Opinion: Why PCO's Ring of Honor World Title reign should be a short one
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.
Ring of Honor's 2019 came to a conclusion this past Friday with their annual Final Battle event. The show ended with the moment of Villain Enterprises' PCO dethroning Rush to become the new ROH World Champion, joining a prestigious list of names that includes Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and Seth Rollins. It capped off a remarkable 12 months spell for the 51-year old former WWE Tag Team Champion, who came out of retirement in 2016.
The man once known as Pierre Carl Ouellet has won over fans across the globe with his ability to put his body through all sorts of pain to do whatever it takes to entertain the crowd. As great as the PCO character is, the decision to put the company's biggest title on him has confused many.
It's been no secret that Ring of Honor has experienced a difficult 2019. The promotion has struggled in the fall-out of The Elite (bar Marty Scrull) leaving to start up All Elite Wrestling, as well as their portion of the G1 Supercard PPV with New Japan Pro-Wrestling being heavily criticized by those in attendance and watching at home.
In order to get close to the heights they once achieved 10-15 years ago, 2020 needs to be a year ROH hits the reset button, much like Impact Wrestling/TNA has done in recent years. The company needs to go back to what got them noticed in the first place: giving young, hungry wrestlers the chance to shine in 20-30 minutes classics that showcases the best of technical wrestling.
While PCO doesn't move about the ring like a man in his 50s, he's still someone in the twilight of their run in the business. He should be booked as someone in the midcard who helps to establish some of the up-and-comers fighting their way up the ROH ranks, such as Joe Hendry and Mark Haskins. As well as that, the PCO character isn't suited to being the one people chase. He has always looked better as the crazy monster battling back from adversity.
Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy he has been given this moment that his overall career deserves. However, for Ring of Honor to get their placing back in the wrestling hierarchy, it's important that this is just a feel-good moment and not the staple of the company's main event scene in 2020.