Ring of Honor – three words that became synonymous with the independent wrestling boom of the early to mid 2000s that saw the rise of not only future wrestling superstars, but also the changing of pro wrestling’s very in-ring dynamic presentation. Using monthly issues of “Pro Wrestling Illustrated”, various websites usually connected to angelfire.com, and the trading of VHS tapes, I became familiar with names such as “Reckless Youth”, “The Fallen Angel”, Cheetah Master, and Trent Acid just to name a few.
Ring of Honor was meant to be a true showcase for all the budding or solidified indie wrestling talent. Instead, ROH turned into one of the premiere wrestling organizations in North America by capitalizing on the fall of wrestling’s “Attitude Era” with a product more similar to mixed martial arts than Extreme Championship Wrestling. Being a fan of ROH since its inception in February 2002, I’ve witnessed a majority of the company’s moments both significant and less-so live or through video. And just like any wrestling promotion, there have been decisions made and circumstances play out leaving this ROHbot wondering, “What if…?”
Today I ask: “What if Chris Hero won the ROH World Championship in 2007?”
What Really Happened?
Nigel McGuinness’ odyssey to become the ROH World champion saw the former Pure Wrestling champion lose a copious amount of blood, suffer concussions, and have his body badly battered by the likes of Bryan Danielson, Colt Cabana, and Samoa Joe. In 2007 there stood one monster McGuinness was unable to conquer until a faithful night in Philadelphia: Takeshi Morishima. Morishima – who had reigned as Ring of Honor’s top champion since February 2007 – toppled McGuinness both in the United States and in the champ’s home country of Japan before returning to ROH’s hometown for its fourth pay-per-view event, “Undeniable”. In the PPV’s main event, Morishima and McGuinness clashed for the richest prize in ROH once again with Nigel doing the seemingly impossible by conquering the beast to become the tenth ROH World titleholder.
One event later, Chris Hero – former ROH World Tag Team champion and the most important wrestler in Larry Sweeney’s “Sweet & Sour Inc.” faction – found himself involved in the “Survival of the Fittest” tournament – a tourney featuring up to six qualifying bouts with the winners competing in a six-way elimination bout for the right to face the World champion at a latter date. Hero used cunning & some well-timed interference from his manager to steal pins and eventually win the entire tournament; last pinning his former tag team partner Claudio Castagnoli.
Nigel McGuinness’ early time at the top of the ROH mountain was a rocky one as he failed to overcome long-time rival Bryan Danielson in their “Survival of the Fittest” tournament match – wrestling to a twenty-minute time limit draw – and tearing his left bicep in his first title defense. The injury McGuinness suffered that night in San Francisco had fans wondering if Nigel would unfortunately forfeit his recently-earned title, only for Hero and Sweeney to call out the champ when ROH returned to Philadelphia for “Glory By Honor VI”.
The historic event that featured pro wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa making his United States in-ring debut also saw Sweeney declare the title shot Hero earned by winning “Survival of the Fittest” was being utilized tonight even if Nigel couldn’t compete. McGuinness attempted to back out of a match with Hero due to concern of doing further damage to his arm, but eventually let Hero & Sweeney’s insults get the better of him.
The mostly Hero-controlled bout saw the challenger cinch in a variation of McGuinness’ own patented arm-base submission, the “London Dungeon”. Placing his leg on the bottom rope with the hopes of breaking his own hold being used against him, Nigel ended up tapping out as the referee’s poor positioning didn’t allow for him to see McGuinness’ foot. Hero was declared the new ROH World champion to a mixed response, only for the referee to reverse the decision upon seeing McGuinness’ rope-draped foot; restarting the bout that was eventually won by McGuinness via the London Dungeon.
What if…?
Nigel McGuinness’ bicep tear throws a monkey wrench into the plans for the champion’s reign going forward. With ROH’s pay-per-view presentations being aired at great delay (usually two to three months after being taped), having McGuinness forfeit the title before “Undeniable” could air would make the event seem even more dated. But Nigel’s health is more important than some match result with the company deciding that in Philadelphia in front of a rather pro-Chris Hero crowd the 2007 “Survival of the Fittest” winner would win the title from McGuinness. The match plays out just like it did in reality with Hero focusing on Nigel’s hurt arm until he sinks in the London Dungeon. McGuinness doesn’t make it to the ropes, tapping out to his own submission. Hero is declared the new ROH World champion while McGuinness returns home to lick his wounds.
The commentators and interviewers like Becky Bayless remind Hero during his reign that he defeated an injured McGuinness; planting the seeds for their inevitable rematch. Staying true to reality, one night after fighting McGuinness in Philadelphia, Hero finds himself in the ring with fan favorite El Generico; overcoming him in the show’s semi-main event instead of the opening match. Jigsaw falls to Hero in an open challenge one event later as an example of what Hero has planned for top contender Austin Aries after Aries becomes the number one contender upon defeating former ROH World champion Bryan Danielson at the same event Hero won the World title.
ROH’s fifth PPV event would witness Hero versus Aries for the gold with Hero winning in a hard-fought outing not up to the level of what really occurred at this event known as “Rising Above” where McGuinness defeated his third World title challenger in Aries that produced a classic encounter. Before Hero can celebrate his latest title defense, McGuinness returns to confront the champ and promises to regain the championship “stolen” from him at the behest of Hero, Sweeney, and a vocal group of ungrateful attendees in Philly a month prior; establishing the foundation for McGuinness’ heel turn several months later. Hero’s match at “Rising Above” in reality was against former tag team partner-turned-rival Castagnoli. In this scenario, Hero-Castagnoli in their biggest match to date caps off ROH’s “Final Battle ’07” with Hero winning via some help from Larry Sweeney.
Once again, Nigel makes his presence known; laying out Hero and posing with the World title to a mixed response from the fans. Hero’s antics at “Transform” in 2008 don’t occur with the champion simply accepting McGuinness’ challenge for their rematch in Dayton for ROH’s first & only “Breakout” event. By ruling of ROH management, Hero-McGuinness II for the ROH World title is held in the confines of a steel cage just as it was in reality. Instead of entering as a champion looking to prove his win over Hero in Philadelphia wasn’t a fluke, Nigel comes into the Cage match with aggression unlike anything seen from him at this point in his career.
Though stuck outside the cage, Sweeney & his cohorts find ways to help the champ; eventually leading to Sweet & Sour Inc.’s whipping boy Bobby Dempsey accidentally slamming the cage door in Hero’s face instead of his intended target McGuinness. Staying true to reality, Nigel makes the climb to escape while a woozy Hero fails to find the door in time for a McGuinness victory and the regaining of the ROH World Championship.
Remain or Change?
Due to a mixture of the bicep injury and a concussion suffered during his match with Austin Aries at “Rising Above”, the early days of McGuinness’ ROH World title reign were rough. The fans who were so excited to see him win the World title now looked at him as an albatross that was bringing down the title’s value. By losing the World Championship to Hero, Nigel would take some time off to heal his battered body while ROH goes full tilt in creating a new, albeit temporary main event talent in Hero. This sink or swim moment for Hero wouldn’t have to last long and may have established him as more than an over-the-top comedy figure who could wrestle pretty well when he wanted to long before Hero completely reinvented himself as “That Young Knockout Kid”.
The only real loss with the idea of Hero winning the title from McGuinness in Philadelphia is we wouldn’t get the classic match between Nigel and Austin Aries at “Rising Above” – something that may be for the best considering the concussion McGuinness attained during that match forced the actual scheduled rematch between Nigel and Hero to not occur a night later at “Final Battle”.
