[The Jewish Cunthead]

creepyjackalopeeye said:

mooseheadjack said:

Mick Foley vs. Bruiser Brody

holy christ IJEOMK

Does this mean I Just Ejaculated On My Keyboard?

Yes. Yes it does.

[Attitude Adjuster]

CHARLOTTE bracket
1) Ric Flair gets a first round bye

Dusty Rhodes vs 9) Shane Douglas
This is actually a tough call for me, and I'm a huge Dusty fan. Never saw much of Douglas at his best until You Tube, and then realized how much I wish he could have got along with upper management nd had a run in a big company or had that feud with Flair in their prime. But he didn't. And since we're talking "Best overall wrestler," part of being best is getting your name in the big time. Douglas never did that. Dusty, on the other hand, was the other half of the greatest feud of the 80s. Flair and Dusty never got old, and for much of the time it was Dusty chasing--and losing to--Flair. Talk all you want about Dusty Finishes--his booking wasn't great, but look at it compared to today, huh?--but his in-ring and on-mic stuff was top of the business.

5) RVD vs 12) Sabu
Sabu is a spot machine, but RVD is a better all-around in-ring performer, and can speak.

4) Hulk Hogan vs 13) Mr. Wrestling II
Complain about Hogan now, but he is the guy who made wrestling mainstream. Mr. Wrestling II was a solid grappler, but looking back now I agree that he didn't have much in the charisma category.

6) Roddy Piper vs 11) C. M. Punk
Until CM Punk does more than wrestle, he's really nothing more than a 2000 version of Mr. Wrestling II. Roddy Piper was the guy who invented interview shows, and his coconut to the head of Jimmy Snuka is legend.

3) Eddie vs 14) Scott Hall
Both had so much potential, but Hall did more with the time he was on top. Eddie was the first Guerrero to go Big Time, but couldn't handle the spotlight. Neither could Hall, but for a brief moment he and Nash were The Outsiders and everything was rocking in WCW.

7) Booker T vs 10) Michael P. S. Hayes
If I have to link to their entire Freebirds vs. Idol/Sullivan collection on YouTube, I'll do it. Michael Hayes is a classic chickenshit heel, knows how to tell a story, and knows how to piss people off. The Freebirds held audiences in their palms in the late 70s and early 80s, mainly because Hayes could talk and Gordy could fight. Every long-haired blonde heel is just walking in Hayes shadow now.

2) Chris Benoit vs 15) Johnny Nitro
If we're talking wrestling ability, Benoit wins hands down. But we're talking the wrestling business. And Benoit is such a Black Hole to the buisness that I'd vote for Glacier before I voted for Benoit. Nitro, meanwhile, has charisma and look, but little character and nothing that distinguishes him in the ring from 20 other guys.

PITTSBURGH bracket
1) Kurt Angle gets a first round bye

"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig [vs 9) Big Show
Hennig was classically cool, a heel who didn't need to cheap because he was that damn talented. Plus, he survived the AWA. Not many can say that.

5) Christian Cage vs 12) Bam Bam Bigelow
Bigelow was the first athletic big man, but never stayed in one big place long enough for anyone to care. His biggest angle was probably his thing in ECW, which I can't remembr the name of. Oh, and he got beat by Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania. Cage is still up-and-coming, and if TNA ever reaches competition with WWE, it will be with him as their leader.

4) Edge vs 13) Harley Race
Before there was Ric Flair, there was Harley Race. He was the 7-time NWA champion, and damn near unbeatable. He travelled the world defending that title, and had he been 5-7 years younger would have made an incredible three-way feud for the NWA title with Flair and Dusty. Unfortunately, Race was already peaked when Flair and Dusty were growing. His falling headbutt looked real to me. He was a tough SOB.

6) A. J. Styles vs 11) Tommy Dreamer
Another tough one that came down to this: Dreamer was an innovator of a style that moved wrestling into its next era (extreme, attitude). AJ's innovations, I think, are still to come. His moveset is still expanding, and that he never watched wrestling and pulls his ideas from other sports means he' still thinking outside the box. Five years from now, maybe sooner, I'd vote for AJ.

3) Bret Hart vs 14) Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesner's biggest days won't even happen in a wrestling ring. He's just a blip on wrestling's radar, much like Bill Goldberg. Hart is the other half of the Feud of the 90s, and as talented as Michaels was at that time, you need two to carry a feud.

7) John Cena vs 10) Ted DiBiase
DiBiase was a solid worker for nearly 20 years before he became the Million Dollar Man. He was a solid mid-carder who filled out a main-event feud, and held titles well. Cena is like Brittney Spears: Forced upon us by a marketing machine that knows a select group will give them a profit. Can't wait for Johnny to shave his head, take a broomstick to a car door and stop wearing underwear.

2) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs 15) Dean Malenko
Come on, are we serious? Dean Malenko? Explain to me how a guy who is essentially Mr. Wrestling II with even less charisma got in this thing. Yes, he can wrestle. So can Dan Gable, but do I want to see him on TV? Meanwhile, Stone Cold was the definition of the Attitude Era. Biggest blowout of the first round.

[Mikey]

Thanks Tex for pointing out my idiocy.

The Pittsburgh bracket will be up later this evening. Been without a computer most of the day and I just don't have it ready to go yet.

[Batman]

attitudeadjuster said:

Plus, he survived the AWA. Not many can say that.

Yeah, hardly anybody got their start in the AWA and then went on to do well on a nationwide level. Except, of course, for Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan, Sgt. Slaughter, Iron Sheik, Scott Hall, Jerry Lynn . . .

Just because there were guys there whose fame was only regional like Bockwinkel and Von Raschke, well the same could be said of one Michael P. S. Hayes. . . .

[Mikey]

All right, with one half of the first round in the books, we are looking at some intriguing second round matchups in the Charlotte and Pittsburgh regions:

CHARLOTTE
1) Flair vs. Rhodes
4) Hogan vs. 5) Van Dam
3) Guerrero vs. 6) Piper
2) Benoit vs. 7) Booker T

PITTSBURGH
1) Angle vs. Perfect
4) Edge vs. 5) Christian
3) Bret vs. 6) Styles
2) Austin vs. 10) DiBiase

The remaining 14 first round matchups in the San Antonio and Hollywood regions shall be posted momentarily.

[Batman]

Hey, Mike, when can we expect to see the second round?

Here are my picks:

Charlotte
1) Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes
4) Hulk Hogan vs 5) RVD
3) Eddie vs 6) Roddy Piper
2) Chris Benoit vs 7) Booker T

Pittsburgh
1) Kurt Angle vs "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
4) Edge vs 5) Christian Cage
3) Bret Hart vs 6) A. J. Styles
2) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs 10) Ted DiBiase

San Antonio
1) "HBK" Shawn Michaels vs 9) Kevin Nash
4) "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs 5) Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
3) The Undertaker vs 6) Andre the Giant
2) Triple H vs 7) Rey Mysterio, Jr.

Hollywood
1) The Rock vs 9) Diamond Dallas Page
4) Samoa Joe vs 12) Owen Hart
3) Mick Foley vs 6) Raven
2) Chris Jericho vs 10) Jake "The Snake" Roberts

About the matchups -

- A great majority of these matchups are classic feuds, or confrontations between former partners, or guys who had interesting similarities in different companies or eras. This is super-cool, and totally coincidental.

- None of the top four seeds in each bracket were upset in the first round. Will they all survive the second round as well?

- The Charlotte bracket had no upsets at all, and the Pittsburgh and San Antonio brackets only had one each (both of particular favorites of mine and of my wife - John Cena and Jeff Hardy. So if anyone has anything to complain about regarding early elimination of favorites, we do.)

- The Hollywood bracket was weird, though, and had three upsets. Will DDP, Owen, and/or Jake be able to continue their dark horse runs into the second round?


About my picks -

RVD and Eddie were tough picks for me. I love Roddy, but I love Eddie more. I enjoy Hogan, and I used to be a much bigger mark for RVD than I am now, but still.

Andre vs Taker was a little bit tough. Both guys who were great at inhabiting their character and getting the crowd to respond to what they were doing. But, while Taker's matches are sometimes boring, they are also sometimes awesome. Which can't be said for any of Andre's matches that I ever heard of.

Jake vs Jericho is the only one I'm undecided on. They're both awesome on the mic, both good, but never thrilling (to me anyhow) in the ring. Then again, I've probably only seen a couple of Jake matches ever. Convince me.

[Mikey]

sergeial said:

Hey, Mike, when can we expect to see the second round?

Likely on Thursday. Haven't decided if I will do the entire second round at the same time, but will probably keep it split up for one more round.

[williamssl]

CHARLOTTE
1) Flair vs. Rhodes
4) Hogan vs. 5) Van Dam
3) Guerrero vs. 6) Piper
2) Benoit vs. 7) Booker T

PITTSBURGH
1) Angle vs. Perfect
4) Edge vs. 5) Christian
3) Bret vs. 6) Styles
2) Austin vs. 10) DiBiase

[salmonjunkie]

probably will be:

Charlotte
1) Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes
4) Hulk Hogan vs 5) RVD
3) Eddie vs 6) Roddy Piper
2) Chris Benoit vs 7) Booker T - too close to call for now

Pittsburgh
1) Kurt Angle vs "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
4) Edge vs 5) Christian Cage - too close to call
3) Bret Hart vs 6) A. J. Styles
2) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs 10) Ted DiBiase

San Antonio
1) "HBK" Shawn Michaels vs 9) Kevin Nash
4) "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs 5) Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat - too close to call. Likely Ricky
3) The Undertaker vs 6) Andre the Giant
2) Triple H vs 7) Rey Mysterio, Jr.

Hollywood
1) The Rock vs 9) Diamond Dallas Page
4) Samoa Joe vs 12) Owen Hart - I have to think about this one.
3) Mick Foley vs 6) Raven - very close, but I think Mick gets the duke
2) Chris Jericho vs 10) Jake "The Snake" Roberts - too close

[creepy]

williamssl said:

CHARLOTTE
2) Benoit vs. 7) Booker T

Did you join the ummmmmm, dark side, or do you just prefer black people over child killers?

[williamssl]

I already made my round 2 position very clear in the Book vs. Hayes rd 1 matchup thread:

williamssl said:

Also let the record state that I will be liking ebonycock in round 2. All about ebonycock in round 2. Round 2 ebonycock is a good thing.

[creepy]

OK.

[Lucky]

sergeial said:

Charlotte
1) Ric Flair vs Dusty Rhodes
4) Hulk Hogan vs 5) RVD
3) Eddie vs 6) Roddy Piper
2) Chris Benoit vs 7) Booker T

Flair over Rhodes. RVD over Hogan. Eddie over Piper. Those are probably more matters of my period of viewing than anything else. Although I've watched plenty of Flair, Rhodes, Hogan, and Piper's pasts and ultimately I still fall that way. Benoit and Booker? Dunno. Probably the killer over the thief. But it will be close.

Pittsburgh
1) Kurt Angle vs "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
4) Edge vs 5) Christian Cage
3) Bret Hart vs 6) A. J. Styles
2) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs 10) Ted DiBiase

Angle over Perfect, I guess, although I don't love him. Edge over Christian, probably as he's done much more since their breakup than Christian. Austin over Dibiase is easy. Hart vs AJ? I really don't know. Fan of both. AJ is kinda new and not with a long resume, but I didn't LOVE Bret. He could be boring and wooden. AJ could too, but watching him hit his signature moves for the 100th time can be more fun than watching Bret's 5 moves of doom. And he's probably done more in the tag world for me.

San Antonio
1) "HBK" Shawn Michaels vs 9) Kevin Nash
4) "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs 5) Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
3) The Undertaker vs 6) Andre the Giant
2) Triple H vs 7) Rey Mysterio, Jr.

HBK and Taker easy. HHH vs Rey is tough. Probably leaning to Rey. Savage vs Steamboat? I don't know. Despite my earlier statement its not that I don't give a shit about Steamboat. He was a great wrestler with some great matches. But I don't care about him. Again, probably a "I wasn't there" thing.

Hollywood
1) The Rock vs 9) Diamond Dallas Page
4) Samoa Joe vs 12) Owen Hart
3) Mick Foley vs 6) Raven
2) Chris Jericho vs 10) Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Page, I think. And I'm sure I'll be the minority. Joe, and I fear I'll be the minority. Raven, and I'm pretty sure I'll be the minority. Jericho, but I don't really mind it there. I guess Hollywood isn't my bracket.

[creepy]

Flair
RVD
Pick 'em
Benoit


Mr Perfect
Cage
Pick 'em (Probably Hart, although I can be swayed)
Austin (I guess)


HBK
Savage
UT
Abstain

Pick 'em
Pick 'em
Foley (?)
Jericho (Just watched Beyond The Mat again. Roberts just seems to want pity and overacts, to me, about everything. Maybe I would too if I was him)


I can be swayed on a few.

[Tommy]

Vote Page.

I'm not above illegally trading my vote.

<------------- That's DDP Reversing a Jackhammer from Goldberg and hitting a Diamond Cutter. That's when Goldberg beat everyone. Watch the crowd pop

[Batman]

tommyd420 said:

Vote Page.

No. You are spitting in the wind. Sorry.

I'm not above illegally trading my vote.

There's no rule (or law) against trading votes. Hasn't been much of it in this showdown, though.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

tommyd420 said:

Vote Page.

I'm not above illegally trading my vote.

<------------- That's DDP Reversing a Jackhammer from Goldberg and hitting a Diamond Cutter. That's when Goldberg beat everyone. Watch the crowd pop

Normally you'd get my vote but Page is going up against a guy who popped the crowd with his fucking eyebrow.

[Tommy]

He was also over because the crowds were able to remember his repetitive catchphrases.

I'm sure you could list them all right now.

[Batman]

None of Rocky's catchphrases ever got as old and stale and boring as all of the internet arguments telling everyone why he sucks.

[Mikey]

The regional semifinals are set in two of the four regions, and when you look at the pairings for the Sweet 16, it seems as if I rigged the brackets for these draws, but I promise you, I did not. It's how the balloting fell, Serge can back me up on that:

CHARLOTTE
1) Flair vs. 4) Hogan
2) Benoit vs. 3) Eddie

PITTSBURGH
1) Angle vs. 4) Edge
2) Austin vs. 3) Bret


The remaining second round matchups in the Hollywood and San Antonio brackets will be up sometime this weekend, so keep your eyes (or in Moose's case - eye) open for them.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

We really lucked out with these brackets... Hogan vs. Flair, are you kidding me?

Flair
Benoit
Angle
Austin

[Moosehead Jack]

Flair
Benoit
Angle
Bret

[Lucky]

Flair and Benoit for sure.

Angle over Edge, probably. Although lord knows I enjoy Edge much, much, MUCH more as a character. And when I put in his tag stuff he might make it even. Leaning towards Angle but Edge has a shot.

Leaning towards Bret over Austin, but I don't know. Very similar careers as far as I'm concerned. Tag history that rocked. Great characters that helped change wrestling. Talented wrestlers with great matches. Both a little overrated in my opinion and not my favorites. Austin probably has an edge on character but Bret has the edge on ring work. Dunno.

[Tommy]

Austin doesn't put me to sleep.

Have insomnia? Watch a Bret Hart Promo. Or match for that matter.

[Moosehead Jack]

for me Bret vs. Austin is easy. Bret was a great wrestler and tended to have great matches with pretty much everyone. Austin was a good wrestler at one time, but then became a walking cliche.

fore me, talent > character