How do you think Samoa Joe will do when he returns to RoH?
I would be surprised if he lost. During his last run in ROH he dominated. They really showed him a true respect. I was very surprised in Joe's second to last match he fought Nigel, and i could have SWORN Joe would lose. That was one of my favorite matches of 07. Great match there cause you knew Nigel would be in line for a big push. He had a lot of momentum.
If you could bring anyone back to ROH either to stay or just for a one off match, who would it be and why?
One match would be CM Punk, cause he's a big world star now. But if i were to bring someone back to stay, it would be a toss up between Daniels/Low Ki. Daniels has a great storyline going, and really is a super heel, but Low Ki is very entertaining in the ring. Its a tough choice.
Who do you think should be Samoa Joe's opponent when he comes back?
I thought Tyler Black, and it looks like it will be Tyler Black. He's the biggest name that did'nt have a match on the card yet, and is a heel so it makes sense. Joe vs Hero wouldnt be that good of a match. I think Joe vs Go would be a pretty good showing that would be my 2nd option.
Adam Pearce. New booker of ROH. Thoughts?
He has claimed to have adapted a more old-school style of booking, with heels and faces much more clear, which isn't as prominent on the indy's, and to focus more on storylines, yet still deliver that cutting edge action.
Its going to take some time to really see what he can do. So far so good. I like the daily updates with news and extras for character development. More Videos, and interviews look good. The newswires are better in my opinion, as they are pushing the fueds, not the matches. I think the in ring action will be similar, just more old school heel, and less tweeners. My biggest concern is the long term booking. Gabe could slow build and the climax's would be perfect (Homicide winning belt, Steenerico winning tag belts, Nigel winning, Aries/Jacobs fued)
So really i think it will take a good year to judge. It looks like Brent Albirght is in line for a big push. I would think Chris Hero is in line for Top Heel as well.
Heres a good article.
RING OF HONOR AT THE CROSSROADS: LOOKING AT ROH, THE DEPARTURE OF GABE SAPOLSKY AND THE FUTURE
by Mike Johnson @ 2008-10-28 15:31:00
Since word broke early Sunday morning that Ring of Honor owner Cary Silkin had decided to replace Gabe Sapolsky as booker for the company, there's been a lot of concern about the future of the promotion, about the reasoning behind the decision and what this means for Ring of Honor fans.
ROH IN 2008
The reality is that over the last year, Ring of Honor was similar to a sports team that does well consistently but for whatever reason, never seemed to make it to the end of the playoffs. It's no secret I have been a fan of the product from the first live show the company put together in 2002, but while the product was still solid and featured good to great wrestling on the main event level thanks to the likes of Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness (who I don't think gets even a fraction of the credit he deserves), it lacked something.
I described it on Monday as "not hitting on all cylinders" and that's probably the best way I can describe it. It was missing that intangible "it" that had made the company such a breakthrough, cult product and was lacking in the next generation of talent. There came a time in ECW where no matter how hard Paul Heyman pushed the latter generation of Rhino, Steve Corino, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, etc. and no matter how talented they were, they didn't break through for some reason.
To me, that sort of describes the last year of ROH. It just didn't have the heart that it had in previous years. The work ethic was still there, and some of the shows and PPVs were great, but that intangible "it" was missing and anyone but the most die-hard fans were starting to feel that way. It was ROH for sake of being ROH, not something that felt like it was trailblazing it's own legend. I wouldn't say the company itself peaked as much as the direction may have, since it was becoming harder and harder to replenish the talent plucked by larger companies. The new breed worked as hard and some graduated into becoming stars, like Nigel, but others didn't fare as well.
ROH events didn't feel as organic as it had in the past, especially to those who had been following the company for a long period of time. It's hard to explain in detail, because I am sure there are people who are reading this and think I'm out of my mind, because they love their ROH. Still, over the last year - whether it was burnout or the turnover in talent or whether it was what I truly believe deep down - that there wasn't one cause, but a cumulative effect of everything involved plus the pressures of keeping the company solvent in the current economy - there was something different about ROH.
EXIT GABE
When the guillotine dropped, it was Sapolsky's head that rolled. It had to be, because he was the booker. Bobby Knight didn't remain the Head Coach of Indiana forever, despite his past successes. Sapolsky was in the position of being ROH's Bobby Knight. Just by being in that role, he took a ton of credit for the company's successes, but Sapolsky also has to take the blame for when things don't work out.
Sapolsky was a great booker for the company, especially in terms of matchmaking. He took things that made All Japan and ECW great in their prime and used them as bullet points for his own masterpieces and was smart enough to surround himself with top talents. He could see talent in guys way before others could. He was good at what he did, although there were certainly times some of the workers felt the fans online were giving Sapolsky credit for things they put together themselves and that would drive them crazy. For some of them, it even drove them crazy reading it online after Silkin fired Sapolsky.
Still, in the same breath, those same wrestlers would credit him for motivating them and putting it all together, and they liked him. For the most part, Sapolsky was liked, to the point that not one person within ROH had anything negative to say after the firing. That said, Sapolsky's quirks were evident and I think part of this would be that they eventually worked against him.
Some may read what I am about to write as taking a shot at him, but it's actually the furthest thing from the truth. Sapolsky ran on ego. If he thought he was right about a talent or an angle, there was no arguing with him, because he was Gabe and he was right, because he was the booker. In a lot ways, that ego was the very reason for his booking success, because to truly become successful at anything, you have to believe your own hype. There's no room for doubt. Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler of all time because he was Ric Flair and Flair was the greatest, period. Why was he the greatest? Because he was Ric Flair. It was a self fulfilling prophecy.
Sapolsky had a similar mindset in speaking to him, not in a way that would be off-putting or putting himself over, but that he was sure he knew what he was doing. The downside to that was that if you questioned the decisions, there would certainly moments where he would respond immediately in a vicious, protective way, because that's what people in his position should do. I've known and dealt with Sapolsky since 1994, way back when he was running the Sabu Fan Club, and once he got into the booking position, that was an immediate change.
Although I never took it personally, there were certainly times when in asking questions or having discussions about the company, the reactions would come off condescending and over the top. As someone who worked with a lot of actors and writers when I worked full-time in the entertainment industry, this was nothing new to me, because that's how a lot of top level talents were - they were so talented, you overlooked the quirks because the benefits outweighed the aggravations that came with them.
Still, for some, whether it was the wrestlers who called looking for work and were asked to send tape even though they had known him dating back to ECW or whether it was an online writer (not me) who got dressed down for daring to say he thought a show was OK "but not a blow away show", one could easily see where Sapolsky's personality sometimes got a bad reputation. Gabe could drive people nuts. That's a fact. That said, for the record, I liked the guy, because even when he was pissing me off, I could understand where he was coming from when he would act that way, so I respected it once I got over wanting to kill him. That was the story with Sapolsky. You took the good and you took the bad because both are what made him so good when he was on creatively.
When things were looking up and great, the quirks were overlooked and Sapolsky was left somewhat to his own devices to book, working from home and keeping similar zany hours that his mentor, Paul Heyman, used to maintain. As 2008 and the realities of the current economy began to chip away at ROH, with more shows being run, more money being spent, PPV not leading to a turnover of new fans being attracted to the company, a national DVD deal doing just OK, there were no prospects of a light at the end of the tunnel. ROH was on a treadmill where they would do OK but were not making any real bank and at the same time, had some scary moments, such as the West Coast tour that bombed.
Something had to give. Right or wrong, that something was Sapolsky. The reality in a lot of ways is that the product under Sapolsky had probably gone as far as it could go under the current ROH business model and it was starting to show. When Cary Silkin added in the issues that popped up with Sapolsky at times and with the pressure of trying to take something he's invested a lot of money and time into (and in the end, ROH belongs to Silkin and it's his call to do what he sees fit with it, something a lot of fans forget), he made the call to release Sapolsky.
ENTER ADAM
As far as the future of the company, they've tapped Adam Pearce to be the new booker. That decision caused a lot of venom among fans but the reality is that you can't judge anyone until you see what they have in the tank. I can understand some fans complaining about Pearce's booking track record, but really, what track record did Sapolsky have in 2002? You have to see how things evolve before you can decry them - and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that others, including Silkin, are going to have some say in how the booking goes as well. It could be the worst decision in ROH history, it could be the best. It's like a first date - you don't know how it's going to pan out until you actually go on it. That's the stance I am taking with Pearce as booker and really, unless you are such a Sapolsky die-hard that he was the only reason you followed ROH, that's the only realistic stance you can and should take. Let ROH prove themselves (or prove your fears correct) before they are judged one way or the other. It's not like the level of the wrestling is going to drop - the same talents are still there (as of this writing). They will just have a new voice guiding them.
I do expect things to change, but not as much as some of the "ROH is going to turn into sports-entertainment" Chicken Little type emails I've read in the last few hours since I returned to New York after a weekend away. There's going to be a conscious effort to not book as many matches or talents on the shows, which in my mind, is a positive as there has always been a feeling of being overwhelmed with so much, too much during some ROH shows, although the last PPV was perfectly put together in my opinion.
I don't see Cary Silkin wanting to change what brought ROH to the dance to a massive extent as much as I think we'll see a spin on things from a different perspective. I think the days of the four hour plus shows are over. For those who worry that Sapolsky's dismissal means the end of Japanese talents, ROH announced several for their Final Battle event today. I don't think things will be a massive overhaul, but they will be different. They have to be.
For better or worse, the ROH product as it currently exists was not making the in-roads the company needed for it to work and if it that doesn't change, sooner or later, there won't be an ROH at all. It's Silkin's company and his investment into it that he needs to protect from going South. Whether you personally agree with the moves or not, Silkin was within his rights to make them. Time will tell whether they were the right moves to make, the same as history has told the tale of every major booking change in the last 15-25 years.
There's been a lot of fear about the long-term future of ROH, even though they have shows announced and booked through the Spring of 2009. That's natural, but all you can do is wait and see how things evolve. I can say that from everyone I've spoken to, the vibe in the ROH office this week has pretty much been positive with all focuses being business as usual. Of the wrestlers I've spoken to, even those upset Sapolsky was replaced, they all realize the reality is that the move was made and they have jobs to do. It's no different from your favorite supervisor being replaced - you still have to make your quota.
In the beginning of ROH, Sapolsky used to refer to the company to me as a baby that was born and over time, it would have setbacks and scars, like anyone else would as they grow older. That baby is going to have to see how it grows now that it's independent of its first creative soul.
Good, bad or indifferent, the move was made to help ROH evolve into whatever it will become next. There are a lot of questions out there right - what will be Sapolsky's next move, if there is one inside the business? Can Pearce match or even surpass what Sapolsky accomplished? What talent will find themselves on the outs and which will be returning? What other changes are in store for the company?
And finally, the most important - can the promotion that defined what was the best in independent wrestling over the last decade redefine itself, survive in a rough period for professional wrestling and somehow grow the audience that had stagnated the last 12 months, all at the same time?
