| “And with all that gold, we will step into the ECW Arena and finish what we started one year ago by demolishing everybody in sight, and using their bodies as metaphors for every doubt in every heart in the world. Heartache and solitude and hopelessness are all real. But so is triumph. So is valor. So are dreams. Steel Cage Warfare is an end to the beginning. We are the boys and girls who will change the world. We are the ones we've been waiting for. “ Posted by The Age Of The Fall at 8:52 PM http://projectonesixone.blogspot.com/ We truly are in the Age of the Fall. Whether you count yourself as one of the enlightened, or one of the masses; whether you know the score, or pretend to ignore it; whether your focus is to transcend the current listless and directionless product that is professional wrestling, or you are one of the mindless masses that defends mediocrity, even as it seeks to drown you into subservience. Call me melodramatic, but there’s something about Ring of Honor’s touted stable of disaffected youths that seems to be missing the mark, that seems to be merely a shadow of what it can be. Heyman paved the way to revolution in the world of professional wrestling. Back in the days before “viral” became the new “X” that 1990’s vanguard of what professional wrestling was, and what it would become, Heyman instilled the phrase “Join the Revolution” and injected “F’N” into his branding. There was no halfway with the original ECW. You loved it. You hated it. But you knew what it was and where it was going. It may really have only accounted for a small percentage of any given audience, but it was a VOCAL minority, and one that brought about its own destruction by flaunting it’s own success, despite its lack of business success, by pissing in the Billionaire’s punchbowl. And reminding him that the fans are what drive the sport, not the vision of aging promoters. In a day where Vince McMahon continues to grow into the late 2000’s version of the late 1980’s version of Verne Gagne, we truly see an industry mindless, listless and lacking in direction. Now, perhaps the Age of the Fall is meant to be a parody of that, but it could be so much more. It could be the counterculture revolution, the driving force for another underground movement, the focus of the path to attract the disaffected and the disgusted, the cast-offs and the bored, the fans and aficionado’s of an entertainment/sports genre that has lost its way. AGE OF THE FALL. We are truly in the age where the mighty have fallen. And yet … where’s the rallying cry? It’s just like ROH languishing as an afterthought to a sports/entertainment fandom that cannot see past a dominating product that treats them, treats its talent, and treats the genre like a business decision, not a work of art. To counter it, there must be a focus, a direction. Even if that direction is simply Seinfeldian nothingness. We’ve seen the Age of the Fall toggle through certain senses of direction. Lacey was the Desire of Jimmy Jacobs. Necro Butcher was the Destruction of ages past. Now, Delirious is the Delirium of the present age. To me, there’s a nod to Neil Gaiman here, the ever resourceful creator of DC Comic’s Sandman series, that exploded on the scene in the 1990’s. What’s next, Daizee Haze as Dream? We still have three more of “The Endless” to toggle through: Death, Despair and Destiny. Destiny, in many ways, could simply be Austin Aries. But Death is what we are seeing in the industry, and Despair is the only feeling I have about it. The problem with AotF, currently is two fold: One, there is no rallying cry. Two, there is no identifiable glue. The problem being that ROH desperately needs to be delivering its message to the masses, and yet here we are, in an age where blogging and videos on YouTube are all the rage, and we live in an age where Kevin Ferguson recasts himself as Kimbo Slice, and millions upon millions, and TV executives of the Tiffany Network, and countless ignorant sports figures were all taken in by the hype. Hype created by the man himself. And professional wrestling, once again, cannot replicate that success? Where are the AotF promos railing against the dominant product, and the pathetic product, that mainstream fans flock to? Sure, AotF has used YouTube...but have they really? Why, when ECW touted itself as the Revolution, and saw it’s top names scooped up in a heated Cable TV war, can we not recognize that ROH is in the same position today? As the vanguard, as the creative force, as the true professional wrestling revolution? It’s all weak. And it needs to MAN UP! Samoa Joe? CM Punk? Takeshi Morishima and Bryan “Best in the World” Danielson? The ties to what is going on in the product all come back to ROH, and this should be front and center. The frustration and the anger should be spilling forth. But instead, we see a weak middle road, a moderation, an attempt to provide a third way from the clearly pathetic avenues that we are being driven to today. Instead, the Age of the Fall should be leading the way. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black are some of the great talents of today. They should be a stable that rises its name above the collection of its parts. Instead, it meanders by. Zach Gowen is a fascinating addition. Casting off Necro Butcher came across as questionable, but part of the puzzle, part of the mystery. Joey Matthews is a facet, but how does he fit in? Delirious? Alison Wonderland?? MsChif??? Take No Prisoners was a break out for AotF, with Black cementing himself at the championship level. But why is the group still floundering? It’s floundering because there is no direction, despite the promise of Jimmy Jacobs. It’s floundering because, like ROH, the ability to generate hype has been dismantled in a sense of safety and self-satisfaction. AotF is obviously afraid of attempting to conquer the world. Because if they cannot conquer ROH, can they even attempt to pretend to try? If Necro Butcher is not an integral part to the dynamics, why worry about him? Why not cast him off as unworthy, and force him to bring the fight back? The dynamics are flawed. In AotF, we have a stable that is more resembling of the defunct NWO, not the Revolution that it claims to be. A movement needs direction. Where is the direction? Self-pity? Self-loathing of Jimmy Jacobs? Jamie Noble is parodying that concept in the WWE. We live in an age where heels are meaningless and faces are impotent. Combining the two isn’t innovative or novel, it’s a level of mediocrity that plagues the sport. Age of the Fall must begin to transcend. And if they cannot transcend, do they deserve attention? According to ROHwrestling.com, the New Horizons PPV debuted on September 26th. I quote from the site: ROH "New Horizons" made its pay-per-view debut to critical acclaim last weekend. Now you can catch replays on iN DEMAND this Wednesday at 6pm and this Friday in primetime at 8pm. If you have The DISH Network you can watch it anytime on DISH's All Day Ticket on 9/29, 9/30, 10/1 & 10/3. If you have TVN cable systems or are in Canada and have Viewer's Choice or Bell ExpressVu check your listings for replay times. There is no better value for your dollar on PPV than ROH. It makes me puke. Today is October 12. Where do I find this PPV? When do I look for the next PPV? ROH, like AotF, is mired in it’s own little universe, unable to attempt to conquer the industry because it would rather play it safe, and play to it's own happy faced reviewers and critics. I love ROH above all other promotions, and tout its talent, its booking and its product. But I won't sit here and pretend that there's something amiss. And I’m not complaining about it’s schedule, its PPV situation or that it should be touring. What I’m complaining about is that it has the talent, the matches and the product that should be kicking asses and taking names. Instead, the mainstream hears more crickets, the average WWE fan turns down their noses and eats crap and likes it, and the average TNA fan is rightly consumed by trying to get Vince Russo fired. Dynamics are there for the taking. And I keep waiting for the Age to arise, seize the day, and transcend its own ill-gotten malaise. Because of all the worthless fans out there today, well, the ROH ones are the one’s that sadden me. What would wrestling be without the spark of ECW and it’s rabid fans? Oh yeah, it would be the same thing we’re watching today. Which means tomorrow has no future, no hope and no industry. Joe Babinsack can be reached at
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. I don’t do blogs, forums or self-centered universes too well, so drop me and email and we’ll chat. Reviews are lined up… if you want your promotion on the block, that can be arranged. |
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