411’s Buy or Sell 01.09.09: The Young Bucks Title Defense, Team 3D and the Machine Guns as IWGP Champions, Ring of Honor and Wrestlemania, More

Posted by Michael Bauer on 01.09.2009

This week, the 411 staff looks back at the major happenings during Japan's Wrestle Kingdom III as Ari Berenstein battles Ryan Byers!

Welcome everyone to WEEK Ninety 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 Ninety's Match-Up:

Rocking out to Final Countdown at Final Battle - Ari Berenstein !
vs.
Like the Necromancer, he just won't go away - Ryan Byers !

New Japan Pro Wrestling should not have had two different Tag Team Titles won by TNA wrestlers.

Ari Berenstein : SELL. If the relationship between TNA and New Japan is progressing further, then it's perfectly fine to have both the junior and heavyweight titles switching, especially on such a huge show as a Wrestle Kingdom special at Tokyo Dome. NJPW is going to get its name out there to the American public thanks to the TNA Global Impact specials, and if putting the straps on TNA teams is the cost, that's not a terrible price to pay. As it is, both the Motor City Machine Guns and Team 3-D had prior experience in Japan, with Team 3-D in particular going undefeated in their tours of the country. Both teams are popular with the Japanese crowd, so a title switch in either or both cases isn't that offensive to the home country fans of NJPW. Cross promotion is key these days in Japan between their own promotions, so a little interaction like title switches between a U.S. and a Japanese wrestling company should work as ell.

Ryan Byers : SELL. I'm not ridiculously high on the concept of both the Dudleys and the Machine Guns walking around with IWGP Championships, but I don't think that it will be detrimental for New Japan either. As far as the junior titles are concerned, they're essentially worthless. They've been little more than opening-card fodder for the last couple of years, so you can put them on just about any wrestlers, be they foreign or home grown, and most fans won't notice. On the heavyweight tag title front, the Dudleys haven't had the greatest of matches with former champions Togi Makabe and Toru Yano. However, the Duds did beat the NJPW tandem on last year's Wrestle Kingdom show, and putting the Dudleyville natives over Makabe & Yano one more time sets up a third match down the road in which the Japanese talent can act as conquering heroes, finally vanquishing the duo which previously seemed to have their number. So, at least to that end, it makes storyline sense. In short, I probably wouldn't have booked the two title changes myself if it were my call to make, but I'm perfectly accepting of the apparent rationale of those who did book the changes.

1 for 1.

Of all of the title changes at Wrestle Kingdom III, Tiger Mask defeating Low Ki was the least surprising.

Ari Berenstein : SELL. I think the concensus feeling I was getting from most Puro fans in the know would be that Hiroshi Tanahashi was definitely going over on Keiji Muto this past weekend, so if anything that title switch was the least surprising. I'm actually most surprised by this switch, as Low Ki was one of the few American gaijiin really getting a consistent run in NJPW and he had finally battled through some injuries late in 2008 to take on a more regular schedule. Tiger Mask IV isn't anything all that special in my book, so I was definitely taken a bit aback to see him win the title this weekend.

Ryan Byers : SELL. I will say that a blind man could have seen the Tiger Mask/Low Ki title change coming from one hundred miles away. Love him or hate him, Tiger Mask is NJPW's go to guy in terms of the junior heavyweight division, so every time they need the belt to switch to a babyface to send the fans home happy, it's going to him. Combine that with the facts that Ki is a foreign outsider and that those folks never seem to get extended title reigns with the company anymore, and the switch was virtually certain. However, if a blind man could have seen the Ki/Tiger switch coming from one hundred miles away, the same blind man could have seen Hiroshi Tanahashi defeating Keiji Muto for the heavyweight title from five hundred miles away. The January Tokyo Dome show has essentially become for New Japan what Wrestlemania is for WWE, and a card of that nature is more often than not highlighted by the company's top babyface star walking out with a major championship. With that formula having been put in to place and with Muta technically being an outsider as champion, the title change in the main event was significantly more predictable than the junior heavyweight title change. (And that's not to say that predictability in professional wrestling is a bad thing, either . . . sometimes it's exactly what a company needs in order to draw fans.)

2 for 2.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will not last more than half of 2009 as IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

Ari Berenstein : BUY. I don't like these kinds of questions, because it calls for too much hypothetical thought about something that has likely already been decided to some extent or another. I don't see many title runs lasting for more than six months anywhere these days. Tanahashi may also have the chops to be a long term champion, but he's still young and younger wrestlers in Japan don't last long as champion in any promotion. I'd go more on gut instinct than anything in saying Tanahashi won't last six months as IWGP champion.

Ryan Byers : SELL. Tanahashi has held the championship before, but, despite the fact that he had a nine month reign, it always felt like he was somewhat of a paper champion given that he won it coming off of a vacancy. However, that first reign did give him an opportunity to progress towards becoming a top guy. Ever since then, he's hung around at just below the level of being a perpetual main eventer, and I think that it is this title reign that will finally propel him in to being this generation's Masahiro Chono. In order to do that, they have to give him an opportunity to hold the championship for a significant amount of time and to take out some top names. At least six months is in order, if not an entire year.

2 for 3.

SWITCH~!

The Young Bucks will successfully defend the PWG Tag Team Titles against Roderick String and Davey Richards.

Ryan Byers : BUY. Just last week, the Buy or Sell panel was answering questions about the fact that PWG has had difficulty lining up some of its top talent for shows. Those problems are ongoing, as they had to postpone the Battle of Los Angeles last year due to talent's availability and are doing their first show of 2009 without Low Ki and Chris Hero, two of their most heavily pushed wrestlers. That's why it makes perfect sense to build up Nick and Matt Jackson, as they are based out of southern California and do not tour as regularly on a national and international basis as Strong and Richards. Therefore, they are significantly less likely to have conflicts with future Guerrilla dates. (And, yes, I do realize that they periodically go on tour with Dragon Gate in Japan.) The more that PWG can build up their own talent who are not spread thin between ROH, CHIKARA, and international promotions, the better shape that they will be in. Giving the W to the Bucks in their upcom ing title defense is the perfect way to kick that off.

Ari Berenstein : BUY. I'm in agreement with Ryan, although you never can tell what PWG will do given their sordid history with the tag team belts. You never know if they'll switch it on a hot shot just for kicks and giggles. However, the Young Bucks are on a roll in PWG and have made that their base in SoCal. I expect PWG to keep the straps on them due to their current home promotion status, as well as Strong and Richards not being a regular team.

3 for 4.

Ring of Honor will have one or two major legends for an autograph signing during the Wrestlemania Weekend shows.

Ryan Byers : BUY. Sure, why not? They've snagged guys like Bruno Sammartino and Jim Cornette in the past, and there's no reason to believe that they won't be able to pick up a couple of guys on a similar level for what are probably their biggest shows of the year. Given that they're in Texas, they could pick up stars who live in the southwest like Billy Graham and Kevin Von Erich (if WWE doesn't get them to appear at Mania related events).

Ari Berenstein : BUY. I don't see what the scandal would be about adding a few legends for autographs during their big weekend--they do it often enough as it is for their major shows. ROH may be limiting its importing of foriegn talents, but hosting some domestic guest stars wouldn't really put that much of a crimp on your budget. As for who I'd like to see--how about the tag team duo of Dory and Terry Funk? You can't get any better than those two crazy Texans appearing in their home state...unless you want to book Dennis Stamp to be your special guest referee.

4 for 5.

Someone will finally become a two time Ring of Honor World Champion in 2009.

Ryan Byers : SELL. Let's do this by process of elimination. Samoa Joe, CM Punk, Jamie Noble, and Homicide all have contracts with major promotions which do not appear to be coming to an end anytime soon and will prevent then from appearing in ROH long enough to do a title reign worth doing. Takeshi Morishima and Low Ki, though technically available to the company, both have their own commitments which will no doubt keep them from gaining the championship. Xavier? Let's not even pretend to take that one seriously. That leaves us with only three individuals who could conceivably become two-time champions in 2009: Austin Aries, Bryan Danielson, and Nigel McGuinness. Of the three, McGuinness is the least likely, as becoming a two-time champ would require him to lose the championship and win it back within the same calendar year. Frankly, I don't see ROH hotshotting the strap back and forth like that. Yes, they are under the thumb of a new booking regime. However, the phrase we keep hearing thrown out to describe the company's new direction is "70's style," and the style that I think of when I think of the 1970's involves keeping the World Title just as strong as ROH was keeping it when Sapolsky had the book. Danielson and Aries are significantly more likely possibilities, but I still just don't see them pulling it off. Both have had their fair share of bouts against Nigel, and, though I may be in the minority, I feel like it is time for the company to move and to other contenders. They may have their second reigns in 2010 or 2011, but 2009 needs to be the year that ROH freshens up and focuses on guys like Claudio Castagnoli as top singles performers.

Ari Berenstein : BUY. DAMN! That was some impressive analysis by Mr. Byers. I can't add much to it, so let's go a different route. I've been saying that Tyler Black is next in line for the title and I'll continue to go with that line of thinking. Now, Black would still have a lot of history to settle with Danielson (hasn't beaten him one on one yet) and Aries (after getting beatdown by Aries post-match at Final Battle 2008). if ROH wanted to go with a two-time ROH champion, the window would still be open for Aries or Danielson. However, ROH's history tells you that there have only been one time world champions in the promotion, and I actually think it will stay that way for at least the next year. It's quite the interesting motif that puts a special emphasis on how special becoming ROH World Champion is in the storylines...and how hard it is to get back to the mountaintop once you've been knocked off.

5 for 6.


The Ninety 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.