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• Who would you like to see in the newly-formed ROH factions?

  Posted on 2/23/07 11:13 AM

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  While Morishima becoming the new ROH World Champion certainly was the focus of Ring of Honor discussion this past week, the tease of three new factions in ROH should was nearly just as shocking. Roderick Strong was rumored to eventually turn on his tag team partner Austin Aries, but few people thought that each man would build their own group as a result of it, and even fewer thought Jack Evans would get involved (since he has distanced himself from his former GenNext cohorts since fall 2006) and make a third faction.
  
  
  
  
  
  We know that Roddy's new tag team partner is Davey Richards, a newer ROH talent who can definitely bring it in the ring. These two formed the No Remorse Corps this past Friday, and said they were recruiting new members. We also know that this upcoming weekend, Aries will choose the first member of his yet-unnamed group for a tag team match against Strong and Richards. And while Jack Evans wanted to be the peacemaker, now he's decided to lead his own faction in ROH.
  
  With Samoa Joe soon departing, the ROH World Title holder not guaranteed to be on every show, and loads of new talent being featured at the most recent live events, a lot can be done with these new groups. These are the people I'd personally like to see join these groups, with a brief explanation of why:
  
  [b]No Remorse Corps:[/b]
  Roderick Strong
  Davey Richards
  [b]Brent Albright[/b]
  [b]Kevin Steen[/b]
  
  Strong and Richards are two of the stiffest workers in the indies, and their group name suggests that their aggressive style won't be changing anytime soon. If you look for badass guys who have just joined ROH, you don't need to look any farther than Brent Albright. He's been involved with the Jimmy Jacobs/Lacey/Colt Cabana storyline for a while now as Lacey's hired gun, and that can only last for so long. He's physically imposing and has shown a nasty streak in his matches against Cabana, BJ Whitmer, and Daizee Haze. If Strong and Richards want their group to be the dominant force in ROH, they could pony up the dough to pay for Albright's services.
  
  Steen is another notorious stiff worker who has just made an appearance in ROH alongside El Generico. While some describe his style as "stiff for the sake of being stiff," that type of style would mesh perfectly with this group. He's a veteran of CZW and PWG, but may need to win over the ROH fans over time. If so, being a new talent in a stable is certainly a good way to introduce him to the fanbase.
  
  Some people on the ROH Message Board have mentioned Rocky Romero as a possible addition, but I'd be against that for a number of reasons. First, Romero's cocky heel character would be better suited for a solo run, and second, he has some unfinished business with his former Rottweiler running buddies - a singles feud with Homicide would be good to see play out. Also, while Romero's kicks would let his style mesh well with Roddy, he and Davey Richards in the same group could lessen each other's individual impact in a faction.
  
  
  [b]Austin Aries' group[/b]
  Austin Aries
  [b]Claudio Castagnoli
  Matt Cross
  Jason Blade[/b]
  
  Yes, Claudio cost Aries his tag titles with a briefcase shot to the gut and a KRS-One. Yes, there may still be bad blood between the two guys. But the potential Hero vs Claudio storyline hasn't even been touched on yet, and Strong also lost those same titles that Aries did. Also, if the NRC gets some bigger guys together, Claudio's physical presence could help Aries immensely. He can get over as a face or as a heel, and his technical prowess could be a perfect compliment to Aries' explosiveness. Plus, for me, this would be a dream tag team.
  
  "M-Dogg" Matt Cross just began his ROH career recently against Christopher Daniels, but his high-risk style could remind Aries of a Sydal- or Evans-like teammate for his group. They've faced off once in an ROH ring (in a tag match here Cross replaced an injured Matt Sydal), so they have a little history, and Aries could have seen something in Cross. As for Jason Blade, he's a New England indy regular who has impressed me in a couple of his ROH matches (dark match against the Briscoes, Four Corner match against Daniels/Shingo/Rave, tag matches during the Milestone Series). He's a young guy with a ton of potential, who could be the diamond in the rough that Aries is looking for.
  
  
  [b]Jack Evans' group[/b]
  Jack Evans
  [b]El Generico
  Human Tornado
  Eddie Edwards[/b]
  
  El Generico has been booked on a couple recent ROH shows, and while Gabe Sapolsky has mentioned his hesitation for booking lucha wrestlers, Generico connects with the crowd very well and is a lot of fun to watch. Plus, who else will do Joe's Ole Kick? His former tag team partner in PWG was the Human Tornado, who has quickly made a name for himself as a super-popular face. El Generico and the Human Tornado both use a pretty high-risk style, which is right up Evans' alley, and while Generico already has his foot in the door with ROH, it would be a hell of a way for Tornado to debut.
  
  Very few people have heard of Eddie Edwards, but he's had a couple really good matches - one namely against Jack Evans at the first ROH event of 2007. The crowd actually got behind him and the two of them had a back-and-forth match, which was unexpected (considering some just thought Evans would get a squash return win). Personally, I'd love to see him join Evans' group - he'd get associated with three highly charismatic faces which would help him get face reactions until he fully establishes himself.
  
  A viable alternative would be to just make this be a super-face team. While Colt Cabana has certainly worked his way up to a solid upper-midcarder and could main event ROH cards, I also think he'd be interesting to add to this group. That said, I'd rather see him become more of a main-event player on his own than join any of the factions.

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