411’s Buy or Sell 01.16.09: Ring of Honor Expansion, Aries Backstage Problems, Jerry Lynn vs. Bryan Danielson II, and More!!

Posted by Michael Bauer on 01.16.2009

This week, the 411 staff looks ahead to Ring of Honor’s huge weekend as Samuel Berman battles Larry Csonka!

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

Still does Wrestler of the Week so we can laugh at K-Money - Samuel Berman !
vs.
411 Wrestling's version of Misawa and every other Japanese Legend - Larry Csonka !

Ring of Honor will expand to five new cities during the 2009 year.

Samuel Berman : SELL. I think that the company's expansion will continue, with a debut in Indianapolis having just been announced. However, five new cities is incredibly aggressive, especially for a promotion that has reportedly been dealing with financial issues as of late. Furthermore, a number of cities saw ROH debuts late in 2008, including St. Louis, Nashville, and Montreal, so those areas (and yes, I know no return has been announced for Nashville) will have to be worked into the already expansive ROH schedule to keep the markets viable. With full schedules in set markets like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, ROH will have a tough time adding four additional new cities to the schedule in 2009.

Larry Csonka : BUY. I will reluctantly buy this one. As of now (unless I am mistaken, the news items all run together these days) they are running two new cities, Houston and Indy, which is a good start. While ROH is focusing on NOT losing money, they are also willing to spend some to improve. Cary may decide to go for broke, bad word there, and try to get some real expansion going in an effort not to burn out the loyal markets, and keep some of the venues that sometimes do "ok" on the edge and maybe more excited for an ROH return. I have said before and I will say again, ROH is too BIG to be an INDY and to small to be one of the big companies. 2009 may be the year that they decide what they want to be, because I don't know if they can play the middle road forever. Maybe the TV deal will help decide that.

0 for 1.

Jay Briscoe will be announced as part of the Steel Cage Warfare against Sweet N' Sour Inc.

Samuel Berman : SELL. Why would he be? Mark Briscoe's latest need for time off should lead to Jay finally working his way through the singles ranks. The Briscoes' recent behavior might lead one to believe that Jay will be on the heel side of the ledger as he goes on to solo competition. Having him fight alongside Brent Albright and company against Larry Sweeney's stable would be counterproductive to the character building that Jay has been putting in over the past number of months.

Larry Csonka : BUY. Hell, why not. Mark is out for what, 4-6 months right? They need to go the route of other tag teams in the past, and that is NOT to regularly team him with anyone, and use him as a singles guy and for stuff like this. Plus, getting Jay involved in the war with Sweet and Sour will be good, as it will give him something to do, but also keep him away from the title picture as a main contender. No offense to Jay and all, but I just don't picture him in the title mix.

0 for 2.

The former RoH star announced to be returning to "where it all began" will not be Paul London.

Samuel Berman : BUY. I believe the reports that say that London is set on taking some time off before returning to the ring. There are plenty of other people who this could apply to, including Jack Evans returning from Mexico or BJ Whitmer rejoining the company after nearly a year away. Some speculation had Low Ki in this spot, but his recent signing with World Wrestling Entertainment puts that beyond in doubt. Also, I'm not completely sure about this, but I believe the vague reports didn't specify a 'former ROH star', just someone in general.

Larry Csonka : SELL. If Low Ki was still on the market, I likely would have bought this, but seeing as that is not the case, I shall sell. ROH is heading into another year of PPV, a year with a new booker and a year that will likely see more change. The ROH fans desperately wants London back, and if the money is good enough for him, I am sure London would like to get back to a place where the handcuffs and politics won't hold him back.

0 for 3.

SWITCH~!

Austin Aries' backstage conflicts is proof that he's the wrong man to be in charge when Adam Pearce is not around.

Larry Csonka : BUY. Short and sweet for this one. I do NOT think that having workers in positions of power, IE Booking and such, is a good idea. The Pearce regime is rocky right now since he has made changes due to his job and personal life. They have Sweeney as a liaison to him and Aries running the locker room on Friday's. I had a feeling that this could be a bad idea, and this altercation may be the first sign that I was right. I hope for their sake it works out, but shit, Cary just needs to take charge or find a veteran he can trust.

Samuel Berman : BUY. I've written about this before, but in my limited personal interactions with Aries at live shows, he has always come off as being a pretentious jerk. That's not to say that people who are jerks can't be excellent managers in the right work situation, but Aries, at least to me, has never seemed to have the flexibility needed to successfully run that large of an operation. If I were in charge of Ring of Honor, I would want a calming, responsible influence charged with keeping the talent in line and on point, and not an incendiary force like Aries. I'm sure Austin Aries is a nice enough guy and that his parents love him and all of that, but it just seems to me that his ego is too big for him to be given this kind of responsibility. Was Bryan Danielson somehow deemed unfit to be the on-site leader?regular team.

1 for 4.

Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs will end with some sort of no decision this weekend.

Larry Csonka : BUY. A big buy, because really, it wouldn't surprise me at all. The feud just began, and part of me hates that they have launched right into a single match between thee guys. While I would have done it a bit differently, this is how they are doing things. As far as the first match goes, there are two ways to go about it I feel. #1 is the non-finish with the big post match brawl, and likely beat down of Black. The second is Jacobs winning by nefarious means, and then the big post match beat down of Black. But yeah, I can easily see a no decision this weekend.

Samuel Berman : SELL. I think we'll get a decision, but it could be a tainted one. Aries interference seems likely, with Jacobs pulling out a close win over his former protege and partner. This could be a match that helps to define the difference between Adam Pearce's book and Gabe Sapolsky's because this would be a classic case of a place where Gabe would have put the face (Black) over in the first match, only to extend the feud through other means. For another example, see Castagnoli, Claudio vs. Hero, Chris.

1 for 5.

Jerry Lynn will win the dream rematch against "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson.

Larry Csonka : BUY. In my opinion it HAS to be a buy for this one, for one simple reason. ROH seems dead set on playing Lynn as the underdog veteran guy making one last run at the glory, ala The Wrestler in a way. Lynn has already lost to Nigel and Danielson, he is already at the bottom of the barrel as far as his self respect goes. He wants to prove himself, and with that, he has to not only win, but also defeat some big time opponents. That will begin with Bryan Danielson. Lynn is very respected by fans and always brings it, but in many ways he NEEDS the win over Danielson to fully earn the respect of the ROH fan base. Danielson is bullet proof, a loss, especially to Lynn will not hurt him at all. I expect a great match, and I am very interested to see how well Lynn does in ROH in 2009.

Samuel Berman : BUY. All the reports coming out of ROH's camp are that Lynn will be a constant top-of-the-card presence in 2009. To do that, he needs a marquee win over one of ROH's top dogs. Danielson is eternally over and can pretty much stand a loss to anyone without losing his spot. For Lynn to be viewed as a legitimate threat to Nigel McGuinness' ROH World Title, he will almost certainly have to notch a victory over someone the caliber of the American Dragon.

2 for 6.


The Ninety First edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 2 for 6! Stay tuned for next week when two new men will go head to head with a whole new set of topics.