ThROH The Years: A ROH retrospective podcast

[Hobbes]

On the new ThROH The Years we are almost at the end of 2006, starting the last double shot of events with International Challenge. It's a show with one of the scariest injuries in ROH history, the debut of a great manager, and not one, but two dated Iron Sheik references. Christopher Daniels charms us, and we sum up the dry winter of 06. GET READY FOR FINAL BATTLE.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/7b762f50-4d50-43b5-ae42-43c1cb99aa94

[Hobbes]

It's finally time The 2006 Year-End Show! After fourty-two episodes and over two years, we have come to the end of the year, and we cover the fantastic final show on '06, Final Battle and then give you our annual year end wrap up show full of awards, reflections, and groaning at Dave Meltzer half compliments. One of our biggest shows ever, roughly five hours. If you eat the whole thing in one sitting we put your picture on the wall.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/785873de-793f-4789-adfd-00a600e236cb

[Hobbes]

ThROH The Years finally starts their coverage of 2007 with our season premier! We spend a lot of time going over the coverage of the untimely passing of ROH co-founder Doug Gentry, an unheralded part of wrestling history. We then review Dedicated, a show we had a surprisingly good time watching, with an insane clap, a big goose egg, and a revelation that Trevor has never watched Good Times.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/8c9ed117-3fb6-4cc0-9d1a-0700fe2eed86

[Hobbes]

Vomit, Grandmothers, doing the splits. On one of the weirder ThROH The Years we cover all these topics and more, as we review a fairly bizarre show known as The Battle of the Icons. Strange booking choices, violent gimmick matches, and a main event for the ages. Take your Gravol and settle in.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/9dd0077f-8d6d-4951-95bc-d3e4f152442f

[Hobbes]

The good times are here. On a new ThROH The Years, Matt and Trevor review the start of the Fifth Year Festival with their New York show. We talk about the beginning of Samoa Joe's ROH farewell tour and all of the reasonings behind it. We talk about the ROH in-ring debut of Takeshi Morishima and where he stood in the business at this point. Austin Aries almost dies twice and Jimmy Rave and Homicide have a hidden gem career highlight that we demand you watch. All that and talk about seasonal PPVs and a PSA to seek help. This is one of the big fancy eps, if you miss it Matt will be saying NOOOOOO.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-th...1-492cc8b14d29

[Hobbes]

Whoa, a lot happens on this episode. We review the Fifth Year Festival: Philly, a show with a very significant main event, a match that changes the lives of Kevin Steen and El Generico, two horrific injuries and one heck of a hat and jacket combo. We fill the rest with old TV references and end by announcing a special new episode. This ain't Seinfeld, but you'll love it just as much.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/a485f322-38c5-4dd8-8784-506a684d4a6d

[Hobbes]

It's time for a ThROH The Years special event! We bring you a dragon-sized career retrospective of ROH alumni Bryan Danielson. Many past ThROH The Years guests return to share their thoughts and we run down Bryan's entire career, before ending with a return of the classic podcast, List 'Em and Learn, as Matt and Trevor give their own top ten lists of favorite Danielson matches ever. A Final Countdown if you will.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/b734f5d3-7eec-47f9-a866-b13791bfc840

[Hobbes]

On the new ThROH The Years, Matt and Trevor have plenty to be thankful for. We cover the Fifth Year Festival: Dayton show, featuring one of the most brutal kicks we've ever seen, a strange and warm embrace, a guitar being de-strung, a career night for a plucky underdog, and so much more. Sit down at the table, it's time to eat.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/02103194-e40c-4d59-8191-b97ae77925aa

[Hobbes]

On a Holiday Season ThROH The Years, the guys gift you with some special deja vu pizza talk before getting into The Fifth Year Festival: Chicago. It's a show with whistles, one of the bloodiest brawls in ROH history, one of the emotional moments in the first five years of the promotion. Matt and Trevor remember times they've bled and pies they've ate and a good time is had by all. There is no need for the Tear Police to be called in, you'll be all smiles this episode.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/725ce27f-fe79-4b73-9434-1885239a1b85

[Hobbes]

ThROH The Years bursts into 2025 to cover The Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool. A huge show with some great matches, some big time emotional crowd reactions in the final two matches, and the return of chanting at a kid about his bedtime. All this and Trevor gets puzzled by a new ROH mystery. Happy New Year!

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/68c99e54-71e6-4561-a867-754ff9d9efb6

[Hobbes]

On a bittersweet ThROH The Years, Matt and Trevor say farewell to Samoa Joe when they review Fifth Year Festival: Finale. One of our favorite shows we've watched, with so many top level matches. We then sum up Joe's ROH career. All this and the boys discover we have two jaw bones. Did you know that? We didn't.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/b3fa28a9-1130-4218-ac29-0d63d081b4aa

[Hobbes]

New ThROH The Years! We cover a great Jack Evans vs. Roddy match, a terrifying injury, and Christopher Daniels pubes. https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/c89999b1-b137-4e08-9459-b6faabe5da2b

[Hobbes]

WrestleMania season is here and we're covering the Mania weekend ROH show Supercard of Honor 2. We explain how it's a legit sequel of sorts and talk about Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer ending their feud in an unreal cage match, the Dragon Gate boys attempting to top themselves, and go down memory lane with Jonny Fairplay. All that and we talk about modern MTV programming, it's another great ThROH The Years!

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/8366fc30-b68a-40b3-afb3-d4c0d2459b9b

[Hobbes]

We're back to the B-Shows! On the new ThROH The Years we take on This Means War II! A lot of seeds get planted for the coming months, as Steen and Generico start their full-time runs, Colt Cabana and Doug Williams prepare to say farewell to us and Chris Hero and company continue to delight. This is an episode all about the bass, minus the b.

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/ea7a4cc4-0eef-4251-921f-058a27083ea3

[Hobbes]

On the latest ThROH The Years we talk about Fighting Spirit, the show, not the concept. The Briscoes/Steenerico feud continues, we find a great hidden gem match, and Morishima takes on Nigel for the first time. All this plus boner time machines and we re-book the Carnage Crew crapping in bags.

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/78dc8624-a012-45db-b2cb-34e297e11e6b

[Hobbes]

On the new ThROH The Years, we go in wild directions. Ghost Bone vs. Cow Bone! Original Pranksters! The Jim Ross Award Winner Jim Ross! It will all make sense when you hear it. Oh, we also cover The Battle of St. Paul, a show with a great crowd, the debut of some Chikara peeps, and so much more. All this and Matt expertly makes a point in 45 seconds that Trevor spent 5 minutes trying to make. I can make a mean comment like that because I'm Trevor. It's me, I'm writing this. Hello. Listen to the episode. It's fun!

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/ea922aa1-f896-4f1b-aab9-c6d0c79c9cf1

[Hobbes]

On a new ThROH The Years that goes well over ten minutes past it's alloted time, we cover Good Times, Great Memories. It's Colt Cabana's farewell show but in many ways it's a farewell to Christopher Daniels, Allison Danger, Homicide and Shingo as well. We spend extra time focusing on all of them, but still review a show with some very notable matches. I'm just realizing as I write this that we forgot at the end of the podcast to say if Good Times, Great Memories was a great event. It was. I am saying it here.

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/e2d2445a-c5fb-498e-9420-46752b988831

[Hobbes]

Today's ThROH The Years covers Reborn Again. Is it a fresh new chapter for ROH, or one of the most B-est B-shows that's ever B-een? We talk a ton about ROH's move to PPV and a contract system as well as Bryan Danielson's low key return, the Briscoes being awesome and so much more. All that and Matt and Trevor nearly come to blows debating the physical attractiveness of alt-comedy figure Connor O'Malley.
 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/adc7b129-df84-4319-ab21-fd2af711e964

[Hobbes]

It's finally time for ThROH The Years to cover ROH's first PPV ever, Respect is Earned! In an extra long episode, we spend over an hour talking about the story behind ROH going to PPV, before covering not just the show itself, but the matches that only made the DVD. Hear who we thought had a stand out performance, see what live report review caught us off guard, and discover what segment made Trevor irrationally angry. All that and a ton more on this episode!

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/bb1fda1a-73d8-453b-9b90-946f9a4ac45e

[Hobbes]

It's time for ThROH The Years to review one of the better B-Shows they've seen in some time, A Fight At The Roxbury. We swoon over Kevin Steen, a new version of Danielson emerges, and we praise a building that has both pizza and air conditioning! A fun night with your boys. Or day, I don't know when you listen.

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/8c307a29-3ef5-41e6-9595-eaddfca391f0

[Hobbes]

On a special MONDAY NIGHT THROH THE YEARS we cover Domination, a show with a hole in it. We tell you all about the hole, but also continue a previous show's love fest, watch some top-notch tag teaming, and see Davey Richards detect dandruff. This episode is lean but not particularly mean!

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/70d4e00d-3ab1-4dc3-9f85-ab87b5f1d0b8

[Hobbes]

This ThROH The Years, Matt and Trevor talk brownies, physical media, and Gorilla Monsoon. Oh, and we also cover United We Stand, a solid B-Show with some very good matches and one that annoyed Matt. And Matt usually doesn't get annoyed! Also, can you hear Karma Chameleon during the show? Because sadly, I didn't.

 

https://redcircle.com/shows/throh-the-years/ep/22ce00c6-536c-412c-a4df-209c6fc53e2c

[hhhisthegame]

I’ve finally returned to my ROH first-time watch after a few years off (up to Hell Freezes Over now, starting 2006), and the good thing is that I at least know Im in no danger of catching up to you guys any time soon and having to wait. I’m excited to experience this ROH / CZW feud which I don’t know all that much about…and your podcast is a really good companion to these shows, giving a lot of history, and I love hearing you guys talk about all the weird things that ROH will do (those weird things are honestly sometimes my favorite part of watching). Happy to see you guys are still going with it and haven’t stopped. 

(Again, let me know if there’s a better place to post my thoughts as I listen/watch rather than in this thread! )

First of all Trevor, I really appreciate the historical context you gave on the Chris Hero situation. That was an awesome discussion. As someone that wasn’t following indy wrestling back in 2006, from a more modern view it seemed so strange to me that they were acting like Chris Hero in ROH was some shocking thing. He seems to me, at least on this show, like he would fit right in. That context really helped me understand why this show was so meaningful. Thanks for always doing all that research. I honestly enjoyed the main event even though I get why people criticized it. I was happy to get Gabe on commentary again, listening to him is always some of the funniest parts of any show. 

I totally agree with you guys on BJ/Joe being an awesome match, unexpectedly really. That really took a brutal turn, especially that awesome finish. And I’m with Matt on AJ/Sydal, I thought that was a great match too that really seemed to elevate Sydal. 

I was less high on the Embassy/Azriel+Claudio match than you guys. First of all, the whole tag rope thing is so ROH lol. Wasn’t there some time a while back they were talking about how they were really going to start taking tag team wrestling seriously and enforcing the tag rules now? As If enforcing the rules of the match shouldn’t already be default behavior lol. In this match, they insist they are now using tag ropes as if this is a major exciting addition (when I didn’t even notice they didn’t have them in the first place) and continue to make a point of it, even though the ref ignores it in the match anyway. Shelley also makes fun of the concept in the match itself, making it seem even more strange lol. It’s not like it should matter very much, the wrestlers are always getting tags from the corner anyway. I don’t get why it’s a big deal that now they have to hold the rope when they’re already in the corner either way, but I guess it seems to be part of their push on this show that they are going to be taking tag team wrestling more seriously, probably Im guessing after the tag title scene was in a weak place til Aries and Strong won it. This one seemed like over-thinking, but it’s a classic ROH move which I always find hilarious. 

I also thought the Colt thing was strange, which I was happy you guys brought up. He’s already kind of goofy in his serious promos, unintentionally, and then right after that promo about the horrible Draino attack he randomly comes out to be the manager of Claudio/Azriel? I get there were reasons for it, but it really seemed odd without context. The serious Colt character is kind of odd in general, because he seems unwilling or incapable of actually being serious lol. It reminds me of last month, when the commentators put over how serious he was, but he basically worked a comedy match with Azriel anyway while acting ‘serious’. He can’t seem to help himself. Now he comes out to manage a team of also kind of comedic characters. And also like last month, Azriel’s in such a weird place right now. He seems to have no character of his own, but instead is just a mirror of whoever he’s wrestling. Last month he worked a comedy match with Colt out of nowhere, and did comedy spots just for the purpose of that match and because Colt couldn’t do it himself. This week he begins doing Claudio’s AYYYYY taunts and basically mimes Claudio. But I don’t really know who Azriel is on his own. The match was fine, I just had trouble getting into Azriel, and thought it felt a bit long. I realized at the end the length of the match seemed solely to put over how they are going to start taking tag team wrestling seriously now, but Azriel/Claudio seems like a team we’ll never see again which kind of weakened this for me. 

The Nigel match I agree was strange , though I imagine it’s just something Gabe throws in to prove that Nigel is a good enough champion to beat some opponents and is capable of winning clean, he just has to cheat to beat the STRONG ones. I thought the Aries/Reyes finish was a bit backwards though. It was supposed to keep them both strong I suppose, but I actually thought it did the opposite and made them both look a bit weaker. Aries getting that quick rollup pin while in the submission would work as a really good underdog finish, like if it was a student shockingly besting Reyes. but I don’t think that really fits Aries character in this feud who is coming in to defend the rookies and stand up to the bully, and isn’t the young guy being bullied and beaten down. So him getting such a hollow victory didn’t do much for him, which makes beating Reyes kind of unnecessary. 

I’ve mentioned a few things being strange, but nothing on this show is stranger than the FIP angle. First of all, I agree I have no idea how there being no bookers makes any sense lol (so how do they decide who gets title matches?) But seeing an alternate universe angle play out, finding out that Homicide is apparently some amazing champion for a year only to lose it instantly, having Dave Prazak randomly become a heel manager with little explanation, AND having the world champion Bryan Danielson come out before his big main event match tonight as part of all of this not acknowledging that at all, was so confusing to me lol. When it was over I really had no idea what I just watched. 

Lastly I’m really intrigued by the Jacobs promo. I’ve heard people say “Jimmy loves Lacey” but I have no real idea what it means or why it’s in the third person lol. You guys made it sound like it’s going to be a big deal though. I know we eventually get to age of the fall, but I don’t know when that happens or how we get there. 

On a side note, It continues to be interesting watching TNA alongside this. TNA had Final Resolution 2006 the next night and it’s pretty crazy to me that these things were happening at the same time…I didn’t realize how much of a presence the TNA guys still had in ROH while they were being used regularly in TNA. It’s kind of surprising how many are important characters in both. Homicide, Shelley, Aries, Strong, AJ, Joe, Daniels all appear on both the Hell Freezes Over and the TNA PPV the next night. Aries/Strong/Shelley are teaming together as heels in TNA, practically as if Gen Next never broke up while still enemies in ROH. The Joe/Daniels match at Final Resolution was interesting too in light of the ROH show. In ROH, they bring up Joe giving Daniels another concussion, and Joe wins his match with Whitmer via knockout before dropping down with a bunch of elbows/knees. Joe/Daniels at Final Resolution also deals with Daniels having concussions (from Joe destroying him a few months back), and at the end of his match, Daniels starts collapsing from the shots to the head as the commentators put over how dangerous multiple concussions are. In the end, Joe finishes the match in a similar way, knocking out Daniels and pelting him with vicious strikes on the ground until AJ throws in the towel. Interesting to see similar ideas used both nights. (And did you guys comment on the odd red highlights in Joe’s hair on this show? I definitely don’t remember that look lol) 

Anyway, exciting to get back to this and start 2006!