Necro's thoughts:
Richards vs. Edwards III - This is gonna be off the fucking charts... Although I don't see how they could possibly top their match at Best in the World, which was most definitely a MOTY contender. I imagine that this match will mostly serve to progress their feud further and promote some desperately needed character development - namely, turning Edwards fully heel. I hear that since Edwards took on Severn as his new trainer, he has started to become much more aggressive/brutal in his matches at SOTF and GBH, as well as adopting the Dragon Clutch as a finishing maneuver. Shenanigans aside, this should tell a great story and should end up being a great, four star plus match.
WGTT vs. Briscoes - Another match that should be fantastic - even if it is another match we've already seen this year. (9th anniversary show) Haas and Benjamin, despite being fairly solid since coming to ROH, have appeared pretty lackluster both in-ring and personality-wise. Perhaps that's just due to the massive amounts of hype surrounding them, I dunno. Nonetheless, after holding the belts for the fat end of 2011, I think it's time for Dem Boyz to take the titles here, especially given recent happenings on television. Tag team wrestling is *BY FAR* Ring of Honor's strongest asset at the moment, with their tag roster somehow managing to remain ridiculously stacked even after losing the Kings of Wrestling to WWE. Jay and Mark have proved themselves to be fantastic and unique characters time and time again, and are two of the very few guys on the current roster who are great on the mic AS WELL AS in the ring. With those guys representing the top tag team in the company, it lends a lot of extra strength to the division, and perhaps hides some of its weaknesses.
Roderick Strong Invitational - Essentially, it's Roderick Strong taking on a mystery opponent. There's already a thread where I discussed likely candidates of who I thought it might have been. A wrestler from Pro Wrestling NOAH is my favourite choice at the moment - quite possibly the return of KENTA (provided he doesn't win the GHC Heavyweight Title on the next NOAH show)
Corino vs. Steen - I'm fairly certain that Kevin Steen gets "re-signed" to Ring of Honor if he wins this match, so suffice to say MY BODY IS FUCKING READY. Everything is pointing towards some kind of swerve/shenanigans, but I can't decide exactly what I think the outcome is going to be. Obviously Steen wins, but who will heel it up and align himself with him? Jacobs? Corino? Cornette? Any mixture of the three? I'm not so much looking forward to this match as I am looking forward to its aftermath - and the inevitable Steen-Richards match for the title. OOFT!
The rest of the card (predictions) -
- TV Title rematch: Lethal vs. Generico. If this happens, Lethal will retain but somehow Generico will NOT finish this match looking weak in any way. I am fully predicting Generico will move into the main event picture in 2012, or even hold the world title! I think it would be great having someone with his personality being champion of a company that often gets a ton of flack about having a bunch of bland guys.
- TJ Perkins vs. Michael Elgin: Just a good midcard match that makes some sense. Gotta keep Elgin strong for his upcoming title shot, while showing off the skills of new signee TJP.
- Three way #1 contendership for the tag titles: Young Bucks vs. ANX vs. Future Shock. A fun spotfest to get the crowd all riled up, and build up for the next iPPV. Any team would make a good number one contender out of those three really - and there's a chance for a final deathmatch showdown between ANX and the Briscoes too!
Overall, I'm looking forward to this iPPV, although not nearly as much as Final Battle 2010 or Best in the World. No doubt it will be a solid show well worth 15 dollars though.
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