Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

            Since its inception, Ring of Honor has been widely regarded as one of the best, pure wrestling companies in the world. Alumni include ex-Smackdown tag champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick, CM Punk, Jamie Noble, Jimmy Yang, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, "The Notorious 187" Homicide, Alex Shelley, and Senshi (formerly Low-Ki). Some of the bigger name guest appearances include Mick Foley, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Lance Storm, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and Jim Cornette (who acted as ROH commissioner for a while). Japanese wrestling legends Kenta Kobashi and Jyushin "Thunder" Lyger have come to ROH for shows as well. Due to their membership in the GPWA (Global Pro Wrestling Alliance), ROH has frequent guest appearances by talent from Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling NOAH and Dragon Gate. These two companies have recently helped Ring of Honor put on their first shows in Japan.

            Ring of Honor's first pay-per-view, "Respect is Earned", is a HUGE step forward for a promotion still seen as "independent". The PPV's are pre-taped (RIE occurred May 12th in NYC), but the cost rental cost more than makes up for that fact. Ring of Honor's PPV cost is between 10 and 15 dollars, a fraction of the cost of a WWE or TNA PPV. The cheap price should make up for the fact that you can go to ROHWrestling.com and see the results before the show airs. The ROH PPV's are 2 hours long; but believe me when I say that you will see more wrestling action in those 2 hours than a handful of WWE PPV's combined.

            As I was taking notes on the show I realized something, doing play-by-play notes on a yellow legal pad was going to be impossible. This also led to my decision NOT to print spoilers. Why, you ask? Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, down in Florida, has an Incredible Hulk rollercoaster that starts slow, right out of the gate. Halfway up it shoots you the rest of the way at 60 MPH and simply does not let up until the finish...imagine THAT, only as a wrestling company.

            ROH's matches are so incredibly fast-paced that, when I watch a DVD, I have to rewind a couple times during a match just to see exactly what is happening. If you are used to the WWE style of wrestling, where most matches progress at a glacier’s pace, then watching ROH is like melting the polar icecaps with a volcano strapped to a giant A-bomb! ROH is the closest thing to an American puroresu (Japanese pro wrestling) company as you are likely to see in the west. Ring of Honor presents pro wrestling as a sport, as opposed to sports entertainment. Even the most jaded wrestling fans have come forth to say that Ring of Honor has reinvigorated their passion for professional wrestling.

            “Respect is Earned” opens in NYC before a hot crowd chanting “R-O-H”. One of the company mainstays, BJ Whitmer, is in the ring welcoming us to Ring of Honor's first pay-per-view event. He goes on to lay out an open challenge to anyone in the back, and ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima (from the Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion in Japan) answers the call. The two go back and forth, for about four minutes, with Morishima brutalizing Whitmer and finishing him off with his devastating Backdrop Driver finisher. Afterwards, Nigel McGuinness comes to the ring to demand a title shot. This brings out former world champ "American Dragon" Brian Danielson who runs down a list of wrestlers he's defeated while he was champ. He says that if anyone gets a shot at the belt, it's him. McGuinness and Danielson start brawling in the ring, and Morishima beats down McGuinness. Danielson grabs the belt saying it's his, but Morishima grabs it back from him. Morishima and Danielson head back to the locker room leaving McGuinness in the ring by himself.

            Next up is a short hype video for "The Gun for Hire" Brent Albright. Albright was formerly known as Gunner Scott in the WWE, but since coming to ROH, he has shown more passion than he ever did during his short stay in prime time. It's safe to say that Albright is brutality personified, and when he makes his PPV debut on a later show, he will blow people away.

            The first official match on Respect is Earned is between Naomichi Marufuji and Rocky Romero, a member of the No Remorse Corps, a heel faction. Marufuji is a former GHC Heavyweight Champ and hails from Pro Wresting NOAH. Romero and Marufuji have a similar style, with lots of hard strikes, kicks, and submissions. The twenty-plus minute match has people on their feet going crazy at the end of it; and that is only the first match of the show.

            Next up is a vignette with "Sweet and Sour" Larry Sweeney and "Personal Trainer to the Stars", Tank Toland. Sweeney talks about how he has no problem keeping his talent, mainly his main client Chris Hero, away from the ring until "the money is just right". He then goes on to introduce his newest client, Sara Del Rey (who, in early June, was crowned the first Shimmer Women Athletes champion in Berwyn, IL). Sweeney offers the services of Toland to Del Rey, and Toland tells her all he can do for her. Toland makes note of his personal project Bobby Dempsey, who is off to the side, and says he plans to take Dempsey "from flab to fab". Toland tells Dempsey to start doing squats and Del Rey joins in. Toland tells her that squats are a "man exercise" and not to bother, which perturbs her to the point of challenging Toland to a squat challenge. The two start off strong. Dempsey is the background getting more and more winded and eventually passing out. Meanwhile Toland and Del Rey are face to face still squatting---CUT TO THE RING!!!

            Nigel McGuinness is back in the ring to say something, but doesn't quite get it out in time. Takeshi Morishima and Brian Danielson once again jump him from behind, which brings out KENTA from Pro Wrestling NOAH to make the save. The main event is now a "dream tag-team match" between Morishima and Danielson versus McGuinness and KENTA.

            Next match is for the ROH world tag-team titles. The champions, Mark and Jay Briscoe (The Briscoe Brothers) are one of the most decorated tag teams in recent history. Earlier this year, The Briscoes held the Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, and GHC Jr. Heavyweight tag titles all at the same time. Their style is a mixture of high-flying, technical, and double-teams maneuvers. From a personal standpoint, I have to say that they are in fact one of the best tag teams in the world today.

            Their opponents for tonight are Claudio Castagnoli and Matt Sydal. They are a makeshift tag team, but seeing as Sydal is a former tag champ with Christopher Daniels, they have as good a shot at winning the titles again on the show as any. Claudio has a powerful style, with lots of arm drags and European uppercuts. He was signed to the WWE last winter in the middle of his tag title reign with Chris Hero as the Kings of Wresting. For some reason, WWE let him go before he was even assigned to a developmental territory. He is a fan favorite in ROH with his trademark "HEEEEYYYYYYY!!!" and one of the most charismatic in the company today. Sydal is one of the top high-flyers in the business today. He is in high demand the world over, having recently competed in the King of Europe cup tournament and held Dragon Gate's Open the Brave Gate championship, this past February.

            The title match itself can only be described as 25 minutes of bat shit insanity. I was seriously trying to take notes, but as soon as I wrote down one move, three more passed by. It's been hailed by most people as one of the greatest tag title matches ever seen, and I would be hard pressed to disagree. ROH knows how to do tag matches the right way. They give the wrestlers plenty of ring time to tell the story they want, and make every near fall seem like it should be the end. It builds and builds to an absolute boiling point and, yet again, everyone in attendance was on their feet going crazy.

Sense a pattern forming? I think you do.

            We then cut to Lenny Leonard and Dave Prazak, the commentary team on ROH DVD's. They are running over all the markets that Ring of Honor runs. They say that there is nothing like the live ROH experience, and I for one have to agree. Kevin Steen and El Generico, newcomers to ROH, then interrupt them and demand a shot at the tag titles. Steen and Generico rush the Briscoes in the ring and a massive brawl breaks out between the teams. It takes the entire locker room to break it up. The Briscoes are pulled out of the ring and are on their way to the back. Meanwhile a couple of the ROH students are still trying to detain Steen and Generico, but to no avail. Steen hits his Package Piledriver on one and then sends the poor guy over to Generico, who gives him a vicious brain-buster. Generico climbs to the top rope and dives on the Briscoes, and everyone trying to stop them, knocking them all down. The Briscoes finally make their way to the back where Steen lays them out with a chair. Steen then demands a shot at the tag titles for him and El Generico at the next PPV.

            The next match is a grudge match between the leader of the No Remorse Corps, Roderick Strong, and Delirious. Strong is known as "The Messiah of the Backbreaker" as he has almost endless variations of the move and is able to hit from almost any position. Strong is also a former tag title champion with ex-partner Austin Aries, who he turned on earlier this year. Strong, sick of playing second fiddle, wanted to be a leader. Delirious is an interesting character to say the least. The simplest way to describe him is "a human Tasmanian Devil". What else would you expect from someone whose hometown is "The Edge of Sanity"? His antics and incoherent promos have made him one of the biggest fan favorites in ROH. He is looked at as something of an unofficial mascot of the company by the fans. His style is difficult to describe; chaotic isn't the right word, but it's the first one that comes to mind. He’s flying high one second, and down on the mat the next. He can have serious matches, like his series with then-champ Brian Danielson, or he can have straight-up comedy matches with the likes of Colt Cabana (another recent WWE signee). This grudge match came about from when Strong knocked out Delirious, legitimately, in a match. However, he then went on to try to take Delirious out permanently by power-bombing him on the guardrail, after the match was ended due to the injury. Unfortunately, Delirious came up on the losing end again against Strong. The rest of the No Remorse Corps (Rocky Romero and Davey Richards, who has yet to debut on PPV) then attack him. This brings out Erick Stevens of The Resilience faction to make the save. I will talk more about the Resilience at a later date, as they are not featured on this show.

            Next, we have a promo by "Scrap Iron" Adam Pearce, which opens with him telling his manservant, Shane Hagadorn, to "go find him". He follows up with a very creepy, intense promo reminiscent of Mick Foley or Raven back in the early days of ECW. It’s the kind where emotion takes precedence over volume of voice. His point is that he knows exactly what he's capable of and soon, so shall we. Hagadorn comes back and tells Pearce that he found whoever he was supposed to be looking for; Pearce goes over to that person, who turns out to be BJ Whitmer.

            Now it's time for the main event, the "dream tag team match" between ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima and Brian Danielson versus Nigel McGuinness and KENTA. This match is not for any sort of title, nor is it for a number one contender position; it's simply for respect, pride, and honor. What follows is one of the most brutal tag matches in ROH history. Everyone involved was figuratively beating the living shit out of each other. Late in the match, McGuinness receives an elbow injury that almost takes him out, but he simply has the trainers at ringside tape it up so he can keep going. It's apparent that he's not going to let Morishima and Danielson get away with what they did to him earlier in the show. All four men show that they are some of the top talent in the professional wresting industry by having an absolutely classic match that ends with the entire NYC crowd chanting "R-O-H". It was reminiscent of the heyday of ECW. At the end of the match, Nigel tries to show respect to Morishima by handing him his title belt, but Morishima lays him out with a vicious lariat and the champ celebrates in the ring by himself!

            If you are a fan of professional wresting, or one of the aforementioned jaded fans that have lost the passion for it, you owe it to yourself to check out this pay per view. When you do, Ring of Honor will definitely prove that respect is earned!!!