Ring of Honor Reports
The Debut of James Bullock's ROHbot Report: Jay Briscoe's Next Step, Lance Storm, Take No Prisoners, Potential Masterpiece of Honor, and Much More
By James Bullock
May 24, 2008 - 11:29 PM

Welcome to the first edition of the ROHbot Report, covering all the news, the need to know happenings in Ring of Honor, and my feelings on it. Everything in italics is the news/headlines provided by rohwrestling.com (unless otherwise noted).

Lance Storm will be a special guest at the 7/25 Toronto debut and 7/26 return to Detroit. There will be more information on Storm's role on the shows in the upcoming weeks. Storm will be available for autographs both nights.

Storm has made several appearances in ROH in the past, including that great match with Bryan Danielson at “Better Than Our Best” over the ROH World title back in April of 2006. Even better is the fact that the Detroit show is a pay-per-view taping. I’m guessing that whatever plays out in Toronto might factor into what happens in Detroit when it comes to Mr. Storm. Maybe a ROH title match against Nigel McGuinness?

Speaking of pay-per-views, we’re inching closer to the “Take No Prisoner” pay-per-view.

ROH "Take No Prisoners" will make its pay-per-view premiere on May 30th on iN DEMAND, The DISH Network and TVN cable systems. "Take No Prisoners" describes the attitude of the entire ROH roster as it proves that ROH gives you the most bang for your buck at an affordable price on PPV. "Take No Prisoners" also relates the intensity of one individual as he strives to become a star in one night.

ROH World Title Match

Nigel McGuinness defends vs. winner of Four Corner Survival

McGuinness has earned the disdain of the ROH fans and they would love nothing more than to see a new star born at Nigel's expense.

Four Corner Survival - Winner Gets World Title Shot In The Main Event

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Delirious vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Tyler Black

Four athletically gifted individuals will put it all on the line for the chance of a lifetime.

The Rivalry Comes To PPV

Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

Simply put, this is pro wrestling at its most competitive level. You haven't seen a match like this on your TV in a long time.

ROH World Tag Team Title Match

Davey Richards & Rocky Romero defend vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw

Fast-paced, high-flying action comes to PPV with this electric title bout from Orlando.

The Larry Sweeney Show starring Larry Sweeney

Sweeney promises a big business deal as his hostile takeover continues.

Philadelphia Street Fight

Jay & Mark Briscoe with Daizee Haze vs. The Necro Butcher & Joey Matthews with Lacey

You want violence, blood and insanity. Here it is!

Special Challenge Match

Roderick Strong vs. Kevin Steen

Ouch! These two hard-hitters "Take No Prisoners" when they collide.

Plus more with Adam Pearce, Brent Albright, BJ Whitmer, Erick Stevens and others including another big bonus match!!!

One other question remains. Why is Jimmy Jacobs on the advertising when he wasn't live at this PPV taping?

Find out the answer to this and much, much more when a star is born at ROH "Take No Prisoners" on iN DEMAND, The DISH Network and TVN cable systems starting on May 30th. Also look for replays in June. There is no better value for your money on PPV than ROH!!!

Sounds like another solid card, and I can’t wait to see what happens with Aries vs. Danielson XVIII. Okay, it might not be chapter eighteen…or is it? They’ve fought so many times in ROH, I can’t keep track. But they’ve never disappointed. Plus the big surprise of someone breaking through the glass ceiling is guaranteed. I know who it is. But you need to tune in to find out. You will be just as shocked as I was.

We thought we would have a major announcement for the June 7th Philly event ready, but we still need a little more time. Look for it soon (maybe even by the time you read this) on the main page of ROHwrestling.com.

Please, oh God please, let it be…Chris Masters! What, you think “The Masterlock Challenge” wouldn’t work in ROH? Just you wait. When Bobby Dempsey breaks that Masterlock better, and faster, than Bobby Lashley, you’ll see why I want this.

Larry Sweeney announced on the voicemail (215-781-2250) of the Sweet & Sour Inc. offices that Adam Pearce will reveal what is in the briefcase at the June 7th Philadelphia event. Sweeney says it will "shock" everyone.

I don’t believe this is the major announcement, but it could turn out to be one. The only thing that makes me wonder about this “shock” is the fact that “shock” is in quotes. I’ve got a feeling The Mountie might be showing up sooner than we could’ve hoped.

Nigel McGuinness successfully retained the World Title in a three-way vs. KENTA and BJ Whitmer last week in Tokyo, Japan at the famous Korakuen Hall.

Proving once again why the ROH title is a World title, Mr. McGuinness walked out of Japan still the ROH World champion. Heard it was a pretty good match. Glad to see BJ still finding work. Hope you come back to ROH soon, Hillbilly Jesus.

ROH will return to Chicago on June 28th and the first match has been signed. This one was only natural after what happened last time in Chicago. June 28th will have the first singles match between these two hated enemies. Chicago will witness Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs!!!

This whole thing between Jimmy and Austin is just great viewing. For the first time in a long time, I’m really invested into this storyline. The latest Videowire pushed the situation further when The Age Of The Fall jumped Aries after his bloody tag match against them with Jay Briscoe. Jimmy wanted to use that railroad spike he keeps in his walking cane to pierce Aries’ skull, but refused. Jacobs stopped so Aries, instead of being put out of his misery, could rot with the fact that Jacobs kidnapped Lacey, doing something that has put her out of action. Aries, bloodied, begged for Jacobs to stab him, but Jacobs wants Aries to suffer for taking the girl that was by his side. You know this match will be wild as wild can get, probably so out of control that it doesn’t end with an undisputed winner. And maybe we might get a nice little surprise. Lacey, perhaps?

The graduates of the ROH Wrestling Academy are making an impact in ROH and earning more bookings all over the independent wrestling world with their connections and exposure from ROH. Pelle Primeau finds himself on almost every ROH main show. Shane Hagadorn is a valued member of Sweet & Sour Inc. Rhett "Addicted To Love" Titus is in the middle of the Delirious/Daizee Haze love story. Bobby Dempsey is one of the most popular members of the roster. Ernie Osiris is earning his stripes as the Top Of The Class Trophy Holder. These are just a few examples as Mitch Franklin and Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne also continue to make their mark.

I’m really glad to see a few of the students finally finding their niches. I must say the early days of watching them struggle through two-minute matches on ROH DVD releases were painful. Pelle was the first to break out with his Spike Dudley-esque wins/crowd surfing routine. Next was Bobby Dempsey, who has become a crowd favorite suffering under the iron hands of Larry Sweeney and Chris Hero. Even the lovely Sara Del Rey is now abusing Bobby. Hagadorn is on the opposite side of the spectrum of Sweet & Sour Inc., playing the errand boy for the group while perfecting his chicken heel tactics. Mitch Franklin and Alex Payne are becoming a very cohesive unit, and could add a nice little piece of juice to the tag team scene, not only in ROH, but also in the country. And then there’s Rhett “Addicted To Love/Sexiest Man Ever/Too Sexy For My Ring gear” Titus. I must say I’ve become quite the fan of his since seeing him a year ago riding the middle rope like a bucking bronco. The man has charisma flowing like a wacky version of Rick Rude. And his coming on to Daizee Haze while Delirious tried to ask her out on a date was pure hilarity. Plus, who doesn’t hate a c*ck blocker. Watch your ladies, guys. Rhett Titus could sweep them away with “The sexiest slam, ever!”

Both brackets for the June 6th ROH World Tag Team Title Tournament in Hartford are now announced. Claudio Castagnoli, Eddie Edwards and Daizee Haze have also been officially added to the card. You are guaranteed to see history when new ROH World Tag Team Champions are crowned in this one night tourney in Hartford. 

One Night Tournament For The Vacant World Tag Team Titles 
First Round Matches: 
A) Jigsaw & Ruckus with Julius Smokes vs. Adam Pearce & Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Rey 
B) ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico

C) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Delirious & Pelle Primeau

D) Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong & Davey Richards

Semifinals:

A winner vs. B winner

C winner vs. D winner 

Finals:

A/B winner vs. C/D winner 

Also scheduled to appear:  Necro Butcher; Erick Stevens; Brent Albright; Claudio Castagnoli; Eddie Edwards; Daizee Haze plus more!!!

Interesting set up to say the least. Some of the teams (Nigel & Go and Delirious & Pelle) could create some unique semifinals confounders. But before we get there, look at matches B and D. Can you say MOTYC? I know a lot of people are banking on Steen & Generico finally picking up the belts that’s been eluding them since their debut, but I don’t think June 6^th will be their night. I’m going out on a limb to predict that The Vulture Squad will finally pick up a huge win in Hartford. To say Evan’s crew’s win/loss record is pretty spotty at best would be an understatement. With Jigsaw’s unmasking, and the possible Vulture Squad/BLKOUT feud on the horizon (the second half could be out the window with the Kingston mess, though), I feel that there’s no better team to get a nice rub from a one night tournament than Ruckus & Jigsaw.

And that brings me to one man. This man is the reason we’re going to witness this tournament. And that man is Jay Briscoe. Jay decided, with his brother’s wrist injury/surgery, to team with Austin Aries to defend the gold against The Age Of The Fall in ROH’s Hammerstein Ballroom debut. After the match, Jay told Mark, who got involved in the wild brawl, that he couldn’t defend the belts without him. Jay laid the belts on the floor, walking out with his brother. So what’s Jay to do now that he’s not going after the Tag Team title? Mark is out for the summer, and maybe the fall. And we’ve seen that Jay isn’t too successful when it comes to World title matches. Very rarely has Jay looked to have a chance in any World title match he’s competed in, outside of the one with Samoa Joe in 2003. So, no tag team partner worth of Jay’s attention outside of his brother, and singles aspirations are pretty much null. And seemingly his feud with Jimmy Jacobs is done until Mark comes back. What’s a Briscoe to do? I think the ending of the 5/22 Videowire was the perfect answer to do. Jay needs to leave.

Now, before you start sending the hate mail, hear me out. Even though the crowd gives The Briscoes some of the biggest ovations in ROH history upon any entrance, there’s been a growing hatred for the brothers from Delaware. From their dominance of the Tag division to their unique, often called no psychology, style, a certain group of fans have been leading the charge against The Briscoes. It’s similar to the backlash Nigel McGuinness suffered after winning the ROH World title. It started off pretty low key, but blossomed into a monster after a couple of months.

What better way than to give those fans what they want than to take Jay off the cards? We know he’s more motivated when he’s fighting with, or against, his brother than fighting by himself. Now, I understand from a financial stance that it wouldn’t be smart for Jay just to give up bookings for, quite possibly, his most lucrative shows, but maybe it’s time for Jay to take a step back. Give himself a little bit of rest from the ever-changing scope of the ROH fan base, while building up the inevitable return of The Briscoes. Like any star, The Briscoes have been running through ROH for over two years since their return at the Fourth Anniversary Show, and they’ve done everything in tag team competition while becoming the last of the true Ring Of Honor original greats. I think Jay needs to do the same thing the wrestlers of the territorial days did: leave from his home area for a good period of time to come back fresh in the eyes of the fans. I don’t know a better team than a fresh Briscoes. Mark’s injury could be a blessing in disguise if they can use it to return like never before.

Well, that’s all for this edition of the ROHbot Report. For the latest news concerning Ring of Honor, check out rohwrestling.com

For more information on James Bullock, a.k.a. Me, visit the WWI Forums (I’m under the name “jakeb”), or my myspace at myspace.com/jakeab