Marty

Bret Hart Really, Benoit's career is like Bret's, but far, far shorter.

Bret Hart Same reasoning: Wrestler over entertainer.

...or, you know, Rey's work for, well, most of his career...

Do you happen to have those numbers, right off hand? Off-hand, I don't, but I remember Meltzer reporting in the Observer a while ago about Mysterio ranking right up there with Undertaker and Eddy Guerrero in terms of Smackdown merch circa 2003-2004. HTQ, a little help here?

Favorite Match involving Blood: Hokotu vs. Kandori, AJW, 4/2/93, which I just watched the other day. It edges out Eddy/JBL and Austin/Hart (WM13) Favorite World Title match (any promotion): Flair/Steamboat, 4/2/89 Favorite match that you like but deep down you know it really sucks: Rock/Austin, WM XIX Favorite Tag Team match: Midnights/Fantastics, 3/27/88. I need to watch the Japan matches everyone's talking about. Favorite cage match (Wargames excluded!!): It's been years since I've seen Lawler/Idol, too long in fact. I'll go Magnum/Tully at Starrcade 85. Favorite Wargames : 1992 Favorite three-way match: I've never seen a great one. I'll go WM XX for only the ending. Favorite comedy match: None comes to mind at the moment. Favorite match between wrestlers who have never been World Champion (in any company): Hard to say, as nothing is jumping out right now, but since Tim mentioned 3/16/1996 Rey-Juvi, I'll go for now with the one the week before, 3/9/96. Favorite match involving wrestlers with face-paint: Vader-Sting, SuperBrawl III

Davey Boy Smith Longer career in the WWF, better matches, and Smith never had a run in 1996 that had him in a storyline covering his history of alcohol.

Shawn Michaels Both guys are or have been selfish assholes, both guys never drew when they were alone at the top, both guys are average at best on the mic, both guys sucked the life out of MSG at WM XX and both guys are really overrated by many people in terms of their working ability, at least these days. I do have to give the edge to Michaels because he has had far, far, FAR better matches than HHH, dating back to the Rockers' days as well as instances during his singles' time. Hunter has never had a match that is anywhere near Michaels' best.

Rey Mysterio I really don't care if Undertaker has been around longer, had more success, etc. I watch wrestling for the Rey Mysterios of the world, not the Undertakers. After Undertaker debuted, he went on a rampage, beating a legend at WrestleMania, involved in a major storyline with Jake Roberts and Randy Savage, won the WWF title a year after his debut, and put to misery Roberts, a heel who had really got on the fans' nerves. I often wonder what would happen to Mysterio if he was pushed at that level in 2002-2003, even if it was done in a different way, rather than becoming Albert's whipping boy. Mysterio's a far better worker, as we know. His work in the WWE, arguably, isn't as good as its been elsewhere, but he's had many standout matches. His very recent work with Eddy Guerrero shows how well he can look if he is also booked strong in a major storyline. Mysterio's also been the equivalent of Undertaker in terms of merch sales. However, if I'm a parent of a kid who enjoys wrestling, I'd rather the kid buy a Mysterio mask than a foam Undertaker urn, but that may be just me. On top of all this, unlike a lot of Undertaker's work that many forget when thinking about his success, Mysterio has never done anything in his WWE run that has made me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan, to steal a quote from Loss. I'll also re-quote Loss: Like the Hogan-Benoit matchup, I think this will really show what fans watch wrestling for.

Chris Jericho This was incredibly tough to call here, as both guys faced their share of political bullshit in many ways. What Owen put up with from 1997 to, arguably, his last day on the planet is fairly equivalent to what Jericho's had to deal with for much of his career. Both received their own cups of coffee with the main event with help from main eventers more interested in building stars than putting themselves over (Bret Hart and Rock). I'm going to give the edge to Jericho, because he reached the top title in the promotion almost on his own terms, his best match (versus Rock at NM2001) is better than Owen's best match, and, to use a comparison of opposition, Jericho's had better matches with HHH than Owen has and maybe even HBK (it's been a while since I've seen an Owen-HBK match). I almost went with Owen here, because Jericho never reached his full potential, whereas, under the circumstances, Owen moreless did, and at least when he was near the main event level, he shined. However, since both careers almost parallel each other, I'll go with the guy who has the slight edge in accomplishments and matches and, to some extent, overall presence.

Smackdown right now, with EDDY~! cutting the killer heel promo of his life. He's really coming across as an evil motherfucker and I love it! I'd advise all of you in the States to check it out in under an hour. HHH *wishes* he cut a heel promo like this!

You must mean if Some Guy hacked into my account which, as far as I know, didn't happen.

Steve Austin Goodhelmet made some great points about Randy Savage and his ability to have great matches with godawful -> below average workers. A big factor in that, in my opinion, is a couple of those workers, Hogan and Warrior, are those the fans cared for at the time. By the time Austin got to workers like that on a regular basis, such as Undertaker, he was already a shell of his previous working ability. This isn't a knock on Savage, who should still be commended for those matches with those guys. However, Austin did what he could at the time with a fucked up neck. Could Savage have done the same with the same level of injuries? It's unlikely, and I mention this, because Austin's most notable injury, his neck, was pretty much out of his hands. If he left to get the thing healed right away, it would've been nonsensical, considering his exploding popularity. And before Austin's injury, he was stuck in the ring with guys such as a still-green Hunter Hearst Helmsley who, using the same comparison, was someone the fans never cared for. How many memorable matches did Randy Savage have against George Steele? Savage, while very well remembered, never revived a promotion like Austin did. Savage never got knocked down by a bush league gimmick upon his debut and got back up to carry the company like Austin did. Savage never sold merch like Austin did, never sold tickets like Austin did, and never carried the company like Austin did. I agree that Savage wins on a couple things, such as good->great matches with slugs and success in both face and heel mode, but it's tough to ignore Austin's success in almost every other category imaginable. Loss mentioned a while ago that Austin took more from the business than he gave back. I agree, and I think he did that more than Savage, but he also, as far as general success goes, brought in a lot more.

Chris Benoit Due to Loss' reasoning.

Eddy Guerrero I'll try not to repeat what Loss said, but it's pretty much what I'm thinking. Rock took what the promotion gave him and ran with it, whereas Eddy got knocked down, got up again, stole the promotion's attention after his comeback and reached the peak of the promotion (or at least his brand) via the fans' interest and no one else. For a guy with the personal problems he had, that's an incredible accomplishment, even if I didn't do it justice in that one sentence. Eddy's had better matches than Rock has, particularly when they were at the top of the mountain. He's had better matches with Angle than Rock has had, he's had a better match with Brock than Rock has had, he's had a better match with Show than the Rock has had, and this is from a guy who's a bit past his prime as a worker, or is supposedly not quite the worker he was in WCW or elsewhere before that. (He still isn't as good as he was in WCW, but I wanted to make a point.) Eddy's incredibly underrated in both the mic area, as well as general charisma. As long as the promotion is squarely behind him, he can play both face and heel to the best of abilities. The jury's a bit out as far as him playing heel these days (or more specifically, the results of him playing heel), but Rock got a number of face reactions during his heel days (which were fairly well-booked), and had trouble maintaining consistent face reactions, particular vs. Hogan and Brock, although the former would be a tough task for anyone. Rock has been the better draw, but Eddy in 2003-04 was no slouch in the draw department either. On the surface, Rock looks like a sure winner and may in fact be the right vote, but considering what Eddy earned in his career, and it's not limited to upmost respect, he gets my vote due to his accomplishments.

Bret Hart In many ways, Hart is underrated as a draw, while Foley is overrated in the same category. As mentioned by Loss, Hart helped trigger the beginning of the Attitude era and really helped get the ball rolling on Steve Austin. Foley, while a recognizable personality in the Attitude era, served as more of a sideshow to Austin rather than a direct factor to Austin's career. If anything, Hart could control the WWF's fate and direction, or was at least in a better position to, than Foley. Foley influenced a style during that era, but that's probably the best argument for him. Any money he drew was as a result of being Paul Orndorff to Steve Austin's Hulk Hogan. Bret was more than that in his feud with Austin, and was far more than that before that time too. Hart's quality of matches is also far greater than Foley's and knew how to tell a story via a feud, while, in some ways, the jury's still out on Foley after his uneventful feud with Randy Orton. Foley had a strong WWF career, but as far as general influence and overall impact, Bret takes this one.

If you mean WWE DVD-wise, Flair-Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble isn't available. The only Flair-Steamboat matches the WWE released were Clash VI and WrestleWar 89, both on the Flair DVD set. I think all three are on Flair's DVD and they call Chi-Town Rumble "the Greatest Match." I don't feel like putting the disc in and sitting through "Don't Try This at Home" to check. Wrestlewar 89 is also on HHH's DVD. It was the main reason I bought the thing. Nope, just those two. The third match that they have (which is clipped) is Ricky Steamboat & Eddie Gilbert vs. Ric Flair & Barry Windham. They clipped, I believe, the face-in-peril bit. Too bad that match wasn't in full.

You'll find that happening a lot with people who consider American wrestling a joke because of its over-the-top nature. To watch wrestling with the actual wrestling at the forefront, rather than absurd skits and angles, and with the wrestling treated as a sport and with a lot of respect, it makes Japanese wrestling more appealing to people who don't want their intelligence insulted, and, like Loss said, once they get over the non-English commentary, they're usually hooked, if only because it's treated like a sport. On top of all that, my lady appreciates the Japanese crowd an awful lot and they way they both respect and react to the matches. That's another factor in her approval of my watching Japanese wrestling.

I should probably mention here that my girlfriend is a non-wrestling fan, but much rather prefers it when I'm watching Japanese matches over North American matches.

If you mean WWE DVD-wise, Flair-Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble isn't available. The only Flair-Steamboat matches the WWE released were Clash VI and WrestleWar 89, both on the Flair DVD set.

YES!

Davey Boy Smith DBS wins on longevity. They're both about equal in match quality. DBS headlined a better drawing stadium show.