wrestling / Columns
411’s Buy or Sell 08.24.07: Jimmy Jacobs, Project 161, the ROH World Tag Team Titles, and more!
Welcome everyone to WEEK NINETEEN 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 Nineteen’s Match-Up:
Column of Honor’s Ari Berenstein vs. Ring of Honor DVD Reviewer Brad Garoon!
Ari Berenstein : BUY. And an IMMEDIATE buy at that. ROH has done several double cage match main event shows in the past and each time out they have been successful shows. “At Our Best” was a smash success in 2004 (of course part of that being because it was the day before Wrestlemania XX) and “Third Anniversary Celebration Part 1” in 2005 was given solid reviews and had two good to very good cage matches as the main event. This time out, we have two matches where a cage match is a fine stipulation. We have The Briscoes vs. Steen-erico series which is just tremendous as a money feud. It’s intense, it’s believable and it’s to the point where a cage match is certainly needed and feasible. Strong vs. Evans hasn’t always been the most highlighted part of the Gen Ex War but as of late they have gotten in each other’s business during shows and Evans has encountered the NRC several times in post match beatdowns. Let’s not forget that this all started when Strong “attacked” (off camera) Evans from behind in February. Putting it together in Hartford should help boost ticket sales there and give that crowd something to be satisfied with as the first show of a huge double shot weekend.
Brad Garoon : SELL . Right off the bat I have a problem with your examples of successful double cage main events. Joe vs. Briscoe WAS great but the scramble cage that followed was a mess at best. Cabana vs. Aries was good but nothing all that memorable or revered and the scramble cage that followed that was atrocious. I’ve always felt that two cage matches on a show or even a weekend cheapens the gimmick as a whole. Look no further than the double dose of cages we got at the Chicago Spectacular when Joe vs. Danielson was the scheduled cage match and failed to capture the imagination while Homicide vs. Pearce, which was scheduled to be a first-time-in-ROH bull rope match was changed to a cage match. Now I happen to think ‘Cide vs. Pearce in the cage was quite good but because of the volume of cage matches neither felt very special. I will give the concession that Evans vs. Strong and Briscoes vs. Steen and Generico are both very strong on paper, but so was Joe vs. Danielson. The funny thing is that the first match to be booked in the cage, the tag match, actually makes less sense as a cage match than the Strong vs. Evans match does. At least in the Generation Next match there has been a ton of interference from the No Remorse Corp, leading to a reason for Evans to want the cage. The argument that the Briscoes want something tall to jump off of scares me more than it entertains me. Anyhow, I’m rambling at this point. One cage match per weekend, please.
0 for 1.
Ari Berenstein : SELL . Two reasons: one is that we have already seen or heard about the first “official” appearances of Project 161 during the Death Before Dishonor V shows (mysterious voice and the megaphone dude). These actions were officially validated by blogs on the project161.com website, so that’s enough said for me to confirm their connection. Of course I know what Sam is really asking about is the involvement of wrestlers or managers actively declaring themselves as part of 161. I’ll also sell to that because as the name says, we won’t see the official unveiling of which wrestlers are involved in taking charge of 161 until the 161st show, on September 15th. I do think we’ll see a few more clues or strange “incidents” here and there and we may even get curious at the behaviors of certain individuals wrestling in matches this weekend (ahem ahem, Pearce, Whitmer, Jacobs), but no “official” unveiling so to speak.
Brad Garoon : SELL . Ari pretty much summed it up here. We’ll get more of what we got at Death Before Dishonor but won’t see anything from any actual wrestlers this weekend. My prediction officially is that this whole angle is way too dark for Pearce and Whitmer, who despite their recent depression are brawlers first and emotional guys second. It’s more likely Jacobs, but I think some wrestlers we aren’t seeing right now have a lot to do with the mysterious happenings in this project.
1 for 2.
Ari Berenstein : SELL . Sure you could make a great argument to buy this statement to give Quack a big dream match in NYC, the big ROH venue. Quack would certainly deserve the attention as he is one of the better Indie wrestlers out there and especially since at the time the match was booker there were still bigger names on the roster available to match up with Quack such as Nigel, Claudio or Hero. However, I really like this tag match up as it does a few things for the show: it sets up a solid mid card match so the event won’t be so top heavy as to completely kill the crowd. Secondly it saves those singles dream matches for further on down the line in 2008, when they may be needed to perk up a card’s potential and marquee value. Most importantly, it will be a match to help give the rub to Stevens, Cross and even Jigsaw, three guys who are more likely to stick around ROH in the short term. Quack isn’t going to be on most ROH shows for the rest of ’07, but Stevens and Cross are mainstays and could use a bit of the rub to legitimize a hold in the tag division and give them contendership status in the future (hey, it can’t be all Briscoes and Steen / Generico in the tag division). As a veteran, Quack can help get them there. He’ll be popular and appreciated well enough in this match and it’s where he will be most useful. I think this match will be solid in wrestling and be a fun match overall, two good qualities to round out any wrestling card.
Brad Garoon : SELL . Again I agree with most of what Ari says, but I don’t think Quack can give any significant rub to Stevens and Cross when just as many people are familiar with M-Dogg as they are with Quackenbush. To me the main reason it’d be silly to give Quackenbush a big marquee match in New York is that any momentum coming off of it will be lost when he goes on his hiatus. When he can come back for a big string of shows that will be the time to give him a big match to springboard off of. After that he can cut a few promos and really let the ROH fans know what he’s about for an extended period of time.
2 for 3.
SWITCH~!
Brad Garoon : BUY . I think the titles will change hands, and I think it could happen on either night. On the one hand The Briscoes could drop the belts to Steen and Generico, and then lose two straight in the two out of three falls match. It makes Steen and Generico look incredibly dominant and adds symmetry to all the 2/3 falls matches the Briscoes have had this year. Then Steen and Generico will grant the Briscoes a rematch only at the 3rd PPV in Chicago and only if the match has a very dangerous stipulation. Let’s say a ladder match. On the other hand the Briscoes could retain in the cage and then drop two straight in the 2/3 falls match, leading to the same result. Either way that is how I see this going down.
Ari Berenstein : BUY . I feel the same vibe as Brad does with the back to back title matches this weekend. I think at least one title change on either show is a given and two title changes is a real possibility. The last time we had hot shot title switches like this was back in March with the switch to Naruki Doi and SHINGO, but The Briscoes have been so dominant since then that I don’t think a switch will hurt them and I doubt a back to back switch will hurt the ROH Tag Titles. Kevin Steen and El Generico have worked hard since their re-debuts in ROH to show the fans and the higher ups backstage that they are serious players on the independent scene in 2007. I think their hard work and dedication pays off this weekend with a title win. The extent of that title reign is anyone’s guess.
3 for 4.
Brad Garoon : BUY . It’s really now or never. Evans brought up the idea of creating his “crew” because he needed back up against the No Remorse Corps and just in case things got hairy with the Resilience. With the cage match and the triple threat match this weekend being his last matches against Roderick Strong there really isn’t a need for him to have a crew if he doesn’t use them to help him out here. Here again I could see this going two ways; first Jack could get help from his crew to win the cage match and then not be involved in the decision in the triple threat, or he could lose the cage match and then get help from his crew to beat both Strong and Austin Aries to win the “Father of Generation Next” match. Either way I think we’ll have a better idea of who composes this crew by Sunday.
Ari Berenstein : BUY . I think if Evans’ crew debuts on the 24th, they will also make an impact the next night in Manhattan . If there is a hold off on the 24th and Evans loses the cage match that is also an impetus for him to debut his crew this weekend and set up a win in the triple threat Generation Next Members Only match. Evans has been promising and promising that his back up is coming for so long that he really needs to back up his words or else it damages his character’s reputation. The larger question is how will this new crew impact the way Evans is treated by the fans–will using a crew to achieve the means to his ends result in more boos than cheers
4 for 5.
Brad Garoon : BUY . I think it’s likely that he’ll just WRESTLE students in undercard matches on the shows but I’m sure he’ll cut at least one fantastic promo. Perhaps he might even get involved in some of the faction warfare going on right now. Jack Evans, Adam Pearce and Project 161 are all on the verge of recruiting wrestlers for their aid, so it’s very possible he’ll show up in one of those angles.
Ari Berenstein : SELL . Brad is correct when he says Jacobs cuts great promos and he is my promo “Man of the Year” so far. However, Jacobs tends to work his magic in taped spots for the DVD release and not live in the arena. I think Jacobs will just wrestle against the students, test the leg out and see if everything is alright. The most ROH will do as far as storyline is maybe have a few interactive spots with Lacey during or after the match to indicate the future of their relationship and the storyline to follow. As far as Jacobs becoming directly involved with any angles this weekend, I would say no to anything of the sort, much less shouting from the hilltops that he is the engineer of Project 161. If Jacobs is indeed involved or is a mastermind behind that clandestine society, now isn’t the time to reveal that information. I think if anything there should be a “less is more” strategy played with Jacobs in that or any other angle he will become involved with in the future. Keep that subdued and underplayed until the time is right. Let’s see how the knee is and go from there.
4 for 6!
The nineteenth edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 4 for 6. Stay tuned for next week when two new men will go head to head with a whole new set of topics.
