2011 The Worst Year in ROH History- Roster Evaluation Part 1

[steeltownbrown52]

The biggest disappointment in 2011 from ROH for me was Honor Takes Center Stage.

[jeffhardynextwweman2]

@steeltownbrown52 HELL NO

[steeltownbrown52]

@jeffhardynextwweman2 To me yes, for a pro wrestling iPPV, it had "double album syndrome".

[God62698]

have not been into roh lately. with the kings leaving i have not been too interested.

[EmeraldFlowsion62]

I jumped off the ship as soon as I realized where it was headed...THAT...and it's boring after a while. I love a good in ring promotion but...there's nothing else special about it. It used to be indy dream matches...that's the whole reason the promotion started..and now? WTF is it? I'm not usually for this kinda thing..but they need to do a quick styled push for Kyle and O'Reiley. Give it a good build..but a short one..as singles competitors...they need those guys at the top.

[danteliveson]

The roster is so uninteresting.

[ctt4lfecw]

roh is underwhelming right now

[TheCandleGuy90]

And I know you're sad because ROH isn't what it used to be, but come on... do you really think WWE did a better job this year? CM Punk was the only good character; Cena vs. Punk was the only great match and MITB was the only great ppv. Look at how they ended up Punk's angle; 'Mania sucked; Miz, Del Rio & Christian are jokes; Henry vs Show is atrocious; Nash vs HHH in 2011? Come on man, I hope you're going to realize you've gone too far with criticism, though I don't completely disagree with you.

[Kstinnett192]

@SandersRobin (Continue) Also with Evans i think the crowd will mark out if hes the one who accepts the invintaional and i think ppl will be suprised to tht it was Evans.

[Kstinnett192]

@SandersRobin24 Ok. One i hope its not some1 on the current roster and really it wont cuz theres no1 to have Strong face. Hero i can see and from what he said at PWG FEAR from what i herd i can see him making one more appearance in ROH. But here were my 3 choices. Nigel , Kenta and Jack Evans. I feel we havent seen Jack in ROH for years and i think him facing Strong will be great ad of course they got history together with Generation Next. So I like to See Strong vs Evans but Hero would be good.

[TheCandleGuy90]

I think you're exaggerating man. The first half of the year was very enjoyable; the second half wasn't but there are still 5 shows and 1 ppv we ain't seen yet so who knows... too early to judge. By the way ROH can't sing guys from CZW, Chikara, DGUSA or Evolve because they got a no compete clause for other companies ppvs (thats why Generico was in the dark match at High Noon, thats why Cole lost the CZW Jr. Title before Cage Of Death, that's why Cabana didn't resign): people need to realize this

[SandersRobin24]

@TheCandleGuy90 , Don't get me wrong, 2011 still was a pretty good year because of the first half. Thought they got off to a great start actually.I just think the history of the company is so strong that because of the overall feel it's probably the worst year. I'm aware of the contract situation. I can't imagine these smaller companies have these guys locked up any longer than maybe a whole year.

[TheCandleGuy90]

@SandersRobin24 Ok I get it. I think 2012 is going to be better, ROH just needs to get rid of some guys and then bring some NOAH guys like they promised. I agree about the weakness of the tv shows, the road to Final Battle has been stale, though I like the Davey/Eddie build up. The point is now Davey doesn't know Eddie's mindset. Can he beat him now that he doesn't know him while Eddie does know him?

[fullmetal2k8]

never thought i would say that Chikara and PWG did better then ROH this year but its true. hopefully final battle end the year right with a good show. think they need to maybe bring in some chikara talent like maybe chuck taylor

[Kstinnett192]

I agree. The roster is very limited nowadays. They really have 3 top guys. Davey , Eddie , and Roderick and they need more wrestlers in the main event pic. Elgin is rising up in the ranks so thats good , but still thts very limited. The rest Tag Div is ok. like what Future Shock is doing and i do agree them vs Young bucks from Steen Wolf was awesome. O forgot about Steen you got him when he comes back. But sanders who do you think will face Roderick at Final Battle?

[SandersRobin24]

@Kstinnett192 , Homicide, Nigel or Hero. I'm hoping it's not Homicide

[astone08]

agree.....worse year in roh....thank god for chikara

[Trademark629]

ROH TV show is so overrated it's not even funny. Several weeks it's just been blah. The production isn't good, the whole show feels stale, the storylines aren't good. The HDNet show was IMMENSELY better. It felt a lot more professional and you had more interesting personalities. Cornette is sucking the life out ROH and stripping it to the bare bone.

[steeltownbrown52]

@Trademark629 The TV show should have been a slight continuation of the HDNet series. Don't know why they didn't call in Kyle Durden for this program? Yeah the SBG show is a bit lackluster but in due time the TV show will get better. Let's not forget the HDNet series had a rough start. Plus more people are getting introduced, that's what really matters.

[Trademark629]

@steeltownbrown52 Yeah that is true I know most people didn't like the HDNet show in 2009. But my biggest gripe with ROH's new direction is that EVERYTHING revolves around this TV show. Unlike with HDNet where ROH decided to use it as something supplementary to their usual house show DVD releases.

[MisterDynamite]

@Trademark629 If everything didn't revolve around the TV show, what would be the point of having the TV show at all? It's not like it's easy to follow what takes place in house shows.

The storylines in WWE and TNA revolve around the TV shows and yet people are cool with that, but it's a problem when ROH decides to do it? That's a ridiculous and hypocritical stance to take, if you ask me. Bottom line, you gotta start somewhere.

Bottom line, you gotta start somewhere.

[Trademark629]

@MisterDynamite WWE and TNA's business models are totally different from ROH. ROH's "house shows" are very important to their business because so much of their revenue comes from DVD sales. It's been that way ever since the INCEPTION of the company. ROH has run many important full length shows that weren't PPVs even during the time they've been on TV. Look at Glory By Honor VIII The Final Countdown, 8th Anniversary Show, Supercard of Honor V and VI, and Manhattan Mayhem IV.

[MisterDynamite]

@Trademark629 WWE's and TNA's business models are different NOW because they're huge super-conglomerates compared to ROH. ROH doesn't have that luxury, so they have to take a different approach to things WWE and/or TNA would take them. Besides, both WWE and TNA were doing things not too different from what ROH is doing now when those companies were coming up. As I said before, you gotta start somewhere.

[Trademark629]

@MisterDynamite Yeah but you need to put the same effort into the TV show as those non-televised "house shows" because the TV show people will see for free whereas those house shows you are trying to sell the DVDs to people. Those are supposed to be PPV-quality shows, and since they cost extra you have to give that incentive to make people buy them.

[MisterDynamite]

@Trademark629 I see your point, but at some point, you're going to want to grow into a bigger company and the TV show is one of the best ways to do that; it's more cost-effective that way. You can only focus on the house shows for so long before it starts to become counterproductive.

[Trademark629]

@MisterDynamite I'd have no issue with the focus on the TV show if the TV show was actually very good to great week in and week out. The production for this show isn't good, a lot of the stuff is cheesy, and the promo segments are very hit or miss. When ROH got the TV deal I expected changes to be made in order to make themselves more marketable to mainstream audiences, but they've done the opposite of that. They've oversimplified everything to the point that the overall product is stale/boring.

[MisterDynamite]

@Trademark629 The TV show is a bit lackluster, but that has a lot to do with the fact that ROH has had amazing PPVs in the past and that's a pretty hard act to follow with the TV show. One thing they can't do is copy the same things WWE is doing if they wish to grow.

[steeltownbrown52]

@Trademark629 I've been reading your debate with MisterDynamite. For me, I've always followed ROH through the TV show. It's what got me as a full-fledged fan. Thing is, with this TV show, they don't need video wires,some of them spoil the TV show and ruin the overall enjoyment of the matches. Hopefully in the future they'll tape a week in advance to a couple of days. What was great about the HDNet shows is it also hyped the house shows as-well as the iPPVs.

[PhenomenalHitman5150]

I agree with your opinions on Haas. I don't like him either. I watched latest Video Wire and Shelton was cutting a good promo but then Haas took over and it went downhill from there.

[steeltownbrown52]

@PhenomenalHitman5150 I'm gonna have to disagree with both of ya on Haas. He's actually impressed me on the mic. And had a decent singles bout vs. Mike Elgin at DBD 9. But in my opinion Benjamin has under-delivered since arriving to ROH. Mike Bennett is one thing but, if he ends up facing the likes of Jay Lethal,T.J. Perkins and/or Kenny King in the future, there is no reason those should ever disappoint.

[megadeth232]

Worst year ever? No way. Almost every DVD or PPV show has been great besides like 3 or 4 DVD's but the big shows have been amazing. Wrestlemania weekend shows, Manhattan Mayhem 4, Best in the World, Death Before Dishonor, Supercard of Honor all more than delivered. Then great DVD's like Only the strong survive, Socal Showdown, Revolution shows and a bunch others. Yeah the TV show was a little stale and WGTT and Davey have been disappointing champs so far but in no way has this been a bad year.

[SandersRobin24]

@megadeth232 , They got off to a great start actually but this 6 month slump definitely makes this the worst year. The only years I think you could argue that were worse are 2002 and 2003. I think with 2003 you had so many awesome feuds like Punk/Raven, Samoa Joe's reign and Homicide/Corino that you have to go 2003>2011. I would also say 2002 was better because of the hiistory that was made in every main event.

[mmawrestlefan]

Dude. I watched the recent videowire and got depressed.

[EXXXTACY69]

Charlie isn't as jacked as Steiner. I think he is a really good worker but I agree with you about him on the mic. Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team needs to keep the belts until they face All Night Express in 2012.

[WWEVoice101]

How can I trust ROH to rebuild their roster when they didn't even bring in Jon Moxley when they had the chance?

DragonGateUSA now feels like what ROH used to be, in that DGUSA is constantly bringing in new talent and giving them opportunities to prove themselves. Almost every show has a new guy who I feel impressed by and want to see more of, and its so dam refreshing to experience that again. I also feel like ROH lost that "world is your oyster" vibe to it. They seem way to content nowadays.

[bigratthreeten]

I absolutely just can't get interested in that Eddie/Davey storyline. Not at ALL really

[Tougie24]

Don't think the roster is terrible, but when you lose Tyler Black, Colt and The Kings all within a year, it's a bit tough to see the product in the same light, and for ROH to bring fans as good of a product.

The roster is actually pretty well setup. You have the clear main eventers (Davey, Eddie, Roddy, Steen in my opinion), the midcarders (Future Shock, Lethal, Generico, Bennett, Ciampa, Elgin)....and thats what I think throws some people off, is the "WWE Style" of the last three named.

[WWEVoice101]

@Tougie24 ROH's loss of talent in 2011 hasn't been as bad as other years have been. Tyler Black was a 2010 loss and Colt could always come and go and not cause to many problems. I believe it only seems like a big issue because their still playing catch-up from the guys they lost several batches ago. Your right the roster isn't terrible though. It's still good but I guess I expect it to be excellent.

[Tougie24]

@WWEVoice101 Forgot to put the word "over" when it came to Black, Colt and Kings leaving. But yeah, ROH's roster could certainly be better, but it certainly isn't terrible, and I definitely don't think it's been ROH's worst year

[Danespina]

Love the company, been watching ROH since 2002. But I'm just not a big fan of the roster anymore. Since 2009 they've slowly lost guy after guy, and replaced them with wrestlers who either aren't as good, or with no one at all. They pulled through for a while with minimal issues, but eventually it took its toll to where I now have to step back and realize, I don't anticipate ROH anymore.

I love the constant push of new talent in Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. So no doubt the talent is out there.

[187ARS187]

Worst year in roh history....

[Manonfire310]

Great vid, making a response