ROH Unfied

Ring of Honor became a true international company in August when they held their first shows outside of the US right here in England. The opening night, held in the spectacular Olympia in Liverpool, was an evening based around classic ROH rivlaries being given one more chance in the spotlight and was held infront of a, then record, 1700 fans. The show was headined by a title unification match featuring World Champion Bryan Danielson taking on England's own Nigel McGuinness in a match where there must be a winner. Also on the card Jimmy Rave continued his feud with Davey Richards and the Briscoes were given one last chance to win the tag team titles away from Roderick Strong and Austin Aries. For anyone who doubted that ROH in the UK would not put on a full-strength ROH show, this line-up sure proved otherwise.

The show opened with a 4 corner survival that pitted Matt Sydal and Colt Cabana against the UK's own, Johnny Storm and Spud. From the minute Colt's music hits, the crowd is red-hot for this show and this really adds an edge to all the matches. Cabana is greeted like a returning hero (probably as a result of his extensive time spent wrking in the UK) and he welcomes the fans to Ring of Honor in the UK. The match itself was pretty standard for a 4 Corner Survival with nothing exceptional stadning out. perhaps the only thing hich was noticeable in this match is just how much better in the ring Sydal and Cabana are than the guys from the UK. Sydal especially, is head and shoulders above Spud and Storm and is making a very strong case for ROH's break-out star of the year. A fun opener, but nothing to write home about.

Next up was one of the few disappointments of the show as Jimmy Rave took on Davey Richards. Richards is clearly a star for the futue and his match the following night where he teamed with matt Sydal against the Briscoes proved that he is a real star for the future. However this, 4th meeting between the two was one match too far for this feud and it failed to ever get above 2nd gear. To be fair, it wasn;t helped by the prescence of a bunch of obnoxious Liverpool kids who were yelling stupid things which made the fans start chanting back in response to try and drown them out. Although the chant of 'past your bedtime' is guarunteed to bring a smile to your face, the fact the it disrupted the match really did not help.

Unofrtunately after this disruption, it took a while for the show to get back on track. BJ Whitmer and Claudio Castagnoli had an OK match, which featured some nice brawling in the crowd. This brought out Chris Hero who in turn had a match with Colt Cabana which was pretty good, but lacked any real heat. Robbie Brookside faced Chad Collyer in an FWA title match which was very forgettable and Doug Williams and Jodie Fleisch had a pretty decent match against Go Shiazaki and Suwa of Pro Wrestling NOAH. As is so often the case on ROH shows, none of these matchs were bad, however they were very forgettable and for the most part had very little meaning in the grand scheme of ROH storylines. The arrival of Chris Hero was a nice surprise though and the heat he got on both nights in the UK show what a useful addition to the ROH roster he is.

Thank goodness then for the main events. One of ROH's current trends is for each show to featur a double main event - something borrowed from wrestling shows in Japan. This system has lead to some fantastic combinations in recent months and allows the shows to have more depth by giving the fans 2 main reason to buy the shows, rather than have to decide on whether a show is worth getting for one great match and a handful of average ones. For Unified we had the double header of Danielson vs. McGuinness and the Briscoes vs. Aries/Strong, and what a double header it was!

Tag team wrestling in ROH has undergone a complete rennaissance in the last 12 months and to watch Aries and Strong as champions you can see why. These are two bonafide ROH main eventers, having cutting edge matches that are as good as anything else that ROH is putting on. This match could easily have swapped place with the World Title match and it is a testament to their ability that Strong and Aries have enabled this to happened. It's a good job then that the Briscoes are more than equal to Aries and Strong in terms of heart, skill and determination. Since returning in the Spring, the Briscoes have been in unbelievable form and have not had a poor match. Their initial outings with the champs were some what underwhelming by the high standards that their matches have set ove the years, however this match eclipsed those tentative first efforts and, if anything, set the bar even higher for the quality of their future matches. This was a full-on, flat out fantastic match from bell to bell. All four men gave 110% and then gave that little bit more and put on about as good a tag team match as you could ever want to see. There was hard-hitting, great wrestling, high flying, near falls, drama, excitement, the works. With the added stipulation that this would be the Briscoes last chance at taking back the tag title belts from Aries and Strong, it meant that every near fall was greeted with an expecatant crowd who genuinely believed this would be the night that new tag team champs would be crowned. But tonight was not to be the night, and as with all great matches, both sets of men came out of this match more over with the crowd than when they began the night. The Briscoes lost none of their lustre by putting on a fantastic effort and Strong and Aries solidifed their claim to be the best tag team in wrestling by having one of the macthes of their careers with one of the very best tandems in wrestling today.

After that, it was left to the world title match to round off a great evenings wrestling. The average mid card was forgotten and the focus of the show was back on great wrestling, not stupid kids in the crowd. By giving the UK the first title change of 2006 and adding the stipulation that there must be a winner, this really adds to the drama of the match. Not to mention the fact that McGuinnes in his home-country gave the match an atmosphere that was reminscent of Bret Hart in Canada in 1997. The heel McGuinnes was turned babyface in one night thanks to the UK fans, however it was the quality of the match that would cement this turn, as well as establish Nigel as genuine ROH main eventer for the first time in his career.

Although the match starts slowly, the wrestling on display here is first class. With subtle references back to their previous matches, Danielson and McGuinnes soon use their rope breaks up and the match is down to the wire. The use of the Pure title rules was clearly a way to help make Nigel seem like more of a legitimate threat, however in my view it is the one thing that holds this match back from being a true classic. The convoluted rules of the Pure title, works fine for a mid-card belt, but for a main event it makes it that much more complicated. In a lot of ways, the match itself does not get going until both men have used up their rope-breaks. However the constant possibility of there being a count-out certainly helps heighten the tension when both men are fighiting outside the ring.

Despite this minor complaint, both men go above and beyond the call of duty in this match. Knowing that this is a career defining moment for him, McGuinness pulls out all the stops, going so far as to bust himself open hardway on the ring post with a series of sick headbutts. Unlike WWE matches were bloodshed has become common place and relatively passe, the use of blood in ROH is held back only for exceptional circumstances and in this case helped take the match to an even greater level. The look of determination in Nigel's eyes accompanied by the rapidly swelling lump on the top of his head give this match a real feeling of something special. In many ways it makes it more 'real' and as such the final minutes of Dragon trying everything he can to put away Nigel really helps make the match seem even more special as the crowd are on their feet and firmly behind the Pure champ.

Although the finish is some what anti-climactic, with Dragon winning thanks to referee stoppage after hitting Nigel with his MMA-style elbows, it again makes it seem more 'real'. By removing the feeling of sanitised sports entertainment that the fans are so conditioned to see in professional wrestling it made a special match that capped off a very important night in ROH history. A true must-see event for any fan of Ring of Honor or just wrestling in general.

Overall verdict: A-
"A lacklustre undercard cannot spoil a truly fantastic show. the double main event of Danielson vs. McGuinness and the Briscoes vs. Aries/Strong is as good as anything ROH has put on this year and both are genuine match of the year contenders. An ideal starting point for any UK fan looking to get into ROH and proof that ROH will take their UK shows just as seriously as their US one."

ROH Fight of the Century

It's true, you can have too much of a good thing. And ROH fans are certainly spoiled by the quality of matches they get on each and every show. This year alone, we've allready had the epic ROH vs. CZW feud and it's Cage of Death finale, a 5 star Dragon Gate six man match as well as guest appearances from the aforementioned Dragon Gate stars, Kenta, Naomichi Marufuji and even Lance Storm has come out of retirement for one more match in ROH. But it is not the quality of matches that spoils ROH fans, it is the the length of those matches that ash become the main bone of contetnion. In WWE 8 - 12 minutes consituitues a long match and more often than not you are left frustrated that a decent match finishes before ti really gets going. Whereas in ROH, main events are on average 25-30 minutes long with some going as long as 40 or 50 minutes. This abundance of quality wrestling can help make matches more meaningful as they are given the adequate time to tell the stroy. However at the same time it also takes away from those matches which truly need to be given the time neccessary to get across their significance. In 2004 when CM Punk and Samoa Joe wrestled for 60 minutes twice over the summer it was an uncommon occurrence and it helped garner ROH plenty of publicity from the wrestling press at a time when the history of the company was in question. However since that epic match we have seen Bryan Danielson wrestle Austin Aries for 75 minutes, Punk and Chris Daniels go 60 minutes in the summer of 2005 and Danielson up- the length of his match to 40 or 50 minutes on a frequently regular basis, with 2 60 minute draws since his match with Joe in August. With all these epic matches to chose from it takes away from those matches which truly deserve the extra time and the accolades that accompany these longer matches and as such the match which was billed as the 'Fight of the Century' ended up feeling anything but that.

With this show being built around only the thrid encounter between Joe and Danielson, it was inevitable that the undercard would not eature anything that was intended to overshadow the main event, however it still featured some strong wrestling matches that helped make the show as a whole very enjoyable. The opening match between Colt Cabana saw the inevtibale comedy sheanigans between Cabana and Rinauro's Embassy cohorts and made for a fun opener. After a mercifully short ROH student match between Shane Hagadorn and Bobby Dempsey, we had a very good 4 corner survival match that pitted Nigel McGuinnes, Chris Daniels, Jay Lethal and Claudio Castagnoli against each other. One of the things ROH does so well with these undercard matches is to take seemingly 'filler' matches and give them meaning. The continued rivalry between Castagnoli and Daniels was developed while McGuinness was kept strong while building towards his title match in the UK on the next show.

The Ultimate Endurance match that followed was the second of this weekend's shows and saw tag champs Austin Aries and Roderick Strong take on the more high flying group of teams such as Irish Airbourne, teh Briscoes and their Generation Next temamates Matt Sydal and Jack Evans. Irish Airborne are being given the slow build in ROH and have replaced Dunn and Marcos as the underdog tag team du jour in ROH, however they seem to be much more able in the ring than the Ring Crew Express and thei shock win over the Briscoes in the opening fall will help open up a potentially great feud for them in the next few shows. The fan reaction to this upset tell you a lot about how much the ROH fans love the Briscoes and despite us not getting to see the Briscoes vs. Aries and Strong on this occassion, it helps whet the fan's appetite for the match that the two teams will be having in Liverpool at the next show. With the Airborne's elminated, we are left with the fromer Generation next in the ring, and wehile not as good as these four could probably do if given a proper two on two match with some heat behind it, this was a lot of fun and show just how good ROH's tag division is right now as well as proving that tag team wrestling can be good in 2006.

After that we had our only disappointing match of the evening as Homicide and BJ Whitmer took on Steve Corino and Adam Pearce. This was a continuation of the climax of the ROH vs. CZW feud which saw Pearce align himself with Jim Cornette and attack Homicide after Cage of Death. Whitmer, who had also been turned on by Pearce earlier in the show would come to the aid of Homicide against Pearce and nemesis Steve Corino who is back in ROH for one last match with Homicide as part of the 3 wishes which Homicde asked for in return for joining Team ROH in the cage. Alas, apart from some choice heling fo the crowd from Pearce and Corino at the beginning of the match, this was a very longwinded and uneventful match-up which was all about building the feud and not having a great match. Whitmer and Homicide both came out of the match looking very strong and Pearce and Corino worked really well as a couple of old-school heels, but this was definitely the biggest disappointment of the night in terms of in-ring action.

We then come to our first of 2 main events. After his disappointing match with AJ Styles at Death Before Dishonor 4 this was make or break for Davey Richards as he faced off against Kenta. Richards is clearly an ROH superstar for the future, however with the incredibly fickle nature of the ROH crowd he needs to be pushed slowly, but confidently and this was an important step for his run in ROH. After the Styles match he had lost a lot of his lustre and being put in with Kenta, a man who has only faced top ROH names in his run so far was a big test. Fortunately for Davey he passed with flying colours and had the match of his career against his 'Japanese mentor'. A brutally stiff affair with lots of really hard kicks and strikes that, for me, managed the almost impossible task of eclipsing Kenta's debut against Low-ki as his best solo outing in ROH to date. Davey also managhed to erase that temporary blip in his run so far and looks set for a slow but confident push to the top in ROH. Certainly the prospect of matches against ROH heavyweights like Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe or Roderick Strong and Austin Aries cannot be far off. However in the meantime the prospect of a feud with the Briscoes who he and Kenat had temed up to face the previous night should keep on the road to the top of ROH.

Which leaves us with the 'Fight of the Century' to go. Ever since Danielson won the belt back in September of 2005, this was the biggest match he would have to face. ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky has wisely kept these two apart for as long as possible and as such the anticipation of these two icons of ROH meeting managed to create a genuine feeling of a marquee match-up. The fact that these three had only met twice before and that they had won one each helped build the anticipation, as did the running battles that the two had waged over the previous months -from Danielson's treachery in the Cage of Death to Joe's mindgames at the Destiny show this was a rivalry that has been given the slow build and is very reminiscent of Taz and Sabu in ECW, which is not surprisng given Sapolsky's links to Paul Heyman.

As I said earlier, this was a match that was expected to go long and deserved to go long. However the abudnance of long and important matches that had surrounded this meeting managed to take away from it and as such it made the 60 minute draw seem an ineviability and anti-clmax at best. Which is a shame, because both men worked incredibly hard and told a really great story that, if the match had happened at another show at another time could have been a true classic. I am sure that in the eyes of the ROH faithful this will become something of a cult-classic, much as the prvious match between Danielson and Joe at Midnight Express Reunion has become. Howewver, when you look a the big picture, this match was built up so well and match that followed it just did not match up to it. That is not to say that it is a disappooitnemtn, however you have to wonder whether this match will have the longevity that the Joe vs. Punk match had and that is a shame because these two men deserve to have a classic match-up that stays with them for the remainder of their careers.

Overall verdict: B+
"Although this show is built around the double main event, the undercard is still very strong and very entertaining. With only one average match on the undercard, it is unfortunaetly as a result of the predictable nature of the main event that stops this show becoming a true classic. Davey Richards has a career match against Kenat though and is probably a better reason to buy the show than the main event."

The greatest moment in TNA history

Forget the debuts of Raven, Rhino or Christian. Forget the great matches such as AMW vs. XXX or Styles vs. Daniels vs. Joe. Forget the return of legends such as Sting, Randy Savage or Lex Luger. Forget the arrival of the 6 sided ring, forget the move to Spike, forget the first monthly pay per view. This Thursday was, bar none, the most signifcant moment in TNA history.

In one 3 minute segement, TNA finally arrived on a major stage. Bu havingKurt Angle appearin on Impact, a genuine superstar of wrestling finally appeared on TNA TV. And by having him confront TNA's most important homegrown talent, in Samoa Joe, it signalled to the world that TNA could actually be a genuine alternative to WWE. In my view, this is as important a moment to TNA as McMahon screwing Bret was for WWF or Hogan turning heel was for WCW. Prior to this moment, Bound For Glory was an above average card, not a must-see event. However with the promise of a 'confrontation' between Angle and Joe it instantly becomes a must-see and must-buy event for both hardcore and casual fans alike. This kind of interest is something TNA could not achieve with months of build for Sting vs. Jarrett and has the potential to be the moment that establishes the future of TNA in the eyes of the wrestling world.

CM Punk in Japan

Some how, without WWE management noticing, CM Punk seems to have gotten himself over with the WWE fans. What's more pictures of him in Japan are plastered all over wwe.com at the moment! Here are some of my favourites!

WWE No Mercy 2006 preview

It's WWE No Mercy pay per view weekend and you have to ask yourself, really who cares? The line-up is less than thrilling, so much so that WWE have seen fit to change the main event less than a week before the show. Not a single match on the show feels like a genuine main event, even with the rearranged line-up. The rematch of Booker T vs. Batista from Summerslam was the original choice for the main event, but after their lacklustre match at Summerlsam this was changed to Booker vs. Lashley. These two had some decent matches when Lashley was US Champion, but he is nowehere near ready for a main event role without there being something of a back up. At a dual-brand (or should it be tri-band these days) show that would be fine, but not when this match is supposed to be selling the show. The same is true of Batista vs. Finlay which was the other match of note to be merged into the now fourway main event. Now Finlay has been a revelation since her returned, but he is not a main eventer. His in-ring skills will certainly help caryy Batista to a decent match, but would you pay to see this? I thought not.

Then you have the least logical of all the matches on the show. Undertaker vs. Ken Kennedy. The first title defense from the new US Champion on pay per view is against.... the Undertaker?!?! Unlike Raw who are using their secondary belt as a great way of getting over their young talent, on Smackdown it is almost completely ignored and Kennedy is put in with Undertaker in the veign hope that this might bring Kennedy up to his level. Surely it would have made more sense to let Kennedy work his way up to the top spot by having decent matches rather than put him in with Taker, who should be helping to bolster the main event as he is one of the few 'stars' they have left on Smackdown.

The you have Rey vs. Chavo in a falls count anywhere match. The tasteless exploiation of the Eddie Guerrero name contnues, but ofrtunately this match seems to have fallen off the radar a little bit over the last few weeks, perhaps it's because the fasn have stopped caring about either man. What was once the focus of the brand is now an after thought. On the good side this measn this stupid angle will soon run it's course. On the bad side, it means two of the brand's best wrestlers are not being used to put on good matches. Let's hope that this changes sometime soon!

WWE Unforgiven 2006

There is definitely such a thing as too much of a good thing and a case in point is this month's WWE Unforgiven pay per view. Once upon a time, all a wrestling match needed to giver it some heat was too men, a grudge and maybe a title belt to spice things up a little bit. These days, you need a 15 foot steel cage, more blood that a Saturday night in A & E and every household item bar the kitchen sink - and even then it's not enough. By promoting a show with both a Hell in a Cell AND a Tables Ladders and Chairs match, WWE managed to dilute 2 of their strongest gimmick matches and diminish the impact of both matches. Nopt since the heights of the Monday Night Wars have we seen such a loaded card of wrestling which wasn't a Wrestlemania and unofrtunately WWe failed to capture the special atmosphere of their signature event and this show came across as just another WWE show - albeit a quite decent one.

Because of loaded main events, someone at WWE actually made the senisble decision to not overload the undercard and as such we actually had 3 really good wrestling matches, all of which were given enough time to tell an interesting story and actually be cometitive. The first of these was the Intercontiental Championship match between Johnny Nitro and Jeff Hardy and was a perfect example of how the IC title should be used in WWE. These two young athletes [attempted] to have a high-paced, competitive wrestling match and darn near pulled it off. By having these young guys go out and have good matches, with as little silliness as possible, WWE actually managed to make the IC title seem important and gave these 2 the oppurtunity to showcase just what they could do. Unfortunately neither man is the next Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero and at times the match was very disjointed, but it was perfectly fine for what it was. If WWE were to continue to put on matches like this, then they could well draw back in many of the fans they have alienated over the past year as bad angles can be forgiven if they are acccompanied by some decent wrestling because that is what the majority of fans really want. In many ways, this match could have done with being swapped with the Randy Orton vs. Carlito match which came before the main event, as this was another strong wrestling match between two young athletes who are still establishing themselves in WWE. The main difference though, was that Carlito and Orton put on a much more exciting match, which would have been a stronger opener, however it makes sense to split the title matches up. Let's hope at the enxt show we see someone like Super Crazy, Shelton Benjamin or Charlie Haas given the chance to show what they can do in this position, because if they do, then the future of the Intercontinental division is in good hands.

Before we get to the third of our strong undercard matches it might be worth mentioning the two matches that filled out the remainder of the card. Although not spectacular, Umaga vs. Kane and The Spirit Squad vs. The Highlanders were both perfectly fine wrestling matches. Not great, but not bad either. At this point the show wqas looking pretty strong and ironically it was the main events that would stop it from being a great show, not these realtively meaningless undercard matches.

The third match of consequence on the show was the Women's Title match between Trishc Stratus and Lita. With the history that these two women have together, it was always going to be a good encounter, the only thing that was going to hold it back would be the booking and how much time it was given. Fortunately Trishs' 'retirement' match was given the repestc that WWE seldom gives it's performers and thanks to a decent amount of time and nice a history package, this was one of the highlights of the night, not an excuse for a snack break. Trish winning in her home town with a sharpshooter was a nice touch, however the lack of any post-match celebration really took away from what could have been a real 'highlight reel' moment. But then again, this is the women's division in WWE, should we really be surprised!

This brings us to our main events. Hell in a Cell, was wisely placed in the first half of the card so as not to burn out the audience and as such lacked the fire that previous matches had. As you would expect there were tons of high spots, loads of blood and a DX win. In the grans scheme of Hell in a Cells, it was not the worst (Unertaker vs. Big Bossman at Wrestlemania XV still has that accolade) , but it was by no means up there with the very best. Part of the problem was that this i yet another match where the owner of WWE is given the chance to get himself over at the expense of talent. When you think of talented individuals like Shelton Benjamin or Charlie Haas, who can't even get on the show, then you have to wonder what the point of this match was. Without the emotional sub-plot of previous great Cell match like HHH vs. Cactus Jack or Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker, this just became a series of high-spots with lots of blood. It was Hell in a Cell by numbers, just without the huge spot on the top of the cage (which thank goodness they didn't even attempt!!) and as such took an important WWE siganture event and just made it into another match. Something WWE can not afford to do considering their own falling fortunes in the pay per view business. (Oh, and the less said about Vince showing his bloody face in Big Show's bloody backside the better. That was a truly disgusting moment!!).

So that just leaves our main event, and thank god they put this match on last. A lot has been said over the past months about Cena's position at the top of the card and whether he deserves it or not, however based on this performace, then I don't think anyone can argue with him being WWE's top guy, whether you like it or not. However, what WWE cannot forget, is that part of the reason he is now viewd as their top guy is because of Edge. Edge is WWE's top heel and is a genuine main eventer, however he has only gotten to that stage because he has beaten Cena, cleanly. Cena needed to be beaten by Edge as much as Edge needed to beat him. This in turn has given us a genuine feud, something WWE has not been able to master since the glory days of Rock vs. Austin. These guys are shown as being on an equal footing in the company and this gives both men a credibility that WWE could not manufacture when Cena was first given the belt. Sure, the fans still boo Cena, but at least he is getting a reaction. Fans want to boo the guy they hate and for smart fans, that means Cena, the man who has been given everything and not earned their respect (like Edge or Kurt Angle). WWE's smartest move in the last 6 months has been to ignore this reaction, not try and push Cena down the fan's throats and in return, the fans who boo Cena have been given a heel who is on the top of his game who they can cheer. By giving a feud this amount of heat, the fans ignore Cena's shortcomings in the ring and are simply swept along for the ride - which after all is what 'Sports Entertainment' is all about. As a result, the TLC title match was a rally fun match which, although not a classic, feels more like another chapter of an epic feud and as such managed to achieve what Hell in A Cell did not and allowed all those involved in the match to get over, no matter who won and who lost. Even though this was yet another quick title change, you get the feeling that Edge will be plotting his revenge before too long and whether or not that is next month or next year, this ia feud that cane be constantly re-visited and that is what good wrestling should be all about.

Overall verdict: C+
"By no means a classic, but still one of the better WWE shows in recent months. The solid matches helped gloss over the more goofy moments and make the undercard worth watching, while the top 2 matches were both abov e average. Unofrutnately the prescence of 2 major gimmic matches on one show diulted the importance of both matches, however by putting the title match on last, they at least helped Edge and Cena to continue their feud and not be over-shaowed by the McMahons and DX."