Alan Wojcik Reviews Gabe's Book Of ROH Secrets DVD
Since February 23, 2002 Ring of Honor had one person always associated with the product be it doing DVD commentary under awful assumed names or as the head booker. This past October that all changed when ROH's financial people namely Cary Silkin decided Gabe Sapolsky was going to be asked to leave the promotion he helped make into an internationally known company. In addition Sapolsky stopped booking the Florida based Full Impact Pro promotion which was ROH's sister promotion. For what appears to be the only time, Mr. Sapolsky sits down to air out what happened and what he had planned for the next months with KayfabeCommentaries.com for the DVD release Gabe's Book of ROH Secrets.
The KC.com host as always is Sean Oliver and he gives Mr. Sapolsky an open forum to address how ROH came to be after ECW folded, his booking style and how he even became the booker, the way he wrote and produced the DVD's, video wires and how the move to Pay Per View helped/hurt ROH. He talks going into the day he was asked to leave he had told Silkin he was going to make several changes including website content, booking "event" moments on the shows and dropping hype phrases he relied on for years. This isn't Sapolsky's first time working for KC.com, he did a Guest Booker DVD in which he booked the WWE's revival of ECW. This time the booking is what would have been on the DVD's if he had been running things in ROH. As comfortable as he seems in front of the camera, he also comes off as someone who is still trying to figure out what the hell happened. Sapolsky holds nothing back in addressing his feelings for the ROH fans and the talent he had at his disposal and what the future held for each of the top stars like Tyler Black, ROH World champion Nigel McGuiness, Austin Aries, Jimmy Jacobs, Davey Richards, Erick Stevens, Roderick Strong, the ROH Tag champs El Generico/Kevin Steen and others to be talked about. The following ROH events are discussed as "fantasy booking" in which Sapolsky opens up his loose leaf binder he used for booking:
11/7/08 The French Connection in Montreal, QC
11/8/08 Bound By Hate in Markham, ON
11/21/08 Escalation in Dayton, OH
11/22/08 Rising Above PPV in Chicago
12/5/08 Wrestling at the Gateway in Collinsville, IL
12/6/08 Southern Hostility in Nashville, TN
12/26/08 All Star Extravangza IV in Philadelphia
12/27/08 Final Battle 2008 in New York City
Like I mentioned its "fantasy booking" since Sapolsky mentions in the opening segment his last show he booked was 10/25/08 "Ring of Homicide 2" event and the last DVD he produced was "Glory By Honor VII" 9/20/08 event from Philadelphia. Watch this segment and then check out the ROH website to see how much of his stuff made it to the actual DVD taping. Doing that made the DVD more educational. I have never been a faithful watcher of ROH so Oliver asking Sapolsky to run down the state of ROH when he was let go was extremely helpful. This DVD is highly recommended to ROH fans who want to see behind the curtain in a way they may never see again. You can buy this DVD on www.kayfabecommentaries.com where you can check out upcoming DVD's like YouShoot: Kevin Sullivan, Inside the Office with Rene Goulet and Ringside with Vader.
http://alanwojcik.com