Since April 10, 2009 when The American Wolves captured the ROH World Tag Titles in Philadelphia on HDNet, they have been a dominating unit unlike any team in the history of Ring of Honor. But even before they became champions, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards have been leaving bodies in their wake. From Mark Briscoe at “Final Battle 2008” to El Generico at “Proving Ground 2009 Night 2”, these two ferocious athletes have done whatever it takes to get one up on their opponents, and shown no mercy when weaknesses are exposed.
And when Davey & Eddie captured the belts in the Tables Are Legal match taped for “ROH on HDNet”, everything they had done en route to becoming champions proved to be worth it. Unfortunately for the ROH roster, they weren’t done with just winning the Tag Team Championship. At “The Hunt Begins”, The Wolves’ work on Generico’s knee paid off as he was forced out of competition for a little over a month. At “A Cut Above”, Davey Richards took advantage of Tyler Black’s existing neck injuries en route to a victory and likewise put Black on the shelf for the next month. In the span of five months, The Wolves dealt devastating blows to three of ROH’s best, with Mark Briscoe suffering the worst as he was out of action from December ’08 to June ’09. They’ve retained the belts over Steen & Generico, Strong & KENTA, Danielson & Black, Danielson & Steen, and Steen & Jay Briscoe, and in a lot of cases have done so in a dominant faction. But on June 27th in Chicago Ridge, where Steen & Generico picked up a non-title victory and a future title opportunity with a stipulation of their choosing, The Wolves showed their first real sign of weakness.
“We got beat. Plain and simple,” said Davey Richards. “No excuses, no crap about it being a non-title match, we got beat. But believe me when I say it won’t happen again, especially not to Canadian Bacon. Put me and Eddie into whatever match you want Kevin, cause no blood, no table, no chair, no ladder, nothing will stop The American Wolves from owning you and these tag team titles!”
But Steen & Generico are far from the only team looking to come after Richards & Edwards, whether it’s just to capture the titles, or for far more personal reasons. The American Wolves may be the most wanted individuals in ROH. For starters, Jay & Mark Briscoe obviously have their reasons for wanting a piece of the champions. Mark spent 6 months of his life recovering from major surgery, suffering through serious pain while rehabbing his knee and training to keep his in-ring shape. For that reason, The Briscoes, more than any others in ROH except maybe Steen and Generico, want to make The Wolves suffer for their sins. The opportunity to capture the ROH Tag Titles for a 6th time is just icing on the proverbial cake.
Bryan Danielson has made it very clear that capturing the ROH World Tag Titles is the one goal he wants to accomplish before his day is done. If he can meet this goal, he would be the first of only a handful with the potential to say they’ve held every ROH championship (World, Pure, & Tag). He has tried with several partners, including Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Steen, and most recently Tyler Black. In fact, Black & Danielson’s challenge at “Tag Title Classic” is already being heralded as one of the best matches of 2009, but they came up with a draw there and conclusively lost in the rematch. How much of that loss was due to the damage inflicted on Tyler Black’s neck? That’s a question left unanswered, but Danielson stated that he firmly believed Black was the partner with whom he felt he had the best chance at being the first man to hold all three ROH titles. Disagreements and tension led to blows and classic matches on HDNet between Black and Danielson, and it seems those tag team aspirations are long gone. And Black, as mentioned earlier, spent a month on the shelf because of the ruthlessness demonstrated by the champions, and taking their belts would be the most satisfying revenge imaginable.
Outside of those with personal reasons for wanting to take The Wolves down, the ROH tag team division has seen an influx of potential challengers in recent months. With The Dark City Fight Club, The Wolves could potentially face a powerhouse team that is just as eager to inflict pain to their opponents to get the job done. In The Young Bucks, The Wolves would have to deal with a speed and quickness unlike any team in ROH, as well as a hunger for the brothers to prove themselves the equal of the best ROH has to offer. The fledgling team of Erick Stevens & Brent Albright are currently embroiled in a feud with The Embassy, but if they focused on the belts, their power could prove more than The Wolves could handle, and they are already familiar with one another. And speaking of Prince Nana’s Embassy, if he steered his team towards the titles, Nana could offer up any combination of Jimmy Rave, Claudio Castagnoli, Bison Smith, Joey Ryan, even himself and Ernie Osiris, to challenge for the belts. Kenny King & Rhett Titus, led by ROH World Champion Austin Aries, are top shelf athletes who would love nothing more than to jump to the top of the pack, while The Super Smash Brothers are looking to make their name. Even teams like Cheech & Cloudy, who have felt the wrath of The Wolves on HDNet, would love to somehow knock Davey & Eddie off the top of the mountain. And add to that impressive list the impressive House of Truth, and you can plainly see that the tag scene may be as deep as it has ever been.
There’s a treacherous road in front of the ROH World Tag Team Champions, but if any team is capable of traversing the path it is The Wolves. They’re a proven force, with great striking skills, as demonstrated by Davey in every match, and top shelf submissions, as demonstrated by Edwards tapping out people like Bryan Danielson with a vicious Achilles Lock. But for The Wolves to continue to reign as champions, they must be at the top of their game each and every night, with each and every challenge. But with a list of potential foes as detailed above, and with a looming Title Match against Steen & Generico, the reign of Richards & Edwards is threatened like never before.
