Davey Richards vs. Paul London
It was three months ago that Ring of Honor announced to the adulation of its fans that the promotion had again came to a deal with Pro Wrestling NOAH which would see talent from the Japanese promotion appear on ROH cards, creating a number of potential matches fans are frothing at the mouth to see and an instant excitement built towards May’s Border Wars iPPV.
Last month through ROHWrestling.com it was revealed that Naomichi Marafuji – who’d be making his first Ring of Honor appearance since 2007 where he competed on Ring of Honor’s first pay-per-view against Rocky Romero – was one of the talents booked alongside Taiji Ishimori, but due to a serious knee injury Marafuji’s return crumbled to dust and both ROH and Pro Wrestling NOAH were quick to guarantee a replacement.
Last week it was again announced through ROHWrestling.com that a replacement had been found and for some fans it is even better than the initial scheduled talent as after a ten year absence, one of the top stars in the early days of Ring of Honor returns, in the form of “The Intrepid Traveler” Paul London.
Between 2002 and 2003 Paul London was one of the stand-out regulars on the Ring of Honor roster. Most notable for his feud with Michael Shane where the two competed in various matches, London was also the inspiration behind one of the ROH fans favorite chant, “Please Don’t Die” due to his high risk and some times nearly suicidal offense.
London featured in several big matches during his one year with the company including two ROH World Championship matches against inaugural holder Xavier, a victory over AJ Styles to gain number one contendership for the ROH World Championship once again and his final appearance for the company was challenging for the title against the most dominant holder in history, Samoa Joe.
Often recognized for his eccentric attitude and personality London has featured for several promotions since his release several years ago from WWE including Pro Wrestling Guerrilla where he formed partnerships with fan favorites Bryan Danielson, Roderick Strong and El Generico. Hes also competed for Lucha Libre USA.
His opponent and he have never faced before, anywhere.
Davey Richards will be competing in his first singles match on iPPV since Glory By Honor XI back in November where he lost to Jay Lethal via submission. With a lot of speculation surrounding the future of “The American Wolf” and whether he will join WWE once his contract expires later this year following comments made last weekend in a post match promo for St. Louis Anarchy, this match is a must-see for Ring of Honor fans.
I expect London will be out to impress on his Ring of Honor return while Richards – being who he is – will shine per-usual, so this match has more than enough potential to steal the entire show this Saturday in Toronto at Border Wars. London is also scheduled to appear at the television tapings the following day where he’ll face noneother than “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin.
Prediction: Davey Richards
Eddie Edwards vs. Taiji Ishimori
While one-half of The American Wolves deals with a former WWE Tag Team Champion, the other has his hands full dealing with the second name being sent over by Pro Wrestling NOAH, the current GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori is no stranger to “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards as the two have stood on oppsite sides of the ring working for NOAH in both tag team and singles matches.
Trained by the legendary Ultimo Dragon, Ishimori is one of NOAH’s top stars. Having appeared for both New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling – in a sparodic fashion and most notably teaming with mentor Ultimo Dragon challenging for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships – Taiji found his home in Pro Wrestling NOAH and is currently in his first reign as Jr. Heavyweight Champion.
Eddie Edwards much like his Wolves partner Richards will be competing in his first singles match on iPPV since Glory By Honor XI where he was defeated by friend Adam Cole when challenging for Cole’s ROH World TV Championship. Since this Edwards has competed in few singles matches, like Richards dealing mostly with Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish in their feud with reDRagon.
Eddie’s singles run was something of a mess following his ROH World Championship reign in the summer of 2011. Losing the title to tag team partner Davey Richards at Best In The World 2011 Edwards was booked primarly in the midcard and rarely rose above it following the loss, challenging Richards again, competing in number one contender matches and challenging Kevin Steen during his reign.
With the reformation of The American Wolves last December, Eddie finally has a purpose again and the fans seem to be more behind him than ever before, this evident at Supercard of Honor when the sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom broke out chanting his name before the bell had even rung for the match to begin. Edwards will be looking to prove himself against Ishimori and a win could mean more than what meets the eye.
If Edwards were to defeat Taiji he could find himself challenging for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship in NOAH. That is a lot easier said than done however and this Saturday at Border Wars Ishimori has no plans to debut in Canada and fall to defeat at the hands of Eddie Edwards. This much like Richards and London has huge potential to steal the entire show.
Prediction: Taiji Ishimori