Mark for War: ROH ROH ROH Your Show
This week, we got our first glimpse at the ROH/TNA two-fer.
The ROH show was what I thought it was going to be: an introduction show, decent action, but ultimately a building block for the first time watcher.
It’s poor timing for ROH to debut on TV, frankly. It seems unbelievably rushed with one of their flagship PPV’s, BEST IN THE WORLD, looming on Friday, June 19. They did promo that during the show, which I’m sure will get a couple more buys. But it would have been nice if they did a two-month TV lead-in to their big PPV, not two weeks. Or what if they had pushed back the start to the week after the PPV?
By the way, I am very stoked for the BITW PPV. The Main Event, JAY VS. JAY (Brisco v. Lethal, Title For Title) should be insane. It airs live on internet PPV on a Friday night, ‘cuz none of us have anything better to do on a Friday in the summer, do we?
I’ll go on record saying that I believe ROH has turned a corner and WILL have a consistent TV program from here on out. Seriously. They’re done with cancelations and weirdness. They will be a viable TV promotion from now on.
Roster-wise, I’ve seen better from ROH in the past. I will say, however, that their current active roster is pretty strong and pound for pound, better than TNA (the number two promotion for the last decade). If I had to pinpoint the reason, I’d say it’s because of the fresh faces on ROH’s roster. Meanwhile, any “OG” wrestlers they do have were trailblazers in the workhorse movement of the mid-2000s. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are two examples of this. TNA’s vet talent is a much different story. We have to deal with guys like MVP and Lashley on a weekly basis, whom I feel are wastes of spots. Ironically, they tend to take up more time then the average segment, because their abilities are based more around promos and personality presence than in-ring work. This, in turn, takes TV time away from TNA’s fresh faced workhorses, which is really a shame. Long story short, TNA has a willingness to work with second-tire WWE reject talent that I feel ROH won’t stoop to during this run oN TV, and this will cement their longevity.
I had a conversation this week with a friend about the ROH show and the company moving forward into 2016, an extremely pivotal year for them. If I had to pinpoint five small, but significant, things the league should do that would really help them take a huge step forward as a company via the TV program, I’d say they’d be the following:
1) STOP REFENCING OTHER NON-ROH COMPANIES ON TV: This is a pet peeve of mine, nothing more. Unless I’m on drugs, I heard ROH mention New Japan several times in their first show. WHY?! It’s your first show. YOU have our undivided attention. Why do we give a fuck about other shows? We want to see YOU do YOUR thing.
2) BUILD THE LEGACY OF THE BRISOCES AND NEVER LOSE THEM: They are the heart and soul of the company, and the closest thing ROH has to a big deal. What makes them special is their loyalty to the company. Does TNA, a company with seemingly a decade head start, have a Briscoe equivalent? It WAS, if anyone, Samoa Joe, until he left for WWE. They are lucky to have them, and can’t take what they’ve contributed to ROH for the last ten years for granted.
3) MAKE AJ STYLES YOUR STING: They sort have done this already, but AJ is such a huge talent that has a gained a dark edge with his end of TNA run/second ROH run. Much like Sting, AJ was a baby face for the majority of his early career, but has now gained that maniacal edge. He also has that “Never sold out and went to WWE” thing going on, even though he was arguably the best wrestler in the world at one time. And yes, they both wear the same gloves.
4) BILL THE YOUNG BUCKS AS THE GREATEST TAG TEAM IN THE WORLD: Several years ago, ROH marketed the Briscoes as such. It worked out very well. However, ROH had legit main eventers to hold down the world title pitchers at the time. It made sense for Jay to make his way into the world title picture when said main eventers left. This is a good thing because the huge void left by Briscoes’ desertion of the tag ranks can easily be filled by the Bucks. The only team that can run with these dudes is the Wolves in TNA. The Uso’s, the WWE’s best, is inferior to both these teams. ROH should exploit that they have the best tag team in wrestling any chance they get. It’s a huge feather in their cap.
5) STICK UP YOUR NOSE AT ALL ROH STARS OF THE PAST: This is the one that no one wants to hear, and ROH will never in a million years do. But if they did, could you imagine the effect it would have? It would show that ROH has some sort of a backbone. Look at all the top wrestlers in WWE. How many of them passed through ROH? 75%? If ROH took little jabs at them every now and again, instead of heralding them, it sends a message to those watching that they think they have the best product in wrestling, and those that left are missing out by not being there. One of the most pivotal wrestlers in the early days of ECW was Perry Saturn. He was one half of the Eliminators, the federation’s best tag team, and also, along with Taz, ran ECW developmental. Once Saturn moved to WCW, Joey Styles would often say while commentating on Taz’s matches something to the effect of, “I assure you, you will not see a suplex like that in anywhere in the galaxy, including Saturn.” It’s a cute little jab that shows the company, though small, isn’t anyone’s little brother.
Stoked to hear your thoughts on the ROH show, and if you agree with any of the shit I spewed above. I knock ROH every now and again, but trust me, I love ROH and am excited for this new chapter.
CM Punk vs. Hulk Hogan Twitter Feud over 2015 Hockey Finals
The Tampa Bay Lightning are playing the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Stanley Cup finals. End result: Twitter feud between CM Punk (Hawks Fan) and Hulk Hogan (Lightning Fan). Ugh.
Hogan took the first shot at Punk when he ripped on Punk’s Blackhawks for losing to his Tampa Bay Lighting on Monday, calling out Punk in the process.
Punk, who has a black belt in calling someone a poseur, called Hogan a hockey hack for actually not giving a damn about the Lighting and just bandwagoning.
Fair enough on Punk’s end, I guess. But Punk, who always takes everything personally, then stepped it up a notch, tweeting to Hulk, “ Shut the Fuck up or I’ll wreck you.”
Well done, Punk. You’ve successfully threatened a sixty-one-year-old man.
Why is it that CM Punk is the only Wrestler in history who doesn’t give a fuck about legacy or disrespecting those that paved the road for him?
Hogan and Andre, Wrestlemania III, Punk. Learn to love it.
Also, Football is god.
By the way, read my weekly football column in Decibel, starting up again this September.
