Paul Heyman won’t be the only ECW alumni to be honored WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia as GCW is making sure another gets a Hall of Fame nod.
On Wednesday evening, GCW announced that former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino will be inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame on Sunday, April 7 at WrestleCon. Corino will join a class that includes Trent Acid, Kevin Hogan and The Briscoes. It was also announced that ‘The King Of Old School’ will be inducted by his son, Colby Corino. Serendipitously enough, Corino’s sister Allison Danger is set to be honored later this year at the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Cornio commented on his own induction posting the following on X:
Who Else Is In The GCW Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame?
Steve Corino joins several other ECW names in the GCW Indie Wrestling Hall Of Fame, but there are also others that have been bestowed the honor. The inaugural Hall Of Fame class occured in 2022 and included Jerry Lynn, Tracy Smothers, Dave Prazak, Homicide, Ruckus and Lufisto. The class of 2023 had Paul London, Cheerleader Melissa, Christopher Daniels, Excalibur, Jimmy Jacobs and Michael Modest.
Corino currently works for WWE as a coach and a producer for WWE NXT. This induction will be the second crossover WWE will have with GCW on WrestleMania weekend as Shayna Bazsler is set to compete in Bloodsport X as she’s going to square off against Masha Slamovich.
It has been five years since Steve Corino last had a competitive match in a wrestling ring. While the former ECW champion has never officially retired, he has been working as a producer for WWE since 2016.
However, sometimes all a wrestler needs to lace up his boots one more time, is the right motivation. For Steve Corino, it came in the form of a challenge laid down by his own son. Colby Corino is the current PWF Crystal Coast Oceanic Title.
Colby laid down the challenge, which Steve was happy to accept. The pair will clash on Colby’s 25th birthday. That’s quite the way to celebrate.
Steve Corino held numerous championships in a career dating back to 1994. The most notable of which was his time as ECW Heavyweight champion. He also enjoyed a reign as ROH tag team champion alongside Jimmy Jacobs.
Steve Corino Lacing Up His Boots For The Right Reasons
Wrestling is a business where it can be hard to stay retired. The lure of one more match can often be too hard to resist. However, for Steve Corino, a return to the ring is happening for all the right reasons.
Colby Corino is a talented wrestler, who is known predominantly for his time in Ring of Honor. He also trained for a time in the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in LA. He also made two appearances for WWE. The match against his father, Steve Corino promises to be a fun affair. Airing on independentwrestling.tv, the result would appear to be written on the wall. However, for wrestling fans, it will be a treat to see the older Corino back in action.
The return to the ring looks to be a one and done affair for Steve Corino, who is contracted to WWE and seems to be enjoying his backstage producer role.
Steve Corino began working with WWE at the Performance Center in early 2017 and is working on the main roster helping to produce RAW and Smackdown live events. According to a report from PW Insider, Corino began working in the role a few weeks ago.
Corino was put into the position in order to free up Jamie Noble, who has other responsibilities with the company. Also on the RAW and Smackdown live events team are Michael Hayes and Joey Maloney. Corino had previously been helping out with live events for NXT as well.
Steve Corino is a former NWA, ECW, and MLW World Champion. Corino had a couple of tryouts in WWE, as an announcer, writer, and wrestler but nothing came together between he and the company until after he did a guest coaching spot at the Performance Center in late 2016.
He spoke to Wrestling Inc in 2015 about tryouts he had in WWE previously.
“In 2007 when I had a tryout as a writer and a wrestler, they were thinking that I was too old, so maybe I didn’t have the right people coming in for me. I was still in Japan 29 weeks a year, so I had something to fall back on. They were great up there. Anyone who buries the system by saying ‘I went up there for a tryout and they didn’t hire me, blah blah blah.’ Oh man. It’s such a well-oiled machine up there.”
WWE Performance Center coach and former Ring of Honor color commentator Steve Corino recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:
On his decision to leave Ring of Honor to work for WWE:
“I can show my enthusiasm and passion for the business here at the Performance Center. I was lucky enough to learn from Kevin Sullivan and Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk, and their passion still lives in me, so I’m passing that on.”
On working with WWE’s first China-born wrestler Tian Bing:
“I’ve been to Japan over 80 times, and I wished he spoke Japanese so I could work with him. I found out he can speak perfect Japanese, and we just built this perfect rapport. He wants to learn. We have a different connection. Some of the guys who come here after a career in football don’t know Satoshi Kojima, but when I mention Satoshi Kojima to him, he always wants to learn more. He is an incredible talent and improving every day.”
Corino also talked about ECW and more. You can read the entire interview here.
– 2K announced on Thursday that WWE 2K17 is coming to PC on February 7th.
– Steve Corino officially began working as a Coach for the WWE Performance Center this week, according to PWInsider. Corino had been serving as an announcer for ROH until his departure on 12/31.
– As noted earlier this week, Chris Jericho is now a “Grand Slam Champion” after capturing the United States Championship on RAW. WWE.com has posted a feature looking at the updated list of Grand Slam Champions and clarification on what constitutes a Grand Slam Champion.
“What exactly qualifies a Grand Slam Champion in WWE has changed several times as the roster of championships has, and only six Superstars had managed to meet the current set of criteria: Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion, any permutation of the Tag Team Championship and either active heavyweight title — as in, WWE Championship or, now, the WWE Universal Championship.”
In addition to Chris Jericho, other Grand Slam Champions include Edge, Big Show, The Miz, Eddie Guerrero, Daniel Bryan and Kurt Angle.
Wrestle Kingdom 11 was arguably one of the greatest events in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s history and was viewed by more fans than ever before on the NJPW World service.
During the English language broadcast of the New Year Dash show it was announced by commentator Steve Corino that there were around 10,000 new subscribers for the Wrestle Kingdom show with around 5,500 of these being from outside Japan and this takes the total subscriber count to around 60,000.
In terms of a global streaming network and comparable to WWE’s Network these are small numbers however it is important to remember that the website/sign up process for NJPW World is still only available in Japanese (although a basic google translate option is available) and that the majority of shows are broadcast at ‘unsociable’ hours in Europe and the United States.
Discussion: Did you sign up for NJPW World to watch Wrestle Kingdom? Will you be keeping your subscription going?
– Eric Young vs. No Way Jose plus NXT Champion Samoa Joe’s return has been announced for next Wednesday’s NXT episode on the WWE Network.
– WWE is currently working on a “WWE 24” special for Goldberg’s return, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
– Wrestling veteran and Ring of Honor announcer Steve Corino will begin working as a full-time coach at the WWE Performance Center in January. There is a report going around that Corino has already signed with WWE, but he is currently under contract with ROH until the end of the year.
Corino spent a week as a ‘guest trainer’ at the PC earlier this month and called the facility “wrestling heaven.”
"I was sitting there in awe thinking, this is WRESTLING HEAVEN!" @KINGCorino upon seeing the @WWEPerformCtr for the first time. pic.twitter.com/RXA1cVrRpt
Ring of Honor BITW – Briscoe vs. Lethal 2 – June 24, 2016, from the Carbarrus Arena in Concord, NC
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Kamaitachi via submission.
ACH defeated Silas Young with the Morning Star.
Mark Briscoe defeated Roderick Strong in Strong’s farewell match after 2 brainbusters.
Adam Cole & The Young Bucks defeated Moose & War Machine in a Tornado Rules 6-man tag. YB hit the 5-Star Meltzer Driver on Moose and kissed Cole as he covered for the victory.
The Addiction (c) retained the ROH World Tag Team Championships against the Motor City Machine Guns after Kamaitachi came out and attacked Jay White, who was sitting at ringside, causing the distraction.
BJ Whitmer defeated Steve Corino in an Unsanctioned Fight Without Honor. With both men bloody, the lights went out, Kevin Sullivan appeared and delivered the golden spike to Corino’s head. Whitmer hit the exploder and scored the victory.
Bobby Fish (c) retained the ROH World TV Championship over Dalton Castle with a small package.
ANX came out with Caprice Coleman, continuing their campaign to Make Wrestling Great Again. The three of them declared that moving forward, they will now be known as The Cabinet.
Jay Lethal (c) retained the ROH World Championship against Jay Briscoe. The rematch one year in the making saw Briscoe hit a Lethal Injection and Jay Driller, but Lethal followed up with a top-rope cutter and the Lethal Injection for the clean victory.
The show opens with spliced together backstage promos from Prince Nana and Donovan Dijack, as well as Jay Lethal and Taeler Hendrix. Nana says, “The time has come. We put out the man that led you to the ROH World Title.” Lethal says, “To be a great champion, you must remove all your personal affairs. Well, I’m having a damn hard time doing that.” Hendrix says, “What you did, was sick.” Lethal says, “You hurt our friend, Truth Martini.” Hendrix says, “The one man to ever believe in you.” Lethal says, “You broke his neck.” Nana says, “Right now, you have no one to turn to.” Hendrix says, “I’ve got news for you, pal. You are in the sights of the champion.” Nana, “The time for a new Ring of Honor World Champion has finally come.” Lethal, “We believe in revenge.” Hendrix, “It just got personal.” Dijack, “Jay Lethal, your time is up.”
Kevin Kelly and Nigel McGuinness welcome us from Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. KK says, “And tonight the man who broke Truth Martini’s neck will speak, plus we will see the newest member of the Bullet Club, The Hangman Adam Page, against a man who is really looking for revenge, Colt Cabana, making his return to ROH TV after a 5 year absence. All of this, plus The Rainmaker is here.”
Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada
Co-holder of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Reborn Matt Sydal walks to the ring, slides under the bottom rope, and poses in the ring. Okada’s music hits and KK says, “Next, the man who Jushin Thunder Liger called ‘a perfect wrestler’ is on his way to the ring,” he is followed by Gedo. The fans pop loudly for Okada. KK says, “Tens of millions of dollars of talent. The Rainmaker has arrived.” The camera gets a close up of one of the Okada dollars.
Tale of the tape says Sydal 5’10”/195 vs. Okada 6’2”/229 (Bobby Cruise says 236). KK says “Certainly there is a size advantage for Okada, but Sydal has faced The Big Show and Mark Henry. He’s given up size and weight many times before, and never even taken a back step. Nigel, it’s interesting, when your fellow countrymen Will Osprey was tabbed the newest member of Chaos in New Japan, Sydal felt more than a little slighted. That was an interesting conversation we had with Mr. Sydal.”
Collar-and-elbow tie-up, go behind by Okada, go behind by Sydal, wrist lock by Okada, Sydal rolls through, jumps to his feet, armbar, pump handle, snapmare takeover, headlock, armbar, Okada reverses into an armbar headlock of his own. NM says, “He’s called Reborn, because he came back from an injury that many thought was going to sideline him forever.” Sydal throws Okada off the ropes, Okada hits a shoulder block tackle, runs the ropes again, ducks under, jumps over, goes for The Rainmaker, but Sydal hits a hurricanrana, arm wringer by Sydal, back elbows by Okada, Sydal flips him down on the mat, does a backflip, Okada gets out of the way, jumps and stops and they stare each other down.
Okada wrist a wrist lock, arm wringer, shoulder block, whip reversal into the corner, Sydal meets an elbow, and then a spinning back heel kick takes Okada to the mat. Sydal goes to the second rope and tries for a tornado DDT, but Okada reverses and puts him back on the turnbuckle, and then nails a dropkick knocking Sydal to the floor, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Sydal fights out with an elbow and a kick, throws Okada off the ropes, he catches himself on the ropes, and Sydal meets a boot, Okada with a slingshot senton over the top rope, cover, kick out. Sydal is wincing in pain, Okada picks him up, Sydal with an elbow to the gut, chop kick chop kick, Okada returns with clubbing blows to the back. Okada slams Sydal’s head into the turnbuckle, slams his head into the opposite turnbuckle, now back to the first one, 2 elbows to the back of the neck, goes to throw Sydal’s head to another turnbuckle, but he blocks and kicks him in the face.
Sydal delivers 2 kicks to the back of the quad, then a kick to the back of the head, standing moonsault, folds him up like an accordion, cover, kick out. Sydal splashes Okada in the corner, flies off the top rope with a double sitting knee, cover, kick out. Sydal grabs hold of an injured knee, ducks a kick by Okada, and then connects with a back kick of his own, goes for a top rope hurricanrana but Okada slides through, catches Sydal’s head on the turnbuckle and then rolls through backwards and plants him with a jackknife neckbreaker to the knee, pin attempt, kick out.
Okada slams Sydal to the mat, climbs to the top turnbuckle and nails the big elbow. Okada calls for The Rainmaker as the camera zooms out, he picks up Sydal, spins around, Sydal ducks it with a Matrix-like escape, reverse headscissors by Sydal that drops Okada on his head. Sydal climbs to the top rope, goes for the Shooting Star Press, but Okada blocks with double knees to the gut, Okada goes for a tombstone piledriver, Sydal gets out, Sydal misses a kick and then Okada lands a standing dropkick. Now on his third try, Okada nails The Rainmaker, third time’s a charm, and it’s over, 1-2-3.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
After the match, Okada and Sydal shake hands.
Adam Cole and the Young Bucks cut a backstage promo, “Hey Bucks, did you guys hear what the Best in the World main event is? Jay Lethal defending his title against Jay Briscoe? Everybody knows that whoever wins that match is just keeping the title warm for ol’ Adam Cole baybay. And Jay Lethal, tonight you’re wrestling Donovan Dijak. Well, I just wanted to make this very apparent to you, the BC, we might, I don’t know, come say hello to the champ,” and we go to commercial.
After the break, Silas Young cuts a backstage promo, “The other day, I came home and my son was sitting on the floor coloring this.” He shows ROH’s ‘The Best Coloring Book on the Planet Today.’ Silas continues, “And I look down, and he was coloring a picture of ACH. I told him ‘Son, that’s fine if you want to color that book, but just know that guy you’re coloring a picture of, the way he acts, that’s not the way men act.’ He looked at me, he closed it up, and he gave it to me and said, ‘Dad, if that’s the case, then I don’t want it anymore’. And it just made me think, my seven-year-old son is more of a man than ACH is. See the problem is ACH, you think I hate you, you think I got some big problem with you, but the fact of the matter is, I’m just trying to teach you some lessons, some lessons obviously you didn’t learn that you needed to learn, some lessons that your father failed to teach you on being a man.”
Adam Page vs. Colt Cabana
Out next, is the newest member of the BC, The Hangman Adam Page. NM notes, “Conspicuous by their absence, the rest of the BC. Normally they’re like packs of wolves, they come out here together.” KK comments, “You never know when they could be on the scene.” Colt Cabana’s video plays, the camera zooms in and out for the Boom Boom. Tale of the tape says 6’1”/240 Cabana vs 6’0”/207 Page (Bobby Cruise and the video department matched up correctly). The fans chant, “Colt Cabana!” The referee asks for the Code of Honor, both men refuse.
Collar-and-elbow tie-up, they push each other to the ropes, the referee calls for the break. The fans chant, “Art of wrestling!” Collar-and-elbow tie-up again, they push each other to the ropes again, the referee calls for the break again. Cabana shoves Page and then Page connects with a big right hand, Page with a chop, punch to the head, Cabana throws him off the ropes, but Page lands a shoulder tackle. Page runs the ropes, Cabana ducks under, leaps over, then runs the ropes himself, and hits a spinning headscissors
NM says, “Cabana has learned so much from going over and wrestling in England, from guys like Johnny Saint, Steve Grey.” Fans chant, “Boom! Boom!” Page goes for a kick, but Cabana catches him with a leg takedown. NM says, “You could make an argument that perhaps he doesn’t feel he feels his spot in BC is really secure yet, so he’s got to earn it. I don’t know.” Cabana goes for the Boston crab, Page fights out, Cabana with a wrist lock, go behind, snapmare takeover, cover, kick out, now Cabana transitions into a crucifix style pin attempt, kick out again.
Cabana and Page push each other, collar-and-elbow tie-up, headlock by Cabana, arm wringer by Cabana, Page with a forearm, Cabana arm wringer again, Page forearm, Cabana throws his hand to the mat. Cabana stands tall with a wrist lock, twisting the fingers, whip reversal, Cabana jumps up the turnbuckle, ducks underneath, Page throws him to the outside, and then Page hits a Shooting Star Press from the apron, and we go to commercial.
When we return, the fans have dueling chants going. Chop by Cabana, chop by Page, slap by Cabana, chop by Page, slap by Cabana, push by Page, forearm by Cabana, Cabana ducks a clothesline and then gets hit with a clothesline on the reversal. Page with the push kick into the corner, cover, kick out. Page with a pectoral stretch, Cabana runs his backside hip into Page’s gut twice, a kick and a punch by Page, whips Cabana in the corner, and then meets a back elbow.
Cabana with another elbow, climbs to the second rope and jumps off, Page goes under, then Cabana with a double-handed chop, two punches to the face, whip reversal off the ropes, Cabana ducks a clothesline, and then 4 punches and then a rolling punch. Cabana runs into the corner with the flying hip attack, Page with a kick to the leg, Cabana with a elbow to the head.
Page goes to the apron, comes back in with a slingshot lariat, cover, kick out. Page picks up Cabana for the Rite of Passage, Cabana holds himself on the ropes, ducks a clothesline and then a moonsault by Cabana, cover, kick out. Elbow by Cabana, elbow by Page, Page comes charging in, push kick by Cabana, leg-on-leg bridge pin attempt, 1-2-3, and Cabana wins.
Winner: Colt Cabana
After the match, the Guerrillas of Destiny come down and attack Cabana, with clubbing blows, stomps to the back, punches, elbows, as Page walks around the ring with the hangman’s noose. GoD hold Cabana, Page goes to put the noose around his neck, and KK says, “We need some help. We need security. Look at what they’re doing. Fans, we can’t show any more of this, we’ve got to go to break, go to commercial break, we need help.” The camera points at the apron and we cut away.
Rhett Titus asks, “Are you tired of little boys with itty bitty biceps?” KK asks, “Are you tired of really old dudes in masks? Hi I’m Kenny King.” RT chimes in, “And I’m Rhett Titus,” and together, “We’re the All Night Express.” KK asks, “See, when you think about Jushin Thunder Liger, what are the things you think of?” RT says, “Honor, respect, legendary.” KK continues, “Legendary, the man has fought names like Malenko, Juventud Guerrero, Chris Jericho,” RT says, “All of the greats.” KK continues, “But now Cheeseburger? See, this is what we’re talking about, now when I think of JTL, I think of Brett Favre, I think of Allen Iverson, aka. I think of old farts that stayed in the game way past their prime, but that changes in Toronto.” RT says, “And Toronto is the first stop on our campaign trail.” KK continues, “We’re listening to you. Even if it kills us,” and they say together, “We will make wrestling great again.”
BJ Whitmer comes down to the ring and grabs a mic, “Finally Nigel, finally you have come to your senses and you have booked the match. Lately Steve, you’ve gone online and you’ve thrown out all these empty threats. You tell me I’ve crossed the line, you tell me I’ve gone too far, but the truth of the matter is, you have no one else to blame for my actions, but yourself. So this all comes to a head on June 24th, Best in the World, live on pay-per-view. We stand across the ring from one another, in the ultimate Fight Without Honor. Now listen real close Steve, because this is not an empty threat. When you leave the house that weekend, you kiss that pretty little wife and that baby son of yours goodbye. Because not only am I going to break your body, I’m going to steal your soul.”
Steve Corino runs through the audience, security holds him back, Whitmer says, “Tough man, tough man. Oh, you want some now? You want some now? You know what? I ain’t gotta wait for Charlotte, let’s do this right now.” Corino gets into the ring, but Whitmer climbs out of the ring, and officials and security keep the two separated. KK says, “You went too far BJ Whitmer, that footage when you stalked his wife, stalked his son, how dare you.”
ACH cuts a backstage promo, “When I was 13 years old, my father actually told me, if you’re handling your business, and you’re taking care of your responsibilities, you do you. As long as you’re not taking food off another man’s plate, you do you. And Silas, I’m obviously not taking food off your plate, and I obviously don’t have a problem with you, you obviously have a problem with me. More importantly, you have a problem with yourself, because these things are called insecurities. You’re jealous of all the things that ACH does. See, its confidence to walk out and express yourself, and tell people that you can be you, no matter what you do. If you want to watch cartoons, watch cartoons, it doesn’t matter how old you are. And how dare you say my father never taught me how to be a man? Don’t worry about me, worry about your son. And the only reason why your son may be more man than I am? It’s because Silas, it’s simple, you’re not man enough to hold down your household.” He takes a PlayStation Vita out of his back pocket and walks away.
Donovan Dijack vs. Jay Lethal (c) (non-title match)
Dijack’s over-autotuned entrance music hits, he walks out slowly, smiling, screams on the ramp, and then continues suave to the ring. KK asks NM, “And why is this a non-title match?” NM says, “He hasn’t earned it yet, but if he were to win here, he would certainly be in line for one.” Next out is your ROH World Champion Jay Lethal, the greatest wrestler in the world, the greatest first generation wrestler. Lethal is all business as he walks to the ring, gives Dijack a long stare, takes off the belt, climbs in the ring, and immediately the two men go at it.
They exchange shots, Lethal with a knee to the gut, takedown, mount position raining blows, roll over, Dijack raining blows, Lethal raining blows. NM says, “Very uncharacteristic for the world champion, likes to usually take things slow. But as you said, the anger, the aggression,” Uppercut by Lethal, right hand by Dijack, throws him to the corner, Dijack fights out with 3 forearms, Dijack with 4 kicks, and then points at his nose and screams. Lethal fights out with 2 forearms, chop, Dijack picks him up and throws him up-and-over to the floor.
Dijack crawls outside after Lethal, pushes him in the back of the neck, clubbing blow to the back. Lethal walks around, then returns with the right hand, chop, forearm, but Dijack with a knee and then a suplexes Lethal on the floor. Dijack rolls back in to break the count, goes for a whip but Lethal reverses and sends Dijack upside down into the steel railing landing on a chair. Lethal picks up Dijack, and whips him upside down into the steel railing again. Lethal stares down Prince Nana, and then chases him around the ring. Nana climbs into the ring and pleads for mercy, Lethal grabs him by the jacket and points a finger in his face, suddenly Nana smiles, and then Dijack attacks from behind.
The two men exchange forearms, Lethal with a knife-edge chop, forearm, Dijack throws him off the ropes, Lethal catches himself, Lethal throws Dijack up-and-over, Dijack catches himself on the apron, and then Lethal with a dropkick sends Dijack to the floor. Lethal runs the ropes and suicide dives toffee onto Dijack once, twice, and looks really mad as he goes for it a third time, but Dijack sidesteps and shoves him into the barricade. Dijack does a standing backflip over the top rope onto the floor onto Lethal, screams at him, and we go to commercial.
When we pick it up, Lethal is on the mat. We see footage from during the commercial, Dijack picks up the belt and shoves it in Lethal’s face, “You see this? I’m taking it. Feast your eyes. I’m taking it, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Back to the action, Dijack picks Lethal up, he fights out, go-behind, Lethal with an arm drag, cartwheel, and then a low dropkick, but Lethal may have injured his knee. Lethal sends Dijack’s head into the turnbuckle, 2 knife-edge chops, Lethal with an armbar, whip reversal, Dijack runs in, but meets a boot, Lethal jumps off the second rope, but Dijack catches him with a belly-to-belly suplex, Dijack springboards to his feet and points at his nose, cover, kickout.
Dijack start pushing Lethal in the face and yelling at him, Lethal gets angry and stands up and slaps Diack, they exchange forearms, Dijack goes for a clothesline but misses, Lethal goes for the Lethal Combination but his knee gives out. Lethal with the right hand, Dijack with a kick, belly-to-back German suplex by Lethal. Dijack is to his feet first, goes for a chokeslam, but Lethal flips and lands on his feet, hits a spinning enziguri, but then a boot by Dijack turns Lethal inside out. Both men are down, Hendrix pounds on the mat. Dijack is up first, Nana says, “You’re making too much noise.” Taeler says, “You want some? Come and get it.”
Dijack is up first, Lethal hits the Lethal Combination, cover, kick out. Lethal gets to his feet, highly favoring the knee, positions Dijack, goes to the top rope looking for the Hail to the King elbow, NM says, “Taking way too long in my book, 5-6-7 seconds, at least. Dijack laying prone, but has he got one eye on Lethal?” Lethal jumps off, but Dijack catches him with a hand around the throat, Lethal tries to fight out, Dijack picks him up, and Lethal reverses into a pin attempt, Dijack picks him up wheelbarrow style transitions into Feast Your Eyes, but Lethal lands on his feet, Dijack with a kick to the face. Dijack punches Lethal in the face, picks him up, starts jawing at him, runs the ropes, but Lethal hits a superkick, goes for the Lethal Injection, but Dijack picks him up on his shoulders and nails a powerbomb, weak cover, Lethal kicks out. KK says, “Prince Nana very upset with Todd Sinclair about that count.” NM says, “He should be upset with Dijack for not hooking the legs.”
Dijack goes for the springboard moonsault off the top rope and misses, Lethal goes for the Lethal Injection, but Nana climbs up on the apron, Hendrix pulls him off, throws his scarf at him, she goes to slap him, but he catches her hand. Dijack tries again for Feast Your Eyes, but he turns around and gets super kicked by Kenny Omega and Matt Jackson. KK says, “The superkick was intended for Lethal, but he got out of the way.” Lethal pushes The Elite out of the ring, nails the Lethal Injection, and this one is over, 1-2-3.
Winner: Jay Lethal
After the match, GoD come down to the ring again and take out Lethal, punches to the face, stomps, punches to the gut, clubbing blows to the back, until the Briscoes run in to make the save. They throw the GoD out of the ring, the fans chant, “Man up!” as Mark runs the ropes and front flips onto the GoD. Jay Briscoe stands alone in the ring with Lethal, Hendrix hands Lethal the title, but Briscoe takes it from him. Lethal has a streamer on his head, stands up, the fans chant, “One more time!” Briscoe extends the belt, Lethal grabs his belt away and they stare at each other. KK calls the Briscoe v. Lethal rematch, one year in the making, “The biggest rematch in ROH history.” and then continues, “Fans next week, one-on-one, Kushida vs Kyle O’Reilly, and more, as we countdown to Best in the World. We’ll see you then.”
Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Gedo (Block A) – Taguchi wins Block A and advances to the finals
Bushi defeated Kushida (Block A)
Will Ospreay and Ryusuke Taguchi will face off in the finals of the NJPW BOSJ 2016 tournament, tomorrow June 7 at 5:30 a.m. EST, from Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi, Japan, which can be seen live on njpwworld.com including English commentary from Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.
ROH TV Recap – Episode 238 for the week of April 10, 2016
Kevin Kelly and Mr. Wrestling 3 introduce the show from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelly tells us, “What an unbelievable 60 minutes we have for you. World Tag Title defense by War Machine, the return of ‘The Cleaner’ Kenny Omega taking on ACH.” MW3 joins in, “And for the first time in Ring of Honor television history, we are going to see a Fight Without Honor, between Silas Young and Dalton Castle.”
Roppongi Vice vs. War Machine
Beretta and Rocky Romero come first, Romero has on a black tiger mask with an eye patch. MW3 asks Kelly, “Do you have the Roppongi Vice theme music on your iPod? My boy Steve Corino is going to do a remix version of this.” Kelly retorts, “He’s going to lay down some beats? He’s not going to tell Roppongi stories is he?” WM make their way to the ring, while WM pose on the apron, RPGV jump them from behind before the bell, knocking them to the floor. RPGV do a synchronized swan dive to the outside. Romero throws Rowe back in the ring, delivers clubs to the back of the head, Rowe tries to fight out, but Romero tags in Beretta. Beretta with shots to the face, tags back in Romero, they continue with kicks, standing moonsault by Beretta, cover by Romero, Rowe kicks out and throws Romero half way across the ring.
Rowe throws Romero into the corner, Hanson throws Beretta into the other corner, and WM put RPGV on their shoulders. RPGV both slide out, try to run WM into each other, they stop short, but RPGV continue with strikes on WM. Hanson throws Romero off the ropes, he catches himself in the ropes like a tarantula and laughs, before Hanson kicks him to the outside. Rowe picks up Beretta for a power press above his head, but Beretta grabs onto his beard. Rowe misses with the clothesline, Beretta hits 2 knife edge chops and a forearm, hits the ropes, but Rowe catches him tilt-a-whirling, hits a high knee, and we go to commercial.
When we return, Rowe whips Hanson into Beretta, Rowe runs in with shotgun knees, but Beretta gets out of the way, and Hanson gets caught instead. Romero tags in, Rowe catches a kick, Romero misses a swinging kick, but connects a swinging kick with the other leg, running knee off the turnbuckle, slam, cover, 1-2. Romero hits 3 running-yelling clotheslines, then Rowe comes out of the corner and decks him. Rowe tags in Hanson, they lift Romero in the air, but Beretta comes off the top rope and takes them both out with a split legged dropkick. Beretta with an elbow in the corner on Rowe, and then a tornado DDT using the ropes.
RPGV throws Hanson off the ropes, he cartwheels through meets a double knee, stays on his feet, runs in again, again meets a double knee in stereo, this time falling to the mat. RPGV pick up Hanson and drape him across the top rope, Romero connects with a springboard double stomp to the back of the head, Beretta with a standing dropkick off the ropes, pin attempt by Romero, but Hanson kicks out
Beretta sets up for Strong Zero, Hanson fights out, Rowe is in, they both pick up RPGV in powerbomb positions and throw them at each other. WM is now in with Beretta, fireman’s carry by Hanson, Rowe tags back in, Hanson drops Beretta for a backbreaker across Rowe’s knee, into the Path of Resistance, kickout. WM setup Beretta on the ropes, he fights out, lands a hurricanrana off the second rope, before Romero hits a top rope hurricanrana on Hanson. Beretta runs the ropes, jumps to the outside for a suicide flip dive, Rowe catches him, and delivers a nasty apron bomb. Romero in, sunset flip with a near fall on WM, but Hanson takes him out with the Kick of Doom, Rowe holds him for the double team, while Hanson hits the Fall Out top rope leg drop, cover on Romero, 1-2-3.
Winners: War Machine
Rowe stands on the apron and yells at the camera, “Briscoes, you see this? ROH World Tag Team Champions, War Machine. We’re ready, are you?”
When we return, Donovan Dijak walks out in street clothes to his heavily-over-autotuned song ‘Action’ by Rich Porter and Taho Papi, led to the ring by Prince Nana. Highlights are shown up the Dijack taking out the HoT. Prince Nana starts on the mic, “You idiots have been asking, what is in those envelopes that Prince Nana has been giving out, what has been in those envelopes? That is for us to know and for you to find out. Secondly, everybody keeps wondering about the enlightened ones, the enlightened ones? And another question they keep asking me, Prince Nana, who do you think is going to be the next Ring of Honor Champion, moving forward with the future of Ring of Honor?” A fan yells “Jimmy Ray!” before Nana finishes, “and his name is none other than Donovan Dijak.” Dijack takes the mic, “For one year, I’ve only had one real purpose in Ring of Honor,” He shows off his Jay Lethal t-shirt “and that was to protect Jay Lethal and the House of Truth.” He takes off the Lethal t-shirt, and tosses it aside. “But this man, Prince Nana, this man showed me that one year ago, when I won the top prospect tournament. And Truth Martini? He looked me square in the eye and said ‘Donovan Dijack, if you wrestled Jay Lethal for the TV title…’” Suddenly Jay Lethal comes running down the ramp, the two men go toe-to-toe, Lethal takes Dijack to the mat, pounds away on his head, Dijack returns the punches, the bell rings repeatedly, about 10 ROH officials come down to separate them, Nana and Veda Scott are amongst the melee, and we go to commercial.
Dalton Castle cuts a pre-recorded promo, “Silas Young, tonight we are in a Fight Without Honor. And you probably are walking to the ring with a whole lot of self-confidence, because maybe you’ve got a few wins over me. Let me remind you, every time we fought, my goal has been different. I’ve fought to show you that I was a man, I fought for my boys, and tonight I’m fighting to hurt you.”
Omega vs. ACH
Out first is ACH out of Austin, TX at 190 pounds, he flips over the top rope as he enters the ring. Kenny Omega’s horror music hits with the Bullet Club graphic, Kelly calls Omega, “one of the top stars in the entire world of professional wrestling.” Omega is introduced from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at 203 pounds, and is accompanied by the Young Bucks. They are all wearing camouflage Young Bucks gear. Kenny grabs a headset from the announce table and sings his music into the microphone. Impressed by his own singing, he says “Wow wow wow.”
Omega hands the broom to Matt and crawls into the ring. The fans litter the ring with streamers. Tale of the tape says 190 ACH vs 203 Omega (hey, it’s correct this week!). Fans chant “Omega!” then “YB!” and the YB bang the mat in the beat of 12-3-45. Omega waves off the Code of Honor, Tiger Hattori calls for the bell. MW3 tells us “Both of these guys are huge video game fans and the anime. Is it the anime or just anime?” Kelly replies, “I think it’s just anime, but that’s not for our generation.” MW3 says, “I like Tom and Jerry.”
Omega with a go behind, ACH with an elbow lock, then a headlock, Omega throws ACH off the ropes, ACH hits a shoulder block. The fans chant, “Omega!” ACH hits the ropes, and then goes for a handstand cartwheel kick, but misses, and Omega takes control. Omega with chops to the shoulders, ACH fights back with chops to the chest, throws Omega off the ropes, reversal, reversal, ACH misses a clothesline, and then hits a Lou Thez press. ACH hits a Texas-style elbow, Omega back to his feet, ACH goes for the stunner, but Omega gets him in a full nelson, ACH with an arm drag, and then a drop kick ACH, and ACH shoots a fake basketball into the crowd. ACH leaps over the top rope, Omega crawls underneath, Omega receives a shot to the gut, ACH backflips to the outside, Nick SUPERKICKS! him in the head, and then pulls out a banana peel. The ref asks what happened and the YB point at the banana peel. Omega grabs his broom, sweeps the banana peel under the ring, and we go to commercial.
Adam Cole cuts a pre-recorded promo (note: this was excluded from the Comet broadcast), “Kick me out? You? Kick me out of the Kingdom? That medication they gave you post surgery, must have made you crazy. I created The Kingdom, this was always because of me. When I had an injury of my own, and you and my friend were in charge? You were a joke, you were a laughing stock, you were a Bullet Club ripoff, nobody took you seriously. Everybody took me seriously. Why? Because I was the ROH Heavyweight Champion and the ROH Television Champion. And the fact that you have the gall to remove me from this group? Well, that’s okay with me, because Matt Taven, you, you’re holding me down anyway.”
When we returned the fans chant “Headlock City!” ACH with a shot to the ribs, a forearm to the face, ACH jawbreaker on Omega, ACH runs the ropes and Omega hits a knee to the gut. Omega with a chop chop, fireman’s carry, drops him to the mat, rolls through, flips off the top rope, ACH moves out of the way. ACH with 3 chops, Omega whip reversal, throws ACH into the corner, ACH baseball slides, stops himself, turns around, kicks Omega in the head. Omega comes charging in again, ACH throws him to the apron, Omega catches him and runs his head into the top turnbuckle. Omega climbs the other turnbuckle, but ACH kicks him in the head, knocking him to the outside. Matt gets on the apron, ACH takes him out, Nick gets on the apron, ACH runs after him, Omega hits the ropes and charges in, but ACH throws him to the outside, now ACH with a second rope soaring springboard front flip over the top rope onto the Elite. Fans chant “Go go ACH!”
ACH tosses Omega into the ring, climbs to the top turnbuckle, Omega turns around and slaps him across the face. Omega hooks ACH for a superplex, but ACH fights out, pushes Omega off the ropes, Omega climbs back up again, but ACH again knocks him to the mat and then delivers a double stomp to the back of the shoulder, cover, 1-2, but Omega kicks out. ACH yells “Kamehameha!” sets Omega up for a Brain Buster, but Omega gets out, syncs a full nelson, ACH wrestles out, but then Omega with two strikes to the back, then a dragon suplex. Omega goes for One Winged Angel, ACH counters and drops Omega on his head with a vertical brainbuster, cover, 1-2 but Omega kicks out.
ACH goes to the top rope for a Midnight Star, but YB stand nearby, ACH climbs slowly, Omega gets out of the way. Both trade go behinds, ACH with elbows, Omega with knees, then they exchange open handed shots. Omega catches ACH by the foot, flips him over the top rope onto the apron, but ACH lands awkwardly on the ropes. Omega up first, stomping on the mat, tuning up band, ACH to his feet, Omega kicks, but ACH catches him, goes for a stunner, but gets pushed off the ropes, Omega fights out with elbows, and then ACH hits a stunner, cover, 1-2, Omega kicks out.
ACH goes to the top rope, but misses the Midnight Star, as Omega rolls out of the way. Omega takes the knee pad down, runs the ropes and hits a running knee to the side of ACH’s head, Omega hits The One Winged Angel, cover, 1-2-3.
Winner: Kenny Omega
Kenny’s horror music plays, Matt brings in the broom, they sweep ACH to the outside, and we go to commercial.
When we return Bobby Cruise introduces us to the television main event, a Fight Without Honor, which he tells us “simply means, there are no rules.”
Dalton Castle vs. Silas Young (Fight Without Honor)
“The Last Real Man” Silas Young from Milwaukee, WI, is out first to the song “Unified Divider” by Voodoo Johnson. Silas, carrying a trash can lid, looks in the camera, and says, “You want to fight without honor, Dalton? Now you’re going to find out what it means to fight the way men fight.” The Peacock’s music hits and the fans go wild. Castle stands on the ramp with The Boys. He does not have on his usual robe, just t-shirt and trunks, The Boys tears off his T-shirt, he points to the back, and sends them on their way.
Castle runs to the ring, ducks the trash can lid from Silas, connects several strikes, and the fans litter the ring with streamers. Both men go to the outside, the ring is covered in streamers, and when they get back in, both men are also covered in streamers. Silas with shots to the head, then Castle clotheslines Silas over the top rope to the outside. Kelly says, “We need to get this cleaned up.” Castle runs the ropes struts and spreads his wings. Castle hits the ropes, and then a suicide dive between the bottom and second rope onto Silas. MW3 says, “He’s a peacock and he’s got to fly!” The fans chant “Fan up!”
Deadlift belly-to-back pick up by Castle, slams him to the mat, Silas lands shots to the back of Castle’s head, Castle pushes him away, spear attempt misses, Silas climbs the top turnbuckle, but Castle kicks him off, then jumps over the rope to the outside apron, goes for a running knee, Silas gets out of the way, and shoves him to the floor. Silas flips over the ropes, propelling himself onto Castle. Silas reaches under the ring, digs through the streamers, grabs a chair, and delivers a shot to Castle’s spine with the edge of the chair. Silas with a stomp, then forearm shot to Castle’s face, goes under the ring, digs through more streamers, but can’t find his next weapon. Silas returns to Castle, Castle kicks him in the gut, chop, goes for another chop, but Silas gets out of the way, and Castle hits the ringpost. Silas then grabs his hand, and slams it off the ring apron, Silas looks under the ring again, now finds a second chair, sets the two chairs up side-by-side, positions Castle for the suplex, Castle blocks, Silas delivers 2 shots to the ribs, but can’t get Castle up. Castle flips Silas over his back and then runs backwards, sending his spine into the ring post, goes for another one, but Castle gets out of the way, and then Silas rakes the arms across his back. They walk around the outside of the ring, Silas sidesteps the announce table, Castle walks the apron, delivers a running knee to Silas, and we go to commercial.
Kelly tells us, “During the break, we had a few more elements brought into play. A ladder is laying in the ring, and Silas is setting a table.” Castle to his feet, 3 forearms, chop, punch, forearm, Silas goes to throw Castle into the ring apron, he slides back through, but Silas catches him again, and then drops him onto the two chairs. WM3 yells “Two chairs!” (like 2 chainz!)
Silas throws Castle back in the ring, squeezing him between the bottom rope and the ladder, jumps over the top rope, delivers a forearm, pin attempt, but Castle kicks out. Silas grabs the ladder, moves it to the other corner of the ring, picks up Castle by the hair, fireman’s carry, but Castle gets out, go behind, reversal, go behind, reversal, Silas rolls through with a victory roll, 1-2, kickout, locks in the STF, Castle is screaming in pain. Castle reaches the ladder, Silas breaks the hold and nails forearms, kicks, stomps, goes to the top turnbuckle, springboards off side rope, but smashes his knee into the ladder while Castle gets out of the way. Both men are laying on the mat.
The ref throws the ladder out of the ring, Kelly says, “Todd Sinclair has had enough of this ladder.” Both men to their knees, exchange strikes, both men to their feet, exchange forearms, the fans exchange “Boo! Yay! Boo! Yay!” chants, until one guy yells, “Booya!” Silas with the clothesline, rakes the back of Castle, the Peacock is up, but Silas with a knee to the face, diamond cutter, cover 1-2, Castle kicks out. The fans chant, “Fan up!” Silas with a fireman’s carry, spins him around, and hits Misery the face plant slam. Silas crawls to the outside, grabs the trash can lid, throws it into the ring, grabs the mic, and yells, “Come on, come on Dalton, you wanted to fight without honor?” and smashes him in the head with the microphone, “I just wish The Boys were here, to see how pathetic you really are.” And then all of the sudden The Boys run down from the back. Silas says, “Just in time boys, now you get to see me finish him.”
One of The Boys runs into the ring, jumps on Silas’s back, he throws him off. Boy #2 comes in with punches to Silas’s face, but Silas sends him to the outside, now Castle is on his feet delivering forearms. Kelly says, “You just don’t mess with a man’s boys.” Castle hits two running knees on Silas in the corner, misses the third, and flips over the turnbuckle to the outside. Now Silas with a suicide dive through the rope on to The Boys. MW3 says, “Did you see The Boys pushed Castled out of the way and sacrificed themselves in the process?”
Silas slides through the middle rope, Castle with a hurricanrana, climbs back in, Castle connects with a suicide dive to the outside. Silas gets thrown back into the ring by Castle, Castle grabs him from behind, picks him up, showing his strength, deadlift German suplex, bridge, pin attempt, but Silas kicks out. The fans chant, “Dalton Castle!” Castle goes for the Bangarang, but Silas grabs the ropes, and then Castle throws him backwards flip flat on to the table. The fans chant, “You just killed him!”
Castle rolls Silas back into the ring, covers him, 1-2, kick out. Kelly says, “He was thrown over the top rope through a table, and somehow, someway, he kicked out!” The fans chant, “This is awesome!” Castle grabs Silas by the head, one of The Boys throws a chair in the ring, but Silas hits a low blow on Castle. The fans chant, “Bangarang!” as Silas yells, “Get your ass up, boy! Get up! Get up!” and then spits on him. Castle connects with the Bangarang face first on the steel chair and covers him provocatively, staring in his face, 1-2-3, Castle wins.
Winner: Dalton Castle
Kelly says, “What an unbelievable physical fight encounter we just saw!” MW3 agrees, “It’s hard to put into words. Both men are going to need medical attention.” Ticker tape falls from ceiling, the ring is covered in streamers, and Kelly says “What a scene here in Las Vegas!” The Boys crawl in, and Castle stands tall. Kelly tells us, “Next week, we will see highlights of Honor Rising in Japan, goodnight everybody.”
Longtime wrestling veteran and current ROH color commentator Steve Corino recently appeared as a guest on Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On Cesaro: “I believe he [has] got all the tools! The guy speaks a few different languages. He’s a monster in the ring. He’s likable, so if you need him to be a babyface, he’s very likable, but he can be smug in the ring, so he can be a heel. When I watched Mr. McMahon on Stone Cold’s podcast on the [WWE] Network, and when he said that Cesaro isn’t connecting with the fans, I’m like, ‘are you serious?’ Like, I attended WrestleMania 30. That guy was in the top five of the most popular people that night!”
On Kevin Owens’ success in WWE: “He’s like a little brother to me! I’ve known him for 10 years and we had so many great times in Ring of Honor. I still talk to him every week and he’s just a great guy, a great guy, and he makes me so proud just because he goes in there and he has just destroyed stereotypes of what a pro wrestler should be and that’s his niche. Just like when you brought Mick [Foley] into the WWF in ’96, he broke the mold of what normal fans thought a WWE, WWF at the time, wrestler was supposed to be.”
“Kevin, I think, was one of those guys that no one expected him to explode this quick, where Joe has been a guy on TNA for 12 years. You know Samoa Joe, but, like, how is he going to be in the big time? I think he’s going to do great, but it’s that power of the pencil. Are the writers going to get behind him?”
On Samnoa Joe finally joining WWE: “I have shared my feelings about Samoa Joe with everybody there and I really believe that he’s a company man, he’s solid, I think he’s going to be an asset to the locker room, I think he has the skill set to work with anybody of any skill set whether he be a fan favorite or a villain, so I think Joe’s going to do real well there.”
One-half of Ring Of Honor’s television announce team and former ECW original Steve Corino recently spoke with Marc Madison of News Hub about a variety of topics. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On his time with OMEGA: “Well, OMEGA was like a collection of Indy guys in North Carolina and myself I had lived in Pennsylvania but I was making a lot of trips to North Carolina. Joey Mercury was in Virginia and he had just started and he would meet me on the way and Matt Hardy has this this vision of let’s do something that no one else is doing and now you gotta remember that this was 1997 where there wasn’t a Ring of Honor and ECW was finding its legs and still a little more hard-core than anything so Matt had this grass roots idea of every match has to be like a barn burning stuff like that. And he (Matt) thought that me and Joey (Mercury) and CW Anderson would be great as the guys selling the old school first. People always ask where did the old school character begin with and I had those ideas and then right from OMEGA first time.”
On his time in the original ECW: “When I came in there were always no promises. I came in as just an underneath guy. I was Nova’s friend and this was right after November to Remember 98’ and they were looking for new guys and Paul wanted to build new guys. So they had Reckless Youth that was the guy they wanted and I was the afterthought. The guy was Nova’s buddy here is pretty good and he’s got an anti-hard-core thing alright bring him to the arena and do a quick try out match. That’s how I won my job. Then little things would come up and happen. Whereas Candido would mess up and Paul would look at me like, ‘Steve you can talk let’s do this thing with Tazz’ and then Candido would be back and then he would be fine and then I’d get pushed down a little bit and then Candido would mess up again and then all of a sudden I’m back. There was a time where no one remembers where I had Rhyno and Tajiri and Candido comes back and all of a sudden I had no one and Candido had Rhyno and Tajiri then 3 weeks later he’d mess up again. And then I’m back without explanation it was just like I was the go to guy.”
On his future in Professional Wrestling: “If you would have asked me this a couple of years ago I would have said the game plan has always been for ROH to be economic television for the Sinclair broadcasting channels. I would have never thought we would have done something with New Japan and I’d never thought that the replica belts would come and that they would have taken the 17th chance at ippv because of all the problems that we had and I would have never thought that we would have done regular traditional pay per view and it wasn’t all in the business plans that they all got together and this is good and houses are up and merchandise licenses are being sold so let’s try this so for me you just gotta keep moving forward little steps just like they are doing whether the next step is a video game, whether the next step is action figures, whether the next step is four weekends a month instead of three, whether it is the test of hey Tuesday and Wednesday worked maybe we should start thinking Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday instead of Friday/Saturday.”
ROH’s Steve Corino recently appeared as a guest on Busted Open Radio to talk in-depth about his memories of the late WWE Hall Of Famer “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Below are some highlights from the interview.
On how it was like a family member passed when he found out Dusty passed: “Oh absolutely. He was bigger than life. I went from a kid that would watch him every month at the old Philadelphia Civics Center to being able to look across the ring and face him in the ring and after ECW and WCW he had started his own promotion and I would sit there and I would be his opponent and I would argue with him and he would call me bad names and it was such a fun relationship. I had to sit back sometimes and think, wait this is the American Dream Dusty Rhodes that I am arguing with. And I am sure a lot of guys would tell you that he was like a second father to a lot of the boys and a lot of the women of professional wrestling and going over the tweets from all the NXT talent and fans that were tweeting in and sending me messages and stuff like that… bigger than life is just the best way that I could describe Dream.”
On how it felt to feud with Dusty in ECW: “It sounds punished but it was like a dream come true and it’s funny that you mention that first promo because I was just talking to Tommy Dreamer about this yesterday. That promo, I didn’t even know that he was in Atlanta… he had just gotten released by WCW that week… ECW happened to be in Atlanta… I had just done the thing with Limp Bizkit and the stars were aligned and I always called Tommy Dreamer “Dream”. And we would always joke and he would talk about himself in the third person just the humor of Tommy Dreamer and myself and CW and Jack Victory … so I asked that night, I go “Hey what am I doing tonight” and he goes “Oh you’re working with The Dream”… so I looked at him and go “So what are we doing?” and he goes “No man, you’re working with the REAL Dream tonight”. And that quick “Here comes the American Dream” and it was like an aura around him, and I’m just like, “You got to be kidding me, this is Dusty Rhodes!” And I remember walking up to him and I said “Sir, is there anything you’d like to talk about or go over?” and he said (Dusty impression) “Kid, if you as good as Bill Alfonso says you is… then there is no need to talk about it beforehand” and I said “Oh… yes sir”. And what a lot of people don’t realize… that fist promo … that was a one shot. We never knew that there was gonna be another chapter to all of this. We just thought that it was something we were gonna do in Atlanta. It was originally supposed to be dark and that’s why you see Joey Styles say “Oh, we’re not gonna put this on TV!” And afterwards he was so thrilled with how the boys treated him and the atmosphere that he said “Hey, let’s do something” and Paul sat me down and said “Are you ready for this? You’re going to become a star”. And it was true because he did what no one else could do for me. At the time I was feuding with Tommy Dreamer and Taz, who were such great talents and the heart and soul of ECW, but I was talking about the old school… these guys were current stars. And when Dusty came into ECW he legitimized the King of Old School character and I just rode that star of his. Now, my wife and I just moved into the house of our dreams and there is no way we could have done that if Dusty Rhodes doesn’t come to ECW. I’ve been riding that star for 15-16 years now because of 3 guys: Dusty Rhodes, Paul Heyman and Shinuhas Moto and a lot of supporting players around me and it’s hard to believe that 2 out of 3 of those guys are gone now and it’s just crazy, just crazy.”
On how much Dusty has effected the business and his legacy: “Absolutely. People would, you know, the negative would be “Oh he was always on top, he didn’t know when to step down, but that’s not true because he was ALWAYS making guys. JR said it best… Nikita Koloff NEVER should have been the star that he was in 1984 but Dusty gave him that rub and Nikita rode that wave and got better and became a star in his own right. He just did that for so many different guys. And all 3 of his world title reigns that lasted a week to two weeks – he deserved them … he deserved a longer run but you know what? For him it was about the chase and getting the people engaged and stuff like that. I know Rick talked about traveling with him and just learning because he would talk and just tell a story and I would ask about booking things because I’m so interested in that side of the wrestling business and he would talk about it as if it was a movie and it was always the John Wayne reference. I would go watch John Wayne movies or I would listen to Bob Dylan because a match would be a Bob Dylan song. He was so complex and he was on so many different levels that creatively… one of the top I’ve ever been around and I’ve been around Heyman and Cornett and so many different great minds. Dusty was a storyteller. He knew not only how to tell his own story, but how to tell everybody else’s story and it’s a lost art I believe. I totally believe the storyteller in everybody – just, he had it. I asked him once, real quick, and this was after a few beers and I said “Dream, why did you put the NWA title on Ron Garvin?” And at first he joked around, he goes “Because you weren’t available! Do you have any other stupid questions?” I thought Barry Windham was ready. He said “Barry Windham was the chaser. People wanted to see Barry chase. But Ron Garvin deserved it. He worked hard. He worked so hard. And I would do it all again tomorrow and I thought “Wow, this is a guy that, even when people questioned his booking decisions, he stuck by his guns and that was something that taught me, you’re going to make mistakes but stick by your guns and believe in what you say, believe in what you write. I say it all the time, he was bigger than life and I’m gonna miss him.
– Ring Of Honor star Kevin Steen, who recently signed with WWE, announced his final three opponents in ROH. Tonight, Steen will square off against Tommaso Ciampa, while next week he is scheduled to work both Steve Corino and Silas Young.
– The following is a video of TNA Knockout Gail Kim skydiving:
Ring of Honor has released a video featuring Kevin Steen announcing that the July 12th, 18th and 19th shows will be his final tour for the company.
In the video, Steen thanks Ring of Honor for everything they’ve done for him and he reveals his final three opponents for those shows, which he was allowed to choose. The first in Hopkins, Minnesota is Tommaso Ciampa, who Steen has never wrestled one-on-one.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, in a rematch from Best in the World, Steen faces Silas Young in a No Disqualification match.
In Steen’s final show for ROH from Dearborn, Michigan, he’ll will face his mentor Steve Corino, who will be coming out of retirement for the match.
It has been heavily rumored and speculated that the former ROH World Champion is WWE bound.