[Mikey]

Rock: “Oh, you’re down?”

Jericho: “I’m down.”

Rock: “You’re down?”

Jericho: “I’m down with the clown.”

Rock: “Oh, you’re down with the Rock?”

I have no idea what this fall 2001 conversation has to do with this showdown, but I think it’s funny. We got the People’s Champ versus the Ayatollah of Rockandrollah in the finals of the Hollywood regional. Can Jericho break the walls down and advance to the Final Four? Or does Y2J hit Rock Bottom at the hand of the most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment history?





Poll closes Monday at midnight eastern.

[Angle]

I'm down with Jericho, he's got my vote.

The Rock may have charisma, but so does Jericho and his in-ring skills are far superior to Rocky.

[Batman]

Don't care.

[The Jewish Cunthead]

This takes into account drawing power, star power, workrate, character, interviews, the whole smash.

Drawing power - Rock
Star power - Rock
workrate - Jericho
character - push
interviews - push

Sue me. I'm voting for the entertainment aspect of sports entertainment.

[Byrntrigan]

I actually feel Jericho takes workrate, character and interviews. Jericho never heaviliy relied on the stupid sing-along catch phrase aimed at middle schoolers (except the trashbag ho one).

Star Power is an obvious one but I think you could make arguments he's equal or stronger on drawing power. I mean in WCW he WAS the reason alot of people were watching. Plus, when was the last time people were clamoring for any wrestler to jump to a new Fed?

Jericho is the man and I prophesize he'll be in the final 2.

[Lucky]

I'd have to easily give Jericho Character and Interviews. Rock was great at his little thing but it was a one dimensional character with the same basic interview. Jericho's guilty of catchphrases and laziness at times too but he can switch his character around, show lots of different motivations, convey emotions, and tell a promo that actually says something. Rock is just cocky and rude, but in a fun way. Rock's character may be more loved and bigger but Jericho's are fuller.

No way does Jericho take drawing power. Even if you do presume that he was the biggest reason some were watching Nitro, that's still not quite up there with being the biggest draw in the business for many years and having some of the biggest drawing main events.

When was the last time people were clamoring for some to jump to a different fed? There's at least half a dozen guys in WWE I wish would go to TNA or ROH because they are being misused at least one in TNA I wish was at WM. I also think Ron Killings can really prosper in theory from a move to WWE and I would very much like to see programs with the RAW card, especially Cena. I thought the same about Monty Brown.

I mean, Jericho was just a midcarder who was regularly becoming one of the best things on Nitro and people wanted to see more of, but clearly seemed stuck in his spot. Is that any different than how many feel about Shelton Benjamin? Or London and Kendrick? Or how people felt about Christian before he did jump? And there's any number of TNA guys like James Storm, LAX, and MCMG who one can argue is stuck when they have more to offer than TNA is allowing.


I vote Jericho, despite him annoying me of late.

[salmonjunkie]

Both of them made among the worst shirts in WWE. I'm voting for The Rock, because Jericho's shirts were even worse.

Not that I wear that shit. I like them both equally, so I just went with that. All the stupid Rock shirts never made me as ashamed to be a wrestling fan then when I was at Hooters watching Summer Slam 2001 and some ugly fuck wore a shirt that said "Will You Please Shut The Hell Up".

[The Jewish Cunthead]

dxb said:

Star Power is an obvious one but I think you could make arguments he's equal or stronger on drawing power. I mean in WCW he WAS the reason alot of people were watching. Plus, when was the last time people were clamoring for any wrestler to jump to a new Fed?

Really? What would happen if Rocky said he was coming back as a full-time wrestler... to TNA? Think it might be just a bit bigger than Jericho's jump in '99 or his comeback last year?

[National Champion Chris Cole]

I think Rock is under rated in ringwork. He still isn't Jericho but he can tell a great story in the ring. He also gets tons of extra points in my book for the way he was booked. I love a Main Event wrestler that is only booked to win 50% or so of his big time matches. I was always into every near fall of Rock's matches because I was never able to predict the outcome.

[Deadly]

A tough one for me, but I think I have to go with Jericho. Sorry Rocky.

[Mikey]

I can't believe this. I mean, I love Jericho. Really love him. My fondest memory of attending a live wrestling show centers entirely around Jericho.

But my conscience will not allow me to vote against The Rock here.

[Tommy]

A vote for Jericho is also a vote for OWEN!!!!

I would have voted Jericho anyway. Better worker, more imaginative on the mic.

Jericho's also one of the best heels, well, ever.

[Moreofabreadguyanyway]

I love both of these guys, but the Rock has to take this. I think people have forgotten that Jericho's promos were usually just as repetitive as the Rock's. And really, Jericho's comeback has been pretty shitty so far, save for those two great Jeff Hardy matches.

[Fire-Babe]

Well, I can't use my usual criteria of "Which wrestler do I think is hotter?"

Although mock me all you want, but the Rock is too much slick-Hollywood for my tastes. Give me the rock-and-roller, even if he has short hair now.

[Angle]

Yeah, Jericho needs to grow his hair back out, like it was in my avatar.

And now, to give Jericho more of an advantage.

[Batman]

Part of me is tempted to vote for Jericho just to ensure that I never have to hear this sentence again!

metallikid said:

I love a Main Event wrestler that is only booked to win 50% or so of his big time matches.

(We know! But most of us actually like to root for a babyface who isn't made to look like a schmuck whose enemies always seem to be one step ahead of him.)

But part of me is tempted to vote for Rock just out of being pissed that Jericho has such an easier road to the finals than my guys do (Eddie and Angle.) Not to say that HBK won't be the favorite in an HBK vs Y2J matchup, but an upset wouldn't be a huge shock. Whereas if either Eddie or Angle stop the unstoppable Flair steamroller it would be the upset of the year.

It looks to me like Foley put up a bigger obstacle to Jericho than Rocky is so far! This despite the fact that Rocky got 12 top-five nominations, more than any other wrestler, and Jericho only got 6.

I blame Parvini's First Theorem. I urged everyone--only rank one wrestler higher than another if you would vote for that wrestler if he were one-on-one with the other. But people ranked Rocky higher than their gut feel told them to because they wanted to take into account his drawing power. But now that it comes down to voting, they're going back to what their gut tells them.

[Mikey]

sergeial said:

(But most of us actually like to root for a babyface who isn't made to look like a schmuck whose enemies always seem to be one step ahead of him.)

Not Lucky and Soprano.

[Lucky]

I can only presume that links to a Sting rant and DAMN RIGHT!

Sometimes I want a smart face who doesn't have to fall into the traps a heel constantly sets for him.

Sometimes I want a face who SO believes that what he's doing is right that he runs head first when he thinks its a trap, that he jumps into the fight when he's way outnumbered, and he goes out and wrestles even when he knows he's gonna get screwed. Because that's what a hero does, damnnit!

He does not talk about his $500 shirts while threatening to sodomize his opponents and teasing divas with cunnilingus. Do that on your own time!

tommyd420 said:

A vote for Jericho is also a vote for OWEN!!!!

Psst. May I direct you to Eddie/Flair?

[Byrntrigan]

fsolomon75 said:

dxb said:

Star Power is an obvious one but I think you could make arguments he's equal or stronger on drawing power. I mean in WCW he WAS the reason alot of people were watching. Plus, when was the last time people were clamoring for any wrestler to jump to a new Fed?

Really? What would happen if Rocky said he was coming back as a full-time wrestler... to TNA? Think it might be just a bit bigger than Jericho's jump in '99 or his comeback last year?

Maybe, but honestly the Rock bores me. he hits the same catchphrases, does the same moves and well, is boring me.

He is a pretty good actor, so it's not like I hate him for the sake of not liking him. I do think I'd mark out like when cena came back as a complete surprise, but it's the 30 seconds after that I worry about.

I don't wanna know about the Rock's struedel...

[Riot Act]

Jericho. Yeah, I'm biased, but Rock just seemed so one-dimensional and repetitive at times. Not that Jericho didn't have the same repetitive tendencies, but he had more going for him.

EDIT: Why the hell can't I vote?

[gooker]

I was leaning toward Jericho anyway but that video Anglefan posted was classic. That pushed me over the edge.

[Angle]

Glad to be of service. ;D

[Lou]

I love Jericho, but members of his family are not getting inducted into the Hall Of Fame just in the hopes that he'll show up for the televised ceremony.

[Lucky]

AH HA! Suck on it, Rock.

[bdoriginal]

Rock's always been my favorite. He was one of the few reasons I'd change away from Nitro to watch Raw back in the day. I like Jericho just fine, but I was not lying back during the "Save Us" campaign. I would rather have Rock back than him any day of the week. Hell, I actually said I was looking more forward to D-Lo popping up on my screen than Jericho. Maybe I'm just down on the sport in general, but while I enjoyed Jericho's matches, I loved evertyhing about the Rock. So, yeah, Jericho's probably going to take this and it won't make me scratch my head like the Owen/Sting thing, but I still had to throw my vote towards the Rock. Anyone ever find his "Get The F" out promo when he came back after Stone Cold walked out? I can't remember if that is as awesome as I thought it was at the time.