Posted in: The Northern Star The Northern Star--The Era of My Ways
By XanMan
Sep 30, 2009 - 9:45:14 AM
{Argument: So, here we are. One column left after this one and that stupid bet with BK is paid off. As usual, I'll let him tell you where his quotes come from and whether they're relevant or not(hint: No.) Before I do so, though, I just want to let you know that in the second half of the column you can click on the first mention of each wrestler mentioned in order to download a sample match from them. No pressure; just thought you might like to know who they are and what they can do. I'd like to thank CoLd for his help with that feature.>
You want to see irrrelevence? Fine, I'll show you irrelevance. Today I am filling this Batman quotes. From the 1996 TV Show.--BeyondKnight
Robin: "You give yourselves up without a struggle, we'll try and make things easier for you."
Batman: "And if not you may be severely pummeled about the head and shoulders."
Okay, so maybe I jumped the gun a little. Oh, not on the Punk/Taker thing; that match was pretty good for the time allotted to it after the Pat Patterson debacle ran over at Breaking Point, and there's no question that Punk has even more heat on him now after claiming that The Undertaker submitted to the Anaconda Vise1 when the announcers are claiming Taker never submitted. My take is the same as Ross first said on the PPV--that it was a poor judgment call by the ref; after all, the Dead Man did, indeed, slap the mat once while in Punk's dreaded submission finisher. Of course, my opinion on the matter may be a little biased since I'm for Championship Material and I didn't want him to have a reign lasting only three weeks.
It will be fun to see how things keep playing out in that feud; I just wish I could watch it unfold on television rather than a computer monitor, but que sera. No, I was right about Punk/Taker, and about Long's response to criticism of his actions, and hopefully that will be corrected in the future. What I was wrong about; what I jumped the gun on was when I wrote a column back in April called An Era of Honor Ends about the probability of the second longest ROH World Title reign ending at Supercard of Honor IV, and it did. The night before I attended Stone Cold Steve Austin's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame, I observed in person Jerry Lynn defeating Nigel McGuinness to claim the strap in a tremendous match.
Batman: "You're a rare lady, Catwoman, you're right on time."
At the time, I thought it was going to be the end of an era for two reasons. The first is pretty obvious, as the longest World Title reign by anyone not named Samoa Joe for ROH was going to end. The second is that nobody really knew what was going to happen with Nigel next. His contract was expiring right around that time and nobody seemed to know if he had re-signed with ROH or not. To compound matters, while it was clear he had torn biceps on both arms, what was unclear was what he was going to have done to correct the situation, as surgery seemed to be a very real possibility, which would have taken him out for the rest of the year and could seriously have undermined his career prospects.
Instead, he decided to forgo surgery and rehab the injury, returning just over two months later, and has again been a fixture in the upper midcard/main event of the promotion, even giving Tyler Black the rub first by saying the winner of his match against Bryan Danielson was going to be the next world champion and then by doing the clean job to the "next world champ" a couple weeks later on ROH Wrestling on HDNet. By surmisation, you should also have realized that Danielson helped Black get over by losing to him, thus getting Tyler along the way to being as over as he was back in January, when booker Adam Pearce decided not to strike while the iron was hot.
This becomes increasingly important, of course, because as of September 26, this truly is an end of an era of honor. Unlike some, I don't expect this to be the end of Ring of Honor, but it's definitely the end of an era. You see, before McGuinness was the second longest reigning ROH World Champ, that honor belonged to "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson, and now both are leaving the organization together for what should be the greener pastures of World Wrestling Entertainment after wrestling each other one last time in ROH; the finale of what has been an epic feud between the two over the years, as these guys have just kept one-upping each other every chance they got.
Robin, about Batgirl: "Do you think she's trying to double-cross us?"
Batman: "No, but she's a woman, Robin, with a woman's inborn desire to outsmart men."
Hopefully they'll get a chance to continue that in the ring at some point in their WWE tenure, but I don't expect that it'll happen right away or that it will happen backstage. These guys are two of the best wrestlers in the world, they are true pros, and given their background I would expect them to support each other every step of the way to becoming stars for the organization. This statement, of course, leads to an obvious question, which is, of course, "Will Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness become stars in World Wrestling Entertainment?" Taken at face value, the easy answer to that question is, "Maybe si, maybe no," however, I hate taking things at face value.
For one thing, asking that question is really trying to answer three things in one, isn't it? The first is "Will Bryan Danielson be a star in the WWE?" The second is, "Will Nigel McGuinness be a star in the WWE?" and the third is "Will they both be stars in the WWE?" Obviously, the third one is dependent on the answers to the first two, but it's still a question in itself. The first thing I have to wonder is how you define the word "star." If Jimmy "Wayne" Yang is what you'd define as a star, the answer is an obvious yes. If Matt Hardy is the entry level of your version of a star, the way to an answer is a little more nebulous, but I still think they'll get there. If you're looking at them becoming main eventers, though, I think we're looking at a mostly cloudy future.
I've seen a lot of people around this website that are saying Bryan Danielson is called the best wrestler in a world for a reason, and that because of that there's next to no question that he'll be a success in the WWE. Ah, success--almost as tough to define as the word "star," right? Before going any further, I think I should state that by my definition of a professional wrestler, these guys have already succeeded. Whether they get to wrestle on ECW, Smackdown, or RAW, they're already successes in my book, because they get to forego WWE Developmental2, which has been the death of the careers of so many strong independent wrestlers, either directly or indirectly, and go straight to the big time.
Robin: "Boy! That was our closest call ever! I have to admit that I was pretty scared!"
Batman: "I wasn't scared in the least."
Robin: "Not at all?"
Batman: "Haven't you noticed how we always escape the vicious ensnarements
of our enemies?"
Robin: "Yeah, because we're smarter than they are!"
Batman: "I like to think it's because our hearts are pure."
I don't care what show they start out on, it will still be the big time compared to where they've been before. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of ROH. I still put a decent amount of money into their product, I am proud to do so, haven't abandoned them like some others have because of the change in who is running their books, don't believe the organization is dead just because they lost two of their best, and do believe that Ring of Honor still represents the best pure wrestling organization in the world. Despite these facts and opinions, though, there's no question that the best money to be had in professional wrestling is that being paid by Vince McMahon and he offers health insurance coverage on top of it, which is something than an indy wrestler would give their left nut for.
Because of this health coverage and pay, Nigel will be able to take some more time off to recuperate his biceps without taking food off his table and abandoning a place to live. He didn't sell out, my friends, he made a great career and life decision. Make no mistake, whether or not the American Dragon and Nigel win championships and fame with World Wrestling Entertainment, they've already made it in their profession and have already achieved a level of success that you and I probably never will in our chosen field. Now, with that little rant, diatribe, speech, or whatever you want to call it out of the way, let's take a look at our two prospective future sports entertainment superstars.
Robin, looking at Batgirl: "You know something, Batman?"
Batman: "What's that, Robin?"
Robin: "She looks very pretty when she's asleep."
Batman: "I thought you might eventually notice that. That single statement indicates to me the first oncoming thrust of manhood, old chum."
I'll start with Nigel McGuinness. Why? Because it's my column and I said so, that's why! No, really, it's that I decided to go in alphabetical order. Oops, not that either. I just like Nigel better, that's all. Actually, that's not all. I've thought for nearly a year now that Nigel McGuinness has all the tools to be a major star in World Wrestling Entertainment. In fact, for about the last 8 or 9 months now, I've thought that of all the guys I've seen wrestle for ROH in 2008 and 2009 that he was one of three single's wrestlers that would make an easy transition to WWE, and just between you, me, and the lamp posts? Bryan Danielson wasn't one of the other two.
So, who were? Chris Hero and Go Shiozaki. See, to me those three--along with an honorable mention for Kevin Steen--were the closest things that Ring of Honor had to what the WWE is normally looking for, as (Go's english barrier notwithstanding) they are the most complete packages in terms of size, power, speed, wrestling ability, charisma, and mic skills. See, to me, this really isn't the kinder, gentler WWE--or at least it wasn't back when I started writing wrestling columns again. Now? Maybe. After all, the last four title reigns on Smackdown have been by CM Punk and Jeff Hardy, not exactly the largest guys in the room--locker or otherwise.
Joker: "I've thrilled many a woman, Batgirl. But I never sent one completely in orbit before!"
So, maybe the times are a-changing, as Bob Dylan sang so long ago; it certainly seems like the course of this column is, doesn't it? I'm just the vessel folks, trying to carry us all along the wave of the message that's trying to get out, and apparently my inclination to start with Nigel ferried us right over to the American Dragon. So, why didn't I include Dragon as a guy likely to go to the WWE? His style is completely different from anybody in the promotion, he's a bit bland, he really doesn't have a natural inclination either towards being a babyface or being a heel, he doesn't have the right size for the WWE, his primary finisher probably wouldn't be allowed, and as a rule graduates of Shawn Michaels' academy haven't exactly thrived there.
Now, as I said, maybe all of that doesn't matter anymore. Maybe Danielson's size doesn't have to be a hindrance to him. I suppose it's possible that it could even be seen as somewhat of a benefit when you look at the fact that being 5'9", pasty-skinned, and wearing maroon kneepads, boots, and short tights is going to make him stand out from everybody else in the promotion. He's going to look like he's determined; that he means serious business and isn't someone to fool around with, and I fully expect that the audience won't know what to make of that from a guy his size until he strikes with the crossface chickenwing or a triangle choke and either cripples someone half his size or chokes him out.
Catwoman: "Felix, you can brush my pussy willows before you leave. From now on, pussy willows galore!"
Is Bryan Danielson really the best wrestler in the world? I still don't think he truly is, but it isn't like he got that moniker for no reason. He's tremendous in the technical skills department, he's a great submission wrestler, he has decent mic skills, and there's no doubt that he can work a crowd. Can he work a WWE crowd? I think so, but the real question is whether or not he'll get a chance to. Smaller guys in the WWE miss more often than not, really. I think it's more than likely that, as talented as Danielson is, he'll have a career far more like Jamie Noble's in the WWE than Rey Mysterio, who's the exception that proves the rule. I hope I'm wrong; I really do. I need someone like Danielson to rise to the top in the WWE; I just don't think he will.
Nigel, on the other hand...is absolutely the complete package. People look at his work over the last couple of years and conclude he's a natural at the WWE style and it's impossible to blame them for that. He has a great series of strikes, including a variety of different lariats, he is a decent size and uses it the right way, and he normally focuses on one body part--the left arm--and just does move after move to it until he locks on the London Dungeon and his opponent either has to submit to that or his worn down enough that he can't dodge or absorb the Jawbreaker Lariat. However, the fact is that Nigel isn't a natural at the style he uses, he's simply adapted his game to wrestle that way. Is that because a contract with the WWE was his end game?
There's no way to know, really, except to ask him, but if that was his plan, it was a good one and it's obviously worked. Go back and watch some of his early ROH stuff, though--I'm talking circa 2004-2005--and you'll see a nearly completely different wrestler. Instead of relying on punches, kicks, and lariats, he did a lot of mat wrestling. He still worked on the arm of his opponents, but he used a different arm submission that was a kind of side version of a cross-arm breaker. He did use a rebound lariat, but it wasn't a finisher, the Tower of London was, but really he was quite a different guy at that time. It would be like if Bret Hart went to being Hulk Hogan over the course of a couple of years.
Alfred (dressed up as Batman): "I pray our deception succeeds, Master Robin."
Robin: "Just puff out your chest and look virile, Alfred."
Actually, to use an example that really happened, it's like how Steve Williams went from being "Stunning" Steve Austin/The Ringmaster to being Stone Cold Steve Austin, except the change wasn't prompted by physical necessity so much as it was a change in persona. Nigel gradually went from being a pure as snow babyface to being a dirty, dirty, unapologetic heel, and he changed his move-set to match. Imagine that, huh? A wrestler actually adapting his style in order to make his character work better! CM Punk has done some subtle shifts in his, it's true, but more often than not, the guys at the big time don't know how or are too lazy to do so. Nigel will. He has size, strength, can wrestle, can talk, can sell (immensely,) and flies from time to time.
I wish I could say this next statement out loud to make sure I could say it slowly, loud and clear. Nigel McGuinness has no weaknesses in the ring. None, nada. He is outstanding at every aspect of the game. The only question I have to his succeeding in the WWE is whether he'll be able to use his pinning finishers or not. I'm sure the London Dungeon is going to be fair game; if they are willing to let non-submission wrestlers use them, why not guys that know how to do submissions? However, I don't know if it would be wise for him to ever use the Jawbreaker again considering all of his biceps problems and the Tower of London is essentially a ropes-hung version of the RKO, which likely means that's out--after all, Punk can't use the Pepsi Plunge, though part of that may be for the same reason he doesn't use the Twist.
So, that's my analysis of the newest pick-ups for the WWE; the two guys that were signed either in the wake of Punk's success or to combat ROH's move to Monday nights. No matter what you believe, the fact is that these guys are both already successes in their profession by making this move and the WWE should be a richer place for them joining. I believe that Nigel belongs in the WWE and that Danielson had to jump because he's got to take his shot. When all is said and done, I believe the Dragon is going to be slain by the WWE writers and crowds and that McGuinness is going to be raised up and toasted as one of the biggest stars in the industry. Changing times? You bet...more like changing eras.
Batman: "In the end, veracity and rectitude always triumph."
Long days, pleasant nights
1 Please note the correct word usage. I keep seeing people spelling the second part of Punk's finisher as "vice," which is perhaps understandable given how often Punk has been disparaging the bad habits of the general populace, but that doesn't make it any less irritating. The action of holding, pressing, or squeezing as with a--wait for it--vise is spelled--wait for it again--vise.
2 Yes, I'm aware that Bryan Danielson has already been in the development system of World Wrestling Entertainment, but he didn't allow it to destroy his previous training or stop him from becoming a tremendous all-around performer and that was years ago. In comparison, this is another lifetime.
You can send any comments by email to me at XanManX@hotmail.com with the words "Northern Star" or "feedback" in the subject line; or, if you're a member of the LoP Forums you can click here to leave feedback, as well.
