411s Buy or Sell 11.27.09: Kenny Omega Wins BoLA 2009, Davey Richards Wins the Jeff Pererson Cup, Dragon Gate USA to Crown First Champion, and More!!
Posted by Michael Bauer on 11.27.2009
This week, the 411 Wrestling Staff gears up for Dragon Gate USA to crown their first champion as J.D. Dunn battles Chris Lansdell in Buy or Sell!
Welcome everyone to Week 135 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.
Questions are sent out on Monday Night.
BANNER!
(Special thanks to Jasper Gerretsen)
CHIKARA's newly formed heel stable, while needed, lacks a true leader.
J.D. Dunn : BUY. (tentatively) I say buy with the caveat that the new stable is well, a *new* stable. The nWo didn't reveal their leader for a while either, but once they did, it was a huge revelation. Just like a good television series, CHIKARA booked a cliffhanger (and a damned good one). The comic-book influence on the booking has never been more apparent, and this angle is the one angle in wrestling I really look forward to seeing resolved.
Chris Lansdell : SELL. The thing about it is that this is a new stable. It had to debut in a shocking way in order to generate buzz, and as this occurred at the season finale we all have a reason to watch the next show. A leader will emerge and until we see where that's going and who the leader will be, it's too soon to say they lack one. Who's to say the leader even took part in the attack?
0 for 1.
FIP's Jeff Peterson Cup was a joke, as Davey Richards was the only real contender who had a chance to win.
J.D. Dunn : SELL. I don't think it was a joke. Davey was easily the biggest name in the tournament, but you did have guys like Silas Young and TJ Perkins, both of whom could have won as part of an angle. They decided to go with the biggest name, which makes sense. It certainly wasn't as stacked as it could have been with talent like Kenny King, Bruce Santee, Erick Stevens & Roderick Strong available but this tournament seemed to be more about showcasing guys like Richards and Perkins, so from that perspective it worked.
Chris Lansdell : BUY. I get that Davey is the new indy darling, and he's all over 4 promotions right now while starting a fifth. That said, this tournament did absolutely nothing for him. He's already FIP champion, he didn't beat a top contender to win the tournament and it wasn't exactly hyped. Unless Davey had a close relationship with Jeff Peterson, I don't get this at all.
0 for 2.
Kenny Omega was indeed the right choice to win the 2009 Battle of Los Angeles.
J.D. Dunn : BUY. I'm not a huge Omega fan, but I acknowledge that he has gotten hugely over in Ring of Honor, among other places. From what I've been able to follow in PWG, he hasn't received nearly the same push. That seems to be the complaint by many PWG fans. That's not just pre-9/11 thinking, that's pre-1996 thinking. The audience that watches PWG heavily overlaps with CHIKARA, FIP and ROH, so it's not like they don't know what Omega is capable of. This is just PWG catching up with other organizations that have pushed Omega as a potential star.
Chris Lansdell : BUY. times a lot. I am, as anyone who's ever read my columns will know, an unabashed Omegaphile. I'd be hard-pressed to think of anyone whose Indy stock has risen so much in 18 months. Omega has had matches with Austin Aries, a title shot, wins over big names and now he's BoLA champ and, I believe, #1 contender for the PWG title. He's got a lot of talent and decent mic work, plus he exudes energy and charisma. And he's over. Very over. The tournament was loaded with names but giving Omega the win was the right call.
Ring of Honor should have booked the AAA imports against RoH regulars, not each other.
Chris Lansdell : BUY. It's hardly the first time RoH have done this; when Misawa came over he only wrestled NOAH guys too. In this case it makes even less sense. Misawa was a big enough name that he could dictate who he fought and he did so. With the AAA guys you have former RoH mainstay and cult favorite Jack Evans, you have Teddy Hart who will get crazy heat against anyone...as it stands you're not bringing in AAA wrestlers, you're putting on an AAA showcase. It robs the fans of a chance to see some unique matches and that's never good.
J.D. Dunn : SELL. Pro-wrestling matches are still an "act" just like a magic act, or a band, or a play. When you have rivals, they are guys who have perfected the art of wrestling one another, the same way a band has chemistry with one another. ROH's job is to put on the best show possible, so bringing in the best matchups, not just the best individuals. The old promoters used to have the same mentality you don't just bring in Bruiser Brody. You bring in Bruiser Brody against Abdullah the Butcher because that's where the money is.
1 for 4.
One of the Young Bucks will win the "Generation New" six man match to advance to the Open the Freedom Gate Title match.
Chris Lansdell : SELL. These guys are too much of a team and too good in that role to put one of them in a singles tournament. They're in the 6-man to provide some excitement and pop the crowd with their spots, and that's it.
J.D. Dunn : SELL. This is a tough one because the Bucks are getting a lot of exposure on HDNet, and they're gaining a national following now with success in PWG, ROH and Dragon Gate. However, it looks like Dragon Gate is hoping to build Gran Akuma as one of the major heels, so I look for Akuma to get the win.
2 for 5.
The first Open the Freedom Gate champion will come from a one on one first round match.
Chris Lansdell : SELL. but only just. I can see Davey or YAMATO winning, but my two favourites are CIMA and Mike Quackenbush. Neither man is in singles action and I thinnk they have the best shot. Tough call all the same.
J.D. Dunn : BUY. Because I believe it will be Davey Richards. I don't know the specifics of where his loyalties lie, but Gabe Sapolsky no doubt wants to capitalize on the tidal wave of momentum Davey has at his back. With Davey becoming the "people's champ" and ROH still being in love with Tyler Black after a year of building him up, it makes sense to push Davey to show that Dragon Gate gives the fans what they want.
2 for 6!!
The 135th edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 2 for 6 as these match up half the time! Stay tuned for next week as two new people step up to the plate on Buy or Sell!
Lansdell: Omega IS PWG Champion; the belt was decided in the tournament. Nice job paying attention to the best indy promotion of 2009.
Posted By: Angry (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Also, Omega is more over in PWG than anywhere else, so it made perfect sense.
Posted By: Angry (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 11:06 AM
"This is just PWG catching up with other organizations that have pushed Omega as a potential star."
He's been featured pretty heavily all year in PWG. They've clearly viewed him as a star all year.
Posted By: Bobby27 (Registered) on November 27, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Omega is actually PWG Champion since he won BOLA. When Danielson left he wanted the next champ to be determined in BOLA.
Posted By: Derek (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 11:12 AM
J.D. Dunn : BUY. I'm not a huge Omega fan, but I acknowledge that he has gotten hugely over in Ring of Honor, among other places. From what I've been able to follow in PWG, he hasn't received nearly the same push. That seems to be the complaint by many PWG fans. That's not just pre-9/11 thinking, that's pre-1996 thinking. The audience that watches PWG heavily overlaps with CHIKARA, FIP and ROH, so it's not like they don't know what Omega is capable of. This is just PWG catching up with other organizations that have pushed Omega as a potential star.
Omega has been the most over act in PWG since May. That's why he won the title. Not because of his ROH performances.
In fact, Omega is more PWG than he'll ever be ROH.
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 12:02 PM
I think ROH is saving the "dream matches" for the WM double shot. Think Strong & Evans team, Omega vs. Hart, Richards vs. Romero, plenty of possibilities to cash in on. Plus, this might be a "trial" for the AAA partnership, so making matches that work within AAA's storylines makes sense. I think we'll see a different set of matches on Phoenix (assuming the AAA wrestlers appear in Phoenix).
Posted By: BigFan (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Also, Omega is more over in PWG than anywhere else, so it made perfect sense.
Posted By: Angry (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 11:06 AM
I'm glad somebody said it because before he even touched Ring of Honor he won us PWG fans over last year at BOLA.
Posted By: Guest#4179 (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 01:01 PM
Hey, isn't Ares the outright leader of the new CHIKARA group?
Posted By: guest (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 02:27 PM
Yeah, the Omega question was just horribly researched by both writers. I'm not trying to be a dick but if you aren't educated on the topic then opt out or plead ignorance.
Posted By: Guest#9793 (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 05:33 PM
Joining in with the Dunn and Lansdell bashing on Omega. He is far more over in PWG than anywhere else and is the champ.
PWG has been by far the best Indy this year, and Omega has been a huge crowd fave.
The only catching up that needs doing is by ROH bringing in Chuck Taylor and bringing the Men of Low Moral Fiber to tv.
Posted By: Guest#7902 (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 03:57 PM
The only catching up that needs doing is by ROH bringing in Chuck Taylor and bringing the Men of Low Moral Fiber to tv.
Posted By: Guest#7902 (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 03:57 PM
And you bet they will too. All ROH can do at this point is steal the best things about other feds. They already got the Bucks from PWG.
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 05:53 PM
I think what he meant was that while he has been used and has been way over in PWG, it wasn't in singles competition. All year he was part of a tag team.
Posted By: Guest#3008 (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 06:10 PM
Put away the pitchforks guys. If you re-read what I wrote, I didn't say that Omega was only being pushed because he's being featured in ROH. I said that *other organizations* (including, but not limited to ROH) had pushed Omega first (JAPW, DSW, DDT among others) and that's where he made his reputation, while in PWG, his push is just now catching up to his popularity.
I'm not sure how that can be disputed when he was JAPW champ even before he went to ROH and he went to ROH months before PWG.
"I'm glad somebody said it because before he even touched Ring of Honor he won us PWG fans over last year at BOLA."
I believe he debuted in ROH in July 2008 and didn't come to PWG until November.
"Hey, isn't Ares the outright leader of the new CHIKARA group?"
I've only been able to read the results and not see the last show, but I got the impression that Ares was more of the "Kevin Nash" of the group.
Posted By: J.D. Dunn (Registered) on November 27, 2009 at 07:19 PM
"I'm glad somebody said it because before he even touched Ring of Honor he won us PWG fans over last year at BOLA."
I believe he debuted in ROH in July 2008 and didn't come to PWG until November.
J.D., what they mean is Omega's stock wasn't rising in ROH until mid-2009 or so. Meanwhile, he's been over like mad in PWG since night 2 of BOLA last year. His first PWG match of 2009 in February against El Generico cemented Omega as one of the most over acts in PWG history.
Omega hasn't been near that popular in ROH.
Posted By: Joe (Guest) on November 27, 2009 at 08:06 PM
"J.D., what they mean is Omega's stock wasn't rising in ROH until mid-2009 or so. Meanwhile, he's been over like mad in PWG since night 2 of BOLA last year. His first PWG match of 2009 in February against El Generico cemented Omega as one of the most over acts in PWG history."
I disagree with the premise that Omega's ROH stock wasn't rising until mid-2009. He was put over Kenny King & Rhett Titus last year and scored a win over Austin Aries in April. That was right around the same time he got his first PWG win.
I didn't say he wasn't over in PWG. I said (until BOLA) he hadn't received the same push he had in other places despite being over everywhere else he'd been.
Posted By: J.D. Dunn (Registered) on November 27, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Unless my memory is complete shit, and that very well could be the case, Omega started getting more high profile matches in PWG before ROH. Meaning, he wasn't wrestling opening matches against guys. He didn't get his first win 'till April, but us fans took to him immediately.
And I know that's your argument, JD, that PWG just now caught his push up to his crowd suuport, but getting wins really doesn't always have anything to do with getting wins. Tyler Black got massively over while losing most of his major matches.
His steam really picked up, though, at DDT4 when he teamed with Chuck Taylor. Ever since then, the crowds have been RABID for him. Shit, even when he wasn't actually at the shows. Chuck Taylor name dropped him at Threemendous II after he attacked El Generico and the crowd lost it with an immediate "Omega" chant.
And as for ROH, he really hadn't been much featured until he got used on more and more Canada shows. Obviously he was going to be more over there, but after the Canada shows he was significantly more over everywhere else for ROH.
And just to put the kabosh on it, in Omega's post-BOLA promo, he said if it wasn't for PWG continuing to book him, he wouldn't have gotten his VISA and probably wouldn't be in wrestling anymore. Sure that could be to suck up to the fans, but he said it himself so you've kinda gotta take his word at it.
Personally, though, I don't care where his push started, or where he gets pushed more. I've started to sour on him due to the non-stop comedy antics he does. Theres a time and a place for that, but he almost ruined the Omega/Taylor vs. Young Bucks rematch for me because the first 10 minutes were just a joke. That and I wanted Roddy to win... AND he beat Scott Lost, who was #3 on my wish list to win (Behind Gatson at #2)
Posted By: All-Around Wrestling Fan (Guest) on November 28, 2009 at 07:09 AM
Way to stand up to them J.D. The elitism of some pwg fans when it comes to comparing themselves with roh is really starting to turn me off the product.
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Posted By: dfdsf (Guest) on November 30, 2009 at 02:50 AM
Wise up Dunn.
The push in ROH has been nothing compared, you're picking isolated rare occurrances out and you expressed yourself poorly.
Omega got his Visa due to PWG booking him, he's had consistantly high profile there for the last year, he's more over there than anywhere else, and has got a better push.
You're wrong.Accept it.
Isolated wins are not a push.
High profile and things changing due to your actions is.
Omega got over due to the men of low moral fiber loss to the YB's and since then he's been pushed and over more in PWG than anywhere, so much that it turned the YB's heel and changed the booking to try to catch up
Posted By: Guest#5508 (Guest) on December 07, 2009 at 10:50 AM
