Ring of Honor presents AT OUR BEST- Elizabeth, New Jersey (3-13-2004)
The RexPlex in New Jersey hosted the last show before ROH truly go national, and did so in front of the biggest crowd in ROH history, nearly 1800 strong. According to reports the card was largely unchanged from pre-sale plans, with one or two notable exceptions.
The show opened with a six-man mayhem match featuring The Amazing Red, Jack Evans, Sonjay Dutt, Teddy Hart, Jimmy Rave, and Mark Briscoe. Red won a spotfest with his Infra-Red sky twister press. Crowd ate this up and all six guys showed real promise.
Slyck Wagner Brown faced off with Xaiver of the Embassy, with the former ROH Champion picking up the win. Crowd wasn’t really into either man, with their seconds (April Hunter and Prince Nana) getting bigger reactions than either.
In a match that was previously announced as a #1 Contendership for the Pure Title contest Jerry Lynn defeated Nigel McGuiness. No mention was made of the Pure Title contendership prior to the match or in any official recaps on ROH.com, so it seems that stipulation was quietly dropped, likely due to plans from the new regime.
Matt Stryker defeated John Walters in a match that was supposed to be for the #1 Contenders Trophy, but the trophy (as well as any mention of it) were conspicuously absent). This was the exact match you’d expect from these two, proficient but dull technical wrestling that left the crowd pining for something more exciting. It was definitely a mistake having this follow Lynn/McGuiness, as the previous match did the technical battle far better.
At the end of the match a HUGE SURPRISE shook the RexPlex as Bret Hart entered the building! He entered the ring and grabbed the mic, putting over both men, saying he was impressed by their display of technical prowess before addressing Stryker’s lack of trophy.
“I’m sure you all have heard, there are some changes coming to Ring of Honor… One of those changes is that the Hitman is now the Commissioner! And in my capacity as commissioner I can tell you that the #1 contenders trophy is going away. But don’t worry, Matt Stryker, you won’t be left out in the cold once we get to TNT… on Wednesday April 7th!”
His speech gets a huge pop, and he raises both men’s hands before leaving.
After a short intermission the show continues with one of ROH’s hottest feuds- The Prophecy vs The Second City Saints! It’s Maff and Whitmer against Cabana and Steel in a match that goes to a double-dq as it breaks down into a total fight. The brawl after the bell lasts almost as long as the match itself before being broken up by security.
Following that the leader of the Second City Saints, CM Punk, is out to challenge AJ Styles for the Pure Championship with Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat as the special referee! The match goes almost 25 minutes and is an early contender for MOTY. Punk is convinced he has the victory with his new submission, the Anaconda Vice, as he thinks Styles’ arm drops a third time. Steamboat disagrees, and would you believe it, AJ makes the comeback and gets the victory after a Styles Clash!
Following this there’s a ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Cage Match finishing the feud between champion Samoa Joe and the Briscoe Brothers, as Jay takes his shot at Joe! This match can be seen HERE: WARNING: It is a BLOODBATH!
The final match of the evening sees the end to another long-standing ROH feud- Special K vs The Carnage Crew in a SCRAMBLE CAGE! This was exactly what you’d expect- pure chaos, and didn’t quite hold up after the last few great matches.
Overall it was a good show with a really great pair of matches on the second half of the card. It did the job of setting the stage for the new era by tying up existing stories and planting seeds for the future.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 16, 2004
The fallout of Ring of Honor’s sale to Infinite Hallway Media continues. After a relatively uneventful show this past weekend we have begun receiving reports of major shakeups to the company’s creative structure.
While current ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky will remain on with the company he will no longer be in charge of the creative direction of the company, instead he will be in an advisor role to new owner Logan Jackson, who will be the primary creative force of the company.
“This kid thinks he can be Vince McMahon,” one source in the company said. “He’s got the checkbook and grew up tape-trading and thinks that qualifies him to run a major television wrestling company. It’s going to be a disaster.”
Other sources were decidedly more optimistic.
“It’s amazing,” said one worker who had been with the company since day one. “It’s like a whole different company. Travel is getting paid for. Guys are getting contracts, actual contracts. He brought in Bret Hart! I think a lot of the talent are really excited to see what this is going to look like.”
On the topic of talent- we are receiving reports that there are several “needle movers” expected to debut on the first TNT show. Rumors are flying around about who might be involved, but one source says that several expected signings “won’t exactly fit the ROH mold”, and that the company is “evolving”.
In regards to contracts we are told that ROH will be offering three “tiers” of contract- a typical handshake deal for wrestlers they are trying out or who are doing spot work, what they’re calling “Level One” deals which are written contracts but pay on a per-show basis and contain no exclusivity clauses, and “Level Two” deals which are exclusive to ROH and pay monthly. Punk, Joe, et al are on these deals, as are several of the incoming stars.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 22nd 2004
TNA have declared “total war” on the newly national Ring of Honor as they are scrambling to recover from the blow of losing several of their top talent including AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. They have issued a declaration to all of their talent that they are not going to be booked by TNA if they take ROH bookings, even if their ROH contracts are non-exclusive. “It’s them or us,” one higher up said. This adds a new dimension to the “Wednesday Night Wars” as they are already being dubbed, as Ring of Honor Wrestling will air opposite TNA’s weekly PPVs starting on 4/1.
Rumors are flying that several more TNA talents have been contacted by ROH for spots, with contracts at different levels being offered. Some talent in TNA are hopeful this could create a bidding war for their services, but thus far that has not materialized.
On the other side of the “war” we have begun receiving reports from several independent workers who have been with Ring of Honor and are now fearful that their spot in the promotion won’t be there after the switch to TV. While we’ve heard no official reports of releases, several talent, including some there from day one, have reported to us that they have yet to be contacted about being booked going forward, one stating “There are big money names coming in and only so many spots on the show- I can read the writing on the wall…”
TNT have been running ads for the debut episode, and the production quality is miles above what Ring of Honor fans will be used to- easily on par with WWE. It will be interesting to see how the show appears on TV, emanating from such a tiny venue, but lit and filmed professionally. The hope within ROH and TNT is that after a month or two of shows on TNT the switch will be made to one to three thousand seat arenas, which will look far better on cameras. The show has also been plugged on various turner properties, including pre-season Braves baseball on TBS, under the taglines “The Era of Honor begins” and “Pro wrestling comes home”. The commercials that are running heavily feature ROH Champion Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Bret Hart, and CM Punk. It is expected more promos, especially with the debuting talent, will be shot at the first episode of TV.
Logan Jackson’s Room at the Four Seasons, Philadelphia
“What do you mean we don’t have Muta?” Jackson asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He looked like he could be an MTV reality show star and carried himself with the breezy confidence of a pop music producer, but in the privacy of his makeshift office at Philadelphia’s finest hotel, he was a concentrated, serious businessman.
Gabe Sapolsky wasn’t particularly impressed. He had been around the block in the wrestling game, studied under (in his opinion) the greatest upstart wrestling mind in history, and helped build ROH from the ground up. The kid had some interesting ideas and a big checkbook, which was enough for Gabe to suck it up and keep quiet, steering the ship as best he could while keeping his new boss happy, but the young man seemed to think he was the new Vince McMahon, and that just wasn’t true.
“All Japan booked him. They sent an email apologizing for the “miscommunication” about his availability and said they’d be sending us a wire to pay for his travel…”
“I’m not worried about the ****ing travel, I’m worried about our main event!” Jackson snapped before taking a deep breath. “Sorry, you’re just the messenger. Who is our liaison with All Japan?”
“We don’t really have one officially. We’ve been using Wally Yamaguchi. He, uh, hasn’t returned any of my calls today.”
Jackson grimaced, his mind racing.
“Think this was intentional? A snub?”
Sapolsky shuffled his feet.
“We’ve had a pretty good relationship, but you’ve been reaching out to a lot of different companies. That’s a big deal there. They could be offended.”
“They shouldn’t know who we’re reaching out to.”
Sapolsky couldn’t contain a chuckle.
“That’s the business, Mr. Jackson. Anyone who thinks they can get a little over by spilling something will rush to Meltzer.”
Sapolsky didn’t mention that he, himself, had called Meltzer recently, and would continue to. Jackson, for his part, already suspected as much. He knew he had to play the game, as it were. He was signing the checks, and could very well fire the man outright, but the locker-room liked him, and he did have a great eye for talent. It was just a matter of managing him. And making sure he didn’t leak anything too important.
“Okay,” Jackson said, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s redo the card…”
Pre-Show talent meeting- Philadelphia PA, Three Hours before air
Logan took a deep breath. He hadn’t been planning on a pre-show speech. He wasn’t the rah-rah type, he was a “you’re the best and we know it, let’s kill this” type. But Sapolsky had come into his makeshift office and said that the talent were all on eggshells, some of them upset they were there but not booked, figuring they were out a payday.
So there Jackson was, standing in front of what was, he hoped, the beginnings of one of the best rosters in wrestling history. Pieces were missing, and they’d need some time, but he had high hopes. He cleared his throat.
“So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s show-day. For many of you this is your first live TV. It’s mine too. At least in this format…”
He looked around. They were all watching him intently. He realized, then, that this was suddenly a capital-S Speech, and could well shape everything that was to come. He felt a knot in his stomach at the realization.
“So I want to clear some things up right off the bat. If you’re here today, you’re getting paid. Regardless of if you’re on the show tonight. This isn’t some carny operation, some fly-by-night indie. So, if you’re upset about not being on the show, good. I want you to want to be on the show. But I don’t want it to be because you think you’re not getting paid. Everyone got that?”
There were nods around the room, a few smiles.
“So, with that out of the way, I want you all to know something. I didn’t buy this company just to say I ran a wrestling company. I didn’t buy it to put myself on TV. I bought this company because I was there, in the Murphy Rec Center, for the first show. I fell in love with ROH that night. I said to myself “this… this is the wrestling that I love.” I had no idea, two years ago, that I’d one day be here, getting ready to show the world at large Ring of Honor.”
He took another deep breath, doing his best to ignore the expressions he was seeing stare back at him- some confused, others stony-faced, one or two possibly even impressed.
“I believe that this company. That you all, and the men and women we’re going to bring in to work along side you, I believe that together we’re going to change the world of professional wrestling. We’re going to SAVE professional wrestling.”
Jackson blinked dumbly as a few people shouted in agreement, many others clapping.
“Tonight I want you all, whether you’re on first, last, or in the middle, to go out there and show the world what we’re all about. I want you to show them that… that one company doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! One MAN doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! We do! And we’re going to take it into the future, together!”
To his great surprise most of the assembled men and women in the room rose to their feet, whooping and clapping. Bryan Danielson, one of Jackson’s favorites as a fan (not that he can have favorites as an owner, he reminded himself) began an R-O-H chant that was almost but not quite picked up by a few others.
Jackson shook a few hands as the meeting dispersed, feeling an indescribable buzz. It was, he reminded himself, not even showtime yet…
