Photo: Ring Of Honor

Cody Set For ROH World Title Defense

Cody Rhodes has a new challenger for his ROH World Title on the horizon. Rocky Romero made the challenge on Twitter yesterday, and Ring Of Honor made the match official for their ROH Elite show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Saturday, November 11th.

It's official! @CodyRhodes will defend his ROH World Title against Rocky Romero (@azucarRoc) in Ft. Lauderdale! https://t.co/OuZGUCA1E4 pic.twitter.com/vLlIc3Resi

— ROH Wrestling (@ringofhonor) November 3, 2017

Marty Scurll On ROH & Will Ospreay

Marty Scurll is never at a loss for words, and during a recent interview, he spoke about having a great time in ROH.

“I started in November of 2016, during the UK tour and it’s been great. What I really like about ROH is how the company is built around the in-ring product, and obviously there are a lot of glitz and glamour as well, but it’s pretty much based on what goes on in the ring. For me, as a performer, I love coming here and telling my stories in the ring. So far it’s been great and been having a great time in watching the company grow and feeling that I am a part of that; contributing to this company growing and been having a great time.”

He also took several shots at old rival Will Ospreay, who he will be facing for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship tomorrow at NJPW Power Struggle.

“I think they kind of approached us during similar times. Obviously I have made much more of an impact than Ospreay has in Ring Of Honor, but I’ve made more of a splash than Ospreay. It’s not a shot on him, it’s the truth. He’s an amazing wrestler, but once you get passed all that it’s kind of like, eh, what’s left? For sure, I’m the number one Brit in this company, no doubt.

“He can have a Villain Club shirt if he wants, and he can do whatever he wants with it. He’s not selling any t-shirts, so he can have one of me.”

The post Marty Scurll Talks Will Ospreay & ROH; Cody Gets A New Challenger To His ROH World Title appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

(Photo: WWE)

Eric Bischoff Critical Of Reigns’ “Gray Area” Character

In a recent edition of his Bischoff On Wrestling podcast, Eric Bischoff made it clear that he’s not a fan of the “gray area” WWE has Roman Reigns occupying and says that the company needs to pick a direction for Roman and stick with it.

It’s hard to say because of the way he’s being booked and the way they are writing for him. Those are different things. I would agree that he is clearly not a heel or a babyface and I think that is a flaw, quite honestly. I think it’s a mistake. I think that this kind of on again, off again success that they have been having with Roman Reigns over the past couple of years is testimony to that. It’s just not really working to the potential that Roman Reigns has or I believe he has. I believe he could and should be the top, if not one of the top, stars in WWE. He has all of the tools and ingredients. What he may be lacking in certain regards like promo skills or finding that last ten percent of his character. Really connect with the audience and more importantly be able to manipulate the audience, that’s the final ten percent. That’s not his fault if they are writing him to be neither fish nor fowl because they don’t understand how to do it. So the creative team finds comfort in keeping him in that “gray zone” which really is a safe zone because you aren’t really making a commitment because you don’t want to fail.

As much as I dislike Bischoff for a myriad of reasons, he’s right on this. Roman will never really have a chance to truly succeed as a top heel or the next face of the company as long as WWE can’t figure out what he is supposed to be in the eyes of the fans.

Marty Scurll Talks Japan, The Villain, & What’s Next

On a recent episode of Sean Waltman’s podcast, The Villain Marty Scurll talked about getting over in front of the Japanese crowds in NJPW. If you missed him during the BOSJ, the fans took to him immediately.

“What I found really funny is that people assume that Japanese wrestling is nonsense, strong style but the crowd actually is more so into the gaga. They just have to come out to the ring with the big stuff. They love that stuff. And I am like ‘God, I am actually doing less stuff here in Japan than I would do in the states.’”

He also talked about how the Plague Doctor look came about.

“I used to organize kind of a big entrance… you know like at Wrestlemania, the guys would have different gimmicks for entrances. There was an album cover I saw one day with this plague doctor, and I thought it was cool. So I dressed up as a plague doctor. It was completely out of nowhere, it was a lot of stuff I risked. It was the doctors [who] were used back then as the black plague, they would wear these masks and a nose to cover up the smell. Dressing up as the plague doctor was only supposed to be a one-time thing.”

As for what’s next for him…

“I think in recent years to be successful in wrestling, and make tons of money. These days it’s a big part of me is to captivate and exhilarate an audience… just trying to make wrestling fun again.”

The post Marty Scurll Talks Japan & What’s Next; Eric Bischoff On Roman Reigns appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: James Musselwhite Photography

One of the names on everyone’s lips in the wrestling world today is The Villain Marty Scurll. During last night’s ROH War Of The Worlds, Scurll became the newest member of Bullet Club, and needless to say, the fans in attendance in NYC last night were thrilled at the development. Scurll recently sat down to talk about being the villain, evolving his character over time, and all the travel he’s done over the past year to ply his craft in promotions all over the world.

The Villain

“‘The Villain’ gets off on the idea of disgusting the crowd and then telling the crowd to keep the noise down while he does it. The reason it works is because it comes at a point in matches where the anxiety shows. They never see somebody grab a finger and do it. But he has to do it out of desperation. Even though he’s ‘The Villain,’ he’s doesn’t want to do it, even as bad person a person as he is. That makes him a little bit sicker so he enjoys that he sickened the crowd.”

Evolving The Character Over The Years

“My character is very organic and an authentic representation of who I am as a person at the time. As a 28-year-old, I’m different as a man than I was as an 18-year-old. As you grow as a human being, the character evolves. It was never a case of me saying, ‘Oh, I’m going to be this guy.’ You grow and change and it’s always exciting for the fans. For me, it’s always important to bring something new to table and not get stuck in your ways. Every day I think of how I can improve, expand and grow as a character, add a new dynamic or new layers and add more substance the fans can get their teeth into.”

The Fans Identifying With Him

“Despite me being ‘The Villain’ one of the biggest connection with fans is they say they see a lot of themselves in me – they have a chip on their shoulder or feel outclassed or are not the best human beings. Fans who are down on hard times or fighting depression or anxiety say, ‘We turn to you to help us fight through it.’ I have a responsibility to stand for those fans. In England, I can spread that message to a certain amount of people, but Ring of Honor has given me a platform to do that with a larger audience.”

Traveling The Globe

“This might be a bold statement, but I will travel more miles than any other wrestler this year, and if not, I’m in the top five. As a wrestler in the world, traveling is a big part of it. Wrestling is my passion and that’s something I embrace. The wrestling world needs me and I’m going to enjoy it. If I want to be seen as one of the best wrestlers of all time, I have to (travel).”

Wrestling As His Calling

“I know this is what I was put on this earth to do. I was meant to be an entertainer. I’ll have friends or girlfriends who say, can you come do this or that and I’ll say ‘the wrestling world needs me.’ I have a responsibility to the fans.”

Is it any wonder we adore The Villain….no matter how badly he makes us cringe when he snaps his opponents fingers during a match??

The post Marty Scurll Talks Becoming The Villain & Evolving His Character Over The Years appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: James Musselwhite Photography

If you caught tonight’s ROH War Of The Worlds, you witnessed The Villain Marty Scurll become the newest member of The Bullet Club. After Adam Cole’s match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Young Bucks came out to pretty much tell him good-bye with a group hug in the ring (Cole’s ROH contract ran out at the end of April, and tonight’s match is rumored to be his final one for the company). Suddenly, the lights went off, and Kenny Omega suddenly showed up on the screen at the top of the entrance ramp.

WHAT THE FUCK???? @KennyOmegamanX FIRES COLE FROM THE BULLET CLUB #ROHWOTW pic.twitter.com/x1DVRdvh4H

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubItal) May 13, 2017

He fired Cole from The Bullet Club, and introduced Marty Scurll as the newest member. The lights in the arena came back on, Marty was in the ring, unveiled a new umbrella with the BC logo, and The Bucks hit a double Superkick on Cole to complete his exit from the faction.

If you’ve been keeping up with The Elite’s YouTube show, then you know that there is a back story to this. And, tonight, Marty got his vengeance on Cole, justice was served, and The Elite and BC have a very interesting new member…who is, in all honesty, a better fit with the group than Cole ever was.

This also means that Bullet Club now has representation in the upcoming NJPW Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament, which kicks off next Wednesday, May 17th. Now, all NJPW factions, Los Ingobernables de Japon, CHAOS, Bullet Club, and Taguchi Japan, have proper representation in the upcoming tournament.

The post Marty Scurll Newest Member Of Bullet Club; Kenny Omega Kicks Adam Cole To The Curb appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.