Welcome to ROH Honorable Mention, Last Word on Sports’s look at the biggest news coming out of Ring of Honor.
The WWE may have dominated the news coming out of Dallas this past weekend, but Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor had everyone talking about Colt Cabana’s return to the company.
Cabana has been a wrestling nomad, performing all over the world in a style that is distinctive to him. Combining his two loves, comedy and pro wrestling, Cabana wrestles a comedic style, eschewing kayfabe to some degree, to entertain the fans.
He first received acclaim for his work in Ring of Honor back in 2002, wrestling against and with CM Punk, even holding the company’s tag team championships together. He worked for the company until 2007 when he signed a deal with WWE, specifically the Ohio Valley Wrestling promotion. AFter the promotion moved to Florida and was rebranded Florida Championship Wrestling and began making appearances on WWE Smackdown!. After sporadic use by the company, he left in 2009 and began to ply his trade on the independent circuit.
It was then that Cabana began to hone his craft and character, wrestling in promotions all over the world, injecting humor into his matches. It was around the same time in 2010 that he began to publish his own podcast, The Art of Wrestling. The show centered around the life of professional wrestlers. While on his travels, Cabana has recorded interviews with fellow wrestlers, current and past, for an inside look at what makes wrestlers tick. He also began a Youtube channel with a popular sketch, Worst Promo Ever, during which he cuts mind-numbingly awful promos for his upcoming matches. Cut My Promo, another one of his web exclusive videos, centers around uninformed fans doing Cabana’s work for him.
Cabana has built his brand on his own, wrestling in front of thousands of fans one night and in front of tens of fans the next, displaying the same passion and dedication each night. By going out on his own, away from the major companies, he has become more successful than he ever would under the thumb of the WWE creative team. However, this past weekend, Cabana has once again returned to a national stage.
Letting go of the past, staying positive. There's a new generation who haven't seen what I do & this is for them… https://t.co/tQb0jHkxJJ
— Colt Cabana🦦 (@ColtCabana) April 2, 2016
Putting aside some qualms he may have had about returning to the company where he has experienced the most mainstream success, Cabana admittedly is looking to show off his talents to a new generation of fans who have not seen his work firsthand. He brings a jolt of energy to the company as well as a big name to the company at a time when the WWE is absorbing the biggest free agents in wrestling. With names Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and most recently Bobby Roode signing with the WWE, Colt signing with Ring of Honor brings back fans who remember Cabana’s first run and serves as an equally big get for the smaller company.
As reported here by the Ring of Honor website, Cabana surprised everyone with his appearance, making it clear to Jay Lethal that he was returning to win something that has always eluded him, the ROH Heavyweight title. On the second night, he “shocked the world in a match that has to be seen to be believed”. With the match occurring on a yet non-televised card, ROH will certainly drive up interest in their live shows, with an air of unpredictability returning to the product. Cabana is name wrestler with the chops to adopt any style that is called for during this impending run. His challenge and chase will undoubtedly feature some serious work from him, but here’s hoping he brings the joy of his comedic style to Ring of Honor television.
Photo by @JGor492
