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The latest ROH on Sinclair TV is now online for paid www.rohwrestling.com Ringside subscribers. It's the first show from the Baltimore tapings.
Former ROH Tag Team champ BJ Whitmer will return to the company at the 2/17 Cincinnati, Ohio debut. Getting back to the company had been a major goal for Whitmer in recent months. At one point, he was one of the company's top tier babyfaces in a role similar to the one Tommy Dreamer had in the original ECW. Whitmer will face TV champ Jay Lethal in a non-title Proving Ground match.
The Cincy debut will be headlined by ROH champ Davey Richards & Kyle O'Reilly challenging ROH Tag Team champs The Briscoes.
As of right now, the CHIKARA angle was simply to build interest for the 4/28 double header in Chicago. We received more feedback excited from fans about the potential of a CHIKARA vs. ROH feud than about anything other topic, including the Royal Rumble, over the weekend. Briscoes vs. Frightmare and Halloween is set for the 4/28 ROH show. CHIKARA will run earlier in the afternoon.
The venue in Norfolk, VA caused some headaches over the weekend for the company. They were working in the downstairs section of the Scope Arena, which housed Jim Crockett Promotions years ago before they moved to the main arena. To a person I spoke to, there was a feeling of frustration running there as the ceiling was too low to allow for high flying moves, much less the company's lighting towers, which left ROH using the building lighting and it was a huge step down from the usual production values. One person joked that it may end up being the first show since Cary Silkin took over (which would be 2003) that didn't end up on DVD because it would look like such a huge step down from the norm. I remember Silkin, when he became part owner, immediately pushed for production upgrades because fans needed to feel like they "were at an event, not just a show." I don't expect they will return to the venue as there was already talk of moving to another venue in Norfolk when they return to the market. I was told that the show was as good as could be expected, wrestling-wise, from the talent.
I didn't see it, but several readers said Jim Cornette did a great job on the local FOX affiliate in Norfolk putting over the show on Saturday morning, to the point he got them to decide to attend. The show drew in the 400-500 range.
Norfolk was also described as a weird feeling as it was the first show with no one from the old braintrust there as Silkin didn't make the show and Syd Eick departed the night before. One wrestler described it as "going back to High School with none of the teachers present." As I wrote over the weekend, that's how life and the world works.
Philadelphia did in the 500-600 range the night before. In terms of fans, I was told there were a lot of old faces in the crowd for the return to the National Guard Armory.
There are plans to try and bring some older faces in for the 3/4 Anniversary show in some form. I am holding out hope for the Christopher Street Connection and Da Hit Squad, since they opened the first ROH show, plus names like Xavier and Amazing Red would be local to NYC.
The Briscoes are full fledged babyfaces again.
The new Best of Chris Hero and Glory by Honor X DVDs have been officially released.
There's talk of some of the NWA Ring Warriors talent working the ROH shows in Florida on Wrestlemania weekend.
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