ROH: BEST IN THE WORLD 2011

I have followed the indies for sometime, some more than others, for example as a resident of New Jersey, I have been a huge follower of JAPW.

One company I kick myself for not following from the start is...ROH.

When ROH first began, I looked at is a gimmick company, that was just running shows where ECW used to run. I never got into it, of course I've watched dvds, and seen videos, but only after their stars have went elsewhere, and I've always wanted to see more of them, but never took the time.

However, lately, as TNA continues to poor garbage into a two hour time slot, on a weekly basis, and WWE continues to make stupid decisions, and push the wrong people, all the while, not putting out a good product at all, and having "fan vote" shows that are blatantly a work, and with the shenanigans going on in JAPW, I decided to take the time, and started reading up on ROH.

I heard about the purchase by Sinclair, and began reading up on the few stars of ROH, that I did not know that much about. After seeing the press conference, and watching all the hype videos, and miraculously having a Sunday off from work, I decided, what the hell, and ordered the ROH I-PPV: Best In The World 2011.

I had seen enough videos of ROH to know that they always put on a good show, with amazing matches. Their tag team division is definitely one of, if not the top tag team division in all of wrestling, and I've always loved tag team wrestling. Which is one of the main reasons I ordered it, however, after watching the whole show, that match was not my favorite, not even close.

So I will give my humble thoughts, on ROH: Best In The World 2011.

We open and we are told that this is the largest viewing audience, with the internet viewers and the live attendance considered. Unfortunately, Kevin Kelly was the play by play announcer. How he of all people became "the voice of ROH" I'll never understand.

The opener was a typical opening match.

Jay Lethal's return was sick. The Macho Man tribute stuff, the anti TNA chants, the post match ROH chant, it was awesome. The Prodigy looked good, but not ROH good, he belongs on NXT, and Brutal Bob has a good character, but he doesn't put anything in to it.

Rhino vs. Homicide was what I thought it would be. I didn't think they would get too violent, considering everything, and I hope it's not Homicide's last match in ROH. What was with his "F**K MICHIGAN" promo? The match was alright though, and I always love a Gore through a table.

The Kevin Steen angle was off the charts, and turned him from massive face to hated heel in seconds, in a way only Brian Pillman has done before. And it's always a huge plus to see Jim Cornette angry as hell.

Michael Elgin is a huge powerhouse, and seems that he can be legit, but I cannot buy a monster with the name Michael Elgin, his name, for being so incredibly lame, takes away his credibility in my opinion. Props to the fan who yelled out during the match "you do not do the package pile driver, asshole." I thought that was hilarious.

What is the deal with Truth Martini? Like, he's supposed to be the mouthpiece, but his promos sound strange, and Daniels definitely doesn't need anyone to help with his promos. However, I guess he's doing his job, because I loved seeing him get super kicked.

The tag team match was awesome in it's own right, but I expected a lot more from the four of those teams, also I don't know if it's just me but Haas looks tired. The post match beat down by the Briscoes was awesome, and sets up a fued with them and WGTT, and also helps build the Briscoes up even more to any new ROH fans.

If Edwards vs. Richards was match of the year, a close second is Generico vs. Daniels. Daniels is a natural heel, and you can tell he enjoys it, and who doesn't enjoy something they are really, really, good at. It's a shame he would rather work for the Carter Family Dump.

The match of the night, the match of the year, was Richards Vs. Edwards. I have never seen a match with such spot on spots, no pun intended. Every single bit of that match was impeccable, and blew me away, and the post match was some of the most emotional stuff I've ever seen.

This show was awesome from top to bottom. Awesome way to showcase what ROH is all about, and in front of what was reportedly the largest viewing audience, they definitely "came through in the clutch".

I will go as far as to say that this show saved wrestling, well for now anyway.

-MarkX