Supercard of Honor XI - Lakeland/Orlando, FL

[HonorLives]

Yeah, both RevPro and PROGRESS will host their own shows at the 'Mania weekend so hopefully ROH will be able to book some of them.

[TYFDK]

Is RevPro being brought in with WrestleCon or WWN? If it's the former I can see a lot of talent being used from there due to their partnership with New Japan.

[supersonic]

Potentially great SCOH12 news for Hopkins, Dearborn, or Toronto:

I've gotten consent to publicize this scoop provided by Smolek, who has solid sources regarding this:

WWE would prefer for WrestleMania 34 in spring 2018 to be in the Midwest, which would be the first since 2007. Currently Detroit and Minnesota have the upper hand, with Toronto also believing to be in the mix.

Also remember that Dave Meltzer and Court Bauer reported in May that NYC could be in the mix, and until today the favorite looked to be Philly. In addition, Minnesota alumnus Brock Lesnar's current WWE contract expires in spring 2018.

Smolek stresses that the "final pitch" is a "couple months away" and it'll all depend on which market offers the best bid. No mistake though - DET, MIN, and TOR are at this moment in consideration to host the Showcase of the Immortals in 2018.

[DXvsNWO1994]

Is RevPro being brought in with WrestleCon or WWN? If it's the former I can see a lot of talent being used from there due to their partnership with New Japan.

PROGRESS is definitely with WWNLive. I think RevPro is with WrestleCon.

[SandsShifter]

Is RevPro being brought in with WrestleCon or WWN? If it's the former I can see a lot of talent being used from there due to their partnership with New Japan.

PROGRESS is definitely with WWNLive. I think RevPro is with WrestleCon.

RevPro is with WrestleCon.

[project161]

Actions speak louder than words. This is the same company that markets itself with a "best on the planet" slogan. I'm open-minded but have zero expectations and will be indifferent at worst. Too many other options available and within walking distance to feel the slightest bit of outrage again.

Also the same company that billed Briscoe/Lethal II to be the biggest rematch in ROH history when it was built on maybe two or three house shows at most prior to happening.

I agree as well in that it would take fans to give it a poor advance to give ROH incentive to attempt to step their game up, but it will likely not come to that due to those blind buying fans that you mentioned.

[HonorLives]

So, a friend of mine is going to the 'Mania weekend... and guess which show is the only one that has been forced to stay 50+ miles from the World Stadium? You guessed it, SOH. Hunter's e-penis complex strikes again.

[supersonic]

That certainly is a sensible scoop/theory. I'll have Meltzer, Kraetsch, and Lanza confirm it.

There are 2 angles that give it credence:

ROH advertising NJPW and UK imports and clearly stating this will be the biggest SCOH ever. Is that just marketing, or does ROH know that the 2012-2016 efforts will not suffice? Is WWE's blackballing forcing ROH to step it up for the first time in almost a decade?

The scoop about WM34 favorites now being Detroit, Minneapolis, and Toronto. While we don't know for sure, it could be that these markets may be willing to blackball ROH more than Philly (Meltzer's most recently reported WM34 favorite.). It's been rumored that Philly may have lost out on the WM31 bid due to the city's history with ROH and underground wrestling in general.

[Big Red Machine]

It's been rumored that Philly may have lost out on the WM31 bid due to the city's history with ROH and underground wrestling in general.

LOL. Does WWE really think that not running in a historically smarky city will keep die-hard wrestling fans out of WrestleMania?

[supersonic]

The theory is that Philly wouldn't blackball any companies from any venues or suburbs. ROH was in arguably inconvenient locations in 2014 and 2015. I actually wonder if this played into Orlando winning the WM33 bid over Minnesota, which was the favorite a year ago.

[Burnside]

It's been rumored that Philly may have lost out on the WM31 bid due to the city's history with ROH and underground wrestling in general.

I find that impossible to believe.

[Big Red Machine]

The theory is that Philly wouldn't blackball any companies from any venues or suburbs. ROH was in arguably inconvenient locations in 2014 and 2015. I actually wonder if this played into Orlando winning the WM33 bid over Minnesota, which was the favorite a year ago.

I would be utterly shocked if they were really building their WrestleMania schedule based on which cities are likely to be meanest to other wrestling companies.

[FanSinceHDNet]

The theory is that Philly wouldn't blackball any companies from any venues or suburbs. ROH was in arguably inconvenient locations in 2014 and 2015. I actually wonder if this played into Orlando winning the WM33 bid over Minnesota, which was the favorite a year ago.

I would be utterly shocked if they were really building their WrestleMania schedule based on which cities are likely to be meanest to other wrestling companies.

While they've held it ourdoors in New York and San Francisco, Philly's only plus 20,000 seat venues are both outdoors. NY is larger and has more cache. No offense to Philly, but why risk cold, bad weather for Philly?

There's also probably 10 or 15 other reasons (whackadoo commission that does or doesn't exist depending on the month, Philadelphia live event taxes, other venues having better cuts/lower fees) beyond big, bad ROH running a 1,200 bingo hall 3 miles up the road that kept WM out of Philly since 1999.

Needed that laugh today, though, so thank you!

[trufreedom]

It'd be tough to black ball anyone out of the entire Greater Toronto Area. The sheer number of hockey arenas that could fit 1,500 people for wrestling is just too great from Oshawa to Hamilton.

[monster mafia]

maybe rev pro and roh make connection for mania weekend

jeff cobb is gonna be in rev pro mania weekend...can we see him in roh? i hope so!

[supersonic]

SUPERCARD OF HONOR XI DOUBLE MAIN EVENT PITCH

I have zero clue if either one of these matches will be possible for ROH to book come April 1 in Lakeland. There's a great chance that NONE of the participants I have in mind will even be available. With this pitch will be a ton of assumptions. Before I say what the double main event is, I'm going to provide some tablesetting.

It isn't fully known exactly why ROH isn't hosting Supercard of Honor XI in the actual metro area of Orlando. There are rumors and theories aplenty. Some have heard ROH had no plans of being in Florida at all during the biggest weekend of the year. Some have heard that WWE has blackballed ROH wtihin a 50 mile radius of Orlando on WrestleMania 33 weekend.

What is known is that ROH is advertising this as the biggest and best Supercard of Honor in the company's history. This could be just a meaningless marketing ploy like the "best on the planet" slogan that holds no water under the slightest bit of inspection. However, what if the rumors of WWE forcing Orlando's hand are true, and that is why ROH is advertising that there will be stars from NJPW, CMLL, and the UK on Supercard of Honor XI? For what will be the first time since 2009, will ROH channel its golden age past and actually treat this event as a huge deal like everyone else (which should be the case when considering that fans are spending thousands of dollars to be in town and then investing parts of their vacation time into attending, plus it's a chance to blow away and hook newbies) instead of just another day at the office?

Let's assume the rumors are true and that ROH is being genuine about utliizing special attractions on par with the 2006-2009 WrestleMania weekends. Let's also assume that WWE is blackballing ROH. Even if the latter isn't actually true, there have been numerous shots from WWE towards ROH in the past year and change. When AJ Styles signed with WWE, he was no longer allowed to work matches for ROH, and only got to have a farewell segment in his home state of Georgia the night prior to his WWE debut. Shinsuke Nakamura was also yanked from the 13th Anniversary weekend in Las Vegas, cancelling his planned match against Dalton Castle. This not only affected ROH, but NJPW as well, who are apparently still pissed about the talent exodus earlier this year. Don't forget WWE scheduling numerous NXT events not just within days, but even the same night and market as ROH being in town.

While Sinclair Broadcast Group has done its damnedest to keep ROH in its lane and meticulously expand the federation in a financially sustainable manner, has the corporate ownership group gotten fed up yet with WWE's antics? That will be assumed to be true as well. I see an opportunity, with many assumptions of course that I'll go into further detail about, for ROH to finally fight back and try stealing the weekend from WWE and everyone else, just like 2006-2008. So what are the two matches I have in mind that could get that buzz and thunder, that would force someone as almighty as Dave Meltzer to provide substantial coverage even with the weekend being so insane?

It is quite apparent that Alberto Del Rio's time in WWE is likely headed for an ugly conclusion in the near future, perhaps by the end of 2016 at the latest, although likely a bit sooner than that. That would mean that the rest of the wrestling world will welcome back Alberto el Patron, who took Mexico by storm and despite numerous issues elsewhere, was by all accounts a consummate professional for ROH. Due to his price tag, Alberto only worked 5 matches for ROH in 2015, leaving quite a few dream and fresh matches on the table.

It has been obvious since Global Wars 2016 that Adam Cole would go on to dethrone Jay Lethal for the ROH Title, and then his former teammate Kyle O'Reilly would reach his coronation at Final Battle 2016. It will have been a long time coming when that December night arrives at the Hammerstein Ballroom and it is sure to be an electric moment, despite numerous ROH booking issues in the past year. Whether or not Cole is still in ROH spilling into 2017, this could leave the possibility open for one of my two ideal Supercard of Honor XI main events. (Should Cole still be around, he gets his title rematch against the 15th Anniversary weekend, as I have something else in mind for Lakeland.)

For the first time ever, with the ROH Title on the line, Kyle O'Reilly battles Alberto el Patron in a true submission purist's dream match. Alberto is portrayed as something very special, pissed and wanting to prove himself as a top guy "like I truly belong to be no matter which company logos are plastered all over the arena." O'Reilly submits Alberto clean as a sheet in the middle of the ring, solidifying him as the true cornerstone of the company. ROH also strongly pushes the narrative before, during, and after this match, that O'Reilly pulled this off against not just a multiple-time AAA and WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but against the man that easily dispatched and brought John Cena's historic run in the US Title picture to a screeching halt, to truly convey what a major accomplishment this is. This match not only would help draw the Hispanic demographic, but also casual mainstream fans familiar with Alberto, and thus O'Reilly gets the rub from the result.

The closing match of the evening would be a singles encounter that's never taken place on Western Hemisphere soil. If NJPW is truly pissed at WWE still, then I believe that Supercard of Honor XI is the perfect opportunity to fire the biggest shot possible and use ROH to do so. WrestleMania 33 weekend promises to have many amazing matches, but objectively speaking, the Supercard of Honor XI main event I have in mind would be the weekend-stealer and probably quite easily. This is a match that could only happen if NJPW is willing to modify its Invasion Attack tour and PPV schedule, which is always the same time as WrestleMania weekend.

ROH is a company that was once significantly defined by epic rivalries. Styles vs. Daniels, Joe vs. Punk, Aries vs. Danielson, and Danielson vs. McGuinness are considered among the best competitive battles in company history. In 2016, the distinction for the greatest rivalry on the planet truly belongs to NJPW, which unlike ROH in the 2000s, has much bigger exposure for this particular rivalry. How about ROH play host to this rivalry? So it is with this in mind that I believe if possible, Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, should be the closing match of Supercard of Honor XI.

Both of these matches I believe would put a damper on whatever buzz NXT Takeover: Orlando will have, especially if that show is moved to Saturday night to once again attempt sabotaging ROH. So if O'Reilly vs. Alberto and Okada vs. Tanahashi wouldn't make WWE blink and grab Meltzer's attention, then NOTHING will. These 2 matches aren't expected for many reasons (particularly financial), but should either occur, that would be absolutely spectacular and would have me consider attending over the competition on that Saturday night. If both happen, you can bet your asses I'd be in attendance, even if it meant missing Bryan Danielson's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

[TowerOfDoom]

I think we might get O'Reilly vs KUSHIDA.

[WHG]

Sonic, as much as I disagree with much of your views on SCOH, I think the Okada vs Tanahashi match is a brilliant idea. Seeing that match live would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 99% of the potential audience in Orlando.

[Burnside]

I think we might get O'Reilly vs KUSHIDA.

We just had that in May.

[dhads7161]

PRGRESS is running with WWN, but aren't they part of the Highspots network? Highspots promotes Wrestlecon, you'd figure one of their partners would run with them.