• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

Now This Is Real Rasslin'

Posted: Apr 2nd 2010 By: CMBurnham

If you've flipped on Spike TV's "TNA Wrestling" on a Monday night lately, you've probably come across many of the same faces you grew up watching - Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash. And World Wrestling Entertainment's "Wrestlemania" made headlines Sunday for a main event that pitted 44-year-old Shawn Michaels against 45-year-old Undertaker in a retirement match.

Saturday's Ring of Honor show at the Grady Cole Center, "The Big Bang," is your chance to see fresh young talent.

Jim Cornette, 48, the tennis racket-wielding former Midnight Express manager (who worked for Charlotte-based National Wrestling Alliance in the '80s), is part of the old guard. But as executive producer of television for Philadelphia-based independent wrestling promotion Ring of Honor, he's banking on new in-ring talent to help put new fans in seats.

"It's the generational breaking point... for wrestling fans that are disenfranchised, who want to see fresh faces or don't enjoy the showbiz aspect of it," says Cornette, who left Total Nonstop Action and joined Ring of Honor in September.

While WWE and TNA revel in raunch and sometimes feature more storyline than actual wrestling, Ring of Honor focuses on athleticism, contact and youth - which appeal to fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed martial arts.

That's not to say Ring of Honor is free of drama. On-air, Cornette agitates ROH's current champ Tyler Black and his opponents Austin Aries and Roderick Strong - inciting the kind of passion that ignites matches.

Ring of Honor debuts here with "The Big Bang" - but has been around since 2002. A. J. Styles, Samoa Joe, and WWE's CM Punk passed through its ropes on the way to TV stardom. Others, like tag team partners Mark and Jay Briscoe, have been with ROH since the beginning.

Cornette calls Ring of Honor "starmakers."

"The companies with bigger budgets can buy the stars after they're created and found. Ring of Honor has had the best track record of finding these guys and exposing them to the fans, so they can pick who they like."

Another aspect that sets apart Ring of Honor from its bigger competitors is that for "The Big Bang" it's pulling in local talent - NWA New Beginnings wrestlers Zack Salvation and Phill Shatter. They'll mix old and new with a pre-show meet-and-greet with Cornette, Bobby Eaton, Dutch Mantell and Tommy Young, and including Lucha Libre, Mexico's fast-paced, high flying style, on the card.

Blue Demon Jr. - one of Mexico's biggest stars - Misterioso, Super Parka and Solar are just a few of the Lucha stars set to appear.

Despite efforts to reach multiple pockets of fans with "The Big Bang," Ring of Honor is the underdog. It airs Mondays on HDNet and relies on DVDs, live shows and Internet pay-per-views. Yet that's part of its appeal to a younger, tech-savvy fan base.

More Information
'The Big Bang'
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Grady Cole Center, 310 N. Kings Drive
TICKETS: $20-$25
DETAILS: www.rohwrestling.com

Tags: TNA, Ric Flair, WWE, Jim Cornette, Midnight Express, NWA, A. J. Styles, Bobby Eaton, Dutch Mantell