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For starters, ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness will face a pair of stern tests in Tyler Black and Austin Aries this weekend, first facing Black in a non-title match in Manassas, and then defending the title against Aries in Edison. I think the general expectation is that Black will beat Nigel to build to another shot at the ROH Title and then Nigel beats Aries the next night, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen, but I also see a situation where Jimmy Jacobs and Austin Aries get involved and cost Black the match, and then Black returns the favor by costing Aries his match with Nigel in Edison. In any event, I see these matches being more about furthering the Black vs Aries/Jacobs feud than about the title itself.
Bryan Danielson will also have a big weekend as he's got a couple of big rematches against Jimmy Jacobs and Jerry Lynn. Jacobs (whom he'll face in Manassas) scored a clean submission win over Danielson way back at Unscripted III in December 2007, and this will be the first singles match between the two since. I think this match could go either way, but the real wild card will be Austin Aries, who is apparently hanging out with Jacobs now, but had a lot of success teaming with Danielson in 2008. Danielson and Aries have a healthy respect for one another stemming from their long series of matches over the course of several years, but something tells me that if Aries does get involved, it will be to help Jacobs and not Danielson.
As for Lynn, I don't expect any chicanery in this match as I'm thinking we'll get another straight, clean match between these guys like they had at All Star Extravaganza IV, only this time with Lynn coming out on top. I think it would be very interesting if they evened the series up at one win apiece, and then instead of going to a finish in the third match, went to a time limit draw before going to a conclusive fourth match in the series. If they did that, it would accomplish a couple of things: first, it would give the fans a nice, long match between two guys who have that kind of stamina, especially since it’s been a while since anyone’s done an hour Broadway in ROH. Also, if Lynn won that kind of a series, that would give him the kind of momentum he would need heading into an ROH World Title win if that’s the direction they’re going.
In other marquee matches this weekend, both Tyler Black and Austin Aries have big matches on the nights they’re not wrestling Nigel McGuinness, as Austin Aries will face Jerry Lynn in Manassas, while Tyler Black will take on Jimmy Jacobs in Edison. I think, given that Aries has some momentum behind him after the heel turn, and the fact that he’s heading into a World Title shot the next night, as well as the fact that Lynn has been pulling around a .500 record lately, it’s more than feasible to have Aries come out ahead here. On the other hand, having Lynn score back to back wins over Aries and Danielson, the two aces of ROH, would give Lynn a very strong push as he begins the road to his next title shot. As for Jacobs/Black, I see this getting violent as shows in New Jersey tend to have at least one out of control brawl, and this match seems to most likely candidate out of anything on that card. I don’t expect it to be the blowoff, however. As I’ve said, I see Black and Aries/Jacobs getting in each other’s business pretty liberally this weekend, and can see a scenario where Aries sticks his nose in the match and costs Black the win against his former mentor.
The American Wolves, Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards, have a pair of big tag matches, and across the ring from them both nights will be Roderick Strong, but he’ll have a different partner each night. First on Friday, Strong will team with Jay Briscoe to take on the Wolves, and then on Saturday will team with Erick Stevens, but the Saturday match will be a Lumberjack Strap Match, with leather strap-toting wrestlers surrounding the ring and, presumably, whipping the snot out of anyone unlucky enough to find their way to the outside. The American Wolves are obviously in the midst of a big push that could very well see them winning the ROH World Tag Team Title, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them find some way to sweep the weekend. Though I think there is a chance Strong & Stevens could walk out of Edison with their hands raised, I would expect that someone from the group of lumberjacks, possibly another member of Sweet & Sour Inc, will get involved and cost Strong & Stevens the match. I don’t see the American Wolves suffering too many setbacks before getting a title shot against Steen & Generico, who are conspicuous by their absence this weekend. More on that in a later column.
Instead of talking about the people who are not on the shows however, I’ll take this opportunity to talk about three people who are getting a shot on this weekend’s events, as Mid-Atlantic area stars Damien Wayne, Sean Denny, and Chris Escobar will all be getting a look this weekend. This is part of ROH’s new initiative to save some money by using more local talent instead of flying their entire crew out to every show. Of the three, I’ve only seen Damien Wayne and I know he has a following, but to be honest he didn’t impress me very much. He has kind of a redneck biker look with the shaved head and leather pants, but he looked more like King Of The Hill style redneck than anything I’d call intimidating. His last appearance had him in a Four Corner Survival match against Brent Albright, Nigel McGuinness, and Claudio Castagnoli, so I can see how he might get a bit overshadowed in that kind of company, but he’s going to have to show me something this weekend to really impress me.
In any event, I expect all three to be on job patrol, as Wayne & Escobar take on Brent Albright & Erick Stevens and Sean Denny takes on Rhett Titus in Manassas, and then the following night Escobar has a singles match against Jay Briscoe while Denny and Wayne are in a Four Corner Survival match which also includes Necro Butcher and Delirious. Across the ring from guys like that, I can’t say I particularly like the new blood’s chances. The Four Corner Survival won’t be the only time Necro Butcher and Delirious will be across the ring from one another this weekend, as they will face off in a singles match in Manassas as well. This is the latest installment in Necro’s war with his former Age Of The Fall teammates, as he takes on the guy who pretty much took his place on the team. I think that unless Necro comes up with some new friends (maybe some combination of the Mid-Atlantic guys?), we might be looking at another couple of AOTF beatdowns on Necro this weekend. I would guess that between the two matches, Necro and Delirious would probably each come away with a win, with whoever loses in Manassas picking up the fall on one of the Mid-Atlantic guys in Edison.
Looking over both cards, I can say that there are some noticeable names missing from both nights and as I’ve said, I plan to address that in a future column, but we’re still looking at some very compelling matches both nights, as the top three or four matches on both cards look like a lot of fun. I’ll be in Edison and will have a live report up on the site sometime late Saturday or Sunday, as well as a hotline with more in-depth discussion of my live impressions sometime in the days after the show as well.
So that’s it for me, if you’re going to one or (if you’re insane enough) both shows, I hope you enjoy yourself, and I thank you for reading. As always, all feedback can be sent to stupwinsider@yahoo.com and you can check me out on Myspace at www.myspace.com/stupwinsider, where all my work is archived and I frequently blog on various wrestling-related subjects. For example, just the other day I wrote a blog covering such topics as the layoffs at WWE, Steve Austin going into the Hall Of Fame, the Starrcade DVD set, Mark Briscoe's knee injury, the original ECW, and more, so definitely give it a look, and I won't even quiz you! So thanks again for reading, and I’ll see you all next week with fallout from Manassas and Edison and all the quality ROH reporting you’ve come to expect from…the pROHfile!
