I've seen that along with Marty that Jeff Cobb, Bandido, Brody King, Tracy Williams and Shane Taylor contracts have expired or set to expire. Cobb is the one I'm most curious about.

I enjoyed Final Battle 2019. Good show all the way around.

Marty Scurll resigns with ROH. His new deal is said to be the most lucrative in company history and includes Scurll taking over for Delirious as head booker effective immediately. Scurll will also be allowed to work NWA shows..

www.f4wonline.com/ring-honor/marty-scurll-re-signs-roh-takes-over-head-booker-301511

ROH will also be running a free show February 9th in Baltimore. This is said to be Scurll’s idea. I see no reason not to go. I mean, it’s free. Why not?

Marty has always been a boss & now, that is a literal fact. Good for him.

LOL wut? Finally gets the world title even if he has to book it himself!

It's a huge moment for ROH. With the way everything had been going after the MSG show, it seemed like they were going to meet a quick death. At the very least, they've stemmed that tide and with Scurll in the driver's seat they maybe able to find a better sense of direction.

Gonna be really hard for RoH to come back with AEW throwing out contracts to most of their former top guys and NXT signing the rest. Kind of too little, too late.

Guessing Delirious is taking the fall for the owner's bullshit that Mercury made public.

Only way RoH survives IMO is if Marty and work a deal with AEW for talent exchanges.  Get their guys on TV, and get some much needed talent back into RoH to freshen things up.

Fuck AEW c, you instead give Hunter a call and talent swap with NXT, similarly to the Evolve relationship.

NXT then continues to explore/exploit those independent ideals and ROH can get a nice rub and bring them back from the brink. In terms of preservation, WWE produces a nice little Chronicle (maybe following a returning UE to ROH) on ROH’s legacy and history with thoughts and interviews from former talent (Joe, Danielson, Nigel, Seth) and in exchange, The Villain works a Takeover or two. And not to mention access to ROH video library once in a while, if needed.

Forget those dorks in AEW.

Jan 13, 2020 10:44:43 GMT NATH45 said:

Fuck AEW c , you instead give Hunter a call and talent swap with NXT, similarly to the Evolve relationship.

NXT then continues to explore/exploit those independent ideals and ROH can get a nice rub and bring them back from the brink. In terms of preservation, WWE produces a nice little Chronicle (maybe following a returning UE to ROH) on ROH’s legacy and history with thoughts and interviews from former talent (Joe, Danielson, Nigel, Seth) and in exchange, The Villain works a Takeover or two. And not to mention access to the ROH video library once in a while, if needed.

Forget those dorks in AEW.

You really do not like AEW huh?

Jan 13, 2020 18:30:55 GMT Ed said:

Jan 13, 2020 10:44:43 GMT NATH45 said:

Fuck AEW c , you instead give Hunter a call and talent swap with NXT, similarly to the Evolve relationship.

NXT then continues to explore/exploit those independent ideals and ROH can get a nice rub and bring them back from the brink. In terms of preservation, WWE produces a nice little Chronicle (maybe following a returning UE to ROH) on ROH’s legacy and history with thoughts and interviews from former talent (Joe, Danielson, Nigel, Seth) and in exchange, The Villain works a Takeover or two. And not to mention access to the ROH video library once in a while, if needed.

Forget those dorks in AEW.

You really do not like AEW huh?

It hasn’t exactly given me a reason to like it. These guys came to fame playing the short game. BTE, sell a show, attend a press conference, do an interview to a foreign crowd, wrestle a match. Now, they’re playing and planning a long game and their ideas and shows aren’t good.

You don’t give the workers the book, especially when their personalities were dependent on a black and white tee shirt. And they don’t have those any more.

Jan 13, 2020 19:57:43 GMT NATH45 said:

Jan 13, 2020 18:30:55 GMT Ed said:

You really do not like AEW huh?

It hasn’t exactly given me a reason to like it. These guys came to fame playing the short game. BTE, sell a show, attend a press conference, do an interview with a foreign crowd, wrestle a match. Now, they’re playing and planning a long game and their ideas and shows aren’t good.

You don’t give the workers the book, especially when their personalities were dependent on a black and white tee shirt. And they don’t have those anymore.

What you described is part of the reason I enjoy AEW. Different strokes for different folks. For a long time, I've found ROH stale and tied so I don't watch them. Maybe things will change but my point is to enjoy what you like ignore what you don't. To do otherwise is a waste of time.

Jan 13, 2020 10:44:43 GMT NATH45 said:

Fuck AEW c , you instead give Hunter a call and talent swap with NXT, similarly to the Evolve relationship.

NXT then continues to explore/exploit those independent ideals and ROH can get a nice rub and bring them back from the brink. In terms of preservation, WWE produces a nice little Chronicle (maybe following a returning UE to ROH) on ROH’s legacy and history with thoughts and interviews from former talent (Joe, Danielson, Nigel, Seth) and in exchange, The Villain works a Takeover or two. And not to mention access to ROH video library once in a while, if needed.

Forget those dorks in AEW.

I honestly expect Vince to own RoH in a few years.  Worth it for the tape library alone.  CM Punk DVD's would come out, American Dragon DVD's, the reign of the Champ DVDs, the transition of Seth Rollins DVD, ect.  So many of his current guys worked in RoH, that library would be a great asset to have.  And when RoH finally realizes there is no coming back, they will sell.

Did ROH drop it’s women’s division?

Jan 15, 2020 7:54:19 GMT NATH45 said:

Did ROH drop it’s women’s division?

No, they've just released the current women's champion and as far as I know, they've yet to address it on television.

A bunch of matches have been announced for the February 9th Free Enterprise show in Baltimore. 
www.rohwrestling.com/live/events/2920-free-enterprise-baltimore-md

Main Event: ROH Champion PCO & Marty Scurll vs. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis & Rush



PCO! SLICK NICK! In the same match! On a FREE show! Can't wait!

Only a snowstorm would prevent me from going to this one.

Hopefully they'll have some NWA/Slick Nick merchandise.

Jan 21, 2020 22:43:52 GMT Baker said:

A bunch of matches have been announced for the February 9th Free Enterprise show in Baltimore. 
www.rohwrestling.com/live/events/2920-free-enterprise-baltimore-md

Main Event: ROH Champion PCO & Marty Scurll vs. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis & Rush

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to this.

Jan 22, 2020 18:11:40 GMT Baker said:

Jan 21, 2020 22:43:52 GMT Baker said:

A bunch of matches have been announced for the February 9th Free Enterprise show in Baltimore. 
www.rohwrestling.com/live/events/2920-free-enterprise-baltimore-md

Main Event: ROH Champion PCO & Marty Scurll vs. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis & Rush

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to this.

So PCO/Aldis winner takes all, who you backing?

Jan 22, 2020 21:05:52 GMT @ness said:

Jan 22, 2020 18:11:40 GMT Baker said:

Just got my ticket. Looking forward to this.

So PCO/Aldis winner takes all, who you backing?

Excellent question. But the choice is clear. Without hesitation, I answer....

Tempora mutantur, et nos mutamur in illis.

It's 2020. Slick Nick all the way.

But the real winner would be the two respective promotions rejoicing in the clink of those sweet, sweet Baker Dimes.

Strangely the Villain Enterprises vs. Nick Aldis & RUSH match is no longer on the line-up section of the website. I haven't been following NWA, but it seems like a strange over-sight.

In February we have three shows.

Free Enterprises
Sunday, 9 February 2020

Alex Zayne vs. Andrew Everett
Sumie Sukai vs. Session Moth Martina
ROH World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership: Battle Royal
Joe Hendry & Dalton Castle vs. Bateman & Vincent Marseglia
Proving Ground: Jeff Cobb & Dan Maff vs. Jay Lethal & Jon Gresham
Brody King vs. Rey Horus
Slex vs. Flip Gordon
The Briscoes vs. Bandido & Flamita

Bound By Honor
Friday, 28 February 2020

Dalton Castle & Joe Hendry vs. Mark Haskins & Tracey Williams vs. Flamita & Bandido vs. Vincent Marseglia & Bateman
Nicole Savoy vs. Angelina Love
ROH World Tag Team Championship Match: Silas Young & Josh Woods vs. Jay Lethal & Jon Gresham (c)
Rey Horus vs. Alex Shelley
Marty Scurll vs. Slex
RUSH & Kenny King vs. Brody King & Flip Gordon
Jeff Cobb & Dan Maff vs. The Briscoes
ROH World Championship Match: Dragon Lee vs. PCO (c)

Gateway To Honor
Saturday, 29 February 2020

Alex Shelley vs. Dan Maff
Session Moth Martina vs. Angelina Love
Silas Young & Josh Woods vs. Vincent Marseglia & Bateman
ROH TV Championship Match: Dak Draper vs. Dragon Lee (c)
Slex & The Briscoes vs. Marty Scurll & Flip Gordon & Brody King
ROH World Six-Man Championship: Jay Lethal & Jon Gresham & Jeff Cobb vs. Bandido & Flamita & Rey Horus (c)
ROH World Heavyweight Championship: RUSH vs. Mark Haskins vs. PCO (c)

The Pure championship is being brought back after fourteen years. The tournament begins in April for belt in Columbus and Pittsburgh. I wonder what changes to the rules will happen. I have fond memories of matches for the Pure championship, and am excited to see it back. I'll have to make a trip to the 'Burgh for the show. With the working relationship with NJPW and possibly other companies, there's bound to be great matches in the future.

Feb 2, 2020 6:46:33 GMT Raven said:

The Pure championship is being brought back after fourteen years. The tournament begins in April for belt in Columbus and Pittsburgh. I wonder what changes to the rules will happen. I have fond memories of matches for the Pure championship, and am excited to see it back. I'll have to make a trip to the 'Burgh for the show. With the working relationship with NJPW and possibly other companies, there's bound to be great matches in the future.

It will be interesting to see how they'll incorporate it into the roster. They already have five championships and eight members of the roster can be champion at any given point in time. It makes me wonder whether they'll retire one of the titles or if they're looking to expand the roster.

Now bring back John Walters and I'm in.

Feb 2, 2020 4:52:26 GMT Big Pete said:

Strangely the Villain Enterprises vs. Nick Aldis & RUSH match is no longer on the line-up section of the website. I haven't been following NWA, but it seems like a strange over-sight.

Free Enterprises
Sunday, 9 February 2020

ROH World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership: Battle Royal
Proving Ground: Jeff Cobb & Dan Maff vs. Jay Lethal & Jon Gresham

The Aldis tag wasn't listed in the line-up section when it was initially announced either. I'm guessing this is just ROH ROHing.

The Battle Royal and Proving Ground tag are the non-Aldis matches I am most looking forward to at Free Enterprise. Battle Royals are fun live and the tag looks good on paper (even though I have actually never seen a Jeff Cobb match lol). 
-------------------
The 6 Man Tag Titles have never seemed important during my occasional ROH glimpses. That would be the title I'd drop if I were concerned about having too many championships. 

ROH looks to be leaning on the nostalgia by bringing back the Pure Title and booking an upcoming Past vs. Present show. Past vs. Present show actually looks like a lot of fun to this old school ROH fan. Still needs more Jimmy Rave though.

There's still hope.

If they can bring back Xavier, anything is possible.

Wasn't Xavier's gimmick that he was actually shit? Like, he got booed because he wasn't a good wrestler and he wasn't Daniels?

I see Xavier as this mythical creature who somehow managed to enshrine himself in the same company as Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Low Ki etc. then just disappeared off the face of this earth.

Feb 3, 2020 23:15:59 GMT @admin said:

Now bring back John Walters and I'm in.

This is your lucky day. www.wrestling-news.net/john-walters-added-to-roh-past-vs-present-event-this-march/139082/

Feb 4, 2020 4:59:14 GMT KITN said:

Wasn't Xavier's gimmick that he was actually shit? Like, he got booed because he wasn't a good wrestler and he wasn't Daniels?

Yep, sort of, and yep.

Gabe is on record saying he wanted a heel champion for Low Ki (and others) to chase. He correctly assumed Daniels would be cheered. So he hastily turned Xavier heel and hotshot him to the title during the very match in which he turned heel. I was actually at that show (Unscripted 2002). The match was a mess and the finish was mostly met with a "wtf" sort of silence.

It wasn't a bad idea in theory. Gabe had this thing where he would push the #2 guy in stables harder than the top guy. It was actually a clever move...A good Gabeism. Two stars are better than one. It worked out well with Aries (over Shelley) and Black (over Jacobs), but flopped with Xavier (over Daniels). 

And it killed Xavier's career. His title reign was an unfunny joke even in real time. He mostly got the wrong kind of heat. I don't have any confirmation on this, but I'm almost positive Xavier intentionally wrestled a more 'boring' style to make people hate him even more. By this point, most of the top indie guys went all out on ROH shows but would dog it a little in lesser indie promotions without a strong tape distribution. Xavier was perhaps the lone exception to this rule. His best matches (with one exception) came outside of ROH.

People forget (or just don't know) that Xavier was actually one of the hot indie prospects up until the title reign that never should have been. Xavier/Ki was a hot indie touring match in the immediate pre-ROH era. Xavier/Styles was the best match at the pretty star studded 2002 ECWA Super 8. Even in ROH he had the awesome and underrated Final Battle 2002 match with London (the one time Gabe's vision for his title reign came to fruition), and if anybody other than perhaps @admin has positive memories about ROH John Walters, it's likely the Final Battle 2003 Ladder Match with Xavier they will be thinking about.

I wasn't necessarily a Xavier fan, mind you. Perish the thought! I just hated him a little less than most people :lol:  Probably because he was the only guy other than Tito himself who I ever saw use El Matador's El Paso de la Muerte move.

I don't think Xavier had the charisma or 'hook' to ever become a true top tier indie guy. But I see no reason why he couldn't have had the career of Chris Sabin. That's his ceiling. Chris Sabin. Not bad. Sabin had a lengthy career in semi-mainstream promotions.

But that ill-conceived title reign meant he would top out as a glorified Matt Stryker. 

So, yeah, Xavier was basically a small time 2000s version of 80s & 90s Tommy Rich....the rare guy to actually be hurt by a push to the championship.

Holy shit that's amazing! He wrestled a bit more recently than Xavier but being even less of a name I threw that out there as a complete joke.

ROH seems to really be making some positive moves with Marty and Jonathan Gresham booking, generally returning to their roots, reupping involvement with other promotions - much better than the fuckery of recent years. Good stuff.

Nicky A doing his bit for the Less Boomer World Champions movement. Baker 🤯

Mar 2, 2020 0:29:00 GMT @admin said:

Nicky A doing his bit for the Less Boomer World Champions movement. Baker 🤯

Time for an unexpected take....

That's a total dick move by Aldis that makes me like him a tiny bit less. PCO hadn't done anything untoward to Slick Nick. It's gonna be so great when PCO finally invades the Powerrr Zone. 

This also makes me want to see the upcoming Aldis/PCO Wrestlemania weekend match even more. I'll have to track that one down. I'm also a little more conflicted now.... #ItsStillRealToMe