Best in the World 2012 Hype

[cero2k]

After a phenomenal outing against ROH World TV Champion Roderick Strong at “Border Wars”, “The Belfast Bruiser” Fit Finlay returns to Ring of Honor on June 24th at “Best in the World 2012” airing live on iPPV from The Hammerstein Ballroom! But it looks like his dance with The House of Truth is far from over…

“Fit Finlay”, offered Truth Martini, “You were an impressive specimen in Toronto but not impressive enough to defeat the only Triple Crown champion in ROH history that matters, the current TV Champion, the Messiah of the Backbreaker, the leader of Camp Strong, the hardest chopping man in wrestling, Roderick Strong! You probably thought you were free and clear of the HoT didn’t you? That your life would suddenly get easier now that Roderick had beaten you? Well just like so many men before you Fit Finlay, you are dead wrong. At the biggest iPPV of the summer you will have to face the indomitable will, the untouchable power, the unimaginable agility, of the Unbreakable Michael Elgin!”

As evident in Toronto, Fit Finlay loves to fight and is willing to throw down with any man put into the ring across from him, it’s what he has been doing for years, and doing quite well at that. Yet even with as world traveled as Finlay is, one has to wonder if he has ever crossed paths with a man such as Michael Elgin. He is a rare combination of power and speed, of strength and agility wrapped up in the iron-clad will of body built like a tank.

Yet, even with those attributes and with the high-level of competition he has faced since joining ROH, it is doubtful that Elgin has squared off with any man with the level of experience & knowledge of a man like Finlay. “Unbreakable” has faced serious competition in his ROH tenure, men like Chris Hero, Steve Corino, Eddie Edwards, and Davey Richards, and either defeated them or forced them to dig to new depths to win, but none of those men have the resume of Fit Finlay. World Title challenge aside, this is the biggest test Elgin has faced in his wrestling career….

[Big Red Machine]

Already announced is Elgin vs. Finlay.

Three big matches are supposed to be announced today. The first of them is a three way elimination match for the TV Title with Roddy, Ciampa, & Lethal.

[cero2k]

beat you to it long time ago

here

[Big Red Machine]

Whoops. Time to merge the topics.

[cero2k]

Their future was bright, tag team dominance was surely in their future, but emotion, jealousy, and bitterness seemingly got in the way as Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly, the team known as Future Shock, permanently split ways after Cole pinned Davey Richards in the “Young Wolves Rising” tag match that main-evented the “10th Anniversary Event” in March.

Very shortly thereafter, at “Showdown in the Sun – Day 2” as a matter of fact, the two former partners collided in a singles bout that came to a conclusion when O’Reilly rolled through a flying top rope cross body, the same move Cole used to pin Richards, and turned it into a pinfall victory…hooking the tights to insure his win.

O’Reilly was content with his victory regardless of the means and it seemed he was also content to leave Cole in his past. After some tension between Richards & O’Reilly after their “Unity” tag team bout, all was put to rest and Kyle was set to be in the Davey’s corner at “Border Wars” for his ROH World Title defense against Kevin Steen.

“That was one of the most heartbreaking days of my life for several reasons.” Kyle told ROHWrestling.com, “Not only could I not stand in Davey’s corner during his biggest title match, but I also had to contend with a family emergency that I’d rather not get into the details about. Still I was able to watch the match, and man, I hated what happened, I felt like I could have done something to turn the tide. But something else that night really bugged me man, something earlier on when Adam and Michael Elgin had their match. Kevin Kelly and Nigel called them the breakout stars? Really, Adam Cole is a breakout star? The guy I beat in Florida is the breakout star? The guy who lost that match is a breakout star? Man I must not know what words means, or maybe there’s a different meaning in England, because a loser is not a breakout star!”

Kyle continued to rant on about how Cole is too one-dimensional to be a breakout star, much less the future of Ring of Honor; about how he’s a pretty face with some flashy moves but no knowledge of Jiu Jitsu, no kickboxing, no ground game or submission skills. Kyle pointed out that the dumber fans like those moves but the more intelligent, discerning, sophisticated fans appreciate the hybrid of styles that O’Reilly utilizes and appreciate the effort he puts into his training.

“I know Adam can’t go at the higher levels of competition like me or Davey, but I’m offering him a chance to prove it, and to get me back for Florida since I’ve been hearing he thinks I cheated my way to that win. Let’s call it the Hybrid Fighting Rules challenge…”

O’Reilly provided ROH officials with a detailed listing of what he was looking for and while it’s obvious that his goal is to attempt and embarrass Cole, Adam looked over the rules and has accepted the challenge. He also informed ROH officials, and suggested we pass the word onto Kyle, that ever since the fight with Davey in Dayton at “Rising Above 2012” he has started to focus more on his submission training and stand-up and will double up that training in order to prepare for this bout. He said Kyle should expect Adam to come into this contest with a couple of new tricks up his sleeve.

So on June 24th in NYC, it will be Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a “Hybrid Fighting Rules Challenge”! No pinfalls in this one; it can only end in a knockout, TKO, submission, DQ, or 15 minute time limit draw. The rules are elaborated on below, and while on paper this seems to favor O’Reilly, you can never discount the fight Adam Cole brings to the table. It all happens at “Best in the World 2012” live on iPPV Sunday 6/24/12 and you can still get great seats for ROH’s summer spectacular right here!

Hybrid Fighting Rules

Decisions
- Knockout
* Occurs when one competitor falls to the canvas and is unable to rise to his feet within 10 seconds.

- Submission
* Occurs when one competitor taps out or vocally gives up.

- TKO (Technical Knockout)
* Occurs when the referee rules it impossible for a competitor to continue the match.

- Draw
* Occurs when the 15 minute time limit expires

- Disqualification by Fouls
* A loss due to a critical foul or when a participant accumulates 3 total fouls (see below for details)

Fouls
Critical Foul – Cause for immediate disqualification

* Deliberate eye-gouging, groin attacks, biting, and pulling the opponent's hair.
* Use of foreign object
* Outside interference
* Physical abuse to official

Foul – When a competitor accumulates 3 of these fouls he will be disqualified.

* Deliberately going out of the ring or throwing an opponent out of the ring.
* Deliberately holding and utilizing the ring ropes during the match for an advantage.
* Accidental eye-gouging and groin attacks.
* Holding or pulling the opponent's outfit.

[cero2k]

* Deliberately going out of the ring or throwing an opponent out of the ring.

really??

i can already see this ending in a time limit draw. 15 minutes is not enough time.

[Big Red Machine]

* Deliberately going out of the ring or throwing an opponent out of the ring.

really??

i can already see this ending in a time limit draw. 15 minutes is not enough time.

Same here,

[cero2k]

Following his return to the United States after competing in the Global Tag League in Pro Wrestling NOAH, “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards made a simple request to ROH officials: bring me the best. When asked to elaborate Edwards stated that he wanted to fight former champions, the best men that have set foot in an ROH ring, with the purpose of staying on point, of keeping his fighting game at its absolute peak in preparation for a future title shot.

Once it was announced Edwards was receiving the title opportunity against Kevin Steen in Charleston, WV he contacted ROH officials once more via e-mail. Here is an excerpt from that:

“Thank you for putting your faith in me to stop Kevin’s title run before it really gets started. It means the world you’re putting that on my shoulders first and I promise I will not let you down. But it doesn’t change a thing about what I requested when I got back from Japan. I still want to face the former champions, the prime athletes, the best wrestlers who ever competed in ROH because that is the only way I will stay at my absolute best. So regardless of what happens when Kevin and I meet, whether it’s New York or Chicago or the Carolinas, I still expect to see the best opponents you can find for me standing across that ring….”

Well Eddie is getting his wish on June 24th as at “Best in the World 2012”, live on iPPV from The Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, he will go one-on-one with former ROH World Champion, one of the founding fathers, “The Notorious 187” Homicide!!!

‘Cide hasn’t seen ROH competition since his loss to “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett at the “10th Anniversary Event” but has been in constant contact with ROH officials, itching for the right time to get back in the mix. Well now he gets his opportunity right in his hometown as he goes toe-to-toe with Edwards! What a return it would be for Homicide to defeat a recent champion & ROH’s 1st Triple Crown Winner! The bout takes place on 6/24 at “Best in the World 2012”, tickets are available right here and it will also be broadcast live on iPPV at ROHWrestling.com!

[Big Red Machine]

Steen/Ricahrds II at BITW!

On a hilarious side note, when i first saw this headline on ROH's website, I misread it as "Steven Richards" at Best In The World


The match will also be No DQ's, no time limit, anything goes.

It will also be Davey's only rematch.

[Big Red Machine]

[youtube][/youtube]

Just signed: WGTT vs. ANX for the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

[cero2k]

it's pretty stupid to make this Davey's only rematch, it's like ROH is trying to protect Steen. ROH needs to run whatever Hogan is trying to run with Roode.

ANX FTW!!!

[Big Red Machine]

From www.ROHWrestling.com
Last week it was announced that Truth Martini was sending Rhino & Michael Elgin after The Briscoes on June 30th in Pittsburgh. Well after this weekend it looks like Martini is just getting started with the former 7-Time ROH World Tag Team Champions.

Over the weekend ROH officials received a phone call from Truth Martini demanding that the House of Truth take on Jay & Mark on June 24th when Ring of Honor returns to NYC for “Best in the World: Hostage Crisis”. While ROH officials pointed out that both Roderick Strong & Michael Elgin were already involved in other matches and that Rhino was not scheduled to be in attendance, Martini insisted that it did not matter because he was not talking about any of those three men.

Truth said he had another team to represent the HoT and then offered this quote:
“These two men have been around the block and are not afraid to get nasty and do my dirty work. There is no need to identify these men because who they are is not important. What is important is that they work for ME and will do as I say! They will guard me, the Book, and bring me anything that I want. I already have the TV Champion Roderick Strong, the future World Champion Michael Elgin, my mercenary Rhino is paid to take out anybody that I please, and now the Guardians of Truth will bring the House of Truth the Tag Team Championships and guard yours truly. When they bring me the Tag Team Championships it is up to me which members of the HoT will wear the gold!”

Truth continued on to say that The Briscoes had to pay for humiliating him, and that this team is loyal to the teachings of the House (unlike Rhino who is there strictly for the money). Martini stated they will guard him with their lives and bring anything that he wants to him, than reiterated that the team will remain a mystery for now and BEYOND because it is not about them! It is about Truth and Truth getting what he wants!

Now Truth Martini, deep down, has to know that the HoT is in a volatile position right now with tensions obviously building between Strong and Elgin. It would seem Martini is doing his best to keep the unity between the two but obviously this has not stopped him from bringing in a team that has apparently been all over the world. It seems his goal is to have these…Guardians of Truth… begin by taking out the Briscoes and end by bringing the HoT the Tag Team Titles.

It’s Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Guardians of Truth at “Best in the World: Hostage Crisis”! It takes place on June 24th at The Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC and tickets are available here! Can’t be there live? Then keep your browser on ROHWrestling.com because it will also be available LIVE on iPPV!

Any ideas who this team could be?

[cero2k]

interesting, i was hoping for Rhino and Elgin to team, but i'm a bit more intrigued by this.

i remember reading that the old HoT had started wrestling again, it could be them. I just hope it doesn't end up being the Bucks or Coleman/Alexander

[Big Red Machine]

interesting, i was hoping for Rhino and Elgin to team, but i'm a bit more intrigued by this.

i remember reading that the old HoT had started wrestling again, it could be them. I just hope it doesn't end up being the Bucks or Coleman/Alexander

It definitely won't be either of those teams. Old HoT would be awesome, though.

[cero2k]

[youtube][/youtube]

[Big Red Machine]

So... who will be watching?

[cero2k]

So... who will be watching?

i'm considering it

[Big Red Machine]

So... who will be watching?

i'm considering it

I'm pretty sure it is free for everyone who bought Border Wars live