411’s Buy or Sell 01.25.08: Aries as a Heel, ROH vs. TNA, King of Trios, and More!

Posted by Samuel Berman on 01.25.2008

The 411 team discusses Ring of Honor and CHIKARA as Michael Bauer battles Magnus Donaldson!

Welcome everyone to WEEK FORTY 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 Forty's Match-Up:
ECW Recapper Michael Bauer vs. Midwest Fantasy Booker Magnus Donaldson!

Austin Aries will complete a full heel turn at or before Ring of Honor's Sixth Anniversary Show.

Michael Bauer : BUY. And how ironic is it really that exactly one year after Austin Aries got dumped by Roderick Strong's heel turn that Austin Aries will do the same thing. I mean, all the signs are there already for Aries' heel turn. He's not shaking people's hands anymore, everyone he has faced since Final Battle Weekend are absolute faces in Ring of Honor, and he has the losing streak that BJ Whitmer had last year. But most importantly, after Chris Hero, there are no real heels to go after Nigel McGuiness or Bryan Danielson. Aries turning heel gives us a great shot at that, giving us more classics in the process.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . All the signs have been there for quite a few shows that Austin Aries will turn heel very soon, as Bauer has already stated. He's been wrestling heels for quite a few shows, he's not shaking people's hands, and he is on a big losing streak. A heel turn I feel has been needed anyway as Aries has gotten a little stale in recent times, and he provides a new opponent for Nigel McGuinness for a new series of matches. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing a heel Aries title reign for the second time. If it doesn't happen at the Sixth Anniversary Show, it will happen soon after.

1 for 1.

Marek Brave will be the 'top talent' to replace The Necro Butcher as Jimmy Jacobs' partner in Dayton on Friday.

Michael Bauer : BUY . I tried to find a way to sell this, but after looking over everything, I can't find any reason not to buy. Marek has had success with and against Tyler Black in the past, including a couple of matches in Full Impact Pro as a tag team already. Plus Jacobs did not lie about it. He is a former champion in two promotions, defeating Tyler Black both times. I just am very curious to see how they play into this reason to society like The Age of the Fall does and how he is a top talent, because that part is hard to buy.

Magnus Donaldson : SELL . There's some irony here as I originally chose as a question for this very BOS the possibility of a new member of the Age of The Fall coming soon, and a day later it was announced. I have to disagree with Bauer on this one. First of all, I think that it was be a massive letdown if the new member was Marek Brave. No disrespect to him, he's a good wrestler, but he's not ready for ROH and for me does not fit the description of the wrestler that was stated in the newswire. It said that the wrestler had a reason to rebel against society, he's a champion and is not an active ROH wrestler. I also felt that it alluded in the newswire that this wrestler has been in ROH before, even if it was only once. In that respect, my choice is Eddie Kingston. He's a champion in the IWA, he's wrestled for ROH at the Cage Of Death and has every reason to rebel against society with the way he feels he has been held back in every company he's wrestled for. He seems most likely to me. It won't be Low-Ki or Marek Brave or any other big indy star. I will state a dark horse though: Hallowicked. He a champion in Chikara, he's been in ROH before and hasn't ever been a full time wrestler in ROH, plus because he's a freak with the mask and Delirious-esque speech he has a reason to rebel against society. But it won't be Marek Brave, I guarantee it.

1 for 2.

Ring of Honor's crowd in Dayton will be smaller than normal due to TNA running a house show in town the same night.

Michael Bauer : SELL . I don't know how the Dayton crowds normally are, but saying it's smaller because TNA is in town in ridiculous. Ring of Honor is giving a cage match in the main event, with interview sessions and autograph sessions for FREE, not $20 like if you want to meet Booker T at a TNA event. TNA also will not have Kurt Angle or Christian Cage there most likely, who are the two biggest names they have. Will some people go to TNA to get one more live AJ Styles or Samoa Joe match? No doubt. But it will not be at the expense of Ring of Honor.

Magnus Donaldson : SELL . Bauer is spot on here. I see no reason for regular ROH fans to go to a TNA "house show" when they can get a cage match, free autographs and true value for money at a Ring Of Honor show. Now I don't know if TNA feel that they can hurt ROH by running in the same area, but they will get a shock if their attendance is way down, but they will lose more money. Which will mean they do it again. Why? Because their TNA, that's why. I'll eat my hat if ROH's attendance goes down.

2 for 3.

SWITCH~!

In the wake of their deal with The Smashing Pumpkins, Ring of Honor should continue to work to attain licensed music for Pay-Per-View events and DVD releases.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . Personally, this is something that I don't pay a lot of attention to. However, it gets ROH a good deal of exposure, as was evident from ROH being mentioned on several music sites after getting the deal. This could get ROH more PPV buys and new fans. Plus with the general vibe around the net being that ROH needs to improve it's production, this is one little step to help do just that.

Michael Bauer : BUY . Major league buy. One problem the Ring of Honor has is that a lot of their music is not licensed, meaning it is tough to use on Pay Per Views or anything televised. Ring of Honor should definitely look into getting the best theme songs licensed, especially like Danielson's Final Countdown. This way, you can also open up a second revenue stream from selling CD's with the theme songs. Corny, maybe, but definitely a potential money maker.

3 for 4.

Eddie Kingston's match with Shane Storm at CHIKARA's preseason show will lead to an extended program between the two.

Magnus Donaldson : SELL . I personally think a program between these two would be a bad idea. For me, both of these guys can have good matches, Kingston especially, but they have to be in there with the right opponent. Together I simply don't feel they would be able to have a worthwhile feud that would benefit both men in the long run. Of course I could be proven wrong. But I would rather see a feud with Larry Sweeney and Hallowicked than a feud with these two.

Michael Bauer : SELL . I sell this, but for a far different and more stretched out reason. Eddie Kingston is becoming a known name in the Independent Wrestling scene. He is not a big name yet, but still a name that can be recognized. Shane Storm is a guy who quite frankly, I have never heard of. So this type of feud I feel would hurt the value of Kingston more than it would help the value of Shane Storm. CHIKARA has been good at recognizing this before and I can't see why they wouldn't again.

4 for 5.

CHIKARA made the right decision in choosing to run King of Trios 2008 exclusively at the former ECW Arena.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . If the ECW Arena draws more for Chikara that the other arena's they run (which I feel it does), then why not. The ECW Arena I feel is a great venue for Chikara's big events, as was proven by the King Of Trios Night 3 and the 2006 Tag World Grand Prix Night 3. So therefore a full three days should not only draw a decent crowd for the entire tournament, but should help Chikara in the money department. So I think it's a good business decision, with the only downside being that fans in the other regions Chikara runs miss out on seeing a big tournament show in their area.

Michael Bauer : SELL . Definitely a sell. Now, I agree with everything that was said regarding the ECW Arena and the draws, but can we be fully honest. How many people are really going to spend three nights going to the arena to see the same people over and over again? I think if you spread it out, you get more people to show up, which means more money from the merchandise over the three nights and you don't alienate those fans from the other regions who would love to see a piece of the action. Obviously, the finals should be in the bigger location, but for all three nights, it seems like a bit much.

4 for 6!


The fortieth 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.