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DVDs - VGames - Books
RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW: The French Connection (Aries & Danielson vs. Black & Jacobs)
Jan 24, 2009 - 1:10:53 PM


By Sean Radican, Torch Columnist

Radican's ROH DVD review series
The French Connection
Montreal, Canada
November 7, 2008


Star ratings and results

(1) Erick Stevens beat Eddie Edwards. The crowd was dead for most of this, as Edwards worked over Stevens arm for the duration of the match. Stevens made a quick comeback and won in around 10 minutes, but this was really dull at times. (*1/2)

(2) The Briscoes beat Kenny Omega & Kenny King. A fun match with King and Omega not getting along as tag partners. King was really good in his heel role, as he betrayed Omega and dropped off the apron when Omega went to tag out after a long heat segment to join Rhett Titus on the outside. (***)

(3) The Necro Butcher beat Brodie Lee via DQ. Lame finish with the Age of the Fall running out for the DQ after a slow match. I wasn't impressed by Lee, who is big, but doesn't do much for me as a heel enforcer for the Age of the Fall. If I wanted pointless interference, I could just tune in for free on television. I hope this doesn't become a trend with the new booking crew. McGuinness was fun on commentary. (*1/2)

(4) Jerry Lynn beat Delirious. This was a slow-paced match that the crowd really didn't get into. The announcers, who were once against joined by McGuinness, managed to make this interesting. Lynn won out of nowhere with the cradle piledriver after a brief comeback on Delirious. This was a slow-paced match. (**)

(5) Davey Richards beat Roderick Strong. This was a very stiff match with both men exchanging strikes and kicks throughout. The match got better as it went on. I didn't care much for the interference that lead to the finish, but that being said, this is the kind of action I like to see on ROH undercards. (***1/4)

(6) Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson beat Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black. This wasn't as good as their match on PPV, but the match did a good job of building anticipation for the Jacobs-Aries singles match the next night in Toronto. The AOTF dominated most of the match, despite Jacobs's unwillingness to mix it up with Aries. The final minutes of the match were really good and the tough to please Montreal fans really got into the last ten minutes of action. (***1/2)

(7) ROH World Hvt. Champion Nigel McGuinness beat Kevin Steen and Go Shiozaki and El Generico in a Four Way Elimination match. This was clearly the best match on the show. Steen & Generico worked together early on. McGuinness and Shiozaki eventually formed an alliance, which eventually resulted in Generico's elimination from the match. Shiozaki's elimination came off really lame, but otherwise, this was a good match. The crowd didn't get much out of seeing two of their hometown heroes eliminated in the match. (***3/4)

Virtual time analysis

-Show opened with Kyle Durden interviewing Nigel McGuinness before the show. He asked McGuinness what it felt like to face four challengers. McGuinness corrected him and told him it was three.

Durden was then shown backstage asking Stevens why he had colored his hair. Stevens glared at him and went back to doing squats.

-Bobby Cruise announced there would now be a 20 count on the floor starting tonight, which drew boos from the crowd. Edwards and Stevens came out for the opening match to virtually no reaction.

(1)Eddie Edwards (w/Shane Hagadorn, Bobby Dempsey) vs. Erick Stevens. Prazak called Stevens Terry Taylor and Leonard got pissed. Prazak is 100 times better right now than at any other time during his run as ROH announcer. Edwards took control of the match and nailed Stevens with a big kick to the face in the corner, but Stevens cut him off quickly and nailed him with a Samoan drop. Edwards fired back and went after Stevens's arm. Edwards tossed Stevens shoulder-first into the ringpost and he spilled to the outside where Hagadorn drove his arm into the cement floor. The announcers put over the 20 count like it was a genius world invention that had been introduced into the company. Edwards continued to work over Stevens's arm and the crowd finally woke up and tried to rally behind Stevens, who finally mounted a comeback. Stevens got nailed by a hard kick from Edwards, who went for a quebrada, but Stevens caught his head and drove it into the ground. Stevens then hit the Dr. bomb for the pin. (*1/2)

-Durden ran up to Rhett Titus backstage. He asked him if the thrust was a must. Titus told him to go away because he wouldn't get any chicks with Durden around. Titus told Durden he could have his sloppy seconds. Durden is good at playing the goofy announcer, but I'm not sure how that benefits the product at this point.

-Kenny Omega came out and was doing his entrance when Kenny King's music hit and interrupted his routine. Omega looked upset as King pushed him aside and mugged for the camera. King is awesome.

(2) Kenny Omega & Kenny King vs. The Briscoes. The crowd chanted "Obama" at King. Not sure what to make of that. The crowd then broke out into a "yes we can" chant. I don't see a resemblance between King and Obama. King and Jay had a nice exchanged and came to a stalemate. The crowd was more into this match than the opener. Omega said he wanted to get into the match and King reluctantly tagged him in. Omega and Mark had a fantastic exchange that concluded with Omega taking Mark down with a dropkick. King tagged himself into the match when Mark drove Omega into the corner and began working as a unit. Mark quickly took out Omega and the Briscoes wiped out Omega with a nice double team maneuver.

King wouldn't extend his hand to tag Omega, but finally did tag himself into the match after he managed to rake Mark's eyes from behind. King and Omega worked together for the first time, but King covered Mark and both men began to argue, which allowed Mark to tag in Jay, who took out both of his opponents. King tried to come to the aid of Omega in the ring, but backed off when Jay went to kick him back to the outside. The crowd chanted in French and the announcer wondered what they were saying. Omega tried to fire back and Mark by attempting a maneuver off the turnbuckles, but Mark cut him off. The Briscoes went for a double biel, but Omega countered with a double hurricanrana. Omega went to tag out, but King dropped off the apron. Prazak said he didn't blame him. Rhett Titus walked out and hugged King on the entrance ramp. They did a picture-in-picture shot and King told the camera that Omega sucked. The Briscoes then annihilated Omega with the springboard doomsday device for the pin. (***)

-The Briscoes helped Omega to his feet after the match.

-Durden was shown backstage with a mic in hand. He went up to Jerry Lynn, who he referred to as a living legend. He asked Lynn what it felt like to start his career all over again in ROH. Lynn got upset and asked him if he was even supposed to be here.

-The crowd was psyched for Necro's entrance.

(3) The Necro Butcher vs. Brodie Lee. Lee and Necro went right at it at the bell and traded punches. Nigel McGuinness came into the booth and Prazak gave him a big introduction. They asked McGuinness about facing Necro on the next show and McGuinness called him a master of technical wrestling in a sarcastic manner. Necro took the attack to Lee on the outside and tossed him into the guardrail. Prazak said both men had to be careful to avoid the 20 count as they continued to brawl. Lee fired back and slammed Necro into the ringpost before bodyslamming him on the floor. Lee went back into the ring, but broke the count by going back to the outside and slamming Necro's head into the guardrail.

McGuinness started to run down Necro and said he didn't deserve a title shot. Lee grabbed a bear hug in the middle of the ring, but Necro wouldn't submit. Necro fired back on Lee and went for a slam, but Lee fell on top of him for a 2 count. McGuinness mentioned that Lee wasn't a world class wrestler like him, as McGuinness would attack Necro's obviously injured knee, which Lee wasn't doing. McGuinness fired back again and finally hit a bodyslam, but continued to favor his knee and back. Necro grabbed a chair on the floor. The Age of the Fall then ran out and Jacobs attacked Necro with a chair for the DQ. (**)

-Lee, Black, and Jacobs continued to attack Necro. Lee tossed Necro over the top rope and hung him with a metal chain. Necro was shown slumped over in the ring. McGuinness's music then hit and he came down to ringside. He got on the mic and called Necro a disgrace. He said Necro didn't deserve a title shot just because he was in a movie. McGuinness then did Bret Hart's catch phrase, which drew a ton of boos. He then said he was the best in the world and would prove it again tonight. McGuinness said he couldn't wait to go Toronto, the only city with real wrestling fans, which drew more boos. Not a bad promo, but McGuiness took the easy route a couple of times.

-Jerry Lynn came down for his match and got the biggest pop of the night so far. Delirious made his entrance and Jacobs held his hand as he walked down the aisle. Jacobs patted Delirious's head as he crouched in the corner before the match.

(4) Jerry Lynn vs. Delirious (w/ Jimmy Jacobs). Lynn turned around after shaking hands with Delirious, which proved costly as Delirious jumped him from behind. McGuinness came back into the booth as Lynn fired back on Delirious. Leonard asked McGuinness to start picking on Prazak, but McGuinness said no because Prazak was a man of intelligence. Jacobs grabbed Lynn's foot, which allowed Delirious to attack him form behind. The action spilled to the outside and the ref ejected Jacobs. Prazak seemed upset and asked if this was part of the new directive with ref's taking control of the matches. Delirious continued to maintain the advantage and nailed Lynn with a cobra clutch backbreaker. McGuinness called Lynn "Geritol Lynn." He then said it was time for Lynn to hang up the boots, but Leonard said it has yet to be seen whether or not Lynn has something left in the gas tank.

McGuinness said Lynn has problems getting it up as Delirious choked Lynn on the ropes. A light "Jerry" chant broke out. McGuinness continued to run Lynn down as he took a sustained beating from Delirious. The match was definitely being wrestled at a slow pace. Lynn managed to get out of the way of an attempted panic attack and nailed Delirious with a back cracker. Lynn nailed Delirious with a series of clotheslines in the corner and raked his back and front several times. Lynn went for a piledriver, but Delirious dropped down to one knee. Delirious followed up by driving Lynn into the turnbuckles to regain the advantage. Delirious then nailed Lynn with the panic attack and went for the shadows over hell, but Lynn got out of the way. Lynn got a backslide for a nearfall. Moments later, Lynn nailed Delirious with the cradle piledriver for the pin out of nowhere. (**)

-A video package aired for the "Respect Is Earned II" PPV DVD.

(5) Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (w/Shane Hagadorn, Eddie Edwards). Strong quickly took Richards down and began working his arm on the mat, but Richards fired back and took Strong down and locked him in a nasty looking stretch. Strong escaped and locked Richards in the camel clutch, as neither man could gain a sustained advantage during the early going. The announcers talked about how both men wanted to prove who the better wrestler was, which is why they weren't really going at it with more of a brawling style. Both men exchanged stiff slaps, but Strong sent Richards down to the mat with dropkick and began nailing him with several hard chops. Strong then picked up Richards off the mat and slapped him right across the face. Richards nailed Strong with a chop, but Strong fired back right away with a chop of his own and Richards went down once again.

Richards grabbed the ref with Strong on the apron and Hagadorn grabbed his legs and pulled them out from under him. Edwards continued the attack on the outside with the ref distracted. Richards then came out and dropped Strong over the guardrail. Both men began exchanging forearms on the outside, but Richards dropped him with a kick and broke the 20 count by ducking under the bottom rope. Richards continued to aggressively punish Strong inside the ring. The action was good, but the crowd wasn't very vocal at all. Strong countered a stranglehold and applied the same maneuver to Richards. Richards escaped and sent Strong down to the mat with a kick to the mid-section. Richards then got a running start and nailed Strong with a huge kick to the mid-section. The ref began administering the 10 count, but Strong managed to get up. Richards charged at Strong, but he got out of the way and kicked him in the head.

Strong nailed Richards with a series of strikes as the pace picked up. Strong nailed Richards with a nice backbreaker for a nearfall. They did a series of nearfall on the mat, but neither man could get a pin. Richards hit a dragon screw and applied a cloverleaf submission, but Strong got the ropes. Richards trash-talked Strong and nailed him with a couple of kicks, but Strong fired back with a series of stiff chops. Richards nailed Strong with an alarm clock to the mid-section, but Strong kicked out. Richards went up top, but Strong cut him off at around the 13 minute mark. Strong then hit a superplex and the crowd popped. Strong charged at Richards, but Richards caught his leg and suplexed him into the turnbuckles, which left both men down on the mat. Both men got up and traded stiff strikes and kicks.

Richards nailed Strong with a running forearm in the corner, but Strong caught him as he came off the ropes with a huge kick. The crowd really got into the match. Strong nailed a gutbuster on Richards and applied a Boston crab, but Edwards got up on the apron. Strong knocked him off the apron. Hagadorn distracted the ref, as Edwards nailed Strong with a kick. Richards then hit the DR driver for the pin. (***1/4)

-Edwards held Strong after the match. Richards slapped Strong across the face several times. Strong fought off Edwards, Hagadorn, and Richards, but they overwhelmed him. Shiozaki then ran out to make it a four on one attack. Erick Stevens then came out and he and Strong chopped everyone out of the ring. Richards and Edwards looked surprised to see Stevens make the save. Strong and Stevens looked at each other and the crowd applauded, but they didn't shake hands. Stevens left to the back and the crowd gave Strong a standing ovation.

-An ad for ROHWrestling.com aired.

-Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries came out to a big pop for their match against Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black.

(6) The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black) vs. Teamwork (Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson). This is a rematch of the main event from the "Respect Is Earned II" PPV. Danielson and Black began the match. The announcers mentioned that Black pinned Danielson the last time these two teams faced off. Jacobs tagged into the match and fishhooked Danielson. Danielson cut Jacobs off and tagged in Aries, but Jacobs ran away. The announcers said Jacobs wanted to stay away from Aries tonight. Black tagged into the match and faced off with Aries. Aries took Black down and hit several knee strikes to his head, but Black got the ropes. Aries went after Jacobs on the apron several minutes later, but Jacobs dropped down to the floor. Danielson tagged back into the match and nailed Black with a big European uppercut in the corner.

Aries & Danielson hit a tandem hip toss on Black, which drew some cheers from the crowd. Aries & Danielson continued to tag in and out of the match to work over Black, as Jacobs and Aries continued to come close to exchanging blows, but Jacobs managed to slip away time after time off the apron before Aries could land a blow. Aries nailed Black with a springboard elbow as he was draped over Danielson's knees, but Aries broke up the pin and bailed out of the ring. Jacobs ran into the ring and took a cheap shot at Danielson, but bailed once Aries came to make the save. Jacobs was taunting Aries on the outside, which allowed Danielson to nail him with a flying knee off the apron. Aries then went up top as Danielson held Jacobs, but Black pushed him off the top and into the barricade.

Black cut off Danielson with a belly to back suplex and tagged in Jacobs. Black spit at Aries, who came into the ring. With the ref distracted by Aries, Jacobs and Black double teamed Danielson with a series of strikes near their won corner. Jacobs has quite the beard going. Danielson tried to fire up as the crowd rallied him on, but Jacobs took him right back down to the mat. Danielson hit an enzuguri, but Jacobs knocked Aries to the floor, which prevented Danielson from tagging out of the match. The crowd fired up again and tried to fire up Danielson, but Jacobs & Black nailed him with a double team choke. Danielson finally tagged out after a long struggle. Aries ran into the ring, but Black blind-tagged himself into the match. Aries nailed Jacobs with a dive to the outside. Aries and Danielson then nailed Jacobs and Aries with missile dropkicks that popped the crowd huge.

The crowd came alive as Danielson & Aries set up Black on the top rope. Jacobs ran in and saved Black. Black & Jacobs then hit stereo dropkicks on Aries in the corner and Black covered him for a 2 count. Aries managed to thwart a double team attempt from the Age of the Fall. Aries finally got his hands on Jacobs once again as they battled on the top rope. Jacobs managed to fight Aries off and caught him in the end time submission, but Danielson grabbed him from behind and began nailing him with elbow strikes. Black then ran in and nailed him with a superkick. Black nailed Jacobs with a roaring elbow, which sent Black into Jacobs who had his back turned to him. Aries then ran into the ring and nailed Jacobs with a kick to the head. Aries then nailed Jacobs with a brainbuster and locked in the last chancery. Aries pulled back on the chain around Jacobs's throat and he tapped. (***1/2)

-The crowd applauded Danielson and Aries as they celebrated in the ring while Aries and Black regained their bearings on the outside. Jacobs threw a tantrum at ringside and seemed to be upset with Black. Jacobs yelled at Black and walked to the back without him.

-A video package for the main event aired showing highlights of all four participants that would be wrestling with the ROH World Hvt. Title on the line. This was a nice package to set the stage for the main event with all four participants holding titles.

-ROH announcer Bobby Cruise did the formal introductions. Generico was introduced as being from Montreal and got a huge pop. Go Shiozaki didn't get much of a reaction when he was introduced. Steen got a big pop as well. McGuinness was introduced to a chorus of boos. Generico threw his Canadians flag at him, which McGuinness used to wipe his backside. Steen then went and grabbed a Canadians jersey from a fan in the crowd and posed with it on the turnbuckles for a big pop.

(7) Four Way Elimination match: ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. El Generico vs. Kevin Steen vs. Go Shiozaki. Steen and Shiozaki traded shoulder tackles to kick things off, but neither man would go down. They paused for a moment and began bouncing off the ropes to gain momentum for their respective shoulder tackles, but neither man would go down. Steen finally dropped down and caught Shiozaki with a leg lariat as he came off the ropes. Generico tagged in, but Shiozaki cut him off quickly and nailed him with a hard chop. Generico fired back a short time later with a headscissors takedown. Shiozaki ended up tagging in McGuinness, who didn't look pleased. Generico tagged in Steen, so McGuinness ducked through the ropes and looked like he wanted no part of Steen. McGuinness then taunted Generico and called him a chicken. Steen finally relented and tagged Generico back into the ring.

McGuinness took control of Generico and went to work on is arm. Generico managed to escape and tag in Steen, but McGuinness quickly ducked through the ropes. McGuinness then ran across the ring and tagged in Generico. Steen and Generico shook hands and teased going at it, but instead of engaging, Generico mocked McGuinness's headstand in the corner. Steen then did the jawbreaker lariat and the crowd laughed. McGuinness pushed Steen into Generico from behind and Generico got angry. They teased engaging, but ended up running to opposite sides of the ring and knocked McGuinness and Steen off the apron. Steen and Generico then hit flip dives on opposite sides of the ring to take out Shiozaki and McGuinness on the outside, which drew a big pop. Steen & Generico continued to work together, as they hit a double senton on Shiozaki in the center of the ring for a nearfall. McGuinness ran into the ring and attacked Steen from behind. He then threw Steen shoulder-first into the ringpost with the ref distracted. Shiozaki rolled to the outside and McGuinness became the legal man. McGuinness tossed Steen to the outside and distracted the ref so Shiozaki could toss him into the ring barrier.

Shiozaki tagged in and continued working over Steen. He seemed to be working with McGuinness to wear down Steen. McGuinness continued to work over Steen's shoulder with various submissions when he was in the ring with him. Steen tried to fire back, but Shiozaki drove him into the corner and then nailed him with a belly to back suplex. Steen fired up and no-sold a German suplex before nailing Shiozaki with a German and tagging in Generico, who nailed Shiozaki with a splash off the top. The crowd got into as Generico nailed Go with a big splash off the top, but for some reason, McGuinness made the save. Steen and McGuinness then brawled to the outside as Go and Generico engaged in an awkward sequence that ended with Generico nailing Shiozaki with a blue thunder powerbomb for a nearfall. Shiozaki impressively blocked a swinging DDT and nailed Generico with the Go Flasher. That was impressive, but Shiozaki was slow to cover Generico and he kicked out at the last second. Generico got up and went for the brainbuster, but McGuinness kicked his leg out from under him. Shiozaki then nailed him with the Go Flasher for the pin to eliminate Generico. McGuinness gave Shiozaki a high five and they turned their attention to Steen.

Steen spit in McGuinness's face and slapped Shiozaki. McGuinness nailed Steen with a divorce court shoulder breaker for a 2 count. McGuinness told Shiozaki to do more damage to Steen while he rested in the corner. Shiozaki ended up hitting a superplex on Steen, who kicked out at the last second. Steen finally managed to hit a powerbomb on Shiozaki and went up top, but McGuinness cut him off. Steen managed to fend McGuinness off and went for a sharp-shooter on Shiozaki, but Go managed to counter it. McGuinness tried to run back into the ring, but Steen kicked the middle rope as he entered the ring and then applied the sharp-shooter on Shiozaki for the submission. Shiozaki sure looked weak submitting that quickly to Steen's submission.

The crowd came alive as they realized Steen and McGuinness were now going to go at it for the ROH World Title. Steen hit a cannon ball on McGuinness in the corner and covered him for a 2 count. Steen went for a moonsault, but missed and grabbed his knee. McGuinness then applied the sharp-shooter on Steen and the crowd booed. Steen struggled, but managed to get to the ropes. Steen went for the sharp-shooter on McGuinness, but he raked his eyes. McGuinness went for the jawbreaker a short time later, but Steen ran over and grabbed him as he came through the ropes and applied the sharp-shooter. Prazak cheered for McGuinness, who managed to get the ropes. Steen went for a dive to the outside, but McGuinness cut him off and hit a tower of London on the apron. McGuinness rolled him back inside the ropes and covered him for a nearfall. McGuinness went for another tower of London, but Steen shoved him off and he ran right into the ref.

Prazak said McGuinness would be able to take advantage of this situation. McGuinness went for a tower of London on the belt. Generico ran down and nailed McGuinness with a yokuza kick. Steen then hit the package piledriver, but McGuinness got his foot on the ropes. That was a cool sequence. Steen then went up top and went for the Swanton, but McGuinness got his knees up. McGuinness went for the sharp-shooter, but Steen pushed him off and McGuinness used the momentum to hit the jawbreaker lariat for the pin. (***3/4)

-The crowd applauded Steen as Generico helped him to his feet. Steen got on the mic and said he had something to say. He then began cutting a promo in French for the Montreal fans. I don't know what he said, but the crowd was digging it. Steen then got the tag titles and raised his for the fans and they applauded. Steen thanked the fans for coming to ROH. He told Generico to thank them in French. Generico apparently said something that wasn't thank you and the crowd laughed. This was a nice moment to close the show and seemed to send the fans home happy.

Overall thoughts: (6.5) The first show under the Pearce regime laid the groundwork for the changes he promised to deliver upon taking over for Gabe Sapolsky. The first thing that was immediately clear was the wrestling on the undercard was toned down with a focus on personality and storyline development. The second thing that was apparent was that the referees were going to take more of a stand when it came to enforcing the rules. This seemed to result in a lot of outside interference with the ref distracted and a lame DQ finish in the Necro-Lee match. The new backstage interviewer, Kyle Durden, wasn't very good and came off like a complete goof.

Dave Prazak is now a heel announcer, which is a welcome change and shakes up the dynamic between him and Lenny Leonard. Nigel McGuinness also stepped into the booth several times and added some good heel commentary.

Overall, I felt the entire card was toned down in terms of the amount of spots, risks, and finishers kicked out of. I like the idea of protecting finishers. Steen didn't kick out of the jawbreaker lariat from McGuinness and Delirious didn't kick out of Lynn's cradle piledriver. This will make matches where wrestlers do kick out of a finisher seem more special in the future. I also liked the pacing of the show, as I didn't feel overwhelmed and was able to digest what I watched without it going by me in a blur.

What I didn't like was that it seemed like there wasn't enough build to setting up a pinfall via a finisher, especially in the Lynn-Delirious match and when Shiozaki was submitted by Steen in the main event.

The problem with toning down the undercard to a great extent, focusing on character development, and going to more DQ's and outside interference is that ROH is going to run the risk of alienating their fanbase. I'm all for ROH management toning things down and shortening the length of their shows. The semi-main and main events simply need to be better than they were on this show to get a buzz around the company again. The undercard can be sufficient if creative is going to employ a "less is more stance," but I felt the pacing of some of these matches were simply way too slow and the crowd was dead silent in response to what they were watching unfold.

ROH needs to maintain their identity as a company that offers something different from TNA and WWE. I felt that I saw some dangerous signs that the new creative direction of the company was heading in the wrong direction is some ways. Stevens making the save for Strong didn't make much sense and there were a number of things on the show that just didn't click, but with the change in the booking, that's to be expected.

The semi-main event was a letdown of sorts, although it was still a really good match. The AOTF-Danielson & Aries match that took place at the "Respect Is Earned II" PPV was much more heated than this encounter, despite Jacobs and Aries heading towards the climax of their feud. The main event was really good and was the best match of the show. It was disappointing in some ways with Generico and Steen not really getting a chance to shine in front of their hometown fans, but at least Steen came off well in the finish and sent the fans home happy with his post-match promo. I remember when ROH always entered new markets with a bang and they didn't do that on this night.

This show was a mixed bag for me, but I do give it a thumbs up. There are enough matches with quality action that you won't be let down if you pick this up on sale, but I would hold off and seek other shows with better reviews before picking up this one.

You can purchase "The French Connection" by clicking here

Sean Radican and co-host Derek Burgan record ROH themed audios on the Radican Audio Showcase on most weekends that are made available exclusively to Torch VIP members. Sean also reviews nearly every ROH release for Torch VIP members. You can contact Sean at PWTorchSean@Gmail.com.


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WWE News: WWE announces details on three-hour Raw featuring Slammy Award Show and special guest host Dennis Miller
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WWE News: WWE announces third quarter 2009 earnings results - revenue up due to int'l, PPV business weak
WWE News: Raw TV ratings are in - how did the Osbournes fare as guest hosts?
WWE/TNA News: Hulk Hogan claims he taught Vince McMahon the wrestling business, talks more about his role in TNA
WWE Raw Results 11/2: KELLER'S rundown of all matches and segments, plus analysis, star ratings, quotebook
TNA News: Ratings are in for Hulk Hogan Impact - did the publicity help TNA?
WWE News: Hulk Hogan knocks WWE Hall of Fame ring and Vince McMahon in mainstream interview


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SMACKDOWN POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/6 Smackdown if you saw the show?
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UPCOMING EVENTS LISTING

Articles Grouped by Category
Torch Today
TORCH MONTHLY AWARDS: List of the 2009 Torch Monthly Award winners through October
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Results for Best/Worst in pro wrestling for October
TORCH MONTHLY AWARD VOTING: Polls OPEN for best/worst in pro wrestling from the month of October (Part 2 of 2)
WWE News
TORCH TALK DAILY with Eric Bischoff: The first of a series of questions pushing for answers on Bret Hart's lackluster run in WCW - "Montreal was a life-threatening wound"
WWE News: WrestleMania 26 tickets officially on-sale today
WWE News: WWE books Intercontinental Title match for next week's Smackdown, adds match to the Survivor Series PPV
TNA News
TNA News: Ratings are in for Thursday's Impact - did TNA retain the audience from last week's Hulk Hogan Impact?
TNA News: Next week's TNA Impact - Sting reappearing to talk Hulk Hogan, A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe
TNA News: Watch TNA president Dixie Carter's "Love it or Leave It" speech to the roster from Impact (w/VIDEO)
ROH News
ROH News: Jim Cornette officially begins as ROH executive producer at today's ROH TV tapings (w/VIDEO)
ROH News: Ring of Honor receives positive press for ROH TV taping this weekend
ROH News: ROH TV episodes now available on DirecTV's Video-On-Demand service
Other News
Hogan News: Can Hulk Hogan wrestle again? Hogan needs help walking during TV interview (w/VIDEO)
DGUSA News: Gabe Sapolsky predicts the wrestling industry will die without new TV wrestling stars
Hogan News: Hulk Hogan cracks the Top 15 of a Best-sellers List
PPV Reports
RADICAN'S DGUSA "Untouchable" PPV review - Doi vs. Danielson, Shingo vs. Richards
10/25 WWE Bragging Rights Results: KELLER'S detailed match-by-match PPV report - Cena vs. Orton Iron Man match
CALDWELL'S WWE BRAGGING RIGHTS PPV REPORT 10/25: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of Cena vs. Orton, Team Raw vs. Team Smackdown
TV Reports
WWE SMACKDOWN ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/6: Donofrio, Mezzera, Parks rate and review
WWE SUPERSTARS ROUNDTABLE REVIEWS 11/5: Caldwell, Donofrio, Parks rate and review
PARKS' WWE SMACKDOWN REPORT 11/6: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Batista vs. Hardy
Arena Reports
11/4 WWE in Dublin, Ireland: John Cena vs. Jack Swagger WWE Title match, DX vs. Legacy, Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston
10/30 Dragon Gate in Germany: Young Bucks, CIMA vs. Mike Quackenbush, El Generico
10/23 TNA in Chicago, Ill.: A.J. Styles vs. Samoa Joe, Matt Morgan vs. Scott Steiner, Rhino vs. Kip James
MMA / UFC Coverage
FEDOR vs. BRETT ROGERS on CBS Saturday Night - Torch Team Coverage (redirect)
MMA WEEK-IN-REVIEW: Lesnar Out, Dumbass of Week, Fight of Week, Kimbo Rumor, DVR + Twitter = Spoiler (redirect)
UFC News: Forrest Griffin addresses devastating loss to Anderson Silva, running from Octagon afterward, Tito Ortiz fight (redirect)
KELLER'S TAKE
KELLER BLOG: WrestleMania goes up to $55, all other PPVs $45 - let the pirate feed frenzy begin
KELLER BLOG: Dixie Carter asks wrestlers to step it up, but what does that mean? Shouldn't their goal to be winning matches and nothing else?
KELLER FLASHBACK: Review of Hulk Hogan's first autobiography - Hogan's political maneuvers evident in who he protects and buries
MITCHELL'S TAKE
MOJO MITCHELL'S RAW 11/2: Stream of My Fourth Grade Hero and The Mid-Card Kicks Main Event Ass
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #4: In 1993, after Hogan first left the WWF, he had a lot of career choices
MITCHELL FLASHBACK #3: Hogan's autobiography review - insight into his world
MCNEILL'S TAKE
McNEILL BLOG: The Big Questions About Hulk Hogan in TNA
Fight For Your Right to Bragging: McNEILL Previews WWE Bragging Rights!
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah! McNEILL Previews TNA Bound for Glory 2009
CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL'S BLOG: Vince McMahon is officially delusional, plus Vince's hidden message to Stephanie McMahon
CALDWELL'S TUESDAY CHAT w/GREG PARKS: Raw & Smackdown discussion - Orton-Kofi build-up compared to Rey-Batista, DX dissension, Sheamus stands out
CALDWELL FLASHBACK: TNA Year-End Review 2005 - Must-read flashback to when TNA became a choice for wrestlers in an era very, very similar to 2009
RADICAN'S TAKE
RADICAN: Daddy's little girl V 2.0 debuts on Impact
RADICAN: Wolfe-Angle follow up displays typical warning signs of danger from creative standpoint
RADICAN: TNA finally straps a rocket on the right ass
The Specialists
11/7 WWE Smackdown Hits & Misses: Mysterio vs. Knox, Punk vs. Truth, Batista vs. Hardy
PARKS BLOG: Chris Jericho should know better
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE - TNA Impact 11/5: TNA = The Office, What Vince Russo was thinking during Dixie Carter's speech, Desmond Wolfe and Duran Duran, Highlander spotting, Numbers - Titleholders since 1990
Guest Editorials
GUEST EDITORIAL: Disgruntled TNA fan says he's done with the promotion after today's Impact taping (Contains SPOILERS)
GUEST EDITORIAL: The ultimate irony - Hulk Hogan appears on TNA Impact and pre-taped TV sitcom promoting WWE on the same night
GUEST BOOK REVIEW: Hulk Hogan provides strong defense of his public image in new autobiography
Torch Feedback
TNA Impact Reax #3: "The build for the PPV matches somehow featured Hulk Hogan despite him yet to show up on TV"
TNA Impact Reax #2: "I'm tired of non-stop talking. This isn't a Broadway play; it's professional wrestling and the best stories are told in the ring"
Thursday Night TV Reax #1: "I feel anything TNA does right is inevitably drowned out by what they fail at"
Ask the Editor
Ask the Editor: Wouldn't incorporating MMA-style holds into pro wrestling matches just be trying to be something it's not?
ASK THE EDITOR: Have the Michaels-Batista promos crossed a line with use of insider terms, references to "jobs"?
ASK THE EDITOR: Why do wrestlers in WWE refer to wrestling as "the business" and not "the sport"?
DVDs - VGames - Books
VIDEO GAME REVIEW - Smackdown vs. Raw 2010: WWE's latest video game called best since the No Mercy measuring stick
RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES: 7/24 DBD VII: N1 - Hero & Richards vs. Storm & Steen
RADICAN'S CHIKARA DVD REVIEW: 5/24 "Anniversario Yang" - The Colony vs. F.I.S.T, 8-Man Tag
Torch Flashbacks
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about Eric Bischoff, the demise of WCW
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about his relationship with Ric Flair
TORCH TALK FLASHBACK with Hulk Hogan: Hogan talks to PWTorch editor Wade Keller about his relationship with Vince Russo
VIP Exclusive Features
5+ HOURS: Definitive all-new Eric Bischoff "Torch Talk" available exclusively to PWTorch VIP members
11/6 Bruce Mitchell Audio Show: Why Vince McMahon said WWE isn't a family business, Hulk Hogan-TNA analysis, Dixie Carter's last-gasp speech (65 min.)
PWTorch Newsletter #1115_16 (31 pages!): Hogan-Bischoff-TNA Deal Covered In-Depth - Keller, McNeill, and Powell, plus six pages of Eric Bischoff Torch Talk, and much more
Torch Trivia
TORCH TRIVIA 2/28: Which wrestler backed out of a WWA PPV in February 2002?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/27: Who said this quote about Hulk Hogan's athleticism 11 years ago?
TORCH TRIVIA 2/25: What said this quote about WWE's mid-1990s drug testing policy?
Torch Instant Polls
SMACKDOWN POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/6 Smackdown if you saw the show?
TNA IMPACT POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/5 Impact if you saw the show?
ECW POLL: Who was the MVP of the 11/3 ECW if you saw the show?
PWTorch Free Podcast
11/4 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Format change to the show, new guest host, upcoming shows
FREE FOR ALL: 10/27 Bruce Mitchell Audio Special: Hogan-Bischoff-TNA story from all angles including Monday Night War II possibilities (32 min.)
6/23 Nostalgia Audio with Brian Hoops: Former WCW rapmaster PN News joins Brian Hoops to preview upcoming Midwest shows (10 min.)
Annual Obituaries
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 1999 - Muchnick, Rick Rude, Owen Hart, Renegade...
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2000 - Solie, Albright, Duncum, Tsuruta, Blue Demon, Al Costello
SPECIALIST: List of Deceased Wrestlers for 2001: Johnny Valentine, Terry Gordy, Chris Adams, Bertha Faye, Helen Hart