BRM Books Kevin Steen's Return to ROH

[Big Red Machine]

At Final Battle 2011 Kevin Steen defeated Steve Corino and won the right to be reinstated in ROH. Steen's persona over the past two years had been that of an absolutely psychotic, insane heel. He is extremely violent and extremely unpredictable. It seems like there is nothing that he won't do, no matter how revolting, and no matter if it is morally revolting (being a cruel, sadistic bastard, vandalizing property, spilling fans' drinks, etc.) or physically revolting (taking pictures of his wang with a fan's phone, eating gum off of the ground, etc.). The man is a sick f*ck, and an evil f*ck... and yet... he is over... and gets the same reactions as babyface! WTF?! How do you explain this, in kayfabe?

The answer is easier than you might think. Just let Steen be what he claims to be: The antichrist of ROH. The antichrist is supposed to be a charismatic figure. So charismatic that he corrupts masses of people into turning on their morals, just like Steen has done to the fans. The antichrist comes at a tumultuous time in human history, and completes the corruption of human morals. Even those meaning well get caught up in the hysteria and wind up doing the "wrong" thing.

Look at the state of Ring of Honor over the past three years. 2009 started off with a schmoz in the the middle of an ROH World Title match. During this schmoz, as the fans chanted "BULLSH*T!", Bryan Danielson grabbed a mic. Bryan Danielson; a man who, (especially since Samoa Joe left the company in 2007) in many ways has been the avatar of ROH... a man who stood for everything that was good and decent in ROH.... arguably the "Best Wrestler in the World," and a wrestler who wrestled for the love of wrestling... and for the love of wrestling in ROH. Bryan Danielson, who had been in the company since day one, picked up a mic and said:

"GUYS! GUYS! LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE! THIS IS NOT WHAT RING OF HONOR IS ABOUT! I WANT ALL OF YOU TO GET TO THE BACK RIGHT NOW! THIS IS AN ROH TITLE MATCH! THIS IS NOT ABOUT THIS KIND OF GARBAGE!"

Danielson was then jumped from behind by Jimmy Jacobs.

The major event that started off 2009 concerned one of the men responsible for starting that schmoz: Austin Aries. Aries, ever since turning babyface in mid-2005, had been another guy who represented Ring of Honor. After turning heel at Final Battle 2008, the beginning of 2009 saw us introduced to Aries' newest gimmick: "A Double." "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived." Aries turned his back on the fans (believing, erroneously, that they had turned their back on him in favor of Tyler Black) and went from a babyface to a super-selfish heel.

It started off slowly enough, but it was definitely noticeable. ROH began to change. Interferences and distractions became more common. Chris Hero started using a (never-proven-to-be) loaded elbow pad to win his matches. Austin Aries was our ROH World Champion, but he did not act like a true champion. Even heel champions in ROH (Morishima, Aries himself during his first run with the belt, Danielson during part of his reign) had always been proud to defend the belt. Aries was acting a lot more like the two most dishonorable champions in ROH history, Xavier and CM Punk, by doing everything he could to dodge challengers like Kenny Omega, Tyler Black, Colt Cabana and Petey Williams. By the end of the year, Tyler Black was constantly getting screwed out of the ROH World Title, and Kenny King & Rhett Titus had put the legendary Jerry Lynn on the shelf with a spike pilderiver in an attempt to end his career. Characters such as Eddie Kingston, Joey Ryan, Jimmy Rave, and Steve Corino, previously thought to be unsavory and not desired in the ROH lockerroom (mainly due to not following the Code of Honor), were allowed into the company. Erick Stevens had turned heel and joined Prince Nana's Embassy. ROH legends Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness had left the company... and worst of all, a long time, super-over babyface tag team split up when Kevin Steen ended a warm, heartfelt speech about his career by telling El Generico "I hate your f*cking guts," kicking him in the testicles, and cracking him in the skull with a steel chair.

Steen, mentored and influenced by Steve Corino, became a mega-heel overnight, and the two heels had crazy, hardcore brawls with Generico and Colt Cabana all year long. No DQ's, cage matches, chain matches, I Quit matches, Last Man Standing matches... all ending in a Fight Without Honor... this feud had more gimmick matches than it did regular matches, and its few standard matches almost all had DQ finishes. It is just very un-ROH.

[Big Red Machine]

But it wasn't just them. The Kings Of Wrestling won the ROH World Tag Team Titles, and the finish of almost every single on of their successful defenses involved either Hero's loaded elbow bad, a distraction by Shane Hagadorn or Sara Del Rey, or both. When ROH brought in Amazing Kong to face Del Rey in a match to show the world what WWE and TNA were doing wrong... to show them what women's wrestling could (and should) be... Del Rey used Hero's elbow pad to cheat and win.

After being suspended for having a wild brawl with Erick Stevens, the Necro Butcher was allowed back into ROH by making a special deal with Jim Cornette: If Necro agreed to keep things on the right side of the guardrail, and not to hurt innocent bystanders, Cornette would allow all of Necro's matches to be no-DQ "Butcher's Rules" matches. In other words, if Necro agreed to follow the rules that he broke to earn his suspension... the same rules that everyone has to (and does) follow anyway... Cornette will give Necro a special privilege? What? Wouldn't that be like telling a serial killer "okay... now if you agree not to kill anyone anymore, we will let you out of jail early and you don't have to pay taxes." Ordinary people, who didn't break the rules don't get a special privilege, but the guy who did break the rules does get a special privlege... in order to get him to agree to follow the rules that everyone else already follows?

Between Necro vs. Stevens, Steen & Corino vs. Cabana & Generico, and The Briscoe Brothers vs. The Kings of Wrestling, no DQ matches, (as well as disqualifications and interference in regular matches) were at an all-time high in ROH; the promotion that was supposed to be about wrestling.

Perennial ROH World Title challenger Roderick Strong soured on ROH management and joined the House of Truth, who, led by their Life Intervention Expert and manager Truth Martini, had no problems interfering in matches. Relatively new babyface tag team The Young Bucks went to TNA, and, in their brief return, turned on ROH. ROH World Champion Tyler Black signed with WWE, expressing his disgust with the fans who had turned on him. The Necro Butcher turned heel, joining up with hated rival Prince Nana. Our heroes were turning on us. Sure, we were gaining new ones, such as the returns of Christopher Daniels and Homicide, and the face turn of the American Wolves, but those were small victories.

By the end of the year, ROH was a much different place than it had been in the beginning. The Dark City Fight Club, Tyler Black, Austin Aries, Erick Stevens, Kevin Steen, The Young Bucks, Necro Butcher, Eddie Kingston, Joey Ryan, and Rasche Brown, Jerry Lynn, and Kenny Omega were all no longer with the company. Delrious was (kayfabe) gone. Roddy was a heel now, and the American Wolves were babyfaces. Daniels and Homicide had returned, we were introduced to Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, the Bravado Brothers, and Mike Bennett. Grizzly Redwood had stepped up to become a part of the main roster... and we knew that Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin were coming in to stay. The landscape had changed dramatically, but that same feeling of a major but unseen change was looming. It wasn't just the names that were different. The company felt different.

Then we got to 2011. Corino became a babyface and the Bravados stepped it up. Eddie Edwards took the ROH World Title from the dishonorable champion Roderick Strong (who had spent the beginning of the year cheating to beat honorable men like Jay Briscoe and El Generico). Haas and Benjamin overcame the cheating and took the ROH World Tag Team Titles from those cheating bastards, the Kings of Wrestling, including Haas tossing Hero's loaded elbow pad into the crowd so it could never be used again. Jay Lethal and the Young Bucks both returned to the company, as did a much less twisted and evil Jimmy Jacobs. ROH but on a major iPPV, Best In The World 2012, highlighted by Davey Richards, the new avatar of ROH... the new Bryan Danielson, winning the ROH World Title in an extremely competitive but 100% clean and honorable match from his friend and tag team partner Eddie Edwards. But still... things felt wrong.

Claudio left the company and ROH legend Christopher Daniels turned heel and joined the House of Truth (before eventually leaving the company). Homicide had an extremely disappointing and much criticized run with the company, and eventually left. Colt Cabana left. The Young Bucks, despite their return, were still heels. With nothing for her to do, Sara Del Rey left. Longtime ROH announcer Dave Prazak left. Our heroes and familiar faces continued to abandon us.

But it was more than that. It was the feel of the company. Interferences, DQs and distractions ran rampant. Things that we would call "overbooking." Things felt rushed. Yes, they were having a violent feud, but even though they had recently made such a big deal about not wanting to have another ladder war, it only took a matter of days (and not even a single show!) for ROH management to cave. El Generico did not even manage a single successful defense before losing his newly won ROH Television Title. Roddy and Eddie were billed to have a No DQ's match last weekend with almost no real build-up for it at all, and no build-up that points to No DQ's matches. Davey vs. Eddie was rushed, with all of the tension coming from just a few botched interferences (something the Wolves wouldn't have even second-guessed before), with almost no attention paid to the stipulation that Davey had set for himself; that if he lost, he would never challenge for the ROH World Title again. There was no angle or any in-depth discussion of Davey wanting to prepare himself for this career altering match against his best friend and "brother." Eddie's title reign, which had begun with a brilliant swerve by having all fo the hype building towards Roddy's other challengers, then having him get the win with a roll-up, turning all of the tension on its head... ended after just a few defenses which, if not for their outstanding quality, will likely be forgotten, just as those of Homicide and James Gibson have been.

ROH was bought by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, and despite keeping most of the same people in charge of ROH (Cornette, Delirious, Cary Silkin), the promise that ROH would not become corporate now seems insincere. The ROH message board is gone. Non-tv or iPPV events are billed as "house shows" and almost always throwaways... even Glory By Honor X. ROH has stopped announcing returns dates during intermission at live shows, instead just doing it via their website. Apparently a major part of the reason that Cabana is no longer with the company is because they couldn't agree to terms for a contract, which SBG wants everyone to have.

On all levels, It just doesn't feel like ROH anymore. In a trend that has continued from 2010, historically major ROH markets such as Boston, Detroit, and New Jersey are being forgotten, as have markets that have been growing strong over the past few years, such as Manassas, St. Louis, and the huge Toronto market. The message board is gone. On the new TV show, expletives are "censored" by a goofy ring-bell. Most importantly, though, are the DQ's, the interferneces, the rushing, and the overbooking. Compare this to what ROH was conceived as. Rather than a place where the best wrestlers in the world compete for everything from spots on the roster to titles, we have a company in which mediocre guys like Mike Bennett are pushed. A company which has created a concept (the "Proving Ground") which allows a challenger to earn a title match by stalling for time! A promotion which jumps the gun on feuds and stips, which is overbooked like hell, and which is committing the exact sins that those companies it seeks to distance itself from commit!

Take a look at Haas & Benjamin's tenure in ROH. In the beginning, they were great. Their first couple of matches (up until the two "Revolution" shows in early May) were great. They went up against teams like the Briscoes, The Kings of Wrestling, and the American Wolves and proved to us what we had through all along. That they are two extremely talented guys who were disgustingly underutilized by WWE. Look at them since then. They have, by all acounts, been phoning it in. Disappointing matches, especially for the ROH World Tag Team Champions. It has taken the Kings Of Wrestling to carry them to great matches. ANX couldn't do it. Cole & O'Reilly couldn't do it. The Briscoes couldn't do it. And yet they already have their own compilation DVD... and from reports at the shows last weekend, the merch table had a noticeably higher stack of "Best of WGTT" DVDs than of anything else (meaning that the company was expecting that... a DVD featuring matches from a team fans have been very unhappy with for months now to sell better than anything else.) They have had less than 20 matches in ROH... and ROH is already making a best-of DVD? What happened to getting people to buy the actual shows? Have we really gone from the company where the best wrestlers in the world competed to make a name for themselves to a company in which veterans who phone it in get pushed? This is what it seems like.

So we have gone from the land of honor. The land of clean finishes, where DQs and gimmicks are rare... where angles are built up well over time... where people compete to compete, rather than to hurt each other... where everyone, no matter what their fame, must prove that they deserve their spot... from a friendly, warm underdog company... to a corporate, robotic, company where people with more starpower are allowed to phone it in... where cheating, interference, stalling, dirty finishes, and dodging challengers are rampant... where angles are rushed and gimmicks are thrown out there with little or no build. Cary Silkin being referred to as the "founder" of ROH is the sort of revisionist history that people crap on WWE for! They censored Steen's name on the message board!

We used to have a roster full of main eventers: Danielson, Shelley, Joe, Daniels, Punk, Nigel, Cabana, Aries, Homicide, Strong, the Briscoes... then some of these names were phased out and replaced with guys like Tyler Black, Davey Richards, Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Steen, Generico, Jimmy Jacobs... but now... it seems like almost every main event is some combination of Davey, Eddie, Roddy, or Briscoes vs. ANX. That's it. A whole year.

ROH is in a tumult. It is moving farther and farther away form the values it was founded on. Even well-intentioned things like Eddie going to train with Severn, and Kyle giving Davey the heads up about it to help him prepare for his title defense, are leading to bad things. Friendships are breaking down. Otherwise good people like ANX are doing things that are against what ROH stands for, such as distracting the Briscoes during their tag team title match at Revolution Canada. People are assaulting the injured Rhett Titus. And while all of this is going, we had Kevin Steen keep trying to ruin things and bash the company, eventually succeeding in winning the right to return to ROH. So where do we go from here?

[Big Red Machine]

Well... it is quite simple really. The charismatic, sadistic, psychotic Kevin Steen is, as he claims to be, the antichrist of Ring of Honor. Steen comes back and basically wants to run wild. He is a financial liability, and is likely to hurt other wrestlers just because he feels like it. His actions will cause other wrestlers, even with the best of intentions, to do things they would otherwise not do. Take Kenny King's promo from the last videowire. Have King go into their match at The Homecoming 2012 with the intention of hurting Steen to protect the company in which he makes a living. Steen wins, and after the match, Steen assaults the injured Rhett Titus. Now Kenny has even more reason to go after Steen. King is tag team wrestler, and Steen has just tried to end the career of his friend and tag team partner. Now Kenny really wants to hurt Steen. Whether Steen wins or not is irrelevant. What matters is that Kenny is angry.

When Rhett gets better, Kenny King carries that anger over to their feud with the Young Bucks. Steen, meanwhile, is still trying to go after Generico, who, in a way, represents everything good and pure in ROH. Steen tries to take him out. He tries to take out Jacobs and Corino, who, to him, represent suck-ups and kiss-asses. Steen's influence spreads throughout ROH. We know it doesn't take much to piss off the Brsicoes, who are already feuding with the now heel and pissed off WGTT.

Everyone in the company is being overly-violent. Trying to end each other's careers (this would be a great way to write Hero out when he leaves for good... have some injure him badly). Cheating via interference or using the ropes for illegal leverage. Take Mike Bennett, a man who is, in many ways, the antithesis of ROH (from the point of view of many fans), with his sports entertainment gimmick, interfering trainer and no-talent barbie doll WWE D*** girlfriend... and have Steen distract the referee and/or the babyface at the key moment to help Bennett win the TV Title, getting Jay Lethal, whom we know has a temper, pissed off.

Jacobs and Corino have their "sobriety" tested every time they step into the ring. They are constantly under pressure to give in the urge to do evil, albeit for the noble purpose of fighting Kevin Steen. They get some help, though. BJ Whitmer is returning to ROH. Have Jacobs apologize to him for all of the grief he caused him in their feud. Have these two men who were once as close as brothers reignite their friendship. Guys like Andy Ridge and Grizzly Redwood, who had refused Corino's help last year, come to him and encourage him to stay on the right path. Jacobs is also reunited with Lacey, whom, through the ROH TV show, has seen how Jimmy has changed from the way he was in the Age Of The Fall (maybe Lacey herself even takes the blame for ruining Jimmy back in the whole Jimmy Loves Lacey angle), and have her join up with Jacobs and Corino.

Then Steen comes along. Steen wants Corino to revert into the evil bastard he was when Steen respected and looked up to him. Jacobs, a major force in Corino's recovery, is in Steen's way. Steen tries to get Jimmy angry. To knock him off of the wagon... but Jacobs has been "sober" for longer than Corino has. He, with help from Corino and Lacey, withstands Steen's provocations. So Steen pulls out the big guns. The one thing that he knows will send Jacobs into a rage: He goes after Lacey. A Package Piledriver isn't enough, though. Steen being Steen, I would have him go so far as to then simulate teabagging the unconscious Lacey.

Jacobs goes F*CKING NUTS. Corino and Whitmer try to control him, but they can't. Jacobs beats Steen within an inch of his life, but as Jacobs is restrained by the lockerroom, the bloody Steen just laughs, knowing that if he can knock Jacobs off the wagon, he can damn sure do it to Corino.

There are still some stalwarts of babyface-dom, though. Some guys who do their best to adhere to the Code of Honor, and the foundations that ROH was built on: Tony Kozina, Andy "Right Leg" Ridge, Future Shock, Eddie Edwards, El Generico, and of course, the ROH World Champion Davey Richards.

Steen, of course, sets his sights on Davey Richards and his ROH World Title. No earlier than the fall (Glory By Honor XI would be ideal), Steen gets an ROH World Title shot against Davey (maybe he has one earlier but Jacobs interferes, causing a DQ, allowing Steen to use his lawyers to insist that Jacobs not be in the building for Steen's next title shot). Davey tells his people that no matter what happens, they are not to interfere in the match. That would make them no better than Steen, The House of Truth, Mike Bennett, or any of the others who have been forgetting what ROH is all about. Davey gives a great, inspirational speech, reminding us, the fans, what ROH is all about, and vows to beat Steen cleanly and decisively.

Unfortunately for Davey, Kevin Steen has no such problems stooping to any level to win the ROH World Title. There is a plan in place. People are ready to distract the referee when he needs it, and to interfere on his behalf. Davey has the match won, but Mike Bennett pulls the referee out of the ring. While the ref is yelling at Bennett, Brutal Bob blindsides him, knocking him out. Unable to take this outrage, Eddie Edwards come out to the ring and starts to pummel Bennett and Brutal Bob. Eddie knocks them both down and even chases Maria away from ringside, but Davey, still standing in the ring, starts to yell at Eddie for interfering, ignoring everything Davey had said in his inspirational speech. Eddie starts yelling at Davey for being a stupid idealist pointing out that Steen winning the world title will be much worse for ROH than Davey's victory not being 100% squeaky clean, and pointing out that he hasn't actually interfered in the match, as the people he took out (Bennett and Brutal Bob) were not actually part of the match. Davey is still angry, though, and Eddie walks off, furious. Davey turns around to deal with Steen, and soon, another referee runs down to the ring.

He never makes it. A masked man hops the guardrail and hits the ref with a clothesline. The masked man runs to timekeeper's table and grabs for the ROH World Title belt. Cary Silkin tries to stop him, but the masked man takes Cary out with a punch. Ringside security tires to deal with him, but they get clobbered by the title belt. The masked man jumps into the ring and charges at Davey with the ROH World Title Belt...


DAVEY DUCKS IT! Davey starts hammering the masked man with stiff kicks to the midsection, then goes for a DR Driver...


LOW BLOW BY STEEN! The masked man grabs the belt and clobbers Davey with it. He then lays the belt down in the ring and Steen hits Davey with a Package Piledriver onto the belt. The masked man escapes through the crowd while Steen hits Davey with another Package Piledriver onto the belt. Steen waits for a referee, but there isn't one coming. Steen hits Davey with another Package Piledriver onto the belt, then grabs a mic. "Every 30 seconds that I don't have a referee out here, I am going to give Davey Richards another Package Piledriver. I don't even know if he is conscious right now... and I don't really care." Steen kicks the belt out of the ring, waits a few seconds, then hits Davey with another Package Piledriver. After a few more seconds (definitely less than 30, though), Steen once again sets Davey up for a Package Piledriver. A ref runs down to the ring. Steen looks at him and says "Oh. You're here. Good." Then hits Davey with another Package Piledriver. Steen goes for the cover:

ONE!


TWO!



THRE-"nope. Not yet."

Steen pulls Davey's likely unconscious shoulder up again. The referee yells at Steen who flips him off, then hits Davey with another Package Piledriver. Steen stands up and plants a foot on Davey's chest. The ref counts the pin:

ONE!


TWO!



THREE!

Bobby Cruise gets his mic and says, "Your winner, and new ROH World Champion: Kevin Steen. G-d help us all."

Steen grabs the belt and wipes it across his ass. He goes back to the ring to teabag Davey, but the babyfaces (including Eddie Edwards) chase him away.

[Big Red Machine]

The obvious question that needs to be answered is "who was that masked man?"

Well... the thing about the antichrist is that he isn't actually the boss. He isn't the devil... just one of his pawns (well, in terms of power and importance, more like the queen, but you get the point).

So if it wasn't Steen... who was the mastermind behind this plan?

What is it that Steen has accomplished, in the big picture? ROH is in chaos. It is a perversion of what it was meant to be. But who could want that? Wouldn't anyone with that much ill will towards ROH just want it put out of business?

When you think about it, though, the answer becomes obvious. There is only one person who has that much hatred for ROH and everything it stands for. Only one person who would want to see ROH in such a state of total violence and lawlessness. Only one person could want to see the Code of Honor being ignored and disrespected. One man who has vowed to do just that.


The next day, there is a video-message from Steen posted on Youtube.

He is holding the ROH World Title, and standing with Bennett, Brutal Bob, Maria, and the masked man.

Steen: For the first time in a long time, I am not public enemy number one in ROH right now. I mean... I guess I actually am, since this man right here isn't technically in ROH just yet... but he will be very soon. You see... being ROH Champion gives me a lot of leverage with the office, and I have told them that I will leave ROH with the belt if they don't hire this man right here. No matter how much they hate him, they have to listen to me. But honestly, after what happened last night, I'd be surprised if they didn't hire him, just because the boys in the lockerroom probably all want to kick his ass so badly. So ladies and gentlemen and ROHBots... the most hated man in the world of professional wrestling..."

The masked man removes his mask.







It's Christopher Daniels


Daniels proceeds to cut a promo introducing his newest incarnation of the Prophecy, and bragging about he will use his new pull to complete his elimination of the Code of Honor, and to finish rebuilding ROH in his own image.

[Big Red Machine]

ROH does indeed hire Daniels, and makes his first match against Davey Richards. Before the match, Daniels taunts the ROH lockerroom, particularly Eddie Edwards and Team Richards.

Daniels beats Davey by DQ after Eddie Edwards tries to cancel out Prophecy interference, but Daniels manages to jump into the way of one of Eddie chops, resulting in a DQ. Davey is obviously pissed at Eddie.

For the next few show, we get more of a rift forming between Eddie and Team Richards, with Eddie wanting to take a more proactive approach in stopping interference. Eddie gets some back up in the form of the Briscoes.

Daniels has Steen and Bennett refuse to defend the belts unless it is in a no DQs match. When ROH management says no, Daniels has the Prophecy get intentionally DQed. When ROH management gives in, the Prophecy use their numbers advantage to win. During one such match with Jay Lethal challenging for the TV Title, Eddie Edwards and the Briscoes come out to back Lethal up and take out the Prophecy. Jimmy Jacobs also interferes, going after Steen, giving the babyfaces the numbers advantage. Eddie hits Bennett with the Die Hard, allowing Lethal to get the pin for the win.

Davey and Team Richards are furious with the Briscoes and especially Eddie for causing an ROH Title to change by because of interference. Eddie tells Davey to wake up from his pipedream. Sometimes idealism can't solve problems.

Things lead up to Final Battle (or possibly the Anniversary Show depending), where the card is headlined by three matches. Lethal vs. Bennett for the TV Title in a cage (to stop anyone from interfering). Eddie & The Briscoes vs. Team Richards, and the ROH World Title match. Daniels finally unleashes his plan for the ultimate perversion of ROH. He demands that the main event of the show be Kevin Steen defending the ROH World Title against Daniels himself. Right before the match, Daniels and Steen come out to the ring, and Daniels announces his intentions. In the first regular singles match for the ROH World Title in months... on the main event of one of ROH's biggest shows of the year... Christopher Daniels,the leader of the Prophecy, will win the ROH World Title... when one of his own stablemates, Kevin Steen, the ROH World Champion... lies down for him. No pretense. No fingerpoke. Just lying down.

Daniels goes for the pin on Steen...



The problem is that Steen is Steen. He really just doesn't care that much about Daniels' goals anymore, but most of all, he hates being told what to do.

Steen rolls Daniels up with a small package, but Daniels kicks out at two, and they have a competitive match, which Steen wins (not cleanly, of course. These two spent a large portion of the match trying to out-cheat each other).


From here, Eddie joins the Prophecy (mostly to spite Davey), Steen feuds with Daniels, Corino, Jacobs, and Generico, (Jacobs and Corino also feud amongst themselves).

[cero2k]

pretty good. i wish you had included nigel somewhere in there

[Big Red Machine]

pretty good. i wish you had included nigel somewhere in there

I actually tried, but really couldn't think of a place for him. I wanted to divide the babyfaces into two camps; the ROH idealists (Team Richards, Eddie, Generico, Ridge, etc) and the more prone to violence babyfaces that could be tweeners (The Briscoes, ANX) with Lethal fluttering between the two. Then eventually, I wanted them divided again, between Daveys group and Eddie's group. Nigel, because of his history with the way he defended both the Pure and World Titles (mostly as a heel, doing despicable things) couldn't fit well into either camp, as he wasn't squeaky clean, and wasn't overly violent. He was just a cheater and a jerk, like Alex Shelley or The Kings of Wrestling. He also couldn't fit in the "repentant babyface" role because Corino and Jacobs already fit in there too perfectly. A lot of people were too hard to book here. I actually ignored most of the heels entirely.