Your Moment of Mark: #3 - "OH YOU DIDN'T KNOW?"

My 'Moment of Mark' this week is actually a whole bunch of moments, all pretty much the same. As a 10 year old kid, I f**king loved every time the New Age Outlaws would come out to the ring. I didn't care that they we're meant to be dick heels, but seriously, I could say the same spiel over & over again like clockwork, to the point where I would use this as my entrance music as a kid wrestling in the backyard. They weren't the best guys to ever lace up a pair of boots, but they damn sure impressed me every time they picked up the microphone. Mostly Road Dogg honestly. He was really knew how to pump up that 'Attitude' crowd.

AND IF YOU AIN'T DOWN WITH THAT...

Marks Talking Out Of Their Asses #1 - First Defence Title Change



Randy Orton hitting the RKO to finish Christian off in his first defence.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it. 'Marks' as a collective really are the one-eyed supporters of wrestling. We are either right, or you're wrong. We go ballistic that CM Punk has an "official" five snowflake-rated match in WWE, but we refuse to acknowledge that John Cena was a part of it, until we get to the point where most of us sound like five year old children arguing over toys in the sandbox. Even for those who can't face the facts, there needs to be a realisation that not everything we say or do is right. One of the worst things about this, is when two companies, of different personal or global popularity, do a very similar match/angle/booking decision. The most recent one happened this Saturday, which I'm sure 100% of my readers (that'd be you ,TH) would've heard about by now. But I'll build up to that. If you don't want any spoilers regarding the ROH TV Tapings, I'd suggest you bail out now (and read one of my non-spoiled posts!)

Let's go back to May 3rd 2011, when a huge news story had broken out of the Smackdown! tapings. Just two days after winning the World Heavyweight Championship, Christian had been defeated by Randy Orton, after a fan poll at the start of the night by GM Teddy Long. The Internet exploded. It went off like the 4th of July on Twitter, Facebook, carrier pigeon, smoke signals, anything any fan could get their hands on to display their disgust that "WWE was just falling back on the same pattern" and "They just see Christian as another vanilla midget". I couldn't agree more honestly, it really upset me that they couldn't just run with this amazing win. Obviously, we all know how that story goes, with Christian and Orton working some fantastic matches together for over 3 months now, and basically everyone forgetting the whole incident happened (I think Razor might still be upset...) Looking back at it, it was probably for the best. We've had an amazing series of matches out of it, a revamped heel Christian (which is pretty damn awesome), and also a feud that helped Sheamus turn face (another fantastic move). So then, what's my big issue?



Tina Turner posing with the Television Title.

My big issue came, when an equally as frustrating booking decision (if not more so...) came into fruition. El Generico, in his first defence of his newly won ROH Television Title, lost to the only recently returned, Jay Lethal. And from the same people who tore apart furniture about the Christian debacle, made not a single squeak about Generico's instant loss to a man who only just had his second match back in the company. This really shows that with a big target like WWE, we can all take potshots at it, without fear of hatred or annoying any of the brass. If a company we really like (ROH/PWG/CHIKARA) does it, we kind of let it slide into the gutter, because we can just turn a blind eye to it. It's really ridiculous if you look at it like that. Let's just compare the two situations here:

- Christian (WWF turned TNA turned WWE superstar who could never quite crack the main event in WWE, despite a great run as champion in TNA) lost his newly won World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton (6 time WWE Champion, 1 time World Heavyweight Champion, and arguably the most popular wrestler of 2010).

- El Generico (ROH/PWG Indy darling, coming off of a possible MOTY with 1-2-3 Kid, and also the 2010 Feud of The Year) lost his newly won World Television Championship to Jay Lethal (recently released TNA superstar, multiple time X-Division champion, and only making his 2nd appearance in ROH since 2006).

... Am I insane for thinking that the second scenario sounds a lot worse than the first? I like Jay Lethal as an in-ring competitor and as a person (his Art of Wrestling appearance sealed that). But I am also one of the biggest El Generico marks out there, and I couldn't be more upset with ROH. Generico has been working his butt of every year for the company, and the title should be a reward for all that hard work. Instead, ROH do a very Russo-esque thing, and slap the title on a guy who only has just landed back in the company. Yes, Lethal does have a past with ROH, but at least make him fight for a shot at the title, or at least let them have a short competitive rivalry for the title. It's this knee-jerk reaction booking which can really upset fans, and cause them to get frustrated with your product.

The Sinclair Era of Honor: ROH Taping Preview



Last chance at seeing the Kings of Wrestling in ROH?

This weekend, Ring of Honor takes a big step towards making an impact in the mainstream professional wrestling world, with the first tapings of the Sinclair broadcasting taking place in Chicago Ridge this coming Saturday. The upper-brass at ROH hasn't pulled any punches with the card, pulling out some of the best matches they could, making this resemble a iPPV card of sorts.  Jimmy Jacobs returns to action for the first time in Ring of Honor since the collapse of the Age of The Fall, all three title belts under the ROH banner are being defended in world class matches, and Truth Martini makes two appearances at the very least! *troll face*


Despite the amazing card, and all these returns and headline grabbing matches, the biggest to come out of these tapings could be the final appearance of the Kings of Wrestling in any capacity in Ring of Honor. As pretty much everyone on the Internet knows, both Claudio and Chris have been offered contracts with the WWE, and we couldn't be happier for them. They will co-main event the card with their attempt at regaining the World Tag Team Championships facing current champions Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas, and if anyone is going to steal the show this weekend, look towards the Kings to provide yet another stellar match in 2011. These two teams have been putting on great matches since their first face of last year.

The undercard is going to provide some interesting matches. Tommaso Ciampa will more than likely continue his undefeated streak, as he is facing the rather inactive Andy 'Right Leg' Ridge. Here's hoping Ciampa doesn't almost murder Ridge with that powebomb/lungblower hybrid, like he could have done with Colt Cabana (another future WWE signing? God I hope so!). The aforementioned Jimmy Jacobs will be battling Mike Bennett, who has been a thorn in the side of his friend Steve Corino for the better part of 8 months. Bennett is still chasing his promise of gaining the ROH World Championship, and with his pretty poor run recently, he seems to be getting further and further away. Four of the youngest, hottest prospects in ROH at the moment face each other in a classic tag match, as Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly continue their feud with Lance & Harlem Bravado, in a match that will be very solid, at the bare minimum. Closing off the undercard will be former World Champion, Eddie 'Eddie Edwards' Edwards facing of against the breakout star of 2011, Michael Elgin, who is quickly becoming one of my favourites in ROH.

Business really picks up in the final four matches, with any of the bouts potential show stealers. 'Day One' boys Mark & Jay Briscoe face The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King), furthering their sick blood feud, which has really grabbed the limelight in 2011, and pushed ANX into the upper-echelon of Ring of Honor talent. Their past contests have been absolutely brutal, and I'd be a little surprised if this was anything but a nasty brawl. The first of the three title matches is the new Television Champion, El Generico (a person favourite of every person to blog about the indys) defending his belt against Hydro/Black Machismo/RPM, Jay Lethal. This match, will be amazing. If anything, this would be the match you should show to casual fans to drag them into ROH. The highflying skill matching Rey Mysterio or Sin Cara (and a lot crisper as well), mixed with the brutal head drops that make any casual fan's jaw drop.


Main event of the Saturday tapings.



Your final match of the night, is a rematch from Final Battle 2010, with the roles reversed. Current World Heavyweight Champion (and Tom Holzerman's favourite all-time wrestler, just ahead of SHINGO) Davey Richards, facing of against one of my favourite in-ring guys, Roderick Strong (I don't like how two of my favourites are associated with Truth Martini). This will be a stiff, strike-based match, Davey will do his pseudo-fighting spirit, and beat the ever loving Christ out of Roderick to finish the match. We all know that's how it'll end. I really do respect the intensity and passion Davey has for wrestling, and especially for ROH, it's really getting to be rinse & repeat at the moment with Davey. Whilst Roderick's "strong" points aren't his words, he still is one of the most consistent performers in the ring that ROH has, and will still put on an amazing performance on Saturday.

 If you get a chance, please go to this. It's a great opportunity, and honestly, you won't get a better card for any type of professional wrestling television taping.

Your Moment of Mark: #2 - Foley takes it like a champ!

Just an amazing spot. This match made Edge a pretty big superstar, and showed Foley's willingness to still put over younger talent. Edge and Foley have always had a close friendship, as outlined in Mick's books, and as a kid, Mankind was always one of my favourite characters. This match recaptured my imagination for modern WWE, and showed both men as legends of the company.

Plus, Joey Styles busting out classic "OH MY GOD!" never gets old.

Finlay vs. Steen. Holy. Christ.

Dave Finlay in his wrestling-by-day, 70's porn-by-night heyday.

Via Battle of Los Angeles Sub-site

Coming around to that Battle of Los Angeles time of year, and this version of it has me ultra-excited! Most of the matches include PWG regulars, including El Generico versus Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero versus Willie Mack. But one match in particular should have a heap of people talking.

New PWG World Heavyweight Champion, Ring of Honor blacklisted "Antichrist of Professional Wrestling" (and also a guy who threatens rape by retweets), Kevin Steen facing  former WWE superstar & road agent, "The Belfast Bruiser" Dave "Fit" Finlay.

If CM Punk vs. John Cena was the match of the year, then this is sure to be spectacle of the year. PWG, consider your DVD bought.

How Good IS... Derrick Bateman

 Derrick Bateman and Daniel Bryan. A match made in mark heaven. Source: ... Google

Thought I'd start my catch-up day with a "How Good Was IS..." and I've wanted to write this one up for a while. Inspiration for this one goes to Brandon Stroud, who wrote a great little piece on Bateman in his own weekly column on WithLeather.

Derrick Bateman is easily, the funniest man on the WWE roster. Bar none. He has the comedic timing of Fred Willard in Best In Show. He shows that he could legitimately be an idiot, but still has the ability to make himself seem like he is being ultra-serious, in a hilarious way. The double date video is downright hilarious! "The King of All Wingmen" is just insane. "Are you wearing wrestling boots?" "Yeah absolutely."

But the best video of any of the DB's rookie/pro moments together, is for sure this one where Daniel Bryan is trying to teach Bateman a heel hook. It has a very odd sexual feel to it... Maybe that's just me, but it's awkward as hell watching Bateman crank up the crazy every time he's on camera.

The weirdest thing about it all is, he's got the *quotation marks* WWE *end quotation marks* look. He's pretty ripped, he can actually work in the ring, and he can really get a crowd behind him, which he especially showed. I hope to god the only reason they brought him back into this NXT Redemption is so that they push him into a main roster roll, maybe as an pseudo-ally of Daniel Bryan on Smackdown.

One can only dream.

Things I Missed Over The Weekend.

Starting to realise that work is really going to my kryptonite when it comes to blogging. Bartending six days a week is a bit of a bitch, but I'm gonna do a big chuck of updates today hopefully.

Too soon? WHO CARES! Source: wwe.com

- CM Punk returned to the WWE tonight, played out by classic CM Punk music, Cult of Personality. From the short little video I've seen, it seems like Punk got a pretty good reaction, and even got a bigger cheer when he raised the title after Cena. I really don't want to speculate where this is going to go, but Cena vs. Punk at Summerslam seems like a lock now. If not, I'm sure what ever way they go with it is going to be fantastic.

- Kevin Steen wrestled three times at PWG's eighth anniversary show, beat PAC, The Young Bucks (with his team mate CIMA) and then got rewarded with a title shot, beating Claudio Castagnoli to win the PWG World Championship! I'm very happy for Kevin, who over the past year and a half has really shown he can carry the ball for any company he works for. Plus he hit 5,000+ followers on Twitter. Pretty good couple of days for him.

- Impact Wrestling taped tonight, with Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson headlining the show in a cage match. These shows are really starting to get crowded, and I think it's time The Hulkster did some spring cleaning and trimmed some fat out of the company. Especially if they are bringing in more X-Division names, like Austin Aries, Kid Kash etc. If not, I'm sure that people like Chris Daniels, Samoa Joe and MCMG will continue to get swept under the rug.

- EVOLVE has it's 9th card tomorrow night, yet again at BB Kings Blues Club. The show is headlined by Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano, and also a bonus main event of Sami Callihan vs. Dave Finlay. Not to mention, Kevin Steen on a open mic. This should be an interesting one folks, and this is also an iPPV. Check it out if you can.