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411’s Buy or Sell 11.02.07: Mitsuharu Misawa, Morishima’s Stock in NOAH, Nigel McGuinness’ Injury Status, and More!
Welcome everyone to WEEK TWENTY-NINE 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 Twenty-Nine’s Match-Up:
Puroresu Love’s Mike Campbell vs. One-Half of the ROH DVD Review Team Jacob Ziegler!
Mike Campbell : SELL. Misawa comes into ROH on the heels of KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Kenta Kobashi, and Takeshi Morishima all making an impact in one way or another. All four of them are younger, and far less regressed as workers. If the two recent matches that Misawa had with Marufuji and Samoa Joe have shown anything, it’s exactly how far Misawa has really regressed in the ring. I’ve got almost zero doubt that the crowd reactions he’ll be getting on both nights will probably rival that of Kobashi. But when it comes time for Misawa to wrestle, unless he’s found the fountain of youth, or (pardon the lack of taste, but there’s no other way to say it) some really good drugs, I don’t expect him to deliver much (if at all) in the ring.
Jacob Ziegler : SELL . I admit I don’t know much about Misawa, but from what Garoon tells me Misawa is only good when he makes an effort, which he usually only does in front of huge crowds. I also hear he is very past his prime now, so to be perfectly honest I don’t expect a lot out of his matches. The crowd reactions will be great, but the crowd popped huge for Muta, and that was a terrible match. Hopefully he can surpass the expectations, but from everything I hear I have to think he won’t.
1 for 1.
Mike Campbell : BUY . Danielson and Nigel have a long running feud, so it’s pretty much a lock that American Dragon will be receiving a title shot sooner or later. Aries has a bit of a buzz on him still since he’s free from TNA. And the end of the faction wars centering around NRC/Resilience, and Aries finally putting down Strong make this the perfect time to shoot him back up where he belongs. Why waste that chance just to make a match that it’s pretty much a lock will happen anyway?
Jacob Ziegler : SELL . I think it might be a little pointless, but I wouldn’t say counter-productive. I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m not the world’s biggest Austin Aries fan, but he’s obviously super over and a ROH staple so I’m just resigned to the fact that he’s going to be a fixture. There’s certainly no shame in losing to Bryan Danielson at any time, and it’s going to be hugely beneficial for someone to beat him, even Aries, and it would still be beneficial later on down the line.
1 for 2.
Mike Campbell : BUY . This is another big reason why I question the wisdom of even booking Misawa to begin with. It’s a double edged sword no matter how you look at it. Nobody in ROH is even close to his level, the closest to Misawa-like status in ROH are Nigel and Danielson, and they’ve both spent time in NOAH and neither was anything special. Any potential rub that a Claudio, Hero, Strong, Steen, Aries, etc. could get from the match is wasted. But if Misawa puts in another performance similar to the Samoa Joe match, would they get that sort or rub, or would it harm them in the end? Why book him in the first place then? Well yes, he’s a legend, but so is Barron Von Rashke, and he didn’t need to wrestle in ROH to make an impression.
Jacob Ziegler : SELL . If I want to see NOAH specific matches, I will buy a NOAH DVD. I understand that ROH will likely make a ton of money on the ticket sales and DVD sales of this one, so it’s probably a beneficial move for them. However, just from a fan watching the DVD standpoint, I would like to see Misawa against an ROH wrestler on an ROH show. Liger’s match with Danielson felt special, and Kobashi’s match with Joe felt special, and I just don’t get the same feeling thinking about Misawa vs. KENTA or the tag match.
1 for 3.
SWITCH~!
Jacob Ziegler : BUY . Given Nigel’s penchant for throwing ridiculously hard lariats, an injury seemed to be just waiting to happen. I’m not sure what the booking situation with former champion Takeshi Morishima is like, but perhaps he could have held it a little longer and dropped it to Bryan Danielson or Austin Aries, who could then feud with Nigel upon his return. I’m hoping for both Nigel and ROH that the injury isn’t serious and his title reign can continue.
Mike Campbell : BUY . I can agree that the timing on his title win was off, but not due to injury, just due to him basically getting a title shot for no reason. Look at CM Punk’s chase of the ECW Title to see how to properly build to one. Ever title shot Punk had gotten, he’d earned in the ring. But regardless, if Nigel’s injury is serious it’s a case of simple misfortune, not an indication that Nigel shouldn’t have won the title.
2 for 4.
Jacob Ziegler : BUY . I didn’t know much about Morishima when he came to ROH, but I heard that NOAH was really high on him, and they must still be. I really grew to like Morishima during his ROH title reign, and I think he will continue to get better, and NOAH will most likely capitalize on him.
Mike Campbell : BUY . I don’t know if the ROH title reign itself will have much effect, but I think Morishima will definitely see his stock in NOAH rise. In addition to making a name for himself in the U.S. he also headlined a Budokan show by defending the ROH title and finally got a singles win over KENTA. In September he got his first singles win over Jun Akiyama during the GHC #1 Contender Tournament. NOAH has a serious trump card in Morishima right now *if* they can book him correctly and effectively, something that they’ve had problems with in the past.
3 for 5.
Jacob Ziegler : SELL . I get the feeling that by this point ROH booker Gape Sapolsky has the rest of the year mapped out to Final Battle, and I don’t think Kingston is in the plans just yet. I definitely do think Kingston will be around in 2008, probably sooner rather than later. For as many people who go nuts for him there is one who thinks the exact opposite. I think once he does show up he will win over the naysayers and do well for himself.
Mike Campbell : SELL . Fan support is nice, but doesn’t mean everything. Chris Hero had a lot of fan support in 2003 and 2004, but Gabe wouldn’t book him, and always said that he wasn’t a Chris Hero fan. I don’t know Gabe personally, so I don’t know his thoughts of Kingston, but the point is that a groundswell of fan support in itself doesn’t mean everything.
4 for 6!
The twenty-ninth 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.
