Discussing the future of the Best Wrestler in the World
Triple A and ROH are in talks for a talent exchange, with Triple A interested in Danielson, The Briscoes, Romero and more
This is excellent news for ROH. Triple A is a very big company in Mexico and exposure on that scale can only help ROH and its talents improve. It’s also worth noting that with Wrestlemania in Houston next year, a Triple A presence would help ROH draw.
ROH is bringing in former WWE developmental talent and current JAPW Champion Kenny Omega
Omega is a wrestler I’ve been curious about for quite awhile. He has an Alex Shelley like personality and is a flier who can work it into a story. He won’t main event anytime soon, and likely shouldn’t, but if he’s a regular, he’d become a valuable roster member, capable of good matches throughout the card and who could become a star in time if the hype is legitimate.
ROH is going to Differ Ariake in Tokyo, Japan September 13 and 14
ROH returning to Tokyo is big mostly because their presence in NOAH has improved. Their former champion, Takeshi Morishima is currently the NOAH champion, while Nigel McGuinness is the last man to pin Morishima in a singles match and Danielson has defeats Naomichi Marufuji, a former GHC champion recently. Add in tours for Davey Richards, Rocky Romero and Eddie Edwards and the ROH presence and major matches should draw better than ROH’s last Japanese excursion.
Ring of Honor will debut in Montreal, Canada on November 7
ROH will hit two parts of Canada. Canadians are often considered wrestling starved and since ROH is on the Canada televised Fight Network, they should draw at least reasonably.
Bryan Danielson’s Future
The Case: Danielson recently wrestled a WWE dark match and went over Lance Cade. After this he spoke to Shawn Michaels and Jim Ross said WWE should sign him, he seems like a star. Trained by Michaels and Regal, with the support of Ross, he would stand a good chance of being well-used and respected in WWE. That he went over Cade using his Cattle Mutilation only furthers that idea
Glazer says: Not so fast. These are doubtless positives, but not the shoe ins for Danielson’s success they seem. Let’s take a look at each of these.
That Michaels trained Danielson would likely get him a job, but not much more. Michaels trained Paul London and Brian Kendrick, as well. Both are better wrestlers than ¾ of the WWE roster with London actually approaching Danielson in skill, not that you’d know it from his WWE tenure. Well, if Michaels wouldn’t get Danielson time and a push, Regal would… right?
Regal, a close friend of Triple H, has got to be in the doghouse. In the middle of the biggest push of his career he was suspended for a wellness policy violation yet again. He might try and speak for Danielson, he might not, but whatever the case may be, with the situation as it currently stands, there’s no guarantee Regal has the clout to even save himself.
Danielson went over Cade who, as anyone who watched Raw saw, was involved in a main event beat down of Cena and Triple H. Cade is another HBK trainee, but he’s one with size and it still took him years for a push. That Danielson did go over a guy slated for a big push matters, but that is tempered by the fact that this could have been a favor for Danielson from a friend who trained with him. Looking further into it than that is hazardous, as we have no idea how much care is put into who won a random dark match.
Jim Ross liking Danielson is not a surprise. Anyone who has seen Danielson wrestle and knows what they’re talking about realizes that he is among the best wrestlers in the world. Should he be pushed? Absolutely, but Ross has said time and again that he has nothing to do with talent relations anymore. Unless someone who has something to do with that was watching, there’s no guarantee Ross’s word means anything. Of course since Ross signed everyone from Steve Austin to Mick Foley, one would hope his word means more, but with the egos involved, you never know.
Of course, it isn’t all of these things that have to work out for Danielson to be pushed, that’d be nearly impossible. Only one thing needs to work out to give Danielson a chance and everyone who has seen him wrestle knows that he’d seize the opportunity. WWE also has no great pure technical wrestlers right now with the (ahem) departures of Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, further making it likely that some chance would arise. Of course with a year left on his ROH contract, we’ll just have to wait and see.
The Case: TNA has no interest in Danielson, thinking he could only have great matches with Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle.
Glazer says: This is insane for so many reasons. First, Angle and Joe are the top two guys in the company. Great matches with the top two guys in the company is a very good thing. How many guys on the TNA roster could have great matches with both? Off the top of my head- AJ Styles and Christian Cage. Others could with one, but none with both. Danielson with a push vs. both of those guys would recreate the best of Joe vs. AJ vs. Daniels in the main event scene and would likely draw considering the positive buzz it would generate from all quarters. It’s also crazy to think that Danielson couldn’t or wouldn’t have great matches with other TNA wrestlers. The Machine Guns, Kaz, AJ Styles, Christian Cage, Booker T, Chris Daniels, Petey Williams, Robert Roode and Rhino would all be good to great matches with Danielson. Perhaps TNA officials missed his series with Morishima that were all over every MOTYC list? I don’t know, but so long as their officials keep underrating him, we can be sure he won’t share the same fate as the terribly wasted Austin Starr.
The Case: Ring of Honor fans say Bryan Danielson has run out of things to do in ROH. He has become a big fish in a small pond and should move on to the WWE and make more money.
Glazer says: Fans severely underrate what Danielson means to Ring of Honor. He is the best wrestler in the world and the legitimacy that having a talent of that caliber in the company that’s built around pure wrestling is not to be underestimated. Danielson is, as much as anyone possibly can be (besides Gabe of course), the meaning of ROH.
That he ran out of things to do is silly as well. First off, no one really runs out of things to do. There are near limitless story and character possibilities due to ever changing talents in ROH. Danielson has yet to really go after the tag titles, let alone hold them. He’s yet to have a second title reign and is in the middle of a program with Nigel McGuinness for that. He is also doing a veteran vs. young wrestler story for the first time with Tyler Black. With new character developments, rematches with Roderick Strong, Delirious, and others are highly anticipated. He’s yet to work a program with any of the new talent besides Tyler and the Davey Richards program that’s being saved has still yet to occur. The pure title or a new MMA style belt could be brought out for Danielson, as well. With all of these options, how is he even close to finished in ROH? He’s the most developed and engaging character and wrestler on the roster who has ground to cover with essentially every single person on the roster but Austin Aries.
With ROH looking to become a big pond, they need big fish. Danielson, Aries, and Nigel are word class wrestlers and make ROH seem better and more important. Others like Tyler, Stevens and Generico are on their way to that level, but having Danielson at the top forces everyone on the roster to up their game so they aren’t blown away by the best. There are many DVDs Danielson’s matches alone sell to customers and he’s the closest ROH has to a draw. Would it be better for Danielson to leave ROH? Arguable, depending on where he goes and how he is treated. Would it be better for ROH for Danielson to leave? Under no imaginable circumstance.
The Case: Danielson will choose between ROH and WWE
Glazer says: Danielson will be in ROH less and less as time goes by anyway. He’s making more money than ROH can likely afford unless they grow working in other countries. He’s currently being booked by Triple A for major shows. Almost frighteningly, this gives him time to add yet another element to his already prodigious skills: lucha libre. He’s also doing a run in England and has been being booked by WxW out in Germany, as well. NOAH has pushed him, doubtless partially out of loyalty to ROH and he has gone over a former GHC Champion and is a level above their other juniors. With all of these obligations, should a WWE contract not be to his liking, he can simply, as he did in 2004 and 2005, take more international bookings to make up a large portion of the money he’s missing by not taking a WWE deal.
Danielson is an unavoidably special talent. He’s clearly technically superior, but what makes him so special in a way that none can touch are his facial expressions and the realism he brings into the ring. Every move is followed by the perfect facial expression and reaction. When he’s clever and cocky, the smirk knowingly invites the audience to laugh with him. When he’s determined, the focus on his face is matched by his intensity. His anger, formerly a weakness, has been honed to a reckless look, making the small pale Danielson seem exceedingly dangerous.
Further, nothing in Danielson matches is done without struggle. Every move is fought for, every strike carefully place, while counters are guarded and fought off. This realism, when added with the facial expressions, pulls the viewer in, making suspension of disbelief far easier and every move mean more because it’s battled for. When moves are countered early, the battle for them is more easily remembered, so when they are hit later, the pops are bigger. This reincorporation of maneuvers is normal, but how it is accomplished makes that which would otherwise be simple transitions stand out. When you add it all together, you get the Best Wrestler in the World, who I surely hope stays in Ring of Honor.
