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With that out of the way, we’ve got a few things to talk about today, but let’s start with the recent departure of Jim Cornette from TNA. The TNA side of things is irrelevant to ROH, but if you remember way back to 2005-07, Cornette was the figurehead Commissioner of ROH before he was contractually yanked by TNA to perform basically the same function for them. But with Cornette now free and clear of any obligations to TNA, the possibility of a return to ROH is there.
A Cornette return would be a perfect fit because, as everyone is very well aware (and in many cases very vocally critical of), ROH has been booked in more of an old school style over the last year or so, and is now structured to resemble the kind of promotion that Cornette would have worked for in his heyday in the 80s. The current style in ROH would most certainly appeal a lot more to Cornette than the present direction in TNA, which is now somewhere between a bastardized version of Attitude-era WWE and a lame frat party.
Another thing to consider is that Cornette’s input into things such as the creative direction, promos, and match planning would probably be welcomed a lot more than it was in TNA, where he helped guys out, but was mostly there to be an on-screen talent. By all accounts, Cornette has always gotten on very well with ROH management, and he has worked extensively with current booker Adam Pearce in the past in ROH, so it would seem like a natural fit to bring Cornette in and give him an important behind the scenes role.
It also goes without saying that there’s a lot they could get out of him as a performer as well. Cornette is a guy who would undoubtedly be welcomed back with open arms by the ROH fanbase, and he’s one of those rare guys who can do no wrong in their eyes, leaving you a lot of freedom with what you want to do with him. You could always put him back in the Commissioner role he left three years ago, a position I’m sure he’d take a lot more seriously than Flair did. You could use him as a manager, by either putting him with guys who have the in-ring skills, but can’t cut it on the mic (Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens, I’m looking at you), or even reunite him with the Briscoes, who he’s managed several times in the past.
I think that if ROH is willing to shell out the bucks to bring in D-Lo Brown and Sonjay Dutt, they ought to be willing to bring in Cornette as well given how much they could get out of him. I’m sure he’d be equally willing to give ROH his all because they’re really the only major promotion left in the United States that books a product that he wouldn’t be ashamed to be a part of. ROH is at a critical point where they’re trying to grow and present a product that Cornette is the perfect guy to help them build. Hopefully they’ll bring him in and make use of his vast talents and passion for the business in a way that WWE and TNA didn’t.
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Moving right along, I really wish I didn’t have to keep writing about Ric Flair for reasons I’ve gone over many times in the past, but I just want to quickly mention that I’m really bothered by the fact that Flair still hasn’t returned the money ROH paid him for work he never did for them. It really doesn’t say much for him that there’s really no other way to put it than Flair ripped ROH off and stole money from them, money he obviously has no intention of ever returning.
I really don’t want to go to town on Flair too much here, but the fact of the matter is that the guy obviously sucks with his money, and he’s got so little to offer anyone these days that I guess he’s got to make a grab for whatever he can get, and I suppose he feels like he doesn’t have to deliver on what he promised for the money since he’s Ric Flair. Maybe it would help him save money if he realized he’s a senior citizen who outlived his lifestyle 20 years ago and that he should stop spending every penny he makes the second he gets it so he doesn’t have to keep wrestling until the day he breaks a hip in the ring, but I guess that’s beyond him.
I don’t know what Flair owes ROH but I’m sure it’s no small amount, and I would think that by this point they should realize that Flair’s not returning the money (if he even still has it) and should seriously look into legal action. ROH is not a company that has zillions of dollars to throw around like WWE and can’t just swallow losses like that. ROH needs to go after Flair because if they don’t, they’re sending a message that if you’re a big enough star you can walk all over them, rip them off, and not have to worry about repercussions. I think there’s enough guys in ROH right now who aren’t worth whatever money they’re getting, and the last thing ROH needs is these same guys thinking they can take the money and not stop at merely being worthless, but actually not even bother showing up.
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Let’s wrap this edition up with a preview of this weekend’s live events in the Midwest, as ROH returns to Dayton on Friday and Chicago Ridge on Saturday. The highlight of both events will of course be the continuiation of the Final Countdown Tour, as Bryan Danielson continues to fulfill his final dates with Ring Of Honor. He’s got two big matches this weekend, the first of which is against Chris Hero in Dayton. Danielson and Hero have wrestled several times in the past in ROH, and they’ve all been great matches but Hero has never beaten Danielson. Seeing as how Hero has been getting a renewed push in recent months I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finally beat Danielson in Dayton (where I believe he’s from), but on the flipside it would also be nice to see Danielson pick up a win since other than the Nigel match in New York (which we’ll get to next week), I expect him to spend the tour going out on his back.
Which brings us to his match in Chicago Ridge, as he challenges longtime rival Austin Aries for the ROH World title. This match was originally scheduled to be the main event for the New York show, but that match was rescheduled when it was announced that Nigel McGuinness was on his way out of ROH too, and was changed to Danielson vs Nigel in both men’s last ROH match. The Aries-Danielson match was moved here, but I expect the result to be the same, with Danielson giving Aries a really good match before putting over the champion on his way out the door.
Also of note this weekend are two big tag matches featuring the Briscoes. First up for them is what’s being billed as a Dream Tag Team Match between them and the Young Bucks. The Bucks have been making a huge impact in ROH and unless they get signed away before it can happen, they’re going to be a huge deal in the ROH tag team division. A rematch has already been announced, so I’d guess that the Young Bucks will win at least one of the matches, leaving the outcome of the Dayton match in some doubt. What we can be sure of is that it’ll be a great match between two top notch teams, and this could be looked back on down the line as the Young Bucks’ breakout match if the stars are aligned.
Regardless of the outcome of that match, the Briscoes will then go on to face the American Wolves in a non-title match in Chicago Ridge. This will be the first time in the ring since the Wolves attacked Mark Briscoe’s knee at Final Battle and put him out of action for six months, at least as far as the storyline’s concerned. It’s also going to be the first straight tag match between the two teams, as they did meet in a three team elimination match at All Star Extravaganza IV, but have never faced off in a regulation tag match. During Mark’s hiatus, the Wolves have 100% usurped the Briscoes’ spot as the top team in the company, and with this being a non-title match it would seem natural that the Briscoes would win to set up a title match down the line. However, I’m going to go against the grain and pick the Wolves to get the win via nefarious means and use the win to deny the Briscoes a title shot.
Also of note in Dayton, Davey Richards will spread his singles wings and take on Claudio Castagnoli in a special attraction match. This match is of particular interest to me because I could be wrong about this, but I don’t believe they’ve ever met in a singles match in ROH. It’s also unusual because you have two heels facing off, which isn’t something that happens very often these days outside of multi-main matches. These guys can both go though, and even though it’s stuck in the midcard on this show I think this will be the surprise match of the weekend. I’d guess that Davey will win, but it’ll probably be just as much fun watching Hagadorn and Nana outside the ring trying to out cheat one another.
That about does it for the major stuff in Dayton, but there is a lot more going on in Chicago Ridge, probably the most notable of which will be Bret Hart making his second ROH appearance. When he made his first appearance in Canada he pretty much just came out and waved to the crowd, but since he’s booked for several more appearances over the next couple of months, I would expect that they’re going to do some kind of storyline with him, so maybe the seeds for that storyline will be planted this weekend.
Also in Chicago Ridge, the Dark City Fight Club will take on the Young Bucks in a rematch of their bout on this past week’s episode of ROH On HDNet. The TV match was great, a big man/little man match that was reminiscent of something like a Rockers/Powers Of Pain match from the 80s. Between their win over the DCFC on TV and their series of matches with the Briscoes, all signs point to the Bucks going over and maybe being the second step in a storyline where the DCFC dominates every match but somehow ends up losing to the younger, smaller team.
Necro Butcher will take on Jimmy Rave in a Dog Collar Match that honestly doesn’t interest me much. The whole Embassy vs Cabana/Necro/Albright/Grizzly feud has pretty much bored me from the beginning, and the Rave-Necro series has probably been the part of that feud that’s put me to sleep the most. I don’t believe for a second that Rave is a tough enough guy that he could hang with Necro, and we’re supposed to believe that he made Necro tap out and put him out of action? I don’t think so. Rave will probably get some cheap win to make us suffer through even more matches between the two.
The good news is that Cabana will take on Embassy associate Claudio Castagnoli elsewhere on the card, and judging by the highly entertaining matches they’ve had in the past, I think we’re in for another hidden gem between these two. Claudio is a great straight man to play off Cabana’s goofiness when they do the comedy stuff, but they’re also both really fluent in the European style of wrestling which is fun to watch and really different from anything else in ROH. Cabana goes over, but they have another really fun match to add to the collection.
That about does it for me this week. If you’re attending either the Dayton or Chicago Ridge show this weekend (or both), we’re looking for live reports so please send those along if you feel so inclined. Take care, enjoy the shows, watch ROH On HDNet, and I’ll see you all next week!
Stu Carapola can be reached at stupwinsider@yahoo.com.
