Generation Next vs. Blackout (CZW When 2 Worlds Collide 11/03/2006)
★★★
On paper this was the perfect match-up for a double-pin; it was the future of CZW versus the future of RoH. Fitting the bill, the crowd’s support was, once again, split directly down the middle. For their respective parts, Generation Next all played ball in great fashion. Roderick excelled in this environ where all that was required of him was a workhorse wrestler. For Sydall, it was being there at the right moments to pop the crowd and, as for Aries, it was being the cocky better-than-thou wrestler RoH needed within a CZW environ. The same cannot be said for CZW’s team, though, as Ruckus is terrible. How he was even world champ is beyond me, too, as he’s nothing more than a bad copy of Jack Evans in his approach to wrestling. Kingston tried and Necro was relegated due to a kayfabe injury he suffered earlier in the night, but this match was hampered because of it. Even more so, despite not going all that long, the match felt like it had and dragged more than it should have. With a rather grand promo by Kingston beforehand, I’d also have loved to have seen this go more hardcore than it had. That sentence plays itself out in knowing irony, too, of Kingston’s comments within that promo of how he hates RoH fans who insist they could plan better matches than him. Well, if it helps, I’m not a RoH fan, but I doubt that much absolves me of his vitriol.
Following the match, Gen Next continue attacking BlkOUT when Gage, Pain and Lobo make the save. Following Gen Next’s swift exit, Lobo chastises Kingston for dropping the ball and insists RoH may have beaten the “boys” of BlkOUT but now it’s time they step to the “men”. Despite the CZW fans commending Kingston for trying, he looks visibly upset with his loss.
Chris Hero vs. Adam Pearce (RoH Best In The World 25/03/2006)
Prior to this match, Hero and Necro answered an open challenge by Blade and Mizake and quickly destroyed them. The challenge match was played as a set-up for Hero’s own open challenge to any RoH wrestler he wanted. Of course, this meant one man: Pearce. This new brawl doesn’t last long, either, with Butcher and Hero easily laying out Pearce. What it does do, however, is act as catalyst for Claudio’s turn from CZW loving heel to RoH-boy face.
At RoH’s Dragon Gate Challenge, Hero and Necro storm the ring following Claudio’s match against Haggadorn. He mentioned bringing Castagnoli over from Europe and training him across the Americas, becoming his best friend in the process. While he was upset by Claudio’s decision, he would forgive him if he made the “right choice” and aligned back with CZW. Whitmer tried to exact revenge upon Hero but was stomped out by Necro and Hero in the process with Claudio looking on and contemplating which side to take. In the end, he made the save for Whitmer. (30/03/2006)
Cornette opened the following night’s show by slating CZW as a glorified peep-show filled with hacks and non-wrestlers. He also noted that Hero and Necro’s attack the previous night had left Whitmer with a broken ankle and put him out of action for weeks. As more of a means of burying CZW, Cornette had two of the RoH academy talent wear masks and pretend to be “typical” hardcore wrestlers. They were squashed by Joe and Pearce in the opening match (RoH Supercard of Honor 31/03/2006)
Adam Pearce Vs Necro Butcher (RoH Supercard of Honor 31/03/2006)
★★★ 3/4
This is an unscheduled brawl after Hero and Necro, once again, storm the Ring of Honor ring and boy is it a good one. Out of the entire feud, I don’t think anyone has a more legit looking elbow smash than Necro and Pearce isn’t afraid to get hurt in this to put the feud over. Extremely short brawl before interferences run their course, but it’s every bit worth your time to watch.
One day later, Necro and Hero storm the RoH ring after Joe and Danielson had exchanged promises on an upcoming fight. In the scuffle, Claudio gets hurt and Pearce is laid out leaving Cornette open for Hero to injure his arm with a chair. This cues Whitmer to make a run-in save (WITH A BROKEN FREAKING NECKANKLE) only to have said ankle beaten with a chair for his troubles (RoH Better Than Our Best 01/04/2006)
A couple days before Whitmer and Steen are scheduled to do battle against Super Dragon and Butcher at CZW’s Any Questions show, Chris Hero weighs in his opinion on the feud so far via his live journal (11/042006):
“I've hit fans with chairs. I've been smacked by Chicago gutter sluts. I've roamed the countryside with my killer, the Necro Butcher, and we've put a hurtin' on anyone in our path. Adam Pearce: Put through a table, BJ Whitmer: Broken ankle, Jim Cornette: Damn near broken arm and blown out knee (again). Claudio Castagnoli? I'm not even going to taint my little speech by expressing my feelings on that situation. The way I see it, we started out with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Sure, we've been kicked out of a few buildings, hit with a few chairs, threatened with some lawsuits, but when the smoke clears, we're always the ones left standing. Necro Butcher and Chris Hero are SURVIVORS. We have made careers for ourselves. We live on reputation alone and we sure don't need any self-righteous assholes making shit up in "newslines" or spending hours trying to splice together the perfect music video to accentuate our "talents."
We are wrestling. People pay to see us. Think it's a coincidence that the last four ROH shows drew so well? It's not. You will all find out firsthand on April 22nd in Philadelphia. It's our home, our turf and our war. I'm the General, Chris Hero and my Lieutenant Generals, come April 22nd, will be the Necro Butcher and Super Dragon. We are challenging three men. One, Adam Pearce, a man with no friends whatsoever in Ring of "Honor," BJ Whitmer, a man with a bad leg, a bad arm and nearly a dozen concussions under his belt and Samoa Joe, a man who has felt our wrath many times before. Hopefully he can take his focus off of Bryan Danielson for one evening. Otherwise he's going to waltz right into a Psycho Driver and go down in ROH history as the worst team captain ever, Mr. Selfish, Samoa Joe.
This is WAR. I've started it, I'll finish it. I give you my word.
If anybody has anything to say to me, I'll be at Combat Zone this weekend. You know, the promotion I've carried on my back for two and a half years while a poor excuse for a champion and a self-proclaimed "King" choke each and every time the going gets tough. I don't choke. I'm a real King, I'm a real champion and I'm the best God damn wrestler in the world today. Prove me wrong.”
Necro/Super Dragon vs. Steen/Whitmer (CZW Any Questions 15/04/2006)
★★★
Eh, I dunno. This was okay but it had a lot that could have been improved upon. Dragon busting out random high-flying moves may be a treat to some more into his work yet, much like Ruckus, they didn’t come across as moves much worth the effort they were given. A more bloodied and violent means of delivery would have benefitted the story, too, even if this was more grudge-match than straight up wrestling. I can understand the need to save things for the following week, yet build-ups have been done better under those circumstances.
CZW had advertised the main event as The Blackout Vs some RoH stars (and a continuation of the inter-promotional feud). In what would be a slew of CZW fucking over fans, the main ended up being The Blackout Vs The H8 Club and some Canadian nobodies.
Before the Six-man War at RoH’s 100th Show, a debate between Zandig and Cornette was held over which promotion was better. If that’s anything to go by, you know this won’t be a debate out of the annuls of Stanford University. Cornette runs his mouth insulting Zandig and saying Philadelphia has always been the best city of fans in the sport. He brings to light the history the city has seen and mentions how, despite not liking Heyman, Paulie still innovated and introduced many soon-to-be stars to America (Eddie and Rey, namely). If Zandig was smart, and not mumbling like a drunk, he would have rebutted with the truth that CZW brought Steen and Castagnoli in; two men that RoH are hanging on in this feud. He gets to that point, at last, though but only once the debate had fallen to name-calling and anger. For a feud that had blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe, this felt even more real. (RoH 22/042006)
Team CZW (Necro Butcher, Super Dragon & Chris Hero) Vs Team ROH (Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer & Samoa Joe) (RoH 100th Show 22/04/2006)
★★★★ 3/4
Everyone here went balls-crazy in delivering the brawl of the feud up unto this point. Even when the focus wasn’t on a particular pair, they still kept the violence heavy. Joe looked like the beast of legend he’s continually purported to be in our minds, searching high and low for a dog-tailing Dragon only to let out his frustration upon an unbeknownst Hero. Even a fan worries for the wrestlers’ collective health by shouting “don’t you know Joe has a show tomorrow?! COM’ON!” while Necro is doing his work-over. Brilliant. It’s also amazing how reversed the crowd have become on Necro. Even during the run-ins he managed some Necro chants yet here he’s getting zero love between the middle fingers and “you’re the biggest fucking douchebag” taunts. As good and brutal as Pearce/Necro was, it’s the Necro/Joe trifecta we all paid (well, streamed) to see and boy is it disgusting. Seriously, not even Lincoln suffered this much head trauma. Running close second is Whitmer, taking chair-guillotine shots like its nobody’s business. I’m more surprised this match never put him out of action and Bennet in 2013 did. I mean, he took a Pyscho Driver off the apron and onto the concrete floor, for fuck’s sake.
What really helped this match, too, was the held-back nature in how they delivered the finish-run. Nothing over-stayed its welcome nor did it go beyond what it needed to be. The transitions from control spots and nearfalls was done beautifully with the next wrestler taking advantage via the previous being too caught up taunting the crowd or too perplexed in having been kicked out of. The Zandig run in is what it is, he’s a terrible puncher, but the breakdown of collected calm between the referees was a nice touch. The heel turn of Castagnoli, laying out Joe after a feigned save, brought a smile to my face, too. I’m not ashamed at all to admit they had me because that’s what wrestling should be and this match is exactly that. Wrestling at its finest.
Three days later, Hero mocks the injuries the RoH stars suffered and issues a promise that he will be back, the following weekend, to continue the nightmare that has befallen Ring of Honor (25/04/2006):
“People like to claim that I'm all talk. They say all I do is run my mouth and I don't have what it takes to back it up. Well, actions speak louder than words, my friends, and last Saturday, my actions backed up every single thing I've said since this war began.
Whitmer: Still on crutches and now with a matching neckbrace. Sporting a broken neck thanks to Super Dragon's Psycho Driver through a table.
Pearce: The proud owner of twenty staples in his head thanks to a Necro Butcher chairshot. Oh, and he also got pinned right in the middle of the ring. Sucks to be him.
Joe: Left standing in the ring while we celebrated in our bleachers. Completely and utterly humiliated by our cleverly orchestrated swerve.
You didn't really think I'd allow my number one prodigy and best friend betray me, did you? Ring of Honor, I would like you to meet the Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli. The current CHIKARA Campeones de Parejas and former CZW tag team champions. We don't think we're the best, we know it for a fact. This weekend I'm wrestling for UWA in Toronto and then I'm headed to Virginia for a show. Ring of Honor returns to Dayton, Ohio on Friday and Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday. I know I'm pretty amazing and I know all my fans would love for me to be in two places at once, but it just isn't possible. Or is it? I'm a very powerful man and I have my ways of creating magic.
This weekend, my presence will be felt at Ring of Honor. My presence will be felt through my prodigy, my tag team partner, my best friend, Claudio Castagnoli. My presence will be felt though the fan abusing, ass kicking assassin known as Super Dragon. And last, and definitely not least, my presence will be felt through the demented, self sacrificial King of the Deathmatches. Dayton, Cleveland, prepare yourself for the wrath of the NECRO BUTCHER. This weekend will prove how influential and all-powerful I really am. I will continue to alter results and wreak vengeance upon ROH and all the while I'll be kicking up my feet and laughing all the way in another country.
You think this is over? Think again...”