ROH on Sinclair - Episode 551 - 8th April 2022
The weekend that this episode premiered, Kevin Eck penned his final 'Eck's Files' column on ROH's website. He confirmed that he too was leaving ROH following the acquisition of the company by Tony Khan, and also announced the schedule for the next two weeks of television. Last week we saw a selection of 'early years classics', next week it will be 'Sinclair era classics'...and this week sees a selection of matches from Cary Silkin's time in charge. It is telling that nothing has been announced beyond that, as speculation continues to mount about precisely what Khan's vision for Ring Of Honor as an ongoing concern is - and when we start to see major changes from the limited infrastructure Sinclair has in place with its Honor Club scheme.
We open at the 2nd Anniversary Show in 2004, which is technically the final show before the Feinstein scandal broke and Ring Of Honor entered an incredibly tumultuous period as those left in charge of ROH were hit badly and left to pick up the pieces with a fanbase understandably in uproar and a talent roster devastated by TNA withdrawing all their contracted talent. This is the final of the tournament to crown the first ever 'Pure Wrestling Champion' and arguably the final 'early years' ROH match. By the end of the summer Cary Silkin had assumed full control and had started working with Gabe Sapolsky to shape and drive ROH into perhaps it's most critically acclaimed period of success.
Highlights of AJ Styles vs CM Punk in the final of the ROH Pure Wrestling Title Tournament from 2nd Anniversary Show are shown
Fast forward a little over two years, and we are in the midst of one of the legendary, definitive ROH World Title reigns (along with Samoa Joe and Nigel McGuinness). Bryan Danielson sits atop Ring Of Honor as the 'Best In The World'. Even in the midst of an inter-promotional war with CZW, American Dragon stood alone as the all-conquering, unstoppable, irrepressible champion. At a time when he had Samoa Joe, Nigel McGuinness, Colt Cabana, Homicide and more gunning for his belt, he also formed a fascinating mini-rivalry with the mysterious, masked Lizard Man - Delirious.
Highlights of Bryan Danielson vs Delirious for the ROH World Title from Ring Of Homicide are shown
Long-time ROH fans will argue to this day that it was substantially overdue (it definitely was), but at the 8th Anniversary Show in 2010 Tyler Black (now known as Seth Rollins) finally broke through the glass ceiling and ascended to the summit of the ROH mountain; defeating two-time champion Austin Aries to win his only ROH World Title.
Highlights of Austin Aries vs Tyler Black for the ROH World Title from 8th Anniversary Show are shown
Tape Rating - N/A - Some interesting, if somewhat random, match choices this week. In my original DVD review I really enjoyed AJ/Punk from 2004, but actually I didn't relate to it quite so much in abbreviated TV form in 2022. I'll be pulling out the DVD and revisiting the full version later (and checking out Punk's AMAZING swerve Chris Daniels entrance that opened that show) because I've not watched the full match for years. Danielson/Delirious and Aries/Black were both a lot of fun though. There is absolutely zero production value in these episodes now; no intros, minimal graphics - just straight up archive footage and little else. It feels very much like the dying days of the Sinclair TV show...