Drop Toehold

My Thoughts on the First Week of ROH TV

Ring of Honor TV was a roaring success of a “Oh, are we doing this now?” type of show. I like ROH, I’ve been a fan for a long time, I’m pulling for them, but I don’t see the show (or company) continuing to exist if it goes down this path.

Let’s talk the bad: the presentation. ROH doesn’t have the money to compete with the likes of WWE and TNA, but the show was poorly lit and came off cut rate. I don’t know how they’re doing financially but even in 2007, shows looked better than this.

Nigel McGuinness was a nice addition to the commentary and if he can’t wrestle, I don’t mind seeing him in a color commentary role or hosting Piper’s Pit style segments. A former ROH World Champ can add spice to a dull segment and if he throws out a lariat here or there, new fans may have an incentive to get a Ringside subscription to check out past stuff.

Kevin Kelly needs to go. He doesn’t fit in with the product at all, is shown too much on camera, and came off like an informercial pitchman. He’s far from Joey Styles (as K Sawyer Paul pointed out) and a relic from the old days that goes against them saying this is the new wave of pro wrestling.

They need to set strict grounds on the continuity. In one part of the show, I saw Davey Richards with the World title and in the next segment, they were talking about Eddie Edwards being the champion. Having the dvd releases, PPVs, and TV shows being out of sync with one another is what drove me away from watching ROH on HDNet.

There needs to be more Jim Cornette. I’m not sure if they even said he was the commissioner but Cornette is overflowing with charisma and an ancient relic that even younger fans will enjoy.

Now, the good parts: The wrestling was great, especially the main event. It’s such a shame for the product that Claudio has gone on to greener pastures when the Kings are what they need right now. But they still have some great teams and I can see the tag division being the highlight of the week.

Also, it was nice to see Sara Del Rey on television.

-Kayfabe