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 Gary Juster, Nigel McGuinness or The Man With The Lizard Face. Projections are not predictions, because this is the column where everything's made up and the points don't matter. This preview has been sealed in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnall's porch since noon today. Some of our departing contestants will receive a supply of Firestone tires. Firestone, where the rubber meets the road. Don't forget, when you land on "Bankrupt," you lose your cash but not your merchandise, because once you buy a prize, it's yours to keep. Remember, this is only an exhibition. This is not a competition. Please, please, tell your friends that the "Harlem Shake" meme is played out. Also, no wagering. This lineup is based on the best available information as of this writing. These predictions are based on what the columnist would do if he had creative control over ROH, unless a better one-liner comes along.

The big news going into tonight is the feud between Jay Lethal and Kevin Steen's S.C.U.M. stable. Let us take you back to the February 16th episode of ROH television, where Lethal battled Jimmy Jacobs.



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.

Fifteen years ago, on March 1, 1998, ECW presented its "Living Dangerously 1998" pay-per-view from Asbury Park, New Jersey. We definitely can't show you that pay-per-view. But we CAN show you the pregame show. Here's the hype for the tag team war as Shane Douglas and Chris Candido prepared to tangle with Lance Storm and a mystery partner. This is hosted by Joey Styles and the disembodied voice of Paul E. Dangerously.


ECW Living Dangerously 1998 PPV Pre-Showby f100003570148919

And, as your free gift for viewing this column, let's take you back to ROH's 6th Anniversary Show, from February 23, 2008. Nigel McGuinness was defending the ROH World Title against Bryan Danielson. I think this one turned out okay, Your announcers are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.



On with the projections!

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

"God's Gift" QT Marshall vs. ACH vs. Silas Young vs. Mike Sydal vs. Adam Page vs. Tadarius Thomas (Six-Man Mayhem): You know, a six-man DOES feel like old-school Ring of Honor, so I applaud this move. Projection ACH hits the Dragon Fly on Page to score the win.

Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs. Steve Corino & Jimmy Jacobs: The mystery surrounding Corino and Jimmy Jacobs is "Who's the fifth member of S.C.U.M.?" I'm expecting this to be a better reveal than, say, Mike Knox joining Aces & Eights. Projection? Matt Hardy would be a good choice. Charlie Haas would be a good choice. My money is on Mike Mondo interfering and costing Coleman & Alexander the match.

B.J. Whitmer vs. Charlie Haas (No Holds Barred): Charlie Haas isn't receiving more air time than the rest of the ROH roster. It just seems that way. Projection? Haas hits Whitmer with all sorts of furniture and earns a submission with the Haas of Pain.

Michael Elgin vs. Roderick Strong (2/3 Falls): Over the past few months, we've seen the Unbreakable One fall just short in his attempts to get even with Roderick Strong. Time to wrap this up. Projection? Strong wins the first fall with the End of Heartache, Elgin takes the second fall with the spinning powerbomb, and the third fall with a nasty lariat. This should be a fantastic outing.

Adam Cole vs. Matt Taven (w/o Truth Martini) - ROH TV Title: Taven has the potential to be a breakout star here in ROH, but the Panama City Playboy shouldn't be losing anytime soon. Unless he's signed with WWE, in which case you job him out now. Projection? Cole wins with the Florida Key suplex.

Eddie Edwards & Some Dong vs. Rocky Romero & Alex Kozlov: It'll be great to see Romero and Kozlov make their return to the promotion, and this should be an outstanding matchup. The Forever Hooligans are set to receive a tag team title match on Sunday night, which sort of gives away the finish. Projection? Kozlove & Romero pick off Wesley Crusher with the Contract Killer and score a mild upset.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. Red Dragon (not to be confused with Red Robin) - ROH World Tag Team Titles : The Briscoes are perpetual main eventers in Ring of Honor, and probably the best team in the promotion. However, it's usually better business to have your best team chasing the titles instead of holding them. Projection? After some chicanery, Bobby catches Mark with the Flying Fish Hook, and we have new Ring of onor World Tag Team Champions.

Kevin Steen vs. Jay Lethal (ROH World Title): Steen's been ROH champion for almost ten months now, and he's probably going to be the babyface, all things considered. Still, it's time to make a change. Projection? The challenger survives everything Steen can throw at him, then surprises Mr. Wrestling with the Lethal Injection. Steen. like champions do in Ring of Honor, goes to put the belt on his successor, and Corino and friends come out to beat down Lethal before he can really celebrate winning his new title.

Aftermath: We head for Supercard of Honor, and the rematches of Jay Lethal vs. Kevin Steen and Red Dragon vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe. Yeah.

***
Pat McNeill of Richmond, Va. has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. He recommends "Then Came Brain Damage" by Alex Hawkins, for people who enjoy books about sports broadcasting.

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