ROH and "Blind Destiny" Challenge

[scottyshowman82]

The weekend leading up to Wrestlemania is going to be a sweet one for me and many other wrestling fans because not only am I going to get WWE's event of the year I'm going to get a special double attraction from the people at ROH. The company is offering an event which in many ways is throw back to old school wrestling in that they are going to have major shows on back to back nights. They are calling this event "Showdown in the Sun."

The first night is being headlined by a triple threat match including Davey Richard, Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards. This should be an awesome match as any combination of these 3 have always ended up being a match of the year candidate. The winner of this match will go on to defend the title against the winner of a tournment going on right now called the "Blind Destiny Tournament."

So if you're in the main event of the first night of Showdown in the Sun you have no idea who you're facing the next night. And if win the "Blind Destiny Tournament" you do not know which of the 3 men you are going to face hence the name. A lot of unknowns, a lot of exciting action and two night of it all. I'm really looking forward to it and kudos to ROH for doing something a little different.

 

[The Bearded One]

I'm looking forward to the second day of "Showdown In the Sun" so much more than the first day. I could not be less interested in seeing Richards, Edwards and Strong wrestle again. These three need to have a restraining order against being in the same building as the other two for at least a year. I'm beyond sick of seeing a combination of these three guys wrestle.

That being said, I am really excited for the second day because of the Blind Destiny concept. I really like the idea here. Ring of Honor wanted a title match on both days, but since there is a triple threat match the first day, it would have in kayfabe sense made it impossible to promote a title match on the second day in advance. Now they have three pretty big matches to promote for the second day, where they can promote all three for possibly being for the title.

It also is helping freshen up the main event scene, which has been a gigantic problem for Ring of Honor over the past year or so. The six men who competed in the Blind Destiny qualifiers are Kenny King, Jay Lethal, Adam Cole, Kevin Steen, Kyle O'Reilly and Michael Elgin. Having these six guys competing for a possible title shot builds them all up as possible title contenders in the future and helps make more main event wrestlers.

The three matches that will be the Blind Destiny challenge are:

Jay Lethal vs Roderick Strong

Kevin Steen vs Eddie Edwards

Michael Elgin vs Davey Richards

These should be three really good matches, even if I am beyond sick of seeing Richards as champion. I can't wait to see him lose the belt, though I don't see it happening this weekend.

 

[Papa Pillman]

I also like the "Blind Destiny" concept. Its a good way to book a strong second day without giving away anything from your first day.

But what really made it great...

The qualifying matches were awesome. They got progressively better throughout the night. Lethal against King was a really nice athletic display, as was to be expected(even if they didn't seem to have much chemistry); Steen against Cole was alot of fun to watch and Steen hit some of his more impressive signature spots and really looked sharp, while Cole kept impressing as well; and finally O'Reilly and Elgin just work fantastically well with each other (I attended last year's Survival of the Fittest and these two were the final two in the elimination match and they tore the roof off the building) and they didn't disapoint me- I loved the match they had.

As for the final "Blind Destiny" matches, I'm most looking forward to Steen/Edwards, I can't wait to see how they work that, and I anticipate a match of the night contender from them(although I don't expect it to be for the title as I think Davey will retain both nights).

As for The Bearded One's disdain for the recent main event picture, while I'm not ready to see Davey drop the belt, I can see where you're coming from. What's great though is- this is ROH, where the world title picture is always everchanging, hell, there's only one two-time champ in the history of belt. That tells us that sometime, as year rolls on, it will be time for a new man to ascend the mountain- most likely to be Steen.

As for the future of the main event picture, it is scary to think how young Cole, Elgin, and O'Reilly are, given their already exponentially growing experience and immense in-ring talents(and that's not even to mention other young guys like Lethal and Ciampa). I think that it will soon be Elgin's time to take Roderick's spot as the focus of the HoT, and perhaps Strong may be better suited to try and angle himself back into TNA's X-division, as his days as a fixture world title contender in ROH may be effectively in the past after he loses at Showdown.

 

[HBsam31]

I have been watching ROH since it has been available on TV which started around September I believe. Honestly i am having trouble getting into it. Before i get attacked just know that I have watched every episode in full, and am giving it every chance in the world. The good news is this tournament is really allowing me to turn the corner and enjoy the product more. I am really pulling for Kevin Steen to take the title as Davey Richards just isn't going to do it for me. I respect his wrestling skill, but honestly I need a bit of charisma, and entertainment with my wrestling. Kevin Steen really impresses me as the total package right now. Admittedly I need to watch some of their ppvs and really immerse myself in the product before I make my final decision, and this tournament is going a long way into making me a fan.

 

[d3thRoW]

I really enjoyed both days, despite all the technical difficulties. Always good to see the Briscoes two days in a row. The whole blind destiny set up was awesome (although I am also tired of Richards/Edwards). Strong winning the TV title was nice, too. But the highlight of it all to me was "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin, and his performance against Davey Richards. Holy. Fuck. That was incredible. Absolutely the best match I've seen in a long time and I highly recommend it to anybody on this forum. Watch that match.

 

[scottyshowman82]

I really enjoyed both days, despite all the technical difficulties. Always good to see the Briscoes two days in a row. The whole blind destiny set up was awesome (although I am also tired of Richards/Edwards). Strong winning the TV title was nice, too. But the highlight of it all to me was "Unbreakable" Michael Elgin, and his performance against Davey Richards. Holy. Fuck. That was incredible. Absolutely the best match I've seen in a long time and I highly recommend it to anybody on this forum. Watch that match.

It is true there were lots of techical difficulties, but I totally agree on the Elgin match, it totally rocked the house. Looking forward to see where they go with him and it was cool talking to all the people in the chat lol.