ROH Tokyo Show Results: Did Nigel McGuinness win the ROH World Title?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Report written up by Matt Short of 411 Mania:

I just got back from the ROH in Japan Tokyo show and just wanted to send a report to you before I crash.

ROH might have sold out Differ Ariake. They didn't announce the total attendance, but the place was packed from where I was sitting. It looked like they drew a lot of high school kids. There were a couple sections of them and they were really loud. Cary Silkin was stalking foreigners prior to the show. He came up to me in line and pretty much just said thanks for coming. The entire staff looked nervous.

Delirious gave the welcome promo, which fit because it didn't matter that no one understood him anyway. He eventually got jumped by the No Remorse Corps but Jack Evans and Kotaro Suzuki made the save, which became the first match.

Rocky Romero & Davey Richards beat Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki
-The crowd was really into it, mostly because they love Jack. Evans got most of his signatures in before Romero kicked him in the head three times. A real good opener though nothing spectacular.

NOAH Exhibition: Shuhei Taniguchi beat Akihiko Ito
-This was pretty much a chance to give two young NOAH guys some ring time and it was a straight up puro style match. Thus, the crowd mostly sat on its hands except for the few big moves. I thought it came off really well, though it was pretty obvious that the crowd wasn't supposed to care. They both looked the same and had matching black tights, which didn't help. A good outing for these two though. Taniguchi won with an avalanche style german suplex.

Jimmy Rave beat BJ Whitmer
-Fun, but not a great match. The crowd liked both guys, but Jimmy was more entertaining. Proof that Japan has its share of ROH faithful as Rave was welcomed by toilet paper and a really small "Die Jimmy, die" chant. I know the tp isn't allowed anymore in the States, but it looked like something the Japanese fans had been waiting a long time to do. Rave won with the Pedigree.

Bryan Danielson beat Go Shiozaki
-Match of the Night. Danielson is clearly the face of ROH now as the crowd went nuts for him. It's one thing for New York or Philly, but a foreign crowd goes to show how over he is. Someone even busted out the "You're going to get your fucking head kicked in" chant. Shiozaki looked great against Danielson and really gave him run for his money. He survived the cross-face chicken wing, Cattle Mutilation, and the MMA elbows and even managed to hit his finisher, Go Flasher. He finally went down to the Cattle Mutilation. Right before intermission Danielson got on the mic and demanded a title shot.

Fight Without Honor: Delirious beat Roderick Strong
-A good brawl between these two. Crowd was into both guys, though one kid was having a seizure over Delirious. The fans enjoyed it when they broke out the hardware, though it wasn't used as much. Strong brought a couple of chairs to the ring while Delirious got a ladder. Biggest spot came when Strong back body dropped Delirious from the apron through the ladder propped up between the apron and guardrail. Delirious won with the Chemical Imbalance. Ending kind of came out of nowhere.

Six Man Tag: Naomichi Marufuji & The Briscoes beat Matt Sydal, Ricky Marvin, & Atsushi Aoki
-KENTA was pulled from the match due to an injury he got, presumably from his Budokan match the night before. So the crowd lost a lot of interest in the match unfortunately. The popped big time for Marufuji and The Briscoes. Marvin got his signature spots in, but didn't do much. Aoki got beat down for awhile before tagging out. Finish came when Sydal got hit with the Double Impact.

ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima retained against Nigel McGuinness
-Great, hard-hitting match. There were an awful lot of pro-Nigel fans which surprised me. I don't know how this match will stack up to their last encounter, but this was just awesome. Nigel hit a Tower of London from the apron all the way to the floor while Morishima sidewalk slammed him to the floor later. McGuinness came close a couple of times. We thought he had it with the Jawbreaker Lariat, but Morishima just kicked out. He finished it with a sick Backdrop Driver.

After the match Danielson hit the ring and took the belt. He told Morishima the belt was his until Nigel threw chased him out of the ring. He handed the belt to Morishima and that was the end.

Not every match was all it could have been, but the point was to entertain the Japanese crowd. They pulled it off amazingly well. The crowd was hot for most of the event and actively chanted in ways I've never seen a crowd here do before.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I knew Takeshi Morishima would retain the ROH World Championship, and I am glad he did. It sounds like a pretty successful venture for Ring of Honor, and there is still their show in Osaka, which will probably be even rowdier (the show will be heavily influenced by Dragon Gate).

One thing that bothers me a little is that Austin Aries was not used. It's a small gripe, but he apparently flew over to Japan, and he will be working shows outside of Ring of Honor there. Instead of the Pro Wrestling NOAH showcase, a match pitting Austin Aries against one of the Japanese guys probably could have been something more noteworthy. It's just a small gripe, though.

To get a PPV deal, and have two successful international ventures is some pretty cool stuff for ROH to achieve. No, they are not legitimate competition to the WWE, or even TNA, but they are probably the best promotion in North America, and it's good to see them with fanbases in Japan and the UK.

Now if only Samoa Joe can tell TNA to go fuck themselves, and return to ROH as its top guy, again. A pipe-dream? Perhaps, but Joe has always been an independent guy at heart (why he chose TNA over WWE).

[Mooияakeя™]

Yeah, they have my attention, but I never get to see them on TV. Next event in UK though I plan to go to, it'd be nice to see some action of RoH live. I'd be on me own tho as all my mates have wives etc. so they watch Casualty and stuff now. lol

*btw, Casualty is a hospital drama here in UK if people are like WTF.

[Jura]

Who is Nigel McGuinness? That is a rhetorical question.

[weather vane]

Taka

[Mooияakeя™]

Who is Nigel McGuinness? That is a rhetorical question.

Possibly the best thing we have to offer the wrestling world, bar Regal.

[Jura]

Rhetorical questionnnnnnn!!

[Mooияakeя™]

lol. calm it! - TWASSSSSSSSS AAAAAAAA JJOOOOOOOOKKKKEEEEEEEEEEE.

[Jura]

Twas the night before Christmas

[What Would Kevin Do?]

HA! I need to hear a Japanese crowd try to do the "You're going to get you're fucking head kicked in." chant.

Great news that this show went over well. I wonder if Gabe will try to get the ppvs shown in Japan anytime soon...

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Gabe said that they don't have the final numbers, but attendance was over 1000. The NOAH website apparently says it was 1600, but as with nearly all Japanese wrestling companies, they have a tendency to exaggerate.

[Innovator]

Just like at Wrestlemania 3 brother, when all 6.6 billion Hulkamaniacs crammed into the Pontiac Silverdome and watch the Hulkster lift the 2 ton Andre the Giant brother, pressed him over his flowing locks of gold, and slammed him through the ring to China...BROTHER

[Mr. Nerfect]

HA! I need to hear a Japanese crowd try to do the "You're going to get you're fucking head kicked in." chant.

Great news that this show went over well. I wonder if Gabe will try to get the ppvs shown in Japan anytime soon...

I'm hoping that they do begin to show their PPVs in Japan. The United Kingdom following suit would not be a bad move by Gabe, either. I'm not sure how much money that venture will cost, though, but with two international ventures on his hands, Gabe should be looking to increase Ring of Honor's range.

It probably won't be for a while yet, if it happens at all, but Australia showing Ring of Honor PPVs is something I eagerly await. Someone a little more versed in this kind of business can probably help out, but would it cost much money to get the PPV onto international TV if the provider was more than happy to show it?

[Mr. Nerfect]

And I am still holding out on hope that Samoa Joe will leave TNA when his contract expires, and head back to Ring of Honor. That would be a glorious day.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I'm not sure how much it would cost though... Also, I don't know if this iss true, but someone on the ROH board was explaining that since ROH is taping their ppv and showing it, they are saving a shitload of money, as one of the largest ppv costs is doing a live show on tv.

I'm hoping some of the people on here will actually check out the ppv and give ROH a real chance. People who can't stand what WWE and TNA are doing (someone like Kane KNight, etc). ROH will probably never compete with WWE, but they do offer a great alternative. It's an alternative a lot of people love. Unfortunately, it's going to need support to stay alive and be the alternative people want.

And no, you're not the only one hoping that. I think Joe is locked down until 2009 though... The rumor is though that he didn't agree to an extention so far. Of course that could change...

With rumors of people in TNA trying to get out of their contract, I'm wondering how many are old ROH talent. We know Aries did it... I wouldn't be surprised if Homicide, Sabin, and Shelley tried to do it...

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm not sure how much it would cost though... Also, I don't know if this iss true, but someone on the ROH board was explaining that since ROH is taping their ppv and showing it, they are saving a shitload of money, as one of the largest ppv costs is doing a live show on tv.

I'm hoping some of the people on here will actually check out the ppv and give ROH a real chance. People who can't stand what WWE and TNA are doing (someone like Kane KNight, etc). ROH will probably never compete with WWE, but they do offer a great alternative. It's an alternative a lot of people love. Unfortunately, it's going to need support to stay alive and be the alternative people want.

And no, you're not the only one hoping that. I think Joe is locked down until 2009 though... The rumor is though that he didn't agree to an extention so far. Of course that could change...

With rumors of people in TNA trying to get out of their contract, I'm wondering how many are old ROH talent. We know Aries did it... I wouldn't be surprised if Homicide, Sabin, and Shelley tried to do it...

Ring of Honor is easily the best North American promotion in the world. It's just less stupid than the shit TNA and WWE pull. I mean, even if you think that its fans are a little too blind to it (I'll be the first to admit that sometimes the booking of ROH doesn't really build a lot of the top, and things just happen at convenience), but it's very rare that you see something that's just plain bad in Ring of Honor.

I don't think Ring of Honor should air their PPVs live. As you said, taping them is making them a lot of money, and ROH doesn't always require the "now, now, now!" attitude that the WWE and TNA need to stay afloat (even if their shows are often more boring and predictable). Ring of Honor is all about substance, not style, so taping is fine for now. I'm wondering if they need the big delays between the taping and the airing, though. I don't want them to rush things, but maybe a week after the show is taped? Two weeks? They don't really need the long period of anticipation.

Part of me wants to see Ring of Honor tackle three-hour PPVs, as well. The WWE can put on shitty three-hour shows, I don't see why Ring of Honor can't try and up their time to three-hours. That's about the duration of a Ring of Honor show, and if taken from matches that take place over a weekend, Ring of Honor could deliver some pretty amazing shows. I might be encouraging them to take too big a step in too shorter time, though.

But yeah, everyone should give Ring of Honor a try. They have some really exciting acts. Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero have more charisma than most of the people under WWE contract, and The Briscoes are two of the hottest acts going in any promotion at the moment. Delirious and El Generico could never be considered boring by any criteria, and the No Remorse Corps vs. Resilience feud is pretty hot at the moment. Giving ROH a shot is definitely adviseable if you have not already.

I read a recent article on Rajah that Samoa Joe's contract actually comes up in only a few months, and that the current Joe/Angle feud might not even get a chance to finish if Joe chooses not to sign with TNA. I think (and hope) that the 2009 date applies to a lot of the other talent who signed on with TNA and asked for their releases.

I read that about six guys have asked for their release in recent weeks, and Senshi is one name I specifically saw mentioned in one report. Alex Shelley is someone who I think would have asked for a release. Shelley was recently told to stop doing that "European crap," which probably didn't sit too well with Shelley. And whilst many don't consider wins and losses to be a big deal, you'd think Shelley would actually like to win a match occasionally, and get some momentum going.

Homicide wouldn't surprise me. While I haven't heard of any recent problems between him and TNA, morale has apparently dropped, and seeing Aries get out of his TNA contract probably gave Homicide the idea of going back to Ring of Honor, where he was treated right for the large part. Chris Sabin is someone I didn't really consider. He probably knows of the hype surrounding him and Shelley as a duo at the moment, and he won that tournament in All Japan, which would raise his stock. I never thought of Sabin as a guy to leave TNA, but without much room for him to climb, I could see it.

I wish TNA would just grant releases to the guys who wanted them. Keeping unhappy people on the roster doesn't do much for morale, and guys aren't going to compete to the best of their abilities. Just let Shelley take the walk if he wants to. TNA has too much talent, anyway.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I still don't know if Gabe would take Low ki back. Granted he was backstage at Final Battle 06, so maybe time has healed some old wounds...

Also, I love the line of "Ring of Honor is easily the best North American promotion in the world." Well stated there ;)

Anywho, many people, fans, critics, etc, including Meltzer, claim ROH has the consistently best wrestling of any company in the world right now.

I think one reason ROH will stay away from longer ppvs for now, is so they can avoid bad matches. Shorter ppvs with great matches leave the fans wanting more. A mediocre match of two may sour the fans a bit though.

I also wonder with the ppv deals, how much more overseas talent ROH will bring in. Obviously NOAH set up an American site to sell tapes, to they want exposure for their guys. I can't imagine that the DG guys wouldn't want extra exposure either....

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Also, you have to wonder how much the TNA talent structure has to do with the moral.

TNA used to be the big on new talent, and their big stars were people like Daniels, Styles, Joe, etc. Jarrett as well obviously.

The more people they bring in though, Rhino, Sting, Christian, Angle, etc, the more the younger, newer talent seem to get pushed down. At this point, someone like Homicide probably has no real chance of being a main eventer. In ROH though, he can be champ.

God I really want to see Joe back in ROH. If he got out of his contract, an went back to ROH as a surprise and took on Morishima again, it would be immense.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Haha, that best North American promotion in the world slip is staying, though. Kind of fits the whole "America runs everything mentality." :p

I'm not sure if Gabe would take Low Ki back, personally I'm not too high on Low Ki myself. Sure, he's talented, but I don't know, I've just never gotten into him. I think if Senshi were granted his release, he'd more likely to end up working for PWG, or something. He might even sign a WWE contract if they were willing to give Ki a look.

Avoiding bad matches is why I think the PPV deal is for two hour slots, and not three, but if they could take an entire weekend (roughly six hours) and cut it down to three, I think they'd still be able to turn out a great product.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I really think Samoa Joe must be considering ROH again. I mean, wasn't the reason he left in the first place because he wanted exposure, and TNA could provide him with that? Even then, he was still working ROH shows. Now that TNA has put the ban down, and ROH has a national PPV deal, I have to think that TNA would be looking less and less like the place to be for Joe, especially with them misusing him a lot.

With Samoa Joe back, ROH would have Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe and Takeshi Morishima under two-year contract. That's not a bad main event roster, at all. They're pretty much the four most dominant ROH Champions of all-time (Aries may not have been too dominant, but he did end Joe's epic reign). If they borrowed some foreign talent occasionally (you have to believe Pro Wrestling NOAH and both Dragon Gate would be fine with it, given how great their relationship has been thus far), they'd have a great core roster, with some great visitors to keep things fresh.

[Innovator]

Ki is only about a buck 80 wearing wet clothes, no way WWE would take him seriously.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Ki is only about a buck 80 wearing wet clothes, no way WWE would take him seriously.

I wouldn't have thought so, either, but with the whole steroid thing, and the apparent interest some of the big chiefs have with smaller guys at the moment (Teddy Hart, Matt Sydal and even X-Pac), it wouldn't surpsie me as such. Wouldn't put money on it, though.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Here are the results of the second show from ROH's tour of Japan. This show took place in Osaka, and incorporated Dragon Gate themes into its show:

1. ROH World Tag Team Championships: Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Jimmy Rave & Genki Horiguchi in 17:55 after Jay pinned Jimmy Rave with a Spike Jay Driller in 9:22 (11 defense)
2. Nigel McGuinness defeated BJ Whitmer after a jawbreaker lariet in 9:14
3. Jack Evans defeated Roderick Strong after a 630 Splash in 14:47
4. Matt Sydal & Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito defeated Delirious & Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi after Sydal hit a Shooting Star Press on Delirious in 21:01
5. ROH World Tag Team Championships: Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated SHINGO & Susumu Yokosuka when Mark pinned Yokosuka with a springboard doomsday device in 17:55 (12th defense)
6. CIMA & Bryan Danielson & Naomichi Marufuji defeat Rocky Romero & Davey Richards & Masaaki Mochizuki when CIMA pinned Romero in 25:01 with the Schwein (side tombstone driver)

Credit: Keith Lipinski

[Mr. Nerfect]

Some interesting changes in the card featured Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave being scrapped, and Rave teaming with Genki Horiguchi to add a second challenge for the ROH World Tag Team Titles to the show. Bryan Danielson was added to the "Dream Tag Team Match," which had to be changed with KENTA's injury.

ROH is getting really good at improvising. They saw Bryan Danielson had the alleged "Match of the Night" at the Tokyo show, so they bumped him up the card to lend power to the tag match that was weakened by KENTA's injury. I mean, Naomichi Marufuji is as close as you can come to a suitable replacement for KENTA, but CIMA and KENTA has the caps lock thing going, and looked awesome as a team. Masaaki Mochizuki, who I am currently unfamiliar with, also probably got a chance to shine, which is a great thing for him, I'd assume.

I wouldn't mind seeing Mochizuki (assuming he is good, of course) get shipped over to America as the latest Japanese import in ROH, and get to strut around his stuff a bit as an ally of the No Remorse Corps. I want to see Naomichi Marufuji get a longer stay in ROH, and for Pro Wrestling NOAH to allow Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki to work some Japanese dates too, but I doubt that will happen.

The Briscoes vs. Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki in a Two Fall Tag Team Match with one fall being for the ROH World Tag Team Championship, and the other for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship? I'd Daily Motion that shit for sure.

[Mr. Nerfect]

I'm curious as to who the next ROH World Champion is going to be. A lot of people thought it would be Nigel McGuinness, but I knew he was out. The next guy on people's lists is Bryan Danielson. I can understand that, but I don't think he will be. In my opinion, even though his stock climbed even more over the Japanese tour, Danielson doesn't need the belt, nor is he the type of guy Misawa would like to overthrow Morishima. Japanese promotions still put a lot of weight on size classes. Pun intended.

I'm thinking it could actually be the winner of the upcoming Race to the Top Tournament. My money is on Brent Albright winning that, and as he is a heavyweight, it would not be too strange to see him go over Morishima and "rescue" the ROH World Championship from Japan. However, Claudio Castagnoli could theoretically do the same thing.

So yeah, my question is whether Takeshi Morishima runs through both Claudio Castagnoli or Brent Albright, or one of them manages to dethrone Morishima for Danielson's challenge. I guess Danielson could be the next challenger, beat Morishima, but that would have one major hole in it. Death Before Dishonor V already has two matches confirmed. Bryan Danielson will face Mike Quackenbush in a match that ROH fans are pretty hyped about. This could become the ROH World Title match, but they would need to explain why Brent Albright doesn't get his, as he is meant to be getting a shot, regardless of who is Champion.

The best booking Ring of Honor can probably currently do is have Bryan Danielson go over Takeshi Morishima on the same night as Brent Albright wins the Race to the Top Tournament. Albright then lets Quackenbush have his shot at Death Before Dishonor V, because the fans want to see that match, and Albright would be considered a main event with his tournament win, and could petition for a match whenever he wants. Danielson defends the World Title against both Claudio Castagnoli and Quackenbush successfully that weekend. We then get the build to Danielson vs. Albright, which could be ROH's next money match (with money being used in strictly a metaphorical sense).

[What Would Kevin Do?]

To answer your question....

Jimmy Fucking Jacobs.

[Innovator]

Who then hands the belt to Lacey

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Nah, I'm pretty sure Lacey, in trying to prove her love for Jimmy, will beat the hell out of Morishima, and hand Jimmy the belt.

He will then promptly dump her.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

Seriously though, since Lacey loves Jimmy now, upon his comeback, I could see her brokering some good matches for her, finally getting a title shot.

In the match, Lacey interferes with something ridiculous, like a low blow with a pipe, or a stun gun or something, Jimmy nails the contra code and wins... After the match, Mori snaps, beats the hell out of Lacey while Jimmy escapes. Jimmy, as he's leaving, thanks Lacey for everything, and then dumps her. MOrishima is suspended for unsportsman like conduct, and Jimmy starts an asshole title reign that mimics his IWA reign.

[Mr. Nerfect]

An asshole Jimmy Jacobs would be sweet. I sensed a bit of a face turn for Lacey in her videos with Jacobs, so the probable outcome of this storyline is for Jacobs to turn on Lacey, and shove her out on her ass.

I definitely see Jacobs as a future ROH World Champion, but I'm not sure if I see him as the next one. I think he'd have a better shot at dethroning Bryan Danielson, or whoever the next Champion is.

How far away is Jacobs away from returning, anyway?

[Mr. Nerfect]

Oh, and when Jacobs kicks Lacey to the curb, he better call her a "HUSSey".

[thecc]

Asshole Jimmy Jacobs is the shit.

seriously
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Also as far as who i'd like to see take the title off Morishima. I'd like to see Eddie Kingston make his full time debut. take the title of Mori. Then continue his fued with Chris Hero where it left off in CZW.

[What Would Kevin Do?]

I honestly don't know if Jimmy will ever be ROH champ or not. It's really going to depend on how strong he is at his comeback, and what he does....

He's probably out for another..... 3-6 months I would think.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Also as far as who i'd like to see take the title off Morishima. I'd like to see Eddie Kingston make his full time debut. take the title of Mori. Then continue his fued with Chris Hero where it left off in CZW.

I'm hearing a lot of good things about Eddie Kingston, lately. Namely his promo skills. I personally wouldn't bring him in to be ROH World Champion, but I'd love to see him join Claudio Castagnoli in his feud against Sweet N' Sour International. Maybe throw Nigel McGuinness in there as well? A six-man tag team match with Claudio, Kingston and McGuinness facing Hero, Sydal and Toland would be pretty cool.