sek69 Posted September 28, 2016 Report Share Posted September 28, 2016 What should ROH be doing though that Sinclair is hampering them in? Are you talking spending money? If so I would have agreed with your statement a couple years ago but given that the production is improved and they have enough clout to keep NJPW (and hopefully now CMLL) happy, I'm not sure what more they could be spending money on. Exposure maybe? Then I would agree with you. I had heard months ago that Sinclair was going to rebrand The Tennis Channel as American Sports Network and rumor was that ROH was going to have a 2 hour slot on there. ASN has been a thing for 2-3 years now but was more a content provider and not its own channel and SBG was looking to change that. Whether ROH benefits from a 2-hour cable slot in an already crowded cable TV industry is also debatable. I agree that the booking is stale & uninspired & my interest in ROH is probably at an all time low, but I think ROH has kind of settled into "they are what they are" at this point. Certainly they are going to be a breeding ground for guys on the rise to bigger & better things & use the occasional guy on the way back down. They are the only place to go to see NJPW & CMLL guys, so they have that niche. IF either of those is a money making niche at this point is debatable. They are laughably losing the battle of getting dream match indy guys now. It's been years, you could argue the entire Sinclair era, where PWG (and now Evolve) are totally blowing them out of the water with giving exposure to indy guys with actual buzz. So yeah the product & booking is stale but they seem to enjoy the spot they are in. It's more of a Japan booking philosophy where you kind of have to build a career there in order to reach the top of the card. Look how long it took Cole & O'Reilly to reach the top there. Whether that philosophy is conducive to the fast paced world of 2016 where guys look to make a name for themselves & move on in a few years, is debatable as well. But ROH has chosen a path and I would assume they are doing ok with it. Sinclair doesn't seem to see much point in signing guys to bigger money deals. You have guys leaving to go to TNA, which can't even afford to run their TV tapings/PPVs unless Billy writes another check, which tells me ROH isn't making much effort to keep guys. They seem to bank on guys who get over signing a deal with NJ to split the costs. It's not like it's the biggest issue with booking but it can't be easy to try to do the long term stories they like to do not knowing if the guys involved will still be around by the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Mark Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 It appears that ROH is finally getting serious about adding new talent to the roster. I would assume that Kevin Kelly has taken over the creative side of the company . So things seem to be getting done , while everything was seemed to be in a free fall before Kelly went full time and relocated to SBGI HQ . Keith Lee and Shane Taylor are finally get on A PPV and seemed to be full time , Lio Rush is full time Jason Kincaid has returned , Bull Dempsey is now being booked , Punisher Martinez is getting a small push and at least 3 more new talents are being add via the Kingdom gimmick. If ROH is to survive and grow developing new talent is imperative. Let's face ROH has not been proactive in adding new talent during the Delirious era ,.Gabe has been using his or Heyman's and/or Danielson WWE ties to kick ROH 's ass in the area of new talent development . Losing out on guys like Matt Riddle , Jeff Cobb, Tracy Williams and Fred Yehi , just to name a few , has been a big blow to ROH 's growth . Hopefully things are things around for the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blehschmidt Posted September 30, 2016 Report Share Posted September 30, 2016 Here is a link to that Christopher Daniels promo that I was talking about on the previous page. Like I said, Daniels is a guy that I enjoyed as a performer back in the early days of Ring of Honor and then kind of lost track of during his time in TNA. Haven't thought much of him during this tag run with Kazarian, but this promo made me pay attention. https://youtu.be/55Y_RKL4dK8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroBoy Posted October 3, 2016 Report Share Posted October 3, 2016 All Star Extravaganza is well worth checking out for anyone who hasn't. Kamaitachi vs. Dragon Lee continued their rivalry with a show-stealing match early in the card. Crazy brutal spots and hopefully these guys can be a focal point in ROH going forward. Ladder War was an amazing spectacle with some legitimately scary and brutal spots. It felt dangerous and important and was a breathtaking close to the show. Kyle O'Reilly and Hangman Page had a very solid little match. The six-man tag and four way tag matches were fun and showcased everyone involved. I would've preferred Dijak to beat Fish for the TV title but still a good showing for both guys in a good opener. Lethal going over Naito so strongly says good things about the relationship with NJPW and it was absolutely the right circumstance for Lethal to gain that kind of big win. This was a really good show and although the company has its share of faults, this show delivered in a big way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 I thought the ppv was great. No bad matches. Everyone worked hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luchaundead Posted October 7, 2016 Report Share Posted October 7, 2016 PPV was good but still a little of the bland oh it's ROH nothing matters feel but I will say it is getting better if they keep this up I could easily see that by Final Battle we could be looking a hot product that I'm very excited to watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 I love that Daniels promo. Maybe I should watch ROH? I only caught one episode randomly about 6 months ago and it was highlights of a big show with a lot of Japanese guys. Eh... Their TV is frustrating as fuck to follow. They'll be getting into a good groove heading into a big show and then you have to deal with a month or two of old content. That did happen this year, an unfortunate cost to budgeting a trip to Japan for shows (this is one that peachchaos caught - they were not good). But outside of using that footage in advance of Global Wars, they've covered post PPV tv gaps pretty well. The tag team turmoil episode, the philly tapings had two TVs in the bank to air after DBDH and now the Field of Honor shows. The deal with syndication is TV takes two weeks. Best solution there is an extra TV taping - the Philly one was perfect to keep all the momentum from the Best in the World tapings going through September. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Lethal going over Naito so strongly says good things about the relationship with NJPW and it was absolutely the right circumstance for Lethal to gain that kind of big win. This was a really good show and although the company has its share of faults, this show delivered in a big way. This was amazing to me - only because it seemed like Elgin dropped the IC belt because they knew he'd be jobbing to Cole. So to see Lethal go over Naito - man, I *really* hope this retires the narrative that ROH is NJPW's bitch (which is an ice-cold take anyway).Timothy and I talked about this on a Clotheslines & Headlines show back in August - Global Wars on has seen a stark shift in the booking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 Here is a link to that Christopher Daniels promo that I was talking about on the previous page. Like I said, Daniels is a guy that I enjoyed as a performer back in the early days of Ring of Honor and then kind of lost track of during his time in TNA. Haven't thought much of him during this tag run with Kazarian, but this promo made me pay attention. https://youtu.be/55Y_RKL4dK8 Daniels has had a really underrated 2016 imo. His singles work (mainly on their house shows + the exceptional match with Fish at SCOH N1) has been great. Tag work with MCMG, i thought they were the better team and really put together nice work earlier the year mixing it up with the Bucks (Philly 3/12 show with the triple threat tag). This ladder war was the cherry on top for both guys. They went balls out on the way to losing the belts. I went ****1/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 9, 2016 Report Share Posted October 9, 2016 It appears that ROH is finally getting serious about adding new talent to the roster. I would assume that Kevin Kelly has taken over the creative side of the company . So things seem to be getting done , while everything was seemed to be in a free fall before Kelly went full time and relocated to SBGI HQ Agreed. A lot of people are holding onto the (legit at the time mind you) grumblings back before Global Wars, but their solution was KK full-time to ease the load on Delirious and be a liaison to talent. That really started with The Best in the World TV tapings and the product has been exponentially better since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 30, 2016 Report Share Posted October 30, 2016 If you listen to This Week in Wrestling, Pete has really covered the whole War Machine vs. Lee and Taylor stuff - great feud that is def one of the more interesting things in the ROH product right now. TV match was very good and I like the booking. War Machine needed a win, it was a little out of nowhere and then Lee and Taylor immediately got the heat back with the chair. Pretty straight forward stuff. They did announce that these teams face-off in SanAntonio during SOTF weekend - no rules match, which feels like a No Contest building to a Fight Without Honor (third for the company this year) at Final Battle ,which would be exactly the same type match but with a definitive finish. I like that they're taking it on the road because you only have so much TV time per taping for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 That feud is my favorite thing going right now in ROH. The booking is right out of Crockett . It also helps that one of the teams is fresh in ROH. It seems ROH is going bigger in the talent dept. For example , Lee and Taylor, Punisher Martinez, and Jax Dane is working the Texas loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted October 31, 2016 Report Share Posted October 31, 2016 This freshened up War Machine a bit also. They've had an interesting year - that on paper seems really solid. They won the belts at Final Battle but really had tepid reactions from the crowd in the shows after. I haven't seen the ANX street fight, but they do a long and decent build to the Briscoes title defense (and validation of them as champs). That match is still my ROH match of the year for 2016 (I'm on an island!). So they peak as champs there and then cycle away from the belts , losing the next show to Addiction, but then segue into the Lee and Taylor stuff. The run seemed to stop abruptly, but the Lee/Taylor stuff certainly does not need a title involved. Kind of smart in hindsight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Mark Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 Anyone go to ROH in San Antonio last night ? Kinda of curious about the show . Plus any word on attendance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 I had tickets , but work got in the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted November 5, 2016 Report Share Posted November 5, 2016 I really want to go back to an ROH show. But absolutely zero about their lineups and programs looks appealing these days. Very flat promotion overall. I don't even quite understand why. There's enough talent on the roster that things should be interesting, but it seems to be in a perpetual funk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 Anyone go to ROH in San Antonio last night ? Kinda of curious about the show . Plus any word on attendance? I saw feedback from a guy who went to both Texas shows and they were seemingly really good. Arlington (new market - Thursday) attendance was meh, not sure on SA - pictures I saw seemed normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 I do think the lack of all those guys in Japan this week probably hurt sales as well. I mean we're talking Cole, Lethal and the Bucks. Big names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 Outside the War Machine vs. Lee/Taylor match -- this week's show caps the Lowell tapings pretty well with two of the best from that set. Dragon Lee/Fish is solid, but a lot purposely left on the table for their Final Battle match and the Kingdom/Bullet Club match got a lot of time (with a payoff to the Taven/Cole stuff from March). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
...TG Posted November 6, 2016 Report Share Posted November 6, 2016 FWIW, there was zero promotion that I saw in the area for the Arlington show. First I heard of it was seeing photos of the half-empty crowd on Twitter. Now granted, I wouldn't have gone even if I had known about it, but still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 I didn't think this had been noted anywhere, but in Michael Elgin's press release for his ROH-sponsored camp that he's doing in December (out of St. Louis vs. Bristol PA where the ROH ones are) he notes that Curt Stallion, one of his students/guys that did his camp prior, is in the 2017 Top Prospect tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted November 15, 2016 Report Share Posted November 15, 2016 Stallion is a good wrestler. I hope he goes far in the tournament. I think he could blossom into a Steve Corinio type worker . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Enthusiast Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 We are headed for a boom in the wrestling business if Michael Elgin is molding and supplying the next generation of wrestlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoe Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 I think Elgin has improved so much since working NJPW. He's a totally different wrestler from the guy going into the G1 for the 1st time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted November 16, 2016 Report Share Posted November 16, 2016 I'm glad they're looking outside the Northeast for top prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.