ROHbots welcome to another edition of your favorite Ring of Honor news source. A lot to talk about today, so lets get right to it.

I’ve tried to keep my fingers from doing too much work since this news hit so I could lay it all here, for you adoring readers. Let me first say congratulations to Danielson for making that huge leap to the #1 wrestling based company in the world. Yeah, I know WWE is “sports entertainment”, but until they get rid of that ring in the center of their profitable events, then it’s still a wrestling based company. Any way, I can’t deny the hope that I have for every ROH wrestler to make it to the big time known as “WWE”. No matter how great Ring of Honor is, to see the guys you’ve supported on a smaller scale for years show the world what they’ve been missing while you were bragging about it is a little bit of a personal victory for any fan.

“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson means a lot to any long time Ring of Honor fan. For those who don’t know, Danielson is one of the last links between the original incarnation of ROH, and what we see today. The only people left on the roster that can claim that spot are The Briscoes. For me, Bryan Danielson is the Bret Hart of this generation. When I started regularly ordering Ring of Honor DVDs, Danielson gave me something that only Bret Hart had some ten years earlier: a great appreciation for the art of professional wrestling. Danielson isn’t known for his incredible promos (even though he doesn’t get the credit for his microphone work like he should), or his flashy moves. Bryan Danielson set a mark for himself as the man you buy DVDs to watch wrestle. You paid to see him wrestle like no one’s business, making matches you’d think would be good great, and having great matches become classics. As we moved through the first decade of the 2000s, Danielson’s ability to have excellent matches with anyone became his forte. I honestly don’t think anyone outside of the big two in the 90s can say they’ve had as many great matches with such a diverse set of wrestlers as Danielson. There’s a reason I call Danielson this generation’s Bret Hart, and I think his matches prove that. In the ring, there isn’t anyone close to Bryan Danielson right now. I don’t care what company or country you’re talking about, Bryan Danielson is “the best in the world”.

So that brings us to the looming question, “Will Danielson be able to prove his in-ring superiority in WWE?” A more important question is “Will Bryan have the opportunity to show his in-ring superiority in WWE?” I hate to say it, but I really don’t have any answers at this point. I mean, Danielson hasn’t even finished up his indy schedule. I don’t know if he’ll be sent to FCW for some WWE-izing of his wrestling repertoire (which he’s been doing himself over the past year in his matches), or if he’ll just be moved to the main roster after a few dark matches. What I do know is Danielson will have to be ready for the opportunity to give his best. Vince McMahon always says, “I give opportunities for success, not promises.” An argument can be made that people like Colt Cabana never got the opportunity. People like Chris Harris never got that opportunity (but an easier argument can be made that he brought that on himself). Opportunities aren’t just thrown out there for everyone. And why should they? Sometimes you have to sit back and wait before you press for a chance to prove your worth. Bret Hart did it, and look how that turned out. Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, all of them took their time, and then broke loose when they saw the chance. Recently, a ROH alumnus CM Punk has done it in a major way. For goodness sakes, he’s about to feud with The Undertaker over the WWE World title. How many people can say that? Maybe Danielson will follow CM Punk’s footsteps in making a name for himself on a global level. Or maybe he’ll fall like Braden Walker after being given a generic name (as if “Bryan Danielson” isn’t pretty generic) and gaining a noticeable amount of weight.

Speaking of weight, what about Danielson’s size? Will that be a liability for him? Once again, I don’t have a real answer for that, but I must say that it will be a little bit of a problem for him. Danielson is only 5’8”, which will put him on the Evan Bourne side of the roster. You know, where all the less than 6’2” wrestlers sit. Like Kofi Kingston, Chris Jericho, and Rey Mysterio, and Shawn Michaels, and CM Punk. You know, those guys who aren’t doing much right now. Seriously, I do think Danielson’s size will play against him a little bit. His style works well with people around his size. While I know there is some exceptions in ROH when it comes to the size of people Danielson’s beaten, the majority of those opponents looked as if they could be beaten by Danielson. Think about it, would you really believe Kane could lose to Danielson in a fight? What about Mark Henry? But when you really sit back and think about it, there are only a few overly large men in WWE right now. While Danielson may be smaller than a majority of the roster, him beating Jericho, The Miz, Tyson Kidd, Dolph Ziggler, Kofi, Rey, Matt Hardy, Christian, even Edge wouldn’t look too unbelievable. Right now, WWE is looking more diverse than it has since beginning of the millennium, and Danielson could greatly add to that diversity.

Another advantage Danielson has coming in that most don’t is support. Bryan Danielson was trained by Shawn Michaels, and mentored by William Regal. Plus he’s a friend of WWE World champion CM Punk. Tell me that doesn’t give you a little bit of clout among everyone. But I know Danielson won’t be relying on the words of others to give him his chance to shine. Danielson, if given the opportunity Vince has promised to so many others in the past, I know he’ll be able to pull a CM Punk and become a good sized name in WWE. He might not duplicate Punk’s success, but I know it’ll be worthy of what we expect from Danielson. Or he might surpass Punk and prove that he is the Bret Hart of this generation.

But where does that leave ROH? I don’t think I could’ve asked a better question about the main event scene in Ring of Honor in the last Report. But before I can get to that, I have to talk about Bryan some more, specifically, his final matches in ROH.

As good as all four matches look, I must say that the last two matches are the most intriguing. Seriously, Danielson vs. Davey Richards in the second to last ROH match for Danielson. That match is going to be bodily functions releasing amazing. Richards has been nothing short of incredible since his return last year, and I know he’ll give Danielson a match to be proud of. I wish I could be there to see it. As for his title match with Aries, it could, obviously, go one of two ways: Aries wins, or Danielson wins. Now I know you’re thinking that it’s obvious Danielson isn’t winning, but think about it. CM Punk was supposed to leave after Death Before Dishonor III in 2005 to go to WWE. His last match was Punk vs. Aries for Aries’ ROH World title. And Punk won. Punk won the top belt in the company on his “last” night, and spent the whole summer with it. While I don’t think Danielson will pull a Punk and heel on everyone after winning it, leading to the fall of Danielson, I do think it’d be a nice ending to a tremendous tenure. Or Danielson could play the role of one of his greatest rivals in ROH, fellow Hybrid Dolphin Paul London. On the first Death Before Dishonor, London fought his last ROH match against Samoa Joe for the ROH title, only to get choked out. It would be nice to have Danielson put over the champ and walk away, but I just would love to see the former happen. I think I’ll tell you why in a little bit.

And don’t think I’m shortchanging the first two matches. I already covered them in the last Report, silly reader.

Good stuff, but I have to say that I don’t know how much this will do for anyone in terms of growth outside of the first match. King could get his chance to make a big rush to the top if he defeats Black. Or he’ll just be stuck in the same position he’s in right now, just with a high profiled loss. I don’t know if they’re getting us ready for Black’s run after Aries or not. I understand if they have him win over Nigel again, he’ll have no reason not to get a World title shot. As for the first two matches of “The Final Countdown” Bryan Danielson farewell tour, you know it’s going to be some stiff fun. Chops, great mat wrestling, kicks, some more chops, possibly a dive into the crowd or two. Sounds like a worthy main event to me.

I don’t know if it’s the similar look, or more power based style, but I like Albright and Stevens as a team. Even since they teamed up with Roderick Strong to turn back the Sweet & Sour challenge, they’ve made a pretty good fit. Similar to the team they’re facing. The Wolves were put together and just gelled as a unit. Stevens and Albright can do the same, and maybe add something to the tag division that’s been missing: a babyface power team. If it works out, we might see a clash of the powerhouse teams of Stevens & Albright and the Dark City Fight Club. It could be like Power & Pain vs. Demolition, but with more mobility and finesse.

I don’t know what they are setting up for these two, but I like it. The night before will have a tag match with the two opponents involved, and I expected Petey to win there, giving him a title shot the next night in Chicago. Instead, Petey has a chance to actually beat the World champion in a one on one match to maybe set up for a title shot down the line. Or maybe Aries can shut him down before Petey can ever get a chance to claim a shot. Either way, it can’t be anything short (no pun intended) of an excellent main event. Petey is a real unappreciated worker, and so far in his ROH tenure, he’s proven he’s not just some one-move wrestler.

I’ve liked The Embassy’s comeback feud thus far. They have a lot of options for single and tag matches, and mixing it up to keep everything fresh is very simple and effective. But if they want to add some heat to the feud, and to this match specifically, have Rave and Nana cut Butcher’s beard. Yes, I know Butcher has shaved in the past, but with his whole “bearded brothers” thing with Grizzly Redwood, and Necro going crazy as if he’s ZZ Top losing their claim to fame, we could see the old crazy Necro back.

Like Petey, Dutt was horribly unappreciated in TNA. Dutt made a real fan out of me in 2006 during a live UWF show, and I know what he has the ability to do. He even showed some of that in TNA, but you know how they are. I’ve been hoping for a while that Delirious be put in a real feud after he finished with Jimmy Jacobs, and he and Dutt could be as entertaining a one as you can get.

Tag Team

action is signed for Boston on September 25th as Nick and Matt Jackson – The Young Bucks will take on Cheech and Cloudy.

Sounds like a good opener, or something after intermission. Both teams are high flyers, so they should be able to give a good match that will get the fans off their seats. I honestly hope it’s the opener because this match reminds me of those old days when we’d see some of the young, newcomers get a chance to make a hot, anticipating crowd get a glimpse of the possible future.

Kenny Omega has the goods. Simple as that, Omega has all the tools to be a star in ROH. All he needs is some incredible matches. Not just wins, but matches that prove he can hang with the big dogs. And who is a big dog, a star maker? Nigel McGuinness pulled off a star-making match with Tyler Black a year ago, and hopefully he can do the same with Omega. If there was ever a time for Omega to step up, it’s now.

I like this from an in-ring perspective, but I would like to know what this will do for either man. Nigel is struggling to get back in the World title picture while Strong is just floating at that level of, “He’s got the potential to become a ROH World champion, but…” Once again, good match, but I just want to see the beginning of something more than just matches between stars this big.

I know a lot of people have been asking why isn’t this a Fight Without Honor, or something similar. Well, why give away their first meeting in ROH in a match that would end a feud. I expect Hero to somehow cheat his way to victory, adding more fuel to this fire that goes across the barriers of reality and fiction.

I’ve been begging for some breakout stars recently. I’ve already talked about Omega using this weekend to become a true force, but what about Claudio? Claudio was another person on the verge of becoming a top star in ROH last year, then the heel turned stunted that chance. Like Omega, maybe he can get some huge, impressive wins/matches, and get back in that position he looked so well made for last year.

I said in the last Report that their match a week earlier could give The Bucks a big upset over The Briscoes. It might happen in NYC instead. I don’t know if the fans will like it very much, but having The Bucks go over the most over team in the company would make them immediate players. Or they could be involved in two hard fought, but unsuccessful matches before the end of the month with those Delaware brothers. Why do I have a feeling it’ll be the latter.

Even though it was pretty much made official when I did the last Report, I’m writing this again because I made a big screw up last time. I can say it was from being tired. I can say it was from not paying attention. But I can’t say I was correct. It’s going to be Steenerico and The Wolves facing off in a match that will be nothing short of a classic. But the two teams involved have a lot to live up to. You know what, it’s not just the first Ladder War that they have to follow. These two teams have to follow a series of incredible contests that have spanned the course of 2009, especially that Tables match shown in May on HDNet. As I said last time, the first Ladder War was one of my top matches of 2007. In the end, Steenerico walked out without the belts, and I have a feeling it’ll be the same in NYC. The Wolves/Steenerico feud has been tremendous thus far, and I don’t think there’s a better match to end, to me, the feud of the year in Ring of Honor.

Canada has been a mixed bag for ROH thus far. The first couple of trips were very successful, but I can’t say the same about the last few. I know the last show was one of the better turnouts in a while, but I don’t know if the income has been worth travel. Maybe this switch in venue and area is to correct that problem.

If this is the beginning of something similar to ROH’s feud with CZW over three years ago, then I have something to look forward to. If it’s just D’Amore’s way of getting back at ROH for running a show on the same night, I’m a little saddened. It seems so petty. Well, I guess it’s not because Ring of Honor could take away a good amount of their business that night. Or maybe the fans of BCW will make sure they choose their company over ROH. Maybe this will turn into something bigger than just some promotion money war that could actually bring money and attention to both parties.

Speaking of disappointing turnouts, over two years ago (when this show happens) ROH did a San Francisco show in cooperation with another big reunion show. It was a major flop as the man behind the show screwed up everything, leaving a very angry group of fans that were expecting to see Wrestler A, getting Wrestler “eh, who is this guy?” In the end, ROH had a show in front of about three hundred people in the famous, and pretty big, Cow Palace. Lets just say that Ring of Honor’s first spin on the West Coast was pretty much a failure. I doubt this one will be such a flop because the sounds of the show say that the people running it know their limitations. But that’s not to say they’re not pulling out all the stops when it comes to appearances.

Liger came for one weekend in November nearly five years ago, putting on some great matches with Bryan Danielson and Low Ki. Now the question is whom should Liger face in his return. While I doubt whomever Liger faces will win, just having a match with a legend like Liger is enough to get the people talking about you. It’s really hard to say who deserves the match since we are so far away from the show. But if I had to go with anyone, it’d be Davey Richards or Chris Hero. Both men have been dabbling in the main events for a while now, but a great match with Jushin Liger could give either man that one opportunity to break through to a permanent position at the top.

This happened at the last set of TV tapings, and we haven’t heard much since. I’m assuming that he’s okay, but you know what they say when you assume about someone. I can only hope it’s nothing serious, and Lynn can come back and give some great wrestling to us all.

This shocking news came out before the announcement of Danielson’s signing with WWE. It’s really disheartening to hear that Ring of Honor, a company that was once on the verge of making consistent profits, having ECW-like problems some seven years after it’s birth. Seven seems to be that magic number for the number three promotion in the U.S. every time. While Cary was able to follow up on those checks, you have to wonder if a lot of the ROH roster is thinking that maybe a cut in pay with some stability in either WWE or TNA will be better than riding the shaky ship before it recovers or sinks.

Another financial problem for ROH lately has been its DVDs. DVD purchases have been the major revenue stream for ROH since its inception. When your main source of money is not working like it once did, you have to wonder what do you turn to it around. When it comes to the DVDs, ROH needs to look at what they’ve changed in the past year, outside of the head booker. Or is the head booker the problem (as some have said). I think the problem is a lot of recent DVD releases haven’t felt like must have shows. They either haven’t had an all around must see card, or a must see match that everyone was talking about after it was over. Very few in 2009 have had that thus far. I understand that some of the problems with the first couple of years of shows were too much for too long. But it might be time for ROH to get back to its roots when it comes to DVD events.

This could open the floodgates for a lot of ROH wrestlers to go where they want, especially if they aren’t contracted, and having their checks bounce, even if they end up being covered. Now the question is if wrestlers will take up on the opportunity to leave. Once again, it really depends on where you sit. Danielson saw his chance to move forward, but will everyone else who WWE or TNA is looking at think that they are in the same well off position. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Normally this would be around the point where I’d do the review of this past week’s ROH on HDNet, but your favorite ROHbot hasn’t had the chance to sit back and watch the show yet. So I’ll pick it up next time. But that doesn’t mean The Report is over. I asked you all a question about the current main event scene in ROH, and you gave me your opinions in full. Lets see what some of you ROHbots had to say.

I said you didn’t have to agree with me. Jerry Lynn’s reign was met with venom and anger by so many fans, and I’m not shocked in the least that the majority of you don’t want him as the champion again. I think he could’ve had a better reign if it had gone a little longer, but that’s a moot point now. As for Black, in the eyes of a lot of ROHbots, he is the chosen one, the true next star in line to use the ROH World title to propel himself to the likes of former champions Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, and even Aries himself.

When Ring of Honor opened up, I agree wrestling was in its golden age when it came to indy wrestling. There were so many fresh and impressive talents around the States that would make up the foundation of ROH, and become a part of the focus of the big two that we know of today. But a mass of great talent comes few and far between, and it might take years before we get an influx of young men and women ready to push themselves for the love of pro-wrestling like the AJ Styles, CM Punks, “American Dragons”, Low Kis, Samoa Joes and countless other of the beginning of the 2000s.

Austin Aries has turned his career upside down in a very positive way since his heel turn at Final Battle 2008. He’s been putting on some of the most entertaining performances not seen on network TV, and it’s shame because he needs to be seen on a global scale. Aries is one of those talents I was talking about from the early part of the first decade of the 2000s. I also spoke about Tyler Black being the chosen one to unseat Aries when it’s all said and done. And that’s where a problem lies. Like Nigel, Black’s chance to become the champion has been pushed back so many times that it’ll take a lot to get the heat back he had during his first couple of failed shots. A lot could open up for Black as champion when it comes to opponents. Right now, ROH is heel heavy, and having Black as the champion would give us some potential great contests that won’t happen with Aries as the champion. If Black does win the belt in the end, it could help propel a lot of people to the top that won’t be able to with Aries as champion, specifically Davey Richards and Chris Hero. Fuzz brings up a point that I made last year in stating that ROH needs a secondary singles title to get those guys not ready to break through to the main events in position for that. With ROH on HDNet, Ring of Honor could easily institute a TV title. Have a tournament that would span over three weeks of shows and give it to someone who they feel is going to be next in line to be a big ROH main eventer (Kenny Omega, Chris Hero). Or to someone who needs the shine of gold to bring back the luster they’ve lost since failing to win the ROH World title on countless occasions (Strong, Cabana). That’s a lot of ifs though.

I think the general consensus is ROH has fallen into a rut. Not a bad rut because of the people they’re using, but a rut of using the same people because no one has been given the chance to shine in that position. You can only have Aries, Black, and McGuinness fighting for the title before it becomes stale. You can only have Black shutdown so many times before the people stop caring. It’s only so many times we can have guys you never expect to win the ROH title get a shot, fight so hard and come so close, before ultimately losing and being sent back down the card before we stopping believing.

And I think a lot of this can change in one night. Bryan Danielson, upon leaving, could be the catalyst to a new age in ROH. If Danielson wins the title and vacates it upon his exit, the World title picture, for the first time in years, would be wide open. After much debate, it would be ordered that the new champion would be crowned after a sixteen man, single elimination tournament, ending at Final Battle 2009. Have a couple of tournament matches a show before having the final three matches culminate on the final event of the year of the ROH calendar. And that’s the night Ring of Honor would pull the trigger on making its new star. Who? Well, there are a lot of possibilities. For one, I’d think Kenny Omega’s valiant fight to the top before winning would make for a great story. Having Roderick Strong win would be a nice redemption story, and finally have him become a man worthy of the moniker “potential World champion” the announcers have given him in the past three years. What about Hero or Davey Richards? They just need that one thing to put them over the top, and winning the World title would easily be that. Or Tyler Black, the chosen one, could finally accomplish his dream in a time stands still moment. To me, the only way to freshen up the scenery is by letting the belt rest off of someone’s waist for a little while before thrusting it onto someone you know can lead a revolution of youth and excitement. And wasn’t that what Ring of Honor was built on over seven years ago?

That’s it for this time around. I’d like to thank everyone who participated, and maybe I’ll do something like it again. Keep your eyes open, and push for change, be it in ROH or in your life.

Till Then.