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ROH returns to action this coming weekend, and once again I gather my group of panelists to preview this weekend’s shows. Keep in mind that where ROH is concerned, the card is always subject to change, and the matches presented are as of press time, which is somewhere around Wednesday.
And now, our panelists:
Stuart Carapola: The Higher Power…behind the Roundtables.
Cliff Walters: Not John Walters’ long lost cousin.
Gregory Honay: Wants you to hit him now!
Ashling Flynn: A chick who likes wrestling.
* * *
Friday, June 6th – Hartford, Connecticut
Claudio Castagnoli vs Eddie Edwards
Cliff Walters: Eddie Edwards is now a member of Sweet & Sour, and reportedly has done away with the ponytail, but he’s still Eddie Edwards.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Ashling Flynn: I thought Claudio was done with Sweet & Sour, Inc? Well, I guess he needs something to occupy himself with while he’s waiting around for his next ROH Title shot. Edwards, of course, has no chance.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Gregory Honay: Gee, let’s look at this: Claudio is one of the top guys in the company, while Edwards has been jerking the curtain for two years. I wonder.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Stuart Carapola: Come on, does anybody really expect Claudio to lose to this chump?
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Claudio Castagnoli
Brent Albright vs Erick Stevens vs Necro Butcher
Cliff Walters: This is going to be a stiff-ass match. Necro and Stevens have both been doing a lot of jobs lately while Albright’s been winning as he left Sweet & Sour Inc. I think this is pretty much a foregone conclusion.
Winner: Brent Albright
Ashling Flynn: Yay for violence! This will be brutal and will be a lot of fun. Albright’s going to go through the both of them for another dominating win.
Winner: Brent Albright
Gregory Honay: I have a feeling I’ll be going against the grain here, but I think Necro Butcher’s going to pick up a very hard-fought win here.
Winner: Necro Butcher
Stuart Carapola: Abright’s the man of the hour, and if he can go through all of Sweet & Sour Inc by himself, I don’t see him losing to these two, who have been losing a lot lately.
Winner: Brent Albright
Final Tally: 3-1-0 in favor of Brent Albright
ROH World Tag Team Title Tournament First Round Matches
Jigsaw/Ruckus vs Adam Pearce/Chris Hero
Cliff Walters: Conventional wisdom would point to Pearce and Hero getting the win here, but I think we’re going to get a surprise upset.
Winner: Jigsaw/Ruckus
Ashling Flynn: This is just going to be a standard first round match. Heel miscommunication leads to the Vulture Squad win.
Winner: Vulture Squad
Gregory Honay: Sweet & Sour has been looking a little silly lately (not the least of which because they were almost singlehandedly laid out by Albright). I think BLK OUT might get involved, but either way Pearce and Hero advance.
Winner: Pearce & Hero
Stuart Carapola: The Vulture Squad could be booked to come out of the loss of Evans in a strong way, but I don’t know if I see them having too impressive an outing in Hartford. I definitely don’t think they’ll win the tournament, and I don’t even see them getting by Hero & Pearce here.
Winner: Pearce & Hero
Final Tally: 2-2 split
Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki vs Kevin Steen & El Generico
Cliff Walters: This one’s easy. Nigel and Go are wrestling one another the following night, and Steen & Generico are one of the marquee teams in ROH. Nigel will probably turn on Go and cost them the win.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Ashling Flynn: Steen & Generico are THE team in ROH right now, and Nigel’s wrestling Shiozaki the following night. Let’s hope the “crazy partners who hate each other†gimmick isn’t going to find its way to ROH.
Winner: Steenerico
Gregory Honay: Okay, we’re talking about Steen & Generico here, just about everyone’s going to want them to win the tournament, so they’re not losing in the first round for sure.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Stuart Carapola: I’m going to predict it right here and now: Steen and Generico will fulfill their destiny and become ROH World Tag Team Champions in Hartford. Not even the ROH World Champion is going to stand in their way.
Winner: Steen/Generico
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Kevin Steen & El Generico
Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs Delirious & Pelle Primeau
Cliff Walters: I think Jacobs and Black are probably more vulnerable than Steen & Generico, but I don’t think they’ll be upset here.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Ashling Flynn: Delirious and Primeau got the upset win in New York, but I don’t see them repeating the trick here.
Winner: Age Of The Fall
Gregory Honay: A part of me thinks that Aries is going to get involved and cost AOTF the match, but this is Pelle Primeau we’re talking about here. Not happening.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Stuart Carapola: Delirious and Primeau aren’t going to beat Age Of The Fall. I laugh at the mere notion.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs Roderick Strong & Davey Richards
Cliff Walters: This is going to be a tough one to pick. On the one hand, Aries and Danielson are two of the top singles guys in ROH. On the other, Strong and Richards are partners in the No Remorse Corps and have more of a teaming history than Aries and Danielson. In the end, I think Aries and Danielson will win so it will lead to Aries getting his hands on Jacobs in the semifinals.
Winner: Aries & Danielson
Ashling Flynn: Oooooooooh, tough one, but I think Age Of The Fall is going to cost Aries the win, Strong and Richards advance.
Winner: No Remorse Corps
Gregory Honay: Through almost certain AOTF involvement, Aries will be taken out of the mix via some kind of beatdown, leaving the NRC to beat Danielson in a 2-on-1 situation.
Winner: Strong & Richards
Stuart Carapola: I would love to see Aries and Danielson win the tournament, but I don’t think it’s going to happen, they’re too good of a team to be true.
Winner: Strong & Richards
Final Tally: 3-1 in favor of Roderick Strong & Davey Richards
Semifinals
(Obviously we have no advance knowledge of who will be making it through the tournament, so we’re all going to make our matches and picks based on our choices in the first round.
Semifinal #1
Cliff Walters: So I’ve got Jigsaw & Ruckus taking on Steen & Generico in the first semifinal. This is going to sound REALLY nutty, but I think the Vulture Squad is going to get the upset win here and move on to the finals.
Winner: Jigsaw & Ruckus
Ashling Flynn: According to my first round picks, the first semifinal match is going to be the Vulture Squad against Steen & Generico. Vulture Squad is operating at less than 100% with Evans gone, and they’ve got a feud coming up against BLKOUT. Steen & Generico pick up the win and move to the finals.
Winner: Steenerico
Gregory Honay: My first semifinal is going to be Pearce & Hero against Steen & Generico. Again, Steen & Generico are the favorites and I don’t see anyone on their side of the bracket who can beat them.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Stuart Carapola: Kicking off the round, by my estimation we have Adam Pearce & Chris Hero against Kevin Steen & El Generico. We’re probably going to see a mix of comedy and stiffness, but Steen & Generico are winning the straps in the end.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Final Tally: 3-1 in favor of Kevin Steen & El Generico
Semifinal #2
Cliff Walters: For semifinal #2, I’ve got Jacobs & Black against Aries & Danielson. We’ve got a couple of storylines working in here. First is the obvious, ongoing Jacobs vs Aries issue, but also we’ve got Danielson vs Black simmering, with Black always looking for that elusive win over Danielson. By hook or crook, Age Of The Fall’s sneaking out with this one.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Ashling Flynn: And in the other half of the semifinals, I’m booking Age Of The Fall against the No Remorse Corps. I’m thinking that after AOTF cost Aries the first round match, they return the favor and cost them the semis, sending Strong and Richards to the finals.
Winner: No Remorse Corps
Gregory Honay: On the other side, we’ve got Jacobs & Black against the No Remorse Corps. The NRC was the team that beat AOTF for the title in the first place, but I don’t see it happening again. Chicanery will lead to AOTF sneaking out with the win.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Stuart Carapola: And in the second semifinal, it’ll be Age Of TheFall against Strong & Richards. I have a hard time picturing anyone but the two best teams in ROH making it to the finals, and that’s Steen/Generico and Jacobs/Black.
Winner: Jacobs & Black
Final Tally: 3-1 in favor of Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Finals
(Same deal as the semifinals, we just take our finalists and pick a winner based on our own personal booking of the tournament.)
Cliff Walters: So now I’ve got Jigsaw & Ruckus against Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black in the finals. I’m going to go for the big upset win and put Jigsaw and Ruckus over, and I think having them go over both Steen/Generico and Jacobs/Black in one night will help legitimize them as champions.
Winner: Jigsaw & Ruckus
Ashling Flynn: And in the finals, it all comes down to Steen & Generico against Strong and Richards. This has match of the night written all over it, but I don’t see NRC getting the straps back. Steen & Generico claim their destiny and become ROH World Tag Team Champions.
Winner: Steenerico
Gregory Honay: Finally it all comes down to Steen & Generico against Age Of The Fall. Though my instincts as a wrestling fan tell me to expect Steen & Generico to get screwed somehow, I’m still going to pick them to win the title here.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Stuart Carapola: And in the finals, it’ll be Kevin Steen & El Generico against Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black from Age Of The Fall. I believe this is going to be the first ever meeting between these two teams, and as I’ve said, I’m picking Steen & Generico to go all the way. This is going to be a great match, and I can’t wait to get there, even though I have a feeling whoever does win will end up just holding the title until the Briscoes get back.
Winner: Kevin Steen & El Generico
Final Tally: 3-1 in favor of Kevin Steen & El Generico
* * *
Saturday, June 7th – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania “Respect Is Earned IIâ€
Jigsaw vs Eddie Kingston
Cliff Walters: Really haven’t seen much of Kingston outside of his appearance at Death Before Dishonor IV way back in 2006, but I’ve been led to believe he’s a pretty big deal, so I don’t see why he’d be brought in to job to a guy the stature of Jigsaw on his first time out.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Ashling Flynn: I’m not feeling it for Jigsaw. I don’t know if we’re looking at the end of the Vulture Squad via a Ruckus heel turn (I think that depends where on the show each of Jigsaw’s matches land), but I expect that down the line at some point. Here though, Jigsaw’s going to lose.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Gregory Honay: Jobsaw pulls double duty! We’ve got a glorified jobber taking on a guy that people have wanted in ROH for some time now, and I don’t like Jobsaw’s chances.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Stuart Carapola: I don’t really know anything about Kingston either, but I would be willing to bet he’ll have BLK OUT running around with him, and depending on which way Ruckus swings in this little battle, this could turn out bad for Jigsaw.
Winner: Eddie Kingston
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Eddie Kingston
Falls Count Anywhere: Jay Briscoe vs Necro Butcher
Cliff Walters: This has brutal written all over it. Jay’s out for revenge, but he’s working alone…or is he? Mark may show up, but after the events of New York City, AOTF might be ready for him.
Winner: Necro Butcher
Ashling Flynn: Age Of The Fall wins some and loses some. I don’t have them doing too well in Hartford, so I’m predicting Necro gets the win to get AOTF some heat back.
Winner: Necro Butcher
Gregory Honay: I’m predicting a big weekend for Necro Butcher, and I’m going to put him over Albright, Stevens, and Jay Briscoe all in one weekend. There’s going to come a point where he breaks out as a huge star in ROH, and you never know when they’re going to pull the trigger on it.
Winner: Necro Butcher
Stuart Carapola: For some reason having Jay win here doesn’t feel right. I think the lack of Mark able to help him in an active wrestling capacity is going to leave Jay vulnerable to interference from the 80 guys in Age Of The Fall, and that’ll mean Necro picks up the win.
Winner: Necro Butcher
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Necro Butcher
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs Ruckus & Jigsaw
Cliff Walters: As I said earlier, I’m picking Jigsaw & Ruckus to win the title in Connecticut, so I’m expecting this to be a title match. This will also be awesome, and on any indy would most likely be match of the night. On this show, I’m not so sure, but it’ll be a good one.
Winner: Jigsaw & Ruckus
Ashling Flynn: In what I’m predicting will be their second match against each other in as many nights, Steen & Generico successfully defend their newly won ROH Tag Team Title against the Vulture Squad, possibly due to interference from BLKOUT.
Winner: Steenerico
Gregory Honay: This will be for the title if Steen & Generico win it as I predicted. Ruckus and Jobsaw are going nowhere fast, especially with Evans and Martinez gone, and there’s no way they’re getting the title.
Winner: Steen & Generico
Stuart Carapola: Steen & Generico are no-brainers to win the ROH World Tag Team Title, and I don’t think it takes a genius to realize they’re not losing the titles here to a glorified jobber team.
Winner: Kevin Steen & El Generico
Final Tally: 3-1 in favor of Steen & Generico
Fight Without Honor: Roderick Strong vs Erick Stevens
Cliff Walters: Stevens has to win. If he doesn’t win here, he’s going to look weak after jobbing to Strong at every turn, as well as everyone else.
Winner: Erick Stevens
Ashling Flynn: Stevens has to win here otherwise he looks like an idiot. There’s no two ways about it.
Winner: Erick Stevens
Gregory Honay: Call me a cynic, but I don’t think Stevens is going to do it. Instead, I see Strong going over and them having a respect moment after the match, kind of like “Hey, we’ve beaten the hell out of each other and you won tonight, you’re the better man and I respect you†and a handshake…after which the rest of NRC will turn on him and join Sweeney like they’ve been teasing for months.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Stuart Carapola: Roderick’s getting the win, and I think it’ll be because Erick Stevens has simply had the rug yanked out from under him. I’ve been bitching about this for months, but he was FIP Champion and had back to back wins over Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson, but has been consistently losing ever since. I think he’ll look strong in losing, but I do think he’ll lose.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Final Tally: 2-2 split
Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Cliff Walters: By my bracketing, this would also be a rematch from the tag tournament semifinals. I get the feeling that the tournament’s going to be used as a dry run for the PPV matches. I’ve got AOTF going over in the tournament, so I’ll pick Aries & Danielson to get their win back here.
Winner: Aries & Danielson
Ashling Flynn: This feud is far from over, so AOTF is going to win, and I’m predicting that they’ll lay a pretty severe beatdown on Aries after the match, and possibly humiliate him somehow in the process just to throw that much more fuel on the fire.
Winner: Age Of The Fall
Gregory Honay: There’s a lot of gas left in Aries vs Jacobs, and I see a few more gang-style beatdowns happening before Aries wins out in the end. Danielson is just going to be unlucky enough to be along for the ride.
Winner: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black
Stuart Carapola: I’m going to take a totally different direction than the others and predict that there won’t be a decisive winner here, and that the match will end in some kind of double-DQ finish when things get out of hand. There’s no question that they’ll brawl, and I think that’ll bring a premature end to the match.
Winner: Double DQ
Final Tally: 2-1 in favor of Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black, with one vote for a draw
ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness vs Go Shiozaki
Cliff Walters: Go is awesome. He is a lot of fun to watch, but at the same time, he’s not close to the point where he has a chance of winning the ROH World Title from Nigel.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Ashling Flynn: Pardon the incredibly obvious joke, but Go is going to stop when he meets Nigel in Philly. He doesn’t have that “it†to be ROH World Champion.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Gregory Honay: Let me see if I can put this politely. Go Shiozaki is a little…limited, shall we say? He hasn’t impressed me terribly with anything he’s done, and he’s just another stop on Nigel’s tour as the champion.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Stuart Carapola: Nigel McGuinness is finally hitting his stride as ROH World Champion, and has been on a roll lately. Shiozaki, in the meantime, hasn’t shown me anything. His entire repertoire of three moves is built around the chop, and I have to say I’ve been totally underwhelmed by what he brings to the table. I don’t think he has the tools to be ROH World Champion, and I barely even think he has the tools to be in ROH considering his only qualification is that he can chop hard. Wanna guess who I want to win?
Winner: Nigel McGuinness
Final Tally: 4-0 in favor of Nigel McGuinness
* * *
And there you have it. I’ll be going to both shows and will have live thoughts in the next edition of The pROHfile sometime next week. Your feedback on the Roundtable would be greatly appreciated, and can be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
