Thursday, December 27, 2007
SamoaRowe's Top Ten
So, here's my Top Ten list of 2007 as it stands now. I just want to note that I haven't finished Good Times, Great Memories, and I haven't seen Manhatten Mayhem II or Man Up yet. I also fell asleep ten minutes into Cena/Michaels II, so I don't have any solid opinion on that one yet. Anyhow, here's the list:
10) Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Fifth Year Festival: New York City)
I pegged this one at ****1/4. It was a great power match, and I marked out a lot while watching it. This only lost points because I felt it went from "feeling out" to "going home" very quickly, so the match didn't feel complete in that sense. Still, a pleasure to watch, and the beginning of an awesome run for Morishima in ROH.
9) Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
You know those matches where a title is on the line and you know for sure that the champion is going to retain? This could have easily been one of those matches, but it wasn't. For starters, Claudio was built up strongly before this event, winning the Race to the Top tournament. Then the match took place, and Claudio brought a crazy fight to the dominant Morishima, pushing him to the very limit. Sadly, Morishima was able to regain himself long enough to hit a single backdrop driver on Claudio for the win. Anticlimatic finish aside, this match was magic, and landed at ****1/4.
8) Takeshi Morishima and Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness and KENTA (ROH Respect is Earned)
Now we're enterting ****1/2 territory. This was the main event of ROH's first ever pay-per-view, and they didn't hold anything back and threw the top four stars they had out there to quickly establish personalities and roles for a new audience. We learned right away how ruthless Morishima could be, how agile KENTA is, and how intelligent and crafy Danielson is. What stood out here was the emergence of Nigel McGuinness as a top star to the new audience, as he appeared to be hurt and out of the match, but quickly got bandaged up to return and prove to us all what a tough competitor he is. I loved this match, it set the pay-per-view era off on the right foot.
7) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Respect is Earned)
By this point you're probably rolling your eyes over how ROH-heavy this list is, because I could give two shits. I call it like I see it. The Briscoes spent the entire year stealing show after show and pushing the limit (later in the year I would actually argue they pushed things too far, but that's a story for another day). Sydal and Castagnoli were a thrown together team for this one, but displayed some incredible chemistry and took the fight to the Briscoes. Speaking of the Briscoes, they were on fire here, and delivered some of the most breathtaking double team spots I've ever witnessed. I've said it before, but I'm not going to apologize for loving a spot-fest, which this was, if it is done well and makes me cheer. ****1/2.
6) John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Wrestlemania 23)
This match got a lot of criticism due to Cena getting a lot of punishment to the knee and then no-selling it later in the match. This gripe didn't bother me that much, because the no-selling lead to a thrilling back and forth contest between two guys who set out to add a new chapter to both their respective legacies. This was the kind of outstanding singles Wrestlemania main event that we hadn't seen in several years and was a welcome return. ****1/2
5) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico and Kevin Steen (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
The Boston street fight was a war unlike the city had ever seen. It started with brawling through the crowd and ended up a series of devastating bumps in the ring. The hatred between these two teams was reaching scary levels of believability as the chair shots and broken tables began to add up. From what I've heard, the ladder war from Man Up topped this war, though reviews of the later match lead me to believe that they went too far with the violence. At least here, every spot and moment built and built until the final sickening moment when Steen dropped a Briscoe with the package piledriver onto the ladder. Steen and Generico got the upset and a moment of glory. ****1/2.
4) CIMA, Shingo, and Susumu Yokosuka vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, and Masaaki Mochizuki (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Now we are entering the ****3/4 territory. These six men set out to match the quality of the Dragon Gate six man from the original Supercard of Honor, and they came pretty damn close. The delight here was seeing them trying to have an awesome match, but not the same spot-fest from the year before. There was a lot of storytelling in this one, as well as a great mixture of styles with the inclusion of Shingo and Mochizuki. This was a match that I felt I could watch repeatedly, not get tired of it, and notice something new each time. A true classic.
3) John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble)
My first impression after watching this match was that it was the MOTY and nothing would touch it. I turned out to be wrong, but I was still blown away by this. For starters, I don't really care for Umaga, as a character or a worker. That should tell you how much I enjoyed this match then. It was a last man standing match, and they worked the gimmick to perfection. They utilized their surroundings fantastically, including a nasty Umaga splash on the announce tables. What really put this over for me was the climatic finish, with Cena incorporating the broken ring ropes to trap Umaga in the STFU. I said it then as I'll say it now, this match deserves to be talked about for a long time. It was the best WWE match of 2007. ****3/4.
2) Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH Driven)
These are two guys I will never get tired of seeing them wrestle each other. Each time they bring something new to the table and have a completely different great match. When I first heard about this one, people immediately said it was the best match they'd had yet, and I didn't believe it. I had trouble buying that it would top their match from Unified in 2006. How wrong I was. The aggression. The drama. The way both men got put over. A lot of people complained that Nigel was buried in 2007, all the while overlooking how he was put over huge on the pay-per-views. He looked stronger in defeat than most wrestlers look in victory. This lived up the hype and deserves to be talked about for a long time. ****3/4.
1) Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Nigel/Danielson almost knocked this one out of it's place. In the end, there were just too many factors putting this one over. It was the culmination of a year-long feud. It featured a wreslter I don't usually enjoy (BJ Whitmer) but dazzled me anyhow. It helped complete the transformation of Jimmy Jacobs into a disturbring psychopath. And it was brutal. The match took place in a cage and both men destroyed each other and both men were put on the shelf as a result. Jacobs tore up his knee and lost a tooth. No match in 2007 was more memorable or meaningful to me than this, so here it stands, as SamoaRowe's MOTY. ****3/4.
10) Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Fifth Year Festival: New York City)
I pegged this one at ****1/4. It was a great power match, and I marked out a lot while watching it. This only lost points because I felt it went from "feeling out" to "going home" very quickly, so the match didn't feel complete in that sense. Still, a pleasure to watch, and the beginning of an awesome run for Morishima in ROH.
9) Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
You know those matches where a title is on the line and you know for sure that the champion is going to retain? This could have easily been one of those matches, but it wasn't. For starters, Claudio was built up strongly before this event, winning the Race to the Top tournament. Then the match took place, and Claudio brought a crazy fight to the dominant Morishima, pushing him to the very limit. Sadly, Morishima was able to regain himself long enough to hit a single backdrop driver on Claudio for the win. Anticlimatic finish aside, this match was magic, and landed at ****1/4.
8) Takeshi Morishima and Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness and KENTA (ROH Respect is Earned)
Now we're enterting ****1/2 territory. This was the main event of ROH's first ever pay-per-view, and they didn't hold anything back and threw the top four stars they had out there to quickly establish personalities and roles for a new audience. We learned right away how ruthless Morishima could be, how agile KENTA is, and how intelligent and crafy Danielson is. What stood out here was the emergence of Nigel McGuinness as a top star to the new audience, as he appeared to be hurt and out of the match, but quickly got bandaged up to return and prove to us all what a tough competitor he is. I loved this match, it set the pay-per-view era off on the right foot.
7) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Respect is Earned)
By this point you're probably rolling your eyes over how ROH-heavy this list is, because I could give two shits. I call it like I see it. The Briscoes spent the entire year stealing show after show and pushing the limit (later in the year I would actually argue they pushed things too far, but that's a story for another day). Sydal and Castagnoli were a thrown together team for this one, but displayed some incredible chemistry and took the fight to the Briscoes. Speaking of the Briscoes, they were on fire here, and delivered some of the most breathtaking double team spots I've ever witnessed. I've said it before, but I'm not going to apologize for loving a spot-fest, which this was, if it is done well and makes me cheer. ****1/2.
6) John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Wrestlemania 23)
This match got a lot of criticism due to Cena getting a lot of punishment to the knee and then no-selling it later in the match. This gripe didn't bother me that much, because the no-selling lead to a thrilling back and forth contest between two guys who set out to add a new chapter to both their respective legacies. This was the kind of outstanding singles Wrestlemania main event that we hadn't seen in several years and was a welcome return. ****1/2
5) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico and Kevin Steen (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
The Boston street fight was a war unlike the city had ever seen. It started with brawling through the crowd and ended up a series of devastating bumps in the ring. The hatred between these two teams was reaching scary levels of believability as the chair shots and broken tables began to add up. From what I've heard, the ladder war from Man Up topped this war, though reviews of the later match lead me to believe that they went too far with the violence. At least here, every spot and moment built and built until the final sickening moment when Steen dropped a Briscoe with the package piledriver onto the ladder. Steen and Generico got the upset and a moment of glory. ****1/2.
4) CIMA, Shingo, and Susumu Yokosuka vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, and Masaaki Mochizuki (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Now we are entering the ****3/4 territory. These six men set out to match the quality of the Dragon Gate six man from the original Supercard of Honor, and they came pretty damn close. The delight here was seeing them trying to have an awesome match, but not the same spot-fest from the year before. There was a lot of storytelling in this one, as well as a great mixture of styles with the inclusion of Shingo and Mochizuki. This was a match that I felt I could watch repeatedly, not get tired of it, and notice something new each time. A true classic.
3) John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble)
My first impression after watching this match was that it was the MOTY and nothing would touch it. I turned out to be wrong, but I was still blown away by this. For starters, I don't really care for Umaga, as a character or a worker. That should tell you how much I enjoyed this match then. It was a last man standing match, and they worked the gimmick to perfection. They utilized their surroundings fantastically, including a nasty Umaga splash on the announce tables. What really put this over for me was the climatic finish, with Cena incorporating the broken ring ropes to trap Umaga in the STFU. I said it then as I'll say it now, this match deserves to be talked about for a long time. It was the best WWE match of 2007. ****3/4.
2) Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH Driven)
These are two guys I will never get tired of seeing them wrestle each other. Each time they bring something new to the table and have a completely different great match. When I first heard about this one, people immediately said it was the best match they'd had yet, and I didn't believe it. I had trouble buying that it would top their match from Unified in 2006. How wrong I was. The aggression. The drama. The way both men got put over. A lot of people complained that Nigel was buried in 2007, all the while overlooking how he was put over huge on the pay-per-views. He looked stronger in defeat than most wrestlers look in victory. This lived up the hype and deserves to be talked about for a long time. ****3/4.
1) Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Nigel/Danielson almost knocked this one out of it's place. In the end, there were just too many factors putting this one over. It was the culmination of a year-long feud. It featured a wreslter I don't usually enjoy (BJ Whitmer) but dazzled me anyhow. It helped complete the transformation of Jimmy Jacobs into a disturbring psychopath. And it was brutal. The match took place in a cage and both men destroyed each other and both men were put on the shelf as a result. Jacobs tore up his knee and lost a tooth. No match in 2007 was more memorable or meaningful to me than this, so here it stands, as SamoaRowe's MOTY. ****3/4.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
ROH Haters
Okay, before I get into this, I just want to stop and acknowledge that there are some "ROHbots" out there who will exaggerate everything Ring of Honor does to the point where it becomes ridiculous. They exist, they are annoying, I get it. However, even worse is the emerging presence of the "ROH hater."
Over at 411mania.com/wrestling, J.D. Dunn posted his top ten matches of the year. The list featured lots of John Cena and ROH, with Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson from Driven topping the list. As expected, the usual lot of "OMG, CENA SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!1" people were there to bitch about it and do everything in their power to try and downplay what Cena accomplished this year. It was the type of "Yeah, Cena had great matches, but it doesn't counted because he was CARRIED!" So what if he was carried? Does that mean the match was less enjoyable? Others write off Cena's Royal Rumble match with Umaga because it was a gimmick match. Sometimes, gimmicks elevate a match or feud, so why should that hurt the credibility of the bout? Should I be thinking "I've decided that I didn't enjoy Cena/Umaga because it was a gimmick match, therefore it wasn't worth my time and I must of been confused to enjoy it." Some people made up their minds in 2005 that John Cena sucked and would always suck and will never change their minds. I don't care, I'm not exactly a huge Cena fan myself, but I'm always willing to give credit where it is due and Cena had an outstanding 2007 before his injury and is surely the wrestler of the year.
But then there's the ROH haters. This is a new breed of IWC peeps that has emerged due to ROH hitting pay-per-view. There are complaints at Dunn's list (411 has enabled comments to articles now, not sure if that's such a good idea...) as well as other boards I've seen. The argument is that "Nothing from ROH should be in consideration for year-end awards because only 2,000 people watch it." Wait, what? How is this a logical basis for one's opinion?
For starters, ROH is more popular than a lot of people have given it credit for. It is still an indy company, but one that draws consistent crowds in numerous cities, has achieved higher than expected pay-per-view buys, and are internationally known. No wrestling company experienced more growth in 2007 than ROH. I would even daresay that ROH is more popular now than TNA was in 2002-2003, and they are doing something that TNA has never done: make money.
But what really kills me is that people think ROH should be discredited simpy for being less popular and mainstream. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. Anyone who suggests that Cena vs. Khali has more of a right to be considered for match of the year over Danielson vs. Morishima should just accept that it's because they don't watch the ROH product and shouldn't get all snooty when others make such claims. I think it comes down to simple jealousy. WWE/TNA fans see ROH as too difficult to get into, and due to the jealousy of hearing about all the great things coming out of it, they just find it easier to write it off due to ROH being small.
Also, this whole argument of "popular equals quality" does not exist in other fields when year end awards come up. I suppose at the Academy Awards this winter, the nominees for best picture should be Spider Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and 300. I mean, they were the most popular movies of the year. Way more people saw these than No Country for Old Men or Juno, right? Of course no one brings up this argument when it comes to movies, because it just sounds completely mindless!
So, if you don't want to watch ROH because you think it's too hard to get into or you're turned off by some of the mutant fans, then that's fine. But don't make up excuses based on ignorance for why you think matches like Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson should be shoved aside in favor of Bobby Lashley vs. John Cena. It's okay to just say "I didn't watch ROH, so there." I hardly saw any current puro this year, so I didn't include it in my end of year thoughts. But do I sit here and say "Only nerds watch puro, they think every match is *****, they're all stupid mutants." Of course I don't. I'm ignorant by how good (or dull) wrestling from Japan was this year so I'm not going to comment on it! I'm also not going to fault anyone else who does. So I'm just asking for people to stop taking this so seriously, acknowledge that everyone is going to have a different opinion, and let's please stop making stupid excuses to defend ignorant opinions.
Over at 411mania.com/wrestling, J.D. Dunn posted his top ten matches of the year. The list featured lots of John Cena and ROH, with Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson from Driven topping the list. As expected, the usual lot of "OMG, CENA SUX!!!!!!!!!!!!1" people were there to bitch about it and do everything in their power to try and downplay what Cena accomplished this year. It was the type of "Yeah, Cena had great matches, but it doesn't counted because he was CARRIED!" So what if he was carried? Does that mean the match was less enjoyable? Others write off Cena's Royal Rumble match with Umaga because it was a gimmick match. Sometimes, gimmicks elevate a match or feud, so why should that hurt the credibility of the bout? Should I be thinking "I've decided that I didn't enjoy Cena/Umaga because it was a gimmick match, therefore it wasn't worth my time and I must of been confused to enjoy it." Some people made up their minds in 2005 that John Cena sucked and would always suck and will never change their minds. I don't care, I'm not exactly a huge Cena fan myself, but I'm always willing to give credit where it is due and Cena had an outstanding 2007 before his injury and is surely the wrestler of the year.
But then there's the ROH haters. This is a new breed of IWC peeps that has emerged due to ROH hitting pay-per-view. There are complaints at Dunn's list (411 has enabled comments to articles now, not sure if that's such a good idea...) as well as other boards I've seen. The argument is that "Nothing from ROH should be in consideration for year-end awards because only 2,000 people watch it." Wait, what? How is this a logical basis for one's opinion?
For starters, ROH is more popular than a lot of people have given it credit for. It is still an indy company, but one that draws consistent crowds in numerous cities, has achieved higher than expected pay-per-view buys, and are internationally known. No wrestling company experienced more growth in 2007 than ROH. I would even daresay that ROH is more popular now than TNA was in 2002-2003, and they are doing something that TNA has never done: make money.
But what really kills me is that people think ROH should be discredited simpy for being less popular and mainstream. This makes no sense to me whatsoever. Anyone who suggests that Cena vs. Khali has more of a right to be considered for match of the year over Danielson vs. Morishima should just accept that it's because they don't watch the ROH product and shouldn't get all snooty when others make such claims. I think it comes down to simple jealousy. WWE/TNA fans see ROH as too difficult to get into, and due to the jealousy of hearing about all the great things coming out of it, they just find it easier to write it off due to ROH being small.
Also, this whole argument of "popular equals quality" does not exist in other fields when year end awards come up. I suppose at the Academy Awards this winter, the nominees for best picture should be Spider Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and 300. I mean, they were the most popular movies of the year. Way more people saw these than No Country for Old Men or Juno, right? Of course no one brings up this argument when it comes to movies, because it just sounds completely mindless!
So, if you don't want to watch ROH because you think it's too hard to get into or you're turned off by some of the mutant fans, then that's fine. But don't make up excuses based on ignorance for why you think matches like Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson should be shoved aside in favor of Bobby Lashley vs. John Cena. It's okay to just say "I didn't watch ROH, so there." I hardly saw any current puro this year, so I didn't include it in my end of year thoughts. But do I sit here and say "Only nerds watch puro, they think every match is *****, they're all stupid mutants." Of course I don't. I'm ignorant by how good (or dull) wrestling from Japan was this year so I'm not going to comment on it! I'm also not going to fault anyone else who does. So I'm just asking for people to stop taking this so seriously, acknowledge that everyone is going to have a different opinion, and let's please stop making stupid excuses to defend ignorant opinions.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
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