Cageside Seats is always trying to provide the best and most comprehensive in-depth wrestling coverage available on the monsterweb.
That means going beyond the confines of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and even Total Nonstop Action -- or Impact Wrestling or whatever they are officially calling it these days -- and diving into the world of Ring of Honor (ROH), CHIKARA, Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW), Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) and the like.
There aren't nearly as many eyes on the indies as there is on WWE but it's professional wrestling and we'll be a monkey's uncles if we simply write it off.
My Cageside colleague Thomas Holzerman pens the excellent "The Indie Corner,' the latest of which you can read here. He, like myself, is a CHIKARA fanatic and marks out as hard for Sara Del Rey as the one dude did for Brock Lesnar on Monday night.
You know which guy I'm talking about.
So what's the point of this? Well, without the benefit of a truly national weekly show, ROH puts out newswires to keep their fans abreast of the recent ongoings in the company. Cageside will start providing those to you albeit with a bit of commentary after each point. If you don't follow the promotion, it'll be nothing but a block of text to you without any frame of reference.
This week's newswire, chock full of information about upcoming shows and recent match signings, is after the jump.
- The big news of the week is the private press conference that Ring of Honor officials held on Monday April 2nd in Baltimore. One thing that has leaked from the press conference is that "The Belfast Bruiser" Fit Finlay will be coming to Ring of Honor for "Border Wars" at The Ted Reeve Arena on May 12th! It has yet to be determined who Finlay will face on May 12th so keep an eye on ROHWrestling.com as well as our official Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts for all the latest news about our live events. In the meantime, make sure you head to the ROH Store and pick up your tickets right here for our long awaited return to Toronto & the great Ted Reeve Arena!!!
We covered the Finlay announcement here and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see the veteran take on Michael Elgin in Toronto. "Unbreakable" has a TON of momentum behind him right now so the match-up only makes sense.
- Also, make sure you check out "Ring of Honor Wrestling" TV this weekend for more details on what other huge news came out of that private press conference.
Kevin Steen also had this to tweet last night about the "private press conference": Finlay being in Toronto isn't the only major thing that came out of that @ringofhonor press conference #KilltheWolf. Can we expect Steen to get his long awaited shot at Davey Richards in the Great White North?
- This week's "Tuesday Rollout" brought fans the "10th Anniversary: Young Wolves Rising" DVD release, the official "Synergy" event t-shirt, and the Michael Elgin "Unbreakable" shirt as well. All three can be purchased right here in the ROH Store. What's in store for you next week? Let's just say you've got to be in it to win it...
The 10th Anniversary Show was great so if you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend picking up the DVD.
- As a special treat for all of our wonderful and supportive fans, the two matches that were browned out during Saturday Night's PPV are now available to EVERYONE in their entirety. To recap, the second half of the "Dual Duel" , where The All Night Express take on the The Young Bucks in a wild street fight AND The Grudge Match between Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reily, ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE!!!
Check out those bad boys right here.
- Announced today, ROH World Champion & Kyle O'Reilly will take on Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin at our "Unity" event in Chicago Ridge on 4/28 as part of "Synergy". There is speculation as to where Davey's opinions may lie regarding O'Reilly's actions in the match against Adam Cole linked above. WGTT are most definitely on the same page, will Team Richards show the same unity on their end?
If Steen really is getting a shot at the ROH World Championship next month in Toronto, I've got a bit of fantasy booking that I think is pretty swell. If you're interested to hear it, let me know in the comments and I'll spill the beans. But it involves O'Reilly's new attitude and how it could affect his match at Synergy with partner Davey Richards.
- Announced yesterday, Kevin Steen will face Kyle O'Reilly THIS Saturday night at The Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD when ROH returns to tape "Ring of Honor Wrestling" TV for the SBG Broadcasting networks nationwide. Be there live to witness the best wrestling in the world! Tickets are available here or at the door on Saturday.
And it involves this match too. It finally sounds like ROH TV has found its footing. May have to giving a second chance. Would you Cagesiders want to see recaps on the site again?
- Speaking of this Saturday night, a Delicious Dairy Deviant and the Frozen Menace of Mexicali will be in action at The Du Burns Arena in Baltimore, MD. Also just signed to compete for the TV Tapings are Matt Taven and Ricky Reyes.
LOS ICE CREAMS~! 'NUFF SAID~!
- Come out and meet Bruno Sammartino on June 30th when we make our return to the Pittsburgh area at The Rostraver Ice Garden! Tickets for Pittsburgh and the Bruno Meet & Greet, are on sale right now at ROHWrestling.com for Ringside Members and will be available to the general public tomorrow, April 6th.
- Tickets for our debut in the Charleston/Huntington area of West Virginia on June 15th are on sale as well for Ringside Members, and also will be available to the general public tomorrow morning.
- In regards to the recently signed Proving Ground match on April 29th in Dayton, ROH World Champion Davey Richards has sent word that Adam Cole has already proven himself in Ring of Honor and deserves an ROH World Championship match. ROH officials have stated that the ROH World Title is the most prestigious championship in all of wrestling and although Cole pinned Davey in a tag team bout, he must prove himself in singles competition.
ROH seems to be pushing Cole pretty hard and for good reason. He's got a good look, great inside the ring and not to shabby on the stick, either. It's probably why WWE showed some interest in the formr Future Shock member. While I don't think Cole will be the one to unseat Richards, if he sticks around in the promotion, I definitely see a title run in Cole's future.
- The latest edition of "Ring of Honor Wrestling" is now available to all GA Members for FREE! Episode 28 features 2 March Mayhem Qualifying matches as "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards faces "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett and Tommaso Ciampa with The Embassy faces Kyle O'Reilly with the winner of each bout advancing to the Final 4-Way that has a $24,000 prize at stake! Also, "Wrestling's Worst Nightmare" Kevin Steen will be interviewed and ROH World Champion Davey Richards battles Ryan McBride.
- Jay Briscoe was severely injured last Saturday as a result of Haas and Benjamin crotching Jay multiple times against the ring post. The Briscoe's want revenge as soon as possible and ROH officials are looking to sign the rematch.
They always provide good matches but I'm sort of worn on The Briscoes and Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. I would really like to see those two teams tangle up with someone else.
- Everyone is talking about "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin since last Saturday and, don't forget, Elgin is still entitled to another future ROH World title match based off of winning the "Survival of the Fittest 2011." Could we see the Richards-Elgin championship rematch sometime soon?
Good gravy, I hope so. Well, not TOO soon but maybe at Best in the World in June or Final Battle 2012?
- This week on "Ring of Honor Wrestling" you will see the highly anticipated Final 4-Way to determine the winner of $24,000! Jay Lethal, Adam Cole, Tommaso Ciampa and "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett will battle with only one man left as the winner. Also, be sure to check out Mike Mondo vs. Matt Taven this week! Check to see if ROH airs in your area right here.
ROH TV is free to view every Thursday on their website but you can catch it as early as Monday morning if you're a paid Ringside Member. You also get perks like special discounts plus pre-sales on tickets if you're planning on going to a live show. Not too shabby.