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ROH SuperThread SPOILERS

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23,952
Been watching quite a bit of ROH recently after downloading the Fite TV app (thanks JR's podcast!). With their partnership with NJPW going strong, the recent influx of new & returning talent (and Impact Wrestling's seemingly never ending demise), and the large volume of ex-ROH talent in NXT + WWE, I thought I would start a thread focusing on ROH.

So, here goes...
 

Big Pete

Referee
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28,939
Not bad from ROH.

The Hardy Boys are a nice coup. They were the only acts in recent years to draw any sort of buzz from TNA and the Broken Matt Hardy gimmick maybe the most over persona in Pro Wrestling. It's also good timing as well since the Hardys fallout with TNA had been news-worthy so fans were always going to be interested to see where they ended up. I also have to commend ROH for putting the belts on them right away. One of the biggest complaints with ROH is that they play things too safe and tend to miss their window on certain stars. By putting the belts on the Hardys, it tells the audience that they're serious about this tag team and makes for a more compelling situation than having the Young Bucks defend the belts against the veterans.

The Bully Ray signing could go either way. I haven't been paying attention, but I hear he's a real heat magnet on social media and I think he can play that role well on television. As long as it's a short term deal and they put him with the right dance partners, I could see it working out.

My favourite act in ROH right now is the Television Champion Marty Scurll. I think he plays a sensational heel and wouldn't be surprised if he has the best catalogue of matches for ROH.
 
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2,839
Bully Ray in ROH intrigues me, will he be edging it up like his old ECW days? Like you said dude, the right opponent (Stan Hansen's favourite word haha) and it could be fire.
 

Big Pete

Referee
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28,939
I'd have him bully Cheeseburger and some of the Top Prospect Tournament candidates only to find himself one on one against Ospreay.

Castle would also work in the role, but Will seems like a more versatile performer and they need to give him things to do before the inevitable World Championship run.
 
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23,952
Bully Ray has signed a 1 year deal. No guide to how long the Hardys are signed for, but they aren't taking independent bookings from the start of May...

Bully Ray also has a big upside to the rest of the roster, being that compared to guys like Cole, Lethal, Daniels, etc, he is genuinely a big dude. Add in his gimmick from back in TNA, which he described as his ECW character but as a singles wrestler, and he could be a top heel that actually gets heat rather than being cool.

And I agree Big Pete, The Villain is awesome!
 

Big Pete

Referee
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28,939
One year is going to be tough...

He certainly has it in him. He had some great matches in TNA like his match at Slammiversary 2011 against AJ Styles and Sacrifice 2012 against Austin Aries. As long as you give him the right dance partner he'll carry his weight.

It's definitely a challenge for Delirious and Daniels. Hopefully they're up to it...
 
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2,839
Contrary to a lot of the "cool" lightweight heels though, he doesnt actually have to work a hell of a lot though. People will turn up just to hear him rant for 10 minutes and beat someone up. Big upside.
 

Big Pete

Referee
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28,939
The problem is the ROH audience doesn't know how to take these 'old school heels' and would rather just flick off than actually pay to see them get theirs.

For instance, I don't recall Matt Hardy doing gangbusters when he was brought into play a similar role and help groom Adam Cole into a star.
 
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23,952
I think the issue there was that people traditionally have been sympathetic to Matt Hardy over his career, particularly "smart" fans. Hardy was also Adam Cole's lacky as opposed to a rival, which is how Bully Ray will be coming in. And judging by the booking Bully Ray will be a face to begin with, which should help get the crowd right offside when he does eventually turn.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
I think the issue there was that people traditionally have been sympathetic to Matt Hardy over his career, particularly "smart" fans.

Believe it or not, there was a period of time right after his WWE release where Matt Hardy was about as popular as Mr. Anderson (ie not very). The problem was, Matt was acting out on the internet posting really dumb internet videos and around that time even teased committing suicide which really pissed fans off.

When he first signed, he was cited as another tone deaf signing by Cornette and fans weren't happy that one of the bright prospects was stuck working this back and forth feud with Matt. Especially since it wasn't producing any quality matches (which the ROH fanbase was obsessed with at the time).

Fortunately Matt is too talented to keep down for long, he started cutting some of the best promos in the company, took that form into TNA and then really upped the ante with the Broken Matt persona. As great as the Broken Matt persona is, I find his previous gimmicks highly underrated and feel he was one of the best heels in the biz who was unfortunately lost in the black hole that was TNA.

Anyways, caught the 15th Anniversary Show. Daniels finally did it and captured the ROH World Championship in a quality babyface vs heel match which saw Kazarian double cross the Bullet Club and help his Addiction buddy out. A really cool feel-good moment and it maybe one of the best title changes we see this year. I doubt Daniels will hold it for long, but considering how under-appreciated he's been, it's nice to finally remove that albatross from around his neck. He's no longer the independent Roddy Piper...

Other highlights include...

- Lethal and Fish working a tight 15 minute back and forth match. Fish telegraphed a lot of Lethal's big spots and they worked off the back of that, with Jay crashing into a guard-rail from a tope. I'm not a huge fan of Lethal's work but this was one of his better outings.

- Rush vs Scurll had it's moments. The way Rush moves around the ring reminds me a lot of Ultimo Dragon and Great Sasuke, just a very fluid performer that makes everything look as dramatic as it can be. I thought they were on their way to the match of the night until Rush escaped out of the Chicken Wing and they had this extended finish which Colt Cabana completely buried on commentary. I think you guys might be able to enjoy it more than me, but when matches drag on it bothers me.

- The triangle no-dq tag between Roppongi/Bucks/Hardys had it's share of highlights and lowlights. Again if you're a fan of these teams, you can jot this down as another fun outing. However, if you're a Debbie Downer like me and infrequent comedy spots take away from a violent championship match than it may temper your expectations.

Otherwise outside of Kazarian earning a TV Championship match, the rest of the show was just there. A lot of matches on the card just seemed to be booked for the express purpose of giving their guys something to do. The obvious lowlight was TK O'Ryan shattering his leg on the guard rail from a kamikaze dive from the outside. Only seemed like a matter of time before that would go horribly wrong and unfortunately for TK he felt the brunt of it.
 
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I remember those days with Hardy, he was a pretty serious drug addict for a while there. But his signing did help further storylines with both SCUM and The Kingdom. He was always best with Cole though, playing the Jack Victory role to the undersized champion.
 
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23,952
Also, while I feel sorry for Ryan, I am happy that this should mean much less Matt Tavern and The Kingdom. They get the instant scroll forward when they appear on the FITE app.
 
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At the most recent set of TV tapings coming out of the War of the Worlds PPV

Chuck Taylor debuted for the company, partnering with RPG Vice.

KUSHIDA def. Marty Scurll to win the ROH TV Title.
 
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23,952
Two title changes at Best in the World:

- Dalton Castle & The Boys def. Bully Ray & The Briscoes for the ROH 6 Man Tag Titles
- Cody Rhodes def. Christopher Daniels for the ROH World Title
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
The show wasn't half-bad either.

Kazarian delivered his best singles performance in his strap match against Hangman Page. The pair put together a tense brawl that kept escalating leading to a satisfying finish that put both men over. On a show where a lot of matches felt familiar it really stood out.

The crowd ate up the ROH Tag Title match. It was a fun non-stop spotfest but I was salty that we didn't get a straight War Machine v Young Bucks match. As soon as the Best Friends inserted themselves into the mix, I knew we were getting a WrestleKingdom style opener.
 

Big Pete

Referee
Messages
28,939
Matt Taven vs. Jeff Cobb from Best in the World 2019 maybe the worst World Championship match I've seen since Jeff Hardy vs. Sting Victory Road 2011.

Despite being pressed for time, they still slowed the match down to have a bunch of stall spots. Despite building Cobb up as this amazing wrestler, they had Taven beat him comprehensively with some of the most lackluster action I've seen. It was all Cobb early until Taven caught him on the apron with an arm-breaker. The rest of the match was Cobb slamming Taven around like a wounded animal, but eventually succumbing to his shoulder injury. Taven hit three penalty kicks and two Climaxes to take it out.

The building was only half-full (400 odd) and there was barely any reaction to the main event.
 
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23,952
I really like Jeff Cobb as a wrestler, he can do pretty much anything, solid promo, good ring presence, and looks legit. And there lies ROH’s problem for me - not a lot of legit looking wrestlers. Their main draws went and founded AEW, and they haven’t filled the gap. You have Cobb, The Briscoes, Bully Ray, Jay Lethal & Flip Gordon as their last real proper talents. The NWA affiliation really only helps the NWA, as Aldis, Storm, and Drake do not get much billing, and they haven’t really pushed Villian Enterprises as the Tag Champs or Sienna as the Women’s Champ on ROH broadcasts or taping ads. On top of that, they haven’t called in a lot of NJPW talent either which could help in the short term.

As for the “top draw” in their champion, I do not get the love for Matt Taven. Colourless, tasteless, just nothing. To me he plays wrestler rather than being a wrestler. Same can be said for Vinnie Marseglia. TK O’Ryan is the only one I really like the look of in The Kingdom.
 

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