BRM Books the ROH World Title Tournament

[Big Red Machine]

I was pretty unhappy with some of the booking decisions ROH made in the first round of the world title tournament (and, if I am correct, they will affect subsequent rounds, too), so I figured I would give it a shot (using the ending which I think they are going for... which also happens to be what I think is the best ending).

So...Round 1:
Three of these match will take place at the 7/27 TV tapings in Rhode Island, and the other five would take place at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto.

1. Michael Elgin def. Karl Anderson (at the TV tapings)-
Elgin had said that part of the reason that he didn't try to cash in the title match he earned by beating Jay Lethal at Supercard of Honor VII is because he wanted to get his win back on Karl Anderson, who had beaten him at the TV tapings in April. From a storytelling POV, this means that Elgin must be the one to eliminate Anderson from the tournament. As a result of this, it means that neither man can lose until they have this match, which makes the outcomes of all of their matches very predictable. Getting this out of the way in the first round decreases the predictability of the tournament (to an extent, at least... I am quite certain that I know what the finish of the finals will be already, and many others do, too), and it also means that you don't have to pay to fly Anderson over from Japan more than once. Doing this match on TV lets Elgin go over Anderson on TV (to the same, wider audience that he lost on), and frees him up to face London in Toronto to make it up to the fans for that match being cancelled back in May due to London's injury.

2. Adam Cole def. Paul London (at the TV tapings)-
London is not yet scheduled to work often enough to really be considered a top contender, but he is still a big star. Putting Cole over him will help Cole, and hopefully London will enjoy things and want to work more often. I would do this match on TV both to get London on the TV show and to free London up for the match with Elgin in the same market where that match was supposed to originally take place.

3. Roderick Strong def. Matt Taven (at the TV tapings)-
Roddy spent two and a half years as a member of the House of Truth. He knows all of their tricks. I'd have Roddy use this knowledge of the HOT playbook to get himself a win, setting up a TV Title shot. Roddy has been languishing this year, not really doing anything since his feud with Elgin ended back in early March. Putting him in a program for the TV Title would be something for him to do. He also seems to be in the middle of a slow babyface turn, though he really hasn't done anything to become a babyface other than stop cheating, so putting him a feud with the heel HOT would help solidify him as a babyface. I would do this match on TV because it is the beginning of a program for the TV Title.

4. Kevin Steen def. Brian Kendrick (at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto)-
Obviously Steen is going to win in the first round, so why not put that match in Canada? To my knowledge, Kendrick has been signed for just this one show and, unlike London, we haven't heard him express any interest in returning to ROH on a more regular basis, so that makes him "outside talent," and one of the big drawing points of the All-Star Extravaganza shows has always been outside talent.

5. ACH def. Mark Briscoe (at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto)-
Mark is only back for this one match, and he might well be gone for a long time after it. ACH is a rising star. Everyone knows that. Getting to the second round of this tournament in a match where he is certainly an underdog will help build ACH a lot, as will a win over a guy like Mark Briscoe. Mark has to lose, and ACH is easily the guy in this tournament who stands to gain the most from beating him.

6. Michael Bennett def. BJ Whitmer (at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto)-
Bennett's recent character change (can't really call it a new gimmick) means that he really shouldn't lose here. He and BJ seem to be developing a feud, so why not put them against each other here.

7. Tomasso Ciampa def. Silas Young (at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto)-
While he technically didn't cheat to win the match, Silas did steal Page's pin, so whether he kayfabe deserves this spot is debatable. People like to see Ciampa murder people, and after the awesome match with Elgin and murderizing QT Marshall, Ciampa is on a roll (though less of a kayfabe one since he lost to Elgin at Best in the World 2013... but that's all the more reason why he needs to win here and go deep in the tournament).

8. Jay Lethal def. Sonjay Dutt (at All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto)-
Sonjay is outside talent, so booking him at All-Star Extravaganza V makes sense. He and Lethal always have great matches, but have never wrestled each other in ROH so putting them against each other makes sense. Lethal goes over because he is a top star in ROH.

ROUND 2 (split between Manhattan Mayhem V in New York and the two shows in Chattanooga and Birmingham on 9/6 and 9/7)

1. Adam Cole def. Roderick Strong (at Manhattan Mayhem V in New York)-
I would have some sort of HOT interference cost Roddy the match (preferably physical interference). Cole will continue his heel turn by being happy about the interference. This will get some babyface heat on Roddy for his upcoming TV Title match, which has been announced for the TV tapings the day after Death Before Dishonor XI. I would do this angle at Manhattan Mayhem V rather than the southern shows because the biannual Manhattan Mayhem shows have always been huge shows for ROH, and thus deserve the big angle.

2. Michael Elgin def. Michael Bennett (at Manhattan Mayhem V in New York)-
The idea of Bennett's new character twist is that he is kind of pussy whipped. This means two things: 1) he cannot be world champion because you just plain can't have a pussy-whipped world champion in a company full off badasses, so he has to lose at some point. 2) when he loses, Maria will likely berate him. The NY crowd already hates Bennett, both because they are smarky and think he is a bad worker and because he is from Boston, so they will enjoy not only seeing him lose, but seeing Maria yell at him.

3. Kevin Steen def. ACH (at the Chattanooga show)-
ACH is a rising star, but there is time for him to hang out as an upper-midcard guy for a while first, especially when ROH is, in some ways, clogged with main eventers such as Elgin, Steen, Cole, Lethal, Davey, Eddie, the Wolves as a tag act, and reDRagon as a tag act, and when there are guys like Ciampa who is also a rising star, but who will lose steam a lot faster if he doesn't get the big push decently quickly. One issue that post-Gabe ROH has had is not striking while the iron is hot with a top star, and as a result, the fans can start to sour on a guy early into (or even before) his title reign. Fans are already clamoring for both Elgin and Cole to have the belt. Ciampa also has a strong following, and due to his size and semi-monster gimmick, he will lose steam a lot more quickly. Pushing ACH hard as a singles guy right now, even if he deserves it, might well throw him into that picture, and hurt him (and the company) in the long run. All ACH needs to elevate him from where he was before the tournament is one win, and that big win over Mark will certainly do the trick. Doing this show in Chatanooga will both put a very important match on the first show in the new market to help draw, and will free both Steen and ACH up for other big matches at Manhattan Mayhem V.

4. Tomasso Ciampa def. Jay Lethal (at the Birmingham show)-
I know just spent a lot of time talking about how Ciampa will lose steam if he doesn't do something very big, so all I will say about this is that making it to third round of the world title tournament and beating a guy like Jay Lethal to do it is a very big thing. This match can also be built around the fact that Ciampa, for all of his impressive undefeated streak, was never able to beat Lethal (they had one draw, then Lethal beat Ciampa ending his undefeated streak, then beat him again in 2/3 falls). Once again, this is a big, important match in a new market to help them draw.



ROUND 3 (at Death Before Dishonor XI in Philadelphia)
1. Michael Elgin def. Kevin Steen-
Elgin gets his win back on Steen from their title match at Glory By Honor XI last fall and makes it to the finals

2. Adam Cole def. Tomasso Ciampa-
Cole's soft heel turn continues by having him do something that isn't quite heelish, but might not be the most sportsman-like thing to do. I think I would have him fake a knee injury when Ciampa has control to get Ciampa to stop, then have him take advantage and go after Ciampa's knee. I would have Cole be very vicious here, using a Figure Four around the ringpost. When Ciampa seems to be badly hurt, Cole gives him no quarter at all and just keeps stomping away at the knee. Cole gets the win via Figure Four and Ciampa stays out for a few months with an injury.

TOURNAMENT FINALS (at the TV tapings the day after DBD XI in Philadelphia)

Adam Cole def. Michael Elgin to become the new ROH World Champion:
This would be the culmination of Cole's heel turn. The finish would see him actually actively doing something against the rules (I'm thinking a low blow into a small package).

So... where do we go from here? Elgin obviously deserves a rematch, which you can do at either Glory By Honor XII or (ideally with a lot of confidence in their ability to do an iPPV well) at Final Battle 2013. You also have Ciampa built up for a title shot when he comes back, too. Cole can get a nice, long heel run here, cheating his way to victory when he can't win clean, just like Nigel used to do (and you can even work that into a program with him and Nigel). I would also have Cole bring Corino in as his manager so Nigel has someone to interact with without actually interfering).

Not sure who takes the belt from Cole (probably whenever WWE comes calling for him) but it would probably be Elgin or possibly Ciampa, depending on how much steam Ciampa has. Having Eddie Edwards win the belt back to give Eddie a proper singles reign is not out of the realm of possibility, either.

[cero2k]

good read red, i like how looks