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Welcome back to the latest edition of the pROHfile! ROH has a big weekend coming up with their returns to Manassas, Virginia and their sophomore effort in New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom, but before I get into this weekend's shows, I'd like to give my thoughts on some of the events of last weekend's shows in Toronto and Detroit.
A large part of the focus of this past weekend was Claudio Castagnoli's proclamation that he would either win the ROH World Title in Detroit or leave ROH. He did end up losing to Nigel McGuinness, but still worked the Honor Rumble later in the show, and is booked in Saturday's main event title match. I don't think anybody's terribly surprised to see that he didn't leave, even though there was speculation and I certainly think he's the kind of guy that would appeal to WWE or TNA, I had a feeling that this was an angle and nothing more and it looked like I was right. Claudio also got some rare praise from Nigel McGuinness after the match when Nigel put him over as World Title material.
I'm interested to see where they go with Claudio from here, because if he does lose again in Manhattan, the only way I really see them going with Claudio (who really has gone as far as he can if he loses this weekend) is doing a heel turn. I'm not quite sure how that would work out for him, because people have gotten pretty used to him as a babyface. I think turning heel would be a step backwards for him.
Also coming up short in a bid for the ROH World Title was Kevin Steen. I wasn't surprised because I didn't expect him to win the title, instead expecting he and Generico to get the tag team title at some point between now and their return to Dayton on November 21. I think it was a great move having the Canadian Steen main event their first show north of the border and I'm sure he put on a great show, but I don't think anyone thought it was to be. He did, however, go on to defeat Necro Butcher the following night in Detroit after calling out Age Of The Fall, so it looks like they're wasting no time transitioning Steen & Generico right back into the Tag Title scene.
Finally, Bryan Danielson defeated Tyler Black yet again. These two have great chemistry and it's only going to help Tyler Black, who is clearly being groomed for a run at the top. The losses to Danielson continue to pile up, but I'm sure that it's building to Black finally getting that big singles win over Danielson, and I think that win will be the signal that Black is ready to move into the main event scene permanently.
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All that brings us into this weekend as ROH returns to Manassas and New York City. The main focus of this weekend centers around the four way elimination match for the ROH World Title that will be headlining the show at Hammerstein, as Nigel McGuinness defends against Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, and Claudio Castagnoli. Nigel will defend the title against Ruckus in Manassas on Friday and if Ruckus wins he will be inserted into the Hammerstein main event and it will become a five way, but I think we all know better than that.
Anyway, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a new ROH World Champion crowned in Manhattan on Saturday. Nigel is in the unenviable position of having to defend his title against the three men who a lot of people think are the most likely to dethrone him. Bryan Danielson and Nigel have a storied history, with Danielson coming out on top every time but one. Tyler Black is enjoying a large amount of fan support and has definitely shown that he can hang with the main eventers, but it may be a little early to hotshot the title onto him.
Probably the most likely person to win this match, though, would be Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio also has a long history with Nigel, but has lost to him more often than he's won, and has lost several opportunities to beat Nigel for both the ROH World Title as well as the Pure Title when Nigel held that title in 2005/06. He also lost last weekend, but was “convinced†to come back for one last shot at the title. I really think Claudio has to win here, because if he doesn't, it pretty much defeats the purpose of doing the whole “coming back for one last shot†angle unless it's leading to some kind of heel turn, which I think would be catastrophic for him at this point.
On the other hand, a win in this match would be huge for Nigel McGuinness, and would definitely help solidify him as a top ROH World Champion along with Joe and Danielson. Nigel's title reign didn't get off to the best start, but he's slowly but surely picked that momentum, beating everybody he's been made to defend the title against. It might not have always been by the most honorable means, but he's done it and now his title reign is at just about ten months old, a fact which I think is lost on a lot of people.  This now makes him the third longest reigning ROH World Champion behind Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson, and winning here would help legitimize him in a way I think a lot of fans are reluctant to admit.
The other top attraction this weekend will be the returning Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. Friday night in Manassas they will face Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson, then will go on Saturday night to meet Kevin Steen & El Generico. I don't know if the MCMGs are going to continue to be a recurring attraction in ROH, but they're definitely in a couple of matches this weekend that look great on paper. It will be cool to see the Aries-Shelley rivalry that goes all the way back to 2004 reignite in Manassas, as they had a couple of great matches back in 2005, including a classic at Manhattan Mayhem. I think Steen & Generico, who are strong contenders to dethrone Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black for the ROH World Tag Team Title, would have a lot to gain by beating a team like Shelley and Sabin, and a lot to lose if they lost to them. If I were playing fantasy booker, I'd have the MCMGs beat Aries & Danielson and then go on to lose to Steen & Generico, giving them that big boost heading into a title program, but that's just me. I do think they'll go 1-1 this weekend, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat or lose to either team.
Speaking of Austin Aries, he's going to be in a three way match against Jimmy Jacobs and the Necro Butcher in Manhattan. They're doing an angle right now where Aries is questioning Necro on why he follows Jacobs and is pushing for him to break free from Jacobs' control. The common theory on this one is that Necro will leave Jacobs, but also tell Aries to get lost and just go do his own thing instead. I can't say I'd disagree with them doing that, because Necro is popular enough that he can stand on his own without needing to be part of a group like Age Of The Fall, which is slowly but steadily running out of members. Wouldn't it be funny if Nigel retained the title through this weekend, and then went on to eventually lose the title to Necro? As unlikely a champion as I think Necro would be, I think it would work and would be a lot of fun and definitely something a large chunk of the fanbase would be into.
Jay & Mark Briscoe are back in action as a team, but this weekend seems more like a tuneup type deal for them than anything, as they face Adam Pearce & Chris Hero in Manassas, then go on to meet Ruckus & Jigsaw in Manhattan. I really don't see them losing to either team, but I don't know if I'm ready to insert them right back into the title picture just yet. They held the title for almost all of 2007 and also held the title in 2008, and I think it's time to let AOTF and Steen/Generico run with it for a while and divert the Briscoes into something else.
Naomichi Marufuji also returns this weekend, teaming with Go Shiozaki to challenge Age Of The Fall for the ROH World Tag Team Title in Manassas before going on to face Go in a singles match on Saturday in New York. As much as I'd love to see Marufuji get an ROH Title, I don't see them going over on AOTF. On the other hand, I think it'd be insane to even consider a greenhorn like Shiozaki getting a win over someone of Marufuji's statue, so I guess Shiozaki better get his jobbing shoes all warmed up for this weekend.
I'll have my thoughts on both shows in the next edition of the pROHfile, and will be attending the New York show live, and will have live thoughts as well.
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Just real quick before I go, I wanted to give a plug to the Respect Is Earned II PPV which will be making its official PPV debut tonight. I was at this show live and it was probably one of if not the best shows I've been to this year. The main event Tag Team Title match between Age Of The Fall and Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries is being heavily promoted as an amazing match, and I can tell you that it deserves the hype. That match is easily worth the cost of the PPV on its own.
Also standing out is the Fight Without Honor between Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens. This was a stiff, brutal fight between two guys who have spent quite a lot of time working together, and did a great job of finishing up the feud (in ROH, though it continued in FIP) while seamlessly transitioning into Roderick Strong's next program post-Stevens. I'd stack these two matches up against the top two matches on any WWE or TNA PPV and say that it would blow them away. This show is well worth the price tag.
Okay, that's it for me this week. As always, all feedback can be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com.. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week with fallout from Manassas and New York. Until then, courage.
