When writing my previous column on Six of the most memorable ROH moments at the Manhattan Center, it quickly became clear that this was not a subject I could squeeze into one column, and that it would probably be at least a three-part series. So with that in mind, here’s the second part of the series on ROH’s most memorable Manhattan Center moments.
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Ring of Honor making the decision to leave their longtime New York City home at the Manhattan Center is truly the end of an era for the company. Having run many of their most important shows in both the Grand Ballroom and Hammerstein Ballroom sections of the building, ROH has given us a seemingly endless stream of memorable moments in that building, both good and bad. In no particular order, here are six of my personal most memorable ROH moments to take place at the Manhattan Center.
Samoa Joe may be the most legendary wrestler to ever compete in Ring of Honor. Though he wasn’t the first ROH World Champion, he is often credited with legitimizing both the title and the company with the strength of his title defenses. Nearly everything he did during his four and a half years with ROH turned to gold, and the work he did elevating his many opponents can’t be overstated.
The fact that Jay Briscoe hasn’t been pinned or made to submit in over two years is mentioned frequently on ROH shows since it’s a pretty spectacular winning streak. But ROH has been known for some pretty incredible longevity records in a wrestling world whose attention span has shrunk dramatically in the last couple of decades, so where does Jay land in terms of overall unbeaten streaks in ROH history?
The GWF In 1992: Eddie Gilbert, The Wild Bunch, The Dark Patriot, And The Beginning Of The End
Sep26
We return to Dallas, Texas as we continue to follow the history of the legendary Global Wrestling Federation. When we last left off at the end of 1991, the Dark Patriot and his new manager Bruce Prichard had conspired to steal the North American Title from the Patriot and drive the American Hero from the GWF forever, Tug Taylor and his son Chaz had won a family feud against the Dirty Davis Brothers, The Wild Bunch had defeated their rivals the Coast To Coast Connection for the GWF Tag Team Title, and GWF Commissioner Max Andrews had been revealed as the mysterious leader of the Cartel. However, many of the most important events of 1992 would revolve around Eddie Gilbert, who had first appeared as an interfering nuisance in a North American Title match, but had ended the year as GWF Television Champion. It was that title for which Gilbert was locked in a heated war with Terry Garvin, who had Gilbert’s number and his eyes firmly set on becoming the TV Champion… Part I: The Gilbert-Garvin Feud, Part II When we last left off in 1991, Eddie Gilbert had come to the GWF and, through a series of devious […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
It’s time to take a trip down to the great state of Texas, Dallas specifically, as we look back at the short-lived, yet infamous Global Wrestling Federation. While the GWF was a mere blip on the radar in terms of longevity, lasting only about three years, its roster has since become a who’s who of wrestlers who were just starting their careers, but would go on to great success in the late 90s and beyond. Let’s start with a bit of the background that led up to the formation of the company. Part I: The Beginning For many years, the Dallas territory was controlled by Fritz Von Erich, the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling. WCCW was an important member of the National Wrestling Alliance for a long time, including a sting by Fritz as President of the NWA, but they decided to break away in 1986 and they managed fairly well on their own for several years, but eventually a variety of problems (mainly a large drop in attendance) caused Fritz to sell World Class to Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett, the owners of the Memphis-based CWA. Lawler and Jarrett merged the two companies together to form the USWA, […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
When we left off yesterday, Brock Lesnar had defeated Kurt Angle to regain the WWE Title after nearly killing himself trying a shooting star press. Angle had to go on the shelf after Wrestlemania to get surgery on his neck, and would therefore be unavailable to face Lesnar in a rematch for the time being. In the meantime, Lesnar occupied his PPVs with title defenses against other qualified opponents. Lesnar’s first challenger after Wrestlemania 19 was a man he would have a very high profile match against nearly a decade later, John Cena. Cena was on his way up, but wasn’t close to where he would be a few years later. Though Cena created a new finishing move called the FU to play off of Lesnar’s F5, Lesnar came out on top. The next month at Judgment Day, Lesnar found himself back in the ring with the Big Show, in a Stretcher Match, with the WWE Title again on the line. The big question in this one wasn’t whether Lesnar could beat Big Show, but whether he’d be able to get Big Show onto a stretcher and wheel him across the line to score the win. Lesnar showed surprising resourcefulness […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
With Brock Lesnar making such a huge impact since returning to WWE the night after Wrestlemania, it’s easy to forget just how long he had been gone. His last match was at Wrestlemania 20 in 2004, and it was eight years before he showed his face in WWE again, so a lot of current fans may not have been watching or even been born yet when he left. With that in mind, I thought it’d be a good time to take a walk down memory lane and help the uninitiated fill the blanks in on Brock’s first run in WWE. After winning the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in 2000, Lesnar was recruited right out of college by WWE (then the WWF) and signed to a developmental deal. By all accounts, Lesnar was extremely gifted and likely to make an impact whenever he was eventually called up to the main roster. He did just that, running in and attacking Rikishi on an episode of Raw in March of 2002, hoisting the 400-pounder up on his shoulders to deliver what would come to be known as the F5. Lesnar was off like a shot from there, and with his manager/agent Paul […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…