JTCole wrote:Isn't Noah basically New Japan's NXT now?

Yes, but a promotion for old guys to remain relevant.

...So, yes, exactly like NXT actually.

Everything about Michael Elgin’s run in late 2014 was a travesty. Some of the forces that caused this were out of his ambit, but it was a problem he could have avoided nonetheless. By Final Battle 2014, he became like this foreboding anti-draw, and it made everybody uncomfortable. It’s a miracle he ...

Why isn't ROH doing more with NOAH? I'd rather see Suzukigun, Shiozaki, and Marafuji for a change rather than Bullet Club, CHAOS, and Tanahashi. New Japan wants U.S. exposure for their main product, which is New Japan. If ROH pushed for it, they could probably book the occasional NOAH talent. Somet...

Corino/Whitmer thread, I am posting this not because I want to, but because I have to.

(What even is this story anymore? Are they seriously still alluding to EVIL/SCUM?)

Drop Tomohiro Ishii, add Jay White.

Maybe, if I cast away my wishes piously, Roderick Strong will stay with us.

Silas and ACH are doing their best with what they’re given. Since both have been on the losing end for a long time, this program should be a lot worse than it is actually shaping up to be. It’s nice that they both are being given promo time, but this probably will just extend into months of meaningl...

All this attention to Terminal 5 must be very eye-rolling to anyone outside the NY area, but, gosh, do they need a change from music halls.

It doesn’t help that ROH doesn’t push the idea that the singles champions must do promos. I don’t even recall the last time Lethal cut an uninterrupted promo in the ring by himself. The championships become complete afterthoughts without that presence. And when they’re not just being creatively sede...

I’ll chime in that Night 2 had a card better than one would expect. I know the match wasn’t originally meant to be, but Lethal & Cabana vs. The Young Bucks is far superior the match to Cole vs. Cabana, at least at this point in the story. Perhaps they could have done a better job in scheduling t...

That’s a really good column. Here’s a small piece from it: One of my favorite interactions with a wrestler happened with the Necro Butcher. I was in New York for an ROH show, and Necro did a run in, but instead of his normal “gear” of a tank top and cut up jeans, he was wearing khaki cargo pants and...

They might roll the chance on Kyle at the tapings so they may garner a pop cheer due to expectations of World Title matches on such events. From there he could be a transitional champion to Cole and then have another storyline arc (you know--have him moon around a la Roman Reigns). It's uglier than ...

Lethal's reign has looked to be on the brink on each PPV this year. Rather than a symptom of good booking, each event has read off as ROH not taking faith in their contenders and not bothering to substantiate Lethal's reign. Taking stock, the only main event workers are Cole, Briscoe, O'Reilly, and ...

Tag Wars Night 1

Adam Cole - 7 Points
Alex Shelley – 6 Points
The Briscoes - 5 Points
War Machine - 3 Points
Roppongi Vice - 1 Point
Michael Elgin - 8 Points

Tag Wars Night 2

Adam Cole - 2 Points
Christopher Daniels – 4 Points

Bonus - Tag Wars 2016 Champions: War Machine

In retrospect, the truest statement I find to say is that ROH should have been more conscious that they were not building main event contenders at a steady enough clip and that the Cole/O’Reilly program did more harm than good for both members. The story Lethal/Briscoe II evidences that pretty clear...

I don’t know. I find something poetic in ROH booking the snake eating its tail of Briscoe beating Lethal. It’s as if creative, as an essence itself, has become self-aware and self-fulfilling.

Booking two upper midcarders to a lower card match without promotion makes them both seem like lesser stars than they are. Naito/O’Reilly from Global Wars is this example. ROH should also be doing something with O’Reilly, even if they are disappointed that his main event tenure didn’t pan out as int...

One thing Delirious has almost constantly done is had a challenger lose to someone right before winning the title to set up their next title shot, so this could be a sign that Briscoe is winning the belt and Roddy is staying. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I can only recall this strategy used, at...

And I want to reiterate that I liked the way these house shows were handled. The undercard was constructed into relatively inconsequential matches that spread their workers into interesting matches. Then the top card booked matches that participated in a larger narrative, but were non-essential to t...

I was front row and saw absolutely nothing that would make me think Jay was legit hurt. He looked perfectly fine. Jay never had surgery for his injured shoulder. I think he works all his matches in some sort of pain. Wrestlers are pretty good at masking that stuff. If it’s a work, then maybe it’s a...