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| Whom should PAC wrestle upon his return to freedom? Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Of course, as soon as the news broke, folks were rabid to imagine him in New Japan Pro Wrestling, which, okay, fine, I guess, but you know they'd just shunt him into the juniors division. The only time he'd be guaranteed to get shine is during Best of the Super Juniors, as every other time during the year, they only push one challenger to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and everyone else is banished to the realm of eight-man tags or whatever forgotten realm Gedo tosses wrestlers who aren't competing for one of his 60 belts. Ring of Honor feels like he'd be walking backwards, especially since it only feels relevant when New Japan is attached to it. Besides, why walk from one corporatist hell into another one? So New Japan or ROH are better creatively than WWE (although it's more New Japan than ROH). His freedom would be greatly restricted although he'd still have some wiggle room. Still, wrestling's world is huge and wide, and to constrain PAC to one promotion just to get a dream match with like Dragon Lee or something when he could probably get the same match in England in Revolution Pro or whatever feels shortsighted. With that, I present my wishlist for PAC as he reenters the greater wrestling pool at large.
Chikara: vs. Fire Ant - Of course the first one is gonna be a homer one, because who wouldn't want to see PAC light up the Wrestle Factory? Fire Ant is a natural choice, because he's one of the most dynamic high-flying wrestlers, not just in Chikara, but in the American indies, and he's been doing it for so long. He's owed some big dream matches now that he's done big work in creating lore inside of the promotion. PAC vs. Fire Ant wouldn't be the first match most would think of, but it would leave a lasting impression upon all who watch it, whether on tape, or especially live. Seriously, PAC would work so well in the Wrestle Factory because of how intimate it is. So many of his leaps and dives would feel larger than life because of the room size. It's a no-brainer.
Beyond Wrestling: vs. AR Fox - The Whole Foxin' Show was immediately named as a dream match by several in Wrestling Twitter, and for good reason. For as technically sound as PAC's flip-game is, Fox's is reckless and unstable, which makes for a great contrast. It's rare that you get a match between two guys in the same style that feel different from each other, but that's what would make for such an intriguing match. That, and Fox will bump his ass off for the swole PAC's power moves. Either way, it's a match that needs to happen.
Impact Wrestling: vs. Cage - A few years ago, exhorting a wrestler to go to TNA/Impact would've been something that only a braindead TNA Mecca devotee would've done. Now, the company has turned a corner, started booking wrestlers with buzz, and given the roster unprecedented freedom compared to the rest of its history to work around the world. Why Cage though, and not, say, Andrew Everett? And why work Cage here and not in, say, Lucha Underground? Cage is one of the most versatile workers ever. He's the X-Division Champion for a reason. The thing is Neville is also pretty versatile, so a match between the two would be rasa tabula of possibilities. And while Impact has been on death's door more than once, it has survivability. Lucha Underground is already taped through Ultima Lucha Cuatro, and it has no guarantees of a fifth season. Although if it did get another season, well, I wouldn't be against PAC showing up at The Temple...
Southern Underground Pro: vs. Marko Stunt - The little man has blown the hell up in the last month, and for good reason. He's injected the same amount of excitement and unpredictability that PAC did when he first broke on the scene. Putting them in the same match would blow so many minds, man, and it should happen in the South, where Stunt got his first big break, and where the center of gravity for American indie wrestling seems to be settling for the time being.
Westside Xtreme Wrestling: vs. Ilja Dragunov - Dragunov went from a supernova out-of-nowhere (to the West at least) name to being cemented as WXW's next big import. He won the title at 16 Karat (although he's since lost it), and he's coming over to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla for the Battle of Los Angeles. A match against PAC on his home turf would really cement him as one of the big players in the European indie scene in addition to being really, really good.
Game Changer Wrestling: vs. Matt Tremont - This match might stick out like a sore thumb, but honestly, why would you want to see PAC only work one style of match on his comeback when he can do a whole bunch of matches against varied opponents? Tremont may be working his final deathmatches right now, but that doesn't mean he's giving up brawling. I've seen him throw hands without the use of plunder, and he's quite good at it. Plus, who said he couldn't use weapons anymore? I feel like, as Neville, PAC was finding a good niche of wrestling without relying on flips when he went on his big King of the Cruiserweights run. He could definitely produce something especially violent with Tremont.
The Crash: vs. Arkangel Divino - I've only seen footage of Divino in clips and gifs, but my God, he is definitely lighting the flip game on fire. Much like a match vs. Stunt, taking on Divino would bridge the gap between the old innovators and the new. It necessarily wouldn't have to happen in The Crash. Divino's home promotion is DTU, and he's made appearances for AAA before. However, The Crash, which has seemingly become Mexico's number three promotion, is a good settling place for lucha veterans and indie guests alike. Even if matches rarely make tape there, PAC/Divino is the kind of thing people would break out fancams for, and Tijuana is close enough to the California border to attract a healthy amount of Americans across.
AAW: vs. ACH - ACH came up just as PAC was signing with WWE, so this is another sort of high-flying dream match that is on the table. Similarly to PAC, ACH has a sneaky power game that belies his junior heavyweight frame, so in a way, it would be like seeing, say, Ganondorf vs. Captain Falcon in a Super Smash Bros. game. Add that in with the raucous and receptive Chicago crowd, and you would get a pretty special match here.
Oriental Wrestling Entertainment: with Shaolin Monks vs. CIMA and Shaolin Monks - Dragon Gate was as close to a home promotion as PAC had before signing with WWE, and while going back there would be cool, it wouldn't have the edge that him joining CIMA in China for his OWE project would. Again, I've only really seen clips of the Shaolin trainees from that fledgling company in gifs, but again, they are doing things that are blowing people's minds. Imagine a trios match with PAC and two of those lads on one side and CIMA and another two on the other. That might be the thing that really breaks the promotion out.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla: vs. Jonah Rock - The other pre-WWE promotion he's been associated with is PWG, which is where he had what many consider as the best indie match of all-time with El Generico at All-Star Weekend V. He would most definitely be welcomed back with open arms as an elder statesman. Again, Rock isn't going to be the kind of guy who makes flips his bread and butter, but if PWG really wanted to establish the burly brawler from Down Under as a main event threat with a classic match, they'd bring back PAC as one of his challengers.
NOVA Pro Wrestling: vs. Madison Eagles - NOVA Pro has become one of the hottest indies in the country because it books unique talents and matches, among them the Aussie women's wrestlers that were first brought to prominence by SHIMMER. Why Eagles? As Neville, PAC started to explore more of his ground game as noted above. It might be a bit of a reach to think that just because he was trained in England that he's well-versed in the technical/near shoot-style that Eagles excels in, but hey, it would be an intriguing match to say the least.
Black Label Pro: vs. Meng - Black Label isn't the only promotion booking gonzo old guys from WWE or WCW, but they are perhaps the most creative. They were the first to put Nick Gage against the Faces of Fear. Meng/Haku against Neville would be a spectacle to say the least, but even if it wasn't good, sometimes wrestling needs those kinds of spectacles to thrive.
Obviously, this is an incomplete list, and matches can happen anywhere with anyone. I mean, I'm not going to say no to PAC taking on LA Park, PCO, Aerostar, Fred Yehi, Nick Gage, Jurn Simmons, Flamita, Mark Andrews, Rush, or anyone else who has buzz. The overarching point is that I just don't wanna see PAC tied down to just one promotion with most of his time when he's a guy who could be putting major juice back into the indie scene around the world. Whatever he does will be fine if he's happy with it. I just wanna dream, that's all.
