RESPECT IS EARNED REPORT
- 07/30/2007 (1:47:11 am)
- Anthony Panarella
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Respect Is Earned Report By Anthony Panarella
I had the chance to catch Ring Of Honor's "Respect Is Earned" debut Pay Per View this past Saturday Night. ROH is trying something different with their PPV's. They aren't trying to get a TV deal or become a competitor for WWE. What they are attempting to do is spread the word of their product and the talent workers they have under contract. They are trying to capture more of an audience to come to their live shows. I am one of the viewers they were trying to reach. I have followed ROH through online reports, reading reviews of previous shows and catching a DVD here or there. This however was a new step, a bigger step and kind of a make it or break it step.
In my view, it was a success. I enjoyed the show and it was a great throwback. What you had was actual wrestling, guys busting themselves to put on a quality product. A product that was not storyline driven. A product that had nothing to do with a wedding between a General Manager and a Diva Search contestant or some ridiculous storylines of the sort, but about what wrestling should be. It should be about titles and respect. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the storyline aspect as well, but it has to be well written and driving some emotion from you. As I have stated, the work was very good. I will definitely check out the next outing. However, I'd like to say I was impressed more by some other talents who weren't hyped as much for the show then the others who, in my opinion, were a little overrated. I'll get to that during the matches.
I was immediately impressed with the overall look of ROH. The red ring and the entire setup was well done. The fans added ALOT to the show. It was a great way to welcome you to the product. It was a throwback to ECW early shows from the Elk's Lodge, however the production was a tad higher. It still had enough grit to make it look different from WWE and TNA.
I liked the opening of BJ Whitmer in the ring, basically stating they are there to wrestle and this leading immediately to showcasing the ROH World Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima. It was a decent quick match made to establish the ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima. Personally, I wasn't as impressed with Morishima as I thought I would be. I appreciated Whitmer's work in this match. I thought he held up his own. Morishima's win the Backdrop Driver was impressive though, but Whitmer had a nice few spots in this match as well. The preceding showdown with Nigel McGuiness and "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson was interesting and a good way to put your top talent over right away. I liked McGuiness right away. He has a very different look and that X factor that is always talked about.
The vignette of Brent Albright showed exactly how bad WWE "Un"Creative is. They had this guy under contract and they couldn't figure out what to do with him. I don't know about any other person who watched it, but I was impressed. This looks like a character they would have pushed during the attitude era. No cartoonish stuff. Just a tough bad ass looking to beat someone up and make a pay day. Very simple and to the point.
The Naomichi Marafuji/Rocky Romero match was really good. It was a stiff Japanese style match with a bit of Lucha mixed in. These two men worked really well together. Romero hit some great spots and submission moves. His cross armbar from off the top turnbuckle was a thing of beauty as well as Marafuji's Dragon Screw Legwhip against the ropes. The only thing I didn't like was the finishing sequence. It had too much of an "independent" mentality. Meaning they hit too many big spots with false finishes with the opponent getting right back up and not selling the moves. Other than that, both men really showed a lot and I would love to see more of them.
The ROH World Tag Team Title Match to me was the match of the night. It was an incredible match. I've heard a lot about Mark & Jay Briscoe. I was actually more impressed with their oppenents Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli. Sydal is just so crisp with his work and moves are so fluent. Claudio is incredibly agile for his size. If anything, to me, this match showed what ROH is all about and what makes them different from the top 2. I can't say enough about this match and for the price of the PPV, I would order it for this match alone. Incredible stuff. The post match brawl between the Briscoes and El Generico and Kevin Steen was fun as well. It was a good old cluster.
Heading into this PPV, I was looking forward to the Delirious/Roderick Strong match. I have seen a little bit of Strong's work when he was in TNA briefly. This match was pretty good. Delirious is a different and interesting character that the fans seem to be into. I have to say he is insane. They did a spot then Roderick hit a Back Suplex on the apron on Delirious. Good match here and they showcased the No Remorse Corp at the end of the bout.
Adam Pierce's promo was interesting. It was obviously a take off of Raven and Jim Mitchell. The delivery was ok, but I am more interested to see where the angle goes with Pierce and BJ Whitmer.
The main event was a good match showcasing 4 of the top players in ROH. I'd have to say Kenta was the standout in this match for me. Takeshi Morishima and Nigel McGuiness kept repeating some of the same spots over and over. Danielson was solid. I expected a bit more out of him from what I have read about him. I enjoyed the match though. Good ending to a good show.
Would I suggest ordering a replay of this Pay Per View? Totally.
Would I check out ROH's next venture on PPV, which is in September? Without a doubt.
Do I recommend checking out Ring Of Honor when they come to your town? In a heartbeat.
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The Ring of Honor's second PPV will begin airing on September 1st. Schedule will be forthcoming.
The PPV will be highlighted by a Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness bout.
Ring of Honor's second pay-per-view "Driven" will debut on iN Demand PPV on 9/28 and 10 pm.
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