Post by Dr. Wrestling on Jul 27, 2007 21:20:35 GMT -5
This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you what I think of the Ring Of Honor PPV Respect is Earned.
When I heard that ROH had signed a PPV deal I thought it was great news because another company on PPV could help the wrestling industry but I was also very skeptical considering that many of the wrestlers that put ROH on the map and got the company to the PPV level wouldn't be wrestling at the PPV due to contracts with other companies. Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Homicide, CM Punk, Colt Cabana, and others were among those that helped ROH become the number one independent company that it is today but none of those wrestlers were going to be at the PPV because of contracts with either WWE or TNA. Ring Of Honor has also started signing some of it's current roster to contract, which only prevents them from signing with WWE or TNA and it was a decision that was almost necessary for ROH to continue to have the stars they build wrestling at their shows. Now let's discuss the PPV.
It started with BJ Whitmer in the ring and he said ROH is where they let the wrestling do the talking but as the PPV continued it didn't seem like that was the case. Whitmer challenged anyone to a match which brought ROH champion Morasima to the ring. It didn't really make sense to put the title match to start the show because it makes the title seem less important and one problem with the PPV being taped two months ahead of time you knew that Morasima retained the title. The match itself was only about five minutes and it was very average at best. After the match both Nigel McGuinness and former ROH World champion Bryan Danielson went to the ring. Both wanted a shot at the title and it seems like they both lack mic skills. At that point it seemed like Nigel and Mcguniess overshadowed the champ because Morashima was just standing in there ring during the Nigel/Danielson confrontation, which made Morashima seem less important then the other two wrestlers in the ring. After the long Nigel/Danielson confrontation in the ring it really slowed the pace of the show down and it didn't help things when a really random Brent Albright video package was showed for what seemed to be no real reason because Albright didn't make an appearance at the PPV.
The next match was former NOAH GHC champion Marifuji v.s. former Rottweiler member and a current member of the No Remorse Corp Rocky Romero. It was a good match that featured some good technical wrestling and Marifuji got the victory but it was some what of a random match to put on a PPV because there was really no storyline for the match. Marifuji was impressive in the ring but it doesn't really make sense to have him wrestler on the PPV because shouldn't a PPV showcase a wrestler that makes more regular appearances for ROH? There's no doubt Marifuji was impressive in the match but ROH is showcasing a wrestler that only makes a few ROH appearances. Nonetheless Marifuji showed alot of skill and it would be cool if he wrestled more matches for ROH.
The next segment of the PPV also slowed the pace down again. It was a promo from Larry Sweeney, who is one of the most entertaining wrestlers in pro wrestling today and his part of the promo was effective. Tank Toland and Sara Del Ray were involved in the promo but that part of the promo was basically useless as they got into a squat contest. As the contest continued the camera suddenly cut to the ring where Nigel was being attacked by Danielson and Morashima but Kenta made the save to set up the main event. I know the point of it was to set up the main event but it doesn't really make sense the way the camera suddenly cut to the ring because how exactly did Nigel end up being attacked? Was he cutting a promo? Was he attacked in the locker room? Anyone see the lack of logic here?
The PPV picked up for there with The Briscos defending the Tag Team title against the team of Claudio and Matt Sydal. It was a great match and I would consider it the match of the PPV because there was alot of great action. The Briscos are probably the best tag team in wrestling today and they are proof that good tag team wrestling still exist in pro wrestling. Claudio was signed to a WWE developmental deal earlier this year but was released before even wrestling at match under a WWE development contract and it doesn't really make sense that the WWE released Claudio because he's got alot of wrestling ability. Matt Sydal is an amazing aerial wrestler and you have to wonder why he hasn't been signed to a contract with the WWE or TNA. There were reports on the internet that the WWE might try to sign Sydal to a contract and that TNA was also an option for Sydal. Sydal would probably make more money signing with the WWE and obviously the amount of money for a contract is important to a wrestler but Sydal might also want to consider TNA as an option as well because he would be able to do more aerial moves. Even though TNA might give Sydal the chance to showcase more moves the wrestling business is about making money and if Sydal is offered a contract from the WWE he will probably sign with the WWE.
After the tag match Kevin Steen and El Generico made an appearance at the PPV. There was a brawl with the Briscos and again it slowed the pace of the PPV. After the brawl had ended a quick video package for the Delirious/Roderick Strong match was shown. It was a quick and effective promo that got the point of the feud across well. It was a better option then the drawn out promos and confrontations from earlier in the PPV. The Delirious/Strong match was a good match with some good technical wrestling. Roderick Strong won the match and after the match the No Remorse Corp attack Delirious but ROH new comer Erick Stevens made the save to help Delirious. Stevens looked impressive with some power moves and it seems like he's a good addition to the ROH roster.
The main event was former GHC Jr. Heavy Weight champion Kenta and former ROH Pure wrestling champion Nigel Mcgunnies v.s. former ROH champion "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and the current champion Morashima. It was a good match that displayed some good technical wrestling from Kenta, Nigel, and Danielson but Morashima was less then impressive in the match. Morashima slowed the pace of the match and some of his moves were sloppy that didn't help the match. Morshima is agile for a heavy weight but it just doesn't seem like he has the skill of the other three competitors in the match. Morashima and Danielson won the match when Kenta tapped to the cattle mutilation submission. I don't know exactly why ROH made the decision to put the belt on Morashima but I'm not impressed with really any of the Morashima matches I've seen on DVDs. As I said he's agile for a heavy weight but there are times that he just walks around the ring and looks at the crowd, which really slows the pace of the match. Some of his moves are sloppy and this might be a case of ROH using the "if he's from Japan he must be a good wrestler" theory, which isn't always the case and Morashima is proof of that. If ROH wanted to have a NOAH wrestler be the ROH champion Kenta might have been a better choice but that might not have been possible because of Kenta's schedule in Japan.
Overall the PPV was okay. It wasn't good and it wasn't terrible. It just seemed like there was too much happening and the show in general seemed like it was rushed with some much happening during the show. The production and editing could have also been better. The ROH PPV deal is probably for all the shows to be taped but I think if a PPV was live it could help improve the show because the audience wouldn't know the winners of the matches before they watch the PPV.
Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com
When I heard that ROH had signed a PPV deal I thought it was great news because another company on PPV could help the wrestling industry but I was also very skeptical considering that many of the wrestlers that put ROH on the map and got the company to the PPV level wouldn't be wrestling at the PPV due to contracts with other companies. Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Homicide, CM Punk, Colt Cabana, and others were among those that helped ROH become the number one independent company that it is today but none of those wrestlers were going to be at the PPV because of contracts with either WWE or TNA. Ring Of Honor has also started signing some of it's current roster to contract, which only prevents them from signing with WWE or TNA and it was a decision that was almost necessary for ROH to continue to have the stars they build wrestling at their shows. Now let's discuss the PPV.
It started with BJ Whitmer in the ring and he said ROH is where they let the wrestling do the talking but as the PPV continued it didn't seem like that was the case. Whitmer challenged anyone to a match which brought ROH champion Morasima to the ring. It didn't really make sense to put the title match to start the show because it makes the title seem less important and one problem with the PPV being taped two months ahead of time you knew that Morasima retained the title. The match itself was only about five minutes and it was very average at best. After the match both Nigel McGuinness and former ROH World champion Bryan Danielson went to the ring. Both wanted a shot at the title and it seems like they both lack mic skills. At that point it seemed like Nigel and Mcguniess overshadowed the champ because Morashima was just standing in there ring during the Nigel/Danielson confrontation, which made Morashima seem less important then the other two wrestlers in the ring. After the long Nigel/Danielson confrontation in the ring it really slowed the pace of the show down and it didn't help things when a really random Brent Albright video package was showed for what seemed to be no real reason because Albright didn't make an appearance at the PPV.
The next match was former NOAH GHC champion Marifuji v.s. former Rottweiler member and a current member of the No Remorse Corp Rocky Romero. It was a good match that featured some good technical wrestling and Marifuji got the victory but it was some what of a random match to put on a PPV because there was really no storyline for the match. Marifuji was impressive in the ring but it doesn't really make sense to have him wrestler on the PPV because shouldn't a PPV showcase a wrestler that makes more regular appearances for ROH? There's no doubt Marifuji was impressive in the match but ROH is showcasing a wrestler that only makes a few ROH appearances. Nonetheless Marifuji showed alot of skill and it would be cool if he wrestled more matches for ROH.
The next segment of the PPV also slowed the pace down again. It was a promo from Larry Sweeney, who is one of the most entertaining wrestlers in pro wrestling today and his part of the promo was effective. Tank Toland and Sara Del Ray were involved in the promo but that part of the promo was basically useless as they got into a squat contest. As the contest continued the camera suddenly cut to the ring where Nigel was being attacked by Danielson and Morashima but Kenta made the save to set up the main event. I know the point of it was to set up the main event but it doesn't really make sense the way the camera suddenly cut to the ring because how exactly did Nigel end up being attacked? Was he cutting a promo? Was he attacked in the locker room? Anyone see the lack of logic here?
The PPV picked up for there with The Briscos defending the Tag Team title against the team of Claudio and Matt Sydal. It was a great match and I would consider it the match of the PPV because there was alot of great action. The Briscos are probably the best tag team in wrestling today and they are proof that good tag team wrestling still exist in pro wrestling. Claudio was signed to a WWE developmental deal earlier this year but was released before even wrestling at match under a WWE development contract and it doesn't really make sense that the WWE released Claudio because he's got alot of wrestling ability. Matt Sydal is an amazing aerial wrestler and you have to wonder why he hasn't been signed to a contract with the WWE or TNA. There were reports on the internet that the WWE might try to sign Sydal to a contract and that TNA was also an option for Sydal. Sydal would probably make more money signing with the WWE and obviously the amount of money for a contract is important to a wrestler but Sydal might also want to consider TNA as an option as well because he would be able to do more aerial moves. Even though TNA might give Sydal the chance to showcase more moves the wrestling business is about making money and if Sydal is offered a contract from the WWE he will probably sign with the WWE.
After the tag match Kevin Steen and El Generico made an appearance at the PPV. There was a brawl with the Briscos and again it slowed the pace of the PPV. After the brawl had ended a quick video package for the Delirious/Roderick Strong match was shown. It was a quick and effective promo that got the point of the feud across well. It was a better option then the drawn out promos and confrontations from earlier in the PPV. The Delirious/Strong match was a good match with some good technical wrestling. Roderick Strong won the match and after the match the No Remorse Corp attack Delirious but ROH new comer Erick Stevens made the save to help Delirious. Stevens looked impressive with some power moves and it seems like he's a good addition to the ROH roster.
The main event was former GHC Jr. Heavy Weight champion Kenta and former ROH Pure wrestling champion Nigel Mcgunnies v.s. former ROH champion "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson and the current champion Morashima. It was a good match that displayed some good technical wrestling from Kenta, Nigel, and Danielson but Morashima was less then impressive in the match. Morashima slowed the pace of the match and some of his moves were sloppy that didn't help the match. Morshima is agile for a heavy weight but it just doesn't seem like he has the skill of the other three competitors in the match. Morashima and Danielson won the match when Kenta tapped to the cattle mutilation submission. I don't know exactly why ROH made the decision to put the belt on Morashima but I'm not impressed with really any of the Morashima matches I've seen on DVDs. As I said he's agile for a heavy weight but there are times that he just walks around the ring and looks at the crowd, which really slows the pace of the match. Some of his moves are sloppy and this might be a case of ROH using the "if he's from Japan he must be a good wrestler" theory, which isn't always the case and Morashima is proof of that. If ROH wanted to have a NOAH wrestler be the ROH champion Kenta might have been a better choice but that might not have been possible because of Kenta's schedule in Japan.
Overall the PPV was okay. It wasn't good and it wasn't terrible. It just seemed like there was too much happening and the show in general seemed like it was rushed with some much happening during the show. The production and editing could have also been better. The ROH PPV deal is probably for all the shows to be taped but I think if a PPV was live it could help improve the show because the audience wouldn't know the winners of the matches before they watch the PPV.
Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com