ROH vs. WWE: Who Had the Better PPV?
I wrote here last Friday that I expected that the weekend's best pay per view would come from Ring of Honor, and not WWE. So was I right? I guess it depends on your tastes.
I'll say this much - neither company came through with an A+ effort, but if you bought either show, you probably don't feel like you got robbed.
At just $15 - compared to One Night Stand's $40, it's a lot easier to have gotten your money's worth having ordered ROH's Take No Prisoners. But still, I had a few complaints. My biggest is ROH's continued sub-par production values. I was so excited about this show, but when the first image I saw was the two announcers' faces washed out in the harsh lighting, I was instantly annoyed. In 2008, this is just unacceptable, and I would bet it instantly turns off scores of fans sampling the product for the first time.
I've heard that ROH recently invested in a new lighting rig - which I believe I saw in person at ROH's last Manhattan Centre show. The lighting at that show was a huge, huge improvement. It consisted of an overhead square rig with several lights that evenly lit the entire ring. I assumed at the time that the rig belonged to the building. If that lighting system, in fact, will be the norm at future ROH shows, then I think it's a tremendously worthwhile investment - arguably more so than any piece of talent. I can only hope that ROH makes similar investments in other infrastructure, including sound and video cameras. Some of the footage - especially the stuff backstage and outside the building - is just beyond bush league. ROH also desperately needs to overhaul its graphics, which reek of public access television cheese.
The card itself featured the high quality you'd expect from an ROH show. However, it seemed like ROH tried to squeeze more into the two-hour pay per view than usual, and some of the matches and segments felt a bit rushed as a result.
Nonetheless, the last two matches made this show a definite thumbs up. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries put on the kind of technical wrestling clinic you would expect from these two. And, quite simply, you MUST try to watch Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black (and I hate using all caps.) This was a classic Cinderella story told in a ring, and a star making performance not only for the underdog Black, but for McGuinness, who shined brightly as an exasperated heel champion. One of the best matches I've seen all year.
One Night Stand was everything I excepted it to be: A fun, but entirely unnecessary show. Indeed, WWE no longer bills ONS as an ECW PPV, although it attempts to keep some of the lineage to the original ONS shows through the all-extreme rules format. But calling it ONS only serves to lessen the originality and charm of the original offerings.
The Jericho-Michaels-Batista storyline continues to be my favorite in all of wrestling right now. All three men are playing their roles to perfection, and WWE writers have been on their A-game in scripting a compelling, complex, and intelligent wrestling storyline. While so many of WWE's feuds seem stale, this one still has plenty of legs left.
People may point to Randy Orton's unfortunate injury as the reason his match with Triple H fell a little flat. But after seeing these two go at it so, so many times in recent months, I can't imagine having gotten excited about this match under almost any circumstances. It's a shame that it took Orton breaking his collarbone for WWE finally to move on to a new main event program on Raw. But that said, this could be a blessing in disguise for Orton, who risked being overexposed after largely carrying the Raw brand on his back for the last eight months. Orton could use the next several months to get healthy, spend time with his new bride, and when he comes back in several months, his return will be a huge deal.
The Undertaker vs. Edge TLC match was every bit the fun stunt spot-fest I expected it to be. I don't mind that Edge re-claimed the world title, as their is more potential in a heel Edge defending the title against a slew of babyface challengers than there was 'Taker defending it against lumbering heel challengers like Umaga and Mark Henry.
So who won the weekend pay per view battle? I guess that's up to each of us to decide - and it cost you $65 to do so.
And let's not forget, TNA's Slammiversary is just six days away.
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Comments (8)
first
I'd say WWE, but LOLZ I WOULD SAY THAT WOULDN'T I???
But seriously, I don't know what more you could ask of that show. The only thing missing was the epic Wrestlemania feel, and I'd say it would have been A+.
Jeff/Umaga - fun match.
ECW 5-way - fun match.
Cena/JBL - fun match.
Divas - fun match.
HBK/Batista - fun match.
LMS - Obviously wasn't great but I think if you gave them time to make the crowd feel like Orton actually stood a chance then it would have been. The reason their first one was great was because you knew it could go either way, you knew HHH would be tired and slightly weaker from his 2 earlier matches, and Orton looked like a threat. If they made HHH go down after a couple of heavy shots until 9 I have no doubt it would have been good.
TLC - fantastic.
Basically, the question people have to ask themselves is - 'Was it fun?'. After every single segment I felt entertained in some way. The Adamle segment was also great. Without over analying whether each guy displayed enough technical prowess, or moaning about whether some matches were spotty, people have to admit that it delivered exactly what it said it would, and to a high standard. Much better than last years (if you want a thrown together card with no build up, THAT was it) but then, WWE PPV's have been on a roll this year.
It's also funny when people moan that the current product is predictable, when infact it's nothing of the sort. So far this year we've had Cena win the Rumble (when everyone thought 'omg how predictable, it's clearly going to be HHH), we've had Orton retain at Mania, we've had the unpredictable Batista/HBK storyline, and we've had Edge beat the Undertaker in a match that many people thought was too predictable because of the 'banished' stipulation. Throw in Regal cutting of the show early turning out the lights, and then getting fired, if you want to moan about the product, being too predictable isn't really a justifiable reason to do so.
As for ROH, I'm more than willing to say they put on good matches, and are good for what they are. The only reason my name is 'wweisright' is because they are at the top, and they are there for a reason, and I find it hilarious how people that haven't booked a match in their lives think they know it all about how any wrestling company 'should' do something, let alone the one at the top of the industry. If ROH were at the top, I'd be defending them just as much, because there would be just as many people moaning about them and what they are putting on simply because they would be the targets. I will say though, that I don't feel they are capable of putting together truly epic moments that the WWE has. Partly down to production values, partly down to star power. WWE has Wrestlemania, but also has the fact that no-one does PPV like they do. Everything feels big. Their maximum performance level is greater than ROH's.
Who are you, wweisright? And how are you related to the McMahon family?
Aww come on man, I'm trying to be balanced, I'm trying not to go overboard. I'm trying to put my points forward in a non agressive manner. I don't think I wrote anything there that was an out and out lie from some blind WWE mark. (I feel the bit where I said it was A+ could have been, but I meant that if the PPV did have the epic Mania feel then it would have been, not that it was indeed that good last night).
As I said in the post above, I don't find everything they do to be absolutely incredibly amazing, but I can understand why they do what they do. I can also say that I truly believe this year has actually been very entertaining, not unpredictable, and I'm really enjoying it. Not eeeeeevery single segment on every show, but for the most part, yes I am.
I find it amusing WWE kept the name "One Night Stand," which has always been a stupid name for a wrestling event, and it got rid of "Vengeance" in favor of "Night of Champions."
Next year, just have one June pay-per-view but its name can be twice as stupid: "One Night Stand of Champions."
i wouldn't pay $15 for the indy show. however, i wouldn't even pay $15 for the wwe show either. they just show the highlights nonstop not to mention i can just find the videos online if i want to catch anything i thought i might have missed.
Whoa, you guys pay US$40 for WWE pay per views in the states?
We pay the equivalent of US$15 in New Zealand and it still feels like too much sometimes
"I don't mind that Edge re-claimed the world title, as their is more potential in a heel Edge defending the title against a slew of babyface challengers than there was 'Taker defending it against lumbering heel challengers like Umaga and Mark Henry."
I agree but we're probably going to get Edge defending against Batista. He hasn't had a title shot in what a few weeks now?