By Holden McNeil
It’s been a long time since Davey Richards and Roderick Strong have stepped into the ring opposite one another in a singles match, since “The French Connection” on November 7, 2008 as a matter of fact. They’ve been on opposite sides of multi-man matches, tag title matches, even a Steel Cage Warfare match, but it has been nearly a year since these former allies battled one another.
Nearly one year to the day since their last head-to-head encounter, Richards and Strong will go to battle once more, this time as part of the “ROH on HDNet” TV Tapings on November 6th. These two former partners in the No Remorse Corps know each other very well, or at least they used to. In the time since they were allied, both men have gone through various degrees of change.
Richards has fought hard to become, and remain, one half of the ROH World Tag Champions with American Wolves stablemate Eddie Edwards. Strong has fought hard to reestablish himself as a top contender to the ROH World Title. Both men have had the label of “2009 MVP” thrown in their direction by the ROH faithful, and there is certainly a case to be made for each fighter. Both have competed in some of the hardest fought matches of 2009; most recently with Strong’s phenomenal showing in “Survival of the Fittest 2009” and Richards’ epic battle with Kenny Omega in Collinsville. Their tag battle against one another at “Violent Tendencies” was certainly one of the most brutal bouts of the year thus far, and may only serve as a prelude to the punishment these two warriors will inflict on each other on November 6th.
If the stars become aligned in the right way for either man, we could be looking at the future of the Ring of Honor World Championship. Both men are certainly capable, and both men are eying that glory. A win in either direction will add to the incredible steam both men have had in 2009, but could a loss derail that momentum?
Tickets are on sale right now for both Thursday the 5th and Friday the 6th right here at www.rohwrestling.com. Strong vs. Richards, 11/6/09, Philadelphia, don’t miss out!
