supersonic

I will allow everyone else to address WWE, WCW, and TNA for this particular topic; I'll instead be making numerous ROH contributions. Firstly, the Group of 2003 led by Steve Corino. Many will first point to the faction's uncreative name and have a giggle, but that was the least of its problems. While the individual members were solid with new sensation Samoa Joe, terrific heel Michael Shane (ROH's best before CM Punk's feud against Raven), and ECW alumnus CW Anderson, there was no real substantial purpose behind this faction. Forget that Corino had other commitments such as Zero-One at this point in his career and Xavier had a lengthy absence due to a concussion; who the hell was aching to see Corino, Joe, Shane, & Anderson feud against the Prophecy of Dan Maff, Xavier, Donovan Morgan, & Christopher Daniels? It was tedious from inception and the entire idea should've been aborted on the scrapping room floor. Gabe Sapolsky and ROH ought to be highly thankful for the Raven vs. Punk and Corino vs. Homicide feuds boiling in 2003, otherwise this Group vs. Prophecy angle would've had many questioning Sapolsky's storytelling abilities. The Embassy 2009-2014 were an absolutely useless faction that provided the most minimal value even for match quality. At its best, it was harmless for members; at its worst, it stalled momentum for many. As soon as Prince Nana left the company in 2006, there was never any reason to resurrect the faction; just leave the tremendous memories alone from the feuds against CM Punk, AJ Styles, and Generation Next, and find something fresh for Nana to do when he makes his various returns since 2009, especially since the company couldn't be bothered to have Nana becomes the Kings of Wrestling's mouthpiece at the expense of Shane Hagadorn. Another lousy Sapolsky idea was in 2007 when he went in a faction warfare direction; this was due to the success that company partner Dragon Gate had with it. By focusing so much on what were mostly useless factions, the product suffered overall especially with lack of detail for Nigel McGuinness's chase to the top. Such ROH factions formed in 2007 include: The Resilience - led by Austin Aries, other members included dry personalities Matt Cross & Erick Stevens Hangmen Three - led by often ennui-inducing Adam Pearce, other members included dry personalities Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer Vulture Squad - led by Jack Evans, other members Ruckus and Jigsaw, with Julius Smokes as their mouthpiece after Homicide's departure. This particular faction has the worst opening sound effect I've ever heard for a wrestling theme; fortunately for you, I'm unable to find it online to share. The faction warfare fell apart for a number of reasons by 2008, never resulting in anything monumental. Ultimately though, it was something that should've been aborted on the scrapping room floor; even if better decisions had been made with it, such as keeping the Kings of Wrestling together as part of Larry Sweeney's Sweet 'N Sour Inc and Aries recruiting newcomers Kevin Steen & El Generico in his war against Roderick Strong's No Remorse Corps. The result was a year that showed a STEEP decline in Sapolsky's storytelling performance and many on the ROH roster suffered for it with lousy or even no directions, such as McGuinness as already mentioned, as well as Steen & Generico after their feud ended against the Briscoes.

ROH 2002-03 - Paul London should've gotten the nod to dethrone Low Ki and then been dethroned by Samoa Joe as he left the company. He was the company's Shawn Michaels in the company's first year and a half of existence, and there was plenty of money in him defending the title against Michael Shane, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, etc. ROH 2007 - Nigel McGuinness should've dethroned Homicide in the UK rather than going with the Takeshi Morishima experiment. Since there was no promise of a UK return that year, the trigger should've been pulled to give McGuinness the biggest coronation available in his home country. Sapolsky made very bad "gambling" decisions as he describes them in early 2007, with the hope that delaying big moments would pay off later that year. By starting the McGuinness reign on top in March 2007, that likely would've opened up directions for fresher names to dethrone him entering 2008, rather than the very creatively stale product of the time despite the awesome workrate provided by the loaded roster. ROH 2007 - Steen & Generico should've not just been the first team to win a fall against the Briscoes clean sweep 2/3 falls gimmick, but should've also dethroned them that year, rather than waiting until 2008. Steen & Generico came out of the Briscoes feud without another hot feud until the American Wolves in 2009, which is inexcusable. ROH 2008 - Tyler Black should've won the ROH Title at Final Battle over Nigel McGuinness, rather than the idiocy of attempting to cash in on the Wrestler with Randy the Ram lookalike Jerry Lynn. Sapolsky refused to crown Lynn based on his failure to draw while ECW Champion, and it was one of the reasons he got fired by then-owner Cary Silkin. Low and behold, Lynn bombed as ROH champion to kick off the HDNet era and it did severe damage to Black's chase, drawing major comparisons to Lex Luger in 1993-94. NXT 2015 - Enzo & Cass instead of Vaudevillains win the Tag Titles. This is an absolute no-brainer for what I call Team NY. Enzo & Cass have so much upside as well not just in dethroning Blake & Murphy, but in transitioning to the Revival feud in which they lose the titles. WWE 2015 - Kevin Owens should've been the one to dethrone John Cena for the US Title in lengthy feud ending inside Hell in a Cell, with Owens also having the bragging rights of putting Cena on the shelf as the storyline reason for the company franchise to take time off. Nobody has given one single emotional shit about Alberto Del Rio since his return at Hell in a Cell 2015; exactly who and what should be blamed for that is a discussion for another time.

Be ready for more of it. I change for no one.

Awful comparison as Reigns can work and is far more over than 20 years ago.

As the VoW honchos say, I hate it when exciting things happen in matches, especially when it tells a story of competitors pushing each other to the limit and picking up on one another's habits and arsenal.

Final Battle 2004 - December 26, 2004

All Star Extravaganza II - December 4, 2004

Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies - August 16, 2003