Well, my plane leaves in 9 hours. I'm only spending one day in NYC, Saturday. As for food, I don't think steak is in the plans this time, which is fine. But I've convinced my dad to eat at John's Pizzeria, which is amazing considering he doesn't eat dairy. This is a place I've seen promoted on the Travel Channel a few times. Located near Times Square, it used to be a church for many years. On one hand, it is sad that a house of worship is now a restaurant. But it still has the stained glass windows and people say despite the craziness of the street right outside, this is a very homey place to visit. I'm really excited to try this pizza.
From there, it's off to the Manhattan Center for Ring of Honor's 5th PPV Taping. Yes, the Chad Pennington jersey is folded and inside the Lands End suitcase. I'm really excited for this card, this is as excited I've been for a show since last June when Driven blew my mind. But I hear the security at the Manhattan Center is ruthless there and I really want to bring my camera to the show. I'm trying to think of some place to hide it while they search me... Anyway, here's the lineup with my predictions.
ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries
A lot of interesting subplots here. Can Aries become the first two-time ROH world champ? How's McGuinness' left biceps, which has been torn off the bone? After all, that is the arm which he throws his tradmark lariats. And these two haven't wrestled in a singles match against each other in almost two years. Nigel won the World title in September, but has been injured since. He's on a mission to make his reign as World Champion, which he has worked so hard and so long to get, count. Though I would love to see Aries win, I pick Nigel to retain.
ROH World Tag Team Title Match- Best 2 Out Of 3 Falls
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero
Time for the No Remorse Corpse to man up! The Briscoes have won eight straight falls in 2 of 3 matches; it is their specialty. Roderick is focused on his World title shot next January in Chicago and I just don't see Rocky as a champion again. The Briscoes win two straight falls again and establish themselves as the best tag team in the world.
Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima
This match will tear the house down. The best wrestler in the world has a score to settle with the Japanese monster who held the ROH title for 8 months. Shima has beaten the American Dragon in all three of their matches, though one was by DQ. In their first match, he nearly terminated Dragon's vision in his left eye. He actually wound up detaching his retina. In their last match, Dragon was disqualified for repeatedly stomping Morishima in the...Shimas... So these two have a score to settle. Despite his recent losing streak, Danielson knows he needs to win this match to move on in his career and prove he should get a shot at the World title he held for almost two years. I say Dragon knocks Shima out with the repeated MMA elbows to the head.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero
Heyyy! As great as these two were as a tag team, their singles matches have simply not captured the attention of the fans. They've just been OK. Now the stipulation here is if Claudio loses, he leaves ROH forever. Claudio has usually gotten the best of Hero, despite constant interference from Hero's stable, Sweet and Sour Inc. Sad as it is, I think they make the difference and Claudio rides off into the sunset.
Tag Team Scramble
Jack Evans & Ruckus vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. 2 of Brent Albright, BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce
There are a lot of factions walking around ROH right now. Will it be the high flying of Evans and Ruckus, the sadistic and dark nature of Jacobs and Black, the big-match experience of Steenerico, or the power of the Hangman 3? With the Age of the Fall seemingly the next big thing, and the fact that they also have a World tag team title shot on Sunday's show, I pick Jacobs and Black to win.
Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze vs. Lacey
A non-title Shimmer three-way match. I'd like Daizee to win, since she's been coming up short lately. But I have to pick Lacey to get the pin on Sara, the current women's champion.
Jigsaw vs. The Necro Butcher vs. Matt Cross
You've got speed vs. a hardcore guy vs. a guy with tremendous ariel ability. This could be a very intriguing match or it could be a total mess with such a blatant contrast of wrestling styles. I pick the Butcher to win and say the Age of the Fall wins the first three matches of the night.
Also, Erick Stevens, Delirious, Davey Richards, and Naomichi Marufuji still have matches to be determined!
And then afterwards, comes the party at a local Irish bar right across the street from Madison Square Garden. Oh baby...
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