*WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS ON FUTURE RING OF HONOR TELEVISION TAPINGS RESULTS*
Yesterday, Ring of Honor Commissioner Nigel McGuinness posted a YouTube video stripping ROH World Champion Jay Briscoe of the championship. The video states that the reason was decided due to injuries:
Prior to this video, Jay Briscoe posted a profanity laced promo with a sling on his arm explaining the spoilers which happened in Ring of Honor. Briscoe defeated Matt Hardy the night following Best in the World, only to be attacked by SCUM. Briscoe made reference to McGuinness’s injuries in the past, which McGuinness responded on his video that the industry was different now. Briscoe tried to make it clear he could still fight, pleading with Nigel not to do this with a bottle of Crown Royal in his hand. It is said that this will be the last appearance of a Briscoe in ROH.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS LANGUAGE THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME VIEWERS!
The truth of the situation as far as what can be seen is that the Briscoe Brothers, Jay and Mark, had their contracts up a few days after Best in the World and ROH, along with owners Sinclair Broadcasting, made the direct decision to not renew their contracts. It is said that Jay Briscoe’s comments back in May (you can find my article on it here) were not made aware to Sinclair Broadcasting ownership until around Best in the World. What makes this so odd of course is that ROH had more than enough time to put the belt on Matt Hardy at the TV tapings. Instead they opted to have a SCUM beatdown only a week before the faction was to lose at Steel Cage Warfare and have to disband.
The title situation doesn’t get any easier at this point. Nigel acknowledged that Michael Elgin is the number one contender and that the number one contender should become champion but they decided instead to put him in the tournament. Why not give him the belt? Now you’d have heels coming out of the woodwork accusing Elgin of not deserving the title when he deserved to be number one contender. That sets up Elgin to beat the heels and prove his worth. By the time he drops the title he can say he was ROH Champion but he still hasn’t had the satisfaction of beating someone to become champion. It would have been an interesting route to take and allow ROH to build the title up this way. But alas.
With only Matt Hardy seeming to have momentum right now it would be no surprise for him to win the ROH World Championship in the tournament (when again, he could have just beat Jay Briscoe) and then feud with Kevin Steen. The problem is really this tournament has no heat. Why do I not care about a tournament that possibly includes Mike Elgin, Matt Hardy, Kevin Steen, Jay Lethal, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards and others? If ROH does anything it’s kill one’s interest in wrestlers they want to see. Hopefully they let the matches be long and memorable.
The Briscoe situation is an oddity in itself. For a while now I have felt stale on the Briscoes. Breaking them up amicably and having them work singles was a good way to get them out of the division but it still felt forced. Where are the Briscoes to go? They have been having tryouts with the WWE but I’m sure they are aware of Jay’s comments and that’s the kind of thing the WWE runs away from. That leaves Japan and TNA Wrestling. TNA Wrestling would be an interesting place for the Briscoes since they do have a tag division, though they too might be weary of Jay’s comments. The Briscoes are a draw in independent wrestling but they are also such a throwback to the Dick Schultz/Doug Gilbert southern wrestling scene that you’d have to castrate their characters quite a bit to make it work in WWE or TNA. It reminds me of how the Sheepherders, one of the roughest, toughest tag teams in pro wrestling went to the WWF and became the Bushwackers. They are going to have become characters of themselves to work anywhere bigger than ROH. Is that even worth it? Then again, wouldn’t the Briscoes fit in great with the Wyatt Family?
It will be strange to watch ROH without the Briscoes. They were involved in so many storylines throughout the history of the company. ROH without the Briscoes is like the WWE without the Undertaker. Something will feel like it’s missing, even if it was passed their expiry date. ROH will be losing part of their identity at a time when it barely has one anymore. Hopefully the next ROH World Champion will be someone the whole company can rise with. Otherwise, it’s just another blunder in the recent history of a once proud independent wrestling promotion.
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