Beating Briscoe... Again

It doesn't seem like that long ago I sat down to write about who could defeat Michael Elgin for the ROH world championship. That's because it wasn't. It was two and a half months ago. I continued my fine tradition of getting things wrong when predicting future ROH world champs, perhaps more so than ever before. My feeling was that 'Unbreakable' would be one of the longest reigning champions in some time and hold the title for well over a year.

He held it for 76 days. That makes his reign the sixth shortest ever. Although he did manage to tally a surprisingly high seven defences.

Even if I hadn’t expected Elgin to enjoy a really long reign I think I’d still be surprised at him losing the title as quickly as he did. As has been pointed out on this blog many times Elgin had been viewed as a future leading man for Ring of Honor since his impressive losing effort opposite world champ Davey Richards in March 2012. Although they’d held off on his inevitable championship victory for longer than they should have it still felt that Elgin’s win at Best in the World was the beginning of something that would last a long time.

But it wasn’t. Elgin was the top dog for less than three months and now it’s Jay Briscoe who holds the gold, only the second multi-time champion in Ring of Honor history.

I was pretty strongly against Briscoe’s first ROH world title reign. I felt putting the title on someone who was so strongly associated with tag team work detracted from the title’s importance. That he beat Kevin Steen didn’t help much. Nor did the fact that I wasn’t particularly interested in his character.

Jay Briscoe: only the second two time ROH world champion in history.

I feel more positive about his second reign. Part of that, strangely enough, is because he’s held the title before. After twelve years it feels about time for multiple time ROH champions to become a little more commonplace. It could also help to establish Briscoe in the role ROH clearly needs someone in: the loyal company guy who’s a threat to any world champion. He’s a good choice for that because he’s been with ROH for so long and because, after his homophobic outbursts last year, WWE isn’t interested in hiring him. He’s not going to leave ROH high and dry, he’s accepted as a headliner by fans, and he’s a very good brawling headliner. He’s the only logical choice for the role.

The Briscoe character has altered a little since he last held the title. His two year winning streak was being heavily emphasised and it contributed considerably to his aura as a headliner. He also channelled Ric Flair in a video package at All Star Extravaganza VI. I particularly liked that as he’s different to ‘The Nature Boy’ in almost every possible way. Flair as a well-spoken technical wrestler who enjoyed partying into the early hours. Jay Briscoe’s a brawler who shouts about beating people up and works on a farm when he’s not wrestling.

But inviting this comparison between Briscoe and Flair is interesting. Although they’re very different it’s possible for ROH to pattern their new champ as a modern day interpretation of 1980s Flair. At his core Flair was a hyper-efficient wrestler who won a lot, held lots of titles, and wrestled lengthy matches. Presenting Briscoe as that sort f character, as a heel or a face, would be fascinating to watch.

My initial reaction to hearing that Briscoe had won the title from Elgin was that he would lose it back to him. Maybe not immediately but at some point in the next several months. Due to the nature of ROH world title reigns there’s never been a feud which has seen the title traded back and forth. That’s not something that’s done much at all in wrestling these days and it’s the sort of story that could be told very well in a more realistic, real sports-based environment such as Ring of Honor, two men so well matched that they trade the championship back and forth.

But the rumours that ROH bosses are upset with Elgin makes me doubt this will happen now. Various reasons for these issues have been cited, from Elgin suffering from visa problems that will stop him working in the States for the foreseeable future to Elgin having developed an ego to an interview in which Elgin expressed a desire to try out for a baseball career. Whatever the reason is it seems easy enough to believe there’s some sort of problem: it had taken ROH more than two years to getting the belt onto Elgin and I can’t believe that the culmination of that journey was intended to be a reign lasting less than three months.

Elgin and Briscoe will have a rematch though. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a heel turn from one of them leading beforehand. Elgers would have to be the favourite for that. He’s the man who was heralded as a sure-fire headliner, it would be natural for the loss of the belt to lead to him becoming increasingly bitter and antagonistic. It would give him something new to do too. He’s never really been a heel in ROH. Even with the House of Truth he was cheered more often than he was booed.

There aren’t that many other names that leap out at me as potential Briscoe-beaters. With multi-time champions now apparently a thing Roderick Strong and Adam Cole are probably worth mentioning. Strong hasn’t held the world title since 2011. He’s about the only other person that could realistically be built up as ROH’s top perennial contender (I think Jay beats him for the role based on the fact that he debuted in the company first and because WWE might have a slight interest in Strong in the future). I’m sure a good story could be spun out of the legacies of the pair in the company.

Cole only lost the championship in June but it would be interesting to see him regain the strap quickly, after it’s changed hands from the man that beat him. Again it would be a more realism-based sequence that would suit ROH well. On a more fundamental level Cole’s a great wrestler and one of the better talkers in the company. He’d be a solid choice for champion, especially if ROH made the smart decision to start elevating new challengers.

Cole’s Kingdom teammate Michael Bennett could be a good choice to defeat Briscoe too. I’ve mentioned his name on many of these Beating the ROH Champion entries, so by this point I have standard reasons. He wrestles a distinctly WWE style; he’s unlikeable for his style, for dating Maria, and for his natural smugness; he’s a decent promo; and there are various storylines that could only be done with the sort of heel he plays. It would be a genuinely unpopular move that wouldn’t tarnish the prestige or legacy of the title.

The final name I’ll mention is AJ Styles. His work with New Japan, which is about as full time as it gets with that promotion, makes him winning the ROH championship unlikely. Simply put ROH wouldn’t always be able to rely on having their champion available to them. That works fine for WWE when they have Brock Lesnar as their champion but it’s not something Ring of Honor could get away with. They don’t have the brand name or stars that WWE does. They need the champion on as many shows as possible to draw in fans, even if they’re not involved in a title defence.

That said a short reign for ‘The Phenomenal One’ could work, and it wouldn’t be too hard to sort out a stretch of shows a few months in advance to make the most of him during his reign. From Final Battle to the Anniversary Show, for example. There’s a natural story to tell for Styles and Briscoe too: they were both in ROH at the beginning and AJ was, in the early years, seen as a guy who’d lead ROH forward, but he left for TNA while Briscoe remained loyal.

I’ve named a few options here and I’m going to go with the final one: AJ Styles defeating Jay Briscoe. Adding Styles’s name to the list of ROH champions seems like a natural thing for ROH to want to do and Styles deserves a reign, even if it does turn out to be a brief one, for his place in the promotion’s history and his current standing in the wrestling business at large. I think the loyalty plot could be an interesting one and could provide the pair with a solid foundation for some promos.

But my history with these predictions is horrendous. Which means Styles is probably the least likely person to beat Briscoe.

Beating Elgin

Several years ago I wrote about Eddie Edwards defeating Roderick Strong for the ROH world championship. Three months later I turned that into something approaching a tradition when I did the same for Davey Richards after he’d beaten Eddie and the following year when I did it for Kevin Steen after he’d beaten Davey.

I haven’t always made an actual, proper prediction in each of these pieces. But I have since the Kevin Steen entry in 2012. I’ve never gotten it right. I thought Steen would lose the title to Michael Elgin. I thought Jay Briscoe would lose the title to Matt Hardy. And I thought Kevin Steen would defeat Adam Cole.

I stand by my assertion that Hardy should have dethroned Briscoe for the gold. It was a great storyline waiting to happen. As the hated sports entertainment practitioner ‘The Sensei of Mattitude’ was perfectly positioned to work a short reign as an unpopular (that’s putting it mildly) champion before losing the title back to lead babyface Steen. Speaking of which I think I was right to say Elgin should have ended Steen’s reign too: he was a fresh act and winning the title so soon after a string of breakout performances could have tipped him over the edge into ROH godhood.

But no matter how superior I think these scenarios would have been I was, as I say, wrong every time. I mention this to highlight that I do not have a good track record when it comes to selecting ROH champions. I’m going to keep writing these pieces but you shouldn’t pay too much attention to predictions as I’m statistically likely to be wrong.

On the subject of writing these new champion posts now is probably a fitting time to address why I don’t do it for any other company. Basically a Ring of Honor world title change is an event. The company still books their world title as the centrepiece of the company, the thing that everybody strives to win. New Japan does this too, but that’s not a company I follow closely enough to make predictions for. It would be doing the promotion and anyone reading a disservice.

WWE presents their world title as meaningful but it’s not the pinnacle of the company: that would instead be a programme with John Cena (or, possibly, Cena himself is the pinnacle). They’re better at making their title important than they were a few years ago thanks to the Daniel Bryan storyline that stretched from last year’s SummerSlam to WrestleMania but it’s still not presented in the same manner as world titles elsewhere. Besides, the title switches around amongst the same bunch of guys so often that such pieces would be redundant and too common to have any significance.

As for TNA, their world title’s a joke. It means nothing in the grand picture of the wrestling business and even if it did they make such random, last minute booking choices that it would be practically impossible to know who they’re going with next. Look at the last two champions: very few people would have predicted a title reign for Lashley and nobody would have selected Eric Young as the man who’d defeat Magnus.

But enough of this. I’m not here to write about TNA, WWE or New Japan. I’m here to write about Michael Elgin. His journey to the Ring of Honor world championship was a long one. His first title shot was against Davey Richardsat Showdown in the Sun Chapter 2 on March 31 2012. It was a match that opened a lot of people’s eyes as to how good Elgin could be. He went from being seen as a generic, charisma-free powerhouse that loomed in the background during Truth Martini promos to a man who could carry his side of a lengthy, exhilarating match. So good was that match that it would have worked perfectly as a title change. The fans would have accepted it and Elgin would have been a made man.

In fairness there was something to be said for waiting. Kevin Steen was also hot and primed for a run on top. ROH could afford to keep Elgin simmering as a top contender while switching the title on to a man people were desperate to see as champion. Having Elgin win the belt and keep it against Steen may actually have harmed him. It seemed sensible to give Steen his time and have Elgin relieve him of the strap at Final Battle. Unfortunately that’s not what happened.

Elgin mounted a second unsuccessful challenge at Glory By Honor XI in October 2012. That loss harmed his standing. He was no longer the hot rising star. He was the guy ROH were holding off on progressing. The man who was in the main event but not of it. He spent much of the first half of 2013 as the number one contender to the championship, which further harmed his standing. It either made him look weak and incapable of winning when it counted or like a petulant heel (even though he rarely complained about his treatment). Either way it was less than ideal.

By the time ‘Unbreakable’ reached the finals of a tournament held to crown a new champ he was part of the furniture. He was the guy who was there to lose and put over the new great hope, Adam Cole. He did a fine job of it and was protected whilst doing so but it was clear that Elgin was no longer capable of having the hot run he could have had a year earlier. That point was hammered home when he was unsuccessful in winning the title at Final Battle (in a three-way against Cole and Jay Briscoe) and once again spent the first several months of a new year being presented as the uncrowned champion.

The shaven-headed champ is here.

His title victory at Best in the World was really well booked. He and Cole put on a storming performance and the various run-ins and ref bumps all made sense in the context of long running storylines. It’s just that it came eighteen months too late for Elgin to become the massive star ROH need him to be. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a good choice for champion and that he can have an enjoyable reign with good title defences against many different wrestlers. It’s just that in order to expand as a promotion ROH need a fresh and hot act. Elgin is neither. Eighteen months ago he was fresh and it’s possible he could have helped attract new eyes.

So who can beat him? Truth be told I don’t think there are that many options on the roster. Kevin Steen would be a top choice if he weren’t heading off to NXT within the next few weeks. Elgin could have slowly turned heel and slotted into a programme with ‘Mr Wrestling’ for an enjoyable and fresh match at Final Battle or the 2015 anniversary card. But it’s not to be.

Similarly it appears that Chris Hero’s out. He returned to a great deal of fanfare at the end of last year but hasn’t appeared in an ROH ring in months. Had he been used regularly in meaningful plots he could have been built up as a credible contender and potential next champion. At the very least he could have been Elgin’s first major challenger, especially if they’d been placed into an alliance before Elgin’s victory to make a Hero heel turn more impactful.

But he’s not been around and he’s not confirmed for any upcoming shows. He could come back and beat Elgin later in the year or next year but it doesn’t seem likely. At this point I think Hero’s role is to be the guy with the solid reputation that puts over the regulars. And that’s probably for the best.

Frankly the most likely regular I can see winning the belt from Elgers is Tommaso Ciampa. He lost the TV championship a while ago and showed heelish tendencies when interacting with ACH at Best in the World. A friendly rivalry with ACH that progresses into something more violent as Ciampa keeps losing, prompting a violent outburst, would be a good way of re-establishing him without rushing things. As a heel he could work a few different programmes ahead of a title match with Elgin.

Of course he could just as easily stay a face but display more of an assertive attitude. That’s a fairly standard ROH approach and it would allow a face versus face match to be teased out for a while.

Other main roster regulars that could be potential Elgin foils are Michael ‘Don’t Call Me Mike’ Bennett and Silas ‘My Moustache is Manlier Than Yours’ Young. As a member of The Kingdom Bennett is one of the promotion’s lead antagonists and has a solid act in place working deliberately WWE flavoured matches with Maria interfering. He’s the sort of act that works on top in any western promotion but that has never been booked as an ROH champion. It would be interesting to see and isn’t something that needs to be rushed into. Bennett is always going to be a bad guy in Ring of Honor and the option to have him face off with Elgin will be there as long as both are on the roster.

Young has been knocking about on the undercard for a year or so now. He’s not done anything spectacular but his potential seems clear. He looks the part, is a fantastic antagonist and works a rough style that’s a perfect fit for ROH. It’s possible booker man Delirious has been biding his time with him so people don’t turn on him for being rushed. He’s a heel but that could still happen: there’s a world of difference between heat and disinterest, and a rush could encourage the latter.

That Silas has been selected as Kevin Steen’s goodbye feud is interesting. It indicates that ROH are finally done letting Young build steam naturally and that they’re finally ready to do something major with him. Being the last feud Kevin Steen has in Ring of Honor is a big deal, the sort that could establish someone as a new top name. If the treatment continues after Steen’s gone, against any other popular act that isn’t Elgin, a programme between the two could mean something come the end of the year.

The members of the War Machine team, Raymond Rowe and Hanson, are probably worth mentioning, although both are massively unlikely. In kayfabe terms Elgin is responsible for them forming a regular tandem and getting ROH contracts. That could lead to the two turning on Elgin for “sidelining” them as a pair to avoid them as tough challengers or, more likely, only one forming the opinion. These scenarios would be really long term deals, but the preparation’s already been done.

Finally there’s AJ Styles. He’s massively popular in the US and can legitimately be called an international success thanks to his IWGP championship win over Kazuchika Okada. That’s a title reign that won’t last forever. When it ends I could definitely see ‘The Phenomenal One’ relieving Elgin of the gold. His status as an original roster member would make the title win a big deal, and there’s already an established history between the two after their exchanges earlier this year.

Selecting one name to go with is tough. Elgin’s style, look and character are fantastically well-suited to a long reign. I’ve predicted those many times over the last three years but the closest we’ve had are the reigns of Richards and Steen. Neither of those surpassed the one year mark, and when I talk about a lengthy reign I generally mean something in excess of eighteen months. If I’m right and Elgin does get something approaching that (and I’m not confident that he will considering the booking of the title under Delirious) then it makes predicting who’ll beat him incredibly tough. How do you predict who’ll be in a position to work as champion that far in advance? It could be somebody not even on the roster.

I hope Michael Elgin gets his long run. It would somewhat justify the ridiculous amount of time he’s been kept waiting to win the strap and give him the best chance possible of going down as one of the all-time great ROH performers. That’s something I think ROH need to be looking at. It would be great if Elgin had a lengthy reign which ended at a time when four or five guys could potentially defeat him. I’m not going to hold my breath though. And I’m going to predict Silas Young as the man who’ll end up beating him to become the twenty-first ROH world champion.