No Davey Richards this weekend

[ROHWorld_Steven]

Not sure if many people noticed (I know I didn't until last night) but Davey is again missing ROH events.

I don't think ROH have explained the absence but I guess he's in Japan like he was for 'Death Before Dishonor IX'.

What are people's thoughts on the ROH World Champion missing so many shows?

[McXal]

My honest opinion, at this stage in ROH's history, is that it's a necessary evil. The roster is spread so thin at the moment, and the aim of the game needs to be building up guys to be future potential main event workers.

At the moment, Davey, even missing a few shows, NEEDS to be champion. He's hands down the best worker in the company right now. Is on a crazily consistent streak of good/great matches and is the only guy ROH have on the roster to fill the 'Bryan Danielson' role of a few years ago whereby even in a crisis situation, you can throw Davey out, give him anyone on the roster and 20+ minutes to play with, and he'll produce a match which will sell DVD's.

Honestly, if not Davey, who else is there? Roddy and Eddie have experience, but as the most recent champions do we need to go back there? El Generico has potential to be a fun World Champion, and I could see it happening at some point. But right now ROH needs a quarter back. They don't need the champion being a plucky, fun-loving underdog right now.

There's a whole raft of guys who could potentially be champion one day (Elgin, King, O'Reilly, Cole, Ciampa etc) but none of them are ready yet, and could potentially flounder if pushed too hard too soon.

There are guys like Mike Bennett who could potentially be champion one day, but short of surrounding him with credible guys and a GREAT title storyline (as Gabe did with Xavier back in 2002) that would NEVER be accepted by the ROH fans.

So who are you left with. Haas and Benjamin going solo? Jay Briscoe winning one of his 48 million title shots? Honestly, until Kevin Steen gets back on the roster and gets a run at the belt (so you're talking spring 2012 at the earliest) it's hard to see ANYONE taking it from Richards and doing a better job even with his schedule.

At the moment, Davey is really the only viable and 'fresh' champion they have. He may miss some shows, but he NEEDS to be the guy carrying the company on his workrate right now. ROH's focus needs to be on building up guys like Elgin, King, O'Reilly and Ciampa to the point where they would be credible title contenders.

And it wouldn't help to bring in some legit main event talent to beef up their woefully sparse main event division right now. Yes, as ever, I mean bringing back Low Ki. Or if WWE continue to joke Chris Hero around, putting hands in the SBG pockets and offering him all the money he wants to commit to ROH long term etc

[dark patriot]

ive been waiting for them to bring in some new talent since the takeover.

[WrestlingMatters]

I've got no problem with Davey missing shows, who could he face anyway? he's come up against all the top guys in singles and tag matches. The only fresh big time match he has left is against Kevin Steen. Davey missing some shows here and there is a blessing in disguise that gives other guys a chance to shine.

[ninetwentyfour]

ive been waiting for them to bring in some new talent since the takeover.

Lethal, TJP, Jimmy Jacobs, Bucks, Coleman/Alexander...

[Marketh.]

ive been waiting for them to bring in some new talent since the takeover.

Lethal, TJP, Jimmy Jacobs, Bucks, Coleman/Alexander...

Jacobs returned on SOH VI, the day the SBG takeover was announced, so that must've been dealt with beforehand. TJP was a special attraction guy who was looking like he'd be signed sooner or later. Bucks would've definitely been back. Coleman/Alexander were occasional lowcard guys.

[ninetwentyfour]

ive been waiting for them to bring in some new talent since the takeover.

Lethal, TJP, Jimmy Jacobs, Bucks, Coleman/Alexander...

Jacobs returned on SOH VI, the day the SBG takeover was announced, so that must've been dealt with beforehand. TJP was a special attraction guy who was looking like he'd be signed sooner or later. Bucks would've definitely been back. Coleman/Alexander were occasional lowcard guys.

I don't disagree with most of this, but they're still acquisitions. Only thing I would disagree with is TJP. ROH was clearly not willing to bring him in regularly, but has signed him to a deal since the TV started. Not to mention they reportedly signed Mike Mondo, although I think that turned out not to be true. He did get a squash win on TV, though. Coleman/Alexander also didn't get deals until after the TV started airing.

I just think we're all still waiting, and becoming impatient, for something to happen in the super dry main event scene. We can only hope Steen is the answer, coupled with a Dark Generico type character.

But who exactly are we waiting for them to sign??? Low Ki? Super Dragon? Fit Finlay? They have been signing guys and just did another seminar which will likely produce a signee or two.

[ROHWorld_Harry]

ive been waiting for them to bring in some new talent since the takeover.

Lethal, TJP, Jimmy Jacobs, Bucks, Coleman/Alexander...

Jacobs returned on SOH VI, the day the SBG takeover was announced, so that must've been dealt with beforehand. TJP was a special attraction guy who was looking like he'd be signed sooner or later. Bucks would've definitely been back. Coleman/Alexander were occasional lowcard guys.

When we spoke with TJP for our podcast, I'm pretty sure he said that contract negotiations had been going on since March. So you're right, his signing was nothing to do with SBG.

[cviens]

For those who aren't aware, his absence is because he'll be working over in NJPW this weekend. He's facing Prince Devitt for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship.

[syxxpakk]

Getting kind of aggravated by it, honestly. The company needs him as he kind of one of their top draws. If it's always going to be like this, then strap the damn rocket to Eddie Edwards.

[dougiefresh605]

I think ROH will do good with Davey this weekend. After all, he has a huge rematch against Devitt on Sunday for the IWGP Jr. Title. And the show where he has a title shot is a PPV in Japan, so it's a valid reason since it's a bigger show.

[ColourMeCurious]

I'm okay with him missing shows. Just look at UFC; does every champion defend on PPV? No! Are all the chanpions even on every PPV, let alone house shows? Of course not! A champion doesn't need to defend his title every 2 weeks, IMO.

[icyhot]

Nothing against Davey, but I'd be happy with Eddie Edwards winning the belt back at Final Battle. I think at this point he's almost as credible as Davey, but would miss less shows. Then instead of doing Steen/Richards for the title, they could do Steen/Richards for a title shot down the road and have Steen win that and feud with Eddie over the title. Just a thought.
But back on point, I don't really have a problem with Davey missing shows as long long as he makes the big ones. Him missing the last ppv hurt that show in my opinion. Davey missing DVD tapings? Not a big deal in my opinion.

[JSWO]

I had no idea he wasn't even on the cards. That comes from having two shows with loaded and unique line ups.

[davew00d]

Top ROH wrestlers working in Japan isn't really anything new or out-of-the-ordinary. It's a non-issue, if you ask me.

ROH benefits far more, exposure-wise, from having Davey wrestle Devitt in NJPW, than having him wrestle on B-shows in the Carolinas. Plus, Davey gets paid far more for wrestling in NJPW, which is a much larger, more important organisation. If not for Japanese bookings, these guys could well be looking for an alternative career, let alone missing one or two shows.

ROH has been very fortunate, over the years, to have had so many top gaijins working regularly for the promotion.

Nothing against Davey, but I'd be happy with Eddie Edwards winning the belt back at Final Battle. I think at this point he's almost as credible as Davey, but would miss less shows.

Eddie missed all of this January, whilst holding the TV title. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes away this coming January too.

FWIW Roderick Strong missed BITW this year and also missed shows when he was World Champion. You won't find a single top ROH wrestler that hasn't done the same and won't do the same in the future.

[dougiefresh605]

Speaking of no Davey, why isn't Kyle O'reilly booked for this weekends shows?

[cviens]

Speaking of no Davey, why isn't Kyle O'reilly booked for this weekends shows?

Either he's wrestling other shows, asked for the weekend off, or simply wasn't booked are my guesses. And he may very well be booked in the 20-man battle royal seeing as the competitors aren't listed for that.

[syxxpakk]

It's all good and well for them to miss shows on the ROH of yesterday, but the ROH of today that's on SBG that's trying to be more than a niche product needs stars to be at shows so that new fans who tune in and become fans of guys like Davey Richards will be enticed to see live shows or buy DVDs of live shows because he's on them.

[cviens]

Unfortunately you're just going to have to get used to the fact that ROH stars like Davey Richards won't be on every single show due to other commitments and that's probably the way it's going to be for a long time, if it ever changes.

[syxxpakk]

That's why I'm saying if this is how it's going to be, then they need to move on to someone else - because, frankly, they'll be able to capitalize on him the way they need to.