411’s Buy or Sell 5.15.09: New Japan’s Promotional Posters, Petey Williams Future, Go Shiozaki’s Legacy and More!!

Posted by Michael Bauer on 05.15.2009

This week, the 411 staff looks at the news and happenings out of Japan as Samuel Berman battles Larry Csonka in Buy or Sell!

Welcome everyone to WEEK One Hundred Eight of BUY or SELL. For those of you who haven't been with us since the beginning, here's the Reader's Digest version of what this column is all about. BUY or SELL is very much like 411's long-running Fact or Fiction column. The main difference is that BUY or SELL focuses on topics like the U.S. Independent scene, Lucha Libre, Japanese Wrestling and pretty much anything else that isn't mainstream wrestling, WWE and or TNA. This allows for these areas to get a bit more press and for you, our loyal readers, to learn even more about the sport of professional wrestling.


Week Number 108's Match-Up:

The first Buy or Sell Editor and the Savior of all Open Minded People- Samuel Berman!
vs.
The Boss and his answers are brought to you by oxycontin, percocet and various liquors…- Larry Csonka !

Akebono shouldn't have been let anywhere near a Dragon Gate card, let alone a PPV main event title match.

Samuel Berman : SELL. While Akebono's size makes him an unexpected part of Dragon Gate, I have seen the match in question and thought it was fairly solid. If anything, having Naruki Doi successfully defend his Open the Dream Gate Championship against such a massive competitor helped to further put him over as the top man in the company. Doi had to eschew much of his normal moveset and concentrate on outsmarting the former sumo champion. Also, while I am not fully certain about Akebono's (or any former sumo wrestler's) standing as a mainstream celebrity in Japan, I would imagine that the press Dragon Gate received for featuring him more than made up for the drop in match quality. And frankly, I saw the entire Pay-Per-View and there was more than enough excellence throughout the card to satisfy Dragon Gate loyalists.

Larry Csonka : BUY. From my perspective anyway. I figure that Dragon Gate did this due to AKEBONO having a name, and that they wanted to boost up live gate sales as well as the PPV sales. So from the business perspective I can understand why they did this. As Ryan Byers so perfectly put it, "in the style clash to end all style clashes", Naruki Doi retained his Open the Dream Gate (heavyweight) title against AKEBONO with five consecutive kicks to the head. Now I get that AKEBONO is THE definition of heavyweight, and I get the idea behind the booking. If DOI, a very small man can defeat the former SUMO AKEBONO, then it looks good for him. But on the flip side, while wrestling is scripted, there still has to be an air of believability. And I really have a hard time believing DOI, no matter how awesome he is, defeating AKEBONO clean. But hey, that's just me.

0 for 1.

Despite changing their promotional material, New Japan's Nazi-themed posters for its 6/20/09 show is the most tasteless promotional piece ever. ( For reference.)

Samuel Berman : BUY. Truthfully, I cannot imagine a more tasteless move for any company in any field of human endeavor to make than to channel the Third Reich. Let's put a couple of things in perspective: during their twelve years in control of Germany, the Nazis orchestrated the systematic torture and murder of more than 15 million people. The swastika has come to be viewed as an icon of hatred the world over, and the Nazi Party's paramilitary police force, the SS, has become equated with the most ruthless terror squads in the history of mankind. New Japan Pro Wrestling, for some inexplicable reason, has chosen to envoke these parallels to promote their upcoming event. I think the reprehensible nature of that choice speaks for itself.

Larry Csonka : BUY. Yeah, I'm going to buy for two reasons. #1 I have never seen a wrestling poster, that I can recall, be genuinely offensive. Shitty sure, but offensive? No. And secondly, the use of the "SS" and "Swastika", to most, are not acceptable. They bring up memories of Hitler, WWII and millions of people dying. That's reason enough not to use it right there. Thankfully it seems as if they are going to change the poster, but it really never should have been made in the first place.

1 for 2.

Manabu Nakanishi's IWGP Title win was just done to educate fans that "unexpected" title changes can happen, and he will lose it back to Hiroshi Tanahashi in their rematch on June 20.

Samuel Berman : SELL. In discussing the change with former Don of The Cool Kids' Table Brad Garoon, he reminded me that Keiji Muto's title win was also a shock title change, and that one took place only two changes ago. I'm not sure what the logic was behind Nakanishi defeating a white-hot Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, but I would guess that it was not done simply to promote unpredictability. Perhaps it was merely a gesture to Nakanishi for his long tour of duty. My guess is that Tanahashi will go on to reclaim the belt when the two meet in a rematch on June 20th. New Japan has the most to gain from a strong Tanahashi on top of the card.

Larry Csonka : SELL. This one was a hard one to nail down, but in the end I will sell the question, because I have a split response. I agree with the fact that Nakanishi's IWGP Title win was just done to educate fans that "unexpected" title changes can happen. While later on I will talk about some of the Japanese booking I do not like because it will not change, I do think that they are trying to educate the fans on the "anything can happen title change" as a way to possibly boost business. As for Nakanishi losing it right back on the 20th…that I am not completely sold on. It isn't that I don't see Tanahashi regaining the title, I figure he will, but I am not sold that they will hot shot the title. They may, but something tells me they won't.

2 for 3.

SWITCH~!

Word is that AJPW was high on Petey Williams after his recent tour with the group. TNA has also already talked about bringing him back. Petey would be better off as an All Japan regular than he would a TNA regular.

Larry Csonka : BUY. I think that I will go with the buy here. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have Petey back in TNA. He always worked hard, put on good matches and flat out never dogged it. But I don't have any faith in TNA's creative team to do anything different with Petey. He would likely be stuck in the same spot he was when he left. I hate to say that, but that's how I feel. On the other hand, I think that he can find some success in All Japan. They like his work, and over the last few years we have seen guys like Bernard, D'Lo and others go to Japan and find success, and a solid pay day. Petey is good enough to go there and earn a spot, and I hope he does and is happy.

Samuel Berman : BUY. I think that in a kayfabe sense Petey has a better chance of being utilized in an interesting fashion in All Japan than in TNA. But in all honesty I think Petey would be better off making whatever move is more financially beneficial to his future. Anything I could say on the subject is both idle speculation and completely uninformed gossip. Petey's responsibility in this case is to himself and his own well-being.

3 for 4.

NOAH's below average attendance at its recent Budokan show is the beginning of a downward trend, which will only continue now that the promotion's major television is gone.

Larry Csonka : BUY. It was inevitable. For years the TV product has been the driving force for the Budokan attendance, and when the deal was set to be pulled, myself as well as many others predicted that the attendance would suffer, and it is. I also don't see it changing until they get another TV deal equal to the one they had.

Samuel Berman : BUY. As Brad has often told me, NOAH is basically a promotion without storylines. Absent people's desire to seek out the performances of their top talent, NOAH is left in something of a lurch, stuck in the creative wake of Dragon Gate and a step down in glamour from New Japan's better outings. The potential remains for world-class combatants like Naomichi Marufuji, KENTA, Go Shiozaki and Takeshi Morishima to create enough buzz for NOAH to regain its former level of prestige, but for now NOAH does seem to be on a downward trend.

4 for 5.

Twenty years from now, Go Shiozaki will be a legend in Japan, and Takeshi Morishima will be remembered as a solid worker but nothing more.

Larry Csonka : SELL. Yeah, I will sell this one. When I sit back and think about both guys, who I am a fan of, in 20-years, I see them remembered as good workers, fan favorites, but I do not see either man remembered as a legend in the sport. And that is not because I don't believe that they can attain the spot, I think that they have the talent, but I feel that it is due to the lack of star building in Japan right now. Everyone is always talking about how Hiroshi Tanahashi is the next big thing, but whenever he looks to get to that next level, he is knocked right back down. The booking in Japan is a lot like WWE's booking as far as building star, but worse. Japan is always going back to Misawa, Muta and others because they are believed by the fans to be THE stars. Maybe if the booking changes one of these guys can reach that level, but as of today, no, I don't see it.

Samuel Berman : BUY. My answer actually surprises me because in their respective tours with Ring of Honor, Morishima was the far more polished wrestler. However, I think a part of Morishima's appeal came in watching him fight it out with smaller opponents who were often overwhelmed by his size and raw power. I think that Morishima might actually be better off in a company like Dragon Gate, where his size would make him an absolute monster. It's similar to how Abyss was more convincing in his role as the Embassy's enforcer in Ring of Honor, where he actually did tower over all of his competition, than he was in TNA where he was smaller than a quarter of the roster. Shiozaki, as the protege and alleged second coming of Kenta Kobashi, is probably destined for a more successful (eventual) GHC Heavyweight Title run than Morishima had, while Morishima will probably not see the top of the Pro Wrestling NOAH mountain again any time soon.

4 for 6.


The One Hundred Eighth edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 4 for 6! Stay tuned for next week as two more people will go head to head with a whole new set of topics.