hard to gain acceptance from the locker room and the fans (who actually accepted the new character direction very early on) and it made for an interestingly different, if sometimes odd, storyline.
 
The occurrences of Best in the World and Death Before Dishonor IX (which you can read about here and here) made it very clear what Steen thought of Corino's attempts to redeem himself in the eyes of the fans. He wanted no part of Corino’s peaceful ways and had no intention of seeking forgiveness for anything he’d done in the previous eighteen months. Fans embraced Steen's wild, unpredictable persona and he became one of the biggest names connected to ROH... despite not ever actually appearing for the promotion.
 
At the ROH TV taping on Saturday November 5^th Steen made his third appearance for the promotion this year. With a lawyer by his side Steen agreed to wrestle a specially stipulated match at Final Battle: he will face his former mentor Steve Corino, with a win gaining him a Ring of Honor contract and a loss meaning he leaves forever (and ROH, like, totally mean it this time!). Cornette assigned Jimmy Jacobs as the special referee (to stack the odds in ROH’s favour) and acquiesced to Steen’s request that he be at ringside to watch the bout. Steen wants Cornette to see him get his job back, you see.
 
Yep, it's all come back to Final Battle again.

My immediate reaction is that there will be a heel turn by someone during this match. The fact that the storyline has revolved more around promos and twists more than quality matches is a good indication of this, as is the presence of Jacobs and Cornette at ringside.

A heel turn by Cornette himself would probably make the least sense right now, but that’s not to say a reason couldn’t be conjured up. A little more likely is a turn by Jimmy Jacobs: he’s been “recovering” from his heelish past for several months now and it would make storyline sense for Steen to have gotten into his ear before the match to convince him to give up on his quest and embrace his heel tendencies. The prospect of a Corino v Jacobs (which a Jacobs turn would lead to) match holds such little appeal that I can’t imagine Jacobs being turned unless substantial developments are made or there are big creative plans in place for early 2012.

The possibility of a Corino heel turn shouldn’t be discounted completely. The man does his best work as a heel and once he’s wrestled Steen in December there will be little need for a rematch. Corino is best used in a ringside role in the Steen storyline, and he can contribute just as much by being allied with him again as he can facing him.

 The final thought I’ll submit is a heel turn by Colby Corino, Steve’s son. This storyline has been going for a long time and has helped several men become bigger stars. It reminds me, as I think I’ve said before, of the Sandman versus Raven feud in ECW. One of the most shocking moments of that rivalry was when Sandman’s son sided with Raven against his own father. With Colby being a wrestler his career could benefit greatly from getting more involved in ROH’s lead feud and it would be the perfect way to introduce him as a permanent member of the roster.

Whether someone goes to the dark side or not I’m convinced that ‘Mr Wrestling’ will leave Final Battle victorious. He’s too talented and over for ROH not to have him under contract. I’m expecting this feud to run for a good chunk of 2012 before Steen turns his attention to Ring of Honor world champion Davey Richards. Don’t be surprised if we see a title match between those two next year. Probably at Final Battle considering Steen’s growing connection with the event.

We Want Steen

When Kevin Steen turned heel on El Generico at Final Battle 2009 it didn’t just signal the end of one of Ring of Honor’s most popular teams and begin one of 2010’s top feuds anywhere in wrestling, it also revitalised Steen’s career. Reinvented as a psychotic, uncontrollable heel Steen became the company’s most effective heel. The turn was a big success in terms of creating a memorable storyline and elevating all the wrestlers involved.

The man credited for convincing Steen to ditch Generico as a partner was Steve Corino. According to him the association needed to finish in order for Steen to realise his full potential as a singles wrestler and become the RoH world champion.

At Final Battle 2010, after a year of feuding, Steen lost a street fight to Generico. The stipulation agreed before the match was that if Generico lost he would remove his mask while if Steen lost he would leave Ring of Honor. Losing that match meant Steen wasn’t going to capture the RoH championship any time soon. It also meant the promotion had lost one of its most over acts: Steen had become incredibly popular despite his great effectiveness as a heel.

With his charge gone Corino segued into a storyline in which he regretted his action of 2010. He vowed to become a changed man and sought redemption from the locker room. Six months later he hasn’t yet received that redemption from his peers but he has from RoH crowds. Corino’s quest to prove he is a changed man has struck a chord with audiences, his plight being one of the most intriguing aspects of the 2011 Ring of Honor product, partly because it’s so different to the typical wrestling storyline.

At Supercard of Honor VI Corino revealed the man sponsoring him on his road to change was (and is) Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs left the company in 2009 after a very effective run as a heel, so being reintroduced as Corino’s backer made sense: in storyline terms he understands what ‘The King of Old School’ is going through.

The reveal of Jacobs surprised some people, not because it was a huge shock to see back in Ring of Honor but because Corino had deliberately hinted that his sponsor would be Kevin Steen. There was a reason for the misdirection though: Steen’s return was being held off until a later date. While it hasn’t officially been confirmed it very much looks like that date will be this Sunday, at the Best in the World internet pay-per-view.

Recent video wires (videos that further the company’s various storylines through backstage promos, released every week or so on their website) have revealed that Steen is affiliated with the changed Corino, and that Corino has purchased tickets for him to fly to New York and appear at the iPPV. In a typically realistic touch Ring of Honor has released a statement saying that Steen is not welcome at the show and Jim Cornette (RoH’s on-screen Executive Producer) has been on Twitter to say that Steen is a loose cannon. The company’s storyline standpoint on the issue is very clear.

Not to be outdone Steen has launched the #wewantSteen hashtag on Twitter, encouraging people to show their support for him and attempting to convince Cornette and RoH to reverse their decision on his banning.

Whether he appears this Sunday or not it’s clear Steen is on his way back to Ring of Honor. I personally believe that he will appear at Best in the World. It’s the biggest stage Ring of Honor have had all year so it’s a natural choice to host the comeback of a big name wrestler. And with their new TV show due to begin in September it’s expected that the company will be expanding its roster (which is part of the reason Jacobs has returned). Steen is one of the names that has risen to the top of the company in the post-Bryan Danielson/Nigel McGuinness era, and so would be a perfect fit for a top spot on the new TV show. Taking into account his popularity, verbal skills and in-ring ability he could very well be a future RoH world champion.

The possible return of Steen is one of the things I am most excited about for Best in the World. He’s a charismatic man and a talented worker whose contributions to the company have been missed by a lot of people. Seeing how his reintroduction to the company plays out will be one of the highlights of the next few events and will help to keep the enjoyable Corino storyline moving.

In short: I want Steen.