ROH and WWE news

~ROH released their latest video wire on rohwrestling.com today [this is ROH’s attempt at keeping fans up with the product between shows, which are usually a few weeks apart. They also have a “news wire”, which is kind of the same as the video wire except it's written and is updated more frequently].

I’m gonna be honest. This edition of the video wire is VERY boring. So watch it at your own risk.

For those that don’t watch, here’s what happens.

-Austin Aries is offered a spot in the Age of the Fall. He doesn’t give a clear response.
-Hype for Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Title on Saturday.
-Highlights from Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens for the FIP Heavyweight Title.

As for what “FIP” is, FIP or Full Impact Pro can be considered the “sister” promotion of Ring of Honor. They use a lot of ROH talent and they are primarily based in Florida. Although ROH and FIP are two separate promotions, because they are so closely linked, things tend to overlap. For example, the FIP Heavyweight Title [the promotion’s top belt] has been defended on ROH shows and the ROH World Title has been defended on a few FIP shows.

Recently, ROH decided to have the FIP Heavyweight Title become ROH’s secondary title [a championship belt ranked a step lower than the promotion's top belt. The holders of a promotion's secondary title, which could go by a different variety of names, is usually someone who is close to, but just isn't considered ready to carry the company as world champion] and to have ROH storylines carry over into FIP shows.

I guess they thought since 85% of the FIP roster is made up of ROH regulars, then it might as well become 85% ROH.
----------------

(Chris Sabin, left, and Alex Shelley also known as the Motor City Machine Guns)

~In other news, there’s an article on rohwrestling.com that announces the return of the Motor City Machine Guns to ROH in April and they want a shot at The Briscoes.

"Shelley & Sabin are signed for ROH's April 18th Detroit and April 19th
Chicago cards. Right now, they are only scheduled for those events. They have
issued a challenge to The Briscoes. We will find out Jay & Mark's answer
next week."

Source: rohwrestling.com

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are TNA wrestlers and they are also regulars in the wrestling scene over in Japan, where they've been successful. The Machine Guns, in my opinion, are a very good and entertaining tag team. They should be TNA tag champs by now or at least in the tag title picture, but their not.

Anyway, the issue between the MCMG and the Briscoes started last March at ROH’s “All-Star Extravaganza III” show, when Sabin and Shelley made a surprise appearance and challenged the Briscoes, then ROH Tag Team Champions, to a title match.



The match, considered by many fans and critics as one of the best matches of 2007, would end up taking place a month later at “Good Times, Great Memories”.

The Briscoes vs. MCMG (Part I)




The Briscoes vs. MCMG (Part II)




Now the Machine Guns want a rematch and it should be good.

This bit of news is pretty interesting because MCMG are TNA wrestlers and although TNA and ROH have had a history of exchanging talent [Samoa Joe, AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are just a few of the TNA stars that made names for themselves in ROH before being signed and Abyss, Raven and Petey Williams are TNA wrestlers that have all made guest appearances on ROH shows], TNA pulled all contracted talent from ROH shows last May.

With Sabin and Shelley returning to ROH, maybe TNA has had a change of heart.
-------------------

(pics from WWE.com)

~WWE announced that they are going to be holding a press conference for Wrestlemania 24 at the Staples center in Los Angeles, CA this monday. They’re also advertising that Floyd Mayweather will be in attendance.

I wonder if he’ll throw some more hooks at the Big Show again.

Here’s what happened at No Way Out last Sunday between Mayweather and Show for those that missed it:

---------------


~WWE.com also has a section dedicated to Maria posing for Playboy Magazine. The issue comes out next month.

Maria is not the first WWE Diva to pose for the magazine. Wrestlingrevealed.com documents all the other past WWE playboy centerfolds right here.

Major Players in Pro Wrestling: ROH

Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor can be described as the biggest little wrestling promotion in North America. In terms of the production quality and venues for their shows, it is nowhere near WWE or TNA. However, ROH makes up for this with stellar in-ring action and with a roster that can be considered to be just as talented, if not more talented, than either of the aforementioned promotions’ rosters.

I mentioned in the last post that TNA “claims” to be the alternative to WWE. Well, ROH is really the alternative to WWE. They promote wrestling as more of a sport than “sports-entertainment”. In order to emphasis that point, dramatic storylines don’t completely drive their shows and the wrestlers work a very physical style to add more legitimacy to their matches and the moves performed.

Unlike WWE and TNA, Ring of Honor has no television deal and relies on the distribution of their events on DVD to get their product to the masses.

However, the newest DVDs available are usually 1-2 months behind the current product and ROH’s DVD library number in the hundreds. So unless you really can afford it, trying to catch up by purchasing past events or even attempting to keep up with the current product is pretty demanding.

Luckily for them, ROH has a very loyal fan following who don’t mind having to keep up with the promotion through the company’s website, message board and other sources in order to find the latest news on what’s going on

Since ROH is geared towards a hardcore, niche wrestling audience, the chances of them pursuing a mainstream television deal seem pretty slim. For them, that’s quite alright.




Here are some of ROH's current big stars:

Nigel McGuinness

Nigel McGuinness is the current ROH World Champion. About two years ago, McGuinness was a heel who would beat his opponents by luring them outside the ring, beating the count to get back in and win by countout. Eventually, he began beating opponents inside the ring, won the fans over in the process, became a face and is now headlining ROH shows as champion. As far as his wrestling style goes, McGuinness tends to be a mix of a grappler and a brawler who likes to throw lots of lariats.



Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson is a former ROH World Champion and has also been with the promotion since it was established in 2002. Danielson is generally a technical wrestler, relying on a lot of holds and submissions. However, he also isn’t afraid to get down right violent, using repeated elbows to the face and stomps to the head in order to win his matches.

The Briscoes

Jay and Mark Briscoe are former multi-time ROH Tag Team Champions. They are also regarded by fans as the MVPs of ROH during 2007, having held the belts throughout the year before losing them in December and for having great tag matches along the way. The Briscoes are pretty exciting to watch and they use a lot of double team moves that really show off their teamwork in the ring.

Austin Aries

Austin Aries first appeared in the promotion in early 2004, where he quickly formed a group called “Generation Next”. The group at the time consisted of him and three other rookie wrestlers whose sole goal was to get to the top of the ROH roster. After 3 years, the group would eventually become big-time players in the promotion. During this period, Aries would go on to win the ROH Tag Team and World Titles on separate occasions. He currently is on the hunt for a second reign as ROH World Champion. Also, on a side note, he uses the 450 splash as one of his signature moves.


Jimmy Jacobs

Jimmy Jacobs is a former ROH Tag Team Champion. Jacobs and his partner would eventually split and go on to have a brutal series of matches against each other. As a result, Jacobs’ disposition completely changed. He recently formed a group called the “Age of the Fall” who have declared war on ROH and society.