General ROH Spam Thread

[X]

Yeah I'm about two weeks behind too, but I blame that more on my busy schedule than ROH's show. It hasn't been great, but it's been consistent.

 

[Remix]

Love the Inside Ring of Honor series. I love how it started out pretty poor and much like the television show, has gradually improved, episode-by-episode. Pretty good highlights from the Cole/O'Reilly match at Best In The World, Bruno Sammartino's appearance from Pittsburgh and Lance Storm cuts a promo on Mike Bennett. Pretty bummed Storm is finished, but he was entertaining while hes been with them.

Well he couldn't give his services for a fraction of what they were worth forever.

 

[The Bearded One]

Anyone see this week's show yet? I thought the main event was fantastic. The rest of the show, not so much.

 

[Manof1,004Holds]

I'm like a month behind I watch the show online. The weekly online episode now is the episode after Best in the World 2012 lol. BTW, Kyle O'Reilly vs Adam Cole was one of my favorite matches this year. Been loving ROH, even if I have to watch online.

 

[Remix]

Apparently Davey Richards is gone from ROH, and considering the asshattery that went on in Iowa probably won't be coming back.

Shooting on a kid, demanding the card be changed to suit your whims and skipping out on the promoter after being paid up front is a dick move.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Apparently Davey Richards is gone from ROH, and considering the asshattery that went on in Iowa probably won't be coming back.

Shooting on a kid, demanding the card be changed to suit your whims and skipping out on the promoter after being paid up front is a dick move.

Just him or the other two dicks as well?

 

[Remix]

Just him or the other two dicks as well?

Three dicks, by all accounts. Davey, O'Riley, Tony Kozina and Darren Dean. Whoever the last two are. Apparently Davey been gone for a few weeks anyway.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Three dicks, by all accounts. Davey, O'Riley, Tony Kozina and Darren Dean. Whoever the last two are. Apparently Davey been gone for a few weeks anyway.

Wrestlezone's source didn't mention Dean. Anyway, did O'Riley and the others get released as well? Also, Davey's picture is still up on the roster, as is O'Rileys. Kozina and Dean are regional talents, yeah?

Seriously though, can't Davey and the rest of them get prosecuted for this shit? Shooting in a match is basically assault, skipping a show is failure to uphold contract, etc...

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Three dicks, by all accounts. Davey, O'Riley, Tony Kozina and Darren Dean. Whoever the last two are. Apparently Davey been gone for a few weeks anyway.

Richards isn't done with Ring of Honor.

Still listed on the roster, if they released him, being a former ROH World Champion they'd do what they usually do, announce it through a news story, give him a farewell show or release an anthology DVD.

Nathan Blodgett, the promoters full story can be seen below:

Spoiler

Hello there. For those of you receiving this email and do not know me, I am Nathan Blodgett. I run MAGNUM PRO out of Council Bluffs, Iowa and I also perform professionally as Jaysin Strife and occasionally as The Yellow Dog. Now you may have caught wind of this incident, and gotten a very good look at my personal feelings about this, but I will attempt to be as professional as possible herein so that I may give you guys an accurate description of what took place on July 29th, 2012. Here is a little back story of events prior too, and also of this weekend that lead up to now...

Back in July I contacted Davey and his crew to come up and perform on a string of shows that three companies had come together to run the last weekend of July. I handled all the details with Davey personally in regards to the amount of money that would be paid for services and also lodging and such as well during their travels here. Everything was talked about, Davey informed me that their flat rate we discussed included transportation that he would take care of out of his side of it. I also let him know we would be doing things for them to earn some extra money so that their gas costs would not have to come out of their pay. 3X Wrestling on Friday night allowed Davey to do a polaroid session which they gave him a cut of. My company, MAGNUM PRO, allowed Davey to help young guys out with a training seminar on Saturday afternoon. On Friday night everything went great. The guys showed up on time, and where very professional and cordial in every way. They worked hard and put on a great show in every aspect. A "show" it seems to be exactly what it was. This leads into Saturday...The arranged time for the training seminar on Saturday didn't seem to be fitting to the Team Ambition schedule, so we switched the time on the fly to an hour later and no one seemed bothered by that at all. As the day progressed and we where setting up for the show, I was getting informed via text message from Tony Kozina that they would be running late. A half hour after the re arranged start time, the camp began. Davey had great information for the kids in attendance and spoke a lot about respect for the wrestling business and things of that nature. It the same fowl swoop, Davey began to BURY many of the top stars to these up and coming kids. I'm sure it happens in all aspects of wrestling at times, but what irked me is that he was taking time that these guys paid to learn, to basically have his own little shoot interview. In the course of all this I overheard Davey tell the kids in the camp that it would be best for them to all go places and work for free just to get beat up and learn, understandable in the sense of young guys just looking to branch out and get experience. However, in the exact same statement Davey states, "I don't work hard on these small indy shows like this." Only to notice I was standing in ear shot and heard every word. Immediate eye contact was made and Davey fumbled around to save it by saying, "except for tonight." This should have been a sign that things where not going to go correctly. Fast forward to that evenings show. For the entire first half of the card Davey and his crew sat out by the sound table and openly criticized the show, the venue, and the talent, very negatively within ear shot of all the fans. They slowly but surely seemed to show that instead of helping guys, like I believe people in his position should, that they only cared for the money and didn't respect anything that was being done that night. Which brings us to the second half of the show when "Team Ambition" was set to perform. It was a match slated to be Tony Kozina vs Ryan Kidd. Tony was upset at some things that Kidd stated in a promo that he shot for the show, as well as his twitter @KiddKillsCali. Now mind you, this is pro wrestling, this is a show, and put on a show is what Kidd had done to build for the match that he was looking forward to. By no means did Kidd personally attack or say anything that, in our business, could, would, or should, be deemed as a personal attack on someone. Before the match Kozina grabbed the mic and cut a little promo. He did clear that with me, however what came of it, he did not. Kozina proceeded to tell the crowd that they weren't going to see a pro wrestling match, they where going to see "real" wrestling. Tony Kozina proceeded to take liberties, and stretch and shoot on a 16 year old kid just looking to work someone who could teach him some stuff about wrestling. Much like I did when I wrestled Tony about 7 years earlier at NWA Central States wrestling. Legit choking a minor on a couple of occasions, as well as very dangerously performing wrestling maneuvers that could have had a very negative impact on his Kidd's health and well being. While all of this is going on, Davey Richards and Kyle O' Reilly stood in the back stage area and even right in the curtain area and shouted "respect" numerous times, very vocally, and very obnoxiously, to get their "gimmick" over, or to just disrespect everything that was taking place. There is a link on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPMp86PRrzU, of the match, where all of my statements can be validated. This shouting "respect" did not just happen during that match. For all the matches left on the card these guys proceeded to do the very same thing and it did not cease until the show was over. All of these disrespectful actions leads into Sunday...

On Sunday, July 29th, Adrenaline Pro Wrestling was to be the last show on the 3 day stint for Team Ambition. I informed the guys via text of the address of the show and that doors opened at 3:30 PM on that day at 9:16 AM. Giving these guys plenty of time to be where they where supposed to be for the day. At 1:54 PM I began to get text messages from Tony asking if the card could be changed to put all of them against 4 guys from APW so that they could lighten the work load. Apparently Tony had dinged up his foot, and Kyle had tweaked his back. As I was relaying info to the promoter, the promoter said he would alright with doing that but since he wasn't get what was agreed upon that he would appreciate it if they lowered the rate. Shortly after I replied to Tony he says, "We'll talk to him when we get there..." and that was at a little after 2 PM. Between this time, and the next text I get from Tony at 3:46 PM, Tony begins texting with the promoter from Davey's phone. I was privy to all that was being said and the promoter went back and forth with Tony for over an hour and a half. Numerous times stating they where only 20 minutes away and things of that nature. First Tony agreed to the original plan, then changed it again and said no WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS, and things of that nature. The promoter tried coming up with many different ways to both appeal to these guys, and also make it feasible for him since he was not getting what was agreed upon. It was time to open doors and the guys still weren't there. The APW promoter had a tough choice to make and he told them they where not needed on the show any longer and that they should just head home, after being told that as of the doors opening they where 45 minutes away. Tony got in touch with me and stated that the promoter was trying to pull a fast one on them, I was obviously aware of the situation and stated that it was out of my hands and that I felt nothing was being pulled and the promoter was justified in his actions. At this point Davey begins to start contacting me personally. I sent Davey to the promoter because I said again that it was out of my hands. Davey told the promoter numerous times that he is not allowed to cancel them and that he has no choice that they are coming to work and get paid. After several of the scheduled matches they where to be in, where supposed to go on, they finally showed up. They showed up 4 minutes before the main event, which was then pushed forward to give these guys one last opportunity to do something because "Davey couldn't just lose $300." Once they arrived Davey went from being sincere, to be being pushy and violent in a matter of moments. Once I started hearing threats against the APW promoter I walked outside to step in. There is no reason for 4 men to threaten a 115 lb. promoter who is only looking out for his company. After the threat of violence, and the statement from Davey saying that if he called Jim Cornette that Jim would condone all of Davey's actions including beating up someone literally half his size. I helped diffuse the situation, came to an agreement for a VERY VERY last minute match, and the promoter came to an agreement on a rate with them for this as well. As the boys came in and suited up, just Kyle and Davey, they all chatted amongst themselves while doing so. It did not register with me quickly what was about to take place. Tony was slowly carrying their bags to the vehicle in which the student was already at. We chatted with Davey really quick about match details and figured out a finish. Everything seemed cool. As the first guy went to the ring I heard a little ruckus, and as my music began playing I turned around to see Kyle O' Reilly sprinting out the back door. The promoter had agreed to give them their money up front as a sign of good faith that everything was cool and this new match would go as planned. Obviously there was a reason that Davey DEMANDED the money up front. After all was said and done the boys from Team Ambition have been making light and poking fun at the fact that they robbed the same people who work in the same business that they do. They cheated the fans, no matter how many where in the crowd, of the matches that they paid to see. On Davey's FaceBook he has started coining the phrase Team Bandits and is "liking" every status about them robbing a local promoter who was doing nothing more then looking out for his company.

This is very tough for me to write about and not keep my personal feelings out of because I set this whole weekend up. I feel at fault for these men ripping off my friends and making a joke of the business that I have sunk a lot of my life into to. I hope you guys will take this information and put it to good use. I am available to be contacted personally thru email, text, phone call, twitter, Facebook or any other avenue you can think of. I will leave my contact info below and please feel free to follow up with me personally, or ask me any questions. Please email this to friends, promoters, websites, or anything that can get this story out. A lot of people are calling this a work and I am sad to say that it is not. I have very ill feelings towards these men, and do not consider this respectful business. Again, I hope all of you will take this seriously and help us spread the word that crooks and cowards like this don't belong in a business that we all love. Their abilities should hold no weight in the feelings toward the men that these boys portray. Thank you for your time and understanding and I hope that you will be able to help us in this fight.

Nathan Blodgett
Owner of MAGNUM PRO

Kyle O'Reilly, someone who sure as hell doesn't have the room to be "walking out the backdoor" for indy promotions considering he works for like three consistently, and is basically transforming into Davey Richards 2.0, admitted to the wrongdoing and is sorry. He posted the following on his blog:

Spoiler

REALITY
July 30, 2012, 11:18 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized




Regarding the “incident” in Iowa, Sunday, July 29, 2012.



I feel obliged to clear the air regarding the accusations against Team Ambition this past weekend. The accusation I’m referring to is that Davey Richards, Tony Kozina, Darren Dean and myself deliberately showed up late to an Indy show in Iowa after demanding to have the card changed, physically threatened the promoter to pay us and left before wrestling. It boggles one’s mind how stories stray from one individual to the next, altering truths and facts into self-fulfilling myths. I admire the passion that is being displayed amongst people obviously outraged by these accusations, and I think it’s tremendous when people stand up for their beliefs on morality. I am simply going to recount the story as I saw it unfold to help shed some light on the matter and perhaps bring forth some clarity to those made ignorant by false claims.



I had my first professional wrestling match in October of 2005, so that would put me at coming up on seven years of having matches. By no means do I consider myself above anybody else or do I consider myself an experienced veteran of the wrestling business. I’m constantly learning and improving to better myself both physically and mentally towards the game. However, I do have a genuine respect for wrestling and those that paved the road before me. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve worked my ass off and sacrificed a lot of time, money, friends and well being of my physical health to get to where I am today. “Mouth shut, ears open” is a saying not practiced enough amongst many “workers” and through practicing this phrase I’ve learned how things operate on the road and what is and isn’t acceptable.

Anybody that has ever worked me, booked me or for that matter met me will tell you that I always wrestle with conviction and with passion regardless of how much money I’m making or how small the crowd is. The same can be said for any member of Team Ambition because we have pride and belief in what our team represents. On the road we find a gym, we train, we show up to the show (not always on time) and we deliver matches that people expect of our work ethic. This weekend was no different.



After a show in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday and a show in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Saturday the Earth’s rotation had brought us to Sunday. Now if you had asked anybody from these two shows about Team Ambition’s work ethic and attitude on these two shows I’m sure most responses would have been satisfactory. Providing the best matches on both nights and delivering an open training seminar on Saturday before the show, which included the attendance of said “promoter/worker” that we supposedly would threaten 24 hours later. No demeaning or insulting comments were made during these shows towards individuals like is what’s now being claimed. An altercation between Kozina and Ryan Kidd happened and it is nobody’s business but Tony and Ryan Kidd’s. They both know why this happened and Tony isn’t a bully, he’s a veteran that was providing a lesson to someone that had disrespected him. I won’t elaborate on the matter because it’s not my place but contact Tony for an account of the unbiased simple truth.

So it was Sunday morning and as per usual we found a gym. Body Masters Inc. Run by a gentleman named David who had also performed on the Magnum wrestling show the previous evening. Ask him about Team Ambition’s “devious ways”, or ask him about the unrequested donation we made to his awesome self-run business. The point I’m getting at is that we are men of routine and consistency and if we are shown respect and generosity we will show it back, plain and simple. Thanks again to Body Masters for the great training facility and I highly recommend it to anybody living in or traveling through Omaha, Nebraska.

Following my match the previous night and our training session that morning, my back had been giving me a lot of grief. After a full weekend of wrestling, and a full schedule of upcoming appearances, we decided amongst ourselves it would be best for everybody involved if we got our singles matches changed to an 8 man tag team match for the show. By no means was this an excuse to call it in and have a lazy match, this was simply a way of evening the work load and still putting his guys over clean in an outstanding 30 minute match. This request was met with hesitance from the promoter, claiming that his fans had expected specific singles matches from us and that he couldn’t come to an agreement with us on the matter. After several back and forth attempts of an agreement, he simply told us we were then cancelled off his show. “You can’t just cancel us like this” Tony replied, “I just did” was his response. Let me remind you we are in the middle of a cornfield laden highway in friggen Iowa and we’re being told that we no longer have a booking for today and to just go home.

Davey Richards and myself make a living from wrestling, being told to turn around and just drive home was insulting and disrespectful. At that moment, canceling us completely meant he owed us the full amount of pay whether we showed up or not. It’s understandable that he wanted specific matches and we were willing to work with him on the matter but cancelling us then and there shows a level of immaturity and ignorance. So after getting lost we finally arrive at the show an hour after bell time, which admittedly, isn’t unusual for us. This is where we supposedly threaten him. According to the promoter himself and one witness that was with him. Davey basically reiterated everything I just wrote about regarding our lives, how we wrestle for a living and how disrespecting Tony, a guy who trained us and paved the road is unacceptable. Davey just said it in his own words, which can come off as extremely intimidating and were obviously misconstrued as threats. We DO NOT threaten people unless it’s a matter that makes it completely justified like a fucking rapist is stalking your girlfriend. People with legitimate backgrounds are usually the last to threaten or hurt others. I spend almost every day being humbled by legitimate fighters who tap me out constantly, which is basically me admitting to them that they could have killed me but I tapped out so “please release the choke”. And they’re all cool as shit, the people who fulfill their own self-righteous agenda are the ones who pretend to be something they’re not and are more often then not bluffing and hiding something.

So after dealing with all of this we continue to negotiate some way for us to wrestle and make at least some of the money that we were promised. I’m starting to feel bad for the guy as he clearly has no idea how to run a wrestling promotion, (bear in mind I have no idea either). He then has the audacity to say and I quote:

“Well nobody here really knows who you guys are anyway…”

Well which way is it?! Do you have fans expecting certain singles matches out of us that you promised or do they not know who the fuck any of us are and it doesn’t matter if we do a damn 8 man tag?! It’s all well and fine if the 25 people there don’t know who we are, but don’t tell us something and then completely change your words. That statement was the breaking point for Davey and Tony. So we agreed to work a tag, Davey and myself against 2 of his guys, who I wont mention because after all the shit talking they’ve done in the last 24 hours they don’t deserve any more publicity. We take a pay cut, yet still enough to cover our gas and all of our food for the day, put our gear on, got paid and walked out the back door.

Was what we did wrong and unethical? Perhaps. Was what we did completely justified and reasonable? Perhaps. The fact of the matter was we felt disrespected and so “give and you shall receive”. The point being that sometimes you have to be the bad guy and stand up for what you believe in. I’ll be completely honest in saying the entire thing made me feel really uncomfortable and I felt a sense of guilt. Am I going to apologize? Absolutely not, because you have to live and die by the sword. Regardless of regrets, one must stand by their decisions and at the end of the day a guy disrespected two of my close friends that I look up to and that’s simply, morally wrong.

The majority of you reading this is probably in complete disagreement with me on the matter and thinks what went down in Milo, Iowa yesterday was a crime. Most of you reading this probably have a strong dislike for me, being my wrestling style, my selling, my promos and character ability (or lack there of) or just you know me and personally dislike me for whatever reason. I’m okay with that. Hopefully this whole incident won’t affect anybody’s desire to book me or Team Ambition. However, if it does that’s okay because I’m a man of honour and regardless of what you say or think I’m going to continue being the best possible professional wrestler I can be. I’m standing by the decision that was made whether I regret it or not. It’s in the past and to those people who are hiding behind a computer screen “Wishing Team Ambition would get in a car wreck and sustain career ending injuries” just makes me sad for you. You live everyday through other people’s successes and mistakes and you feed off it to just have something to talk about amongst your pro-wrestling sewing circle. To anybody making an overly elaborate blown out of proportion attempt to create hateful energy towards myself you can stop wasting your time. Go and read a book, put on some “Beatles”, smoke a fat joint and try to incorporate a little love and positivity in your life. Focusing on negative aspects only dumbs everyone around you down, get over it and move on. XOXO

Aside from that, the promoter Jaysin Strife has done all he can to milk this, despite the fact O'Reilly events do seem a lot more realistic. He took to the microphone and did a shoot(remember when shoots used to be cool?) on "Team Bandit" or as they were named for the night, Team Ambition.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]n36QPke8qWk&feature=player_embedded[/YOUTUBE]

And asides all that, the real issue is to do with Tony Kozina. Kozina is like a background guy ROH bring in to put talent over. Basically the dude is known for working very stiff and has produced a lot of very boring matches in his time. Nobody really likes him, he can't cut a good promo to save his mothers life and he is ugly as shit. He was booked to wrestle a 16-year-old kid, the kid in question Ryan Kidd, tried hyping the match through Twitter and other means, and basically Kozina disliked how Kidd mentioned about how he is pretty shit overall.

Kozina lashed out at the kid and then worked his match, where he transitioned on several occasions into shoot wrestling and wouldn't let the kid get in any impressive offense. Tony Kozina is a waste of space anyway and nobody gives a shit about him, so that really isn't an issue.

As for Davey Richards, he is reportedly done next summer. Hes taken a leave of absence following the loss to Kevin Steen, hes recorded a shoot video which is supposedly going to be a pretty big deal due to how he directs Ring of Honor at stages and in the preview which I can't seem to find at the moment he says some pretty off things about Kevin Steen.

Richards should just reform the American Wolves, do whatever they have to do, split up, have one more match for the ROH World Championship, do a farewell show and have one more match with Eddie before throwing in the towel. And Kyle O'Reilly should realize he is a small fish in a big fucking pond too.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Nathan Blodgett, the promoters full story can be seen below:

So... Davey was being a tool at the teaching seminar he agreed to do, he and his crew sat at ringside and loudly criticized the show, Tony Kozina shot on a green-ass rookie while Richards & O'Reilly shouted respect, asked for an eight man tag match after they got banged up and came in so late there was back and forth over whether or not they had gotten cancelled. They came in, threatened the owner and used Jim Cornette's name as an excuse, then took their money straight up, got dressed and then bailed.

Kyle O'Reilly, someone who sure as hell doesn't have the room to be "walking out the backdoor" for indy promotions considering he works for like three consistently, and is basically transforming into Davey Richards 2.0, admitted to the wrongdoing and is sorry. He posted the following on his blog:

Kyle says they worked two great shows, that Kozina's issues with the rookie is nobody's business, they were nice to a guy who owned a gym, Kyle hurt his back which is why they requested an eight-man tag match, which irritated the owner who had promised specific matches, so he cancelled. They showed up to get their money anyway, because that's what happens even if they get cancelled (not sure if believe), and Davey and Kyle went on to rant about how they were wrestlers and they didn't like Kozina getting disrespected, and after some pity for the owner, claim that he said no one knew who they were, which apparently insults them enough that they decided to cut and run with his money.

...

Yeah, I'm buying Strife's version of what went down rather than "Oh, we were totally chill and cool throughout the whole show but then he cancelled so we came for our money, and then we decided to cut and run because he hurt our feelings."

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Kyle says they worked two great shows, that Kozina's issues with the rookie is nobody's business, they were nice to a guy who owned a gym, Kyle hurt his back which is why they requested an eight-man tag match, which irritated the owner who had promised specific matches, so he cancelled. They showed up to get their money anyway, because that's what happens even if they get cancelled (not sure if believe), and Davey and Kyle went on to rant about how they were wrestlers and they didn't like Kozina getting disrespected, and after some pity for the owner, claim that he said no one knew who they were, which apparently insults them enough that they decided to cut and run with his money.

According to O'Reilly his biggest issue with the entire incident is that the promoter said to their faces, "nobody knows who you guys are anyway," since this one person who is completely isolated from the situation who works for MAGNUM PRO and was in the vacinity of the incident has claimed he overheard this being said. You do not tell talent nobody knows who they are, that is a pretty low blow, especially considering there were 60 people in attendance each night and Richards/O'Reilly have appeared on shows that sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom.

However, a lot of talents are discussing it on Twitter and I'm reading whenever I can. Basically, this Strife guy has a track record of horrible promoting. BJ Whitmer worked for him before and says that a promoter does not change matches on the day of the show unless its an emergency, the day he worked for him his match was changed three times in the space of an hour.

On the flip side, nobody really seems to care about the entire Richards/O'Reilly part of the incident, the focal point of the conversation has been the Tony Kozina/shooting on the kid match. He legit choked the kid and some talents are pissed at it. Colt Cabana has spoken about it, Adam Pearce has spoken about it, Kevin Steen has said he'd like to see Kozina try that on him; basically it's overshadowing the entire thing anyway.

It's messed up all around, and all parties are to blame. It was a poorly booked show by a poor promoter who was working with a talent who is known for his bad mood, but as a lot of promoters have came out and said including Gabe Sapolsky, Davey Richards isn't someone who simply walks out on a promoter for no reason and that the entire statement by both promoters doesn't replicate Davey's usual personality.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Team Ambition sounded familiar and I remember where from my friend showed me this shiiiit promo they did, seriously what was the point of this?

[YOUTUBE]?v=p6rbb4y_wRE&feature=plcp[/YOUTUBE]

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Moving away from the O'Reilly/Richards/Kozina incident for a moment, found this to be pretty fucking cool. Kevin Steen's entrance theme is called "Unsettling Differences," a fan created a custom made theme from it, rapping lines Steen has used in promos over the past couple of years and I actually prefer it to his actual theme. The video is fan made too and is pretty cool, but theme is kind of catchy.

 

[MrHashasheen]

According to O'Reilly his biggest issue with the entire incident is that the promoter said to their faces, "nobody knows who you guys are anyway," since this one person who is completely isolated from the situation who works for MAGNUM PRO and was in the vacinity of the incident has claimed he overheard this being said. You do not tell talent nobody knows who they are, that is a pretty low blow, especially considering there were 60 people in attendance each night and Richards/O'Reilly have appeared on shows that sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom.

I'll give you that that's kind of a dick move. But act like a professional and bury the guy after working his shows.

However, a lot of talents are discussing it on Twitter and I'm reading whenever I can. Basically, this Strife guy has a track record of horrible promoting. BJ Whitmer worked for him before and says that a promoter does not change matches on the day of the show unless its an emergency, the day he worked for him his match was changed three times in the space of an hour.

That doesn't mean much in one instance. Maybe guys refused to do the job and shit just piled on.

On the flip side, nobody really seems to care about the entire Richards/O'Reilly part of the incident, the focal point of the conversation has been the Tony Kozina/shooting on the kid match. He legit choked the kid and some talents are pissed at it. Colt Cabana has spoken about it, Adam Pearce has spoken about it, Kevin Steen has said he'd like to see Kozina try that on him; basically it's overshadowing the entire thing anyway.

I'd imagine Kozina's fucked at ROH, then?

It's messed up all around, and all parties are to blame. It was a poorly booked show by a poor promoter who was working with a talent who is known for his bad mood, but as a lot of promoters have came out and said including Gabe Sapolsky, Davey Richards isn't someone who simply walks out on a promoter for no reason and that the entire statement by both promoters doesn't replicate Davey's usual personality.

If that's the case, then I guess I withdraw my comments. They'd know him better than I would. Though I'd still like some Twitter links or interview statements for those defenses.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I'd imagine Kozina's fucked at ROH, then?

He was fucked anyway. Nobody really likes him, he just rides Richards' tail.

If that's the case, then I guess I withdraw my comments. They'd know him better than I would. Though I'd still like some Twitter links or interview statements for those defenses.

Gabe Sapolsky is on Twitter @BookItGabe, Kyle O'Reilly's blog is above, Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce, Kevin Steen and others are discussing it on Twitter which is mainly where people are discussing it. However the longer they discuss, more details are revealed. Everyone is just waiting on Richards to speak really.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Yeah I'm about two weeks behind too, but I blame that more on my busy schedule than ROH's show. It hasn't been great, but it's been consistent.

I'm slowly getting caught up and I'm only two weeks behind now.

Bell to bell, I think I've been enjoying ROH the most out of the the promotions. That's not a fair assessment on my part as I've been hit and miss (mostly miss) when it comes to being able to watch TNA.

 

[The Bearded One]

I can't say I've really been following the whole Team Ambition thing that's been going on, but here is the video from Kozina's match that night where he worked with a 16-year-old kid. Apparently his opponent posted something on Twitter to build the match, and Kozina took offense to it. Skip to 9:40 in the video and watch it for yourself. There is a difference between working stiff with someone, and not protecting them at all on two piledriver attempts. Sure, from what I understand about the whole situation, Team Ambition shouldn't have taken the money like they did. But what Kozina did was just disgusting and should be blacklisted from competing.

[YOUTUBE]JPMp86PRrzU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[MrMojoRisin]

And Davey Richards take on the weekend from wrestlingobserver:

Concerning the Iowa ordeal:

I don't have any philosophic phrases like O'Reilly, nor empty threats which seems to be the darling way to be tough now-a-days behind the protective veil of the Internet (the quickest sure fire way to prove your an absolute coward). But what I do have is the truth and I'll indulge you.

Now O'Reilly already told the story so and he's a much more patient man than I so I'll just drop the main points: I was trained that you don't disrespect veterans. There's a pecking order in this business, and if you go against it you get your ass handed to you. I was trained that the boys stick up for each other and don't allow others to disrespect them, because it reflects on the business as a whole. So when a guy who took my seminar the day prior and all of a sudden, over text message (everyones got balls of steel behind texts/twitter/fb) disrespects the guy who helped bring me and Kyle up, and more importantly, my friend, I feel 100% justified taking action. So, not over text/twitter/fb but in person (I know, can you imagine some people actually confront people face to face?? Insanity!!) I tell this guy how disrespectful he was and if this was 10 yrs ago he would have gotten his ass beat. He agreed and apologized and insisted he shake Tony's hand. Before this he tried and admitted to lying saying he didn't know whom he was talking to on text so he didn't know he was disrespecting Kozina (a lie Tony quickly called out as, and we have the text messages to prove, Tony said in the beginning, "This is Kozina".)

Now understand I'm in the middle of Iowa, 7 hrs from home in the middle of corn fields (which is beautiful scenery btw) and this guy looked out and saw 25 people at his show, knew he was going to lose his ass and tried to cancel us off when we're 2 hrs away. Tony and Kyle were hurt, an unfortunate and common aspect of how we train and work. So we tried to get an 8 man. The promoter at first said the fans paid to see singles (to which Tony responded, and we have the texts, "ok well do the singles") which contradicted his later statement of "well noone here knows who you guys are".

As far as me physically threatening him, sorry ace, never happened, and if you truly think it did - press charges! I have nothing to hide, do you?

I came to you face to face like a man, told you how I felt. I don't do backstage rumors, gossip, social media tough guy stuff. I tell people how I feel in person and take full responsibly for it all.

Ok, and now to the blockbuster crime of the century: we took -- wait for it -- drum roll -- people are on then edge of their seats -- 350$!!!!!

Did I? I sure did, I took 350$ and left on Saturday. Tuesday afternoon I paypaled him -- wait for it ----- drum roll ---- 350$ back!! So he lost ----- 0 dollars! No one asked me to do this. I said to him, well here you read the text:

"Ok I'm going to pay pal you your money back. I never spent it, it was on principle. You'll have it today. I'm sorry things got to this level. Please text me to let me know you got it. Yea dude it's crazy. I don't hold any grudges man. I wish you and your crew the best."

I've said for years, I don't talk, I do. I let him feel what we felt -- to be disrespected an screwed. So the same thing doesn't happen to another wrestler (remember what I said about the boys sticking up for the boys?).

I have the PayPal receipt as well to prove it.

Ok so stealing and threatening have been covered, what else?

Oh I know! Ya know I could, I could slander your name as you have mine, wished harm on you as you have me (the getting in a car wreck bit was sure classy) or I could post your phone number on a social media site like you did mine. But I won't, I won't hang at the bottom of the barrel with you buddy.

And really 15 min after this ordeal this loser is on twitter begging for a match in ROH, like a certain someone in the ROH office said, "This is this losers big shot at getting some attention and he's going all out". Well friend I'm not mentioning you by name. Your going to have to get attention the same way I did in this wacky business- work your ass off and earn it.

I know it's the socially dictated right thing do to apologize and try to make amends. But c'mon that wouldn't be ol DR now would it?

So instead of trying release myself from responsibly by saying it was "anger taking hold or it was emotionally driven actions and comments" I'll simply say from the bottom of my heart that I don't apologize for anything, I'm proud that I stood up for my friend, what I was taught, and how I was raised, and most of all what I believe to be right. I meant every word and every action and take full responsiblity.

I don't talk, I act. I treat people how they treat me. I stand up for what I was taught and for my friends.

If I'm the bad guy for it, I welcome it with open arms. I'm more than willing to take shots for what I believe in.

I'll always be the first help people out (ask Adam Cole, Eddie Edwards, Kenny Omega, Kyle O'Reilly, and countless others) but I will also to call out what I don't believe to be right.

Maybe I just have rebel blood running through me, but I don't bow down, I don't keep my mouth shut, I don't run from what I disagree with. I speak up, I stand up and I fight for what I believe in. That's how I raised. If it's the end of ol DR then I couldn't be more proud.

It's like my grandma used to say to me, "It's better to hated for who you are than loved for who you're not".

In the end, to the guys in Iowa -- god bless ya, I wish you guys nothing but success. Hopefully y'all wake up but that's your cross to bear not mine.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Zero.

The amount of desire I have in seeing a Rhino vs. Steen match.

 

[scomvp316]

I have said for months the best thing for both TNA and ROH is a soft merger. Exchange talent and creative ideas especially some sort of TNA/ROH invasion of one another. How cool would it be to see Steen as the leader of A&8? For it to work Cornette and Bisch would have to bury whatever squabbles they have with one another. EB of today is not the same person when he was running WCW. How many fans would love to see a ROH and TNA invasion storyline?

 

[The Dragon Saga]

For it to work Cornette and Bisch would have to bury whatever squabbles they have with one another.

Cornette and Bischoff? Cornette said in a shoot interview he hopes Dixie Carter's insides get eaten by maggots and you think him and Bischoff burying the hatchet would be a start? Cornette's hates almost everyone in TNA. He hates Hogan, doesn't like Pritchard, doesn't like Mike Tenay's commentary, has a poor past with Mr. Anderson, what do you think his reaction to Brooke Hogan featuring on the show was, positive?

Not a chance of that happening. Wouldn't want to see it anyway.

 

[scomvp316]

I didn't know of all the issues Cornette has with TNA. I think some sort of working relationship would be great for both promotions. Obviously Sinclair Broadcasting would have to be some sort of mediator if a TNA/ROH invasion storyline was to work. It would be awesome if Joe and Steen were the leaders of A&8 seeing either one of those guys would be a better sell for the group compared to Jarrett or Bisch!

 

[The Dragon Saga]

http://rohworld.com/rohcast-episode-50/

Great interview with Nigel McGuinness. Getting caught up on some stuff today, and if you were a fan of his well worth the listen or download. He speaks about getting the commentary job, alludes to his TNA run a couple times but doesn't go overly into it, speaks about his documentary which he is currently editing and makes several mentions about WWE. One thing the interview left me feeling was sympathy, the guy sounds like he wanted to be in WWE so bad, he even says at one point he wished Vince McMahon heard what some others thought. Whether the rumor he contracted hepetitis C is true or not we won't know until McGuinness discloses the info, but he states his career ended due to injury. Worth a listen, very funny guy.

 

[The Bearded One]

TJ Perkins wrestled a dark match for TNA after Thursday's Impact in a match against Zema Ion. Perkins has also been released from his ROH contract. Here is a podcast interview with him that covers everything from his TNA dark match, to how he was used creatively in ROH, to his opinion on the current booking team.

http://rohworld.com/rohcast-episode-54-tj-perkins-talks-roh-release/

It was a lot of fun to interview him and I would like to thank him for coming on.

 

[braveh]

I didn't think that Steen - Elgin was anywhere near as good as Richards - Elgin at Showdown 2012. Some reports indicated that this was a 5 star match. I would rate it 6 /10 while Richards - Elgin was at least 9 /10.