By Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist

Wake the pets and call the neighbors. It's time for our semi-monthly ROH internet pay-per-view preview column!

DISCLAIMER: Projections are made by myself and for myself with absolutely no assistance from James E. Cornette, Gary Juster or The Man With The Lizard Face. No one knows the contents of these projections, but I, in my divine and mystical way, will ascertain the finishes to these matches while being several months behind on my Ring of Honor DVD's. Some of our departing contestants will receive a supply of baked goods from Sara Lee. Sara Lee bagels and muffins are a perfect and healthy way to start your mornings. And remember, four Whammys will bring tears to your eyes, and put you out of the game. Remember, this is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, please, no wagering. This lineup is based on the best available information as of this writing.

The big news going into tonight's show is...Oh, just watch the ROH video wire. It's less typing for me. You can amuse yourself by counting the scars on Steve Corino's forehead.



And without further ado, let's roll right into this month's Wrestling History Lesson. Before Ring of Honor the "number three promotion" in North America was the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling. The original ECW ran from 1993 through 2001. Among the many wrestlers who passed through ECW were Steve Austin, Mick Foley and the late Eddie Guerrero. A young Gabe Sapolsky worked for the company, as did ROH founder Rob Feinstein and legendary manager Jim Cornette.

Back in the original ECW, the monthly cards at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia meant everything to the insider fans. And back on December 7th, 1996, in Philadephia, the main event featured The Sandman defending the ECW Title against former champion Raven in a barbed wire match.





And, as your free gift for viewing this column, let's see the Ring of Honor tag team champions in actions. From WWE Raw on April 17, 2006, it's Shelton Benjamin taking on Charlie Haas.



On with the projections for tonight's show!

I have no idea what the dark match will be for this show, but I hope Shiloh Jonze is involved.

Jimmy Rave vs. Teijo Khan...I mean, Tomasso Ciampa (w/ The Embassy): Mr. Rave returns to Ring of Honor pay-per-view this evening. Amazingly, he will be the fan favorite at "Final Battle." Projection? Rave does well, gets distracted by one of Prince Nana's minions, and falls victim to Project Ciampa. Tomasso remains undefeated.

T.J. Perkins vs. Michael Elgin (w/ greasy-haired Truth Martini): ROH has done an excellent job of playing to Elgin's strengths, and has turned him into the promotion's very own mini-Rhino. Perkins is always fun to watch. Projection? The unbreakable one defeats Perkins with the Spinning Powerbomb.

Future Shock vs. The Young Bucks vs. The Bravado Brothers vs. All Night Xpress vs. Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander (Tag Team Gauntlet Match): Nothing against Cole, O'Reilly or the Bravado Brothers, but one of these teams is long like the idea. More importantly, only one of these teams is advertised for the next ROH television tapings. Projection? Coleman & Alexander beat the Bravados. Bucks beat Coleman & Alexander, All Night Xpress beats the Bucks, Future Shock beats the Bucks to take the victory and a future title shot.

Roderick Strong vs. Mystery Opponent: We've heard several guesses as to who Strong will face tonight, but my money is on a guy who is awaiting medical clearance to sign with WWE, and that's former ROH Tag Team Champion Chris Hero. That would be a heck of a surprise, and those two have faced off before. Projection? Hero upsets Strong with the Deathblow. Strong beats Hero at the television tapings in two weeks to get his win back before Hero departs.

Jay Lethal vs. El Generico vs. Mike Bennett (ROH Television Title): The story is that Maria Kanellis is set to make her Ring of Honor debut in this contest. Projection? Lethal gets distracted by "Brutal" Bob Evans. Bennett pins Generico to capture the Ring of Honor television title.

Steve Corino vs. Kevin Steen (No Disqualification): Jimmy Jacobs is your guest referee. The result can only go one way. It's how we get there that counts. Projection? Steen defeats Corino with an assist from El Generico, who's tired of spinning his wheels and ready to return to his old role as Steen's sidekick.

Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin vs. The Briscoe Brothers (ROH Tag Team Titles): It's Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team against, well, the ROH Tag Team Champions. You know it's true. Projection? Jay pins Haas with the Jay Driller, and Dem Boys are seven-time ROH tag team champions. Hey, we gave Dragon Gate some crap for turning Dragon Kid heel, so we might as well be evenhanded. There's no way to keep these fans from cheering Jay and Mark. Why fight it?

Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards (ROH World Title): Dan Severn is in Eddie's corner. Tony Kozina is in Davey's corner. And no one knows what Truth Martini is up to, but he's up to something. Projection? Richards defeat Edwards with the Kimura, and then we see where ROH goes from here. My Sophisticated Wild-Assed Guess is that Future Shock turns on the Wolves and joins the House of Truth sometime soon, but we'll see.

Aftermath: The next internet pay-per-view? I'm guessing it'll be the Tenth Anniversary show in Manhattan, which will be some time in late February/early March. Let's go with American Wolves vs. Future Shock and Corino & Jacobs vs. Steen & Generico.

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Pat McNeill of Richmond, Va. has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. He asks you to support your local independent wrestling promotion, because that's where you'll see the superstars of tomorrow and the washed-up has-beens of yesteryear.

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