411’s Buy or Sell 9.03.10: Tyler Black Follows CM Punk’s Footsteps, PWG’s Annual Battle of Los Angeles, Yoshino as the Face of Dragon Gate, and More

Posted by Michael Bauer on 09.03.2010

This week, the 411 Wrestling Staff takes a look ahead to the Battle of Los Angeles this weekend, as Steve Cook battles J.D. Dunn on Buy or Sell!

Welcome everyone to Week 170 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 Tuesday Night.

While providing us with the first round matches, having 18 wrestlers will lead to a very confusing Battle of Los Angeles tournament structure.



Steve Cook: BUY. But that's the way PWG likes it. My guess is they do three three-ways in the second round, followed by a three-way for the final. If you don't like three-ways this wouldn't be the show for you. Of course, I could be wrong and they could have something totally wacky cooked up. You just never know with these guys, and that's part of the appeal.

J.D. Dunn : BUY. Although if live fans are anything like me, they just come for some adequate-to-good wrestling in the first few rounds and don't really pay attention to all of the possible permutations that could occur down the road. By the time they get to the finals and semifinals, which is where things get really interesting, the structure will have ironed itself out.

1 for 1.

"Mr. Instant Replay" Matt Jackson vs. "Slick" Nick Jackson is the most interesting of the first round matches.

Steve Cook: BUY. I'm not 100% certain that it's going to be a great match. Sometimes brother vs. brother matches don't work. Just ask the Hardys. It is the most interesting match in the bracket by far, simply because we've never seen it. Also, it's not obvious which brother is more talented, so it's tough to say who should win.

J.D. Dunn : BUY. Partners wrestling each other always adds a bit of intrigue - brothers wrestling each other, even more so. Plus, both guys are amazing when it comes to the innovative acrobatic moves. One thing this match (and PWG in general) gives them is the ability to showcase distinct personalities. In TNA and ROH, they seem like indistinguishable clones.

2 for 2.

The winner of the Christopher Daniels vs. Chris Hero first round match will win the 2010 PWG Battle of Los Angeles.



Steve Cook: SELL. It's not that neither man deserves to win it, it's more that neither man needs to win it. Hero is a former PWG champion and has more pressing matters in other promotions right now, and Daniels is a long-time icon of the So Cal indy wrestling scene. I think Daniels winning it would be a pretty cool story and I wouldn't be too surprised if they went that route, but since I can't say for sure he'll beat Hero I probably shouldn't pick him to win it all.

J.D. Dunn : BUY. And I think it will be Chris Hero. Hero has been a consistent performer for a lot of promotions this year and has established himself as more than just an acerbic jackass who makes fun of "flippy guys" or "that guy with the elbow pad." Outside of Davey Richards, Hero is one of the most consistent performers on the indie circuit.

2 for 3.


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Masato Yoshino has cemented himself as the new face of Dragon Gate with his performance this summer.

J.D. Dunn : BUY . Yoshino has long been one of the most entertaining athletes in DG. His speed and accuracy on moves is amazing, and in a promotion built around a 'younger, faster, stronger, better' mentality, Yoshino has really shined. Over the summer, he's come into his own in terms of using his athleticism in service to the match (rather than moving from pop to pop).

Steve Cook: BUY. Yoshino has had a very impressive summer by anybody's standards. He defeated YAMOTO in July to win the Open the Dream Gate title for the very first time. He won his fifth Open the Brave Gate title in August, beating Tigers Mask. Ten days after that, his team with Naruki Doi won the Summer Adventure Tag League for the third time. If that doesn't qualify him for "face of Dragon Gate" status, I don't know what would.

3 for 4.

Terry Funk as special enforcer during a No DQ World title match feels like total overbooking by Delirious as the new booker.



J.D. Dunn : BUY . Tentatively. It really depends on whether Funk is there to ensure a clean finish or a screwy finish. Given the screwiness in many of the recent ROH World Title matches, it could just be the logical conclusion to a long-running series. Given ROH's recent track record, and their apparent desire to create a "Black Fall" to rival the "Summer of Punk," though, I'm leaning toward screwiness.

Steve Cook: SELL. Yeah, having a special enforcer in a No DQ match seems kind of pointless. But it's Terry Funk, who's right at home in that type of an environment. Funk's been around forever (FOREVER...FOREVER...FOREVER), and he still has enough credibility with the Northeast indy fans to add a little something special to the occasion. He'll punch Tyler Black at some point, and it'll get one of the biggest pops of the night.

3 for 5.

Having Tyler Black be heel for all of three weeks while refusing to defend the ROH World Title is a horrible booking decision.



J.D. Dunn : SELL. Tyler Black is no CM Punk, but this is still the most interesting he's been in several months. There's not much else you can do when the champion is going to jump to another company. You can either bury him (even if it's in a non-malicious way like they did with Homicide/Morishima) or you can give him an interesting heel run. Of course, it doesn't have the same feel the second time around, but maybe some of the newer fans who only started watching in the HDNET era will get more out of it.

Steve Cook: SELL. I wouldn't say it's horrible, purely because it's getting them some attention. It's not very original, and it's a little troubling that the first big idea after the installment of a new booking regime is basically the same thing as one of ROH's most interesting storylines from the past. It is funny how much ROH wants Tyler Black to be CM Punk. But, it's a short-term deal that's getting some play online. I can live with that for now.

4 for 6!!


The 170th edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 4 for 6 as these two choose to agree more often than not! Stay tuned for next week as two new people step up to the plate on Buy or Sell!