Jimmy Rave done with ROH...

[Guest glennsoe]

"Jimmy Rave posted today that he was told after the ROH show that he was done with the promotion. He said when he asked why that it was because of his performances in the last year and blacklash for the fans. He was none too happy, writing, "It's kind of funny that some people I've never met can go on the internet and cost me my job, thus taking money from myself and my family. Thanks! It would be nice if those same people who based me, would e-mail me their employers' e-mail address and phone number so I can try to get them fired." That's the entertainment business"

 

credit; wrestlingobserver....

[Zack Malibu 0]

I was just about to post this. ROH needs all the help it can get these days, and Rave is always a solid hand, if not a bit spotty at times. Still, he's a good, energetic worker that they could have easily used better.

[Placebo Effect 0]

Hey Jimmy...

 

- Happy

- Angry

- Hurt

- Anguished

- Amused

- Scared

- Shocked

 

Please, learn how to show these emotions and give me a call.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Well that sucks. He wasn't the greatest but then RoH was using Justin Credible for shows too. No way is Rave worse than Credible.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I love how that's what ROH told him and he believed it. They wouldn't lie to you would they Jimmy? Plus, if we had anything to do with you getting fired, why are they still using Xavier, Nana, etc. The fans treat them like shit and bitch about them more on message boards than they do about Rave, so why haven't they been let go?

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

I've never seen Rave booed or anything on RoH shows. Has he been?

[Guest Choken One]

he was over on saturday...so i dont get this.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Rave never amazed me, but he never made me think "Man, this guy sucks." I guess I always viewed him as a "solid indy worker" and I think he brought unnecessary hype to the NE scene because he was so good in NWA-Wildside, a promotion that, at least to me, has always appeared super bush-league and shitty, with a bunch of notable exceptions on the rosters who always seem to go elsewhere.

 

Anyway, I saw Rave work CZW a few times. Decent, and definately one of their strongest workers.

 

Ah, well. So where will he be working now?

[Mecha Mummy 0]

What the hell? I heard that Rave's performances were picking up and everything. Ugh.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

If he's not gotten negative reactions live, why does he care what posters on the RoH boards or whatever think...strange.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

Maybe it's an ANGLE~!

[Michrome 0]

First, I think this obviously SCREAMS "work" but if not then I won't miss him. He had multiple chances to put on great matches and never did. The crowd in Philly absolutely HATED him too. It's going to be a work imo anyway.

[Zack Malibu 0]

First, I think this obviously SCREAMS "work" but if not then I won't miss him. He had multiple chances to put on great matches and never did. The crowd in Philly absolutely HATED him too. It's going to be a work imo anyway.

I don't get that. CZW fans love the guy, and a good chunk of the CZW fans are the same ones who go to the ROH shows in the same area.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

I've always been a fan of Jimmy Rave since seeing him in the Ted Petty Invitational in '02. He always put on solid performances against opponents of all sizes.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

Meet the new member of Generation neXt.

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

It's not a work- if I'm proven wrong later you can feel free to laugh at me. Rave doesn't work people in his livejournal. Keep in mind this is coming from the guy who interviewed Jimmy for this site (the ONLY time I'll ever bust out that usually-pathetic "I know this guy" shtick) so take that for what you will.

 

It's a real shame the NYC bus trip apparently dictates ROH personnel decisions.

 

People can say Rave got plenty of chances- fact is he didn't. He had TWO wins in ROH in his year+ tenure there, both of which were against Wildside guys who meant nothing in ROH's plans. He laid a goose egg in the Field of Honor- he was treated in the AJ Styles angle as a clueless rookie and when the time came (at the 2nd Ann title tournament) to prove something, he got beat. I'm sorry, but facing Punk in the first half of a long-ass gauntlet match, and one match against Daniels- are not half the opportunities given say, John Walters, who feuded and won against former ROH champion Xavier, and is pushed because "hey, we go to Boston, let's push that local dude" -this is coming from a guy who is a Walters fan by the way, but he's not in the same league as Jimmy is skillwise. Rave got killed by bad booking and was poisoned to the fans by the guys who leading the bleating sheep of the ROH fanbase. (as I should have clarified above, Mike Johnson has a strong dislike of Jimmy's in-ring work).

 

Wildside and CZW got the booking right with him. CZW, which probably has the weakest booking in the US (again, coming from somebody who lists CZW as his favorite fed) -but they managed to build him up fantastically with a finals showing in the Redefined tournament (and a tapout win against Kendo Kashin no less), Ironman wins over B-Boy and Tony Mamaluke (the latter the CZW pure wrestling 2003 MOTY) and gave him a strong heel to play off in the punk-ass, "Zandig's golden boy" Trent Acid, the same way Malenko was able to successfully play off Jericho in their fued, on a smaller scale. If you think it didn't work, listen to his pop at COD5 after he won.

 

Last year, Wildside built him up excellently in the War Games as a strong babyface. When he lost heat due to sporadic appearance from his East Coast schedule, he turned heel and became "Philadelphia Superstar" Jimmy Rave -classic heel booking 101, and it worked. Ultra-charismatic Sal Rinauro was made a mouthpiece- THAT'S how you book around weaknesses.

 

Post-Do or Die (where he had a great performance in that 4way) ROH gave him NOTHING, and when they did give him something, they gave him the FUCKING LOSING STREAK ANGLE. The same angle we've been complaining about with David Young and Matt Hardy.

 

Either way, you CANNOT argue this wasn't a shitty way to let someone go- who knows, the poor guy may have rejected other bookings based on ROH dates he was expecting to make, taking money out of his pocket (actually, Rave stated something to that effect in the LJ) Eh, whatever- ROH as an organization can fuck themselves, I'll watch Jimmy where his skill is appreciated (ie everywhere else.)

Edited June 15, 2004 by Jay Z. Hollywood

[stahl 0]

This is a work, wasn't it posted at the ROH site that if Jimmy lost his last match he would be done with ROH?

[JustJoe2k5 0]

If it is a work, it'll just be another weak gimmick this no-gimmicks-needed promotion uses to get on the good side of internet fans.

[Michrome 0]

John Walters had a losing streak angle too. The difference is, he was gaining steam and getting over, while having good matches. Jimmy was not having good matches. Jimmy Rave did lay a goose egg in the FOH. Remind me how Walters did? To act like the NYC bus trip decides everything is absurd, I was in Philly, the crowd HATED him. They wanted him to lose and get fired. His comebacks got booed, etc, and being sloppy as usual didn't help. If Walters is nowhere near Jimmy skillwise, howcome he was able to have good matches while Jimmy wasn't? Why was John's match with Daniels roughly 10 billion times better than Jimmy's? Why does a match in a guantlet not count, yet Walters getting a shot at Punk in the first round of a tournament count? The idea that he only didn't get over because he lost a lot is hilarious, he didn't get over because his matches sucked, and he has the personality range of a turnip.

 

Becoming a star in ROH is not rocket science. All you have to do is have good matches. Jimmy never had a match over *** in ROH in a year.

 

Unfortunately, this is obviously an angle, and Jimmy Rave will be back to stink up cards with bland, average matches.

 

If it is a work, it'll just be another weak gimmick this no-gimmicks-needed promotion uses to get on the good side of internet fans.

 

What are you talking about? They have had gimmicks since the first show.

[Guest OSIcon]

A lot of people need to get real about this.

 

First off, if you think the way he was "let go" is out of the ordinary, mean, or whatever, then I don't know what to tell you. I've worked at low level jobs (retail, ect.) before where I've seen people fired at the end of the work week and that was that, with little to no advanced warning. That happens. People are left jobless with little or no time to even find another one. At least in the case of indy wrestling, Rave still has sources of income. Is it unfortunate? Sure. It's also just one of those things that happens and just needs to be dealt with.

 

Secondly, why is this a big deal? A promotion didn't have a use for a wrestler so they let him go. This isn't anything new or out of the ordinary. You can be of the opinion that Rave could have contributed to ROH....that's fine. However, they felt that he wasn't needed and that the fans weren't taking to him. It is their perrogative. All over the place, people are getting upset like some big injustice happened and I don't really get it. Rave's overly-dramatic journal entry probably helped fuel these reactions.

 

As for my personal opinion, Jimmy Rave is a guy who if he is on the card, that's fine, but if he's not, I don't really think twice about it. I think he is solid so I don't mind watching him wrestle, but I have never been excited about a Jimmy Rave match before or after watching it. I think the argument of "Well, he would have been over had ROH pushed him right" is kind of weak. Nearly anyone can get over with the right kind of push. The key becomes finding someone who offers something special instead of just pushing anyone for the sake of getting over. While I don't think Jimmy Rave is bad or anything, there are plenty of guys who can do what he does. Nearly every singles wrestler on the ROH roster can do what he does and most do it better. That is what it comes down to for me.

[Guest Deviant]

And you guys call yourself SMART marks?!?

 

This is a normal angle people. ROH had stated that if Rave lost, he'd be fired. Generation Next's agenda is to steal people's spots and move up the ladder. Gen Next beat Rave, Rave was "fired", Gen Next score 1 on their plan.

 

It's all quite bloody straightforward here. ROH laid this angle out for us, told us this very good story, then all it takes is one live journal entry for this board to explode with Rave support?

 

I can't believe the WO reported this...

[Guest sean pyro]

Meltzer doesn't pay attention to the Indy scene-- he just posts the first reports he gets.

[Guest trickstyle_360]

Jimmy deserves way better. I cannot understand why somebody like Walters who is way less skilled and even more bland can get over with the ROH mutant smarks, and Jimmy doesn't....ah well.

[Guest Jay Z. Hollywood]

I can't believe the WO reported this...

Um, because it's NOT A G-DDAMN WORK.

[Michrome 0]

Jimmy deserves way better. I cannot understand why somebody like Walters who is way less skilled and even more bland can get over with the ROH mutant smarks, and Jimmy doesn't....ah well.

 

Not seein the "less skilled" at all. For everyone that Rave and Walters both fought in ROH, Walters had the better match. Walters' matches with Homicide, Chris Daniels, CM Punk, Chad Collyer in chicago, and Matt Stryker in Boston were all way better than anything Rave produced in ROH. It's amazing to me that we're supposed to act like it's grossly unfair for a guy who never produced in the ring to lose his job. Is it Gabe's fault Rave didn't have good matches in ROH?

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I'll be honest, I am shocked that they never really did any one on one stuff with him and AJ, as him and AJ are friends and I doubt AJ would attest to doing it in the first place. If they could have had a decent series of matches(they actually did have some good ones in Wildside, so they do work well together)this could have helped Rave get over with the ROH crowds a little more in my opinion. But it's like I said numerous times before they cling to others that are way worse than Rave.......so there is more to the story.

[tpww7 0]

First Slyk Wagner Brown, now Jimmy Rave. ROH keeps improving

[Guest TonyJaymzV1]

I've always been a fan of Rave, ever since I saw Ultra Styles Clash Weekend. Thats also the first time I saw Jacobs, Aries, Punk, and Shelley. God, I love IWA:MS.

 

Too bad I'm broke and about to ship out to basic training, I'd order me so much IWA tapes.

 

The thing about Rave is, he wasn't a spotmonkey and he looks like he should be. Walters looks like and is a ring technician. Rave looks like he should be a spotmonkey, but he is a fundementally sound tap out artist.

 

The worse part about all this? I will never see Rave live now, as I was hoping he'd be at the Shane Shamrock Cup, but alas, no.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

I think he used to be a spot-monkey, then got some sort of injury and changed his style to lengthen his career.

[King Cucaracha 0]

I hope it's not a work. I've seen way too many ROH works for my liking for it to be either effective, funny or anything other than a lame attempt to look 'smart'.

 

It's stuff like the works and they 'we don't do sports entertainment' 5 minutes before they have Low Ki pretending to pop pills with Special K that puts me off ROH.