BY MIKEY MIGO
It might be tacky for me to want to dig into Ring of Honor, but I must. I’ve heard podcasts and read that ROH needs to be shaken up. The main event scene is said to be “thinner than they’d like”. It happens. Things shift and right now Ring of Honor is in the middle of a transition. Before any job or business I run on my own, I am a huge fan of professional wrestling. That includes WWE and select indies. Ring of Honor has never been my favorite wrestling product, but I appreciate it and enjoy it more often than not. As a fan, I feel there is still PLENTY of upswing left in the company. To prove that, I’m going to take about twenty minutes and explain the direction ROH could go and how I’d “fantasy book” it…
Okay,… so Kenny King is gone and now they are doing a Tag Title tournament. This gives them a chance to fill the title void and to throw some curve balls into storylines of ROH. The Briscos are the obvious choice to take the titles and a lot of people would bet on the Young Guns. I’d like to see then pull the trigger on The Bravados. They’re a very entertaining and unique young tag team. They have silly characters, but putting them on the map by having them upset and win the tournament would only bring a curious attention to them and set up some good hot potato-ing of the straps to the Guns, Briscos, and maybe another team. One team I leave out is Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas. I think this is the chance for them to break up. They could blame each other over losing. These are two recognizable wrestlers that could easily be in the main event once they had a program of their own. The program idea I like is that each of them get a new partner to after the belts, but keep getting in each other’s way. I’d like to see Haas go with someone random like Michael Elgin, while Benjamin could go with Rhett Titus. It gives them a rub and it mixes things up a lot. For a fun twist, both teams would break up and the two other guys would end up teaming. Shelton Benjamin could make a great face ROH Champ down the line.
Adam Cole is going to be a huge star. Right now he’s just starting to showcase why. He’s currently the TV Champion. That’s awesome. I’m sure Jay Lethal will want it back and his GREAT match with Kyle O’Reilly makes me want more of that. Mike Bennett is another guy that’s going to be a huge star. He’s got “it”. Building up to a meaningful Cole vs. Bennett match could be killer. I’ve also started to take notice of Tommaso Ciampo. From the latest ROH TV show it looks like he’s being set up for a push. I’d like to see him get in there with a Homicide and Eddie Edwards. He’s another guy with potential.
While the very talented mid-card piggy bank shakes out a few more home grown main eventers, Kevin Steen is going to need to work with someone. I’ve read that Davey Richards could be taking a break or step back for a while. Steen can be a great guy to keep the title on for a good long reign. My idea here is to build a program around two main challengers. The first would be Rhino. They could dabble a little on Rhino and Steve Corino’s past. Maybe by pushing a promo in the lines of “I brought you in so many years ago and you’re a disappointment. My new collaboration, Kevin Steen is going to achieve all the things WE wanted to.” I could never do a Corino promo justice. The man is in a league of his own. The second part of this equation balances out the nostalgia aspect with something completely fresh. What’s fresher than Mike Mondo? Mondo hasn’t exactly gotten to this point yet, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be that wildcard under-dog yapping dog snapping at Steen’s ass annoying him and getting under his skin. Ultimately this would put Steen’s reign over more, but I think everyone involved could gain something from this direction. Whatever they do, the ingredients ARE there. We just need to be patient as the next “era” of ROH takes shape.
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