Moments Ago: Best of the American Super Juniors vs. The Super 8

Archive

Moments Ago

RoH: Best of the American Super Juniors

vs.

ECWA: 9th Annual Super Eight Tournamnt

The next two Saturdays will provide independent wrestling fans in the northeast with two very exciting tournaments. Ring of Honor will have yet another tournament this year just a week before the ninth installment of the legendary Super Eight. So this week in my column I am going to take a look at the two tournaments in hopes of answering a few questions. First: Is RoH stepping on ECWA’s toes by having a Super Junior tournament just one week before? Which tournament will be better? Which tournament’s winner will go on to greater success? And a few others. So to answer this question it is time for a bit of the comparison game.

Comparison One: Competitors.

RoH Best of American Super Juniors:
Alex Shelley, Matt Sydal, Dragon Solider B, New Black Tiger, Spanky, Roderick Strong, James Gibson, “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson.

ECWA Super 8:
Puma, Eric Matlock, Andrew Ryker, Alex Shelley, Petey Williams, Tyson Dux, Rory Fox, J.J. Perez.

Advantage: RoH

Admittedly, I don’t know much about some of the Mid-West and West Coast guys competing in the Super 8 (Matlock, Perez, Dux, Fox) and likewise I don’t know about Dragon Soldier B and New Black Tiger in RoH’s tournament, but both have Shelley which cancels each other out. RoH also has three of the top Japan Gaijins in Gibson, Spanky, and AmDrag; while the biggest name in the Super 8 is TNA’s Petey Williams. The Super 8 may be a shocker in regards to quality, but on paper there is no choice but to pick RoH.

Comparison Two: History.

RoH Best of American Super Juniors:
This is the first installment but it has implications to one of the most important Super Junior tournaments ever with past winners like Chris Benoit.

ECWA Super 8:
This is the ninth installment of this high profile tournament that is without a doubt currently the most prestigious on the indies. Past winners include: Low Ki, Simon Diamond, Chris Daniels (Twice), and Paul London.

Advantage: Super 8

While RoH’s tourney may have more international implications and is tied with one of the most important Japanese tournaments, ECWA has done wonders for dozens of careers with this tournament. Also, more obviously, ECWA has eight years of experience on RoH’s tourney, thus giving it the better history. The Super 8 wins.

Comparison Three: Prize for the Winner.

RoH Best of American Super Juniors:

The winner gets a spot in the New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

ECWA Super 8:

Winner gets the honor of winning one of the most prestigious indie tournaments, and is all but guaranteed stardom on the independent scene.

Advantage: it is close, but I give it to ECWA.

It seems on the outset that RoH’s tournament would have the higher honor, but the Super 8 still has the biggest prize attached. While the RoH tourney may be the more entertaining of the two, when you look at the participants all but Roderick Strong and Matt Sydal stand a fairly good chance of being in the tournament anyway. If one of those two win over Dragon, Spanky, Gibson, or Alex Shelley (the odds on favorites, then the RoH tourney has the higher honor) In the Super 8 you have eight guys who are not household names. Petey is the biggest star, but people who don’t follow TNA will not know about him. Shelley is making big waves, and may be the winner, but if the Super 8 has proven anything it is that the winner is not predictable. If one of the lesser known guys, Dux, Perez, Matlock, or Fox, win the whole thing it will put their name on the map. The winner does not always receive the biggest prize in the Super 8 either. Last year’s was won by Chris Daniels, already a prominent name, but the star made last year was Austin Aries. Who went from unknown to RoH main eventer and champion by year’s end. So I have to give the nod to the Super 8.

Conclusion:

So, the Super 8 wins two out of the three criteria I established. RoH does have better competitors, but Super 8 has more history. The third is almost too close to call, but I chose to give the edge to the Super 8. There is one question left unanswered, though. Is Ring of Honor stepping on ECWA’s toes? I have to say …no. Ring of Honor is running a tournament that features an overwhelming majority of RoH regulars, whereas ECWA uses almost exclusively outside talent. RoH is not trying to establish this as a tournament to end all tournaments, just a tournament to put on a great show. I say both will be great shows, and I look forward to both of them.

If you have any questions or comments, you can always e-mail me at bigandymac@yahoo.com.

I’ll see you next time.