The Steel Cage

There’s been a lot of discussion here over the last few days on what constitutes a quality professional wrestling product. Some WWE loyalists have defended the company to the hilt against criticisms that the product has been lackluster as of late. They say there’s nothing wrong with what we’re getting from WWE.

So how good can wrestling be? I’d direct your attention to exhibit A, Ring of Honor’s sixth pay per, Take No Prisoners, which debuts tonight on In Demand at 10 p.m., and has several replays over the weekend.

You know that feeling of complete and utter satisfaction that you get a few times a year from a particularly well executed, dramatic and exciting WWE match? Well, imagine getting that at nearly every show, and very often several times on a single card. That's usually my ROH experience.

Now, I don’t at all profess that ROH is “better” than WWE, nor that WWE should be emulating ROH’s wrestling style. They are two distinctly different products, and both are good at what they do. But if you ever wanted to have your faith restored that you don't need leprechauns, million dollar giveaways, and diva watergun fights to put on a wrestling show, then I implore you to check out an ROH pay per view, which are usually priced in the $15 range.

There’s a big misconception out there that an ROH show is a two-hour high spot fest with of the psychology, storylines, and starpower that separate it from the major leagues. On the contrary, some of the best developed wrestling characters, compelling storylines, hilarious humor and epic showdowns I have seen in the last several years have come from ROH.

And from what I heard, ROH is at its best at Take No Prisoners, which features an ROH dream match between two of Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries, as well as ROH heavyweight champion Nigel McGuinness defending his title against the winner of a four-corner survival match earlier in the night. I won’t give away any spoilers from the show, which was taped several weeks ago, but I heard the title match was a star-making performance for the challenger and a legitimate match of the year candidate.

I enjoy WWE as much as the next person, but I don’t think it’s going out on much of a limb to predict that the best wrestling pay per view this weekend will be ROH’s Take No Prisoners. So spend your money wisely.

Here’s a preview of the show: