411’s Buy or Sell 08.17.07: Team F.I.S.T., Chuck Taylor, the CHIKARA Off-Season, and more!

Magnus Donaldson : SELL. For me, the Chikara break has it’s own advantages. Fans get a chance to catch up on DVD’s as well as take a break from travelling to shows. While I don’t know if the actual trainees get a break, and likewise for Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero and the other trainers, but if they do then that is very beneficial. There’s a reason that I don’t mention the actual wrestlers here, and that is because regularly during the break, Chikara wrestlers wrestle in other small independent promotions across the country. And this is a reason why a break would not be beneficial to other independent promotions: the wrestlers from your promotion not only lose your payday, but will take paydays from elsewhere. And speaking of money, another disadvantage to this is that the company itself will miss out on valuable DVD sales: the biggest money maker to all independent wrestling promotions. So for me, there is no real benefit to independent wrestling promotions taking a break.

Ryan Byers : BUY … though this is one of those situations in which I wish there was some option in between the two extremes. Ultimately, I think that the “off season” is a great idea that more promotions could use to their benefit. However, it’s not for everybody. It all depends on what your business model looks like and how much area your shows are covering. The system makes perfect sense for a company like CHIKARA. The lion’s share of their money isn’t coming form the live gates, it’s coming from DVD sales. Therefore, it’s not as though two or three months without selling tickets hurts them a lot financially. Plus, I disagree with Maggy’s assertion that the promotion loses out on DVD sales. Though I’m sure that there are a few hardcores who are there buying every show the second that the fine folks at Smart Mark Video put it out, I’d be willing to bet that the reality is that far more folks pick and choose, getting things here and there as opposed to snapping up everything immediately. If that is the case, not producing a DVD for a relatively small window of time also won’t negatively impact business in the long haul. Plus CHIKARA is only running in one state and really only hitting three cities in that state heavily. (Ignoring for a second their Connecticut debut and the possibility of a return there.) In this sort of situation, the off season prevents the live crowds that do attend the shows from becoming “burnt out” on the product. In promotions that base more of their income on ticket sales or in promotions that cover a larger geographic area, the off season isn’t necessary and may actually be harmful to the promotion, but for companies confining themselves to small states and living off of DVD-R’s, it’s a fine idea.

0 for 1.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . There are a lot of benefits to both ROH and to Chikara with a working relationship. First of all, the top Chikara talent, once they’ve had time to season their skills, can have a door right into Ring Of Honor and Full Impact Pro. This gives these young wrestlers a great chance to earn money and further season their skills, they gain exposure in Roh and get booking elsewhere and make more money. ROH can send young trainees to Chikara to gain experience in an intimate environment, allowing them to gain skill and improve their chance of getting main show appearances in ROH as well as bookings elsewhere, thus they earn more money. And then there’s the possibility of the ROH Wrestling school linking with the Chikara academy, meaning that Chikara students would get the added benefit of training from Delirious (as well as other prominent ROH wrestlers), while ROH wrestlers would get the major benefit of training under Mike Quackenbush, Chris Hero, Skayde and many others. This is only scratching the surface of the benefits to both companies. I would be very surprised if these two promotions didn’t link up, and you could say that they have unofficially done so already.

Ryan Byers : BUY . For the most part. Most of the positives were already hit by my talented tag team partner. Providing opportunities for the young CHIKARA students to get more bookings is a great thing. Ditto for the ROH trainees. Providing the ultra-talented, ultra-humble Mike Quackenbush with an opportunity to receive something resembling national exposure after a decade in the business with very little notoriety is an even better thing. My only hope is that we don’t wind up with too many major ROH names making guest appearances in CHIKARA or, worse yet, becoming regular fixtures on the roster. One of the things that really annoys me in high end indy wrestling these days is that there is a group of about thirty men that virtually every promotion in the country uses. Though all of those men are talented, one of the things that got me in to CHIKARA and has kept me there is that they’ve managed to create something to which few other indies can lay claim: A talented, homegrown roster that doesn’t need to rely on constantly flying in names from elsewhere in order to put on a good show. So, though the sporadic Briscoe cameo doesn’t hurt, let’s make sure that they remain sporadic cameos.

1 for 2.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . Los Ice Creams have grown greatly since their arrival in Chikara in 2006, where they were unknowns. Now they have some momentum on their side with the three wins as well as a victory over the champions earlier in the year (in a non-title match). Meanwhile, based on the report from the last show, it seems that despite a win by the champs over The Briscoes, there was tension after the match between the two, which is usually the suggestion that the champions are to lose the belt soon and start a feud. Now I don’t know whether they will lose in the upcoming title defense to Los Ice Creams, but the signs seem to be pointing to that. I don’t see any other teams beating them, nor do I see Team FIST holding on to the belts past the end of this year. No technicos have held the belts since the titles were introduced, so maybe it’s time they changed that with a win for the Ice Creams.

Ryan Byers : SELL . Even though CHIKARA is a company that is in large part build on zany gimmicks, I would have a hard time believing that such cartoony wrestlers could capture the promotion’s main championship. Though I certainly do believe that a technico title win is due and that the recent dissension between F.I.S.T. is indicative of their reign being short lived, my guess is that a team with a little bit more serious of an edge is going to be the one to wrest the belts away from them. I would bet on Lince Dorado and his partner of the moment being the ones to finally get the nod.

1 for 3.

SWITCH~!

Ryan Byers : SELL . As I alluded to in responding to an earlier question, one of the things that keeps me coming back to CHIKARA is that they are, in fact, different than any other promotion on the indy scene right now. A large part of this has to do with the company’s emphasis on tag team wrestling and its emphasis on introducing young stars to independent wrestling fans. To that end, the two championships that CHIKARA has (the tag straps and the Young Lions’ Cup) are the perfect titles to reflect the two major themes in the company. I feel that, if a more traditional singles title were to be introduced, it would almost have to be treated as the primary focus of the company. Though I doubt this would completely destroy the tag titles or the YLC, it could certainly lessen their importance. Besides, it’s not as though every pro wrestling organization needs a title in order to be successful. At the end of the day, wrestling is about telling good stores and blowing off those stories with an exciting physical confrontation. Though a singles title can certainly help promotions do that, it’s not necessary. CHIKARA has had no problem booking great wrestling without a championship, so there’s no need to fix something that isn’t broken.

Magnus Donaldson : SELL . I pretty much agree with Ryan on this one. One of the things I love about Chikara is that it is different from other wrestling promotions in that it does not have a singles title of such. Yes, there is the Young Lions Cup, but it’s not really a title belt, it’s more of a way to show that you are the top young star that Chikara has to offer. The tag team titles have got their place in the promotion as well, due to the heavy emphasis on tag team wrestling. However, if a singles belt was introduced, then you de-emphasise the importance of the Young Lions Cup, and you also de-emphasise the tag team division, as it is common fact that in most wrestling promotions, the singles belt is by far the most important. Of course, if Chikara did introduce a singles title, maybe they’d do something completely different from what we’ve seen before (like they did with the tag titles with the three wins rule). But as far as a singles belt goes, unless of course they do find a way to introduce it without de-valuing the other belts, I don’t want to see one introduced. I would prefer to see a trios belt introduced, and even then I’m not desperate to see that either.

2 for 4.

Ryan Byers : BUY . The whole point of the Young Lions’ Cup is to make a new star for the promotion, and the best way to make sure that somebody is perceived as a star is to have him win a heck of a lot of matches. As such, I feel that having YLC holders lose the cup prior to the next tournament should be the exception and not the rule. That’s not to say that the holder shouldn’t have to defend the cup. Quite the contrary. I think that device is rather valuable, as it allows the promotion to cut their losses, take the cup away from somebody who isn’t working, and award it to a new up and comer. (As was the case with Arik Cannon last year. I’m sure that he’s a nice guy, but after two shows of the Kool-Aid Man gimmick I never wanted to see him again.) There is no indication at this point that Chuck Taylor isn’t working out. He’s built up a very dedicated fanbase among those who closely follow indy wrestling, and I see no reason that he won’t be able to make that base even larger if the promotions in which he wrestles continue to support him. Besides, with the Chris Heroes and Gran Akumas of the world starting to take more outside dates, CHIKARA may well need a new number one heel within the next year or two, and Taylor is as good of a choice as anybody.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . Chuck Taylor is no stranger to long title reigns. He has held the IWA-MS Title since the Ted Petty Invitational last year, and brought stability to that title (which after Jimmy Jacob’s reign had gone through Arik Cannon, Darin Corbin, Trik Davis and Toby Klein in quick succession). His title reign has been nothing short of superb, putting on great matches and at the same time evolving as a heel with the experience against top independent wrestling stars like Low-Ki for example. Taylor as a result is a proven champion, and a worthy holder of the Young Lions Cup. Yes, there are other young stars in the promotion who could run with it, but I don’t see any who have the heel presence that Chuck Taylor has, and that puts him a step above the rest. There is the remainder of this year, and several months next year, to build up a new champion who will be a worthy successor to the throne, but until then, Chuck Taylor has no reason to lose the cup.

3 for 5.

Ryan Byers : SELL . I think it’s a little late in the CHIKARA season to start up something like that. As previously mentioned, though I do think that F.I.S.T. will be losing their titles soon, I doubt that it will be to their next set of challengers. Given that fact, there will need to be two or three more shows before the title change so that a different set of challengers can build up the requisite number of “points” necessary to earn a shot at the gold. By the time those shows take place and the title match itself occurs, November will be looming awfully close. Given the history that F.I.S.T. have together, it would be a shame to rush a feud that has the potential to be so heated and to produce so many good matches. As such, I would prefer that Icarus and Akuma drop the championships before year’s end but that their split and feud not begin until the beginning of next year, perhaps as the result of more dissension during the King of Trios tournament.

Magnus Donaldson : BUY . I personally disagree with Ryan on the point overall, but he does make a good point: that they shouldn’t waste a feud by cramming it all into this year. However, I do believe that a split before the end of the year, preferably in the last weekend before the break would be a very good thing. Say we have FIST lose the belts to Los Ice Creams in their up and coming match, which I believe can happen since the Ice Creams are more than ready for those titles. Tension could rise because of that loss between the ex-champs. They could then go down the road of either having them win three matches to have a final shot at the titles, and then they split after a loss in the rematch, or they could have them lose several tag matches, causing tension and an eventual split. The split however as I do emphasize should happen right at the end of the year, as that gives a ready made feud for next year between two wrestlers who know each other very well. There’s a lot of possibilities for this feud, and FIST have no real reason to stay together after losing the belts since they’ve done it all as a team, and a feud will help elevate their stock considerably.

3 for 6!

The eighteenth edition of BUY or SELL finishes at 3 for 6. Stay tuned for next week when two new men will go head to head with a whole new set of topics.