Morishima Eyes ROH World Title In Philly

http://www.rohwrestling.com/news/article.aspx?id=1149

Morishima Eyes ROH World Title In Philly
Sunday, February 11, 2007

The mammoth Takeshi Morishima is getting ready to fly across the Pacific Ocean for his first tour of Ring Of Honor. He doesn't plan on going back to Japan empty handed.

Morishima is being thrown right into the fire in ROH. His first weekend couldn't be any tougher. This Friday, February 16th, will see Morishima battle "ROH Legend" Samoa Joe at the Manhattan Center in New York City. This Saturday, February 17th, will see Morishima challenge for the ROH World Title in Philadelphia. Morishima is coming to ROH on a mission and he cannot fail.

Morishima's week long tour of ROH will take him to Dayton on 2/23 where he will be in a main event quality singles match that will be announced next week. Morishima will team with Nigel McGuinness to form a NOAH tag team to battle Samoa Joe & Homicide on 2/24 in Chicago. Tickets are on sale for all these shows at ROHwrestling.com or by calling 215-781-2500. Tickets will also be available at the door in Manhattan and Philly on the night of the show.

Morishima is regarded as the future of heavyweight wrestling in Japan for Pro Wrestling NOAH. He will be a true giant in the ROH ring. However, don't be fooled by Morishima's size. It doesn't slow him down at all. Morishima brings the agility of a junior to his super heavyweight frame. Morishima is also known for his hard strikes and kicks. Opponents must also be careful of his suplexes, including the backdrop driver that he utilizes to finish off his opponents. ROH has never seen a force like Morishima.

Morishima's first ROH match will be a battle of honor. The resident big dog in ROH, Samoa Joe, has been calling out the NOAH roster. Joe has even called out the legendary Mitsuhara Misawa. Now Morishima is coming to New York City to defend NOAH.

Friday night will also feature a World Title Match as ROH World Champion Homicide defends against Jimmy Rave. When Homicide won the World Title in December, he sent out open title match contracts to several promotions. NOAH answered the call by signing Morishima's name on the dotted line. Morishima will wrestle the Homicide/Rave winner on Saturday in Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see how either Homicide or Rave will handle Morishima.

ROH officials are actually a little concerned at the possibility of Morishima winning the ROH World Title. Morishima will not be available for any of ROH's March events meaning that there would be no World Title Matches in March. ROH Officials and NOAH officials have been in negotiations for Morishima's return to ROH if he wins the World Title, but it would be after March. Homicide or Rave are currently scheduled to defend the belt in the UK and on Wrestlemania weekend if they make it past Morishima.

This is the most important time in the career of Morishima. He caused a buzz when he and Samoa Joe went at it at "Glory By Honor V: Night 2" last September. Now Morishima has two golden opportunities when he makes his in ring ROH debut this weekend. He is defending NOAH's honor in New York. He has a shot at becoming a champion in Philadelphia. If Morishima fails both these tests he will return to Japan a shamed man. Morishima cannot afford to lose, but what will happen to ROH if he wins?