W2B and FedEx, if you had to break down your top 3 MOST FAVORITE eras/storylines/periods/whatever in ROH history, what would they be?
04-08 or so was the peak. Not even '08, probably right around FACTION WARZ is when it started to slip, but when Gabe was fired and Pearce turned it into a 70's territory it was over.
I loved Bryan Danielson's title run. From babyface overachiever to smarmy tweener to "Best in the World". At least a half dozen people had the best match of their career against Danielson during this period, from Delirious to Jimmy Rave to Takeshi Morishima to everybody in between.
Ive talked about the Danielson/Morishima feud before in this thread.
Also, El Genrico's run in the 2007 (or was it 2006?) Race to the Top. He didn't win, but his run to the final got him over more than the person who did. Can't give credit to Gabe for that one, because Generico is so fucking good that anybody can book him in an underdog storyline and look like a genius.
The CZW feud. Duh. Both companies deserve credit for allowing each other to "win" on the other's home turf. That's the key to any invasion/war angle getting over. Put away the ego and let the other side look good in front of your fans. Chris Hero went from indie geek to star.
Also, the weekend when Misawa came in. That's like seeing Mickey Mantle or Michael Jordan. Nobody cared that he was old and fat and a half cripple. I've told the story many times, but even Morishima came out from the back to watch the Misawa/KENTA match, and he gave me the chair he was standing on (the entire place stood, most on their chairs, from bell to bell, every chair taken) while he watched on his toes.
Also, the four way in Philly that Tyler Black won to earn a title shot against Nigel later that night. Star making performance in the main event. Nigel was awesome in making Black shine. Nobody thought Black had a chance in the four way, most people thought Go Shiozaki was going to win. Then he came a hair away from winning the belt, and Nigel had the whole place believing. Gabe got canned before the Tyler Black thing played out, and Pearce waited too long and blew it.
Cant narrow down to three. Too hard. I'd really have to think about it.