Any wrestling fan worth his salt will tell you what a profound impact such an experienced veteran can make on a promotion, and nearly immediately, Cornette did exactly that.

This show was a landmark event for one of the Internet’s most beloved promotions, and they filled one of the largest venues they’d ever performed in. Did the wrestling action make the most of this opportunity to impress a big crowd?

As fans of professional wrestling, we’ve been trained to expect a certain amount of action and give-and-take in a match before we believe the fight will come to an end. That’s why it’s tough to sell false-finishes in a big match situation; experienced observers know better.

…the idea of forcing an opponent to give up because they can no longer endure the pain you’re dishing out is a powerful road to victory.

In the second year of the second millennium as we reckon time, a new kingdom emerged and professional wrestling was reborn.

Since the very beginning of staged wrestling matches, the concept of a “bad guy” battling a “good guy” has been the cornerstone of the genre. …once a character has been established on one side of the fence, how do promoters execute a shift in his/her fundamental behavior?

That sort of playoff drama reminded me of an event from July of 2007, which created the same sense of urgency in the athletes competing to survive, hoping to advance to the next round as the Twins did before losing to those damn Yankees.

What makes a 175-pound cruiserweight, who once lit the U.S. pro wrestling scene on fire with his speed, agility, and never before seen high-flying maneuvers, transform into a bloated, overly-muscled oddity who gets caught violating the WWE’s “wellness policy”? I think you already know the answer…

It’s been over eight years since the death of the original Extreme Championship Wrestling, and I recently decided to take another look at the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD. Following along once again with the sad tale of the indy fed hitting amazing heights only to quickly slide into destruction reminded me in an indirect way of the promotion that was born from the ashes of ECW known as Ring of Honor.

Ring of Honor. In the modern era, no independent promotion has captured the imagination of wrestling fans like ROH. It’s caused sweeping waves of controversy among the IWC, with loyal fans mockingly referred to as ROHbots by the uninitiated, although many of these dedicated fans look down their noses at “sportz entertainment” watchers for not being true pro wrestling fans. It was almost exactly two years ago that I became a ROHbot myself, so this week we’ll take a look at what’s changed in ROH since that fateful day, 21 September 2007.

A short time after his gold medal victory, Kurt Angle went on to master the unusual athletic theater known as professional wrestling as quickly as any rookie in the history of the business, and soon became one of the very best in the world. But fast-forward 13 years and oh my, how the mighty have fallen.

It’s an old story that we all know quite well. An underhanded, diabolical villain with only acquisition and power on his mind forces the hand of a heroic do-gooder via a cowardly attack, theft of something precious, or some other nefarious means. The two engage in a series of battles with each experiencing ups and downs, enjoying triumphs and suffering losses along the way, until the virtuous hero emerges from their final confrontation victorious and all is right with the world once again.

Mere days after my recent column discussing Bryan Danielson’s impending move to WWE, the news broke that another former Ring of Honor world champion, Nigel McGuinness, was right behind the American Dragon in his move to McMahonland. As the British Bruiser fine-tunes his WWE contract, many are speculating about Vince’s interest in other ROH talent. Which members of the Ring of Honor roster might catch McMahon’s eye?

By now, anyone who’d be interested in the news already knows; independent wrestling legend “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson has taken the plunge and signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. What will this major change mean for his career?

Once upon a time, I was a fan of Chris Benoit; a big fan, in fact. Long before I’d abandoned the big leagues for the indy scene, I became something of a workrate fanatic, so a guy like Benoit, known for stiff realism between the ropes and a decided leaning away from promos, was [...]

Ever since I quit watching the mainstream promotions a couple of years ago and discovered the wonderful world of independent wrestling I’ve watched a lot of different companies, from the smallest local feds to indies on pay-per-view with DVD sales galore. In that time I’ve seen a lot of incredible matches, and pairings of performers that can never do anything but electrify a crowd. But if I had to book one “supercard” of such pairings, what might it look like?

The independent wrestling scene has been abuzz lately with the words Dragon Gate USA. The creation of this new company, their personnel moves, and the first live event they promoted have taken the wrestling world by storm this spring and summer, but you might not be familiar with what DGUSA is all about yet. So here’s a brief introduction to the hot new indy sensation for those fans who aren’t up to speed.

Before I get started I’ll admit that it’s been years since I’ve watched WWE programming, although I was once a “seasoned” WWF/E fan of about 25 years. However, thanks to the outstanding blow-by-blow coverage from my colleagues at Pulse Wrestling which I read extensively, I am quite familiar with what’s been happening lately in Titanland, and it seems there is very little in the way of innovation or creativity in Sportz Entertainmentville.

Continuing the quest to get to know promotions of all shapes and sizes, this week we’ll take a look at the “wrestling revolution” known as Asylum Championship Wrestling, featuring a special interview I conducted with their jack-of-all-trades, Alan “Buddha” Hahn.

Since Ring of Honor is currently on a downward slide and Dragon Gate USA is due to explode on the scene this Saturday, I thought the ideal show to check out this week was Dragon Gate Challenge II from Orlando, Florida on 28 March 2008 during WrestleMania XXIV weekend. Of course I expected a solid ROH show and the opportunity to get to know the Dragon Gate guys a bit better, and I got that, but I also found a little something more than I expected…

Much like many of my fellow pro wrestling fanatics and IWC members, I am used to wrestling being a pretty big part of my life. Every day I visit web sites where I read about and discuss wrestling news and happenings. I watch wrestling DVDs most nights after work, and spend the average week in a cycle that begins with conceiving a column concept, then drafting, editing, publishing, and finally, reviewing comments from readers.

Last week I discussed the qualities an individual wrestler must possess in order to be considered the “total package”, and in contrast this week I’ll explore the factors that constitute a good show from the opening bell to the top of the card. For the purposes of this exercise I’ve chosen to examine Ring of Honor’s Fight of the Century event from Edison, New Jersey on 5 August 2006.

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed an AJ Styles best of… compilation and opened by discussing the concept of the total package; wrestlers who possess both the in-ring ability and skill to entertain fans, who are also good enough actors to make viewers care about what’s happening between the ropes beyond the level of “that was a really cool move”. Who is the total package? (Hint: It’s NOT Lex Luger…)

The once-mighty independent wrestling promotion known as Ring of Honor has changed significantly in the last eight months, and most of the core ROH fanbase would agree those changes were for the worse. But now, a new promotion looks to fill the void created by ROH’s de-evolution, led by the very booker whose release from Ring of Honor began their downward spiral. In one month, Gabe Sapolsky will debut his new American division of a hot Japanese indy fed, known as Dragon Gate USA.

Pro wrestling fans who value in-ring action over grandiose production and wacky characters appreciate a wrestler possessing the “total package”. Regarding actual wrestling (not mic skills or character development) the total package includes speed, agility, a well-developed move-set, believable strikes, holds, and throws, the ability to sell offense, an understanding of psychology, and ring generalship. One young star by the name of Allen Jones possesses all of the above and always delivers in the ring, and I’m sure you’ve seen his work but you know him by his professional handle: “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles.

Although every critic thinks he knows a better way to tell a story, I’ve written this column for over four years and very rarely have I given into the urge to write “fantasy booking” columns, with one notable exception. But since I recently discussed the ROH world championship and what it’s fate could have been, it got me thinking…

Throughout Ring of Honor’s 7-plus years in existence, there have been only 11 world champions, and no former champ has ever earned the championship a second time. There has been a lot of discussion and speculation amongst ROHbots and analysts about which former champ might be a good choice to break through and repeat to become the very first two-time ROH world champion in company history.

Once upon a time, in a small converted Bingo hall in South Philadelphia, a modest company that had once been aligned with the bloated, tired, National Wrestling Alliance broke away from the pack of indy obscurity and carved its own niche in the pro wrestling universe.

I’ve stated many times that I consider professional wrestling an art form. Just like other performance arts, both the artist and the art itself can be compromised when the artist loses creative control, even if he willingly gives it up in order to make a sound career decision. In fact, where career goals and financial security meet performance for the sake of creative expression, art dies.

As with most entertainment genres, professional wrestling has its own ground rules and ways of approaching common sense. Some of the famous (or infamous) accepted notions of the “wrestling IQ” are so outrageous and lacking in common sense that they can be pretty tough to swallow.

Ever since ROH changed in such a way that most of my indy-fan brethren would agree was for the worse and the HDNet show has failed to live up to Ring of Honor’s standards, it’s been tougher than usual to satisfy our craving for the sort of wrestling action we enjoy. So I recently revisited Ring of Honor’s sister promotion, Full Impact Pro, and discovered a reliable source of high quality, exciting wrestling action at very affordable prices.

I’ve been a fan since the first WrestleMania and have experienced a huge sum of matches myself. Some were poor, some boring, some incredibly entertaining, and some absolutely epic. But what is it that makes a wrestling match great? What factors contribute to one’s enjoyment?

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl. Boy gets new girl, boy loses her too. Boy still believes in love, and looks for it all over. Has love come around again? That depends upon Gabe Sapolsky and Dragon Gate USA…

TODAY’S ISSUE: A wrestling fan’s love story.

What do Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Paul London, Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Petey Williams, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian, Brian Kendrick, Davey Richards, Alex Shelley, AJ Styles, James Gibson, Mike Quackenbush, and reigning ROH World Champion Jerry Lynn all have in common, besides being fantastic professional wrestlers? They’ve all competed in [...]

QUESTION: What do you get when you thrust twelve of the best wrestlers in the world into a unique tournament with a twist, in which the winner earns the right to face the reigning world champion at a later date? ANSWER: One hot night of pro wrestling action, otherwise known as Ring [...]

How exciting! My favorite promotion ever has finally acquired a television outlet after over seven years of producing outstanding, hard-hitting, entertaining professional wrestling shows. It will now be available to far more fans than ever before, which is like a ROHbot’s dream come true. Or is it?

I have developed very specific tastes by watching hours and hours of wrestling from dozens of promotions, both big and small, and have discovered that most of the easily accessible content isn’t my cup of tea. Because I do call a spade a spade consistently it seems like I’m jaded, and I’m often asked the question, “What things about pro wresting would you change if you had the opportunity?” This week I’ll give a few of my answers.

Four days before his 34th birthday, former WWF/E superstar Andrew “Test” Martin was found dead in his Tampa, Florida condo. Authorities suspect no foul play, which unfortunately means that we can all guess what caused his untimely demise. Unless something incredibly unusual was responsible, Martin most likely died of a heart attack brought about by years of abuse to his body in the form of drugs.

While checking out RAW last week I was pleasantly surprised by the arc in which Triple H’s hatred for Randy Orton and disgust over Orton’s recent actions has forced him to reveal the worst kept secret in WWE, the identity of Stephanie McMahon’s real life HHHusband.

On the weekend of 28-29 April, 2007 at the Liverpool Olympia in England, sixteen independent wrestling promotions joined together for an incredible display of camaraderie and cooperation to create a one-of-a-kind professional wrestling event: the King of Europe Cup tournament. Federations from America, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany sent representatives to comprise a field of very well known and respected indy performers who made history together as they competed for the honor of being crowned the first King of Europe.