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And we’re back with yet another edition of the pROHfile! I was going to probably do some kind of preview of the Florida shows around now, but those shows were postponed due to “soft ticket salesâ€, and that’s definitely something I’ll be writing about in a future column (probably the next one), but for now I figured I’d take a late-year look at the various wrestlers on the ROH roster and give my take on their position in ROH right now. Obviously it’s just my opinion, mileage may vary, but feel free to write in and let me know what you think. So let’s get started with…
ROH World Champion: Nigel McGuinness
Nigel’s reign got off to a very rocky start, as he suffered a couple of pretty bad injuries and needed to miss some ring time as a result. The ROH fans didn’t react very sympathetically, and they ended up using it to turn Nigel heel. I think this was the right move because I’ve always felt that Nigel works much better as a heel than as a face, and this was something that was needed to freshen up his character as his reign started, otherwise I think he would have been a very bland champion, and I don’t think that’s something that can be said for him now. His lariats, which were once pointed to by detractors as a crutch, are now something he uses more sparingly, but always get him a lot of heat when he deals one out. I think people sorely underrate his effectiveness as champion and the one year mark of his reign has snuck up on us pretty quickly, as he is now mere days away from a full year with the title. I don’t see any reason to take the title off of him anytime soon, nor do I see anyone in a clear position to step up and be a strong challenger at this time. I think they ought to keep the title on him and do an angle where he’s trying to beat Joe’s record reign with the title, an angle which would surely get a lot of heat from the crowd.
ROH World Tag Team Champions: Kevin Steen & El Generico
After a year and a half of chasing the titles, Steen & Generico finally won the ROH World Tag Team Title in Boston. They’re in a great spot right now, they’re having amazing matches, the fans are 100% behind them, and they’ve got two built in challenger feuds coming up with Age Of The Fall and the Briscoes. I just hope that they won’t run out of steam now that they have the title, and that they get a nice, long run as champions because they deserve it.
FIP Champion: Go Shiozaki
Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I just don’t see what’s so great about Shiozaki. To me, he’s as one-dimensional as you get. Yes, he has other moves, but he relies so heavily on that chop that whenever I’m watching him wrestle, I feel like I’m watching that Royal Rumble match where Scott Steiner gave Triple H like a hundred overhead belly-to-belly suplexes. He’s been in very good matches when carried there by Danielson or Nigel, but I seriously question his ability to carry a match on his own. He’s only supposed to be here for a year I think, so I’m pretty sure he’s had all the success he’s going to have since he’ll be going back to Japan in the next four or five months, so I would say use him for whatever you can now, but I don’t see Shiozaki getting another serious push at the top before going home.
Bryan Danielson
At this point, Bryan Danielson is the man ROH should be building their company around. Even though there's obviously been interest from WWE, I doubt he's in danger of leaving anytime soon. They've been teasing a conclusive title showdown between Danielson and Nigel McGuinness all year, and I'd be surprised if Danielson isn't the guy who eventually beats Nigel for the title. I think more than enough time has passed that you've got plenty of fresh matchups if Danielson becomes the first two-time champion. ROH can do no wrong with this man. He's been getting beaten to a pulp and embarrassed by McGuinness and now Claudio Castagnoli all year, but he just gets more over with every loss and beating. Mike Johnson said it a few weeks ago in a hotline, and it's the absolute truth: aside from the Briscoes, Bryan Danielson is the one man that ROH can't afford to lose.
Austin Aries
Much like Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries is another guy that ROH can do no wrong with. No matter what, he just seems to get more and more over with the fans every time out. He had two great matches with Nigel McGuinness, but was unable to regain the ROH World Title, and has spent the majority of 2008 in a heated blood feud with Age Of The Fall. He didn't get his revenge in Steel Cage Warfare, so we're probably going to get more of the Aries-Jacobs feud before he'll be back in the title picture. At this point I'd be surprised if he's the guy who beats Nigel for the title, but I can think of much worse choices. He's one of the top two or three guys in the company, but unlike Danielson, I don't think they're in any imminent danger of him leaving. He's already had his run with TNA and I highly doubt he'll want to go back there, and I don't see WWE making him an offer that would be worth his while. Through his feuds with AOTF and the No Remorse Corps before them, Aries has definitely shown that he works well in blood feuds where he's so pissed off at people that he'd rather kill them than win the match, something that I think is lost on a lot of wrestlers these days. He's mastered the fine art of psychology and does a lot of subtle things that bring more reality to his matches and segments than you will probably see elsewhere on the card. Even if Danielson does leave in the next year or two, I think we can count on having Austin Aries for a while, and I think it's more a matter of when than if he becomes a two-time ROH World Champion.
Age Of The Fall
Perhaps more than even Nigel McGuinness' ROH World Title reign, Age Of The Fall has been the focal point of ROH storylines over the last year. They have been involved in two key feuds with the Briscoes and Austin Aries, and the group has even brought a breath of fresh air to the careers of Delirious and Joey Matthews. I think Jimmy Jacobs has the promo skill to be a top guy if not so much in the way of genetic blessings, and I think that making him the mouthpiece of this group was a great workaround to getting him to the top rather than just pushing him on his own merits. The only problem is that he's being outshined by what are supposed to be his henchmen. Necro Butcher has already been split off and I can almost guarantee that the same is going to happen with Tyler Black in the next six months. Tyler Black is a major crowd favorite and barring injury or signing by WWE, is almost a surefire future ROH World Champion. He's already a great worker, but he's a good promo too, which he hasn't had the chance to show yet as Jacobs has been doing all his talking for him.
Another problem for Jacobs is that he was starting to get over with the fans following the series with BJ Whitmer and Colt Cabana, and the subsequent series of dates with Lacey, but ever since Age Of The Fall, he's been getting X-Pac heat. Even though I think he has the potential to be a real main eventer in ROH, I don't know that he'll ever actually get to that point. More likely, I suspect he'll end up being the martyr by which Tyler Black will be springboarded to the top. I think we're probably going to see a split by Final Battle at the latest, and then a long and brutal series between Jacobs and Black, followed by Tyler winning the ROH World Title late in 2009.
As for Delirious, the heel turn has definitely freshened him up, but I don't think the ROH fans want to boo him. If anything, they cheered him when he spiked Daizee Haze in the head at Glory By Honor VII. I think that eventually somebody will get through to him and we'll get the old green-and-black Delirious that we all know and love back.
Jay & Mark Briscoe
I think ROH is in a tough spot with Jay & Mark Briscoe right now. On the one hand, they're easily the best tag team in the business today, and will prove it against LAX in a few weeks. On the other hand, what else can you do with them? Give them the title again? I suppose they've still got a few months of matches left with Age Of The Fall, and they'll obviously have a short run against Steen & Generico, but I don't think they're going to regain the title just yet. I don't think there's any doubt that they'll get the title back at some point, but I'd hold off for at least a year before making them champions again. But what in the meantime? They've teased a feud with Sweet & Sour Inc, and there's enough combinations there that can last a few months. This might sound like sacrelige, but perhaps it would make sense to split them up for a few months? While it would be fun to see what they could do as dedicated singles wrestlers (and not feuding against one another again), they're so glued together in storylines that I don't think the fans would accept them not getting involved in one another's affairs. Have Jay & Mark reached the Samoa Joe point where you know you're getting a good match no matter who you put them in there with, but anything you do with them other than that is just going to be a rehash? I think so.
Necro Butcher
He's about as un-ROH in terms of in-ring style as you can get, but he's still very popular with ROH fans. While I don't ever see him getting anywhere near the ROH World Title, I think he works very well as a mascot type wrestler, in much the same way as Eric Young is in TNA. He was great in his role as Jimmy Jacobs' henchman, and the time was right to split him off since the fans had been cheering him for months anyway. Despite being members of both Age Of The Fall and the invading CZW group in 2006, Necro will probably work better as a loner who doesn't need any friends anyway. He's probably got some gas left in a feud with AOTF since he was pretty much brushed out of Steel Cage Warfare anyway. I think a series between Necro and Delirious, who took his place by Jimmy Jacobs' side, could be a lot of fun.
Roderick Strong
Are we looking at another chance to push Roderick to the main event? Even though three years ago we were pointing to Roderick and calling him a surefire future ROH World Champion, now I’m not so sure he has the tools to do it. He can definitely go in the ring, and he might be okay as FIP Champion, but his complete lack of promo skills is enough for me to say that he was better suited to be Austin Aries’ policeman rather than a star in his own right. He’s basically cut out to be Arn Anderson, even though Anderson had far more in the way of promo ability. As great as they might be as workers, some guys just aren't cut out to be tippy top guys, and I think that's where Roderick falls. That's not to say he can't be a very valuable asset to ROH for some time yet to come, but I think his opportunity to become a World Title level player has passed.
Claudio Castagnoli
I think Claudio is just in this feud with Danielson for two reasons: 1)they have no idea what else to do with him, and 2)they know it’ll at least produce good matches. I don’t really care if Claudio is a heel or face, I think he works fine as either, but I also don’t think he’s got what it takes to be ROH World Champion. If they want him to be a vicious, upper-midcard steppingstone to the title shots and main events, fine, but the fans were pretty loud and clear that they don’t like Claudio in the title picture. For lack of anything better to do with them, I would definitely think putting the Kings Of Wrestling back together would be a good way to get some positive use out of Hero and Claudio at this point. It HAS been almost two years since they were split up, yet neither singles push really seems to have worked out.
Chris Hero
Much like his former partner, Chris Hero is unfortunately quite directionless at the moment. This time last year, I thought he was on the verge of a major breakthrough as a regular in the ROH Title picture, but since 2008 started he’s been pushed to the back big time. I like how they added the striking/knockout aspect to his style, but he’s still been sitting behind Pearce and Shiozaki in the Sweet N Sour hierarchy, and now that he’s been in ROH for almost three years, it’s make-or-break time when it comes to giving him that final push up to the main event or leaving him as an upper midcarder. I don’t know why he has a mouthpiece since he’s an excellent talker in his own right, and he’s a polarizing enough personality that I think he’d make a great ROH World Champion, even as a short term deal.
Brent Albright
Now with the NWA Title behind him, I think it’s time to finally start building Brent Albright up as a legit contender to Nigel McGuinness. He’s mad over with the fans and has shown that he can work with any style wrestler. Unless they’re determined to continue his feud with Sweeney and his boys (which I don’t think they should), it’s time to move him up to the main event title picture as a regular.
Eddie Edwards
I think Eddie has shown potential in the ring, though it remains to be seen what he can do on the stick. I don’t think we’ve heard him talk at all yet, but he’s obviously somebody ROH sees as a young talent they can mold as they see fit and develop into somebody who can be an asset down the line.
Larry Sweeney & Sweet N Sour, Inc
Sweeney and his group, along with Age Of The Fall, have come out of 2007’s faction warfare as the only real survivors. He suffered a lot of setbacks last year and early in 2008, but came back strong with several titles making their way in and out of his fold. As for the “crew†of Sara Del Rey, Bobby Dempsey, Shane Hagadorn, and Tank Toland, none of them would have a job if they didn’t need people to interfere in Hero and Adam Pearce’s matches. Hagadorn in particular I have to wonder what his future holds now that Pearce is gone. I think Sweeney will be in ROH for a long time to come, even as wrestlers make their way in and out of his group. I think it would be really cool to add Claudio to the fold now that he’s turned heel again and as I said earlier, pair him back up with Hero as a newer, more brutal version of the Kings Of Wrestling.
Erick Stevens
I suppose after his two super-short FIP Title reigns and the way he’s basically made to look like a bitch on a regular basis that I was wrong and Gabe never had any plans to make him into a headlining superstar. That said, he can still be an effective midcard guy and a steppingstone to the main event, but they have to stop having him get his ass kicked at every turn. The guy’s got a very believable, powerful style and you want to cheer him and see him beat people, but more often than not he’s counting the lights. I want to see Stevens do better, but I think getting caught up in the Resilience did more harm than good and they had a chance to do something with him by having him come out strong after winning the FIP Title from Roderick Strong at Final Battle, but then they killed him off. I feel like there’s a lot of untapped potential in Erick Stevens that’s going to waste by putting him in the spots he’s been put in.
Daizee Haze
I really don’t know where they have Daizee go from here. Not only has she alienated Delirious, but even the fans have turned on her for being a cocktease. I guess you might as well turn her heel, which was done before during her time with the Embassy, but I feel like it might not be a bad idea for Daizee to disappear for a little while and give her character a chance to rest, then build up some other female wrestlers in her absence (maybe some other SHIMMER girls) and then bring her back in down the line to work with them.
Rhett Titus
I think this guy out of all the ROH School students has a better chance of breaking through and being more than even Pelle Primeau accomplished, but only if they refrain from referring to him as “a product of the ROH Wrestling Schoolâ€. I know they want to promote the school, but it’s a stigma that sticks to the wrestlers and always frames them as being inferior to the “real†wrestlers. If Titus is able to get past that, I think he’s got a great future.
Ruckus & Jigsaw
Without Jack Evans, these guys are nothing, which is too bad because I really thought they were going to be getting a big push before Evans left. But now they’ve turned into the 2008 version of Dunn & Marcos: they pop the crowd and do some cool stuff, but you know that they’re probably going to lose in the end. I’m not sure what happened with the BLK OUT feud (and by the way, isn’t a Sabian one of those vibrators women sit on or something?), but with Evans gone and the BLK OUT feud apparently called off, these guys are going nowhere fast.
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So there you have it. I guess in the weeks and months to come we'll see whether any of my thoughts hold any water or, more likely, I'm just some mark behind a keyboard who doesn't know squat. We'll see. Until then, all feedback can as always be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com, and I'll be back soon with another edition of the pROHfile. Thanks for reading!
