Al

This was a Clash match. There are subtle hints in there, such as the topic subtitle. Yeah, that's bitter sarcasm. I'm not mean, but I think I'm entitled to a cheap shot. No hard feelings.

Tajiri was actually around earlier. He was in the Light Heavyweight Tournament, in late 1997.

WWE aired a Candido graphic at least.

John Bradshaw Layfield Jarrett was not the most inspiring wrestler, and his WWE career was relatively short. Bradshaw has been in the company nearly ten full years at this point, starting off as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, to Blackjack Bradshaw, then just Bradshaw, and now JBL. I like his new character, and I think he's just now getting his due. And to be fair, I was not high on him getting that push.

Mick Foley For the reasons mentioned above.

Randy Orton Probably because Orton has the look, and is extremely popular. Tajiri has not done much beyond the lower mid-card honestly.

Rick Martel Another tough one here. Besides Smash, Barry Darsow had a run as the Repo Man. Does that count? It really does not matter, as Martel won WWE Tag Team Titles in the late 70s with Tony Garea, as well as his title with Tito Santana. And I did not think the Model was THAT bad of a gimmick.

Roddy Piper Another VERY tough call. I take Piper because his heeldom was second to none in the mid-90s, while Jericho's place in WWE history is less distinguished.

Davey Boy Smith. Several main events and tag team championships. Taka had little impact after 1998.

Brock Lesnar Tough call here. The Ultimate Warrior competed from 1988-1991, 1992 and 1996. Lesnar wrestled from 2002-04. Both were hot acts for a time, but flaked out and departed unexpectedly. I go with Lesnar because he was a better wrestler, I'd rather see him wrestle again, and he could reasonably go over the Warrior.

Bret Hart Really nothing to argue.

Any "face" manager, such as Oliver Humperdink, Paul Ellering, or Arnold Skaaland. They serve no real purpose. Especially Skaaland, who did nothing but provide screwjob finishes and hold the belt. Usually they paired Harvey with the monster heel (Sid, Warlord, Adam Bomb etc.) with the idea that the heel would look that much bigger next to him.

Were any of those televised? I just think the WM III has an aura about it that any house show match can not top, no matter how good. Just a difference of opinion. I enjoyed the WM match more. That match occured in March of 1989. Hogan barely wrestled in 1988 between Wrestlemania and Summerslam, so the pickings are limited. April of 1990 actually. I did forget about that match, but I honestly could not judge if that was better than the Warrior match. Given the high praise assigned, I am going to assume Hogan-Hansen was the better match. And I fixed the Hogan-Flair error.

It is just like a car. The part is as good as new, but on a 50 year old body it is not the same as a young athlete.

Let me try something a little different. The Hulk Hogan edition... 1979 vs. Ted DiBiase (12/17) 1980 vs. Hulk Hogan (08/09) 1981 vs. Riki Choshu (06/04) 1982 vs. Rocky Balboa, Boxer vs. Wrestler Match 1983 vs. Nick Bockwinkel (4/24) 1984 vs. The Iron Shiek (1/23) 1985 with Mr. T, vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff (WM I) 1986 vs. Paul Orndorff, steel cage match (12/14) 1987 vs. Andre the Giant (WM III) 1988 with Randy Savage, vs. Andre the Giant and Ted DiBiase (Summerslam) 1989 vs. Randy Savage (WM V) 1990 vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WM VI) 1991 vs. Sgt. Slaughter (WM VII) 1992 vs. Sid Justice (WM VIII) 1993 vs. The Great Muta (5/3) 1994 vs. Ric Flair (7/17) 1995 vs. Big Van Vader (Superbrawl) 1996 with Scott Hall & Kevin Nash, vs. Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger (Bash at the Beach) 1997 vs. Sting (Starrcade) 1998 with Eric Bischoff, vs. Dallas Page and Jay Leno (Road Wild) 1999 vs. Kevin Nash (1/4) 2000 vs. Jeff Jarrett (Bash at the Beach) 2001 vs. Curt Hennig (11/14) 2002 vs. The Rock (WM XVIII) 2003 vs. Vince McMahon (WM XIX) 2004 Did Not Wrestle 2005 with Shawn Michaels, vs. Muhammad Hussan and Kosrow Daivari (Backlash) Talk about saving your best work for the big show. A lot of these, especially the Sid match in 1992 are the result of having to pick something. Other matches, such as the Leno match and the Sting match are here for their notoriety and not their quality.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't see getting more enjoyment from ripping GAB '91 than we've already read from Scott Keith and others.

Thanks for the info Tim.

Honky Tonk Man Seriously, the longest reigning IC champion against an announcer?

Greg Valentine Seemingly around forever, and was always a staple of WWE television. Again, if we counted pre-1985, I would give it to Muraco.

Bad News Brown If it was pre-1985, Adonis would get the nod.

Killer Bees. The Brainbusters were just a flash on the radar. Meanwhile, Jim Brunzell stuck around as enhancement talent for years, and the gimmick was cool in its own right.

Rikishi. I am a big fan of Terry Funk, but he flaked out on the promotion rather than contribute. Besides, any respectable WWE tournament needs samoan representation.

Mike Rotundo. Former WWF Tag Team champion, on multiple occasions. Bland, but a solid wrestler.

Val Venis

I have to pick Tajiri here. Mero did little of note outside of 1996/97.