On Saturday Night, I had the opportunity to attend Ring Of Honor’s All-Star Extravaganza V in Toronto. It was great to see wrestling return to Maple Leaf Gardens, site of so many great events over the years.
First, I realize the event is up on VOD, so I’m going to try to avoid spoilers here (as much as possible). There are a few things that need to be mentioned, however. First, and most important, it would appear that B.J. Whitmer escaped with relatively minor injuries after taking a pile driver on the ring apron. It was a scary incident, and I’m glad to see B.J. will be okay.
Also, if you are unsure whether or not to buy this VOD, I’m gonna say that you should. The Michael Elgin vs Paul London Match is a legit 4-star to 4.5-star classic. The main event between Forever Hooligans and American Wolves is another 4-star match, and nearly everything on the card, from the opening bout to the last match (with the obvious exception of the Whitmer/Bennett match), delivered.
The biggest story of the night for me though, occurred in watching the main event between the Forever Hooligans, and American Wolves. Ricky Romero, Alex Kozlov, Davey Richards, and Eddie Edwards all had their working boots on, and as I said with the ROH Tag Titles on the line, the crowd was definitely entertained.
Now, Davey Richards is a wrestler I have long enjoyed for his in-ring work. The veteran ROH grappler is technically proficient, and puts on hard-hitting, exciting matches. My issue with him for years has been that he lacked charisma. This seems to be a problem with a few others on the ROH roster, as I have long said that Eddie Edwards, Roderick Strong, and Richards were three-of-a-kind. Good in-ring workers who just didn’t have the charisma to truly get over with the crowd.
On Saturday though, a new side of Richards was revealed. He showed real charisma in his interactions with the crowd, the referee, and his post-match promo with the Hooligans. During the match, Richards played the role of the smarmy heel to perfection, criticizing the ref’s calls and responding to chants and cat calls from the crowd. While nothing I can write will really do justice to the role Richards played, I do recommend you watch the show as it was a side of him we’ve never seen before. All the while it wasn’t a comedy act either, it really went nicely with his stiff, technical wrestling style.
To me this is the first step in the evolution of Richards. If he can continue to show this charisma, to add a persona to his wrestling style, the sky is the limit on how high he can go. He has the technical ability, he has a good look and body, and the charisma and promo ability is really all he has been missing. With continued refinement of the character and a good storyline, we could see Richards back in the world title picture and actually getting over with the audience this time, unlike his first run.
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