Int Region, S.A. Subregion, First Round: (12) Mil Mascaras vs. (21) Davey Boy Smith

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the International Region, San Antonio Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under International Rules, meaning the match is held under the standard rules of the country the match is held in. It will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

#12. Mil Mascaras

Vs.

#21. Davey Boy Smith

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[The Brain]

In his thread I just said El Santo was the number one guy in Mexican wrestling. Mascaras is probably number two or three. Davey was a great tag team wrestler. He was a great mid card wrestler. He was good as an ocassional main event challenger when the champ needed a good win before a bigger feud. He doesn't have the resume Mascaras has and isn't getting past him in the first round.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Mascaras was one of the top guys in Mexico according to the one post I've seen in this thread.

I'm willing to bet that 35% of the people who watched Bulldog in the early 90s don't even know he's dead.

I'm voting for Mascaras.

 

[HBsam31]

Davey was really good in spurts, but mostly an upper midcard guy. Mascaras was a top guy in Mexico according to what I have been reading. I have to go with him in this one.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Mil Mascaras' was a legend in Mexico and is well known by most wrestling fans. British Bulldog's biggest win was against Bret Hart at Wembley Stadium for the IC title. Mascaras has many bigger wins and has faced tougher foes over his career.

The high flying style doesn't suit Bulldog well and will be his undoing.

Mascaras wins.

 

[El Rev sXe]

In his thread I just said El Santo was the number one guy in Mexican wrestling. Mascaras is probably number two or three. Davey was a great tag team wrestler. He was a great mid card wrestler. He was good as an ocassional main event challenger when the champ needed a good win before a bigger feud. He doesn't have the resume Mascaras has and isn't getting past him in the first round.

^THIS. In a similar way that El Santo and Blue Demon are for Latinoamérica, Mil Máscaras is a man that is considered to this day a major influence in lucha libre after 40 years. A man that also popularised the style of lucha libre and with El Santo, was able to pass from a luchador to a movie star .

Mil Máscaras gana.

 

[Tastycles]

The popularity of the British Bulldog in his home country should never be underestimated, but he's against a legitimate world beater here. Mascaras is one of the only wrestlers to have had successes in all three major markets, and I just think he outclasses Bulldog in just about all the criteria you'd ever use here.

 

[deem]

I'm not a Mascaras fan at all. Neither am I a Bulldog fan, surprisingly I guess since most of my country love him. I'd have little interest in this match, despite both being decent, but overrated workers.

Mil would win. I think The Brain's synopsis of Davey's career is entirely spot on. Just not enough impact on the main event to come close to a guy who transcended regions and was booked super strong wherever he went. Surprisingly he didn't hold many titles outside of Mexico, which may hurt his progress later in the tournament. He certainly did enough to get through Bulldog here though

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

A worthy International Region matchup between Mexican and British legends.

I'm very shocked that Davey Boy is receiving so little love here because, when it comes to wrestling in the US, he has a very similar record to Mil in that both challenged for top honors but always came up short. And anybody who claims that Mil would offer him anything he hadn't seen before... are you joking? He teamed with the Dynamite Kid!

As far as being draws - yes, Mil was a massive crossover star but does anybody remember who the headliner was at Wembley Stadium in the only ever WWF PPV held outside of North America? Davey challenging for the IC Title was bigger than Ric Flair vs Randy Savage! When Big Daddy had to retire, who'd he pick to replace himself? The British Bulldog.

I'm giving my vote to the Brit because he gave World Champions like Vader, Diesel, Hart and Michaels great competition and had pretty good singles success otherwise - winning the main event and the IC Belt at SummerSlam '92 and being the very first European Champion when it was being pushed as a legitimate alternative to the IC Title. It says a lot that he was considered a contender for World gold in the WWF at a time when Michaels was throwing a lot of his weight round and Smith was a favorite target.

 

[LSN80]

I'm very shocked that Davey Boy is receiving so little love here because, when it comes to wrestling in the US, he has a very similar record to Mil in that both challenged for top honors but always came up short. And anybody who claims that Mil would offer him anything he hadn't seen before... are you joking? He teamed with the Dynamite Kid!

Not only this, but he faced off against Dynamite Kid as well. The essential problem with this, however, is that in DK's time, he was a rare breed in the states where he wrestled, where Mil was considered to be more of a heavyweight....in Mexico.

As far as being draws - yes, Mil was a massive crossover star.

And here's where the problem lies for Davey Boy. In the end, I voted for him. I could see him making a high-flying moment getting caught up in the moment, such as when he eliminated himself from the Royal Rumble and costing himself the match. But Mil has seen more of a diverse opponent then Davey Boy both due to longevity and where he's wrestled. Neither man has, in terms of championships, many singles to their credit. I'd actually give the edge to Davey, and in far less time too as a professional wrestler. I was reminded of their match from '96 with the double pin German in the Cena/Punk match, as he and HBK had a similar finish for the WWF Title. No Davey Boy never won the big one, but he headlined multiple PPV's in the biggest company in the world, and wrestled the champion to a draw in the main event.

Mascaras has drawn alot of controversy both for being a mark for himself and refusing to sell moves. Chris Jericho wrote extensively about it, and JBL's talked about it. Perhaps a part of this is simply the general distaste he's left in my mouth both from what other wrestlers have said about him, and what he himself has said about working with "inferior" talent.

Anyways, with the location of the match, it favors Mascaras being that it's not far North of Mexico. However Mascaras was a showman first, winner second, and that would be his downfall here. In possibly an upset, I see Miscaras, ever the showman, making a crucial mistake, Bulldog catching him, and finishing him with a powerslam. He won't advance here, but he gets my vote.