Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
One of the things that's unique to a company in Ring Of Honor's position is that it's rarely anyone's last stop, wrestlers come and go with regularity. While this means that major players in the company such as Samoa Joe and CM Punk are almost certain to one day move on to the next level, it also means that fresh, exciting new talents find their way into ROH every year. So with that in mind, I thought I'd take this opportunity to examine some of the comings and goings, and give my thoughts on ROH’s ever-shifting roster, starting with...
Guys ROH Could Use Back
While the obvious answers would be people like Punk or Joe, there are others who would be a great asset to ROH without necessarily having to be main eventers.
James Gibson: Despite only having about a nine month run in ROH between WWE stints, James Gibson connected with the ROH fans in a way few wrestlers could. Even without posting the best win/loss record, the fans really got into Gibson, probably in large part due to his amazing, heartfelt promos during which he frequently put over the company and fans. On top of that, it didn't seem like there was anybody Gibson couldn't get a good match out of. Gibson was a very fluid worker, and that and his prior runs in the big time brought some much-needed star power to ROH, star power which helped Gibson elevate nearly everyone he got in the ring with. Homicide, CM Punk, and Roderick Strong all became bigger stars in ROH thanks to working with Gibson, and carrying the ROH Title, even for the short span he did, helped elevate the title as well.
Doug Williams: Williams' history in ROH goes back to the promotion's earliest shows in 2002. Now he is one of the last of the original crew that is accessible to ROH in 2008. I honestly have no idea why they don't bring Williams back more regularly, because it has to be cheaper to fly Williams in from the UK than it is flying guys in from Japan. An ROH original as well as a former Pure Champion, Williams is not only an established name, but also an amazing wrestler who combines the subtle, scientific British wrestling style with a repertoire of power moves, something you don't see a lot of in America. Williams is a guy who can step in and main event if necessary (and in fact he did just this in 2007), but putting him in a storyline of some sort would be a new twist, as it's not something we've really seen him do in ROH. It would be interesting to see Williams challenge Nigel Mcguinness, as the two have never wrestled a singles match against one another in ROH.
Jerry Lynn: How this man does not have at least a reasonably high-profile job in the business is beyond me. Despite being into his forties, Lynn hasn't lost a step and can still outwork 99% of his peers. Bringing in Lynn would have several benefits. The first would obviously be the name value. Beyond that, you'd have a veteran presence ROH could use right now, and one that can be provided by a guy who can more than keep up and is a ready-made main eventer whenever he needed to be called upon. There is no way ROH could lose by bringing Jerry Lynn into the fold, and I can even see them doing an angle where, after being misused in TNA, Jerry wants a shot to prove he still has it, and he wants to do it in ROH because there's no better competition to be found. Just think about Lynn vs Aries, Lynn vs Danielson, Lynn vs Mcguinness. If there are any concerns about separating themselves from the ECW comparison by not bringing in name ECW guys, I highly recommend they let that go of that mentality and bring Lynn in at the earliest opportunity.
However beneficial it would be to bring some old names back, there are others ROH is just as well off leaving on the outside looking in. Whether it be lack of commitment, the inability to get over, or other factors, there is a group of...
Guys ROH Is Better Off Without
Special K: Apparently an idea from former ROH bigwig Doug Gentry, Special K was a group of raver kids who were spot monkeys and excelled in big, schmozzy scramble matches due to having upwards of 15 guys in their corner for every match. But therein lay the problem: with so many guys involved, it was hard for more than a few of them to get over. It's the New World Order syndrome. Most of them were very young, as in under 21, could do highspots and little else, and were basically interchangeable. Most of them have since disappeared from the business entirely, which says something about their lack of commitment for the long haul. Lacey and Jay Lethal can thank the group for being their launching pad, but when the book of ROH is written, that's about all Special K will be remembered for.
Jimmy Rave: Jimmy Rave seemed to have it all: good looks, the ability to work, and enough heat to cook a pizza. The best part was that when he entered ROH in 2003, he was young enough that he made a perfect piece of clay for Gabe Sapolsky to mold as he saw fit. Jimmy Rave was a sure thing that you just couldn't lose with, but for some reason, he just never clicked the way ROH hoped. He was a heat magnet, that's for sure, and he had some great matches and feuds with AJ Styles, CM Punk, and Generation Next, but he never developed into somebody ROH fans could accept as a legit main eventer. When Prince Nana left in late 2006 and the Embassy was dissolved, Rave was given one more shot, but despite being given a new finishing move that was booked to beat everyone, a feud with Nigel Mcguinness that ended up falling flat despite Rave getting 3 or 4 submission wins over Nigel, and a World Title shot in the main event of a huge show in New York City, Rave never got there and, after a major disagreement with ROH management, he departed the company and landed in TNA, where he is now jerking the curtain as half of a comedy tag team. That seems to be a more appropriate role for him, but don't feel too bad for him, because at least he's got Christy Hemme.
Ace Steel: I really don't know how to say what's on my mind without being blunt, so here goes: Ace Steel just isn't interesting. He's a solid worker who has certainly paid his dues, but that's it, there wasn't anything else there. He was unspectacular in the ring and though he had the ability to be entertaining at times, most of the time he was wasting our time with the crazy/angry gimmick that went out in the 70s. The “SOMEBODY'S GONNA DIE TONIGHT!†line was very cliched, and between the out-of-date character and the goofy entrance music, he was impossible to take seriously. He got a job with WWE by making Vince laugh, but he's already gotten bounced out of there and hasn't popped back up since. I honestly believe that if he weren't so connected to CM Punk and Colt Cabana, he never would have become even a semi-regular in ROH.
But to turn this in a positive direction, there are also guys who have never appeared in ROH, but I think they would make good additions to the company. So with that in mind, here are…
Guys ROH Would Do Well to Bring In
Monty Brown: This of course depends on whether or not the family situation that caused him to depart WWE has been taken care of or not, but if he’s free and clear to wrestle, I absolutely think he’d make a great addition to the ROH roster. For one, he’s got the star power of somebody who’s wrestled for both TNA and WWE, even having been a multi-time PPV main eventer in TNA. His size and power would be something different, and in a company which is often criticized for focusing too much on lighter weight talent, Monty Brown would help to balance the roster out a little bit. Monty Brown isn't a big, useless slug like a Snitsky, he’s an underrated worker (a word which doesn't just describe one's ability to chain wrestle) who has a nice power-based repertoire of moves, and it’d be fun seeing the smaller guys ROH is known for play off that power. ROH has never really had anybody as powerful and explosive as Monty Brown, and it’d also be a good way for Monty to reintroduce himself to the wrestling scene once he’s ready if neither TNA or WWE has any immediate interest.
Nick Dinsmore: Can you think of a more perfect guy to land in ROH? Though I only personally saw him work in WWE as Eugene, the word I’ve gotten is that Nick Dinsmore is an incredible scientific wrestler, and that’s the name of the game in ROH. I think that if Brent Albright has been able to get over as well as he has in ROH, there’s every chance Dinsmore can as well. Plus, if he does go to ROH then maybe we’ll finally get that long-awaited angle where Dinsmore casts down the Eugene gimmick and shoots on WWE for making him portray such a stupid gimmick. Either that or he'd keep doing the gimmick...except when it became convenient for him not to. The first of these possibilities would make him a huge face, the second a huge heel, but either extreme you go to, it'd get a strong reaction from the fans.
Bob Backlund: You think I’m crazy, don’t you? Well, I think this would be a perfect fit for a few reasons. Number one, Bob Backlund is a three-time WWF World Champion. That alone is more than anyone who’s ever been in ROH can say. But the fact of the matter is that even in his mid-50s, Bob Backlund is in great shape and I wouldn't be surprised if he could still do a half hour with no problem. His ring style may be considered bland by some, but put him in the ring with the right guys (Danielson, Nigel, Albright) and you could be in for some surprisingly good matches. Want comedy? Backlund’s more well known for the crazy old man gimmick he's been running with for the better part of fifteen years, so putting him in there with someone like Delirious or Generico has the potential for some comedy gold. Backlund’s been in the business more than long enough that he’d make a great veteran presence in the locker room. But here’s something else to think about: Backlund is seriously convinced he can still have one last legit, strong run in the business before he’s done, and I think ROH would be the perfect platform for a motivated, in shape Backlund to give it that last shot. I don’t know if you’d want to give him the ROH World Title or not (I can see the argument being made either way), but the “old guy making one last run at the title†angle worked great for Terry Funk, but hasn’t been done yet in ROH. I think it would work well for Backlund whether or not you actually give him the title or not, and I think it would work well for all parties involved.
* * *
And that’s it for this edition of The pROHfile. So for the next edition, I’m going to give a little homework, and I want you all to tell me your thoughts on who ROH could use back, who ROH is better off without, and who ROH would do well to bring in. Your responses and all other feedback can be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading, and see you soon!
