Ring of Honor REBORN on TNT? (2004)

[infinitehallway]

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- January 4^th, 2004

 

Turner Networks looking to get back into the wrestling game?
Not exactly, but sources indicate that AOL-Time Warner is potentially open to
having wrestling air on their networks again. While the media conglomerate has
no interest in being the owner or financial backer of a promotion, “the door is
open”, according to reports, to wrestling returning to its airwaves. 

 

While no conversations have taken place yet, one interested
party is sure to be NWA:TNA, which has been searching for a network home in
order to move away from their weekly PPV model. Jerry and Jeff Jarrett are
rumored to maintain good relationships with several in AOL-TW, including Ted
Turner himself. 

 

More on this story as it develops. 

 

 

 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- January 25^th, 2004

 

 

NWA:TNA have had preliminary discussions with
representatives of AOL-Time Warner about a potential deal to land their
wrestling on Turner’s networks, likely TNT. Reports from within TNA are that
they are “desperate” to get the deal done, while Turner are taking a more
wait-and-see approach.

 

“They’re open to having wrestling back,” one source within
the television industry told me, “but they’re not actively shopping for it. It
would have to be the right fit for them.” 

More to come.

 

 

 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- February 12^th,
2004

 

 

Talks between AOL-Time Warner and NWA:TNA have ground to a
halt, and it’s possible that the proposed deal, which would see TNA air a
two-hour show every week on TNT, could be off all together. Sources in AOL-TW
indicate there are major questions of content and presentation, with the
network preferring a more “sports oriented” presentation to encourage synergies
with current sports franchises, namely the NBA. 

 

One higher up on the TNA side was confident that issues of
presentation could be “Worked through” and that the major sticking point was
the involvement of Vince Russo- a total non-starter for Warner networks. 

 

Russo recently returned to TNA after a brief departure, and
is allegedly “only an on-air talent”, according to the company, but his
presence and influence is, apparently, enough to stall out the deal. Before his
departure Russo was a major contributor to TNA creative, and is expected to
resume that role, if he hasn’t already. 

 

TNA management is unwilling to transition away from Russo,
as he and Jarrett have a long-standing positive working relationship. TNA
believe that the deal with Warner is still salvageable, even with Russo’s
involvement.

 

More to come

 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 5^th, 2004

 

A perfect storm of events have transpired that could well
shake the professional wrestling industry to its very core. In short: pro wrestling
is returning to TNT, but it will not be NWA:TNA.

 

The first domino to fall was Rob Feinstien, now former owner
of Ring of Honor Wrestling stepping down after being caught in a sting operation
designed to catch local predators preying on underage kids. The story broke on
a local news station, and within hours he had “stepped down” from his role in
Ring of Honor, with talks underway to sell his stake in the company. 

 

Enter Infinite Hallway Media, a previously unknown name
within the professional wrestling space. Headed by Logan Jackson, a young mega-millionaire
who managed to avoid the dot com bubble bursting and life long wrestling fan, IHM
have assets within the traditional television space as well as emerging digital
technologies. Swooping in with a massive offer, ROH sold up quickly, with
assurances that Gabe Sapolsky, current ROH booker, will be kept on in some
capacity.

 

As ink was drying on the ROH sale new owner Jackson was already
working to increase his new brand’s profile. Jackson, reported to be a WON
subscriber, was keenly aware of the precarious state of TNA’s negotiations and
hijacked the deal at the eleventh hour, presenting a pitch for a two-hour show
with an emphasis on realistic, hard hitting wrestling featuring stars from
around the world. Turner executives were impressed, and a deal was agreed in principal
rapidly. Details on the show are still to be finalized in the weeks to come,
but a tentative start date of April is expected.

 

TNA higher-ups were “blindsided” by these developments, and
were downright enraged when they received notice from several top stars that
they intended to sign full-time, exclusive contracts with the newly-minted
national promotion. Both Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles are said to now be
exclusive to ROH, which will be a major blow to TNA.

 

In addition to the two TNA talents, IHM moved quickly to
secure exclusivity with several other “cornerstones” of Ring of Honor, namely ROH
World Champion Samoa Joe, CM Punk, and Bryan Danielson, as well as Ricky “The
Dragon” Steamboat, who is expected to work in a road agent capacity in addition
to his recent on-screen role. More signings are expected, with one source
within ROH saying “The checkbook is wide open. The new owners want to be seen
as major league from day one.” 

 

Ring of Honor have one show scheduled for the month of
March- in Elizabeth, New Jersey. “At Our Best” is expected to be ran primarily
by Gabe Sapolsky and will likely try to tie up storylines heading into the TNT
debut, which will act as a “soft reboot” or jumping-on point for new fans. 

 

More on this seismic story as it develops. 

Edited February 24 by infinitehallway
font fix

[sonny912]

Ooohoohoo, looks like roh is gonna be the new #2 this time around. This is gonna be fun.

[infinitehallway]

Ring of Honor presents AT OUR BEST- Elizabeth, New Jersey (3-13-2004)

 

The RexPlex in New Jersey hosted the last show before ROH truly go national, and did so in front of the biggest crowd in ROH history, nearly 1800 strong. According to reports the card was largely unchanged from pre-sale plans, with one or two notable exceptions. 

The show opened with a six-man mayhem match featuring The Amazing Red, Jack Evans, Sonjay Dutt, Teddy Hart, Jimmy Rave, and Mark Briscoe. Red won a spotfest with his Infra-Red sky twister press. Crowd ate this up and all six guys showed real promise. 

Slyck Wagner Brown faced off with Xaiver of the Embassy, with the former ROH Champion picking up the win. Crowd wasn’t really into either man, with their seconds (April Hunter and Prince Nana) getting bigger reactions than either. 

In a match that was previously announced as a #1 Contendership for the Pure Title contest Jerry Lynn defeated Nigel McGuiness. No mention was made of the Pure Title contendership prior to the match or in any official recaps on ROH.com, so it seems that stipulation was quietly dropped, likely due to plans from the new regime. 

Matt Stryker defeated John Walters in a match that was supposed to be for the #1 Contenders Trophy, but the trophy (as well as any mention of it) were conspicuously absent). This was the exact match you’d expect from these two, proficient but dull technical wrestling that left the crowd pining for something more exciting. It was definitely a mistake having this follow Lynn/McGuiness, as the previous match did the technical battle far better. 

At the end of the match a HUGE SURPRISE shook the RexPlex as Bret Hart entered the building! He entered the ring and grabbed the mic, putting over both men, saying he was impressed by their display of technical prowess before addressing Stryker’s lack of trophy.

“I’m sure you all have heard, there are some changes coming to Ring of Honor… One of those changes is that the Hitman is now the Commissioner! And in my capacity as commissioner I can tell you that the #1 contenders trophy is going away. But don’t worry, Matt Stryker, you won’t be left out in the cold once we get to TNT… on Wednesday April 7th!” 

His speech gets a huge pop, and he raises both  men’s hands before leaving. 

After a short intermission the show continues with one of ROH’s hottest feuds- The Prophecy vs The Second City Saints! It’s Maff and Whitmer against Cabana and Steel in a match that goes to a double-dq as it breaks down into a total fight. The brawl after the bell lasts almost as long as the match itself before being broken up by security.

Following that the leader of the Second City Saints, CM Punk, is out to challenge AJ Styles for the Pure Championship with Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat as the special referee! The match goes almost 25 minutes and is an early contender for MOTY. Punk is convinced he has the victory with his new submission, the Anaconda Vice, as he thinks Styles’ arm drops a third time. Steamboat disagrees, and would you believe it, AJ makes the comeback and gets the victory after a Styles Clash! 

Following this there’s a ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Cage Match finishing the feud between champion Samoa Joe and the Briscoe Brothers, as Jay takes his shot at Joe! This match can be seen HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o8oI-y4COg  WARNING: It is a BLOODBATH! 

The final match of the evening sees the end to another long-standing ROH feud- Special K vs The Carnage Crew in a SCRAMBLE CAGE! This was exactly what you’d expect- pure chaos, and didn’t quite hold up after the last few great matches. 

Overall it was a good show with a really great pair of matches on the second half of the card. It did the job of setting the stage for the new era by tying up existing stories and planting seeds for the future.

 

 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 16, 2004

The fallout of Ring of Honor’s sale to Infinite Hallway Media continues. After a relatively uneventful show this past weekend we have begun receiving reports of major shakeups to the company’s creative structure. 

While current ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky will remain on with the company he will no longer be in charge of the creative direction of the company, instead he will be in an advisor role to new owner Logan Jackson, who will be the primary creative force of the company.

“This kid thinks he can be Vince McMahon,” one source in the company said. “He’s got the checkbook and grew up tape-trading and thinks that qualifies him to run a major television wrestling company. It’s going to be a disaster.” 

Other sources were decidedly more optimistic. 

“It’s amazing,” said one worker who had been with the company since day one. “It’s like a whole different company. Travel is getting paid for. Guys are getting contracts, actual contracts. He brought in Bret Hart! I think a lot of the talent are really excited to see what this is going to look like.” 

On the topic of talent- we are receiving reports that there are several “needle movers” expected to debut on the first TNT show. Rumors are flying around about who might be involved, but one source says that several expected signings “won’t exactly fit the ROH mold”, and that the company is “evolving”. 

In regards to contracts we are told that ROH will be offering three “tiers” of contract- a typical handshake deal for wrestlers they are trying out or who are doing spot work, what they’re calling “Level One” deals which are written contracts but pay on a per-show basis and contain no exclusivity clauses, and “Level Two” deals which are exclusive to ROH and pay monthly. Punk, Joe, et al are on these deals, as are several of the incoming stars. 

 

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter- March 22nd 2004

TNA have declared “total war” on the newly national Ring of Honor as they are scrambling to recover from the blow of losing several of their top talent including AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels. They have issued a declaration to all of their talent that they are not going to be booked by TNA if they take ROH bookings, even if their ROH contracts are non-exclusive. “It’s them or us,” one higher up said. This adds a new dimension to the “Wednesday Night Wars” as they are already being dubbed, as Ring of Honor Wrestling will air opposite TNA’s weekly PPVs starting on 4/1. 

Rumors are flying that several more TNA talents have been contacted by ROH for spots, with contracts at different levels being offered. Some talent in TNA are hopeful this could create a bidding war for their services, but thus far that has not materialized. 

On the other side of the “war” we have begun receiving reports from several independent workers who have been with Ring of Honor and are now fearful that their spot in the promotion won’t be there after the switch to TV. While we’ve heard no official reports of releases, several talent, including some there from day one, have reported to us that they have yet to be contacted about being booked going forward, one stating “There are big money names coming in and only so many spots on the show- I can read the writing on the wall…” 

TNT have been running ads for the debut episode, and the production quality is miles above what Ring of Honor fans will be used to- easily on par with WWE. It will be interesting to see how the show appears on TV, emanating from such a tiny venue, but lit and filmed professionally. The hope within ROH and TNT is that after a month or two of shows on TNT the switch will be made to one to three thousand seat arenas, which will look far better on cameras. The show has also been plugged on various turner properties, including pre-season Braves baseball on TBS, under the taglines “The Era of Honor begins” and “Pro wrestling comes home”. The commercials that are running heavily feature ROH Champion Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson, Bret Hart, and CM Punk. It is expected more promos, especially with the debuting talent, will be shot at the first episode of TV. 

 

Logan Jackson’s Room at the Four Seasons, Philadelphia 

 

“What do you mean we don’t have Muta?” Jackson asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He looked like he could be an MTV reality show star and carried himself with the breezy confidence of a pop music producer, but in the privacy of his makeshift office at Philadelphia’s finest hotel, he was a concentrated, serious businessman. 

Gabe Sapolsky wasn’t particularly impressed. He had been around the block in the wrestling game, studied under (in his opinion) the greatest upstart wrestling mind in history, and helped build ROH from the ground up. The kid had some interesting ideas and a big checkbook, which was enough for Gabe to suck it up and keep quiet, steering the ship as best he could while keeping his new boss happy, but the young man seemed to think he was the new Vince McMahon, and that just wasn’t true.

“All Japan booked him. They sent an email apologizing for the “miscommunication” about his availability and said they’d be sending us a wire to pay for his travel…”

“I’m not worried about the ****ing travel, I’m worried about our main event!” Jackson snapped before taking a deep breath. “Sorry, you’re just the messenger. Who is our liaison with All Japan?” 

“We don’t really have one officially. We’ve been using Wally Yamaguchi. He, uh, hasn’t returned any of my calls today.”

Jackson grimaced, his mind racing. 

“Think this was intentional? A snub?” 

Sapolsky shuffled his feet. 

“We’ve had a pretty good relationship, but you’ve been reaching out to a lot of different companies. That’s a big deal there. They could be offended.” 

“They shouldn’t know who we’re reaching out to.” 

Sapolsky couldn’t contain a chuckle.

“That’s the business, Mr. Jackson. Anyone who thinks they can get a little over by spilling something will rush to Meltzer.” 

Sapolsky didn’t mention that he, himself, had called Meltzer recently, and would continue to. Jackson, for his part, already suspected as much. He knew he had to play the game, as it were. He was signing the checks, and could very well fire the man outright, but the locker-room liked him, and he did have a great eye for talent. It was just a matter of managing him. And making sure he didn’t leak anything too important. 

“Okay,” Jackson said, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s redo the card…” 

 

Pre-Show talent meeting- Philadelphia PA, Three Hours before air

Logan took a deep breath. He hadn’t been planning on a pre-show speech. He wasn’t the rah-rah type, he was a “you’re the best and we know it, let’s kill this” type. But Sapolsky had come into his makeshift office and said that the talent were all on eggshells, some of them upset they were there but not booked, figuring they were out a payday. 

So there Jackson was, standing in front of what was, he hoped, the beginnings of one of the best rosters in wrestling history. Pieces were missing, and they’d need some time, but he had high hopes. He cleared his throat.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s show-day. For many of you this is your first live TV. It’s mine too. At least in this format…”

He looked around. They were all watching him intently. He realized, then, that this was suddenly a capital-S Speech, and could well shape everything that was to come. He felt a knot in his stomach at the realization. 

“So I want to clear some things up right off the bat. If you’re here today, you’re getting paid. Regardless of if you’re on the show tonight. This isn’t some carny operation, some fly-by-night indie. So, if you’re upset about not being on the show, good. I want you to want to be on the show. But I don’t want it to be because you think you’re not getting paid. Everyone got that?” 

There were nods around the room, a few smiles. 

“So, with that out of the way, I want you all to know something. I didn’t buy this company just to say I ran a wrestling company. I didn’t buy it to put myself on TV. I bought this company because I was there, in the Murphy Rec Center, for the first show. I fell in love with ROH that night. I said to myself “this… this is the wrestling that I love.” I had no idea, two years ago, that I’d one day be here, getting ready to show the world at large Ring of Honor.”

He took another deep breath, doing his best to ignore the expressions he was seeing stare back at him- some confused, others stony-faced, one or two possibly even impressed.

“I believe that this company. That you all, and the men and women we’re going to bring in to work along side you, I believe that together we’re going to change the world of professional wrestling. We’re going to SAVE professional wrestling.”

Jackson blinked dumbly as a few people shouted in agreement, many others clapping. 

“Tonight I want you all, whether you’re on first, last, or in the middle, to go out there and show the world what we’re all about. I want you to show them that… that one company doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! One MAN doesn’t get to decide what pro wrestling is! We do! And we’re going to take it into the future, together!” 

To his great surprise most of the assembled men and women in the room rose to their feet, whooping and clapping. Bryan Danielson, one of Jackson’s favorites as a fan (not that he can have favorites as an owner, he reminded himself) began an R-O-H chant that was almost but not quite picked up by a few others. 

Jackson shook a few hands as the meeting dispersed, feeling an indescribable buzz. It was, he reminded himself, not even showtime yet… 

 

[infinitehallway]

RING OF HONOR WRESTLING- EPISODE ONE (Wednesday, April Wk 1,
2004)

 

The show begins with a video package voiced over by The NBA
on TNT’s Ernie Johnson, narrating the long and storied history of professional
wrestling on Turner Networks. Unfortunately there are only still photographs
shown, mostly from Bill Apter, as Vince McMahon owns the vast majority of the
tape library. EJ speaks of the tradition of hard hitting, competitive
wrestling, saying that tonight professional wrestling on Turner Networks enters
a new era- THE ERA OF HONOR! 

 

We then get a video package of the stars of Ring of Honor-
CM Punk, AJ Styles, Bryan Danielson, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe, before
fading to the ring where JOEY STYLES opens the show.

 

“OH MY GOD!” He exclaims, giving the fans exactly what they
want. The arena is small, the crowd well short of the 1800 that packed the RexPlex,
but they’re loud and well-lit, the production anything but indy. The lights,
graphics, and sound are all of a high enough level to stand up against any
other wrestling company, even WWE. 

 

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to RING OF HONOR WRESTLING!”
Another big pop. “Allow me to introduce to you our new commissioner, The Best
there Is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, Bret Hart!” 

 

A close approximation of the Hitman’s iconic theme plays and
Hart returns to TNT airwaves to as big of an ovation as that small of a crowd
can offer. He takes the mic and puts over Ring of Honor as being “real” pro
wrestling, not “muscleheads in spray tans and cartoon gimmicks.” He then puts
over ROH champion Samoa Joe, who enters the building to the sounds of “The
Champ is Here”, ready to take center stage in the first match! 

 

RATING: 81

 

Match One: ROH World Championship Samoa Joe © vs Matt
Stryker

 

The first match in Ring of Honor Wrestling on TNT history is
little more than a showcase for the champ, who dominates his would-be
challenger from bell to bell. It’s not a squash, but it’s damn close. Stryker’s
only real offense is a short and ill-fated comeback attempt which culminates in
him trying to hit a Death Valley Driver on Joe, Joe falling out of the back,
and choking him out to retain! 

 

These two had good chemistry together, and in different
circumstances could have turned in an even better match. The match was dragged
down by a really poor refereeing performance from Todd Sinclaire, who looked
not ready for prime time. 

 

Rating: 53

 

After the match Joe cuts a promo about Ring of Honor being
his house, and how the Samoa Joe champion forever train will continue to roll
on TNT. He’s interrupted, however, by the lights going haywire and STING walking
slowly down the long, Japanese style ramp as the crowd loses its mind. Joe
regards him skeptically, not backing down an inch. Sting grabs a mic.

 

“You really think you could have wrestling back on TNT and
not invite the Stinger?” He laughs. “Joe, I just wanted to come out here and
congratulate you on your victory, and let you know that I respect you a lot. I
respect everything you’ve done. You took that title from something that
belonged in a tiny gymnasium and took it all over the world, making it a world
title. 

 

Joe nods.

 

“But. But but but BUT… that doesn’t mean I’m not coming for
you and your belt, now that I’m here in R-O-H!” 

 

Joe is unphased. Joe is a badass. <o:p></o:p>

 

“Now, I don’t expect to be handed anything. I know I gotta
start at the bottom and earn my shot at your belt just like anybody else, which
is why I’m gong to start NEXT WEEK!”

 

Much more muted pop for that, as the fans realize they won’t
be seeing the Stinger in action tonight. He drops the mic and extends his hand
to Joe, who looks him over solemnly before shaking it.

 

RATING: 66

 

After a commercial break we are back for our second match,
a ROH staple, the TAG TEAM SCRAMBLE!

 

The Briscoes © vs Spanish Announce Team vs The Backseat Boyz
vs Special K (Izzy and Dixie)

 

This match is non-title, as none of the three would-be
challengers have earned a shot. Gabe Sapolsky, in his alter-ego of Chris Lovey,
does a great job of encapsulating who these guys are as they walk out to the
ring. Special K are rich kids who use their parents money on drugs and raves, the
Spanish Announce Team are two innovators of offense from New York, The Backseat
Boyz are egotistical would-be heartthrobs, who just happen to have the goods to
back it up, and the Briscoes are two tough young bastards who can wrestle any
style. He also explains what a scramble match is- basically lucha rules where
tags aren’t required. 

 

The match itself is a total spotfest of a sprint with all
four teams getting their signature offense in. The Backseats and Briscoes both
look like they’re ready for prime time, but even Special K had some bright
spots. Fun finish as each team hits their tag finisher on another, culminating
in the Briscoes nailing Izzy of Special K with a Spike J-Driller (Tiger Driver)
for the win!

 

RATING: 43

 

Back from a commercial break we get a long video recap of
one of ROH’s hottest current feuds- The Second City Saints (CM Punk, Ace Steel,
and Colt Cabana) are at war with The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels, Dan Maff,
BJ Whitmer, and Allison Danger). It splices footage from the last year or so of
shows together with new, fresh promos from the Saints, Maff, Whitmer, and
Danger. Short version- The Prophecy attacked Punk’s girlfriend/valet at the
time, Daffney, driving her out of ROH. The two sides had a brutal no contest in
January, and Daniels hasn’t been seen since. The Saints say they’ve driven The
Fallen Angel off, but Danger says the second coming is imminent. 

 

RATING: 58

 

Straight from that we get the ominous tones of AFI’s Miseria
Cantare (The Beginning), which is CM Punk’s theme song! He’s out for our next
match-

 

MATCH THREE: CM PUNK vs NIGEL MCGUINESS

 

This is not a “Pure Rules” match despite both men being
active in the division. This match was not as one-sided as the opener but was
far from fifty-fifty, with Punk getting to showcase his offense and heel work.
Nigel gets a couple of spots, including his rebound lariat, but falls prey to a
Shining Wizard and Anaconda Vice for the Punk victory.

 

RATING: 54

 

After a commercial break and Bret Hart is back in the ring,
holding a title belt in a bag! He gets on the microphone and announces that Ring
of Honor won’t just feature the best male athletes from around the world, but
the best female athletes as well, unveiling the WOMEN OF HONOR title! He brings
out several of the top female talents in the USA including Sara Del Rey,
Allison Danger, Lacey, Daizee Haze, and JOANIE LAURER, who gets something that
can only be described as a shocked pop.

 

RATING: 67

 

MATCH FOUR: Austin Aries vs Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Jacobs vs
Seth DeLay vs Roderick Strong vs Fergal Devitt

 

Another ROH staple, the Six-Man Mayhem match, is up next.
Lovey notes that DeLay and Devitt are both getting their ROH debuts here, and
that they’ll only get more bookings if they impress. Impress they do, as all
six men look good in this one, with Aries and Shelley looking the most
polished. Aries steals the win, nailing his 450 Splash on Shelley as he was
going for a pin after hitting Jacobs with the ShellShock. Good stuff all around,
but the crowd only cared about the spots, not the wrestlers.

 

RATING: 27

This is followed by the first real miss of the show, a
pre-taped promo from Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Both guys were rough on
the mic, somehow meandering despite having nothing really to say. They call
themselves the Kings of Wrestling. They’re definitely not the Kings of Promos.

 

RATING: 27

 

MAIN EVENT: PURE TITLE- AJ Styles © vs Bryan Danielson

Lovey does a good job of explaining the needlessly
complicated Pure Wrestling rules for the new viewers, and also reels off both
men’s accolades as the match gets under way. This was definitely the match of
the night, both guys bringing their A-Game. 

 

The match starts off slow with some fancy chain-wrestling,
but after two or three minutes evolves rapidly into stiff strikes and high impact
moves. Styles works on Danielson’s neck, while the American Dragon focuses on
Styles’ arm and shoulder area. This plays into the finish as Danielson counters
a Styles Clash attempt into what the commentators call a “LaBell Lock”, only to
transition to the Cattle Mutilation, but he’s unable to hold it due to his
damaged neck! AJ delivers one of his signature spin kicks, ducks a rolling
elbow, and ends up connecting with the Styles Clash for the hard-fought victory!

 

RATING: 69

 

Both men shake hands after the match, adhering to the Code
of Honor, but all hell breaks loose as three men emerge from the crowd
off-camera and attack them! For a few seconds it looks like a legit fan run-in,
as the cameras didn’t choreograph it at all. It becomes obvious that it’s a
work as the men take off their balaclava’s to reveal they are Homicide, Ricky
Reyes, and Rocky Romero- The Rottweilers! They lay a vicious beat-down on the
pair for almost two minutes before the lights go out.

“What the hell?” asks Joey Styles. “OH MY GOD!” 

The lights come back up to reveal JEFF HARDY standing in the
middle of the ring with a chair. The crowd is stunned silent. Hardy runs off
the Rottweilers and stands triumphant with the two ROH originals… Until he lays
them out as well! 

“What the HELL?” Joey roars again.

The crowd, still confused by all this, erupts into boos. The
show fades to black as Hardy walks slowly up the long ramp towards the back.

RATING: 49

OVERALL RATING: 67


Ninety minutes after the show, backstage:

Gabe Sapolsky approaches Logan Jackson in his make-shift office, looking pleased as a pig in slop Jackson is on a laptop computer, pouring over reactions to the show online.

"Boss, the boys are all heading out to one of the local bars. You should stop in," Sapolsky says, beaming. Jackson shakes his head.

"Thanks, but I'm not one of the boys. They don't need the boss there while they're trying to celebrate our first show." 

Sapolsky doesn't know what to say to that. 

"So, uh, how do you feel about how things went?" he asked, regretting entering the office at all.

"We can debrief tomorrow, Gabe. I want to watch the show back first. We'll have Ricky and Bret join us too. Go have fun with the boys. Keep them out of trouble." 

Sapolsky, grateful for off-ramp out of the conversation, smiles and beats a hasty retreat. Jackson returns his attention to the laptop and sighs. 

There's much work to be done.

Edited March 3 by infinitehallway