When will Elgin get the strap?

[Lone Wolf]

I think maybe late next year.

[BlackLesnar]

[Marketh.]

Late next year is Tyler Black territory. I say have Cole defend at every show possible until Elgin takes it at Final Battle or 12YA.

[Thelone]

Seriously, I think this was now or never. I get why they choose Cole over him because the babyface challenger chasing the heel champion is a better story and to be fair, Elgin isn't the most charismatic guy in the world and can be a bit boring sometimes but on the other hand, that's exactly why I think Ciampa is going to be the next champion. I really hope I'm wrong, but I think Elgin is going to be the next Lethal : he was red hot at one point and didn't get the belt for some reason.

Right now, Elgin is going to feud with Briscoe for a world title shot, probably at Final Battle and I just don't see big bad Cole losing the belt only three months into his title reign.

[Lone Wolf]

Late next year is Tyler Black territory. I say have Cole defend at every show possible until Elgin takes it at Final Battle or 12YA.

tbh Elgin with his momentum should of won the title in the final but i really don't see ROH giving cole the strap and for him to turn heel in the process just for it to end rather early.

[2 Gatz]

Next May, in Toronto.

Most likely scenario.

[Tim]

Elgin could have had a title shot a long time ago after he beat Lethal, but he refused to fight SCUM, then he could have just taken the title, but refused because he wanted to win it, then when he finally got his opporunity he couldn't get the job done. I couldn't really see the match on the IPPV but I saw that Cole turned heel after the match, which means he beat Elgin clean (I could be wrong on that one, but I don't think I am), I would feel a lot better about Cole winning if he screwed Elgin, but to me it came off like Elgin choked.

I really think Elgin is starting to enter Tyler Black territory, and it sucks for Cole as well. If they would have had Elgin win then they could have had Cole beat him in a few months, then mabey had Ciampa chase Cole after a long title run.

By the way Elgin has lost 3 tournament finals in the last 13 months.

[BlackLesnar]

It might be OCD of me, but I really wanted Elgin to win it on the third try. The third time's the charm; just enough Title match experience to have proven you're worthy, but not so much that it's become a tedious waiting game. ROH is notorious for putting their next tops face's title win off over and over again to the point that everyone stops caring, and I was hoping that Elgin would prove the exception to that tired rule.

Granted, Cole's also a young upstart and was also a 2-time challenger, but a) heels are already at no risk of people 'turning on them' in a prolonged chase, b) he still had a lot of room for development as a character, and c) he's only just arrived in the main event scene after a slow steady rise through the midcard. Elgin was the core focus of two iPPVs. He's been bounced off the damn main event like a rubber ball off a pane of glass now three times and counting over the past year and-a-half. It's Tyler/Nigel/Davey all over again.

The most irking part is when people say "Elgin's not ready yet, give him another year" or "I just don't like Elgin, give it to Cole". Elgin's never going to get any better, and is inevitably going to win the title anyway. If you prefer Cole, you'd want Elgin's reign out of the way now so that he can have his own long one afterwards. As things stand, Cole's just going to be treated as a plot device for Elgin to chase & eventually barrel through, getting progressively less over along the way. I'd hoped Lizard Man would learn from ROH's past mistakes. C'est la vie.

[DanielBryanson]

Never, I hope.

[2 Gatz]

Elgin's never going to get any better, and is inevitably going to win the title anyway.

This is baseless. He's made huge improvements over the last 3 years and he's still only 25 or 26. He's almost certainly going to continue getting better.

Cole was the better choice to carry the title right now though.

[JSP]

Never, I hope.

Despite the fact that he's the most consistently great worker in ROH? Come on.

[JSP]

Elgin's never going to get any better, and is inevitably going to win the title anyway.

This is baseless. He's made huge improvements over the last 3 years and he's still only 25 or 26. He's almost certainly going to continue getting better.

Cole was the better choice to carry the title right now though.

EDIT: Nevermind.

Elgin's going to improve, and that's scary. Dude is one of the best going and he's in his MID 20's. If you honestly think he's topped out, you're being pessimistic at this point.

[2 Gatz]

Elgin's never going to get any better, and is inevitably going to win the title anyway.

This is baseless. He's made huge improvements over the last 3 years and he's still only 25 or 26. He's almost certainly going to continue getting better.

Cole was the better choice to carry the title right now though.

He wasn't saying that himself. Read the post.

No, you are mistaken. Or perhaps the gentleman with the Pilkington avatar made an error while typing his post.

Doesn't really matter either way.

[JSP]

Yeah, sorry dude, I was being an asshole. I retract that.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

I think Elgin will probably get it next. And I think that's the right move. Given his personality, style, etc. Elgin seems like the type of wrestler who would benefit from a long and dominant reign. A short Elgin reign would probably not be memorable. On the other hand, Cole's character turn and charisma can make for a memorable reign even it it is a short one.

If Elgin were to win at DBD, then it would delay Cole's reign for quite a while, at which point he may have moved on from the indies. Elgin has stated he still has a lot he wants to accomplish before leaving for bigger opportunities. So Cole can have a good short reign, and then Elgin can win it and dominate. (I'm predicting FB/12 YA timeframe.)

[BlackLesnar]

I made no mistake. He's 'improved' because ROH moved him up to the main event and gave him free reign to go absolutely all-out in his matches. Elgin employs a spot heavy, work-rate dependent style (which I, do not misunderstand me, adore), and has hit his peak in that regard. He can't increase the intensity of his matches any more than he has, if he keeps trying to pile in spots he'll end up like Eddie & Davey did at FB '11, and he's not about to start wrestling a more down-to-earth style what with how popular he is wrestling this one: His slugfests are more often considered the best match of the night than not, he can worry about wrestling less like an indie guy if & when he gets off the indies.

The way Elgin views wrestling matches is explosive, satisfying, but ultimately limited. And he's reached that limit. Hes not going to wrestle matches stiffer than the one with Ciampa or flashier than the one with Lethal. He can, however, consistently perform at that level, coasting off of the adoration the crowds have for such matches.

And I am pleasantly surprised that somebody acknowledged my little Karl face, thankyou.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

While I see where you're coming from, I think it's unfair to say he will never get any better.

Elgin definitely does not seem like the type of person to coast on the same thing just because it's working. He seems like the type of person that is always trying to improve and get better. Even if he uses the same moves and style, there is such an intangible element to pro wrestling. Pacing a match, in ring chemistry, and adapting the match based on the ebb and flow of a crowd. These are all things that can always improve. Many top wrestlers in all companies, styles, and eras have reinvented, evolved, and improved regardless of their position on the card.

[Marketh.]

I'm getting increasingly bored of the delayed vertical suplex, I'll just say that.

Especially when only a few people are counting and he insists on it going to 60. What Claudio always did right was assessing the reaction and keeping it to a minimum if they weren't going nuts for the Giant Swing.

[YimYac]

Predicting

Cole to Elgin
Elgin to Bobby Fish

Tommaso is no where close to ready for a title reign

[AndyDiaz]

Elgin needs to win the title from Cole. He's at the prime of his career, so he shouldn't have to wait till someone beats Cole.

I'm thinking Jay and Elgin will feud over who's the number contender, Jay should win, challenge Cole and lose. Then Elgin will come back, and beat Cole, maybe the 2nd or 3rd time to give Cole a few cheap wins.

And I'm also wondering where Corino fits into this...