Going In Order

[Hegemony]

About sixteen months ago I decided that instead of watching random shows and attempting to stay current with the ROH product that I would start from the beginning. Literally.

I have since then watched each DVD in order, from start to finish, at least twice before moving on to the next chronological show. Obviously, this means that I may never be caught up with the current product (I seem to be running about 3 years behind on a consistent level). To be honest, this has proven to be the most rewarding experience I have ever had with pro-wrestling.

Obviously, I am a huge fan of the ROH product. But even more, I have gone at my own pace and taken the time to enjoy each show on its own terms, seeing slow-building angles develop over time and not worrying about what is to come in the years following. In fact, my issues with mainstream pro-wrestling have led me to pretty much only occasionally watching WWE and TNA, and I have been "super-happy" as a result. (Although I still follow the booking decisions and industry happenings of these feds, just only watching occasional matches that I hear are pretty good.)

Anyway, I am curious if any one else follows ROH in this manner, starting from the beginning and going at your own pace. This process, for me, easily mirrors how I consume COTG, as I have no intention of ever being current and am content to take the time to enjoy the developments in my fed at leisure. The fact that ROH and COTG provide their entire catalogue for us to consume as we see fit helps tremendously, and I wonder if the "televised" feds would see this sort of "completism" if their product was presented in a similar manner.

Sorry for the long post, I felt like sharing for some reason...

[JamieOD]

I try to keep up with what's happening in ROH. I still pick up and older show now and then but I try to get the later shows based on what wrestlers or matches appear on it. Then again, I'm the kind of fan who's keeping up to date with the newswires and results posted on boards.

[Hegemony]

jamieod said:

I try to keep up with what's happening in ROH. I still pick up and older show now and then but I try to get the later shows based on what wrestlers or matches appear on it. Then again, I'm the kind of fan who's keeping up to date with the newswires and results posted on boards.

Oh, I do that as well. I have all the newswires archived on my computer and read the results as they come in. I just don't actually watch the shows out of order anymore.

I didn't mean to insinuate that I wasn't current on what is going down in ROH, or COTG for that matter. I just don't actually watch the shows/play the games out of order.

[gamemaster]

I just decided to start with a fairly recent chapter and go with that. I watched the Fifth Year Festival in its completion and decided that I wanted to know more. I then rewound one year to the Mile Stone Series(RoH/CZW War) and have decided that was a good enough start chapter for me. I really enjoyed it and the blowoff match was well worth the time and money I sunk into it. So much so that I have taken it upon myself to lend it out a few chapters at a time to friends. I really wanted to start from the beginning but I have been going to shows so frequently (being lucky enough that shows are about a half hour away) and staying current cost a bit. So I figure if I ever completely catch up with the current shows and fill the gap in between Death Before Dishonor 4 and Fifth Year Festival I will buy some of the early shows. I really have enjoyed the product about as much as I did watching the WWF and NWA/WCW when I was a kid.

[hofclemens]

great idea. as an ROH fan from '02 it would bring back some fond memories for me for sure. The wrestling in 2007 is far superior then the past product but I found I liked the mix of styles and talent roster better in the 04/05 era.

In that vein I would love to see ROH use a guy that had national name value to elevate a young star much in the same manner of Raven/Punk.

[Knapik]

Ive been following since mid 2006 with every show. A few here and there I dont get, but I read up on them anyhow. Ring of Honor is indeed a very rewarding experience.

[Subvert69]

I would love to have every ROH DVD but for me it's too expensive to pull off. I go to every Dayton show and a few of the Chicago and Detroit shows and I always take advantage of the buy 3 get the 4th free. I pick and choose what to watch.

[Hegemony]

subvert69 said:

I would love to have every ROH DVD but for me it's too expensive to pull off. I go to every Dayton show and a few of the Chicago and Detroit shows and I always take advantage of the buy 3 get the 4th free. I pick and choose what to watch.

It is very expensive. The buy 3 get 1 free sale is great for completists, as is the $10 sale. In fact, the Big Ten sale ($10 DVDs and 10% off your order) is perfect for cheaply filling in the blanks in your collection, and for people like me going in order, most of the older DVDs are offered in these sales, so it works well.

I also sacrificed my mainstream PPV watching, saving money to spend on DVDs from ROH rather than mediocre PPVs that I rarely watched again. At $40 a pop for WWE, that is 4 ROH DVDs or 12 hours of great wrestling in the Big Ten sale. Further, I usually end up getting the PPVs from Netflix (or YouTube) about i month later, so it works well in that i get to see both.

But yes, it is expensive to watch every ROH show in order, and often frustrating when you need a show that is out of stock. I have payed plenty more than I should on some of these shows.

[wakigatame]

The only time I really care is when they bring in Puro guys.

That being said, does anyone else think that Suguira would be a good title match of Nigel?