I wrote this article for a wrestling website (cheap plug: http://weeklywrestlingwrapup.com/columns/wrongchamp.html ) and I was wondering if you guys agree with me.
Jerry Lynn: The Wrong Choice
Saturday April 4, 2009. That is the day that the eighteen month reign of Nigel McGuinness as Ring of Honor World Champion came to an end. The man who defeated McGuinness and won the belt was Jerry Lynn. When this news reached me, I could barely believe it. Jerry Lynn? Really? They gave the belt to him on a show that was not going to be on pay-per-view in a match that (I thought) was poorly hyped. I don’t think that anyone truly expected Lynn to win the belt that night. They knew there was a chance, but I don’t think that anyone wasn’t surprised. I understand that McGuinness was hurt and needed to drop the belt, but Jerry Lynn was not the right choice to pick the belt up.
When ROH was first started the company was about giving young indy stars their shots at the big time. I think that they stayed true to that up until they gave Lynn the belt. Jerry is the oldest ROH World Champ coming in at 45 years of age. In Nigel’s promos he called him Geritol Lynn and a dinosaur, but those were just promos. Really, Nigel did have a point. Lynn doesn’t have many good years left in him. When he won that title, it went against what the company stood for. Lynn was once known as “The New F’N Show,†but that was ten years ago (hope that puts things in perspective).
Some call Lynn a fan favorite and that led him to win the belt. Sure, I’ll agree with that, to a point. He is liked by the fans, but loved, I wouldn’t say that. Lynn doesn’t get the biggest pop when he comes to the ring. If I had to guess I would say that a good percentage of the fans were indifferent to him. Nothing about Lynn really screamed “Care about me!†He started to getting a push around the time that The Wrestler was released because of his similarities to Randy “The Ram†Robinson. Is that a reason to push someone? Hell yes it is, get all the money you can out of the movie. Is it a reason to give someone the belt? Hell no. The last person who got a world title because of a movie was David Arquette and look how that turned out.
Jerry Lynn was in the title chase, but he was behind so many other deserving wrestlers. Nigel could have dropped it to at least four other people, but the booking would have had to have been shifted a bit. On Friday night I watched ROH’s newest pay-per-view offering; Caged Collision. There was one match that was for a shot at the world title; Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Spoiler alert!!! Tyler Black wins the match and gets a title shot that he can cash in at any time). While watching the match I thought to myself “All four of these guys would have made a better champion than Lynn.†If you look at the facts, you might agree with me too.
Bryan Danielson-He has always been one of the top guys in ROH, regardless if he was face or heel. He would be a good candidate to be the first wrestler to win the ROH World Title twice. Plus, factor in the long time rivalry he and Nigel have had, it makes perfect sense for him to win. I suppose that win Danielson leaving ROH soon maybe they shouldn’t be the person to win the belt (even though it didn’t stop them from giving the belt to CM Punk).
Austin Aries- A former ROH champion, whose reign is overlooked. He may be a heel, but a Nigel vs. Aries match could have easily turned Nigel face (which they are doing anyways). Aries would also be a good candidate to be the first person to win the belt twice.
Jimmy Jacobs- He is one of the best talkers in the business. He can get a crowd to instantly hate him. Jimmy has been in the company for years and I believe that he deserves to carry that belt.
Tyler Black- This is who I think should have won the belt. He puts on great matches, he has the crowd behind him, and he is the future of the wrestling business. It even makes sense booking wise for him to win. All they had to do was have him cash in the title shot he won.
Four good champion candidates, would they have been better? I think so, but that’s up for you to decide.
Now my final exhibit; the fans don’t like the choice. No, it’s not just me. The day after Lynn won the belt, nearly every post on the ROH forums talked negatively about the title change. At the last set of TV tapings the fans were chanting “F**k you Lynn!†That is not the reaction that you want for your new face champion. ROH wanted to give their new fans a familiar face as champion. That’s okay, but in the process they are alienating their original hardcore fan base. They are risking losing the fans that brought them to where they are. They risk losing more than they are gaining (at this time).
Over the past two years ROH has changed drastically. It almost doesn’t resemble the company that it once was. Some changes have been good. Getting onto pay-per-view and getting a TV deal were smart things to do. While those were good, there have been an equal amount of bad decisions made. As of late I have been questioning the action of ROH more and more. First they fired their booker. Then added count outs and strict time limits, which have been ending matches much more frequently than they should be. I think that making Lynn champion was their worst change yet. At this point I can only hope that Lynn’s reign will be a short one and that something good will come out of it.
Jerry Lynn: The Wrong Choice
Saturday April 4, 2009. That is the day that the eighteen month reign of Nigel McGuinness as Ring of Honor World Champion came to an end. The man who defeated McGuinness and won the belt was Jerry Lynn. When this news reached me, I could barely believe it. Jerry Lynn? Really? They gave the belt to him on a show that was not going to be on pay-per-view in a match that (I thought) was poorly hyped. I don’t think that anyone truly expected Lynn to win the belt that night. They knew there was a chance, but I don’t think that anyone wasn’t surprised. I understand that McGuinness was hurt and needed to drop the belt, but Jerry Lynn was not the right choice to pick the belt up.
When ROH was first started the company was about giving young indy stars their shots at the big time. I think that they stayed true to that up until they gave Lynn the belt. Jerry is the oldest ROH World Champ coming in at 45 years of age. In Nigel’s promos he called him Geritol Lynn and a dinosaur, but those were just promos. Really, Nigel did have a point. Lynn doesn’t have many good years left in him. When he won that title, it went against what the company stood for. Lynn was once known as “The New F’N Show,†but that was ten years ago (hope that puts things in perspective).
Some call Lynn a fan favorite and that led him to win the belt. Sure, I’ll agree with that, to a point. He is liked by the fans, but loved, I wouldn’t say that. Lynn doesn’t get the biggest pop when he comes to the ring. If I had to guess I would say that a good percentage of the fans were indifferent to him. Nothing about Lynn really screamed “Care about me!†He started to getting a push around the time that The Wrestler was released because of his similarities to Randy “The Ram†Robinson. Is that a reason to push someone? Hell yes it is, get all the money you can out of the movie. Is it a reason to give someone the belt? Hell no. The last person who got a world title because of a movie was David Arquette and look how that turned out.
Jerry Lynn was in the title chase, but he was behind so many other deserving wrestlers. Nigel could have dropped it to at least four other people, but the booking would have had to have been shifted a bit. On Friday night I watched ROH’s newest pay-per-view offering; Caged Collision. There was one match that was for a shot at the world title; Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs (Spoiler alert!!! Tyler Black wins the match and gets a title shot that he can cash in at any time). While watching the match I thought to myself “All four of these guys would have made a better champion than Lynn.†If you look at the facts, you might agree with me too.
Bryan Danielson-He has always been one of the top guys in ROH, regardless if he was face or heel. He would be a good candidate to be the first wrestler to win the ROH World Title twice. Plus, factor in the long time rivalry he and Nigel have had, it makes perfect sense for him to win. I suppose that win Danielson leaving ROH soon maybe they shouldn’t be the person to win the belt (even though it didn’t stop them from giving the belt to CM Punk).
Austin Aries- A former ROH champion, whose reign is overlooked. He may be a heel, but a Nigel vs. Aries match could have easily turned Nigel face (which they are doing anyways). Aries would also be a good candidate to be the first person to win the belt twice.
Jimmy Jacobs- He is one of the best talkers in the business. He can get a crowd to instantly hate him. Jimmy has been in the company for years and I believe that he deserves to carry that belt.
Tyler Black- This is who I think should have won the belt. He puts on great matches, he has the crowd behind him, and he is the future of the wrestling business. It even makes sense booking wise for him to win. All they had to do was have him cash in the title shot he won.
Four good champion candidates, would they have been better? I think so, but that’s up for you to decide.
Now my final exhibit; the fans don’t like the choice. No, it’s not just me. The day after Lynn won the belt, nearly every post on the ROH forums talked negatively about the title change. At the last set of TV tapings the fans were chanting “F**k you Lynn!†That is not the reaction that you want for your new face champion. ROH wanted to give their new fans a familiar face as champion. That’s okay, but in the process they are alienating their original hardcore fan base. They are risking losing the fans that brought them to where they are. They risk losing more than they are gaining (at this time).
Over the past two years ROH has changed drastically. It almost doesn’t resemble the company that it once was. Some changes have been good. Getting onto pay-per-view and getting a TV deal were smart things to do. While those were good, there have been an equal amount of bad decisions made. As of late I have been questioning the action of ROH more and more. First they fired their booker. Then added count outs and strict time limits, which have been ending matches much more frequently than they should be. I think that making Lynn champion was their worst change yet. At this point I can only hope that Lynn’s reign will be a short one and that something good will come out of it.
