Moments Ago: Should Morishima Lose this Weekend?
The biggest story currently in Ring of Honor is without a doubt the growing fiasco that has been dubbed Project 161. Pulse Glazer does an excellent job in his last column of explaining the situation so there is no real need for me to rehash it here. Instead of addressing that, my opinions will come out later, just not this week. This week I will be looking ahead to the Death before Dishonor weekend and assessing the challengers trying to wrest the title from the Japanese Behemoth and the smoothest pimp from the Far East since Hong Kong Phooey, Takeshi Morishima.
Before we get to that though
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Links
I already linked Pulse Glazer so I won’t do it agai .crap.
Ollie Sutherland has been reviewing the Milestone Series, and although I do not always agree with him, he is insightful and has well written opinions, and I’ll be damned if I don’t put over the other RoH staff.
In the tradition of PK we have started doing our own Ring of Honor Rankings. Be sure to weigh in with your comments as well.
Onto the column
Takeshi Morishima has been untouchable in singles competition since losing to Samoa Joe in his Ring of Honor debut. Only Nigel McGuinness has scored a pinfall over Morishima during his Ring of Honor tenure. He has not faired particularly well in tag team contests but he rarely takes the fall himself. On Friday and Saturday Morishima faces Race to the Top winner Claudio Castagnoli and Brent Albright respectively. With the absence of Samoa Joe these two (and Nigel McGuinness) are the closest size matches to the champion. The question is not only can either of these men beat Morishima, but is it a good idea. I am going to take a look at the pros and cons of each man beating the monster and the likelihood of it happening.
Claudio Castagnoli
Pro: Claudio Castagnoli has been on an incredible roll coming of the victory in the Race to the Top. There is nothing like a tournament to give a wrestler momentum, especially heading towards a title shot. Likewise, Claudio’s fan support has never been higher than it is right now. These are all the conditions necessary for a great moment and a title change.
The biggest pro to Claudio winning is the storyline. Claudio going from reviled CZW supporter and uber-heel teammate of Chris Hero in the Kings of Wrestling back to fan favorite has been one of the more well done slow burns in recent memory. He slowly started his road towards redemption, and the ultimate capper would be a victory over Morishima and the Ring of Honor title.
The second pro is that this would validate the Race to the Top tournament and likewise validate Claudio as a main eventer. Still, though, the same could be accomplished in a no decision match, maybe the match degenerating into a brawl and actually putting some hatred into a world title feud which is a rarity in Ring of Honor. Morishima has been little more than a target during his title reign. It would be interesting to see if they could carry a real feud with a foreign star other than a professional rivalry which is the most they have done in the past.
Con: Claudio would be one of the riskiest champions the company has ever presented. Twice before Ring of Honor has put the belt on an up and coming midcarder. Once it succeeded (Austin Aries). Once it didn’t totally succeed (Xavier). Claudio is a very consistent performer, but he does not quite have that “it†factor to be the standard bearer of a company on the rise like RoH. He may be there very soon, but still has a bit more to go.
Likelihood: To the best of my knowledge a title has never changed on a Friday night in Ring of Honor history. Titles have changed hands on Saturdays and Sundays, but never on Fridays , and only in England has a title changed on the first night of a double shot (Unified and FYF: Liverpool). (edit:James Gibson won the title on a Friday and it was the first show in a double shot) But again overall, the focus of the show on Saturday is not Albright vs. Morishima, so Albright vs. Claudio is just as good of a title match. Morishima could easily team with Nigel vs. Chris Hero and Jigsaw which would add a little to that match, but Claudio still makes more sense in that role.
Will Claudio Win? No.
Brent Albright
Pro: Albright is a beast and is probably the most plausible person on the roster to beat Morishima. He is the biggest guy under exclusive Ring of Honor contract, and if Ring of Honor wants to go head to head with the big boys, a big boy like Brent is a perfect choice as a standard bearer. He has a solid won/loss record and has defeated almost every top name he has come across. He has been a bit stunted as of late, but a lot of champions, in other companies, go into a bit of a slump before winning the big one.
Con: Albright has not connected with me as a fan. You can ask a lot of other fans, and they love him. Many are calling his tables are legal match against BJ Whitmer a match of the year candidate, I didn’t think so. It wasn’t even in my top matches on that show. The ultimate thing is that Albright needs to prove that he is a top guy. He did so in OVW, but has yet to prove it in RoH, which to me is a more solid proving ground. The fans are more critical here, and the level of talent is higher. Albright needs to prove he is a star before he can win the belt.
Likelihood: The biggest thing working against him is that he is a hired gun and that role is rarely the role of a champion. Sycho Sid in WWE may have been the only bodyguard to climb the mountain while a henchman, but I could be wrong on that. The people that have won the Ring of Honor title have almost always been on a roll. Samoa Joe was running roughshod through the roster. Austin Aries essentially won a match against Low Ki despite the match ending in a draw. CM Punk put Jimmy Rave and the Embassy behind him. Homicide was winning matches left and right before he beat Dragon. Brent Albright lost a match to Jack Evans, in controversial fashion, but he lost to a man that is about the size of his thigh muscle. Ring of Honor has always played up the idea of size not mattering, but Jack is tiny, and Brent is huge. It is not an impressive loss for the hired gun. Also, and perhaps most importantly, Bryan Danielson has a shot coming up, and Danielson vs. Morishima is a much bigger money match than Danielson vs. Albright.
Will Brent Albright Win? No
In Conclusion
The biggest reason that neither of these guys is winning the title is that Bryan Danielson has not had his shot at the big man from Japan. The problem with a long title reign and a smallish roster is that the champion soon runs out of challengers. As I have already made clear, Claudio and Albright both are possible champions, both have huge upsides. Albright’s overall upside may be a little bigger, and Claudio has the momentum on his side so this weekend would be the best time for him to win.
Still neither one is going to win, and that makes the list of people that have lost to Morishima bigger, and the list of people that have not faced him smaller. Delirious, Jack, Dragon, the Chikarmy, Kevin Steen, El Generico, and Mark Briscoe are about the only challengers left with a realistic shot and holding their own against the Japanese Behemoth.
I will weigh in with my Big Andy-pinions in Pulse Glazer’s A Modest Response, but until then.
I’ll see you next time
