Moments Ago: Who Might Topple the Japanese Behemoth

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Moments Ago: Who Might Topple the Japanese Behemoth?

Before reading any further you should note that I do not think Morishima will be losing the title any time soon, but he will not be champion until Doomsday or RoH closes its doors. Someone will beat him. Someone has to. The big question is Who?

There are a few logical choices. Right off the bat a lot of people think that Samoa Joe could make a triumphant return and beat Takeshi Morishima, he already has one win after all. This will not happen though. Unless TNA goes out of business it will be a long while before Samoa Joe is a regular in Ring of Honor again. Some might also say Homicide is a likely candidate, but I honestly think that Homicide will not hold another title in Ring of Honor, again mostly due to his TNA commitments. Aries has an upcoming match with Morishima but for the same reasons, his TNA commitments, and his involvement in the Generation Nextplosion he also will not get the win. I am going to look at five wrestlers that I feel are likely to be the next Ring of Honor champion.

Nigel McGuinness

Most people have the idea that Nigel will undoubtedly be the man to join the pantheon of Ring of Honor champions. Nigel gets his first crack at the champion in a few weeks in Edison, NJ. Nigel will not win the belt here, but could win the belt down the line. He may come within a hair’s breadth of the championship but he won’t win, at least not yet.

Nigel is certainly over enough, and many Ring of Honor fans, myself included, would love to see him as the standard bearer. Samoa Joe even named him the heir apparent in Ring of Honor as he was making his departure. Nigel may also be one of the most believable people to make a convincing stand against Morishima. He is one of the physically largest men on the RoH roster, and his mixture of strikes and submissions seems to be the most logical attack against the Japanese monster.

Brent Albright

Albright is the most imposing force besides Morishima on the Ring of Honor roster. He has had good to great matches with many people including a very good table match with Whitmer during the Fifth Year Festival. Size wise he matches up most convincingly with Morishima, and for that reason alone he has to be considered as a logical person to take the title away from him. His inconsistent roster appearances, however, may be his downfall as well as his role as an enforcer/gun for hire has limited a chance to receive a push on his own terms.

Roderick Strong

Roderick Strong is the current FIP champion and on his way to holding the company on his shoulders, not without help, but he will be one of the wrestlers responsible for carrying Ring of Honor in the near future.

Roderick has the right sort of violence in his offence to counter the size and agility of the champ. He is also building towards a full time main event spot as basically the leader of the No Remorse Corps. He will not win the title until he finishes the feud with Aries and Evans, but after that he could make his way to the championship. The main thing working against him is the fact that he is a heel, and I think odds indicate that a face will defeat Morishima for the title.

”American Dragon” Bryan Danielson

They do not call him the best wrestler in the world for nothing. He will receive a hero’s welcome like no other, and no I am not referring to Chris’ finish, upon his return. He will be a ridiculously over babyface, and I am sure he will have one goal in mind and that is retaking the Ring of Honor title. He is an extremely likely candidate for this spot too. He may have been running out of opponents for the title as his first reign wound down. Albright, Richards, Hero, Claudio, and others could all come up and be relatively fresh challengers to his crown should he win.

Dragon is also making waves in Pro-Wrestling NOAH. This makes a strong case for him winning the title. I doubt any Ring of Honor fan would be upset with Dragon atop the Ring of Honor Mountain again.

And last but not least the long shot and my personal favorite

Jimmy Jacobs

I think the way Morishima’s reign should go is as follows. He will routinely dominate most of his opponents, but as time goes on chinks in his armor will slowly be revealed. Eventually someone will put all the pieces together and find that one way to get the win. I think the man to put all the pieces together will be Jimmy Jacobs.

First of all, Jimmy will defeat Whitmer in the cage match Wrestlemania weekend. Whitmer got the big win in England, and Jacobs lost the feud to Colt. Where the Jacobs victory will leave him with Lacey is the topic for another column, but it will certainly lead to a near main event run for the Emo Warrior. If Lacey is still at Jacobs’ side she might be one of the X factors. Morishima dresses like a smooth pimp, so you know he loves the ladies. Few ladies are lovlier than the Lovely Lacey. She could distract Morishima allowing Jacobs to get the edge he needs. Jacobs as champion would be all sorts of awesome in my book, but I doubt it will happen.

Well there you have it. Questions, comments, and concerns can be directed to bigandymac@yahoo.com

I’ll see you next time.