First Round Upset Predictions

[Con T.]

Hello, one and all! Looks like it's time for that tournament that eerily resembles March Madness. Well, what's the best part of March Madness?

Why, the squad of cheerleaders tied up in my van, if course. But of there is a second best part of March Madness (and it's a steep drop from first), it has to be the upsets. Let's face it, we all like being the smartest guy in the room. We may hate that guy in the office who had that Norfolk State beating the team you had going to the final four. But when you are that guy that called it, you love just sitting there in smug complacency, knowing you are, in fact, smarter than everyone else. You love being that guy, almost as much as you hate it when that guy is someone else.

Admit it, you narcissitic fucks.

Anyway, this tournament may not seem to have many potential upsets on the horizon. But, there are a few matches that definitely have upset potential. This is the thread to call the upsets before they happen. Pick the upsets you think could happen in here, and gloat about to everyone when your upset wins. That is, of course, until they get slaughtered in the next round.

JBL over Curt Hennig

This one has actually been called before, and most people will probably think I chose this for the old argument that JBL won the WWE title, and Perfect never did. But if you really look at the careers of these two men, JBL is just as decorated as Perfect is. Both have won multiple titles, both former IC champions, and if I'm being fully ply,honest, JBL's resume is actually better than Curt Hennig's. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that JBL was a better wrestler; what I am telling you is that JBL rose to the top of his company, he beat big names that Perfect hasn't, and he's accomplished as much, if not more, than Curt Hennig has in wrestling. Hennig fans will sit here and argue that Mr. Perfect never got a chance because he was in Hulk Hogan's era, and I'll get to that argument in another prediction, but the truth is this is a mismatch for Hennig.

Ken Shamrock over Bob Backlund

Remember those same people that will tell you that names like Jake Roberts, Ted Dibiase, and Curt Hennig would have been world champion if they weren't in the era of Hulk Hogan? It always amuses me how that argument applies to those wrestlers, but absolutely no one will use that argument for a guy that came out of the Austin/McMahon era. Ken Shamrock is one of those guys; he ha the size, the skill, and was an intense mother fucker and in his own way, and really is the early incanation of guys like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar. I just think this a match that Bob Backlund could easily slip up in, and wind up losing.

Samoa Joe over Chris Jericho

Yeah, I said it. Most Jericho supporters are going to point to the last two years of his career, and make you believe that is what Samoa Joe actually is. I'm going to call bullshit on that right away, and anyone that watched Joe's stuff from 2004-2008, where he was arguably the best wrestler on the face of the planet. There was a time Samoa Joe was an absolute monster in professional wrestling, and had the wrestling ability to back his shit up. Know who's had a five star match before? Samoa Joe; actually, he has 3 to his name. Chris Jericho? Not a one.

TNA admittedly doesn't always do good business, which is likely going to be why most people are not voting for Joe. But when were they doing the best business of all time? It was during his series with Kurt Angle. And no, it wasn't all Angle; Joe more than held his own. TNA made Joe the foundation of their company. Chris Jericho? Eh, if there aren't any better stars around, he may get there, but he's never been the face of his company.

Those are just some upsets I see. Feel free to post your own upset specials

 

[Con T.]

I agree with the first two, but jesus Christ man.

Legitimate question; did you actually watch his work from the time period I'm talking about? Joe's just as competent a worker as Jericho is. He also has a much more aggressive side to him, that Jericho frankly lacks. It isn't near as impossible as you may think, bub

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Samoa Joe over Chris Jericho

Yeah, I said it. Most Jericho supporters are going to point to the last two years of his career, and make you believe that is what Samoa Joe actually is. I'm going to call bullshit on that right away, and anyone that watched Joe's stuff from 2004-2008, where he was arguably the best wrestler on the face of the planet. There was a time Samoa Joe was an absolute monster in professional wrestling, and had the wrestling ability to back his shit up. Know who's had a five star match before? Samoa Joe; actually, he has 3 to his name. Chris Jericho? Not a one.

TNA admittedly doesn't always do good business, which is likely going to be why most people are not voting for Joe. But when were they doing the best business of all time? It was during his series with Kurt Angle. And no, it wasn't all Angle; Joe more than held his own. TNA made Joe the foundation of their company. Chris Jericho? Eh, if there aren't any better stars around, he may get there, but he's never been the face of his company.

Those are just some upsets I see. Feel free to post your own upset specials

I can't recall a time, unless it was that say, one World Heavyweight Championship reign where Joe was the face of TNA. Chris Jericho was pushed in a very similar fashion, or do people not understand what he is saying to them when he repeatedly reminds us he is the first ever WWE Undisputed Champion and he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in one night?

My main fear when Jericho meets Joe is somebody will bring up Jericho's poor record against the "monsters" of professional wrestling, even though Joe is a mere two inches taller than Jericho and like fifty pounds fatter. And yes, I said fat, or do I need to post the Scott Steiner's opinion on it?

 

[Big Sexy]

Rick Rude over Jeff Jarrett

This is only a small upset but Jarrett is the higher seed. Rude usually gets a fair amount of support in this tournament and Jarrett doesn't get much at all. My personal preference is Rick Rude and when you really evaluate their careers I think Rude would have been more successful had he not been forced to retire.

Barry Windham over Jake Roberts

Jake is way too high of a seed in this tournament for a guy who won ZERO titles in the WWE. He was a tremendous performer but the lack of winning anything of importance (a title, a tournament, etc) in the WWE hurts him. Windham on the other hand had great success in the NWA and has defeated some big names.

Brian Pillman over Jerry Lawler

Pillman was a tremendous performer and gets a lot of love on these forums. Most people here remember Jerry Lawler as a commentator and the loser in the Bret Hart feud. Lawler was extremely over back in the day and won an insane amount of titles but I think many on this forum will conveniently forget that.

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

Daniel Bryan over Bret Hart

I think there may be a legitimate chance that he might upset Bret. It's actually the only first round match up I'm really looking forward to debating on. I'm not the biggest fan of either but I do believe in a real match up Bryan has the hitman's number.

 

[Con T.]

I can't recall a time, unless it was that say, one World Heavyweight Championship reign where Joe was the face of TNA. Chris Jericho was pushed in a very similar fashion, or do people not understand what he is saying to them when he repeatedly reminds us he is the first ever WWE Undisputed Champion and he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in one night?

My main fear when Jericho meets Joe is somebody will bring up Jericho's poor record against the "monsters" of professional wrestling, even though Joe is a mere two inches taller than Jericho and like fifty pounds fatter. And yes, I said fat, or do I need to post the Scott Steiner's opinion on it?

It's not tournament time, and the match isn't coming up, so I'm likely better suited not completely debating this. But;

Yes, I get it, Jericho was given the chance to beat Rock and Austin. His reign with the belt was marginal, at best. When people point to why Michaels and Taker mainevented WM 26 and Rock and Cena did so this year, they point specifically to his match with Triple H at Mania. I grant you, there were extenuating circumstances, Hogan came back, etc. But Chris Jericho made it ok that the WWE title did not have to main event Wrestlemania.

Wait, I forgot, Shawn and Diesel did the same thing. I will grant you that. Fire away with what you will with that

 

[Big Sexy]

Daniel Bryan over Bret Hart

I think there may be a legitimate chance that he might upset Bret. It's actually the only first round match up I'm really looking forward to debating on. I'm not the biggest fan of either but I do believe in a real match up Bryan has the hitman's number.

I'd say there's only a .0000001% chance of that happening. Hart always goes far in these tournaments. DB has had a nice year but certainly not enough to make much of an argument for him to go over Hart. Bret will win easily.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

It's not tournament time, and the match isn't coming up, so I'm likely better suited not completely debating this. But;

Yes, I get it, Jericho was given the chance to beat Rock and Austin. His reign with the belt was marginal, at best. When people point to why Michaels and Taker mainevented WM 26 and Rock and Cena did so this year, they point specifically to his match with Triple H at Mania. I grant you, there were extenuating circumstances, Hogan came back, etc. But Chris Jericho made it ok that the WWE title did not have to main event Wrestlemania.

Final match at Wrestlemania was Chris Jericho vs. Triple H, a main event is characterized as the final match on a card, the match wasn't well received and partially the cause of that is because The Rock/Hulk Hogan had drawn so much from the crowd they were exhausted by the time they'd reached the final match. That however isn't the fault of the performer, in this case Jericho, that is the fault of the booker. Jericho held the Undisputed Championship, for roughly four months, if recollection serves me correct he defeated both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in separate bouts following Vengeance. Take his reign for what you will when you consider the names WWE were placing him against he did alright for himself.

 

[Con T.]

We're going to have plenty of time to go on about this, I don't want to have the match before we have the match.

In the meantime, two more upsets I'm going to be pulling for;

William Regal over Kane

I want Kane out, out, as far away from this fucking tournament as possible. I can only pray that enough people see that Kane has been in enough shitty television, that they decide to vote him out, and give Regal the win. This is one of those times where I feel winnin a world title doesn't kill Regal, especially because Kane does nothing but have be a part of horrible television any time he's near a world title. I can only pray enough people have had enough of this guy, and we can boot him out before someone argues that he was pretty good working with The Undertaker fourteen years ago.

Abdullah over Rey Mysterio

Do I want this to happen? I'm indifferent really, I could see it happening, though. It's more than just Abdullah being a big ol' fucker, it also is that he's a big fucker, who quite a lot for business. That isn't to take away from Rey, because surely Rey had a big impact himself. I could see him losing though

 

[Peoples_Champ]

JBL over Curt Hennig - I love Mr. Perfect, but this was a terrible draw for him. JBL is a multiple time champion while Mr. Perfect was not ever a headliner. To what fault that is attributed to Creative, alcohol, his back injury is arguable, but the fact remains that JBL was more successful than Mr. Perfect and would have went over on him.

Arn Anderson over Dory Funk Jr. - With his recent induction into the WWE HOF, there will be a bump for Double A. Dory Funk Jr is not a character many regular members will know / relate to. But they'll all have heard about the Four Horsemen.

Jeff Hardy over Kevin Nash - This one was tough for me. I think both men have great strengths in different areas. Watching these two in their primes would have been interesting. That being said, Nash is probably ranked too high while Hardy is a bit too low. I can see Hardy getting over on Nash, especially with fan votes probably not giving Nash too much love.

Greg Valentine over DDP - I hated Greg Valentine and I actually enjoyed DDP. But Greg Valentine deserves it here. He was a scary, scary man growing up while DDP never became too successful (or as successful as he could have been). Valentine had multiple championships in every promotion, and for that reason I'm giving it to him.

Steve Williams over Ultimo Dragon - I adored the Ultimo Dragon character when he was in WCW, before the tragic injury. But Dr. Death was, like Valentine, successful everywhere he went. He was a tremendously feared competitor and was incredibly over in Japan. Bad draw for Ultimo Dragon, but Steve Williams deserves this match.

 

[Davi323]

Davey Boy Smith over Lex Luger. Both are known for their power, but people always underestimate the British Bulldog's WRESTLING ability. Yeah, he was a powerful guy, but he was also trained in the dungeon. Strip away the power, Smith still has his wrestling skill, Luger has nothing.

Jeff Hardy over Kevin Nash. No way in hell this would happen in the real world, but with all of the kiddies who think Hardy is the greatest thing since the invention of sliced bread, I can see him getting the "ZOMGTEHHARDYBOYZARETHEBESTTEAMEVER" vote. Unfortunate, but I can see it happening.

 

[The Crock]

Samoa Joe over Chris Jericho

Know who's had a five star match before? Samoa Joe; actually, he has 3 to his name. Chris Jericho? Not a one.

I'm not here to really dispute whether or not this scenario will happen (I will give my thoughts, though), I just want to point out that I don't think five star matches mean all that much -- especially not against a wrestler of Chris Jericho's caliber. Guys like The Rock and Randy Savage don't have a five star match to their name (an official one, as recognized by the Observer, at least) and they're so far out of Samoa Joe's league that it isn't even funny. Meltzer's ratings should not come into play, at all.

I get it, a five star match is impressive, but if we judged these match-ups based on that, then Misawa (24 five star matches) would be dominating this tournament year in and year out. Over the course of his career, Jericho has compiled more work that would be considered quality than what Joe probably has (to each his own, I suppose), even though Joe has a five star match and Jericho doesn't. Personally, I think that this argument is completely ridiculous, but that's just me.

My actual thoughts on the match-up are simple: As impressive Joe's stretch from 2004-2008 was, I'd pick Jericho every time. I'm not a huge Jericho mark, but I think the guy is an excellent wrestler, albeit a little overrated; however, I believe Joe's peak is about as overrated as anything in the wrestling business today. It was good, but with the way some people talk about it, you'd think the guy was putting on clinic after clinic, night in and night out.

I'm not trying to discredit what you're saying here, the upset is possible -- though I wouldn't vote that way -- but I just don't agree with the use of five star matches as an argument.

 

[Con T.]

Fair, I get the issue with the Meltzer rating, the truth is, i'm bringing them stats up for one reason.

I know at some point, somebody is going to argue that Jericho is a "better" worker than Samoa Joe. I get the folk that don't put much stock into Meltzer's stuff, but the truth is, the guy knows his shit about wrestling. When someone pulls out a five star match, it could be all luck, circumstance, you get the drill. When you have three under your belt, i feel that it's some sort of sign that you know how to be one of the best workers in the business.

I won't argue your points about Joe yet, that will come in the tournament, but the truth is, how well matches are ranked are a pretty good way to determine who knows how to work. It's one opinion, but it's also an opinion that, in wrestling, is an expert opinion.

 

[The Crock]

Fair, I get the issue with the Meltzer rating, the truth is, i'm bringing them stats up for one reason.

I know at some point, somebody is going to argue that Jericho is a "better" worker than Samoa Joe. I get the folk that don't put much stock into Meltzer's stuff, but the truth is, the guy knows his shit about wrestling. When someone pulls out a five star match, it could be all luck, circumstance, you get the drill. When you have three under your belt, i feel that it's some sort of sign that you know how to be one of the best workers in the business.

I won't argue your points about Joe yet, that will come in the tournament, but the truth is, how well matches are ranked are a pretty good way to determine who knows how to work. It's one opinion, but it's also an opinion that, in wrestling, is an expert opinion.

Meltzer's a respectable source, but he also has CLEAR preferences on what kind of wrestling he prefers and what will or will not receive a five star rating. From Shawn Michaels and Undertaker in 1997, until Punk and Cena in 2011, WWE didn't have a single five star match... Just saying. You have to take his opinion with a grain of salt, at the very least. Joe may have three five star matches, but I won't say it's indicative of him being one of the best workers in the business. Again, we don't use Misawa as a measuring stick on who the best in the business are.

Five star matches are nice and all, but it comes off very hollow when you see the whole list of guys who have never had a five star match (Kurt Angle, Randy Savage, The Rock, Triple H, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero, etc). Meltzer's not the ultimate source on things and his match ratings should not be viewed as such.

EDIT: Also, in that stretch from '97 to '11, Ring of Honor had 3 five star matches, All Japan had 4, etc.

 

[Con T.]

Fair, but my point isn't so much that I'm taking his stance as an ultimate point. I'm just saying it holds a fuckton more creedence than most opinions I'm going to be reading in this tournament. I'm sorry if that sounds like a shitty thing to say, just the way I views it.

And yes, sure he has preferences, but this is also coming from a guy who has made studying wrestling his life. He's seen a myriad of matches from everywhere, and just about every era. It's not like he will exclusively look down on WWE's programming, or say that WWE is evil. And, plenty wrestlers take his ratings to heart, which means they have to have some validity. I remember Bret Hart taking pride because Meltzer wrote well of his match with Owen, and frankly, that's a pretty good opinion to hold stock in your reviews. Yeah, it's an opinion, but from a guy who's seen likely billions of matches. Course I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[JGlass]

When each man is at their best, Samoa Joe is more entertaining than Chris Jericho. He just has the sort of viciousness that lends itself to wrestling that Jericho never had, and never could have. Both on the mic and in the ring, Samoa Joe has the personality that screams wrestling to me, while Jericho is more of a "superstar".

I'm not sure if that's enough to win it, as there are hundreds of mislead souls on this site that believe that have bought into Jericho and his silver tongue. But put Joe's best match up against Jericho's best match, and Joe's is better. Put Joe's best promo up against Jericho's best promo, and Joe's is better.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I going to pick Samoa Joe over Jericho and Regal over Kane. Nothing about Kane has ever impressed me. I don't care that he can do a top-rope clothesline. Hell, Test isn't that much smaller than Kane and he routinely did elbows from the top rope. He was never as dominant as most people think he is and he would be the type of guy to lose to Regal.

 

[shattered dreams]

There is almost no chance Joe is going to beat Jericho in this tournament. That doesn't mean you can't make a decent (read not good/great) argument for it, just means it isn't going to work. Jericho was a main eventer in WWE when some of the biggest names in the history of wrestling stepped away. Joe was a main eventer in TNA that couldn't even hold that spot when when the company grew a little. I loved Joe back in the day but this match has Jericho outsmarts Joe written all over it.

Put Joe's best promo up against Jericho's best promo, and Joe's is better.

My predictions are BULLY RAY over HHH. Also, I'd like to see Snuka defeat Goldberg.

 

[Bernkastel]

I going to pick Samoa Joe over Jericho and Regal over Kane. Nothing about Kane has ever impressed me. I don't care that he can do a top-rope clothesline. Hell, Test isn't that much smaller than Kane and he routinely did elbows from the top rope. He was never as dominant as most people think he is and he would be the type of guy to lose to Regal.

Kane has a winning record against the Undertaker on PPV, with the title on the line each time no less. Regal couldn't even get the job done against CM Punk. Personally I couldn't give a shit if you think Kane's a bad worker, or boring, or doesn't draw. But don't vote blindly just because you don't like someone.

The fact is Kane has fought and defeated some of the best wrestlers in the industry, and as accomplished a hell of a allot more than Regal has.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Kane has a winning record against the Undertaker on PPV, with the title on the line each time no less. Regal couldn't even get the job done against CM Punk. Personally I couldn't give a shit if you think Kane's a bad worker, or boring, or doesn't draw. But don't vote blindly just because you don't like someone.

The fact is Kane has fought and defeated some of the best wrestlers in the industry, and as accomplished a hell of a allot more than Regal has.

A whole lot of wrestlers have a winning PPV record against the Undertaker and Regal has defeated Punk before.

I'm not voting blindly because I don't like Kane. The only thing that's really changed about Kane in the past decade is that he had one world title reign. Still isn't going to make me vote him over Regal.

 

[Bernkastel]

I'm not voting blindly because I don't like Kane. The only thing that's really changed about Kane in the past decade is that he had one world title reign. Still isn't going to make me vote him over Regal.

One [long] title reign and a bunch of high profile victories over many star studded veterans that Regal has never beaten under the same circumstances. For example: Undertaker, Edge, and Randy Orton to name a few.

In fact... this is how I expect the match to happen

[youtube]Ec1MUJ1nIOc[/youtube]

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Here are a few more "upsets" that can happen as far as seedings go:

Christian vs Booker T: Booker has more titles but I do not remember a thing about his five championship wins in WCW. Christian is a smark favourite who has recently won a world title, something which always hindered him in tournaments like these. They also have a pretty even record in singles competitions( I believe that is the case though I could be wrong) but overall I feel people like Christian more than Booker. Don't get mad at me Big Sexy, it just seems like the case. Overall, this could be like Christian's win over Miz last year, only a bigger upset.

Batista vs Yokozuna: Yoko has been seeded below Batista but it is always hard to argue against his dominant run in 1993 wherein he also ended Hulkamania. Ironically, I believe that Batista has some easier matches lined up for him if he wins this. Yoko would find it hard to win against HHH who has a pretty good fan following but as we all know Batista has a pretty good record against HHH.

Sid Vicious vs Nick Bockwinkel: Not too many people like Sid but not many know a ton about Bockwinkel either.

Eddie Guerrero vs Owen Hart: Eddie is seeded below Owen but has more accomplishments, better matches and moments to his name.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

In fact... this is how I expect the match to happen

[youtube]Ec1MUJ1nIOc[/youtube]

Technically, Regal didn't lose to Kane.

 

[Big Sexy]

Christian vs Booker T: Booker has more titles but I do not remember a thing about his five championship wins in WCW. Christian is a smark favourite who has recently won a world title, something which always hindered him in tournaments like these. They also have a pretty even record in singles competitions( I believe that is the case though I could be wrong) but overall I feel people like Christian more than Booker. Don't get mad at me Big Sexy, it just seems like the case. Overall, this could be like Christian's win over Miz last year, only a bigger upset.

Christian probably will win because he has more fans on here, but he shouldn't. Booker has had the better overall career and he holds a decisive edge in their head to head encounters. Booker and Christian have fought one on one 12 times and Booker has a 9-2-1 record against him.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

To the dullard who said Bryan over Bret, not in this life.

Bret is just too beloved. Also, Kane is a bigger star, has had a more popular career than Regal. I don't think that's debatable is it?