Cripple of Honor

Me with The Addiction (Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels)!  The comic book?  Daniels wrote half of it and both members of The Addiction appear within its pages.

So last night, I attended my first Ring of Honor show.  It was a TV taping, and as ROH fans surely know, they record four episodes at one fell swoop.  My main goal was to see The Young Bucks wrassle. After their match (it was the main event of the third episode), Mom and I called it a night.  By the way, thanks to my mom for driving 90 minutes and sitting through well over three hours of professional wrestling, a leisure pursuit that she does not call a hobby.  That's love, folks.

I'm not going to circulate a blow-by-blow bulletin of the results.  You can find the full card on dirtsheet sites.  I will merely give my general impression of certain talents and the overall ambiance.  Hats off to the dudes who worked the triple-threat dark match.  I couldn't understand their names (something about a monkey?), but in roughly six minutes, they did every move they could do.  Ordinarily, I'd characterize that approach as short-sighted, if not witless, but this wasn't your average card.  Again, it was a TV taping.  Whomever was booking the proceedings ran the risk of draining the crowd, and yet, it didn't.  You have to book for TV.

The ring.  Pre-show.

I'm sounding too clinical.  I had a blast!  I'm just...y'know, writing, which is my biggest weakness.  Before the first episode got underway, we were treated to a Women of Honor match.  Karen Q defeated Stella Wade?  Wayne?  Waverly Place?  Seriously, I couldn't make out much of what the announcer said, and it's a shame.  Stella was sexy as shit.  Of course, her looks are irrelevant. Apparently, this was her first WOH (or ROH, for that matter) bout, and while I'm not up to speed on her credentials, I could tell she was a bit bosky around the fringes.  That's my oblique way of saying that she lacks experience.  Karen Q hasn't been in the game for long, but damn, she comes off as a seasoned veteran.  Legitimately surprised that she hasn't gained access to the NXT performance center.

As soon as the show(s) started, Kazarian cut a promo and turned heel!  Wooooah!  Honestly?  I thought The Addiction was already a villainous duo.  Yeah, this is where I state that I don't follow ROH terribly closely.  I wish I could, but we don't get Comet, the channel that airs their series on a weekly basis (it's The Fight Network for you Canadian marks).  Where was I?  Ah, The Addiction being awesome and worming their way into the main event of the third episode.  You read that correctly.  They interfered in the match that I was most hyped to see...the bastards!

Fortuitously, said match still delivered.  The Young Bucks (my favorite active tag team on Earth) took on The Motor City Machine Guns in a contest that reminded me of 2010.  That was the year I started watching TNA.  Actually, it was the year I started watching wrestling as an adult through "smart" eyes.  Both teams were signed to the TNA roster.  The Bucks were known as Generation Me, and although they weren't quite as polished as they are in 2017, I recall their double-team badassery spoiling my brain.  I would never view WWE's tag team division in the same light ever again.  Naturally, the Guns deserve plaudits for their part in Ye Olde TNA Tags.  Chris Sabin banged Velvet Sky, so they have my eternal respect.

Judging from the conclusion of the third episode, it seems as if The Bucks will defend their ROH Tag Team Championships at War of the Worlds against - wait for it - The Motor City Machine Guns and The Addiction.  Yes, please!  Okay.  The rest of this piece will consist of a bulleted list (stuff I noticed, stuff I enjoyed, stuff that happened in my vicinity) and another photograph.

• I know Flip Gordon from Being the Elite, but as it turns out, he's exciting to watch in the ring.  One of the best solo high-flyers in the promotion.
• Sweet heavens, War Machine is a brutal monstrosity of a tag team.  It's no wonder that they lay claim to the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.  Scary viking sumbitches.
• Jay White is one hell of a cruiserweight.  The New Zealand import was unlucky enough to face War Machine.  Yes, he had a partner, but he suffered the brunt of the bumps. Maybe it just felt that way.  Ouch.
• Brandi Rhodes made her ROH debut, competing in a tag match.  I'm in love with her and I might be a stalker if she learned how to wrestle.  Harsh, I'm aware, but it's clear that she doesn't have it.
• Speaking of the Rhodes family, Cody grappled during the fourth episode, and if you've been paying attention thus far, you know that I missed him.  Sad emoji.
• I bought a copy of the comic book pictured above.  I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it looks righteous.
• I finally...FINALLY own a Bullet Club t-shirt.  That means I'm in the Bullet Club, right?  Right???

You'll have to excuse the quality, but those are The Young Bucks!  Loudest pop of the night.