Professional wrestling thread

Anyone who would like some recommendations from the $10 DVDs available can PM me as I own most of em.

Yes, I am a dork.

 

I think the new ECW has two rising stars: CM Punk, obviously. He's going to be a big-time player in a year or two (unless he gets stuck in Shelton Benjamin-land) and I beleive he's slowly being groomed for a top spot in the company. And then there's Elijah Burke, who has above-average mic skills/charisma and is not bad in the ring. He actually wrestled a really good match against RVD a few weeks (months?) ago on TV. Thorne and Stryker are all gimmick; Cor Von is a question mark to me but there's obvious talent there.

I agree with the potential of ECW. But if anything, the show seems like a modern-day Sunday Night Heat, except a bit more glamerous with the appearance of upper-echelon characters like McMahons and Lashley. I mean, who cares about Gene Skitsky destroying jobbers such as Balls Mahoney? Who cares about the Extreme Expose? Who cares about McMahon vs. Lashley (zzz), really? I do like the Originals vs. the Vince and the embarassment that his title reign has caused ECW and what the company stood for pre-2001. They should run with that for awhile...Shane could have some entertaining matches against the Originals for sure. And there's no doubt that that this angle has an intense realness to it, since most smarks just know the Originals really meant what they said last night.

 

Speaking of RoH, they're getting a PPV deal:

New York, May 3, 2007 - Ring Of Honor Wrestling (ROH), in association with G-Funk Sports & Entertainment, has concluded programming and distribution deals for PPV and VOD wrestling cards with iN DEMAND Networks, TVN and EchoStar Communications Corporation's DISH NetworkTM, making the critically-acclaimed ROH brand available for the first time ever to approximately 50 million American households. The agreement calls for a card every 60 days from shows both stateside and abroad, and will premiere July 1. A total of six cards are planned throughout '07/'08. ROH owner Cary Silkin made the announcement today with G-Funk's President Ken Gelman. The debut event, entitled "Respect Is Earned," will be taped May 12 in New York City from the Grand Ballroom of the Manhattan Center, and will feature a glistening array of talent from Japan, England, the U.S. and Mexico.

Long revered by a loyal underground fan base, the Philadelphia-based ROH—currently seen on Canadian, British and Japanese TV—appeals to the disenfranchised wrestling fan fed up with storylines which seem to take precedence over the kind of powerful ring competition that ROH specializes in. ROH, in fact, is seen to have the highest level of athleticism in its field today, which recently culminated in a sweep of the 2006 Wrestling Observer awards for "Most Outstanding Wrestler," "Best Brawler," "Best Major Wrestling Show" (ROH took four of its Top 10) and "Best Booker."

"Fans around the world now know that our brand of action is, indeed, the highest-flying, hardest-hitting most daring and acrobatic action presented today," says Mr. Silkin. "We are thrilled that we can finally show a televised audience what our crowds have known for the last six years…that ROH harkens back to an earlier era of wrestling where authenticity still counted for something. There's a magic at our shows that I, as a wrestling fan, had all but given up on."

G-Funk Sports and Entertainment will be handling all marketing and promotion for the wrestling programs, including creation and launch of an affiliate website on May 15, www.rohaffiliates.com, which will contain easy-to-implement marketing materials and all event information. Each show will also be supported by a range of targeted national consumer advertising and promotion.

According to Mr. Gelman, "Ring Of Honor already has the respect and enthusiastic following of legions of fans around the world through their live events, but represents a fresh new entry into the world of televised wrestling. These distinctive programs will prove a welcome change-of-pace for audiences and a popular new option for cable operators and satellite providers as they expand their transactional offerings."

 

They picked the PERFECT venue for the first PPV. I have two DVDs from events there, and ROH looks world-class in that setting. A jam-packed crowd helps.

 

Indeed it is. I loved watching ECW when they held shows there and in Philly.

 

Does GimpyScribe know about this ROH development? He might be crying tears of joy and can't get to the keyboard fast enough to respond

 

I've got your keyboard right here, buddy.
Actually I just found out about this. Sounds like good news to me. Except, I have DirecTV so I'm not sure if it will be available for me. Hopefully.

 

Undertaker has a complete tear of his biceps and will be out for the rest of the year, according to F4WOnline.com. Next week on Smackdown, Batista will face Undertaker for the title in a steel cage match...Batista will likely win back the title.

Sad, because I really enjoyed Undertaker and his in-ring work as of late. His match at WrestleMania was fantastic, especially seeing it live. He got the biggest pop of the night easily. His Backlash match was pretty damn good as well (besides the finish)......him and Batista work well together. WWE actually wanted to give him a very lengthy title reign, but unfortunatly that won't happen.

 

Got to wonder at his age if that might be it for Taker. Perhaps he comes back for one match at Mania and that's it?

Meanwhile TNA has pulled its talent from ROH, PWG and all other companies who sell their DVDs through a third party.

Big news day in our hobby's little world...

 

Dave Meltzer said yesterday something to the effect of "There's a Batista-UT cage match next week for the title, and unless plans change, Undertaker isn't leaving the TV taping still champion - but that doesn't mean Batista will be champion by the show's end either."

Sounds to me like they're hot-shotting the title to Mr. Kennedy (...Kennedy!)

 

They could also do something where the title is vacant to set up a main event at the next PPV, too.

 

I think Kennedy would make a better program with Cena, but he's the perfect guy to have the belt right now if Taker can't keep it.