Rises From The Mouth Of The Diamond Mine

Roderick Strong (c) VS Stevie Richards - ROH Television Championship 12/19/2015

CJD: So I watched this match and really enjoyed it but didn't like the note they ended on. And I thought "nah" and kept searching. Then I slept on it and weighed the pros and cons. The pros: I really liked seeing Roddy in a different sort of situation than we typically see him. I thought he did a great job as the defending heel Champ against the veteran babyface surprise challenger. I liked Stevie's chemistry with him and I liked the throwback TV studio feel of this Television Title defense. And I loved the idea of seeing your Strong/Richards match and raising you a Strong/Richards match! The cons: the finish, which I didn't even hate, but was just flat. Well, the pros outweigh the cons, and even though this pales in comparison to your PWG rager, I think it'll be a nice palate cleanser before who knows what you'll find with Stevie as our MDTSOCWWKD Champ!

JJZ: Awwww. I should've known this would be in Phila. Off the bat I wanna say this would've been a perfect spot for a flip flop title swap. This was a fantastical TV title match. Working in this small time frame but making everything feel important. The build to the Stevie kick was amazing! STEVIE KICK! I can hear Joey Styles ringing in my ears. I actually was watching ROH a good amount at this time and don't remember this match. I'm always a fan of the open challenge title match. That element of surprise makes the match feel special. Nice pick baybay.

I Live My Life Like There's No Tomorrow

Davey Richards VS Roderick Strong - PWG 7/31/2009

JJZ: The battle for Eddie Edwards' heart! So! I did want to play a newer Davey Richards match but then I saw this. And you know what Chris. I fucking knew it was gonna be good because of Roderick! And it fucking was! Now I'm pretty positive that you've seen this before. So let's talk about this banger. 14 minutes felt more like 24. Didn't overstay its welcome at all. Stiffer than a 17 year old on prom night. No sloppy pizza slices. I know I'm speaking directly to you with this, I watched this while washing dishes. Scrubbing pans and yelling God damn! Enjoy it baby cakes.

CJD: I honestly have no idea if I have this show on DVD. The main event sounds super familiar but the undercard not at all. And man I feel like I'd remember this match, even with our prejudices against Davey, because this was a fucking barnburner!! You've been bringing that heat JJZ! I loved how this went totally opposite of what I'd expect, which was a nearly 20 minute main event style match that's so common on PWG undercards. Instead these guys went out with something to prove in a different way, that they could steal the show with all killer, no filler, and consistent logical selling and psychology to boot! They sold their familiarity with each other, worked some learned spots into the story of the match, and made the W feel like it mattered big time. I'd love to hear a grumpy Jim Cornette type break down this match, because if there was any criticism other than they could've slowed down a little here or there, I'd call bullshit immediately.  Granted this match is like 15 years old so its not like this is "state of the art wrestling" but it's what I was thinking. I also hate those tights on Davey but otherwise I loved this match!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Roderick Stronger

Dojo Bros VS Biff Busick/Drew Gulak - Beyond Wrestling 9/15/2013

JJZ: As you know CJD, I have certain feuds that I truly love and don't rush watching all the matches because I want to enjoy them as they come to me. Point in case. Biff Busick and Eddie Edwards' feud from Beyond Wrestling. I could easily buy the DVD from Smart Mark and burn through all their matches. But I haven't yet so when I'm searching for a Roddy match and I see Dojo Bros vs Biff/Drew, I was a 5 five year old on Christmas morning. Chris. I was fucking giddy when I added this match to my watchlist. So here we got Eddie bringing in his PWG partner Rodderick Strong and Biff brought in his friend/rival Gulak. Side note, I know Eddie's more popular tag team partner was Davey Richards in the American Wolves but I always thought his partnership with Strong was the better team. So I know I'm supposed to be playing a Strong match forward and this feels more like a Biff or Eddie match but Roddy still shines bright like a Diamond in a mine in this one. With the names in this match you know it's gonna be stiff, aggressive and technically sound. Which we got in spades. This was a great match that added to the amazing feud between Biff and Eddie and I love that both Drew and Roddy worked it like they would do whatever it would take to help their partner win it.

CJD: There's a lot to this match and it made me feel a lot of feelings. At its best moments it reminded me of an early 90s All Asia Tag Title match with Kobashi & Kikuchi, character driven, hierarchy based, pure octane fun times. At other times I thought it was a bit of a bit of cluster, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. But it never came even close to taking me out of it. Basically this is a really ambitious match that loses its way a bit here and there, but it hits way way more than it misses. Gulak is the odd man out in story, in the psychology of the match, but also is hesitant at times and maybe plays the unfamiliar partner/teaming rival card a little too often. It works and boy does Biff's star shine bright as a result but I didn't think this was a great Gulak performance, which surprised me. His style isn't perfect for this kind of match but I know just a few years later he'd find much better ways to slot himself in it. Side note I did love Chuck Taylor's reaction to everything he did. The Dojo Bros were great in their role and I give Beyond a ton of credit for making this Eddie/Biff rivalry feel so monumental. This is a match I'd love to revisit down the line so despite any criticisms I might have, for a match this long that's a big stamp of approval.

Thinking about it more, I want to add that I did love the way Gulak wrestled in the home stretch, and this finish was big time rewind material. I guess all I'm trying to say is this was a really good match???

JJZ: Glad you liked it. I didnt think it was a classic but a good chapter in a great story.

CJD: That's the perfect way to describe it.

Early Bird Gets The Worm

Will Ospreay VS Roderick Strong - Southside Wrestling 7/18/2015

CJD: I don't think this match would make a top 10 for either guy. But man I'm just digging some straight forward, fundamentally sound wrestling right now, and this hits all the right notes. I'm a Rod Strong mark and I still think I underrate the guy when I see under the radar goodness like this that I know his career is chock full of. From the moment he went into the crowd to stir shit up you could feel that he was going to take the wheel and make young Will's job real simple. This is the kind of match that if you never saw either guy, even if you were only the most casual of fans, the work they did would communicate everything you needed. In some ways it reminds me of matches we dug into in our early days here at PIF, which is fitting because Roddy was one of the earliest MDTSOCWWKD Champions!

JJZ: Baby boy of a wrestler. Billy Ospreay looking like he skipped 7th period to make it to the show on time. Watching the rawness of him in this match knowing that he reached his potential makes it even more entertaining to me. Shitty little boots Roderick Strong is hands down my favorite version. Now this match really embodies both the guys strengths at the time of this match. Strong is just mean bringing some serious heel heat while Will counters with his explosive high flying wildness. Just a really good match overall. Loved loved loved the fuck you power bomb Rod gave Will. Loved the finish. Lotta goodness in this one.

For A Few Seconds, This Place Was Armageddon

Roderick Strong (c) VS Eddie Edwards - ROH World Championship 3/19/2011

JJZ: This match. I've drug my feet watching this match for no reason at all and I regret it. Wow. This is a classic ROH title match. Great build with great falsies and a great story told. I've always had a soft spot for Eddie. His Art of Wrestling really made me keep an eye out for him plus he was trained by Killer Kowalski and in the NOAH dojo. Double tough imo. This title run of Roddy's is under appreciated. He did some great heel work and worked some great matches.

CJD: It's crazy that Strong has been wrestling a decade at this point but he still looks like such a baby compared to now. I love heel Strong and "...the Other American Wolf!" with that shit eating grin of his is such a great way to start this one off. This match would have been a blast to see live. I know you're a big ol' softy for Edwards, I can take or leave him and there's some stuff he does here that I don't love. But this is the sort of match that by the end has won me over enough that I'm not going to bother nitpicking. It was a fun ride and damn was that one hell of a finishing stretch. And finally, the Mason-Dixon Tri-State Outercontinental WWKD Championship is around the waist of a god fearing red blooded American!

A Shane By Any Other Name

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5r2qds

Shane Thorne VS Roderick Strong - NXT 11/02/2016

CJD: My immediate reaction to picking a match from Shane was that I had no idea where I was going. It only took a day until I realized exactly where I wanted to take you. You've seen this one before I'm sure, but I want to occasionally feature matches that warrant a second look and this is a great example. I know you'd expect me to go tag after giving me a singles match from a tag wrestler, but ha ha! I fooled you! Instead I'm taking your tag wrestler in a singles tournament and giving you a singles match in a tag tournament! This was great creative yet simple booking and everyone involved played their parts perfectly. I think it flew under the radar a bit and I also don't want to stay so so focused on Japan even though I know we both tend to lean that way.

JJZ: Love the concept of both Haste matches being in tourneys. I have seen this match before but remember little about it. Sure as hell didn't remember Shane's drop kick! Jesus! Roddy's backbreakers! Christ! These two put on a show man. Big fan of SH selling also. Loved the finish. The booking made the best out of a bad situation and made both guys looks good. Excited for my Roddy pick!