Ring of Honor Wrestling

Wrestlemania weekend is shaping up to be an exciting few days for wrestling fans, perhaps more so than ever before thanks to the involvement of promotions like Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate USA.

They will both be joining World Wrestling Entertainment in Atlanta during the first week of April, much like they both did last year in Phoenix. This time around though, ROH will be presenting two live Internet pay-per-view events dubbed “Honor Takes Center Stage” via gofightlive.tv.

ROH has been at the forefront of the iPPV movement and they are making a bold statement by offering these events up during the biggest, and most expensive, wrestling weekend of the year. The individual shows will be priced at the usual price of $14.99 but fans will be able to purchase both shows in a package deal for only $20.

Buying an iPPV on gofightlive.tv is similar to purchasing a DVD, except you get to watch it live as it happens. You get access to the replay, which you are free to go back and watch any time you desire. This makes the two show package deal a no-brainer for anyone who plans on buying one of these shows.

It is a sound business strategy and should allow ROH to make a decent profit off of their venture into the Center Stage Theatre, which also happens to be the former home of the old WCW Saturday Night tapings.

But before ROH heads to Atlanta, they have to big shows coming up in March.

Defy or Deny will take place on March 18 in Plymouth, Ma. The main event is a four-way elimination match pitting the ROH World Heavyweight Champion, Roderick Strong, against three of his most recent challengers—El Generico, Jay Briscoe and Homicide.

The title won’t be on the line, but the stakes are high. If Strong picks up the win, his opponents will not be able to challenge him for the title during his reign. If Generico, Briscoe or Homicide wins, they will get a shot at the belt on April 2 in Atlanta on iPPV.

The only other match announced so far for the Defy or Deny show is a special challenge match between Davey Richards and Claudio Castagnoli. Considering that they are two of the best ROH has to offer, it should be an excellent contest.

The next night, ROH returns to New York City for Manhattan Mayhem IV. Three huge matches have already been announced for what looks to be a blockbuster show.

The World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line as Eddie Edwards cashes in his “Survival of the Fittest” tournament win and goes for the gold against Roderick Strong.

Edwards has been one of the most impressive rising stars in ROH, fresh off a run as the first ever World Television Champion, he now looks to claim the top prize in the company.

Ever since Glory by Honor VIII, when Edwards competed in a tag team ladder war with a broken elbow, the NYC fans have given him their full support. With the ROH faithful in his corner, can the determined Edwards pull off what would be considered a pretty big upset and take down the red-hot World Champion?

The ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Kings of Wrestling, will be in action, in a non-title match, against the reunited team of Homicide and Hernandez, known to TNA fans as the L.A.X.

Homicide did not like what the Kings had to say about Puerto Rico in this YouTube video, where they claimed their globe spanning tag team dominance. He promises to bring his muscle, Hernandez, with him to the Manhattan Center to show the Kings that the 5150 are still a force to be reckoned with.

It is another in the long line of interesting match-ups for the longest reigning tag team champions in ROH history.

They’ve managed to defeat the likes of the Briscoes, Generation Me, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas and most recently the All-Night Express. How will they handle the reunited and refocused team of Homicide and Hernandez?

The third match announced for Manhattan Mayhem IV is a rematch of one of the finest matches of 2010. Davey Richards and Christopher Daniels will once again square off, this time under pure rules.

This will be the first time a pure rules match has taken place in ROH since the Pure Championship was unified with the ROH World Heavyweight Title when Bryan Danielson defeated Nigel McGuinness in Liverpool, UK at the aptly titled Unified event in 2006.

Pure rules mean that each wrestler only gets three rope breaks, once they exhaust those breaks, the ropes are not a factor when it comes to breaking up submissions or pinfalls.

The rules also state that no closed fists can be used, which means if the ref catches someone throwing a punch, they can and likely will get disqualified. The ref can also take away one of the wrestler’s rope breaks if he deems that they have broken the closed fist rule.

When you boil it down, the pure rules mean that these two warriors will get inside the ring and wrestle. Given the respect that they have shown each other, it could be a technical classic. If it even comes close to the awesome match that they had last October, it will absolutely be a must-see affair.

Additional matches for Defy or Deny and Manhattan Mayhem IV should be announced in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, former two-time ROH World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries is making headlines in Dragon Gate USA.

A few weeks ago, news broke that Aries had attempted to make the roster of WWE’s revival of Tough Enough. He didn’t make the cut, which left him wondering what was next for his wrestling career.

Aries posted this video on YouTube, addressing the situation. He said he wasn’t retiring or leaving wrestling all together, but he did have to think hard about his priorities and what he would do next.

He followed that up with this most recent video, where he issues a huge challenge for DGUSA’s April 2 show in Atlanta.

Aries wants to put his spot on the DGUSA roster on the line in a match for the Open the Freedom Gate Championship. If Aries can’t defeat the champion, YAMATO, in Atlanta, he promises to walk away from DGUSA for good.

Defeating YAMATO is no easy task, so Aries is taking a big risk. He wants to be at the top of DGUSA though and feels that he simply shouldn’t be there if he is not the champion.

YAMATO, who won the title from BxB Hulk at the United NYC show in January, is arguably one of the best wrestlers in the world today and undoubtedly one of the fiercest competitors in Dragon Gate.

In an interesting twist, DGUSA owner Gabe Sapolsky has gone to Twitter for feedback from the fans.

He asked them if Aries deserves the shot in Atlanta instead of Akira Tozawa, who defeated both Aries and former champion BxB Hulk during the United weekend.

Tozawa is probably the hottest competitor in DGUSA, and perhaps the entire independent wrestling scene in general, these days.

He was unceremoniously kicked out of Kamikaze USA, the stable which includes YAMATO and Jon Moxley, after the United shows. He wants to get his revenge and deserves a shot at the title based on his performances since coming to DGUSA.

Who will get the title shot in Atlanta on April 2? A case could be made for either man and no matter who gets the chance at the championship; they have a stiff challenge ahead of them in YAMATO.

Lastly, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla held their annual DDT4 tag team tournament last night in their home base of Reseda, Ca.

The winners of the Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament (DDT4, get it?) will become the number one contenders for the PWG World Tag Team Title, currently held by the team of Paul London and El Generico, collectively known as ¡Peligro Abejas!

Here are the quick results of the show, courtesy of the fine folks of the “PWG Kliq” who tweeted them.

First round matches:

- Generation Me defeat Willie Mack and Brandon Gatson.

- The American Wolves defeat the RockNES Monsters.

- The Kings of Wrestling defeat the Cutler Brothers.

- Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa defeat the Briscoes.

Second round matches:

- Generation Me defeat The American Wolves.

- Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa defeat the Kings of Wrestling.

Joey Ryan Invitational Gauntlet Match:

- Ryan Taylor defeated Brian Cage Taylor, Peter Avalon defeated Ryan Taylor, and Candace LaRae defeated Peter Avalon after Joey Ryan interfered, leading to Joey Ryan defeating Candace LaRae. Ryan will face PWG World Champion Claudio Castagnoli at the next show, WINNING, on April 9.

DDT4 Finals:

- Generation Me defeat Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa.

A very interesting outcome to what sounds like a pretty fun show, as usual, from PWG. Another title shot for Generation Me, who really made a name for themselves as the Young Bucks and had a lengthy run with the tag titles in PWG, is not the result many fans expected judging by reactions on Twitter.

Steen and Tozawa were clearly the fan favorites in this tournament and they picked up wins over perhaps two of the best tag teams in the world, the Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling. Heading into the finals, they seemed to be the sure bet to come out on top.

Generation Me ends up victorious, much to the chagrin of PWG fans. One last side note, they reportedly dedicated their win to TNA president Dixie Carter.

That wraps up this rather long edition of news and notes from the independent scene. Thanks for checking it out and keep an eye out for future updates. Check out the respective web sites of each promotion for more news and information.

Nine years ago, the era of honor began.

On February 23, 2002, Ring of Honor held their first ever show in Philadelphia. The first main event was a triple-threat match between Christopher Daniels, Low Ki and Bryan Danielson that paved the way for the future Kaval to become the first ROH Champion a few months later.

The show also featured the late, great Eddie Guerrero taking on the insane luchador, Super Crazy, in a match that determined the very first IWA Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and gave ROH some well-known names to help market their product.

Nine years later and ROH is going strong. While the promotion has never reached the heights of the WWE, or even TNA, in terms of popularity and accessibility, it has unquestionably become the third most popular professional wrestling promotion in the United States.

ROH has built its name on the hard work of its roster, offering fans an alternative to the mainstream style of pro wrestling.

They have also become a pioneer in the Internet pay-per-view business, forming a partnership with gofightlive.tv to produce live streaming content at an affordable price. It has become a formula that many independent promotions have begun to follow.

This Saturday, ROH returns to iPPV with their Ninth Anniversary Show from Chicago. The card features every ROH championship on the line, as well as a huge dream tag team match that could steal the show.

ROH World Heavyweight Champion, Roderick Strong, looks to gain revenge on Homicide as he puts his title on the line in a no-holds-barred “barrio street fight.”

Strong has been embarrassed by the Notorious 187 on several occasions, most notably when Homicide returned at Glory By Honor IX. The Latin Terror interrupted Strong’s celebration after he had just defeated Tyler Black to become the champion, ruining a moment that was years in the making for Strong.

The tension between these two has only grown since then and it reached a boiling point on the Feb.14 edition of ROH on HDNet. An interview segment turned into an all-out brawl between the champion and challenger, which resulted in Homicide pulling the pants off Strong and once again humiliating him in front of the ROH faithful.

With no rules to restrict them, odds are things will get quite violent in Chicago. Will Strong’s manager Truth Martini and his House of Truth get involved in order to keep the belt around the champ’s waist, or will Strong again insist on going it alone?

Can Homicide reclaim the championship that he lost four years ago? Only Austin Aries has held the ROH World Heavyweight title twice, so the Notorious 187 will join an elite club if he can defeat Strong in a match that is right up his alley.

The ROH World Tag Team Championship will be on the line at the Ninth Anniversary Show as the reigning champs, the Kings of Wrestling, defend against the upstart team of Kenny King and Rhett Titus, better known as the All Night Express.

The Kings, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli, hold the distinction of being the longest reigning tag champs in ROH history. They’ve held those belts since April 2010 when they defeated the Briscoes at The Big Bang iPPV.

King and Titus have grown by leaps and bounds over the past year and this match is easily their biggest challenge to date. After picking up an impressive victory over Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly at Final Battle 2010, the ANX seem poised to claim their place amongst the great teams that have carried tag team gold in ROH.

Hero and Castagnoli have not always used the fairest of tactics to retain their gold, while King and Titus have also been known to break a few rules in order to achieve victory. Both teams will likely pull out every trick they have to walk out of Chicago as tag team champions.

Back at the ROH on HDNet tapings in December, Christopher Daniels defeated Eddie Edwards to become only the second World Television Champion.

Edwards held the TV title since defeating Davey Richards in the tournament finals in March of 2010. Though some fans have argued that Edwards was not a fighting champion during the early portion of his run with the title, he still managed to successfully defend the championship nine times before finally dropping it to “The Fallen Angel.”

In fact, Edwards proved he truly was a fighting champion by giving Daniels five more minutes after the contest reached the scheduled time limit. Daniels made the most of the opportunity given to him, hitting the Angel’s Wings on Edwards to become the new TV Champion.

Edwards wants his title back and he gets his chance at the Ninth Anniversary Show, where a two out of three falls stipulation will be in effect. These two have had several great clashes with each other over the past year and this one is shaping up to be another outstanding wrestling match.

ROH officials have also added a bit of extra intrigue to this match, as Edwards and Daniels have both been granted upcoming shots at the World Heavyweight title.

Edwards cashes in his “Survival of the Fittest” win in Manhattan next month, while Daniels gets another crack at the ROH World Heavyweight Championship in Atlanta during Wrestlemania weekend.

Whoever comes out on top at the Ninth Anniversary Show will be the World Television Champion and will also have that ever important momentum on their side heading into their chance at the top prize in ROH.

The most anticipated match of Saturday’s iPPV for many fans does not involve any titles, but features two teams meeting for the very first time in what is being called a dream match. The Briscoes will face Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin.

While there is no championship on the line, pride and a possible chance to be the next in line for a tag team title shot hang in the balance. Haas and Benjamin have reemerged as one of the most formidable duos in all of wrestling and they face the most dominant team in ROH history for the first time ever in Chicago.

The Briscoes are six-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, while the WGTT are still looking for their first chance at the titles.

A huge non-title win over the Kings of Wrestling at SoCal Showdown II last month has given Haas and Benjamin all the momentum in the world, but in order to move up in the ROH tag team ranks they must prove themselves against the team who has set the standard for tag team wrestling in ROH.

The Ninth Anniversary Show will also feature Davey Richards vs. Colt Cabana in an intriguing match-up. Richards looks to climb back up the ranks after failing to defeat Roderick Strong for the ROH World Heavyweight title at Final Battle 2010.

Cabana is out to prove that he is more than a comedy wrestler and that he can hang with the best wrestlers in the world.

The women of ROH will be in action as well, Sara Del Rey will take on MsChif. These two have a storied history with each other and the Ninth Anniversary Show will mark yet another chapter in their rivalry.

Michael Elgin, the Canadian Crazy Horse and newest member of the House of Truth, will step into the ring against El Generico. Elgin looks to earn his spot on the roster against Generico, one of the most popular wrestlers currently performing for ROH.

Last but not least, Steve Corino, Kyle O’Reilly, Grizzly Redwood and “The Prodigy” Mike Bennett will compete in a Four Corner Survival match. Whoever comes out on top could be in line for a shot at the World Television Championship, which has been in Bennett’s sights since his debut.

Saturday night will be a celebration of the past nine years of ROH wrestling, but their first iPPV of 2011 will also be another big step towards the future for the promotion. It looks to be another solid offering from ROH and gofightlive.tv, well worth the $15 price tag.

After several months of silence, EVOLVE pro wrestling looks to be back on track.

The promotion recently revamped their web site and announced that their seventh show will be taking place on April 19 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square.

This event marks the debut of the EVOLVE brand in New York City and is the promotion’s first show since November of last year. The DVD release of that show, EVOLVE 6, is also now available for pre-order.

While no matches or talent have been announced for EVOLVE 7, any news from the promotion is good news at this point. Just last week, I wrote this article about the uncertain future of the company.

Gabe Sapolsky, who runs EVOLVE, has been quite busy with his other promotion, Dragon Gate USA.

DGUSA is gearing up for their huge WrestleMania 27 weekend in Atlanta. A handful of matches have been signed for the Atlanta shows thus far, including the first ever defense of the promotion’s new tag team titles, the Open the United Gate Championship.

The champs, Masato Yoshino and PAC of the World-1 faction, will be putting their titles on the line as the main event of the April 3 show. They will face CIMA and Ricochet of the Blood Warriors in what looks on paper to be an outstanding tag team affair.

The Blood Warriors will also be in the main event of the April 2 show, this time in a 6-man tag match. CIMA and Ricochet will be joined by Naruki Doi as they face Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano and Rich Swann, who collectively make up the faction known as Ronin.

With plenty of bad blood between these factions following last month’s triple-shot, expect tons of fireworks when these teams hit the ring in Atlanta.

Ring of Honor will also be in town for WrestleMania weekend, but they still have a few more major shows to get through before the events of early April begin to take shape.

ROH makes their return to Internet pay-per-view next Saturday with their Ninth Anniversary Show from Chicago Ridge, Ill.

The event will be broadcast live on gofightlive.tv and features Homicide challenging Roderick Strong for the ROH World Heavyweight Championship as the main event.

The Briscoes will take on Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas in what is being billed as a dream tag team match.

ROH World Tag Team Champions the Kings of Wrestling will also be in action, defending their titles against Rhett Titus and Kenny King, the All Night Express.

The ROH World Television Championship will also be on the line as Christopher Daniels defends against the man he defeated for the title, Eddie Edwards. This time around it will be a 2 out of 3 falls match that promises to be a show stealer.

The night before the iPPV, ROH will be in Dayton, Ohio for a show headlined by a six-man tag team match of epic proportions.

The Kings of Wrestling will team with Roderick Strong to do battle with Davey Richards, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas.

It will surely be an interesting weekend for ROH fans as the promotion celebrates its 9^th anniversary.

With all the titles on the line, there is a good chance that new champions will be crowned as the top independent promotion going these days looks to keep their streak of top notch iPPV offerings in tact.

Lastly, CHIKARA is preparing for a big weekend in Pennsylvania.

Saturday night marks their return to Reading, Pa. with a show titled “Caught in a Cauldron of Hate.” Mike Quackenbush and Jigsaw will defend their tag team titles against the frightening and mysterious team of Obariyon and Kodama, known as the Batiri.

Quackenbush and Jigsaw have only held the Campeonatos de Parejas since December and this match against the Batiri marks their first defense of those titles.

They have their work cut out for them against Obariyon and Kodama, who have been dominant since showing up in CHIKARA.

Other highlights of Saturday’s card include Frightmare defending the Young Lions Cup against Rich Swann, Eddie Kingston taking on Johnny Gargano and a trios match between the Colony and the Osirian Portal.

On Sunday, CHIKARA presents the “Clutch of Doom” in Easton, Pa.

The main event is a tag team battle, with Fire Ant and Solider Ant of the Colony going up against Claudio Castagnoli and Tursas of the nefarious Bruderschaft des Kreuzes faction.

Jigsaw squares off against Tim Donst of the BDK, Sara Del Rey takes on Madison Eagles in women’s action and a huge trios match will feature the Batiri up against Hallowicked, Frightmare and UltraMantis Black.

It looks to be an exciting weekend for the ever colorful and entertaining CHIKARA promotion.

Check out the respective web sites of each promotion for more information on these events, and keep an eye out for the next edition of news and notes from the independent wrestling scene.

The majority of the wrestling world is discussing the results of last night’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, but this weekend also brought us incredible action from some of the top independent promotions including Dragon Gate USA, Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla.

Dragon Gate USA had their first ever triple shot weekend, including two shows broadcast live on Internet PPV via gofightlive.tv. The “United” weekend featured the crowning of new champions and showcased the high level of excitement that DGUSA has become known for.

Here are the quick results from the New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey shows, courtesy of the fine folks at PWTorch and PWInsider.com.

United: NYC
- Akira Tozawa defeated Sami Callihan.
- Jon Moxley defeated Jigsaw.
- YAMATO defeated BxB Hulk to become the new Open the Freedom Gate Champion.
- Brodie Lee defeated Jimmy Jacobs.
- Ronin (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano) defeated Blood Warriors (Naruki Doi and Ricochet).
- Austin Aries defeated Rich Swann.
- World-1 (Masato Yoshino and PAC) defeated Blood Warriors (CIMA and Dragon Kid).

United: Philadelphia
- Open the Freedom Gate Champion YAMATO defeated Brodie Lee in a non-title match.
- Rich Swann defeated Jimmy Jacobs.
- Sami Callihan wins a 6-way match also featuring Jigsaw, Frightmare, Scott Reed, AR Fox and Rexx Reed.
- Akira Tozawa defeated Austin Aries.
- BxB Hulk defeated Jon Moxley in a No DQ match.
- Ronin (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano) defeated Blood Warriors (CIMA and Dragon Kid).
- World-1 (Masato Yoshino and PAC) defeated Blood Warriors (Naruki Doi and Ricochet).

United: Finale (Union City, NJ)
- Brodie Lee defeated Rich Swann.
- AR Fox defeated Cheech.
- Akira Tozawa defeated BxB Hulk.
- Jon Moxley defeated Homicide in a No DQ match.
- Rexx Reed defeated Pinkie Sanchez.
- Blood Warriors (CIMA, Dragon Kid, Naruki Doi and Ricochet) defeated Jimmy Jacobs, Austin Aries, Sami Callihan and Open the Freedom Gate Champion YAMATO in an eight-man tag match.
- World-1 (Masato Yoshino and PAC) defeated Ronin (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano) to win the round robin tournament to become the first Open the United Gate Champions.

It should be noted that Moxley only defeated Homicide in their match because Homicide put a brutalized Moxley on top of him and let him get the win, only to continue assaulting him once the match ended. The feud between these two looks to continue based on the results, especially given that at one point Homicide was looking to cut Mox’s tongue out with scissors before Tozawa came in to save his Kamikaze USA partner.

Some of the results were quite surprising. Jacobs going 0-3, after being hyped up as a potential contender for the Open the Freedom Gate title, was an interesting twist.

BxB Hulk losing the belt on the first night of the triple shot was also a shock. YAMATO is one of the top wrestlers in DGUSA and it will be interesting to see what happens next with him and the championship.

Akira Tozawa had a career-defining weekend in DGUSA, picking up three huge wins. All of his matches were reported to be great, especially his huge win over BxB Hulk on Sunday.

Masato Yoshino and PAC became the promotion’s first ever tag team champions by winning all three of their matches over the weekend. The World-1 duo should make great champions and will very likely produce some thrilling title defenses.

The Ronin stable making the finals of the tournament also proves their legitimacy and chances are they will continue to stay in the hunt for the Open the United Gate titles.

While DGUSA was tearing up the East Coast, Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla were taking part in the WrestleReunion festivities in Los Angeles.

Here are the quick ROH results from Friday night’s show:

- The Bravado Brothers defeated Caleb Konley and Cedric Alexander.
- Jay Briscoe defeated Colt Cabana.
- The All-Night Express defeated The Cutler Brothers.
- Davey Richards defeated TJ Perkins.
- ROH World Television Champion Christopher Daniels defeated Mark Briscoe.
- Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated the ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Kings of Wrestling, in a non-title match.
- ROH World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong defeated El Generico.

The reports from the ROH Forum and PWInsider.com make this sound like a good show, well worth checking out. Richards and TJP apparently put on an awesome match, said to be one of the best of the entire weekend in LA.

The biggest news of out the event is the huge win by the World’s Greatest Tag Team. Now that they have avenged their loss to the Kings at Glory By Honor IX, it seems as if a championship match is inevitable. Will Benjamin and Haas be the ones who finally dethrone the Kings?

ROH continues to build momentum as they head towards their next PPV, the ninth Anniversary Show.

PWG presented their big WrestleReunion show, Kurt RussellReunion II, on Saturday night. Here are the quick results from the show:

- Cedrick Alexander, Brandon Gatson, Willie Mack and Candice LaRae defeated Jake Manning, Peter Avalon, Caleb Konley and ODB in an eight-person tag match.
- Mr. Aguila defeated Rey Bucanero.
- Joey Ryan defeated Shane Helms.
- Low Ki defeated Davey Richards.
- Jake Roberts defeated Sinn Bodhi in Roberts’ retirement match.
- “Rowdy” Roddy Piper won the Legends Battle Royal.
- Chris Hero defeated Kevin Steen
- The RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime and Johnny Yuma) defeated The Young Bucks, the Cutler Brothers and The Fightin’ Taylor Boys in a 4-way tag match to become the first team to qualify for the 2011 DDT4 tournament
- PWG World Heavyweight Champion Claudio Castagnoli defeated El Generico.

Much like the ROH show the previous night, the reports from PWInsider and the PWG Forum indicate that this was a top notch show.

The Legends Battle Royal came down to Roddy Piper and Terry Funk, marking the first time these two have ever done battle inside the squared circle. A very interesting note, especially given where it happened. PWG can lay claim to that little piece of history involving two of the biggest names in the history of the business.

PWG was also the place where Jake “the Snake” Roberts wrestled his final match, he picked up the win over Sinn Bodhi, who was briefly employed the WWE as Kizarny. Roberts’ legendary and controversial career has now come to an end; will he finally be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame now?

The first month of 2011 comes to a close with a huge weekend of pro wrestling action; there was something for everyone this weekend.

If you’re in the camp of fans that were unhappy with the WWE Royal Rumble, perhaps checking out one of the other promotions that were in action this weekend is in order.

Check out their respective web sites for more information and keep an eye out for the next edition of news and notes from the independent scene.

This May, New Japan Pro Wrestling is coming to America.

In association with Jersey All Pro Wrestling, NJPW will be bringing their popular brand of puroresu to the East Coast with a triple-shot weekend that kicks off in Rahway, N.J. on May 13. They hit New York City on May 14 and wrap things up in Philadelphia on May 15.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reported that the following matches have been announced for these historic events:

May 13, Rahway, NJ: Jushin “Thunder” Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Homicide and Low Ki.

May 14, New York City: Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki.

May 15, Philadelphia, PA: Rhino vs. Togi Makabe in a street fight.

These three matches alone should be enough to continue the buzz surrounding the first-ever NJPW tour in North America.

The Rottweilers reunite in Rahway to take on Japanese legends Liger and Tiger Mask.

The current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, who is regarded as one of the most talented wrestlers in the world today, Prince Devitt, clashes with former WWE “rookie” Low Ki.

Togi Makabe, known as the “Unchained Gorilla,” should match up well with the War Machine, Rhino, in what will likely be a brutal street fight.

In addition, it was announced that NJPW will be introducing a new title on this East Coast tour. The first ever IWGP Intercontinental Champion will be crowned, though no further details have been given as of yet.

Dragon Gate USA is preparing for their big New York City debut, which kicks off a huge weekend of shows from the upstart promotion.

The big news of the week from DGUSA is that the United: NYC show on Friday and the United: Philadelphia show on Saturday will both be available for live streaming on gofightlive.tv.

This last minute announcement might have come a bit too late for some fans who have already spent their weekend wrestling money on that other big PPV on Sunday (the one with 40 competitors this year) but it gives DGUSA a chance to increase their exposure for their first shows of 2011.

More information about the iPPV events and the complete cards for this weekend's action are available at the official Dragon Gate USA web site.

In other gofightlive.tv related news, Ring of Honor announced that their upcoming Wrestlemania weekend shows from Atlanta will both be broadcast live as iPPVs. This is a major move by the promotion, which recently lost its television deal with HDNet.

One can expect that ROH, who will now be holding three iPPV events in two months, will use their final few months of exposure on television to heavily promote these upcoming shows on gofightlive.tv.

ROH held their final HDNet tapings last weekend, capped off by a six-man tag team main event that saw Davey Richards team with the Briscoes to take on Roderick Strong and the Kings of Wrestling.

The match reportedly went for over 30 minutes and will be the final match shown on the HDNet program.

Other notables from the tapings include the Top Prospect tournament matches, featuring some of the up-and-coming talent in ROH including Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Mike Bennett.

The promotion seemed to focus heavily on some of the newer names on the roster to bring their run on TV to a close, for the time being.

The East Coast Wrestling Association’s Super 8 tournament, which is arguably the most important annual tournament in independent wrestling, will be held outside out the state of Delaware for the first time in its 15-year existence.

The ECWA announced that the tournament, which regularly features the best up-and-coming talent on the independent scene, will take place this year in Voorhees, N.J.

Tomasso Ciampa, who appeared at the most recent Ring of Honor tapings as part of Prince Nana’s new Embassy, has been announced as the first competitor for the 2011 tournament.

He has reached the tournament finals each of the past two years, this year Ciampa looks to finally grab the brass ring and prove he is someone to watch in 2011.

Lastly, CHIKARA held their 2011 season premiere show, “Chaos of the Lost Souls,” last weekend in Philadelphia, PA. Results from the event are up at the official CHIKARA web site.

During the show, a video was shown that seemingly will lead to a new championship being introduced in CHIKARA.

The promotion has never had a singles title, though there is also speculation that the “It’s Time” video will lead to the creation of a Trios Championship. Only time will tell what this will lead to.

The promotion also announced that beginning with the DVD release of this show, they are dropping the price of their releases to $15, which is welcome news for the wallets of many independent wrestling fans.

The upcoming weekend is massive for wrestling fans. Between the WWE's Royal Rumble PPV, Dragon Gate USA's iPPVs and PPV taping and the Wrestlereunion event in Los Angeles featuring ROH and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla cards, there should be plenty to take in.

I'll recap these events and touch on more independent wrestling next week. Until then, enjoy the matches.

For the second consecutive year, two of the premier promotions in independent wrestling will put on huge live shows at the WrestleReunion convention.

Ring of Honor, the Philadelphia based promotion and arguably the third biggest name in the United States wrestling scene, returns to the West Coast for a huge Friday night event on Jan. 28. The following night, California’s top independent company, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, will present a loaded card for Kurt RussellReunion II: The Reunioning.

ROH has yet to announce the full card for their return to Los Angeles, but two huge main event matches have been revealed.

El Generico finally gets another shot at the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. He will face either Roderick Strong, the current champion, or Jay Briscoe, depending on the outcome of their title match on Jan. 15 in Charlotte, N.C.

Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, look to gain retribution against the current ROH World Tag Team Champions, the Kings of Wrestling, in a non-title rematch of their outstanding clash at Glory By Honor IX.

The remainder of the ROH card should take shape following their weekend of shows on Jan. 14 and 15, but their first two announced matches for WrestleReunion are quite exciting.

Last month, Benjamin and Haas announced that they would be competing full-time in ROH and they appear to have their sights set on becoming the tag team champions in 2011. After their controversial loss to the Kings in September, the WGTT will be coming to California with revenge on their minds.

Generico has finally put his year-long feud with Kevin Steen behind him, after an epic clash at Final Battle 2010. Has the “generic luchador” recovered enough, both emotionally and physically, to focus on becoming the ROH World Heavyweight Champion?

The final weekend of January could be the most important one in the career of Generico, as he also has been given the first shot at dethroning the new PWG World Heavyweight Champion, Claudio Castagnoli.

Castagnoli, one half of the Kings of Wrestling, won the top prize in PWG back in October at The Curse of Guerrilla Island event. He defeated his tag team partner, Chris Hero, as well as Joey Ryan and Brandon Gatson, in a four-way match to determine a new champion after the title had been vacated.

Generico earned a shot at the belt last month, when he and Paul London successfully defended their PWG World Tag Team Championship against the Kings of Wrestling. The match was originally scheduled to be a non-title contest but the teams agreed that the belts would be put on the line as long as Castagnoli would put his title on the line against either Generico or London at a future show.

It turns out that Generico gets the shot on the very same weekend that he also gets his chance to become the top champion in ROH. With two cracks at championship gold, WrestleReunion has the potential to be a historic experience for El Generico.

Kurt RusselReunion II: The Reunioning will also feature the return of Low Ki to PWG. The former Kaval, winner of season two of NXT, comes back to a promotion where he has had incredible success and will square off against Davey Richards in what could potentially be the best match of the entire weekend.

Richards and Low Ki are both former PWG World Heavyweight Champions and are no strangers to each other. Their upcoming match marks the first time in almost four years that they will wrestle each other, according to the press release by PWG. Given all that has happened to both of these men over that period of time, this one has that dream match feeling written all over it.

Wrestling legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts will put an end of his career inside of a PWG ring when he takes on Sinn Bodhi in his official retirement match.

Bodhi, known mostly for his very brief run as Kizarny in the WWE, has reemerged on the indy scene with recent appearances in CHIKARA and now he receives the honor of being the last man to compete against one of the most well known names in the history of pro wrestling.

Speaking of wrestling legends, PWG has booked a legends battle royal featuring numerous big names from the past few decades. The list includes The Barbarian, "Dangerous" Danny Davis, Shane Douglas, Terry Funk, Mike Graham, Sean “Val Venis” Morley, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Barry Orton and "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Ken Patera, “Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Rock Riddle, Tatanka, Tito Santana, Vampiro, Savio Vega and The Warlord.

If anything, it should be a fun nostalgia trip.

Four teams will collide in a number one contenders match as the Young Bucks, the Cutler Brothers, the RockNES Monsters and the Fightin’ Taylor Boys all look to become the next team in line for a shot at the current PWG World Tag Team Champions, Paul London and El Generico.

PWG also has Kevin Steen vs. Chris Hero, Shane Helms vs. Joey Ryan and the continuation of a lucha libre rivalry as CMLL stars Rey Bucanero and Mr. Aguila (formerly Essa Rios in the WWE) are set to do battle.

With these huge events taking place, the fifth WrestleReunion event looks to be perhaps the best yet. Things should only get more interesting when the rest of the ROH event takes shape over the next few weeks.

That same weekend, the eyes of the wrestling world will mainly be focused on Sunday night’s WWE Royal Rumble in Boston.

While the biggest wrestling company in the world descends on the East Coast, ROH and PWG hope to draw some of those eyes to the West in what is indisputably going to be a huge three days for wrestling fans.

When a wrestling match is referred to as a modern day version of Ric Flair versus Ricky Steamboat, you know that it has to be something special.

That is exactly the high praise given by Jim Cornette to Davey Richards versus Tyler Black for the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship, the main event of Death Before Dishonor VIII.

Sure, Cornette did color commentary for the match and he is the "Executive Producer" for ROH on HDNet. He also serves as a major creative player with the company, but there is a bit of truth to his incredibly bold remarks about this match.

While it could be argued that Richards and Black are not on the same level as Flair and Steamboat, there is no denying that it has been universally praised by fans and critics alike as one of 2010's very best matches.

Each man went into the Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto that night with something to prove and the stage was set for what would become an instant classic.

Black was entering his fourth month as the ROH World Heavyweight Champion and was having a hard time gaining the respect of many of the die-hard fans. It seemed as if his nearly two-year long quest for the title had burnt out most of the momentum he had built.

Richards found himself in an almost identical position to the one Black was in only a few months earlier. He was the upstart challenger, immensely popular with the fans, who consistently received chants of “Next world champ” during his matches.

While Black was attempting to prove himself to the ROH faithful, Richards was hoping to capitalize on his skyrocketing popularity and capture the promotion’s top prize.

The hype for the match continued to build as the weeks leading into the iPPV turned into days. For many fans, this was the most anticipated ROH World Championship match in some time. The hype video, available here for your viewing pleasure, still gives me goosebumps to this day.

The crowd is always an important part of the overall atmosphere of a wrestling match. The competitors can be working as hard as ever, but if the crowd is not reacting or doesn’t seem to care, it obviously influences the way the match comes off. Fortunately, the crowd in Toronto for Death Before Dishonor VIII was incredibly hot and extremely vocal.

The rabid fans only added to the fast-paced, hard-hitting action in the ring. Their general disdain for Black was apparent as the opening bell rang, complete with expletive-laden chants directed towards the champion.

Over the course of the next 40 minutes, Richards and Black held the crowd in the proverbial palm of their hands, exchanging signature moves and taking incredible risks to keep the other man down for the count.

Black regularly found himself trapped in the clutches of Richards’ various submission holds, including the Texas Cloverleaf and the ankle lock.

Richards found himself battling the referee’s 20 count outside of the ring, especially after he nearly killed himself with one of his signature suicide dives and later when he took Black’s Peroxysm finisher off the apron and onto the floor.

At one point near the end of the match, the fans erupted into a “You can’t beat him” chant aimed at Black, who was obviously growing frustrated by Richards’ tenacity and resilience.

As the match went on, the crowd’s negativity towards Black began to diminish. Instead of anti-Tyler chants, the crowd was chanting “This is awesome” as numerous near-falls and close calls were traded between arguably the two finest talents on the ROH roster.

Wrestling fans, take note—matches like this make championships mean something. A career-defining performance by both men that illustrated the importance of winning the ROH World Heavyweight title.

Tyler Black versus Davey Richards, from Death Before Dishonor VIII, takes the top spot as my favorite match of 2010. They went on to have two stellar rematches, a non-title battle to close out the Tag Wars 2010 show, as well as an HDNet match that would be Black’s final appearance in ROH.

That brings the top matches of 2010 series to an end. The five matches featured stand as a reflection of the state of wrestling outside of the WWE and TNA, which has been highly entertaining throughout the course of the year.

Honorable mentions must be given to a few matches that didn’t make this list. ROH gave us two incredible main event matches at their Final Battle 2010 iPPV event.

Davey Richards again gave it his all in an attempt to wrestle the title away from reigning ROH World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong. It was one of the hardest-hitting matches I have ever seen and would’ve likely made this list if I hadn’t already decided on the five matches I’d be featuring.

The same can be said for Kevin Steen and El Generico’s “Fight Without Honor” that wonderfully and violently put an end to a year-long battle between the former friends and tag team partners. It was an outstanding example of storytelling in pro wrestling, with a payoff that left almost everyone satisfied.

2010 was a great year for wrestling and 2011 promises to be exciting. Hope that everyone has a safe and happy New Year. Make a resolution to look outside of the mainstream wrestling promotions and check out something different. You might discover some great matches if you do.

Check out these articles spotlighting the rest of my top matches of 2010:

No. 2 - Bryan Danielson vs. Shingo from Dragon Gate USA's "Enter the Dragon" one year anniversary show.

No. 3 - "Come As You Are" Chicago Street Fight - Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. El Generico and Colt Cabana

No. 4 - Team CHIKARA (Quackenbush, Hallowicked and Jigsaw) vs. World-1 (Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk)

No. 5 - ROH World Tag Team Championship - The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Kings of Wrestling

While most wrestling fans were focused on the WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view this past weekend, Ring of Honor was focused on making Final Battle 2010, their fifth Internet pay-per-view offering, an unforgettable experience.

The show took place on Saturday night from a jam packed Grand Ballroom inside the Manhattan Center and has received rave reviews from just about anyone who watched it on gofightlive.tv. Critics and fans alike have praised Final Battle as one of the very best shows of the year.

2010 was a turbulent year for ROH, and they needed Final Battle to deliver—especially given all of the hype that went into building up the event. This one had the potential to be the biggest show in the history of the promotion.

Turns out, it was. Between live attendance and PPV buys, the 2010 edition of Final Battle became the most watched event in the history of the promotion. It also happened to be one of the very best ROH shows in their near 9-year existence.

The action began with a tag team match pitting ROH newcomers Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly against the ultra-hot team of Kenny King and Rhett Titus, known collectively as the All-Night Express.

This match is a fine example of how to kick off a PPV and really get the fans into the show. The teams turned in a fast-paced performance featuring incredible move after incredible move. The match exceeded expectations and ranks as one of the best matches of the entire night.

Cole and O’Reilly have really clicked as a team during their short time together, and it is easy to see why many have pegged the ANX as the next ROH World Tag Team Champions.

Colt Cabana and TJ Perkins put on an entertaining bout. Cabana’s comedic style in the ring works well with the technical ability he brings to the table. TJP is considered by many to be one of the finest technicians in wrestling today. This one could’ve delivered a bit more, but it was still a quality match.

The Women of Honor took center stage and showcased their skills. Unlike the divas of the WWE or the knockouts of TNA, these women were given ample time to shine in the squared circle.

The team of Sara Del Rey and Serena Deeb (remember her from the Straight Edge Society?) took on Daizee Haze and Amazing (or Awesome to most) Kong in a high quality women’s tag team match.

Eddie Edwards may have lost the ROH World Television Title recently, but he has not lost his drive and determination to consistently prove he is one of the best that ROH has to offer. He took on Sonjay Dutt in a competitive match that once again exceeded the expectations of many.

Dutt was a last minute replacement for Kenny Omega, who was injured while training and was forced to pull out of his weekend return to ROH.

While Dutt did an admirable job and deserves credit for stepping up at the last minute to fill in, he simply is no Omega. If the original match had gone on as planned, chances are it would’ve been a highlight of the night.

Two ROH legends collided when Homicide took on the new World Television Champion, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, in a non-title match.

It was a good back-and-forth match, but neither man ever really seemed to get going. It wasn’t a bad match by any means, though it was marred by a rather goofy finish. The surprise return of Homicide’s hype-man Julius Smokes was an added bonus.

This likely won’t be the last time these two former TNA stars meet, and next time the TV title may be on the line.

The first of three main event matches saw the Briscoes, joined by their father Mike “Papa” Briscoe,” continue their rivalry with the Kings of Wrestling, who were joined by their manager Shane Hagadorn.

This six-man tag was all about revenge for the Briscoes, who have been chasing after the current World Tag Team Champions for much of 2010. They’ve given us some of the best and bloodiest brawls of the year in tag team wrestling, but this match upped the fun factor with the inclusion of Papa Briscoe and Shane Hagadorn.

In the end, despite being the next chapter of a rather intense feud, this was simply a fun six-man match with plenty of entertaining moments including Hagadorn repeatedly being “accidentally” hit by his own team and a tilt-a-whirl head scissors takedown by Papa Briscoe.

Yes, the old man did a flying head scissors. He also busted out a Stone Cold Stunner at one point during his official in-ring debut.

The comedy ended with that match. It was followed by two very late match of the year candidates, one for the top prize in ROH and another to settle a year-long personal rivalry between former best friends and tag team partners.

Davey Richards and Roderick Strong tore the house down in what was, simply put, the hardest-hitting match of 2010.

Roderick Strong won the ROH World Heavyweight Championship for the very first time at the last iPPV, Glory By Honor IX. The very same night, Richards was announced as the number one contender for Final Battle.

In many ways, Richards has been viewed as the uncrowned champion of ROH for much of 2010. His title opportunity against then-champion Tyler Black at Death Before Dishonor VIII ranks at the top of many match of the year lists.

Strong looked to vanquish Richards and prove that he deserved to be the man who wore the ROH World Heavyweight Championship. He needed to silence his critics and show the fans that he wasn’t just a transitional champ.

Both men wrestled like they had something to prove and produced a near perfect match. The crowd was strongly behind Richards and popped wildly when it appeared as though he won the match.

The end result was a wonderfully booked championship fight that accomplished exactly what it should have: it had the fans on the edge of their seats, and it made the ROH World Heavyweight Championship feel like the most important thing in the world to both competitors.

And it wasn’t even the main event of the night.

Technically, it was the official main event, but the non-sanctioned “Fight without Honor” between Kevin Steen and El Generico would bring Final Battle to a triumphant and incredibly bloody close.

The story told between these two former friends has lasted exactly one year and has been the very best feud in professional wrestling throughout 2010.

It all came down to Final Battle, where Steen placed his ROH career on the line against the mask of El Generico. Regardless of the outcome, the careers of these men would never be the same again.

While it was far from a technical masterpiece, this all-over brawl has already been called a match of the year by some fans and critics. It easily lived up to the hype surrounding it, as both men gave career defining performances and took incredible risks.

It was the end of a feud that should go down in the history books as one of the very best. It all came full circle for Steen and Generico, and both men did an outstanding job of telling the story.

Strong and Richards set a very high bar for Steen and Generico to follow and in the end, they gave it their all for the standing room only crowd in New York City.

Final Battle 2010 brought the end of a tumultuous year for ROH. Despite losing several top name wrestlers and adjusting to a major behind the scenes shake up in August, the promotion continues to gain popularity and receive increased exposure.

A show like this one proves exactly why ROH stands for high quality professional wrestling. Comparing them to the WWE or TNA is like comparing apples and oranges because the products are quite different.

Tables, Ladders and Chairs may have been a pretty entertaining WWE event, but Final Battle 2010 was clearly the must-see wrestling show of the weekend and perhaps the very best show of the entire year.

If you haven’t been paying attention to Ring of Honor throughout 2010, chances are you’ve missed out on the best feud of the entire year.

At the Final Battle 2009 Internet pay-per-view, Kevin Steen and his longtime tag partner El Generico lost a highly competitive match to The Young Bucks, one of the fastest rising teams in pro wrestling. Given the toll that injuries had taken on Steen’s body heading into the match, the loss was nothing to hang their heads about.

After the match, Steen took to the microphone and launched into what appeared to be some kind of retirement speech. He thanked the fans for their support over the years and addressed his mounting injuries. All signs pointed to Steen taking some time off, at the very least.

Instead, “Mr. Wrestling” shocked the ROH world by turning an embrace with El Generico into a groin shot followed by a brutal assault with a steel chair.

One of the most beloved teams on the independent scene was no more.

Shortly after Final Battle, Steen revealed an alliance with one of the most dastardly characters in wrestling history, “The King of Old School” Steve Corino.

Colt Cabana, a longtime friend of Steen and Generico, joined the side of “The Generic Luchador” to do battle with the evil partnership of Corino and Steen at The Big Bang in April, which marked the first time that Generico squared off against his former partner.

In the months leading up to the iPPV, Steen explained his actions, citing the fans’ constant “Ole!” chants towards Generico as one of the many reasons why he assaulted his friend. He claimed to be sick and he suffered from the disease that was El Generico.

While the tension built, Generico refused to strike back at his one-time best friend. The masked man finally let loose at The Big Bang, snapping on Steen after he used a steel chair on Cabana to cause the disqualification.

That set up one of my top matches of 2010, a tag team “Come As You Are” Chicago street fight that took place at the Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2 event. The level of violence that these four men brought to the ring that night matches anything I’ve ever seen from ROH, as the bad blood finally reached a boiling point.

Generico and Cabana picked up the win, but the feud was far from over.

Death Before Dishonor VIII marked the next chapter in this rivalry, when Steen and Generico finally went one-on-one, six months to the day that their friendship was destroyed by a steel chair.

The show was set to begin with Up In Smoke taking on the All-Night Express in tag team action, but Generico couldn’t wait to get his hands on Steen. He stormed the ring and demanded that his former friend come out and fight.

Steen was able to emerge victorious after a back and forth battle, but it would not be enough to put an end to the hatred between these two.

Their rematch at Hate: Chapter II saw the introduction of another deadly weapon, the steel chain. Steen nearly choked the life out Generico with his new favorite weapon, which lead to a tag team chain match at Glory By Honor IX.

Generico and Cabana won the match, but Steen and Corino raised the stakes of this war when Steen was able to remove the mask of Generico in a post-match brawl.

Since GBHIX, Steen has done numerous promos talking to, and in some cases wearing, the mask and even attempted to sell it on eBay. He continues to play mind games with the man he spent so many years teaming with, but Generico’s anger has escalated over the past few months.

Losing his mask may have been the final straw that sent Generico over the edge. The darker side of his persona has been slowly gaining control. He now dons an all black mask and seems as focused as he ever has on hurting his old friend.

Even Cabana, who has stuck by his friend’s side during this year-long feud, has begun to distance himself from the situation.

It has been nearly one year since Final Battle 2009, and the 2010 version will be headlined by a “Fight Without Honor,” that will most likely put an end to this epic rivalry.

If Steen loses, he will leave Ring of Honor. If Generico loses, he will unmask and reveal his face for the world to see. The stakes have never been higher for these two men.

ROH has done a masterful job of building this feud over the course of 2010. It has clearly been one of the focal points of the promotion and a major part of their weekly HDNet program.

No feud in all of pro wrestling in 2010 has been able to match the intensity and emotion of this one. It all comes to an inevitably brutal conclusion at Final Battle.

The matches have been violent, the promos have been outstanding, and the tension has been building and building. On December 18, in the Manhattan Center, the same place where it all began last year, Steen and Generico will truly have their final battle.

ROH Final Battle 2010 - El Generico vs. Kevin Steen - Hype Video

If a poll was taken amongst regulars of the pro wrestling section of the Bleacher Report, asking them what the feud of the year was, chances are the top choices would include names like John Cena, the Nexus, Batista and Rey Mysterio.

In the WWE, these names have been involved in the major feuds and biggest storylines of 2010. While it may seem hard to believe for some, none of those rivalries have been able to match the sheer intensity and brutality of the year-long feud between former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champions, Kevin Steen and El Generico.

The once fruitful partnership between two friends quickly turned into one of ROH’s most-talked about rivalries in recent memory when Steen assaulted Generico after losing to the Young Bucks at Final Battle 2009, the promotion’s very first live Internet pay-per-view event.

From the moment Steen attempted to seriously injure his one-time best friend with a steel chair, it was very clear that the bad blood between these guys would lead to a memorable series of matches and the level of violence would continue to be raised.

Steen’s transformation into a vile, brutal competitor with a magnified mean streak was due in large part to the influence of “The King of Old School” himself, Steve Corino. The former ECW Champion and ROH veteran took Steen under his wing and reinvigorated his own career in the process.

El Generico, on the other hand, found friendship and a fighting partner in ROH fan favorite Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana. It was Cabana who came to Generico’s aid at Final Battle, questioning why Steen, their mutual friend, would turn his back on them.

The battle lines had been drawn. Over the course of 2010, these two teams would have several matches under numerous stipulations.

They had a hard-hitting chain match at Glory By Honor IX and did battle inside a steel cage on HDNet, but their “Come As You Are Chicago Street Fight” from the Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2 event has easily been the most violent and bloody chapter in this rivalry.

Typically, most match of the year candidates are not described as violent, bloody street fights. This one will most likely not be included in many purists’ year-end lists, but there were few matches in 2010 that held my attention and captured my interest more than this one did.

The slow burn of anticipation for Steen and Generico to finally step into the ring with each other lasted several months. When they finally did, it was a tag team match at The Big Bang iPPV. That match ended in a disqualification after Steen used a steel chair.

It was clear that the normal rules of wrestling wouldn’t suffice to settle this feud, and a tag team rematch was booked for Chicago. This time, it would be a street fight and the bitter enemies would hold nothing back.

After waiting nearly 5 months, Steen and Corino would get to really let their violent side out against Generico and Cabana. With no rules and no limits, could Generico finally get his revenge against his one-time partner?

The simple fact that Steve Corino wore an all-white suit to a street fight was reason enough to believe that things were going to end up getting quite messy. By the end of the match, his suit is covered in the crimson stains of every competitor’s blood.

All four men take an incredible amount of punishment during this one. The fight starts in the aisle and spills all over the venue. At one point, Generico and Steen do battle atop a scaffold which results in a very devastating bump that nearly takes Generico out of the picture.

Tables, ladders, steel chairs, barbed wire baseball bats, broken beer bottles, guard rails and anything else these guys can get their hands on are used as weapons. This isn’t much of a wrestling match but it might be one of the best fights I’ve seen in some time.

The atmosphere in the venue is electric, only adding to the intensity on display. It reminds me of an old ECW match from the glory days of that promotion, when guys like Raven and Tommy Dreamer were beating the living hell out of one another and doing some very dangerous, hardcore spots in the name of crafting a well-told story.

Is this match a bit too extreme at times? For some, probably.

The chair shots alone are enough to make most wrestling fans cringe. These men take it much further than they really should, but they clearly are doing it as a way to build up this incredibly fierce rivalry.

Ring of Honor is not necessarily known for their extreme and violent product. Most of the time, ROH is associated with skillfully executed technical wrestling but a look at their history shows that when the time is right and the situation calls for it, they aren’t afraid to get hardcore.

This Chicago street fight earns its rightful place with some of the most brutal matches in ROH history. It stands side-by-side with the ladder wars and fights without honor as one of the bloodiest brawls the promotion has ever had.

Some may write this one off as nothing more than a garbage hardcore spot fest, but it stands for much more than that.

This is one of the opening chapters in what, in my mind is, undoubtedly the best feud of 2010. This is two former best friends and their newfound allies putting it all on the line for revenge. This is a perfect example of great storytelling in professional wrestling.

That night in Chicago, an already red-hot feud became even more heated when all was said and done.

The No. 3 spot in the best of 2010 series goes to Steen and Corino vs. Generico and Cabana from one of the very best ROH shows of the year, Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2.

Next month, my top 2 matches of 2010 will be spotlighted in this series. Make sure to keep an eye out for them. If you haven’t already, please do check out the first two parts of my top matches of 2010:

No. 4 - Team CHIKARA (Quackenbush, Hallowicked and Jigsaw) vs. World-1 (Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk)

No. 5 - ROH World Tag Team Championship - The Motor City Machine Guns vs. The Kings of Wrestling