Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Our regular column on the site focusing on the hottest indy promotion in North America, Ring of Honor, known to most as ROH.

This week I look at some likes and dislikes before the two big UK shows take place, and next week we’ll be back with more on Homicide dropping the title, make feelings on Morishima’s title win and the future, and matches you should go out of your way to see from the recent Manhattan show.

-Jimmy Rave isn’t over. They gave Jimmy the build now to build up treatment. It was good. They transitioned him out of the Embassy, disbanded it, and gave Jimmy a feud with Nigel McGuinness to move him in a different direction. The booking of the character remains strong. The title shot was well produced. The new entrance is a welcome change. The Hell hook-like finisher is good and has been booked to mean something. Everything is in place except for one thing. We’re still talking about Jimmy Rave!

ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky has done wonders in making the impossible or uninteresting an engrossing reality in ROH during the last five years. Here’s one of the times I don’t see anything Gabe can do. We as ROH observers have managed to look at Rave as far more then I ever thought when he was an opening match guy with baggy pants we “had” to deal with because he was AJ Style’s pal. He’s come a long way, but some men just can’t be taken seriously as a main eventer.

I like the cocky persona Rave carries himself with. I think he’s improved and he’s better than most give him credit for. Still, the man will always need a semi-main event to mid card push with focus to keep us from going to the bathroom during his matches. Might i suggest a new manager in newly acquired Larry Sweeny? I wouldn’t be the first presenting that idea.

-I realize Gabe Sapolsky books Full Impact Pro. I realize Cary Silken’s ROH DVD distribution pushes FIP for profit. I also realize it’s a chance for Gabe to look at different talent before bringing them to ROH, a breeding ground for his alternate creative ideas, and a nice vacation from the Northeast in the winter. That said, if you retire the Pure Title, then I don’t care to see the replacement title in the form of the FIP belt being booked on ROH shows.

Roddrick Strong is an intricate part of ROH storylines, and literally has been such since the debut almost 3 years back at Generation Next. But leave the title defenses and alternate dimension storylines back in Florida guys. If I wanted to follow FIP, I’d be watching an FIP DVD instead. No harm in trying to be synergistic, just keep it out of my sight as much as possible. Thanks.

-The wacky partnership of Jimmy Jacobs and Colt Cabana, with the common denominator of Lacey, looked great in results posts and newswires. When i finally saw it on DVD, it left alot to be desired. Entertaining to a point, it left me with questions regarding not only Gabe’s opinions regarding his fanbase and what they’ll blindly support (well, wrestling has a history of siplictic characters we shouldn’t really be encouraging), and more so wondering what the hell happened to him in high school?

But now that Jimmy has chosen Lacey and turned on Colt, this things getting great to watch again. Adding in the Whitmer feud has helped, as has Lacey having a foil in Daize. None of these people really stand on there own to two feet for me as a fan (well, Cabana for entertainment does,and Jimmy as well, but not without anyone else to play off of), but as a whole it’s something to see. Here’s a cheer for the year long blow off to the Jimmy-Whitmer feud, most likely being blown off in Detroit Wrestlemania weekend.

I’ll be back with thoughts and memories on Samoa Joe’s time in ROH, most likely after his final appearance this weekend. For more information on ROH visit ROHwrestling.com.