By Pat McNeill, PWTorch columnist

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

DISCLAIMER: Projections are made by myself and for myself with absolutely no assistance from Joe Koff, 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 Glade Aerosol Summer Beauties. Make your home a fresher place to be with Glade Aerosol, available in fifteen fresh scents. 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. These predictions are based on what the columnist would do if he had creative control over ROH, unless a better one-liner comes along.

Welcome to the first live Ring of Honor pay-per-view. Really. ROH will have the show available on UStream, but you can also see tonight's battle at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds by calling your cable company or satellite provider. This is not as loaded as the recent ROH/New Japan shows, but it should be a lot of fun.

Ring of Honor, in an effort to appease us poor wrestling columnists, put up this weekend's ROH television show. Which is a good thing, because it doubles as a preview for tonight's pay-per-view. Check it out.



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, which was booked and later owned by Paul Heyman. 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 big shows all took place at Viking Hall, known locally as the "ECW Arena." And, back on June 24, 1994 at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, fans turned out for the first ever "Hostile City Showdown" event, which began with Tommy Dreamer against Hack Myers. Joey Styles had the call


ECW.1994.06.24.Hostile.City.Showdown.VHSRip... by f100000707858265

And, as your free gift for viewing this column, let's take you back to November 5, 2004 and Ring of Honor's "Weekend of Thunder: Night 1" Show in Revere, Massachusetts. The main event was Jushin Liger against Bryan Danielson. Good times. Jimmy Bower and C.M. Punk had the call.



On with the projections!

I have no idea what the dark match will be for this show, but I hear War Machine is involved.

A.C.H. vs. B.J. Whitmer vs. Caprice Coleman vs. Tadarius Thomas vs. Takaaki Watanabe vs. Tomasso Ciampa (Six Man Mayhem Match): One of these men will win and receive a shot at the ROH Television Title, currently held by Jay Lethal. Projection? Say, isn't it about time for Ciampa to receive his rematch for the television title? Ciampa hits Coleman with Project Ciampa for the win.

Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong (Submission Match): These two had a fantastic match at "Supercard of Honor." Then Cedric finally defeated Roddy at Global Wars in another exceptional match. Where do we go from here? Projection? We go with Strong defeating Alexander with the Strong Hold. Another Elgin vs. Strong match in ROH seems like a good idea.

Kevin Steen vs. Silas Young: Mister Wrestling gets to battle The Last Real Man in what could very well be Steen's sendoff from Ring of Honor. Fortunately for Steen, Ring of Honor knows a thing or two about sendoffs. Projection? Steen wins with a package piledriver. Will we see him feud with Sami Zayn on NXT at some point? That wouldn't suck.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett (w/ Maria): Speaking of folks who may or may not be leaving Ring of Honor, say hello to Matt Hardy. Matt is scheduled to wrestle at the TNA tapings this week. That being the case, and with Matt not being an ROH original, this is an easy finish. Projection? The Briscoes hit the Doomsday Device on Matt and Jay Briscoe scores the pin. Hopefully, Cole and Bennett won't have too much trouble finding a third man for their crew.

Jay Lethal vs. Matt Taven (ROH TV Title - Hoopla Harry handcuffed to the ringpost): Taven wants his title back, and he also wants revenge on Martini, his former manager. Lethal makes a much better heel than he did a babyface, and that's a good thing. Projection? Lethal whomps Taven with the Book of Truth, and the championship stays where it is for a little while longer.

ReDragon vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian (ROH Tag Team Titles): Daniels and Kazarian were great guests on the PWTorch Livecast this past Wednesday. Also, they are scheduled for three out of the next four Ring of Honor events. But the ROH tag titles need to stay with one team for a little while longer. Projection O'Reilly pins Daniels after Chasing the Dragon, and Daniels & Kaz hunt for revenge and respect on this summer's shows.

Adam Cole vs. Michael Elgin (ROH World Title): Adam Cole has stepped up, both in the ring and on the microphone. Elgin has been chasing the title for two years ago, and he's going to look like a plate of warm piss if he doesn't win here. Projection? Matt Hardy & Michael Bennett run the interference train, the Briscoes help Elgin out, and Michael hits the spinning powerbomb to become our new ROH Heavyweight Champion.

Aftermath: When's the next Ring of Honor pay-per-view? I don't know, since the company hasn't announced any more Sunday shows. But August 22nd and 23rd are "Death Before Dishonor" weekend. So maybe we'll get another Michael Elgin vs. A.J. Styles match then.

***
Pat McNeill of Richmond, Va. has been a Torch columnist since February 2001. Two June pay-per-views down, two to go.

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