The ROH vs. CZW feud: a feud for everyone

[Big Red Machine]

There has been a lot of talk on our board about what makes a good feud, what makes good heels, and what sort of things makes people enjoy things just that extra little bit that makes a feud special. One theme that has repeatedly come up is that the words of the heel have some truth to them. A few of our users have commented that they like feuds where the viewers given the choice of who they view as the babyface and who they view as the heel. Through several recent feuds in various promotions (notably Morrison vs. Sheamus in WWE, Abyss vs. Desmond Wolfe in TNA, and the second half of the Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling feud in ROH), it is hard to root for the babyface when you think that, based on their actions in the feud, the heel is more of a babyface than the babyface is.

I have recently started watching the string of ROH shows from Final Battle 2005 through The 100th Show. Contained in these shows (starting in the second show, Hell Freezes Over) is the beginning (and middle, really), of the famed ROH vs. CZW feud... and I cannot help but marvel at how wonderfully done this feud has been. Aside from making every look strong (which is instrumental to interpromotional booking, especially when the companies reputations are at stake), ROH Booker Gabe Sapolsky managed to do just this... he allowed the fans to choose who they saw as the babyfaces and who they saw as the heels... by booking the feud in such a way that either side could be construed as the babyfaces.

The feud started off, in truth, at CZW's Cage of Death 7 event in December. On that show, Chris Hero came out and cut a promo expressing his disappointment that CZW's next show would be an afternoon show, rather than an evening show, because ROH was running in the same building that night. Hero said that CZW was loyal to Philly, running a show there every month, while ROH only came around a few times a year. In this promo, he also called out the ROH Champion at the time, Bryan Danielson, to a match for the ROH World Title.

At CZW's next show, An Afternoon of Main Events, Danielson answered Hero's challenge by showing up... but refused to but wrestle at a CZW show "because CZW wasn't good enough." Danielson and Hero brawled, at which point Danielson's back up (Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Nigel McGuinness). The CZW lockerroom came out,a dna brawl started, sending the ROH guys fleeing.

Later that night, at the ROH show (named Hell Freezes Over because Hero actually showed up in ROH), Hero (and some CZW back up) came to ROH, in order to challenge for Danielson's ROH World Title, which Hero wanted to win so that he could "take it back to CZW and throw it in the trash." Hero didn't come alone, though. Danielson defeated Hero, but on future ROH shows, Hero, Necro Butcher, and other top CZW names would show up (with tickets) and argue with ROH wrestlers. At ROH Dissension, ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette saw the Necro Butcher in the crowd and told him that if CZW guys ever showed up in ROH again, the ROH lockerroom would kick their asses. He also challenged Necro to a fight right then and there ("I'm not a wrestler... but you're not either!"). Necro brawled with ROH's Adam Pearce until the lockerroom empited out and tossed him out of the building. CZW later disrupted ROH's 4th Anniversary Show before being chased off by the ROH lockerroom. After this, Cornette declared war on CZW, and made comments denegrating CZW as "self-mutilation" rather than "wrestling."

So the stage was set perfectly: In the eyes of the CZW fans, ROH was the bully promotion full of arrogant wrestling snobs, who expected everyone to bend over backwards to accomodate their schedule. In the eyes of the ROH fans, they had just done business as usual. They asked the arena if they could do a show that night, and the arena said yes. Then, out of nowhere, Chris Hero shows up and starts crapping on the comapny, wants to throw their belt in the trash, and keeps disrupting their shows.

For those people who like being able to choose sides. Who like it when the heels speak just as much truth as the babyfaces, or for people who just like great booking in general... I urge you to check this feud out.