Best in the World 2011
Encyclopedia
Best in the World 2011 was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
by Ring of Honor
(ROH) that took place on June 26, 2011. It was an afternoon show that began at 4pm and marked the return of ROH to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the first time since 2009. It was the eighth ROH event to be shown live on internet pay-per-view and is also the second Best in the World event with the first taking place in 2006.
All three Ring of Honor championships were contested for in the evening, as well as a number of other matches that are part of storylines. The ROH World Championship
was contested in a singles match between tag team partners Eddie Edwards
and Davey Richards
. Meanwhile, the ROH World Tag Team Championship
were defended by reigning champions Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
against three other teams in an elimination match. The final championship match saw the reinstatement of the ROH World Television Championship
, now that the promotion has a television deal once again; Christopher Daniels
defended the title against El Generico
.
, which has a rich wrestling legacy. On 2 May, it was confirmed that the show would be broadcast live on internet pay-per-view
(PPV), the eighth event to be shown as part of ROH's partnership with GoFightLive.tv.
. Wrestlers portrayed villains
, heroes
, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event going into the event sees reigning ROH World Champion
Eddie Edwards
defend his title against Davey Richards
. Over the past two years Richards had wrestled four times for the World Championship but never won it, however he had held the ROH World Tag Team Championship
with Edwards as part of their successful tag team the American Wolves. In the same time, Edwards had become the first Triple Crown Champion in ROH by winning the World Tag Team Championship before moving on to win the tournament to crown the first ROH Television Championship, by beating his partner Richards in the final, and eventually winning the World Championship at March's Manhattan Mayhem IV in his first attempt. After winning the championship, Richards came out to hug him, and later at Honor Takes Center Stage
, authority figure Jim Cornette
interviewed Richards about the possibility of a match between the two. Richards assured Cornette there was no tension between the two and he would not end Edwards' reign, but Edwards took umbrage with Richards implying Edwards would lose. Later that evening, after losing a tag team match Edwards walked out on Richards and the following month at Revolution: USA he reiterated that he was not the little brother of the pack. After his second defence at Supercard of Honor VI, Edwards was attacked by the House of Truth until Richards helped fend them off; Edwards then demanded the two wrestle to find out who is the best in the world, or else Edwards would quit Ring of Honor.
The second featured match on the card is for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. After holding the championships for just shy of a full year, the Kings of Wrestling
lost the titles to Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team at Honor Takes Center Stage. At Revolution: Canada the following month, the Briscoe Brothers
lost their championship match after a distraction caused by the All Night Express, with whom the Briscoes were engaged in a rivalry. Between the rivalry amongst the champions and Kings of Wrestling that started at Glory By Honor IX
in September, and the Briscoes and All Night Express which resulted in a First Blood match and a Street Fight
, ROH announced that all four teams would face each other in a Four-way Elimination match to determine the best tag team in ROH.
The third and final championship match of the evening is for the reactivated ROH World Television Championship, between champion Christopher Daniels
and El Generico
. The Television Title had been conceived while ROH had a weekly television show Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet
, but when the show ceased airing, the championship was suspended. At the time, Daniels had put himself forward as a fighting champion but at Honor Takes Center Stage he attacked former allies El Generico and Colt Cabana who were wrestling the villainous House of Truth, with whom Daniels then associated. In February, the House of Truth had attacked Daniels and Generico helped fend them off with Daniels stealing the House of Truth's fictional guidance book, The Book of Truth. Daniels read the book in preparation for his rematch with members of the group, but seemingly became brainwashed by Truth Martini, a charismatic cult leader who manages the stable. During Revolution weekend in May, Daniels defeated Cabana but lost to Generico; although he carried his Television Championship belt with him, it was not on the line as the title had been suspended. With the news of the Sinclair Broadcast Group
buying ROH, with an upcoming television show included in the deal, ROH has reactivated the Television Championship and given the first challenge to El Generico based on his win at Revolution: Canada.
The other four matches on the card were created due to a variety of different storylines, mostly involving ROH's two main factions, The Embassy and The House of Truth. These groups are led by Prince Nana and Truth Martini respectively. Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino were two men formerly considered the most evil wrestlers in Ring of Honor, along with Kevin Steen. However, they tried to convince ROH official Jim Cornette that they had changed their ways, and they were going to prove it by battling The House of Truth's Michael Elgin.
The Embassy was involved in two other matches on the card. The opening match featured The Embassy's Tommaso Ciampa facing Colt Cabana. Cabana, however, wasn't involved in a feud with The Embassy. During Honor Takes Center Stage, Cabana actually started a feud with The House of Truth after he was attacked by Christopher Daniels and other House of Truth members. The other match from The Embassy was between Rhino and Homicide. Homicide and The Embassy had been at ends, with Prince Nana feeling as though he needed protection against Homicide. Nana then hired former TNA wrestler "The War Machine" Rhino as his personal bodyguard. ROH then booked a match between Homicide and Rhino to be held under No Holds Barred rules.
The second match on the card featured Mike Bennett and Jay Lethal. Lethal was returning to ROH after being let go from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
by Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
(ROH) that took place on June 26, 2011. It was an afternoon show that began at 4pm and marked the return of ROH to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the first time since 2009. It was the eighth ROH event to be shown live on internet pay-per-view and is also the second Best in the World event with the first taking place in 2006.
All three Ring of Honor championships were contested for in the evening, as well as a number of other matches that are part of storylines. The ROH World Championship
ROH World Championship
The Ring of Honor World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Ring of Honor. The championship has also been through other companies in cooperation with ROH through the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , the governing body of many independent wrestling...
was contested in a singles match between tag team partners Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...
and Davey Richards
Davey Richards
Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...
. Meanwhile, the ROH World Tag Team Championship
ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute...
were defended by reigning champions Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team
The World's Greatest Tag Team is the professional wrestling tag team of Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin, who currently perform as Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. Originally formed in World Wrestling Entertainment , they started out captained by Kurt Angle, during which time they were known as...
against three other teams in an elimination match. The final championship match saw the reinstatement of the ROH World Television Championship
ROH World Television Championship
The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship owned by the United States–based Ring of Honor promotion. It is currently the third ranked championship in ROH. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type...
, now that the promotion has a television deal once again; Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
defended the title against El Generico
El Generico
Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name El Generico. Sebei uses the gimmick of a luchador from Mexico...
.
Production
At Manhattan Mayem IV in March, it was announced that Ring of Honor would be returning to New York in June at the Hammerstein BallroomHammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design...
, which has a rich wrestling legacy. On 2 May, it was confirmed that the show would be broadcast live on internet pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV), the eighth event to be shown as part of ROH's partnership with GoFightLive.tv.
Background
Best in the World featured seven professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylinesNarrative thread
A narrative thread, or plot thread , refers to particular elements and techniques of writing to center the story in the action or experience of characters rather than to relate a matter in a dry 'All knowing' sort of narration...
. Wrestlers portrayed villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, heroes
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event going into the event sees reigning ROH World Champion
ROH World Championship
The Ring of Honor World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Ring of Honor. The championship has also been through other companies in cooperation with ROH through the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , the governing body of many independent wrestling...
Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...
defend his title against Davey Richards
Davey Richards
Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling...
. Over the past two years Richards had wrestled four times for the World Championship but never won it, however he had held the ROH World Tag Team Championship
ROH World Tag Team Championship
The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute...
with Edwards as part of their successful tag team the American Wolves. In the same time, Edwards had become the first Triple Crown Champion in ROH by winning the World Tag Team Championship before moving on to win the tournament to crown the first ROH Television Championship, by beating his partner Richards in the final, and eventually winning the World Championship at March's Manhattan Mayhem IV in his first attempt. After winning the championship, Richards came out to hug him, and later at Honor Takes Center Stage
Honor Takes Center Stage
Honor Takes Center Stage was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor . It took place over two consecutive days, on 1 and 2 April, 2011, at the Center Stage Theatre in Atlanta, with the 1 April show at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and the 2 April show at a special matinee time of 1pm...
, authority figure Jim Cornette
Jim Cornette
James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
interviewed Richards about the possibility of a match between the two. Richards assured Cornette there was no tension between the two and he would not end Edwards' reign, but Edwards took umbrage with Richards implying Edwards would lose. Later that evening, after losing a tag team match Edwards walked out on Richards and the following month at Revolution: USA he reiterated that he was not the little brother of the pack. After his second defence at Supercard of Honor VI, Edwards was attacked by the House of Truth until Richards helped fend them off; Edwards then demanded the two wrestle to find out who is the best in the world, or else Edwards would quit Ring of Honor.
The second featured match on the card is for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. After holding the championships for just shy of a full year, the Kings of Wrestling
Kings of Wrestling
The Kings of Wrestling is a professional wrestling stable that wrestles on the independent circuit, formed in Chikara, but also appearing in other promotions. It originally included Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Larry Sweeney, Arik Cannon, Mitch Ryder, Max Boyer, Chuck Taylor, Icarus, Gran Akuma...
lost the titles to Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team at Honor Takes Center Stage. At Revolution: Canada the following month, the Briscoe Brothers
Briscoe Brothers
The Briscoe Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of Jay and Mark Briscoe. They are currently wrestling for the American promotions Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as occasionally for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.Their wrestling careers have...
lost their championship match after a distraction caused by the All Night Express, with whom the Briscoes were engaged in a rivalry. Between the rivalry amongst the champions and Kings of Wrestling that started at Glory By Honor IX
Glory By Honor IX
Glory By Honor IX was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor , which was only available online. It took place on September 11, 2010, at the Manhattan Center in New York City...
in September, and the Briscoes and All Night Express which resulted in a First Blood match and a Street Fight
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
, ROH announced that all four teams would face each other in a Four-way Elimination match to determine the best tag team in ROH.
The third and final championship match of the evening is for the reactivated ROH World Television Championship, between champion Christopher Daniels
Christopher Daniels
Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also...
and El Generico
El Generico
Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name El Generico. Sebei uses the gimmick of a luchador from Mexico...
. The Television Title had been conceived while ROH had a weekly television show Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet
HDNet
HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...
, but when the show ceased airing, the championship was suspended. At the time, Daniels had put himself forward as a fighting champion but at Honor Takes Center Stage he attacked former allies El Generico and Colt Cabana who were wrestling the villainous House of Truth, with whom Daniels then associated. In February, the House of Truth had attacked Daniels and Generico helped fend them off with Daniels stealing the House of Truth's fictional guidance book, The Book of Truth. Daniels read the book in preparation for his rematch with members of the group, but seemingly became brainwashed by Truth Martini, a charismatic cult leader who manages the stable. During Revolution weekend in May, Daniels defeated Cabana but lost to Generico; although he carried his Television Championship belt with him, it was not on the line as the title had been suspended. With the news of the Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
buying ROH, with an upcoming television show included in the deal, ROH has reactivated the Television Championship and given the first challenge to El Generico based on his win at Revolution: Canada.
The other four matches on the card were created due to a variety of different storylines, mostly involving ROH's two main factions, The Embassy and The House of Truth. These groups are led by Prince Nana and Truth Martini respectively. Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino were two men formerly considered the most evil wrestlers in Ring of Honor, along with Kevin Steen. However, they tried to convince ROH official Jim Cornette that they had changed their ways, and they were going to prove it by battling The House of Truth's Michael Elgin.
The Embassy was involved in two other matches on the card. The opening match featured The Embassy's Tommaso Ciampa facing Colt Cabana. Cabana, however, wasn't involved in a feud with The Embassy. During Honor Takes Center Stage, Cabana actually started a feud with The House of Truth after he was attacked by Christopher Daniels and other House of Truth members. The other match from The Embassy was between Rhino and Homicide. Homicide and The Embassy had been at ends, with Prince Nana feeling as though he needed protection against Homicide. Nana then hired former TNA wrestler "The War Machine" Rhino as his personal bodyguard. ROH then booked a match between Homicide and Rhino to be held under No Holds Barred rules.
The second match on the card featured Mike Bennett and Jay Lethal. Lethal was returning to ROH after being let go from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Results
| # | Matches | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark | Generation Me The Young Bucks The Young Bucks is an American professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real life brothers Matt and Nick Massie from Southern California... (Jeremy Buck and Max Buck) defeated Adam Cole Adam Cole Austin Jenkins is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Adam Cole. He competes for several independent promotions, including Combat Zone Wrestling, Maryland Championship Wrestling, Northeast Wrestling and Ring of Honor.... and Kyle O'Reilly Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Greenwood is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He competes for several independent promotions including Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling, Evolve, and signed a contract with Ring of Honor in September 2010.- Extreme Canadian Championship... by disqualification |
Tag Team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... |
7:13 |
| 1 | Tommaso Ciampa Tommaso Ciampa Tommasso Whitney is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Tommaso Ciampa. He is currently signed to Ring of Honor, while also competing for several independent promotions, including Chaotic Wrestling, Top Rope Promotions, East Coast Wrestling Association and Northeast... (with The Embassy) defeated Colt Cabana. |
Singles match | 6:59 |
| 2 | Jay Lethal Jay Lethal Jamar "Jay" Shipman better known by his ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Ring of Honor , where he is the ROH World Television Champion... defeated Mike Bennett Mike Bennett (wrestler) Mike Bennett is an American professional wrestler. He wrestles on the independent circuit and is signed to Ring of Honor .- Independent promotions :Bennett made his professional wrestling debut in 2002... (with Brutal Bob) |
Singles match | 9:43 |
| 3 | Homicide defeated Rhino (with The Embassy) | No Holds Barred match | 10:16 |
| 4 | Michael Elgin (with Truth Martini) defeated Steve Corino Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994... (with Jimmy Jacobs Jimmy Jacobs Chris Scobille is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jimmy Jacobs. He is best known for his time in Ring of Honor , where he is a four-time World Tag Team Champion... ) |
Singles match | 8:29 |
| 5 | El Generico El Generico Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name El Generico. Sebei uses the gimmick of a luchador from Mexico... defeated Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell is an American professional wrestler, best known in the United States by his ring name "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. He is also known for performing under the ring name Curry Man. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , while also... (c) (with Truth Martini) |
Singles match for the ROH World Television Championship ROH World Television Championship The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship owned by the United States–based Ring of Honor promotion. It is currently the third ranked championship in ROH. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type... |
19:30 |
| 6 | Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas Charlie Haas Charles "Charlie" Doyle Haas II is an American professional wrestler and former collegiate amateur wrestler. He competes on the independent circuit, and is signed to Ring of Honor , where he is one-half of the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions with Shelton Benjamin... and Shelton Benjamin Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted... ) (c) defeated The Briscoe Brothers Briscoe Brothers The Briscoe Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of Jay and Mark Briscoe. They are currently wrestling for the American promotions Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, Combat Zone Wrestling, as well as occasionally for the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.Their wrestling careers have... (Jay and Mark), The All Night Express (Rhett Titus Rhett Titus Everett Lawrence Titus is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rhett Titus. A student of the ROH Wrestling Academy, Titus has been competing for Ring of Honor , as well as various independent promotions, since 2006.-Career:Titus began training at the ROH Wrestling... and Kenny King Kenny Layne Kenny Layne is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kenny King. King currently wrestles for Ring of Honor. He was a contestant in the second season of WWF Tough Enough.-Early life:... ) and The Kings of Wrestling Kings of Wrestling The Kings of Wrestling is a professional wrestling stable that wrestles on the independent circuit, formed in Chikara, but also appearing in other promotions. It originally included Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, Larry Sweeney, Arik Cannon, Mitch Ryder, Max Boyer, Chuck Taylor, Icarus, Gran Akuma... (Chris Hero Chris Hero Chris Spradlin is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Hero. He is a mainstay of many independent wrestling promotions, including Ring of Honor, and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as Pro Wrestling Noah in Japan... and Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli Claudio Castagnoli is a Swiss professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, working in its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling under the ring name Antonio Cesaro... ) |
Four-Way Elimination Tag Team match Professional wrestling tag team match types Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace... for the ROH World Tag Team Championship ROH World Tag Team Championship The Ring of Honor World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants usually execute... |
40:09 |
| 7 | Davey Richards Davey Richards Wesley David Richards is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Davey Richards.Richards is currently under contract with Ring of Honor, where he is the current ROH World Champion, but also wrestles for several companies on the independent circuit, including Pro Wrestling... defeated Eddie Edwards Eddie Edwards (wrestler) Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World... (c) |
Singles match for the ROH World Championship ROH World Championship The Ring of Honor World Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Ring of Honor. The championship has also been through other companies in cooperation with ROH through the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , the governing body of many independent wrestling... |
36:01 |