Loss Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Ring Of Honor sent out the following in a press release: "ROH officials are currently in negotiations with Matt Hardy about wrestling on ROH events. Hardy told ROH officials that he is a fan of the product and would love to come in and wrestle the ROH style." At this point, it is heavily expected Matt Hardy will work at least one date with the promotion, although no details are yet available. His no-compete clause with WWE does not expire until July, but it's possible he'll come in and work a non-wrestling appearance at one of ROH's upcoming shows. It also remains a strong possibility that Hardy will film a shoot tape as part of the company's "Straight Shootin'" series. Matt is a very open, intelligent guy, so the shoot interview should be very good. I'm not sure how he'll fit in with the ROH workers though. He'll definitely be more well received than Jeff was, and he'll easily outwork Jeff, but can he adapt? It's hard to say yes or no, considering that most of the best of his career has been spent working the WWE style and doing TLC stuntshows, but at the same time, he's always seemed like he could be far better than he was showing, at least to me. I do think he's an above-average worker, but can he keep up? We'll see. That said, if he's committed to them over the long haul, he'll be the biggest name they have, aside from Mick Foley, and from a storyline perspective, the possibilities are endless. In related ROH news, Meltzer reported in the recent Observer that Samoa Joe is openly afraid for his future since he's not getting NJ tours, ROH is no longer using him in top matches and WWE has no interest in him. Meltzer did also say that this is a common thing that a lot of wrestlers go through at some point in their careers, but that they usually don't make their fears public like Joe has. After his banner 2004 (which I'll be delving into in the coming weeks), that's sad to hear, but I'm sure he'll bounce back soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 I think Matt will be recieved much like Jamie Knoble has been. If he has his working boots on and can work a little snug, he should have no problem making the transition. As for his shoot interview, I don't knownhow interesting it will be since he has already made most of the details public and I feel like most of it would be old news. If he goes in-depth about the day-to-day happenings at OMEGA, I would be interested but not if it's a two hour recap of the Lita break-up. As for Joe, I had heard this reported awhile back. I am more saddened that Joe isn't getting NJ dates than I am he isn't working with WWE. At least in Japan, he could still maintain most of his edge while I have absolutely zero faith in the WWE machine to make him look the least bit credible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Some Guy Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 From what I've seen of ROH, I think Matt has a better chance than most of the WWE guys of fitting in, it will probably take him a few shows, but I'm sure he can adapt to the less cartoonish style. Why wouldn't Joe be getting Japan bookings? Because he dropped the belt? The guy is very good, I wouldn't think he'd have much trouble getting booked on any Indy show or in NJ. WWE would kill his heat and neuter him because he wouldn't be allowed to use any of his spots. His choke finisher wouldn't be used, the face wash would be pussified and the running kick would as well. He wouldn't be allowed to use the Island Driver or the Muscle Buster either. They would rob him off his signature spots, that helped get him over in ROH and probably make him gain wieght to become Rikishi Version 2.0 and then start complaining that he needs to lose weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 From what I've seen of ROH, I think Matt has a better chance than most of the WWE guys of fitting in, it will probably take him a few shows, but I'm sure he can adapt to the less cartoonish style. Why wouldn't Joe be getting Japan bookings? Because he dropped the belt? The guy is very good, I wouldn't think he'd have much trouble getting booked on any Indy show or in NJ. WWE would kill his heat and neuter him because he wouldn't be allowed to use any of his spots. His choke finisher wouldn't be used, the face wash would be pussified and the running kick would as well. He wouldn't be allowed to use the Island Driver or the Muscle Buster either. They would rob him off his signature spots, that helped get him over in ROH and probably make him gain wieght to become Rikishi Version 2.0 and then start complaining that he needs to lose weight. Anyone recall Foley telling Joe he'd fit in at the WWE if he wore a sumo outfit or ate raw fish and Joe getting pissed about it til Foley beat him down? That reaction probably did him few favours with WWE, Steamboat as an agent or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 I don't get why ROH would suddenly stop using him in top matches, it's not like he suddenly lost his ability to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 I believe he and Foley are still feuding somewhat. No Foley available, no Samoa Joe needed, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Cooke Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 I think Matt will fit in. I think if Jeff didn't debut during the Feinstein era and instead debuted end of 2004 or early 2005, it would have been a totally different reaction. Matt already has many positives going for him such as getting fired from the WWE for something that was unfair where as Jeff got fired because of drugs. Matt stating he likes ROH and wants to adapt his style to work there says he is willing to learn says a lot as well. The Hardy's in Omega were very good Southern tag team babyfaces and there is no reason he won't fit in. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Let me ask you this... do you think Jeff could come back to ROH with Matt? We both think Matt could be successful there but also saw the reaction Jeff got the first time around. Would they react differently if it was the Hardys together? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 I think it's been long enough to seem nostalgic now. The Hardyz were so overexposed at one point that there was a backlash starting against them, but now, people are more likely to remember the good. One thing I'm anxious to hear about in Matt's shoot is his side of the whole story in late 2001/early 2002 where they were sent home for their match at Vengeance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Agreed. Maybe his comments on the inner-workings of the compny would be interesting as well as some good Bradshaw hazing stories. It really depends how bad he wants his job back that will determine how in-dpeth his shoot is. I also fear that the shoot would really just focus on the Lita situation. I can get that news from Hardy's own website. On the other hand, I hope the crowd keeps killing any and all Lita segments until she is released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffey Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Samoa Joe fearing not getting work is the worst thing that I think I have ever read. He's probably my current favorite wrestler. If he keeps up what he's been doing and only goes on to improve, he may go down as one of my favorites of all-time. Hearing him worry about getting work though? That's insane. As good a worker as he is.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hunter's Torn Quad Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 It was mentioned somewhere, and I think it was in Joe's own online journal, that he was told point blank by an official with New Japan/New Japan-USA is that part of the reason he hasn't been given work with New Japan is because has the 'stench' of Zero-One on him. New Japan and All Japan, at least in the days of Giant Baba, almost never use guys who have worked in the lesser groups in Japan, which I think has tones of snobbery to it. The general view among those in New Japan and All Japan regarding this was that if a wrestler has enough confidence in their abilities, that they?ll wait until getting the call from the big two offices. Such a view doesn?t take into account the fact that wrestlers need work to pay the bills, and some of them don?t have the luxury of being able to wait until getting the call. It does seem strange that New Japan apparently have this opinion about Joe, given that he worked for their USA office, but it?s how they see things, and it?s sad, because not only are they, in a fashion, taking money out of Joe?s pocket, but they?re also passing up the opportunity for what could be some great matches with Joe against the likes of Nagata, Nakanishi, Nishimura, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cam Chaos Posted April 27, 2005 Report Share Posted April 27, 2005 Samoa Joe fearing not getting work is the worst thing that I think I have ever read. He's probably my current favorite wrestler. If he keeps up what he's been doing and only goes on to improve, he may go down as one of my favorites of all-time. Hearing him worry about getting work though? That's insane. As good a worker as he is.... He's been on top in ROH. I don't see WWE picking him up but I do wonder why Jarrett hasn't dragged him to TNA. Fear he'll get too over like Monty did, possibly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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