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Good:
*The wrestling. From top to bottom, I can't get over how hard everyone worked. Even matches that I didn't look forward to, I thought delivered. There were some that went a little long, like the main event, but I knew that they were doing that to give fans their money's worth and I can never, ever fault the company for that.
*Kevin Steen. The one thing he has that separates him from everyone on the roster, except the Briscoes, is that he just exudes charisma. He's off color and doesn't "look" like a main event guy in 2012, but when you think about some of the crazy characters that made wrestling great and fun, he fits that mode to a tee. I really think Jim Cornette and Delirious deserve credit for allowing him to be at that level. Anywhere else, he'd be shipped off TV.
*CHIKARA angle. I don't watch CHIKARA or care about little kids running around in masks but the Steen vs. Eddie Kingston angle was dead on awesome. I hope those shows are on iPPV. If they are, I'll order both. That's how good they both were.
*The atmosphere was just awesome, with people doing the silly chants. I cracked up every time the "Yes!" chant started, although by the end, it was a little too much, overshadowing the matches and talent. I love Daniel Bryan too, but it got to the point where it was overbearing and insulting to some of the talent.
*Music. Whoever was in charge of playing the old music and doing the old CM Punk light effects during intermission and before the show was genius and deserves a raise. It was only a small thing that the old school fans knew about, but it added prestige and importance to the event. It was cool to see some of the songs get a big reaction from the crowd.
*Davey Richards. When he comes out, you know he's the man.
*Prince Nana. From the balcony, we were dying watching his interactions with the crowd in the front row. Great stuff.
The Bad:
TV. We don't get it in NYC, so why aren't they selling us DVDs of the shows? Seems a no brainer to me.
*Organization. Getting into the building took way longer than usual, even for the Hammerstein. I go to concerts there all the time and again, it's never this bad. It took forever to get in and for my friends to pick up tickets. I can deal with being pat down, but being pat down, walking in and then being pat down again is a little excessive. I also think the security's attitude in the venue once we got in was really lacking. When all you want to do is ask where the bathroom is, you shouldn't be treated like someone suspected of shoplifting. I realize that this isn't ROH's issue but it's all about how the customer feels when he's spending his money to support something.
*Tickets. For some reason, they weren't selling tickets at the door as we walked in, then on the way out, again, no tickets being sold. We had such a good time last night that we were all excited and wanted to get ringside on the way out, if they were possible. Now, instead of dealing with online orders and such, we will just wait, see what the card is and then buy the week of the show. ROH had our money last night and wasn't there to take it. Now, they will have to wait for it.
*TV Title. It was obvious they were going for a draw the second they announced three minutes were remaining. The match was OK but the second that announcement was made, the drama was sucked out of the room.
*No screens. Again, this is just a minor thing but if we are at a PPV for WWE and they go to backstage segments, there's a screen for the audience to watch. If ROH, in the ring, is going to tell us we are going to comments backstage, the live house should be able to see them. By not doing that, we are sitting on our hands waiting for the next segment and there were quite a few times that was going on.
*Length of main event. 35-40 minutes is a REALLY long time. There comes a point where you start to say, "OK if kick #245 didn't work, why are they still kicking and chopping each other?" Great match to be sure, but could it have been an all time classic in 20-25 minutes? Maybe. I get that they want us to get the most for our dollar and that this was a PPV but at the same time, it's also excessive.
*No real Tenth Anniversary ceremony. The company has been around for a decade and there's no speeches? Cary Silkin is there all night and nothing is said by him about the importance of the run? There are guys who worked the first shows hanging in the crowd, so why aren't they at least acknowledged? Da Hit Squad, Xavier, Low Ki, etc. are all from NYC so why not bring them in and let them wave to the crowd? Why not do a ten bell for Doug Gentry and Trent Acid and even Eddie Guerrero? I think ROH missed the chance to do something classy that wouldn't have taken up a lot of time, and they could have even done this during the "backstage segments" and let it be something for the live house.
I'm not going to say I didn't come home happy but I could have come home ecstatic. That's what ROH was built on when I was going to the New Yorker. Maybe I was spoiled but that's what I want.
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