THE 2/22 ROH VIDEOWIRE: PREVIEWING THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

This weekend, Ring of Honor is celebrating their 9th anniversary with two shows - tonight in Dayton, and tomorrow in Chicago (and live on iPPV) for their actual 9th Anniversary Show. Both cards are pretty stacked, and considering that in the past while they've lost Kevin Steen, Austin Aries, Tyler Black, Delirious, Necro Butcher and others, that is impressive. Here's what's in the final VideoWire before the big event on Saturday.

ROH 02/22/11 VIDEOWIRE

PREVIEWING THE 9TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW

IN THIS VIDEO

- ROH World Champion Roderick Strong seals his promo with a kiss.

- Christopher Daniels and Eddie Edwards put over the importance of being a champion in Ring of Honor. Their match on Saturday will no doubt be a highlight for the weekend.

- The Kings of Wrestling don't think Kenny King is "tough enough" to hang with the ROH World Tag Team Champions.

- Rhett Titus and Kenny King, the All Night Express, RAP THEIR PROMO. NOT EVEN JOKING. DYING OVER HERE. Titus has got FLOW.

- Steve Corino turning over a new leaf. I love this story. Seeing Corino struggling to be the ultimate good guy is both hilarious, and maybe something that hasn't really been done before (someone will probably correct me on that). His "I can have a five star match... if you give me a two star curve" comment cracked me up. So did his teasing of the thumb in the bum. That really... cracked... me up. I hate myself.

- Truth Martini and Michael Elgin speak. Truth Martini might be the most hate-able man in wrestling. Whenever I see him, I want to punch him in the face. Then, I stop to think about how great he is at being a heel and looking like a guy you want to punch in the face. But then I still want to punch him in the face. And I want to punch myself in the face for thinking about Truth Martini for this long.

- Homicide brings the real talk to Roderick Strong. He also says he might do the "Homicide Shuffle" with Colt Cabana in Chicago, but he could say anything and I'd be scared.

No sign of the Briscoes or Haas and Benjamin, but an entertaining twenty minutes nonetheless.

Here are the cards, hype and tweets for this weekend.

Friday, February 25th

DAYTON, OHIO - "WORLD'S GREATEST"

Tickets + Info

SIX MAN MAIN EVENT - "WORLD'S GREATEST" COLLIDE

ROH World Champion Roderick Strong

ROH World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling

VS.

Davey Richards

"Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team" Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin

TOP CONTENDERS COLLIDE

Homicide VS. El Generico

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST FINALS REMATCH

Eddie Edwards VS. Kenny King

SPECIAL CHALLENGE

Michael Elgin VS. ROH World TV Champion Christopher Daniels

SPECIAL ATTRACTION #1

Jay Briscoe VS. Kyle O'Reilly

SPECIAL ATTRACTION #2

Mark Briscoe VS. "The Prodigy" Mike Bennett

FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL

Colt Cabana

VS.

Rhett Titus

VS.

Mike Mondo

VS.

Andy "Right Leg" Ridge

TAG TEAM ACTION

The Bravado Brothers VS. Steve Corino & Grizzly Redwood

Saturday, February 26th

CHICAGO RIDGE, IL - "9TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW"

Tickets + Info - ORDER NOW at GoFightLive

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH - NO HOLDS BARRED BARRIO STREET FIGHT

Roderick Strong defends VS. Homicide

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

"The Kings of Wrestling" Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli

defend VS.

"The All Night Express" Rhett Titus & Kenny King

ROH WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP - 2/3 FALLS

Christopher Daniels defends VS. Eddie Edwards

FIRST TIME EVER - DREAM TAG TEAM MATCH

"The Briscoes" Jay & Mark

VS.

"Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team" Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin

SPECIAL ATTRACTION

Colt Cabana VS. Davey Richards

SPECIAL CHALLENGE MATCH

Michael Elgin VS. El Generico

WOMEN OF HONOR

Sara Del Rey VS. MsChif

FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL

Steve Corino

VS.

Kyle O'Reilly

VS.

Grizzly Redwood

VS.

"The Prodigy" Mike Bennett

TWEETS FOR THIS WEEKEND'S SHOWS

@ROHonHDNet

@Sheltyb803

@ccastagnoli

@theChrisHero

@SteveCorino

And finally, here are five reasons why you should order this show:

1. ROH's track record. They have literally never let me down when ordering one of their iPPVs.

2. Tag Team Wrestling. Two of the potential best matches on this card are tag team matches. You don't get that anywhere else.

3. GoFightLive allows you to watch at anytime. So even if you're someone who's looking to watch UFC that night, you can still get 9th Anniversary Show as soon as the next day (usually).

4. Christopher Daniels vs. Eddie Edwards. Their match at Supercard of Honor V was a phenomenal showcase of technical wrestling. It was one of those matches that makes you forget the pro wrestling is two guys cooperating, not two guys trying to out-wrestle each other. This match has the potential to steal the entire weekend to me.

5. There is selling.

This last point is a rebuttal to my good buddy TH over at The Wrestling Blog. He has been doing a series of posts titled "Intro to Match Analysis," and the latest one is all about selling. TH has this to say:

"Whenever I see a match featuring Shingo Tagaki or Davey Richards, and all they do is kick the other guy, take kicks and move around like nothing's wrong, it only reinforces that vile, four-lettered "f" word that haters of the artform bandy about like a sharp blade around the soft flesh of our fandom. Fake."

Now TH, we're still bros and all, but I can't help myself here.

I think a lot of people who write about wrestling on the internet have a list of keywords in their head when they watch wrestling. Where these keywords came from, I don't know. But typically these words are "storytelling," "psychology," and "selling." I think a lot of us love to use these words, and we also use these words incorrectly, probably because we just watch wrestling and that's it. I'm certainly not saying I know what these words mean more than anybody else, I don't. But I feel the need to defend Davey Richards and, similarly, ROH for a second.

I am not an authority on the matter AT ALL. I watch a lot of wrestling and love it and will be a fan until I die (probably of watching too much wrestling). I can watch Davey Richards and KENTA kick each other's faces off in a moment of "fighting spirit" and I can watch John Cena sell a stomp for forty-five seconds. The difference is that I see these two moments as two separate worlds.

I just see it as ROH (or Dragon Gate) putting themselves over as the "best wrestling in the world" and therefore you need to do more to their top guys to put them out. It's not a question of selling, it's a question of style. And if John Cena and Randy Orton started trading sequences of big moves like Roddy Strong hitting a Gutbuster, then a Sick Kick, then a Gibson Driver all in the span of three seconds, then yeah, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. It's the style of the promotion that drives the selling. To me. I don't know. Who the fuck am I to say. I've seen Rich Franklin knock Chuck Liddell out with a broken arm without flinching, so who knows what amount of selling is enough or not enough to make any kind of pro wrestling seem "real."

I feel dumber for writing this. But, I'd like to hear what TH has to say. I know he's a fan of ROH (and I turned this into an ROH-related argument only because he mentioned Davey, and I'm talking 9th Anniversary stuff here), although this seems to be more directed at Dragon Gate, which has the volume turned up even more on the "unbelievable" style of wrestling/selling/whatever you want to call it.

Anyway, with that said... E-FIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHT!

ROH FINAL BATTLE 2010 SUMMED UP IN ONE PICTURE

Photo - ROH's Official Facebook Page

I love the guy holding his buddy's arm.

There's still a chance that I'll do a full-on Final Battle review, but I might want to watch the show a second time since I was too busy falling off the couch and to my knees during the main event to really pay attention to details.

And y'know, maybe that's the best way to review it. Not go through and pick through every little thing, but just count how many times I involuntarily screamed or fell down during the show. Hmm.

Either way the verdict is the same - show of the year.

A RING OF HONOR FINAL BATTLE NON-PREVIEW PREVIEW

I don't think I need to even say anything.

ROH has posted a full preview on their site. There's a Final Battle minisite with all of the hype videos lined up for you to watch. TH of The Wrestling Blog did an extensive write-up for the iPPV. I've talked at length about the Kevin Steen/El Generico feud of the year. There is literally nothing left to be said.

But I will say this. There is no other event, no other promotion, no other anything that can elicit the same feeling you get when you watch (and I'm going to sound like a total dork saying this)... MMA.

And I don't even mean that in the way that ROH brings the same athleticism and realism and hard-hitting action as an MMA fight. What I'm talking about is definitely harder to quantify, but I'm going to try anyway.

It's more about the feeling that it legitimately matters who is going to win. Like there are real consequences. And not only that, but there's a sense of unpredictability, like at any moment any guy could pull out the win with one move. It's a feeling of nervousness and suspense that isn't replicated anywhere else.

That's the best I can do. It's really hard to explain without actually seeing it, like I'm sure most of you who have seen it know what I'm talking about. Or maybe you don't know what I'm talking about and I'm the only nerd who gets this giddy for a wrestling show. But it's not just any wrestling show, it's one that happens like only four times a year which makes it feel CRAZY hyped up and awesome and now I'm babbling on again like the giddy nerd I am.

I'll stop before I ruin it for anybody. Order this show.

Image - ROHWrestling.com

FEUDS 2010: KEVIN STEEN VS. EL GENERICO - TOO VIOLENT TO BE OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED

What better time to name this feud as one of the best feuds of 2010, than right after it was announced on ROHWrestling.com that Kevin Steen and El Generico's Mask vs. ROH Career match, will NOT be sanctioned by Ring of Honor.

KEVIN STEEN VS. EL GENERICO

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

Order Final Battle at GoFightLive

Visit the Final Battle Minisite

This Saturday at Final Battle, Kevin Steen and El Generico will meet in the ring for the last time and I don't know what is going to happen. There might be murder. I don't know.

This unsanctioning business took this match up to a whole new level that I didn't even know was there. The match already had a lot going for it - this was the most heated feud of the year in any company, it's been going for a year strong, and the stakes couldn't be higher with El Generico's mask and Kevin Steen's ROH career on the line. And I believe that this isn't like another recent firing in pro wrestling, so if Steen loses, don't expect him to show up on HDNet buying a ticket and beating people up every week on a technicality.

But the way that ROH has now sold this match, with it being totally unsanctioned by the company, and it will go on AFTER the World Title match this Saturday, raises the expectations even higher. As if there wasn't enough emotion crammed into this match, they have now essentially promised blood and guts (and probably Kevin Steen licking things). This is seriously going to be crazy.

Just to put some perspective on things, every iPPV Ring of Honor has done (Final Battle '09, The Big Bang, Death Before Dishonor VIII, Glory By Honor IX) has ended with a World Championship match, because the ROH World Title is the most important thing in the company (not to mention the hardest title to win in wrestling - 14 champions in almost 9 years? Yep.).

So having Generico and Steen close the show with whatever remaining time the iPPV has, makes it feel not only important, but FRIGGING SCARY. Read the press release for yourself, even if it's in kayfabe, that still means something coming from ROH. Saying that they want to be "released from all obligation, liability, tax, etc." and to have no responsibility, financially or otherwise, to what Kevin Steen and El Generico do to each other in front of the live audience and people at home, sets a precedent for this match - it's going to be violent.

And that's the only way it should be. You don't need me to spell out every little thing that happened to get to this point, so I offer this video, which if you haven't seen yet, do yourself a favour and watch it now:

Steen has played the perfect villain: Sick. Ultra-violent. Crazy (but not in that Eli Cottonwood "I like to hurt people" way - in a real way, because he doesn't believe he's crazy, much like all truly crazy people don't).

Generico has played the perfect hero: Silent. Vulnerable. Pissed off. He does every bit of his talking in the ring.

From the initial kick to the balls ("I hate your fuckin' guts."), to Generico's first sign of rage with his BRAINBUSTAHHH to Grizzly Redwood, to their encounters at Death Before Dishonor VII and Hate: Chapter II, to their bloody double chain match at Glory By Honor IX and to whatever happens Saturday at Final Battle, this feud has been one of the best stories told all year.

Final Battle will be insane. I don't even want to begin to guess what could happen, who could win, who could make their presence known (although it's entirely possible that Corino and Cabana let these two go at it completely uninterrupted). But whatever happens, I fully believe it will be an incredible blowoff to a feud drenched in emotion and very real consequences.

See you Saturday, where "The End, Begins."

ROH GLORY BY HONOR IX REVIEW: ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

Before I kick off this review and spoil everything that happened, I should mention that you can still catch the replay by ordering the event from GoFightLive.TV right here. And you should most definitely do that. I don't really need to do a review, I guess, if the point of the review is to make you, the reader, decide if you should order the show. But I'm still going to do one to try and get my blog over like the nerd I am!

ROH GLORY BY HONOR IX

RESULTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, HIGHLIGHTS

Photo - SLAM! Wrestling

Full gallery here

First, the quick results. Then, the announcements made at the show. Then, the highlights of the show. Then, that's it actually.

QUICK RESULTS

1. Kenny King def. Jay Briscoe with the Royal Flush

2. Mark Briscoe def. Rhett Titus with the Cut Throat Driver

3. Erick Stevens & The Necro Butcher (representing the Embassy) def. Grizzly Redwood & Ballz Mahoney (representing the carnival) when Stevens pinned Ballz

4. El Generico & Colt Cabana def. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino in a Double Chain Match when Corino submitted to Cabana's Billy Goat's Curse

-INTERMISSION-

5. Eddie Edwards def. Shawn Daivari (representing the Embassy) to retain his ROH World Television Title when Daivari submitted to the Achilles Lock

6. Christopher Daniels def. Austin Aries with a SUPER Angel's Wings

7. ROH World Tag Team Champions "The Kings of Wrestling" Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli def. "Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team" Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas via a "loaded" elbow pad shot

8. Roderick Strong def. Tyler Black to win the ROH World Championship after a Sick Kick.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

- Final Battle 2010 will be on December 18th and will be live on iPPV once again via GoFightLive.

- Davey Richards has resigned with ROH and will face the Ring of Honor World Champion at Final Battle 2010.

- Homicide has returned to Ring of Honor.

HIGHLIGHTS

- The ROARING HOT New York crowd to kick off the show. No one can bring the heat like NYC. Unfortunately, by the same token, no one can bring the "twinkies" chant and weird, douchey hecklers (TNA! TNA! and UFC! UFC! were particularly annoying) like NYC.

- Kenny King and Jay Briscoe almost ACCIDENTALLY redoing the Benoit/Sabu spot from ECW when Sabu broke his neck. Looked fatal. As I wondered if King was okay, he landed on his feet out of a monkey flip as if he was inside my head. Thanks Kenny!

- Mark Briscoe's corkscrew senton to the outside hitting 5% Rhett Titus and 95% tailbone-on-ringside-floor. Me may develop arse-ritis.

- Mark Briscoe delivering a top rope - literally both men on the top rope, sounds easy, looks super insane - Ace Cutter to Rhett Titus.

- Titus taking the Cut Throat Driver entirely on his head.

- Erick Stevens gorilla-pressing Grizzly Redwood to the outside for Necro Butcher to catch him. No wait, he didn't catch him, he PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE and let him fall to the floor! My. God.

- Ballz Mahoney bashing people with countless seven dollar beers.

- Eddie Edwards' overness. And badass suicide dive onto Daivari.

- The bloodbath that was the Double Chain Match. Holy hell yes. From the awesome brawling to Generico's top rope somersault plancha to the outside on Steen (that extra step he did scared the living shit out of me), to Steen pulling Generico off the top through a table, to everything else, this was a goddamned war just as promised.

- Austin Aries' tweenin' promo on Christopher Daniels, revealing that Daniels was the one to dub him "A Double." So Aries, in fine A Double form, says that Daniels should be dubbed "CD" because much like the CD, Daniels is obsolete.

- Aries falling victim to Boy Who Cried Wolf syndrome, because throughout the whole match I thought he was working his back injury... but... he just was injured. Or was selling in the most believable way of all time. Wait, maybe I fell victim to the Boy Who Cried Wolf syndrome...

- Daniels' absolutely devastating-looking top rope Angel's Wings to Aries. If Aries was indeed hurt throughout this match, this only compounded what appeared to be some serious discomfort. Or I am just a big dumb mark (likely the case!).

- Just everything about the Dream Tag Match between the Kings of Wrestling and WGTT. The crowd was truly electric, creating an atmosphere that elevated this match to a whole new territory. From the chain wrestling to the crazy double team sequences to the long build to hot tags that got the ROH faithful, a fan base that is usually numb to the hot tag spot, out of their seats. The finish was perfect - the match was promoted as a dream match, one that would be one of the Kings' toughest challenges, but the champs went over and there's room for a rematch. The belts were put over for how competitive the match was. The champs were put over because they won and outsmarted the team that hadn't teamed in years (and the start of the match told this story with Hero and Claudio getting the best of WGTT through double-teaming and heel tag tactics like pulling the rope down and cutting off the ring). Fantastic match.

- I literally can't even list all of my favourite parts of the tag match.

- Charlie Haas' elbow drop to Shane Hagadorn's taint (this was after the match).

- Jim Cornette on commentary for the main event just amped things up even more. He can hype me up for anything. I need a Jim Cornette alarm or something for the morning.

- Tyler Black's constant middle fingers to the New York crowd. This must've been the most cathartic experience in this history of independent wrestling.

- YOU CAN'T SEE ME from Tyler Black, right into an STF, drawing some very real boos. And eventually there was a "LET'S GO TYLER! - TYLER SUCKS!" duelling chant that I can't tell if it was a Cena reference or not, because I don't think I've ever heard anyone else's name used in that chant.

- Tyler hitting the Superplex and going for the Superplex-roll-into-God's-Last-Gift-combo-of-glory when Roddy counters with a fighting spirit brainbuster. Just. Madness.

- Todd Sinclair getting kicked off the fucking planet! He flew through the air and apparently obliterated his shoulder. Get well soon, feller.

- People complaining about Funk's count speed. What the fuck else did you expect from someone nearly crippled (and middle aged and crazy) from 800 years of wrestling? In fact, I honestly thought it made it more suspenseful.

- Roderick Strong finally doing what no one thought he would do, after fifteen (I believe) attempts, capturing the Ring of Honor World Championship.

- Tyler Black's final swan song - DOUBLE MIDDLE FINGERS TO THE WORLD.

- HOMICIDE.

An awesome, awesome show. It definitely made watching RAW tonight a little difficult (even though it had some really fun stuff). It's a shame there were issues again with the feed (and the replay), but GoFightLive has owned up to it, so no real blame can be placed with ROH.

Final Battle should be yet another great show from ROH, especially if we get Davey/Roddy, a WGTT/KOW rematch for the belts and Homicide's return to NYC. We should get the ever impending Davey/Daniels match that's been teased since the Big Bang somewhere down the road too.

Final thought: watch this show.

THE 09/08/10 ROH VIDEOWIRE + GLORY BY HONOR IX MASSIVE PREVIEW

This Saturday in New York the fate of the Ring of Honor World Championship will be decided. And not just what man will wear the belt... but what company we will see that same belt in. Here's all you could possibly want or need to know about Glory By Honor IX (live on iPPV at GoFightLive.TV), starting with the latest ROH VideoWire:

ROH 09/08/10 VIDEOWIRE

LAST WORDS BEFORE GLORY BY HONOR IX

First of all, let me just say that this might have been the strongest VideoWire ROH has ever put together - and a lot of it is not only because of how unbelievably good the promos are, but also how good the build and hype has been for this event. All you need to do is watch this video and you'll find that your hands will act without your knowledge and just order the iPPV for you by clicking this link right here. Awesome, awesome stuff.

IN THIS VIDEO

- Davey Richards teases (er, clearly states, rather) that his retirement is drawing near.

- The All-Night Express make Wu-Tang references in their challenges to the Briscoe Brothers.

- The Briscoe Brothers make no references what so ever, because they are clearly very pissed off and covered in blood.

- The Kings of Wrestling outdo themselves once again, particularly Chris Hero. His promo is incredible, and needs to be seen by anyone who had to endure a Kane soliloquy in the past few months. I don't think anyone can stop him on the mic. He's like a method actor or something, I don't know. And yet, Claudio says two words at the end of Hero's promo that stands up to what Hero just did. Incredible. Kings. Reign. Supreme.

- Erick Stevens dons a disco-looking Ghana football jacket that makes him even more hilarious. No one has improved like Erick Stevens in terms of gimmick and promo skills. He's finding his stride as this douchey bro guy that is really easy to hate. Prince Nana ALSO kills it in this interview - my goodness ROH has some gold on their hands right now.

- Kevin Steen busts out his Roderick Strong impression again and promises to essentially chop Generico's head off and keep it in his living room.

- Speaking of, Generico and Cabana cut yet another fired-up promo (well, Cabana does all the talking) leading into this chain match, which I'm positive will be an absolute bloodbath.

- Roderick Strong says he will save the ROH World Title even though everyone just lies to him.

- Tyler Black does what no one thought he could do, and that's cut a killer fucking promo. On the people that think he can't do it, nonetheless. Excuse me while I get off my fat ass and do something with my life - I'm sorry, Tyler!!

Now if that doesn't wet your wrestling whistle, here's a card preview for Glory By Honor IX, followed by some GBH history:

GLORY BY HONOR IX NO DISQUALIFICATION MAIN EVENT

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: TYLER BLACK DEFENDS AGAINST RODERICK STRONG

SPECIAL ENFORCER - TERRY FUNK

THE RUNDOWN

Notable Encounters: Time limit draw in Toronto; the Supercard of Honor V three-ref fiasco; a Pick 6 battle in Manassas with Roddy coming out on top.

Height Advantage: Tyler (3 inches)

Weight Advantage: Tyler (10 pounds)

Chop Advantage: Roddy (lots)

Outside Interference Advantage: EVEN - Roderick has Truth Martini at ringside, and he could always enlist the help of his cronies the House of Truth. Tyler, on the other hand, has a wildcard in Kevin Steen who could make his presence known at any moment. In fact, in the last VideoWire Steen went as far as saying he'd do anything to make sure that the Ring of Honor World Title stayed around Tyler's waist. And he's a scary bastard right now - he could easily dispense of Strong, Martini, Raymond, Able AND Funk in a heartbeat.

Other Variables: Tyler Black's pending trip to WWE developmental; Roderick Strong's confidence boosted after the world sees the Tyler Black he always saw; Terry Funk's involvement from ringside and how he could butt heads with Truth Martini; the New York crowd (and any "fat ass" at a computer)'s rich and pure hatred for Tyler Black.

Winner?: Logic points to Roderick Strong - Tyler Black can't take the ROH Title to WWE, can he? Or could something drastic happen and neither man walks out with the belt? Or something EVEN MORE DRASTIC (yeah I went there) and someone ELSE walks out with the belt?! I DON'T KNOW.

DREAM TAG TEAM MATCH

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS THE KINGS OF WRESTLING VS. "WRESTLING'S" GREATEST TAG TEAM - CHARLIE HAAS & SHELTON BENJAMIN

THE RUNDOWN

Years Teaming Advantage: WGTT (Debuted 2002, approx. five years of solid teaming together)

Combined Weight Advantage: WGTT (25 lbs)

Combined Height Advantage: I don't think combining height makes sense.

Double Team Advantage: KOW - No one has ever kicked out of the KRS-1.

Who Is The Greatest?: Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas are so great that their tag team name, World's Greatest Tag Team, is trademarked. Meanwhile, the Kings of Wrestling are so great that they have beaten all there is to beat on the independent circuit, even capturing the Juggalo Championship Wrestling tag team titles.

Winners?: Us, because this match will reign supreme.

DOUBLE CHAIN MATCH

KEVIN STEEN & STEVE CORINO VS. COLT CABANA & EL GENERICO

THE RUNDOWN

Combined Weight Advantage: Steen/Corino (69 lbs)

Hardcore Experience Advantage: Steen/Corino. While Colt Cabana has been known to show his mean streak in matches with Homicide and Kevin Steen, I think the edge goes to ECW alum Steve Corino, and the Antichrist of Ring of Honor Kevin Steen. Steen's bouts in Ring of Honor and elsewhere in the indies go to show just how psycho this guy can be.

Chain Experience Advantage: Kevin Steen. He spends a lot of time petting chains backstage. Or maybe Colt Cabana, since he's been in the WWE and has probably seen John Cena's chain up close.

Vengeance to Be Had Advantage: El Generico. It's time for Generico to extract some serious revenge on Steen for the heartbreaking nutshot-chairshot combo he pulled at Final Battle. Steen got the win at DBD8, and now Generico needs to put an end to this 9-month blood feud by chopping Steen's head off, taking a picture and making a t-shirt out of it.

Other Variables: Steve Corino's son Colby. He could show up at any minute you guys!

Winners?: Generico/Cabana. And anyone who has a blood fetish (I hope that's not a real thing because that would be terrifying) because blood is going to be spilled like spaghetti sauce in a Bounty commercial come Glory By Honor IX.

BATTLE OF THE BEST

AUSTIN ARIES VS. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

Photo - Scott Finkelstein's Get Lost Photography

THE RUNDOWN

Height Advantage: Daniels (3 inches)

Weight Advantage: Daniels (23 lbs)

Age Advantage: "Old Man" Daniels

Old Man Pipe Advantage: Aries

Momentum Advantage: Daniels. Aries has been caught up in becoming the Greatest Man(ager) That Ever Lived and not focusing so much on wrestling. In terms of iPPVs and live events (non televised), Aries hasn't scored a pinfall since March 19th when he pinned Petey Williams in Dearborn. Meanwhile, Christopher Daniels has been on an absolute tear on his mission to become the best in the world. It seems like it's only a matter of time until he finally crosses paths with Davey Richards, and then (if he weren't on his way to the WWE) to ROH Champion Tyler Black. Instead, it works out that Daniels will face Black in Plymouth, one night before GBH. If Daniels can take out Tyler, then what would stop him from taking out Aries?

Bottom Line: ROH World Title reigns - Aries: 2, Daniels: 0

Winner?: Even so, Christopher Daniels and Austin Aries seem to be going in two different directions. Daniels gets my vote.

ROH WORLD TELEVISION TITLE

CHAMPION EDDIE EDWARDS (IF STILL CHAMPION) DEFENDS AGAINST SHAWN DAIVARI

Photo - Scott Finkelstein's Get Lost Photography

THE RUNDOWN

Height Advantage: Eddie (2 inches)

Weight Advantage: Daivari (9 lbs)

Backup Advantage: Daivari. While Edwards has Davey Richards to back him up, Davey's been a bit of a lone wolf lately, focusing on big career decisions. Daivari, on the other hand, has the Embassy in his corner (although that could be up in the air after Eddie defends the TV strap against fellow Embassy member Erick Stevens the night before GBH9).

Conditioning Advantage: Eddie Edwards has been doing a ton of ten-minute hunts lately, but unfortunately they usually don't last long and could hamper his success in a match with a Championship time limit. Meanwhile, I remember reading a story somewhere about Shawn Daivari doing so many squats that he pissed black bile or some crazy shit.

Crazy Bastard Advantage: Eddie Edwards. He broke his elbow in an INSANE Anything Goes match against Kevin Steen, finished the match (don't know how), then wrestled the LADDER WAR THE NEXT NIGHT AND WON (DON'T KNOW HOW NEITHER).

Winner?: Eddie Edwards. He is cementing himself as a legit rising star in ROH today.

A PAIR OF SINGLES CHALLENGE MATCHES

THE ALL-NIGHT EXPRESS VS. THE BRISCOE BROTHERS

Photo - ROHWrestling.com

THE RUNDOWN

Combined Weight Advantage: King/Titus (3 lbs)

Combined Teeth Advantage: King/Titus (full sets)

Theme Music Advantage: Currently - King/Titus, couple years ago - Briscoe Brothers' "Gimme Back My Bullets" trumps just about any other song (save for the Final Countdown).

Tag Team Advantage: Briscoe Brothers. Frequently referred to as the greatest team in ROH history.

Singles Advantage: A much closer call. Both Kenny King and Rhett Titus can hold their own on their own, while the Briscoes tend to stick together.

Winners?: I'll give the upset to King and Titus to win both of their singles' matches.

TAG TEAM GRUDGE MATCH

ERICK STEVENS & THE NECRO BUTCHER VS. GRIZZLY REDWOOD & ???

Photo - Scott Finkelstein's Get Lost Photography

THE RUNDOWN

Squash Advantage: Embassy.

Winners?: Embassy forever.

And finally, a brief look at past Glory By Honor shows:

GLORY BY HONOR HISTORY

PAST MAIN EVENTS

I know this wasn't the main event, but c'mon, look at that beard.

Photo - SLAM! Wrestling

Glory By Honor - Murphy Recreation Center, Philadelphia, PA

October 6th, 2002

MAIN EVENT: Christopher Daniels VS. Doug Williams

Glory By Honor II - Murphy Recreation Center, Philadelphia, PA

September 20th, 2003

MAIN EVENT: ROH Title - Champion Samoa Joe VS. Challenger Christopher Daniels

Glory By Honor III - Rex Plex, Elizabeth, NJ

September 11th, 2004

MAIN EVENT: ROH Tag Team Title (Ultimate Endurance) - Champions The Rottweilers VS. Challengers Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer, The Carnage Crew, and Roderick Strong & Jack Evans

Glory By Honor IV - Lake Grove, NY

September 17th, 2005

MAIN EVENT: Styles Clash VS. Rave Clash Match - AJ Styles VS. Jimmy Rave

Glory By Honor V: Night 1 - A tent, East Windsor, CT

September 15th, 2006

MAIN EVENT: KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji VS. The Briscoe Brothers

Glory By Honor V: Night 2 - Manhattan Center, New York, NY

September 16th, 2006

MAIN EVENT: ROH World Title - Champion Bryan Danielson VS. Challenger KENTA

Glory By Honor VI: Night 1 - Pennsylvania National Guard Armory, Philadelphia, PA

November 2nd, 2007

MAIN EVENT: Mitsuharu Misawa & KENTA VS. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji

Glory By Honor VI: Night 2 - Manhattan Center, New York, NY

November 3rd, 2007

MAIN EVENT: Street Fight - The Briscoes VS. Necro Butcher & Jimmy Jacobs

Glory By Honor VII - New Alhambra Arena, Philadelphia, PA

September 20th, 2008

MAIN EVENT: Steel Cage Warfare - The Briscoes & Austin Aries VS. Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Delirious & The Necro Butcher

Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown - Manhattan Center, New York, NY

September 26th, 2009

MAIN EVENT: The Final Countdown - Bryan Danielson VS. Nigel McGuinness

GLORY BY HONOR HISTORY

THE ROH WORLD TITLE - BY THE NUMBERS

Photo - ROHWrestling.com

Total times defended at Glory By Honor: 7

Times retained: 6

Historical percentage of Tyler retaining: 86%

Historical percentage of Roderick winning: 14%

Roddy's Only Hope: Growing a Bryan Danielson-sized beard and Crossface Chickenwinging the shit out of Tyler Black, and promise to never sign with the WWE as long as he was champion.

ROH Glory By Honor IX is this Saturday, September 11th in New York City, LIVE on iPPV via GoFightLive.TV and you can order it right here, right now, what the hell is stopping you.