Keep your eye on the ball. It’s an old adage that’s applicable to almost every aspect of life, from relationships to business to sports it’s generally believed that once you lose focus of your goal, it becomes impossible to achieve that goal. Unfortunately there are many people who think that axiom tells the tale of Tyler Black’s ROH career.
Ever since his first ROH World Title shot at “Take No Prisoners” in 2008, many fans have chanted “Next World Champ! Next World Champ!” at Black; and for a time those chants got louder and louder. But as more and more complications got thrown in Tyler’s way, it seemed less and less likely that he would fulfill the promise that those three words brought.
His focus was split in too many directions at once; from World Tag Title runs with Jimmy Jacobs to the dissolution of the Age Of The Fall; from Tag Title aspirations with Bryan Danielson to chasing an elusive victory over that same man; from attempting to convert Austin Aries to the AOTF to ultimately being fireballed by him in Philadelphia; it seemed that Black was never 100% focused on taking that title from then-champ Nigel McGuinness. Whether it was his fault, or the fault of those constantly in his path, the bottom line is that as of this writing, Black has yet to fulfill the dreams of the fans, much less his own.
But it seems that the combination of the neck surgery and the fire that Aries threw into his face have awoken Tyler. As heard in a recent ROH Videowire, Black is fully aware of where he has come up short, and is looking to rectify those sins of the past. And the first sin needing to be expunged is that of “A Double” Austin Aries. But as is typical of the ROH World Champion, he is using one of his protégés to block the path; in this case, “The Pretty Boy Pitbull” Kenny King, the man Tyler must contend with in Indianapolis, IN on October 10th.
“I know what Aries is doing,” said Black. “And it’s a game I’ve seen before; it’s the same game Jimmy would play with the Age of the Fall. Put your pawns in front to block the way, and hope they do the job you’re too afraid to do yourself. Aries wants me to lose focus, to once more ‘take my eye off the ball’, but that won’t happen ever again. That fire you threw in my face - it burned away the distractions and left me with a very clear vision, Aries. A vision of you broken at my feet, the same way you left me last December, with the ROH World Title FINALLY in my hands!”
Before Black has to go toe-to-toe with Kenny King, he must face a man on quite a hot streak here in ROH, “That Young Knockout Kid” Chris Hero in Collinsville, IL on October 9th. Last time they met at “Homecoming II”, Black captured a hard-fought victory that was marred by a post-match assault from Jimmy Jacobs. Although Hero has been aching for a chance to expunge that blemish on his record, Black has no intention of letting Hero be the man to kill his new-found motivation. “Chris is a hell of an athlete, I’ve experienced it first-hand, but nothing and nobody is going to ruin this for me. I’m feeling better than I have in months, and Hero is unlucky enough to be the first guy who’s got to contend with that. He may be looking to get his win back, but I’m looking to the World Title, and Hero’s one of the guys I have to beat to get back in the running.”
The next weekend will tell a lot about the future of Tyler Black here in Ring of Honor. Can he finally set aside all the things that have distracted him over the years? There’s no more AOTF, Nigel McGuinness, or Bryan Danielson to serve as distractions. It’s just him, Austin Aries, and the ROH World Title. What does the future hold?
