As you know by now Ring Of Honor is starting on HDnet. I have to admit that the news has filled me with mixed emotions. I am very happy that this deal must mean strong health for the company and it will now have a chance to reach the new audience that it needs. However, it would have been nice to personally have the opportunity to be a part of it, spread the ROH word and share in this time. Fortunately, I just finished reading "The War Of Art" by Steven Pressfield and it has put everything in perspective. Once again my paradigm has shifted.

The self-pity I feel is nothing more than Resistance (Pressfield spells Resistance with a capitol "R" to show that it is an entity) that is keeping me from fulfilling my potential for whatever lays ahead. Resistance comes in many forms. It has defeated me before by costing me my ROH job. Now I know what I'm facing. According to Pressfield's book, I treated the job mostly as a pro, but also let some amateurish tendencies soil everything. I have now identified what they are and they will not interfere in any future endeavor. It's amazing how much you can learn even if you think you are set in your ways.

It is ironic that I'm more ready now than ever for the next big thing (whatever that might be). All the reading and reflecting I have done has completely refreshed me and given me a new way of thinking. I haven't been this healthy mentally since, well since ROH began. However, it is also ironic that if I was never fired that I wouldn't have read squat and would have never taken a breath. As a result the stress at this point would have put me on the edge, if not over it. Ah, life is full of ironies.

Ok, enough of my self-realizations. You want to hear about some wrestling, right? Well, there are some questions I have been asked over and over again throughout the years and especially now. "What is your favorite show?" and "What is your favorite match?" are the two most frequently asked questions when it comes to ROH. I have never really given an answer to either. Now that I've reached a stage where I can begin to look back on some of the good times the answers to those questions are becoming clear.

I was lucky enough to have the privilege of attending the first 204 shows in Ring Of Honor history. There were a handful of occasions I left the show angry from a poorly booked event. There were countless instances I left satisfied and happy. There were many times I thought I just witnessed "the best show ever." Out of all that it is impossible to pick a favorite card. Absolutely impossible. Hold on, I'm not ducking the question.

I will say now that I'm reaching the point where I can look back at the body of work and there is one time period that I take just a little extra pride in. Maybe I can't pick one show as a favorite, but there is a small grouping that emit a special glow from my bookcase of DVDs.

The period was also the most difficult in ROH history. I will just say it was a horrible time in my life. ROH was on it's deathbed. Attacks were coming from all directions. We were bleeding and the sharks were feasting. We were trying to push our head upward through the water to get a quick gasp of air while the sharks lunged in to pull, bite and tear. The attack was relentless. It didn't stop. There was never a moment to rest, but the same thought would come into my head everyday; "not like this. We aren't going out like this."

Everyone on the roster approached the shows with this attitude. We weren't going to lose. We were more determined than ever. "Indy stars" like CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Homicide became men when they put the company on their backs. Colt Cabana, Jay & Mark Briscoe, BJ Whitmer and Dan Maff stepped up to become the heart of ROH. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat lent us his credibility. The Carnage Crew provided stability. Young, hungry talent like Jay Lethal, Nigel McGuinness, Matt Sydal, Jimmy Rave, Jimmy Jacobs, John Walters and Delirious started to make real impressions. Then Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans saved the day as Generation Next. I was filled with fire and inspiration. The result is my favorite stretch of shows. I'm talking about April 23rd, 2004 "Reborn: Stage One" to July 17th, 2004 "Reborn: Completion."

So there you go. I can't pick a favorite event out of the 204 I booked. In fact, a top 50 would probably be interchangeable. However, I can confidentially state that was our most glorious time. Here are some memories from each show:

"Reborn: Stage One"- Several weeks earlier I had left a closed door meeting with Jeff and Jerry Jarrett at the Nashville Fairgrounds (this is one story I'm saving). I had learned that all the TNA talent, including our new Pure Champion AJ Styles, were pulled from ROH without a chance to even write them out of storylines. We needed new, hot talent fast. We needed SOMETHING hot fast. It was time to take some chances and try to create a buzz on the in ring product. We had to be "reborn" and that meant change and evolution. It became an opportunity to take the product to new places. Step one was ending a World Title main event with a fireball and DQ. This was unheard of in ROH at this time. We followed up the DQ with the first wild high spot brawl in ROH history, which paid off things that happened throughout the card. The crowd loved it. ROH had a new vibe of excitement. We were able to reinvent ourselves, which opened up more possibilities. I might have gone back to the high spot brawl well too many times, but they were always a crowd pleaser and fun to book. I'll always remember walking over to Loc, who was peering out of the curtain watching Rocky Romero & Ricky Reyes tear it up in their debut against The Briscoes. The crowd was going nuts at the intensity of the four athletes in the ring. "This makes all the crap worth it," I said to Loc as he nodded in a greement.

"Reborn: Stage Two"- This was playing it safe in a potentially lucrative market. We set up a surefire happy ending to the big Chicago debut as CM Punk & Colt Cabana won the tag belts in their hometown. The opening angle very simply set up the babyfaces and heels with a nice full circle payoff at the end of the night. The Chicago market was made. We had conquered new territory and established another enthusiastic homebase. I've had so many great memories through the ROH and ECW years in Chicago. I love it there. By the way, I did take the "Reborn" title from the Slayer song. We were approaching everything with that ferocity and it served to remind me of the task at hand. Never let up.

"Round Robin Challenge III"- Ok, this is not the greatest show ever, but it had one of my all-time live moments. My favorite part of Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's feud against CM Punk was that Steamboat would show up in better shape with each passing weekend, eager to do more physically. Punk and I were sure we would get Steamboat to wrestle. However, the story got back to me that Steamboat was actually close to doing the match when Ric Flair told him not to waste his return in something as small as ROH. I will proudly say that this was a damn fine feud with a satisfying ending for never having an actual match. Anyway, this leads to one of the truly great ROH live moments. A show long storyline led to the crowd exploding in the sweltering building when Steamboat performed his legendary flying body press on Punk. You had to be there.

"Generation Next"- If the Generation Next angle had failed it was over. I really believe that. We needed new stars in a hurry. We were in Philadelphia. This is where the buzz comes from. Philadelphia made ROH's reputation and it could destroy it. Alex Shelley, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong and Jack Evans came together in an angle that they perfectly executed. I remember nervously saying to my lovely wife as the show opening theme hit "if this doesn't work we are done." Then after the opening angle I went confidently over to her and said we were good with a big smile on my face. I worked very closely with Alex Shelley leading up to this event. We went over all the promos and angles in great detail. He grabbed the material and made it his own. You could tell that he never doubted himself for a second. He knew this was the opportunity he had worked for his entire life. His attitude said that there was no way he would let it fail. He grabbed the ball firmly and scored a touchdown on the mic. It is such a joy to put in the work and see someone rise to the occasion the way Shelley did that night. If you watch my "Book Of Secrets" DVD you know that I had a similar plan for two members of the current roster.

"World Title Classic"- This was the night that CM Punk and Samoa Joe showed the poise and maturity of true world champions. They demanded the ball on this night. I had little doubt they would pull it off, but I still put the wild Ultimate Endurance match as the main event just in case the crowd wasn't ready for an hour and it ended flat. I also wanted to put the hour on a little earlier and not after a crazy match. I was sure that Joe and Punk would pull it off. They had the drive, ability and attitude. The risk was that the crowd wouldn't have the attention span for 60 minutes since we had never had a one hour draw yet. The crowd was more than ready. Punk and Joe did what we all knew they would. "Fuck Anyone That Tries To Stop Us" was the battle cry of ROH's resurgence and resilience. I was standing alone in the back of the building when Punk said those words over the mic. I couldn't help but let go an emotional scream like I was at a Pantera show. It was a moment. I'll also never forget sneaking up next to GregH in the front row at about the 20 or 30 minute mark and saying "we have something special developing here." He diverted his attention from the match for just a split second to smile and nod. It was a great feeling.

"Survival Of The Fittest"- Bryan Danielson. He proved why I consider him the #1 guy in ROH history. Austin Aries. This was his night to become a star and he made himself. TNA stars who? I'll never forget Aries backstage after the match. His chin was split wide open, but he never showed any pain. He actually seemed happy. He had to know that he just broke out as a main eventer. His path to the World Title started this night. The crowd's reaction when Colt Cabana pinned Samoa Joe was also pretty cool and a nice moment in time.

"Reborn: Completion"- I was debating on whether to call this "Reborn: Completion" or "Reborn: Finished" so I asked CM Punk what he liked better. "Completion is much more positive," Punk replied and he was right. This also summed up how things were going at this point. Everything was much more positive. One day in a book or shoot interview I will explain a theory that Paul Heyman taught me, which resulted in one of the most purely exciting moments in ROH history when Low Ki made his return to complete ROH. One of my favorite images in ROH history is comparing the hard camera shot from this show and then our return to the RexPlex for "Glory By Honor III" just a couple of months later. Just look at the difference in the bleachers and you'll see what I'm talking about.

At the time I was too wrapped up in the struggle for survival to really enjoy this grouping of shows. There were plenty of great moments at the live events, but overall it was a painful, dismal period in my life. Now it is a pleasure to look back and think about these cards, which led to the Punk vs. Joe series, Bryan vs. Aries for 76 minutes, both "Death Before Dishonor" cards, Mick Foley, The Midnight Express, Jushin Liger and so much more culminating when Aries hit that 450 on Joe. It was an epic year. Just about everyone who worked for ROH, attended a show or gave their support can take pride in this remarkable time period.

I really hope one day I am able to go back and watch all the shows in order and write down notes as the memories return. Right now The MLB Network is dominating too much of my TV time. In the meantime, I'm still taking questions and answering critiques on the "Gabe's Book Of Secrets" DVD available at  www.KayfabeCommentaries.com now. The initial blog where I took questions is now up over 80 comments. Thanks! You can leave any you have in the comments section of this blog. Please remember that I'm only answering questions based off of stuff on the DVD. Thank you very much.

Now I have done a little thought about the greatest match in ROH history during my regime. I have always avoided the answer by saying that I couldn't pick one. Now I realize that a single particular bout is just a hair above the others, only the slightest hair though. I will write about it in my next blog. Thanks for reading!!!