Japan and Japanese stars. Territory returns and pay-per-views. Titles on the line. Blood could be spilled. What won’t September hold for Ring of Honor? Well, I can’t answer that question yet. But I can prepare you for what will be nothing short of a memorable beginning for ROH’s fall schedule in this edition of the ROHbot Report.  

Get ready New England!!! Ring Of Honor will tape its next PPV on 9/19 in Boston at the beautiful Boston University campus. We already know that Kevin Steen & El Generico will challenge for the ROH World Tag Team Titles. Now the World Title challenger has been determined. Based on his PPV Fight Without Honor victory and winning PPV singles record, Roderick Strong will challenge for the World Title on 9/19 in Boston!!! Strong has had opportunities in the past and no one has come closer to the title. Will 9/19 finally be Strong's night?

It’s amazing how Roderick Strong keeps getting these title matches. I mean, the man has had more title shots than Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson combined since getting his first shot back in 2005. I don’t see Strong winning this one either. But it should be a great match nonetheless.

Everyone who’s anyone who’s been reading the ROHbot Report for the past couple of months know that I’ve been putting money on the fact that Steenerico will walk out of the next PPV taping with the ROH Tag straps. It’s been over a year in the making, but the time has come for Kevin Steen & El Generico to take their spots atop the tag team division in ROH. As you know, Steen has promised to come into Dayton on 11/21 as a ROH champion, and time is running out fast. I know it seems like ROH wouldn’t pull the trigger for a title change until an event close to that date. But what better time is it to give Steenerico a run with the gold? Before Steenerico can get their shot though, The Briscoes will go against the AOTF in Tokyo on the 13^th. Also, Steenerico have they sights set on The Briscoes once again.

If Jacobs & Black win they will put them on the line at the PPV taping on 9/19 in Boston against Kevin Steen & El Generico. If The Briscoes win the titles in Tokyo, their first meeting against Steen & Generico will be pushed up to Boston. Orlando will then see the rematch with an added stipulation. There is a clear three team race for the ROH World Tag Team Titles and it is making the tag division more competitive than ever!!!
The main event for 10/11 back in Orlando has been signed. Many consider Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico as the feud of the year in 2007 in ROH.

With all of this, it’s pretty much impossible for the AOTF to walk out of September still the Tag Team champions. Kevin Steen & El Generico haven’t faced The Briscoes since that incredible Ladder War back at the Man Up pay-per-view, which saw The Briscoes retain the belts. No matter what happens, this is an exciting time for the ROH tag team division.

It will be difficult for ROH to announce more matches for the 9/19 PPV taping in Boston due to the uncertain results of the previous weekend in Japan and the nature of PPV tapings. However, you can be assured that ROH will pull out all the stops when pay-per-view is taped in Boston at the beautiful Boston University campus. The building is a great location just seconds off Commonwealth Ave. and the MBTA. We have learned that Jerry Lynn will be on the actual PPV taping so his match will be featured on ROH PPV. He is sure to face a top quality opponent when he returns to Boston.

Glad to hear this as I think Lynn on any card is good for a show. If I had to pick one name to go beside Lynn’s is Austin Aries’. Very few matches could come anywhere near the greatness these two could produce. And on pay-per-view, that chance to go from great to classic increases ten fold.  

Another main event quality bout has been signed for the PPV taping in Boston. It will be a Three Way Elimination Match pitting Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Go Shiozaki (the FIP Title will not be on the line).

I really wish it was one on one with the recent heel turn by Claudio, but we’ll get that down the line. For now, we have three of the hardest hitting men in the company going at it in a high paced pay-per-view contest. Any man could walk out the winner, as each man is high on the ROH totem pole. If I had to pick a winner, I’d have to go with Go. With Sweeney in his corner, and Castagnoli and Danielson so focused on each other, Go should have no problems sneaking in a victory. Oh, you’re wondering why the FIP title was mentioned?

Go Shiozaki defeated Erick Stevens at FIP's event in Crystal River, FL to win the FIP World Heavyweight Title in an epic match of the year candidate. Shiozaki's agent Larry Sweeney has made some stern demands to ROH officials to have FIP Title defenses in ROH. We'll have more on this situation soon. This is Shiozaki's first major title victory of his career and received considerable coverage in Japan.

From the reports, the match was one of the best in FIP history, with it going over thirty minutes. I’m very interested in seeing this on DVD. I really feel sorry for Stevens, as he hasn’t been given much of a run after two reigns as FIP champion. Maybe one day he’ll get the chance to hold the belt for more than a few weeks. But now it’s about Shiozaki, whose stock has risen greatly since joining Sweet & Sour Inc.. Sweeney is a man of his word when it comes to making stars, and Go is no exception. I don’t know how long Go will hold onto the title. But this win alone has given his stay in America more purpose than ever. Go will also take part in Glory By Honor VII in a title defense against an unnamed opponent.   And speaking of Glory By Honor, the biggest news regarding the international super show is the America debut of Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima in ROH. But who are they going to face?

In case you missed it on the main page of ROHwrestling.com, Kensuke Sasaki is scheduled to face Claudio Castagnoli and Katsuhiko Nakajima will wrestle Bryan Danielson on 9/20 in Philly. Check out this article for all the details: http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=2235

Wow! Just wow! I didn’t know who to expect. To see some ROH homegrown talent taking on a legend and possibly a huge star in future of Puroresu is more than enough to warrant a ticket purchase. Actually, just the name “Sasaki” should be enough to make you want to go. ROH has been putting on some spectacular shows this year, but I don’t think any show they’ve done, or will do, will compare to GBH VII if the show turns out as great as the card.

There were two matches in August that absolutely stole the show they were on. Now the rematches will take place at "Glory By Honor VII" on September 20th in Philadelphia. The last event at the Hammerstein Ballroom saw the NWA World Heavyweight Title return to glory as Brent Albright won the belt from Adam Pearce in a classic battle. Larry Sweeney has stated that new FIP World Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki will only defend his title at "Glory By Honor VII" if Pearce gets a rematch. Albright didn't hesitate to say yes and it is now official. 9/20 will witness Albright vs. Pearce II and if Albright is still NWA World Heavyweight Champion he will put the strap on the line!!!
ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness was recently taken to the limit by El Generico in Cleveland. This bout had Cleveland rocking and rolling as the fans were on their feet for this exciting contest. The rematch will take place on 9/20 in Philadelphia. Be there and witness McGuinness vs. Generico II and if Nigel is still ROH World Champion he will put the title on the line.

The NWA title match was one of the most talked about things coming out of Death Before Dishonor VI weekend. The hot NYC crowd definitely helped the match, and I can’t see why the Philly crowd won’t do the same. Albright has had a breakout year in the eyes of ROHbots, and NWA fans alike, and I hope it continues on 9/20.

The other title match is the rematch to, what many have called, the best Nigel defense yet. Yes, better than his match with Danielson at the 6^th Anniversary Show. Yes, better than his defense against Tyler Black at Take No Prisoners. Yes, better than anything Nigel and Kevin Steen did over the spring and summer. Generico became the little luchador that just couldn’t finish McGuinness off even though the fans wanted him to so badly. GBH VII is getting us ready for some magical moments. And I can’t think of a moment any greater than Generico walking out of The New Alhambra the new ROH World champion. I know it’s not going to happen. But we didn’t think that CM Punk would still be the WWE World champion right now, did we.  

"Glory Honor VII" in Philadelphia on 9/20 at the new Alhambra/former ECW Arena keeps getting bigger and bigger. The brash Kenny King says that he wants Jerry Lynn on this event. King has stated that he is going to make his reputation at Lynn's expense in the building where Lynn had some of his greatest matches. Lynn has accepted the challenge saying he will teach the kid some lessons. Can King defeat Lynn and is Lynn still capable of being a major player in ROH?

Glad to see Kenny King is getting matches with wrestlers who can teach him outside and inside of the ring. Lynn is one of the best wrestlers of the past two decades in the ring, and I can’t see how he and King can’t have anything short of a great match. I doubt King will win, though. But just being in the ring, and hanging with Lynn is enough to help anyone’s credibility.

"Survival Of The Fittest 2008" will be on 10/10 in Coral Springs, FL and Austin Aries has just been added to the field. Aries has come close to winning the tournament in the past. Is this his year? He joins the already announced Jerry Lynn, Tyler Black, Erick Stevens, Kevin Steen and El Generico. There will be 12 athletes. They will compete in six single matches during the first half of the show. The main event will then see the winners compete in an Elimination Match to determine who is "Survival Of The Fittest" Champion. The victor will get a future ROH World Title shot.

Florida is a destination point for wrestling fans on the Oct. 10th-12th weekend. Fans will get to see three great shows from two promotions and travel the Florida territory with this tripleshot. 10/10 will be "Survival Of The Fittest" in Coral Springs. Davey Richards and The Necro Butcher have just been added to the tournament, which will feature six single matches with the winners advancing to an elimination match main event. 10/11 will see ROH return to Orlando, FL to show everyone how it's done. Tyler Black vs. Jerry Lynn has just been signed for Orlando!!! Then on 10/12 you can experience FIP live at its homebase of Crystal River, FL. There is nothing like FIP in Crystal River.

Last year’s final saw Chris Hero staying far away from the ring as possible while sneaking in pin after pin after pin to win the tournament. I don’t see something like that happening this year. I’m really excited to see how this year’s plays out because so many things could happen. It’d be nice to see Jerry Lynn get another big win in his underrated career. Austin Aries could finally win the one thing that’s eluded him in his ROH run since his debut (Pure title not withstanding). Kevin Steen could use this win to become the ROH World champion before that 11/21 deadline. Erick Stevens could redeem his second under-whelming run as FIP champion with a win here. Or my pick, Tyler Black, could win it, and complete his run to the top. I think Tyler Black is money, and ROH can’t help but see that either. I would love to see Black walk out of Final Battle 2008 as the new ROH World champion, unseating Nigel in nothing short of a ROH classic.

Kind of weird that I said it would come down to Lynn and Black in the finals of the tournament in the last Report, then ROH decides to book the match for the next night. Gabe, if you’re stealing my ideas, I don’t want any pay. Just put me on the payroll. Okay, just to test my theory: Generico vs. Necro Butcher. If that match happens on the 10^th or the 11^th, I’ll know something’s up. And it’ll prove I reek of more awesomeness than Edge and Christian combined. Yeah, I just went 2000 on ya!

Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin, The Motor City Machine Guns, will return to ROH on 10/24 in Hartford, CT and 10/25 in Edison, NJ. They will be in main event quality bouts on both nights.

Great news for fans of The Guns, or fans of tag team wrestling for that matter. They stole the show in Manassas the last time they were visiting, and they could do the same this time around. If (I’m guaranteeing it) Steenerico have the ROH Tag Team title by then, can we see a Death Before Dishonor VI rematch with the gold on the line?

Updates from last week's story on Morishima in WWE. Dave Meltzer reported that the proposed deal between NOAH and WWE to send Morishima for an extended stay is likely dead. Apparently WWE had some problems with his look, feeling he was out of shape and should have been in shape for a tryout. Vince McMahion also watched his match and made a comment about how he didn't connect with the fans.

Well, I wasn’t surprised that they didn’t like his look. But how could you not know how he looks? You’re telling me no one showed Vince a video or a picture before bringing Morishima in. I know Vince is too busy to check out everyone that comes up, but come on. As for being out of shape, I don’t understand that. The match was reported at going only three minutes. If out of shape, they mean fat, then yes, Morishima is always out of shoe. I guess Umaga’s gut doesn’t count. Or Snitsky’s flabby stomach that looks just disgusting. About the fan connection thing, unless they announced him from the city they were in, I doubt they’d connect with a random fat Japanese guy in black tights. I mean, from what I saw, the fans didn’t connect with R-Truth even though they’ve been playing intro vignettes for weeks to build his debut. This wasn’t NYC, or Philly they were in. I really doubt anyone knew who he was outside of the people who reported it. Morishima, good work. Stick with NOAH and make that yen.

Another update to a news story is on the whereabouts and future of Joey Matthews. On a recent independent show he said that he and Christian York (who was his tag team partner in the original ECW) would be going to the WWE by the end of the year.

I’m sad to hear this as Joey is a great hand, and ROH could really use him to help their budding talent. Plus he has a wealth of knowledge on the indies that could help a lot of these young guys who don’t know how to work toward the top. If he is going back to WWE, I hope he pulls a Jamie Noble and becomes an agent as well as a wrestler. ECW could really use a talent like that.

Final Battle 2008. Hammerstein Ballroom. Manhattan. New York City. December 27th.

I. Just. Thought. It. Was. Funny. That. They. Posted. It. Like. This. I’m. Pretty. Sure. Everyone. Knew. This. Show. Would. Be. Final Battle 2008. Since. It’s. The. Last. Date. On. The. ROH. Calendar. Tyler Black. Next. World. Champ! Just for fun, if you say the previous statement while taking deep breathes in between each word, you can sound like that kid on Malcolm In The Middle. He was awesome.

And for our weekly CM Punk check up:

WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk has not forgotten his roots. He main evented the WWE house show at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. ROH President Cary Silkin was there as a special guest. Punk made a point to go over and hug Silkin during his ring entrance. The two exchanged some kind words during that moment about their history together. After Punk defeated JBL in a Steel Cage Match, Punk once again acknowledged Silkin in front of the sold out MSG crowd.

It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that CM Punk hasn’t forgotten the company that made him a indy superstar. But what isn’t talked about is the fact that CM Punk was involved in a solid out MSG event as the World Heavyweight champion. Do you realize how big that is? It’s always been a great measure of the champion if their name on the marquee can help sell out Madison Square Garden. Even in the down times, the great Bret Hart had a hard time getting a full MSG house as WWF champion. Now an argument can be made that Batista, or Cena were the main reason for selling out the show. Or the fact that it’s a WWE event in its major arena. Even with all of that, you can’t deny that Punk now stands in a hollowed spot with the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, and possibly, a couple of others who have headlined a sold out MSG event as the top man in the company (he’s on the flagship show. And he’s the top champion of the flagship show. So that makes him the top man in the company).

With the summer coming to a close, I can’t help but get a little nostalgic. A lot of things can be connected to any summer: love, music, sweating off a few pounds. But for ROHbots everywhere, the summer is held in high regard, with some of the greatest moments in ROH history happening during the hottest part of the year. Here are my top five summer moments in Ring of Honor history.

5. Jeff Hardy’s Ring Of Horror: Death Before Dishonor (2003) was to be the biggest show in ROH history at that point. No doubt did it become that with star studded matches, as well as Paul London’s farewell. But the biggest story coming out of the show was Jeff Hardy, who had been recently released by WWE due to his drug problems. Seemingly, those problems were still raging as Jeff decided to conduct an interview before the show. In that interview, Jeff admitted to losing his passion, and wasn’t loving wrestling like he used to. This isn’t bad. The bad part is he did this interview in front of a lot of people he’d be wrestling in front of later that night, causing those fans to not be too fond of the Hardy before the show could even begin. Then Hardy decided to wrestle, not as Jeff Hardy, but as Will O’ The Wisp, his old OMEGA character. And the fans (outside of the teenage girls wearing Jeff Hardy t-shirts, black fingernail polish, and dyed purple hair) crapped on him. His music hadn’t even started when they started a “F*** you Hardy” chant. The ROHbots pelted Hardy with chants of “We want Matt” and “You got fired”. Jeff’s performance didn’t help, as he wanted to wrestle with a long black coat on, severely limiting his mobility. Thankfully, Joey Matthews was involved in the three way (Jeff’s protégé Krazy K was the third participant), helping the fans focus on someone sober/passionate. By the end of the match, the fans pleaded for Jeff to not come back. And he didn’t. For ten minutes, we witnessed one of, if not, the most surreal, mesmerizing situations of the summer of 2003.

4. “Low Ki” Is “Rottweiler” In Puerto Rican: Samoa Joe and The Briscoes were fighting an uphill battle against the newly formed team of Homicide, Rocky Romero, and Ricky Reyes, collectively known as The Rottweilers, in 2004. In the main event of Reborn: Completion, Joe felt he had no choice but to team up with his former enemies in hope of stopping this Puerto Rican wrecking squad, who had been doing everything to crap on the Code of Honor. And Joe & The Briscoes weren’t doing a good job at accomplishing that task by the twenty-minute mark of the match. ROH needed a hero to stop the disrespect and violence The Rottweilers were unleashing. Low Ki answered the cry for help. Ki, an ROH legend, and the first ROH World champion, entered the building to one of the loudest ovations in Ring of Honor history…only to destroy the Code of Honor he helped create. Ki beat down Joe and The Briscoes, spitting on the ROH World title belt. Ki exclaimed that no man deserved be called an ROH champion but him. To prove his point that the company was nothing without him, and powerless to stop him, Ki and his new partners ripped up the ROH banners from the guardrails. They even went as far as to cover the unconscious body of Samoa Joe with one of the banners as the ROH World belt laid across Joe’s back. Of all the people to return that night, no one expected Low Ki. And no one expected Ki to join The Rottweilers, as it appeared he was on a collision course with Homicide before Ki left the company the first time. Even though the highly anticipated Joe/Ki II never spawned from this moment as expected, for that one night in July, it felt everything had come full circle…and then the circle was shot into a million pieces.    

3. Konichiwa Ring of Honor: In 2007, Ring of Honor made a trek around the country. Actually, it made a trek across the Pacific as well, as ROH made its debut in Japan in Tokyo and Osaka in July with two great shows. Even though ROH is looked at as the biggest indy in America, it was a shock to find out the company was heading to Japan. And with the help of Dragon Gate and NOAH, ROH made an impressive debut that had ROHbots all over the world talking. The shows weren’t just important for the fact that it was ROH’s debut in Japan. But these shows also gave Takeshi Morishima some time to shine, and show what he had to offer as the top champion in Ring of Honor, or any company for that matter. The shows also gave a young Go Shiozaki more exposure, and helped get him enough notoriety to warrant a run in ROH in the states. These shows also gave the world some true tag team wrestling, proving why The Briscoes are at the top of the tag team ranks in any country. Live In Tokyo and Live In Osaka have become two the fastest, and highest selling DVDs since their releases. And there’s no reason why a true ROHbot wouldn’t have these shows in their collections. From a business and a wrestling standpoint, these shows are two of the most profitable shows in ROH history as they exposed a different new concept of American wrestling to different concept of wrestling fans. I guess all we can say is “Oregato Ring of Honor.”  

2. Give Me Homicide Or Give Me Death: At the beginning of 2006, ROH got involved in an interpromotional war with Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). After months of bloodshed, broken bones, and Necro Butcher, Death Before Dishonor IV hosted the finale, a CZW Cage of Death match. This cage surrounded the ringside area like a giant circle, full of weapons. Team ROH were actually dominating the match until team captain, and ROH World champion, Bryan Danielson decided it was better to turn on his team and take out future challenger Samoa Joe than to win this battle. The fans watched as their boys got bloodied and beaten. They knew one man could save it all, and they screamed their lungs out for him until his music hit. Homicide walked down the aisle, ready for war. And he took it to CZW, finishing of Nate Webb with the Cop (Gringo) Killa on board of barbed wire. This match was the final trigger in the babyface turn that Homicide would use to win the ROH World title at the end of the year. In the summer of 2006, Homicide was looked upon as the savior of ROH. Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, no one was respected in ROH more during that summer than Homicide. They knew that the only man in Ring of Honor able to hang with the most hardcore organization in the country was the Notorious 187. And that’s what he did, single handily winning the interpromotional feud for Ring of Honor. In the end, both companies came out looking great, and Homicide was the reason for it.

1. The Summer Of Punk: Any ROHbot that’s any ROHbot knows about the summer of 2005, and how it changed Ring of Honor forever. CM Punk was scheduled to leave for OVW to get ready to head up to WWE. Before Punk could leave, he had to win the ROH World title. At Death Before Dishonor III, he did that. To see someone win the top belt on their last show is so rare that no one could believe. Then Punk did the unthinkable: Punk heeled on everyone, running out of the building with the title. Punk would follow up by signing his WWE developmental contract on the ROH title belt (wearing a suit none the less), showing nothing but disrespect for the company he helped build. For that summer, Punk held onto the belt, slipping pass challengers such as Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels (who returned to get the belt away from him), Roderick Strong, and James “Jaime Noble” Gibson, all the while, giving us the hint that every win would be the final ROH title defense we’d see. After two months, it would take three men (Samoa Joe, Chris Daniels, and James Gibson) and over 45 minutes to get the title off of Punk, with Gibson winning the title in a bloody four-way elimination match. The next night, Punk bid farewell in his “final” match with Colt Cabana (Unscripted II is the reason “final” is in quotations). The reason these two months are held in such high regard is because of the drama behind it all. Like any good storyline, a little bit of reality was peppered throughout Punk’s ROH reign. We knew he was leaving, so we never expected him to win the belt, let alone keep it until August. It also helped solidify Jay Lethal and Roderick Strong as future champions in this business. Nothing but great things came from these two months, and it’ll be hard for anyone to surpass the moments of the summer of 2005 when Punk tyrannized Ring of Honor. He is truly the cult of personality

Honorable Mention: Low Ki Becomes The 1^st ROH Champion (2002), Homicide vs. Steve Corino: Losing An Ear For Colby’s Honor (2003), Joe vs. Punk: The 1^st Sixty Minute Draw (2004), Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson: Going The Distance (2004), Dragon Gate Arrives (2005), ROH Debuts In England (2006), Bryan Danielson: The New Sixty Minute/Unified Champion (2006), Steenerico Man Up On The Briscoes (2007), Claudio Castagnoli’s Race To The Top (2007), Morishima Comes Into His Own (2007), Claudio Castagnoli’s Heel Turn (2008).

If you have any opinions on the list, or your own, hit me up on the WWI message board in the ROH section. That’s all for this edition of the ROHbot Report. Remember to check rohwrestling.com for all the latest news, as well as the newest deals. Also check out the newest Videowire, where The Briscoes show how they start a revolution, as well as Castagnoli’s heel turn. Till then.