ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

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Wilson
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ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

For the next three days, we will look at many of the touchstones of the past calendar year in ROH, in both the tone of a fan of the product as well as integral to the larger voice of the board.

The awards below will be conducted via written response in this thread. Up to three candidates can be awarded, using a tiered scoring system, 5 Points (greatest candidate), 3 Points, and 1 Point (lowest of the three candidates). Write-ins for candidates not suggested in each category are very much encouraged. All categories are to be ROH-focused, in which work from other promotions should bear little influence. Voting in this thread will be open for one week.

I have written a short summarizing statement for each category. If this hack editorializing fails to provide clarity, then please vote to the best of one’s conscience!

I would also like to provide a special thanks to 187_Joeism, AlexROH, Big Red Machine and Brada for their help editing these categories.

Let your voice be heard:

Most Improved

Improvement is marked by the changes made in terms of the talent themselves and in the way they are presented in contrast to last year.

• Adam Page
• The Addiction
• Bobby Fish
• Dalton Castle
• Donovan Dijak
• Silas Young
• War Machine
• Will Ferrara

Breakout Wrestler(s)

A wrestler that breaks out is one that has been in the company less than two years and of whom ROH would heretofore be considered one of their greatest platforms of exposure. This category may also be used to signify whom to most look out for in 2017, in ROH or otherwise.

Dalton Castle is intentionally excluded from this list because he was effectively the Breakout Wrestler of 2015. Will Ospreay is also excluded because he broke out in other promotions of a commensurate or bigger scale. Of course, these talents may still be written in.

• Donovan Dijak
• Kamaitachi
• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor
• Lio Rush
• Jay White
• “Punishment” Damien Martinez

Best Non-Roster Wrestler

To qualify as a non-roster wrestler is an odd discussion. Below are wrestlers that are not under contract to ROH and do not appear in a continuous stream of bookings.

Excluded are excursion talents, Colt Cabana, Marty Scurll, and Will Ospreay, as I don’t think they do not meet the criteria. Of course, these talents may still be written in.

• Cody
• Dragon Lee
• Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Jason Kincaid
• Jonathan Gresham
• Katsuyori Shibata
• Kazuchika Okada
• KUSHIDA
• Michael Elgin
• Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii

Most Underrated Match

Combining both Live Event shows and TV programming, this category awards matches that were underrated in their ability to example workrate and storytelling in their time and place allowed. As a reminder, please do not vote for a match one has not seen.

• Roderick Strong vs. Jonathan Gresham (ROH on SBG #231)
• Lio Rush vs. Punisher Martinez (ROH on SBG #232)
• Adam Cole vs. KUSHIDA (ROH on SBG #237)
• Tetsuya Naito vs ACH (War of the Worlds New York)
• Alex Shelley vs. Lio Rush (Road to Best in the World Collinsville)
• ACH vs Kamaitachi vs Lio Rush vs Roderick Strong vs Jason Kincaid vs Will Ferrara (Road to Best in the World Indianapolis)
• Jay Briscoe vs. Moose (Road to Best in the World Indianapolis)
• Adam Cole vs. Lio Rush (Road to Best in the World 2016 Columbus)
• Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH on SBG #253)
• Jay White vs. Lio Rush (Aftershock Baltimore)
• Kamaitachi vs. Stuka Jr. (ROH on SBG #257)
• Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham (Reloaded Tour Duluth)
• Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham (ROH on SBG #271)
• The Addiction vs. The Briscoes (ROH on SBG #271)

Best Moment

In which one votes for the moment that was most satisfying.

• The ROH World Title is defended at Wrestle Kingdom 10
• Tomohiro Ishii wins the TV Title in Japan on live broadcast
• Colt Cabana returns at Supercard of Honor Night 1 to challenge Jay Lethal
• Adam Cole joins the Bullet Club
• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor debut by costing War Machine their Tag Team Title rematch
• Adam Page defeats Jay Briscoe in a large upset
• Adam Cole regains the World Title, and is soon confronted by Kyle O’Reilly
• Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll become TV Title holders during the UK tour
• Cody low blows Jay Lethal in order to win his ROH debut match; post-match, he produces mayhem and his heel turn fully materializes
• #BROKEN Matt Hardy casts a premonition directed at the Bucks of Youth
• Kyle O’Reilly wins the World Title by defeating Adam Cole

Best Character(s)

Best Character embodies how the talent present themselves in interviews and matches as well as the representative stories that narrate them.

• Adam Cole
• The Addiction
• Bobby Fish
• Dalton Castle
• Jay Briscoe
• Jay Lethal
• Matt Taven
• The Young Bucks
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

Most Improved
War Machine – 5 Points
Bobby Fish – 3 Points
Donovan Dijak – 1 Point

Breakout Wrestler(s)
Lio Rush – 5 Points
Keith Lee & Shane Taylor – 3 Points
Donovan Dijak – 1 Point

Best Non-Roster Wrestler
Tomohiro Ishii – 5 Points
Jonathan Gresham – 3 Points
KUSHIDA – 1 Point

Most Underrated Match
The Addiction vs. The Briscoes (ROH on SBG #271) – 5 Points
Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH on SBG #253) – 3 Points
Adam Cole vs. KUSHIDA (ROH on SBG #237) – 1 Points

Best Moment
Tomohiro Ishii wins the TV Title – 5 Points
Colt Cabana returns at Supercard of Honor – 3 Points
Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll become TV Title holders during the UK tour – 1 Point

Best Character(s)
Bobby Fish – 5 Points
Adam Cole – 3 Points
Dalton Castle – 1 Point
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by FanSinceHDNet »

Most Improved

• Adam Page
• The Addiction
• Bobby Fish - 3 points
• Dalton Castle
• Donovan Dijak
• Silas Young - 5 points
• War Machine
• Will Ferrara - 1 points

Breakout Wrestler(s)

A wrestler that breaks out is one that has been in the company less than two years and of whom ROH would heretofore be considered one of their greatest platforms of exposure. This category may also be used to signify whom to most look out for in 2017, in ROH or otherwise.

Dalton Castle is intentionally excluded from this list because he was effectively the Breakout Wrestler of 2015. Will Ospreay is also excluded because he broke out in other promotions of a commensurate or bigger scale. Of course, these talents may still be written in.

• Donovan Dijak
• Kamaitachi - 1 point
• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor - 3 points
• Lio Rush
• Jay White - 5 points
• “Punishment” Damien Martinez

Best Non-Roster Wrestler

To qualify as a non-roster wrestler is an odd discussion. Below are wrestlers that are not under contract to ROH and do not appear in a continuous stream of bookings.

Excluded are excursion talents, Colt Cabana, Marty Scurll, and Will Ospreay, as I don’t think they do not meet the criteria. Of course, these talents may still be written in.

• Cody
• Dragon Lee
• Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Jason Kincaid
• Jonathan Gresham - 1 point
• Katsuyori Shibata
• Kazuchika Okada
• KUSHIDA - 5 points
• Michael Elgin
• Tetsuya Naito
• Tomohiro Ishii - 3 points

Most Underrated Match

Combining both Live Event shows and TV programming, this category awards matches that were underrated in their ability to example workrate and storytelling in their time and place allowed. As a reminder, please do not vote for a match one has not seen.

• Roderick Strong vs. Jonathan Gresham (ROH on SBG #231)
• Adam Cole vs. KUSHIDA (ROH on SBG #237)
• Tetsuya Naito vs ACH (War of the Worlds New York)
• Alex Shelley vs. Lio Rush (Road to Best in the World Collinsville)
• ACH vs Kamaitachi vs Lio Rush vs Roderick Strong vs Jason Kincaid vs Will Ferrara (Road to Best in the World Indianapolis) 5 points
• Jay Briscoe vs. Moose (Road to Best in the World Indianapolis)
• Adam Cole vs. Lio Rush (Road to Best in the World 2016 Columbus) - 1 point
• Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH on SBG #253) - 3 points
• Jay White vs. Lio Rush (Aftershock Baltimore)
• Kamaitachi vs. Stuka Jr. (ROH on SBG #257)
• Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham (Reloaded Tour Duluth)
• Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham (ROH on SBG #271)
• The Addiction vs. The Briscoes (ROH on SBG #271)

Best Moment

In which one votes for the moment that was most satisfying.

• The ROH World Title is defended at Wrestle Kingdom 10
• Tomohiro Ishii wins the TV Title in Japan on live broadcast
• Colt Cabana returns at Supercard of Honor Night 1 to challenge Jay Lethal - 1 point
• Adam Cole joins the Bullet Club
• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor debut by costing War Machine their Tag Team Title rematch - 5 points
• Adam Page defeats Jay Briscoe in a large upset
• Adam Cole regains the World Title, and is soon confronted by Kyle O’Reilly
• Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll become TV Title holders during the UK tour
• Cody low blows Jay Lethal in order to win his ROH debut match; post-match, he produces mayhem and his heel turn fully materializes
• #BROKEN Matt Hardy casts a premonition directed at the Bucks of Youth - 3 points
• Kyle O’Reilly wins the World Title by defeating Adam Cole

Best Character(s)

Best Character embodies how the talent present themselves in interviews and matches as well as the representative stories that narrate them.

• Adam Cole
• The Addiction
• Bobby Fish - 5 points
• Dalton Castle
• Jay Briscoe - 1 point
• Jay Lethal
• Matt Taven - 3 points
• The Young Bucks
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by AlexROH »

Most Improved:
- Dijak 5
- Page 3
- Silas Young 1

Breakout wrestler
- Lee & Taylor 5
- Kamaitachi 3
- Lio Rush 1

Best non-roster wrestler
- Ishii 5
- Gresham 3
- Shibata 1

Most Underated Match
- Naito vs ACH 5
- White vs Rush 3
- Bucks vs Cabana/Lethal - Road to BITW Tag War Finals 1

Best Moment
- Cole joins BC 5
- Cabana returns at SCOH X 3
- Page defeats Jay Briscoe 1

Best character
- Bobby Fish 5
- Adam Cole 3
- Castle 1
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Brada »

Most Improved
Adam Page 5
Donovan Dijak 3
Silas Young 1

Breakout Wrestler
Lio Rush 5
Jay White 3
Keith Lee/Shane Taylor 1

Non Roster Wrestler
Naito 5
Kushida 3
Shibata 1

Underrated Match
Naito/ACH 5
Cole/KUSHIDA 3
Addiction/Briscoes 1

Best Moment
Cole joins Bullet Club 5
Cody heel turn at FB 3
#BROKEN Matt Hardy promo at FB 1

Best Character
Adam Cole 5
Bobby Fish 3
Addiction 1
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Big Red Machine »

Most Improved
Jay Lethal- 5 (was better in the ring this year, and presented MUCH better than last year)
War Machine- 3- matches improved, presentation has stayed the same
1-? (waiting until I see Silas vs. Cole to judge for Silas. I would have given this spot to Dijak but then I saw the October booking)

Breakout Wrestler(s)
Jay White- 5
Lee & Taylor-3
Lio Rush- 1

Best Non-Roster Wrestler
KUSHIDA- 5
Elgin- 3
Tomohiro Ishii- 1(loathe as I am to admit it. Hopefully the main event of Field of Honor puts Naito back up over him, LOL)

Most Underrated Match
Adam Cole & The Young Bucks vs. Lethal, Cabana, & Castle (Reloaded Tour: Pittsburgh)- 5
Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong (Road to Best in the World 2016: Columbus)- 3
Christopher Daniels vs. Jay White (Reloaded Tour: Pittsburgh)- 1

Best Moment
Cabana returns- 5
Kyle wins the world title- 3
Cody heel turn- 1

Best Character(s)
Adam Cole- 5
Jay Briscoe- 3
Jay Lethal- 1
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

Big Red Machine wrote:Most Improved
Jay Lethal- 5 (was better in the ring this year, and presented MUCH better than last year)
I’m surprised to read this. Jay Lethal had a pretty quiet beginning of 2016, then had some really good performances near the end of the year, but I don’t think it’s a quantifiable improvement from last year (which I thought was a really good period for him).

Do you think Lethal was somewhat underachieving in 2015 or are you more in the alignment that he had a career-high year in workrate?
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by AlexROH »

Most Underrated Match
Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong (Road to Best in the World 2016: Columbus)- 3
I really wanted to see and like this match. They gave Moose and Briscoe 25 minutes. The reviews I've read are awesome, but man, I've tried to watch the match three different times and I always stop watching it between minute 10 or 15. Argh, the thing is that I like both wrestlers, but the match... idk.
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Big Red Machine »

AlexROH wrote:
Most Underrated Match
Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong (Road to Best in the World 2016: Columbus)- 3
I really wanted to see and like this match. They gave Moose and Briscoe 25 minutes. The reviews I've read are awesome, but man, I've tried to watch the match three different times and I always stop watching it between minute 10 or 15. Argh, the thing is that I like both wrestlers, but the match... idk.
I don't understand people who think the Moose match was better. It wasn't a bad match by any means (it was pretty great, IMO), but the Roddy match was definitely a level above it.
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Big Red Machine »

Wilson wrote:
Big Red Machine wrote:Most Improved
Jay Lethal- 5 (was better in the ring this year, and presented MUCH better than last year)
I’m surprised to read this. Jay Lethal had a pretty quiet beginning of 2016, then had some really good performances near the end of the year, but I don’t think it’s a quantifiable improvement from last year (which I thought was a really good period for him).

Do you think Lethal was somewhat underachieving in 2015 or are you more in the alignment that he had a career-high year in workrate?
He had a better year this year in terms of workrate for sure (despite the sub-par start), but I thought his presentation this year (especially once the face turn started) was MILES ahead of last year. That whole "four title defenses in his first six months" thing really irked me. This year he felt like a real champion, which multiple people chasing him and real stories, with his intermediate matches not having such sh*tty finishes.
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

Jay Lethal- 5 (was better in the ring this year, and presented MUCH better than last year)

Goodness, me. I just didn't read your post right, conveniently skipping over the much-important "than" in your original post. Now I completely understand your point.

Only because our tastes always clash, I will mention that I thought he was presented better last year because he was gaining momentum and felt like a star. This year he was booked well, insofar as being protected as a strong champion. In right about September 2015, ROH did that thing, which they have a terrible knack of performing, where they build up a champion and forget to subsequently compliment them with well-built challengers (IMO).

Though the way Lethal was used and his babyface turn disappointed me this year, I still see a lot of upside in him in the company for next year (presuming he stays). Considering how much the company has invested in him and his developing role in New Japan, we can see a institutional babyface figure that we haven't had in a while (like Joe, Danielson, and Steen once they became post-champion gatekeepers).
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Big Red Machine »

Wilson wrote:Jay Lethal- 5 (was better in the ring this year, and presented MUCH better than last year)

Goodness, me. I just didn't read your post right, conveniently skipping over the much-important "than" in your original post. Now I completely understand your point.

Only because our tastes always clash, I will mention that I thought he was presented better last year because he was gaining momentum and felt like a star. This year he was booked well, insofar as being protected as a strong champion. In right about September 2015, ROH did that thing, which they have a terrible knack of performing, where they build up a champion and forget to subsequently compliment them with well-built challengers (IMO).
I never thought Jay was build particularly well. His build seemed to be more about setting up for Kyle taking the belt from him, and if it wasn't for the fact that Lethal had the TV Title, I think the Lethal-Briscoe match would have felt much smaller. Aside from Kyle, Lethal didn't really have any well-build challengers for the TV Title either, and kept having to cheat to win when he shouldn't have needed to. Now, if this was being done in order to set up some challengers for him after he won the world title that would be one thing, but none of those dirty finishes ever lead to anything. Once he got the world title, it was just six more moths of Jay Briscoe's boring title reign where we build up a challenger for the next PPV or similarly big show and did absolutely nothing with him otherwise (if we were lucky we got some sort of bullsh*t random #1 contendership match tonight for a title shot later on" type of deal). Lethal was like that but even worse. The gimmick was supposed to be that he might have to defend both belts on the same night, but that only happened ONCE in the four months he was a double champion, and he only had FOUR world title defenses in six months, which is completely unacceptable for an ROH World Champion... and three of those four defenses came BEFORE he lost the TV Title, so it's not like he was busy doing anything else. He had no challengers for the world title belt, and whenever he defended either belt, he couldn't win clean, even when all logic dictated that he should have. In 2015 Jay Lethal was a paper champion.
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by JigsawVs.Jason »

Most Improved:
- Dijak 5
- Page 3
- War Machine 1

Breakout wrestler
- Lio Rush 5
- Jay White 3
- Lee & Taylor 1



Best non-roster wrestler
- Shibata 5
- Ishii 3
- Naito 1

Most Underated Match
- Jay Lethal vs. Kyle O’Reilly (ROH on SBG #253) 5
- Adam Cole & The Young Bucks vs. Lethal, Cabana, & Castle (Reloaded Tour: Pittsburgh) 3
- Adam Cole vs. Lio Rush (Road to Best in the World 2016 Columbus) 1

Best Moment
- Cole joins BC 5
- O'Reilly wins World Championship 3
- Ospreay and Scrull win the TV belt 1

Best character
- Bobby Fish 5
- Adam Cole 3
- Young Bucks 1
"If anyone complains about how today's pro wrestling isn't as good as the past and isn't watching New Japan, their opinions have no validity." ~ Dave Meltzer
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Rich of Honor »

[quote="Wilson"]For the next three days, we will look at many of the touchstones of the past calendar year in ROH, in both the tone of a fan of the product as well as integral to the larger voice of the board.

Most Improved

Improvement is marked by the changes made in terms of the talent themselves and in the way they are presented in contrast to last year.

• Donovan Dijak-3
• Silas Young-5
• War Machine-1

Breakout Wrestler(s)

• Donovan Dijak-3
• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor-5
• Lio Rush-1

Best Non-Roster Wrestler

• Jason Kincaid-1
• KUSHIDA-5
• Tetsuya Naito-3

Most Underrated Match

• Jay White vs. Lio Rush (Aftershock Baltimore)-3
• Kamaitachi vs. Stuka Jr. (ROH on SBG #257)-1
• Donovan DIjak vs. Jason Kincaid-5

Best Moment

• Keith Lee & Shane Taylor debut by costing War Machine their Tag Team Title rematch-1
• Cody low blows Jay Lethal in order to win his ROH debut match; post-match, he produces mayhem and his heel turn fully materializes-3
• Kyle O’Reilly wins the World Title by defeating Adam Cole-5

Best Character(s)
• Adam Cole-5
• Bobby Fish-1
• Dalton Castle-3
• Jay Lethal-1

Thanks foe doing this. Fun and Challenging at the same time.
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

Results of Day 1

Most Improved: Donovan Dijak
Image

Breakout Wrestler(s): Keith Lee & Shane Taylor
Image

Best Non-Roster Wrestler: KUSHIDA
Image

Most Underrated Match: Tetusya Naito vs. ACH (War of the Worlds New York)
Image

Best Moment: Adam Cole joins the Bullet Club
Image

Best Character(s): Bobby Fish
Image
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Re: ROH in Review 2016 - Day 1

Post by Wilson »

What a difference six months makes.

Ouch.
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