ROH live event preview
June 17th, 2006
7:30 p.m. belltime
The New Yorker Hotel
By Sean Radican, Torch contributor

Tickets at Ticketmaster.com and Ticketmaster outlets or at ROHwrestling.com and by calling 215-781-2500.

All tickets for the originally scheduled event at Basketball City will be honored at the New Yorker Hotel.

One-Fall Non-Title Three-Way: ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe. This will be the main match that sells this event when it is released on DVD. If you haven’t watched the “Best In The World” release from March 25, you ought to watch it before viewing this match, as the KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe main event will place the feud between these three men in context.

The main event of “Best In the World” saw KENTA pin Danielson clean in the middle of the ring via his Go To Sleep finisher. This match also saw several fantastic changes between Samoa Joe and KENTA, who have no lost for each other. After their match at “Best In the World,” Joe refused to shake KENTA’s hand.

If KENTA wins this match and pins Danielson, he will likely be in line for a shot at the ROH World Title later in the summer. KENTA also has unsettled business with Joe, as the two will likely have several stiff exchanges during this match that will get the crowd on their feet if their interactions in the ring are anything like the display they put on at “Best In The World.”

Samoa Joe will be gunning for both of his opponents during this match. Joe has shown he doesn’t have any respect for KENTA, but he will also be coming after Danielson, who chop blocked him from behind at “Destiny” on June 3. It will be interesting to see which opponent Joe targets during this match, as he seemingly had more hatred for KENTA prior to Danielson taking a cheap shot at him at “Destiny.

A win by Danielson in this match won’t serve much purpose to the storyline, as a win by either KENTA or Joe sets up an ROH World Title match against Danielson for an upcoming event. Regardless of the outcome, this should be an excellent match that generates a lot of DVD sales for ROH both domestically and internationally.

Tag Team Title Match: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness & Colt Cabana. This should be an interesting match featuring two teams with contrasting styles. Aries and Strong are both hard-hitting wrestlers, who utilize a lot of high-impact double team maneuvers to wear their opponents down. McGuinness and Cabana are both European style wrestlers, who will likely stick to chain and mat wrestling to gain an advantage over their opponents.

It has been announced that Aries and Strong will be defending the ROH Tag Team Titles outside of the country this summer, so a title switch is unlikely. It will be interesting to see how Cabana and McGuiness coexist during this match. McGuinness has been a cheating heel during his recent time in ROH and Cabana has been a big babyface in the company.

Fans attending this event should expect a long 15-20 match, which should be very good given the combatants in the ring.

Grudge Match: B.J. Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Lacey.) This is a rematch from “Dragon Gate Challenge” from March 30, which saw both men nearly kill themselves when they botched a top rope powerbomb spot that sent both men crashing from the top rope to the floor. Whitmer ended up winning a match that most people who have seen it delivered well above expectations. This should be a good match, as Whitmer and Jacobs have a lot of history between them in ROH. They are former tag team partners, but are now in the midst of an intense feud. The winner of this match will receive a shot at the ROH World Title, so this should be a hard-hitting contest that entertains the fans attending this event.

Special Challenge Match: Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana & Daizee Haze) vs. Davey Richards. This is another rematch on the card. Rave and Richards faced off in one of the best opening matches in recent memory in ROH. Richards defeated rave in his debut at “Destiny” after a hard fought 17 minute match. Rave and Richards had good chemistry in the ring and delivered the hard-hitting action that ROH fans enjoy.

Richards is slotted to receive a big push in ROH, which would be aided by another victory over Rave, who is one of the top heels in ROH. As a part of a storyline, Rave is embarrassed by his loss to Richards at “Destiny,” so he will be looking to gain a measure of revenge during this match. If this encounter is as good as the match between Rave and Richards at "Destiny,” fans attending this event will enjoy the match immensely.

Grudge Match: Adam Pearce vs. Claudio Castagnoli. This match marks another chapter in the CZW-ROH feud. Castagnoli turned his back on ROH recently and joined CZW’s cause, so Pearce will be looking to gain a measure of revenge for ROH on Castagnoli and CZW by defeating him at this event. Pearce is more of an old school brawler than an ROH style wrestler. It will be interesting to see if the ROH fans attending this event get behind Pearce, who had no heat from the crowd at “Destiny.

Castagnoli is a solid European Style wrestler, who has the ability to get over as a heel. If he is able to get a lot of heat from the crowd, this could turn into an entertaining match for those attending this event live.

Top Of The Class Trophy Match: Shane Hagadorn defends vs. Mitch Franklin. Hagadorn won the Top Of The Class Trophy at “Destiny.” Hagadorn’s match at “Destiny” killed the crowd, so this match might be a good time to check out the gimmick table or use the restrooms if you are attending this event live.

Homicide has an open contract for any match he wants. Also in action will be Jay & Mark Briscoe, Ricky Reyes (w/Julius Smokes), Irish Airborne, Sterling Keenan, and Jason Blade.
PWTorch