411’s Buy or Sell 12.12.08: Roderick Strong, Rhett Titus, Low Ki, and More!!

Posted by Michael Bauer on 12.12.2008

This week, the 411 staff looks pretty much all things Ring of Honor as Alex Mattis battles Matt Short!

Welcome everyone to WEEK Eighty Six 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 Eighty Six's Match-Up:

Dealing in only The Best - Alex Mattis !
vs.
Taking a little detour in his travels through the Navigation Log - Matt Short !

Roderick Strong is too big of Indy star to win the IWA Mid-South Revolution Strong Style Tournament.

Alex Mattis : SELL. Too big of an indy star? I don't think things like that should factor into IWA-MS's decision making process. Fact of the matter is that Roderick Strong is one of the top "strong style" wrestlers in the country and winning this tourney is fitting for him. And to those who may argue that Rod winning the tourney buries others in it because he is a "bigger name" need to remember that Roderick has always been an IWA-MS regular. It's one of the places he got his start on the indys and one of the first places where he was able to show what he can do. He has always busted his ass when there and has had some of the best matches of his career in the IWA ring and winning the tourney is something that I feel he deserves.

Matt Short : SELL. Nah, I don't think you can have a guy be "too big" to win an indy tournament. If you're trying to build a tournament's reputation, a top named star should win it. You raise its prestige gradually so that it actually means something when you try to elevate someone by having them win it. A tournament's success depends on both the quality of the matches leading into the finals and who wins. The TPI wouldn't mean what it does today were it not for the amazing 2004 edition of the tournament that AJ Styles won. Since then, they've used it to elevate guys like Matt Sydal and Chuck Taylor. The basic point though is that a tournament has to have some value to it if you expect people to come see it in the future.

1 for 1.

The low attendance at NOAH's final Budokan show of the year shows that there is a serious lack of legitimate main event challengers for Kensuke Sasaki.

Alex Mattis : BUY. Buy, but that is just the nature of all of professional wrestling right now. I don't think too many people within NOAH lost sleep over this but the realization of the fact that there is a lack of challengers may be setting in with them. I think an unexpected title loss for Sasaki could shake things up and may be a route that Sasaki needs to take. Other than that they need to start building up some news stars or pull some strings and bring in a star from the past to set up a super-match of sorts.

Matt Short : BUY. Very much buy. I've seen the photos of the Budokan from during the show and there is a depressing amount of open space in that stadium. True, wrestling isn't quite the draw it has been in Japan in the past but when you look at the kinds of main events New Japan and All Japan are putting on and the crowds they are getting NOAH is going to need to do something in order to stay competative. If they're not drawing at the Budokan then they're losing money. It's expensive to run venues like that and the fact of the matter is that NOAH doesn't have that many big name stars to throw at Sasaki each and every month and still draw big crowds. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Akitoshi Saito, as good or bad a match as it may have been, is not exactly the kind of bout that people are going to line up to see. Akiyama vs. Sasaki might fare better (I definitely want to see that), but I think what NOAH needs to do is cut back the number of shows they run at the Budokan in any given year. It does not look good for the company when you're drawing low numbers to a huge stadium like the Budokan.

2 for 2.

The Rhett Titus gimmick with Daizee Haze has been a complete failure.

Alex Mattis : BUY. Buy, buy, and buy again. This has been one of the few angles that ROH has ever put forth that I absolutely detest. This, to me, is just a spin off of the classic Rick Rude-Jake Roberts feud except this one is doing as much for the people involved as the other did. Maybe it's the fact that I don't care for Titus at all. But I don't see this feud being a turning point for him or the angle really getting over much at all. Haze already has established herself and doesn't need to be part of an angle like this. One thing that is interesting since Sapolsky was released this angle got a lot more play.

Matt Short : BUY. Complete failure? I don't often like going to such extremes, but damn this has not been a positive storyline for ROH. I've been saying for months that ROH needed to do something with their students to give them personalities so the fans have a reason to care about them. They can't be jobbers their entire careers. It's been working too, just look at Grizzly Redwood. "Addicted to Love" Rhett Titus on the other hand has not been working out so well. I don't know what it is, but this angle has just not worked and I think it's because the fans are torn over it. They wanted to see Delirious and Haze together and completely stomp Titus out of the equation. Then Delirious turned heel and it became a whole lot less clear who you were supposed to root for. If they want this to work, Titus has to get better at working his gimmick. I'm putting it on him to make the gimmick work, because it ultimately is up to him. The whole angle could potentially be solid, but only if everything is clicking. And right now Rhett Titus is not pulling his weight.

3 for 3.

SWITCH~!

Low Ki will return to Ring of Honor during Final Battle Weekend.

Matt Short : SELL. It would be pretty freaking cook seeing Low Ki back in ROH for the Final Battle weekend. And to the best of my knowledge, I don't believe that Ki has any commitments during December around then. I thought he might actually have some shows with New Japan, but it doesn't look like he's scheduled there until January. Still, I have a hard time seeing it happening unless it was going to lead to a title match between Ki and McGuinness. That would be an excellent outcome to a Low Ki return and it would certainly make a lot of money. And I have a feeling that whatever price tag comes along with a Low Ki appearance is what's holding ROH back from bring him in. For a one-time shot, it might not be worth it. Long-term it may pay off, but I have a feeling that right now ROH shouldn't be gambling too much with money.

Alex Mattis : SELL. Much like my co-writer, I think it was be fuckin' sick to see Ki back in ROH and maybe even in a title match with Nigel. They always pull out all the stops for the Final Battle and a surprise return of Low Ki would be the stop but I just don't think it's in the cards. But due to the heat between the two, the contract disputes and what-not I just don't see Low Ki returning to ROH on the horizon.

4 for 4.

Cary Silkin getting more involved in the creative aspect of ROH is a bad idea

Matt Short : SELL. I don't see anything especially wrong with this idea. At least short-term anyway. I don't know what kind of booking style Silkin would bring to ROH, but right now their trying to freshen up the way booking is done in the company. I think just having an extra mind there to bounce ideas off of is a positive thing. I'm more willing to give an idea a shot, before condemning it.

Alex Mattis : SELL. This is a sell that could quickly turn into a buy however. It's always tricky business when the owner steps into the creative realm. Just look at Vinny Mac, sometimes times its good other times it's God-effin-awful. But for not I'm not going to jump to judgment. We're just going to have to see where this leads.

5 for 5.

Nigel McGuinness will end up losing the RoH World Title in Chicago during the next PPV taping.

Matt Short : BUY I think January 31st would be an excellent time to crown a new ROH World Champion. No one thinks Nigel is going to be losing the belt before 2008. They're not giving the belt to Marufuji at Final Battle, he doesn't need it. They can use the time from now until the PPV to properly build someone up to finally beat McGuinness. I don't know who that will end up being though. Maybe Danielson? Maybe Aries? For some reason, I see Jimmy Jacobs getting the shot here though I can't say why. Call it a hunch. The main thing is, Nigel has made his mark as ROH Champion. What else can he do as champion? Who else is there for him to beat? I just have a feeling that a change is needed and it will come at the PPV.

Alex Mattis : SELL. I gotta disagree with Matt here. I see Nigel heading into the New Year with the gold still around his waste. With one of ROH's biggest shows of the year coming up, there hasn't been a significant enough angle with Nigel and a challenge to warrant a title change quite yet. And if it's not going to happen now it's not going to happen for awhile. I do believe that Bryan Danielson will be the one to defeat Nigel, but not for awhile. I see Nigel losing the strap right before next summer comes. So with that being said, I think Nigel's next trip to the Second City will be a successful one.

5 for 6.


The Eighty Sixh edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 5 for 6! Stay tuned for next week when two new men will go head to head with a whole new set of topics.