International Region, St. Louis Area, 2nd Round: (6) Ricky Steamboat vs. (11) Batista

[Tastycles]

This is a second round match in the International Region, St Louis Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the Scottrade Center, St Louis, Missouri

#6. Ricky Steamboat

Vs.

#11. Batista

​

This match takes place 1 week after round 1.

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.

 

[GI Cake]

Now this is a very good match-up. Both Batista and Ricky Steamboat have been dominate performers in Professional Wrestling. Batista did it with his strength and his power, Steamboat did it with his speed and his quickness. Steamboat may not have had the lucrative career Batista had in the WWE, but in the Mid-West Steamboat won a Championship 24 times in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling/ WCW. A promotion that often held shows in St.Louis. This will give Steamboat an edge of home field advantage against Batista.

But you can't count out Batista. He has beat bigger names than Steamboat, and has beaten guys like Triple H, Randy Orton, Cena, Jericho, and The Undertaker. The man is an absolute monster of a man when he is in his prime. But Batista is a fish out of water in a international region. A region where Steamboat, once again won 24 championships.


Right now I am on the fence until I hear a better argument for either Batista or Steamboat.

 

[The Gribbler]

I am voting Steamboat because ... Well because I don't like Batista, he was really never anything all too special in my eyes, just a well built big guy that vince had a hard on for.

Although when he first left evolution I enjoyed him then...

Still Steamboat is a name synonymous with wrestling and I think he finds away around the big guy.

Steamboat FTW

 

[jmt225]

I hated Batista during most of his run in WWE, but he won me over just as he was leaving. His feud and 'Mania match with John Cena was fantastic, and it ultimately was the perfect way to end his career. A career, however, that was very short, and for the most part, very dull.

Batista entered professional wrestling way too late and was pushed way too soon. If the guy wasn't in there with an Undertaker or HHH, he couldn't put on a decent match to save his life. His stuff with Orton, for example, was horrible, and Orton has always been a damn good wrestler. And promo/charisma wise, Batista was terrible until the very end when he finally adapted a character he could properly and entertainingly portray. Like I said... he was pushed too soon.

Ricky Steamboat, on the other hand, wow... I mean, what a career. The ultimate babyface. Countless classic matches, including a couple a lot consider to be the greatest matches in history. Innovative. Great character. He was simply the perfect wrestler for his day and age.

So, career wise... you have to give the edge to Steamboat. He wrestled for almost 20 years and was beloved every single one of them. Batista on the other hand, well he only last about 5, and only one of them total was worth a shit if you ask me.

Now, the kayfabe argument... it can go either way, honestly. Batista was big and strong, and pretty tough. His flaws though are that he's dumb, and we haven't seen him in many 20+ minute matches. Steamboat was a high flyer and tough as nails in his own right, but he was still very beatable because he leaves himself vulnerable against cheaters, and Batista will definitely use short cuts in a match.

I have to believe though that if Batista doesn't put down Steamboat in the first 10 minutes of the match, then he'll get winded and Steamboat will then go to work on him. Will Steamboat be able to last to that point, though? It's really, really hard to predict. We didn't really get to see Steamboat in there with the big muscular types, outside of bums like Hercules and Don Muraco.

Biasedly I say Steamboat survives Batista's onslaught and puts the big man down once he gets tired, but you know what? It really doesn't matter; I'm voting for Steamboat regardless. He's simply done way too much in the business to lose to someone who only lasted a few years.

 

[IHW]

I don't know just yet about this one.

Stemaboat was great. As was Batista. Batista has the size, strength, and speed; three main components to a good wrestler. Steamboat had those three as well. I'm torn here. I need to be swayed, much like Pancake.

Who has good arguments for Steamboat or Batista?

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Steamboat embarrasses Batista and wins this rather easily.

The Dragon chops down big guys and the best wrestlers in the world because he's just a better pro wrestler. Steamboat is the in an elite list of wrestlers to beat Flair for the Worlds Heavyweight Title during Flair's peak run in the NWA. Rhodes, Ronnie Garvin, Kerry Von Erich, Sting, and Ricky Steamboat. That's a span of nearly 10 years, too.

I personally can't stand Batista and think he's extremely overrated. Typical big man who's even sloppier in the ring than the average man his size. All look, very little in the promo department, and is easily out foxed by a smarter wrestler.

Power moves may subdue Steamboat early, but Batista runs into the ring post twice, and The Dragon hits the Cross Body for the three count.

Suck it, Batista.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Yea, well, whatever. How many WMs did Steamboat main event? Oh, none, because he is dull as shit wank fodder for smarks. Let me tell you a little story.

I was at D-man's house one evening, we were passing time before a night of deabucherous buffoonery. Ricky Steamboat is his favorite wrestler, so we put on the documentary about his carreer.


We both fell asleep during it. Because Ricky Steamboat is bland and boring as fuck.

60 minute matches with Ric Flair? Two overrated guys in an overrated era having overrated matches.

Batista on the other hand, rocked. Sure his skills were not the most refined, and had his share of shitfests, but at least they were fairly fucking funny. Also, as I have said, ME high profile matches in the biggest show on earth, the pinnacle of pro wrestling would be...


Steamer 0 Batista 3. Years in the biz - Batista about 6 Steamer about 100.

Probably fighting a losing battle, especially on an internet wrestling forum, but the hard truth is, this is a match up of one of the most grossly overrated guys against one of the most grossly underrated guys to ever come along.

 

[JJYanks121]

Yea, well, whatever. How many WMs did Steamboat main event? Oh, none, because he is dull as shit wank fodder for smarks. Let me tell you a little story.

I was at D-man's house one evening, we were passing time before a night of deabucherous buffoonery. Ricky Steamboat is his favorite wrestler, so we put on the documentary about his carreer.


We both fell asleep during it. Because Ricky Steamboat is bland and boring as fuck.

60 minute matches with Ric Flair? Two overrated guys in an overrated era having overrated matches.

Batista on the other hand, rocked. Sure his skills were not the most refined, and had his share of shitfests, but at least they were fairly fucking funny. Also, as I have said, ME high profile matches in the biggest show on earth, the pinnacle of pro wrestling would be...


Steamer 0 Batista 3. Years in the biz - Batista about 6 Steamer about 100.

Probably fighting a losing battle, especially on an internet wrestling forum, but the hard truth is, this is a match up of one of the most grossly overrated guys against one of the most grossly underrated guys to ever come along.

No I'm with you, and I think I have more evidence to help. In this era starting in 2005, how many can claim that they dominated Triple H and as a babyface BEAT John Cena? Yes, they were both over babyfaces and Batista beat him.......cleanly.

I love Steamboat and I love how a lot of today's stars love him, but he's an upper midcard guy. Batista is one of the biggest names of his generation and he performed well in big spots. It's sort of like Warrior except that Batista is likely stronger and more coordinated. With those things in mind, I'm going to with Batista here.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I rate Batista pretty highly as far as big guys in wrestling go. I think he was pretty entertaining in the ring, had an awesome look and was powerful as hell.

However, Ricky Steamboat is far better. He has beaten far better wrestlers than Batista over a career that lasted alot longer than Big Dave's. Steamboat has had several matches which are regarded as some of the best of all time, something Batista never managed, and The Dragon is a very smart competitor in the ring.

If Batista gets hold of Steamboat, he will hurt him but Ricky has alot of heart and would use his superior speed and intelligence to wear down the clumsy Batista, and would find a way to get the pinfall.

Winner: Ricky Steamboat

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Ricky Steamboat strikes me as the sort of guy Batista would physically dominate in a match. He is a violent, dangerous monster and having defeated a beast like Yokozuna in the previous match, I think he's being allowed to showcase his talent against a different sort of opponent. Steamboat had an interesting combination of technical astuteness and high flying talent (hence why he meshed so well with Randy Savage). Batista beat guys matching those attributes like Rey Mysterio, Triple H and Chris Jericho. These men all succumbed to Batista's raw power and were caught out by just how powerful he is. I think Steamboat would likely fall to the same pitfall. I say Batista through ferocity and violence.

 

[Coco]

Batista has beaten John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge. Clean. I shouldn't even have to list his accolades against the Chris Benoit types who are comparable to the Dragon because as impressive as those are, Batista is also a killer a real wrestling greats. As a headliner, he hasn't taken many clean losses. And he certainly doesn't take them to white-bread smark-bait like Ricky Steamboat. Do you see Steamboat cheating to beat Batista? I certainly don't. Once again: He beat Undertaker CLEAN.

Steamboat goes down. Hard. Vote: Batista.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

Batista the type of big guy that gets pinned by roll up & school boys(Mysterio). He's thhe type of guy that gets his legs tied to the ring post in a Last Man Standing. He's the type of guy who asks for a spotlight shined on him while he's in a wheelchair. Steamboat will always respect his opponent, but he will NOT allow himself to lose to Batista. He doesn't have any one particular move that will immobilize Dave, but he could come at him with so much cunning & will, Batista wouldn't know how to respond other than to get frustrated and be susceptible to a roll up.

I could see all the pin combos that he tried on Flair in the 80s actually working on Blockhead Batista. GO RICKY GO!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Steamboat was FAR, FAR superior inside the ring to Batista. I've never been much of a fan of Batista, he's someone that's definitely overrated in my eyes. Unless he had someone great he was wrestling against to carry him, his matches were flat out hard to watch. Steamboat is one of the all time best in-ring guys to lace up a pair of boots. We all know he had some classic matches in his day.

However, in spite of everything, Batista was a guy that made it to the main event level. While I'm not crazy about Batista, he was one of the most dominant guys in WWE over the course of the past decade. He's a multiple time World Champion, with some of his reigns being pretty lengthy & dominant. He's scored clean wins over guys like Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena & The Undertaker.

While I do think this match could go either way, I have to say that I'm leaning towards Batista. I know how great Steamboat is, nobody has to remind me of that, but...well, let's be totally honest, Steamboat was a career mid-carder that briefly made it to the main event stage in WCW for about 3 months. The series of matches he had with Ric Flair in 1989 are all time classics but, at the end of the day, it felt like Steamboat was given a run with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as sort of a reward. He'd been a huge star in the Mid-Atlantic territory since the mid 70s, most of his biggest accolades came in the Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett/WCW promotion. Right now, I just can't make myself vote for Steamboat against Batista. Just because I happen to like Steamboat a lot more, for me, isn't reason enough to give a career mid-carder a win over a dominant main eventer.

 

[Con T.]

And once again, we have the clear cut case of someone who drew money in wrestling against a guy who didn't. Can you guess which one is which?

I'll give you a hint; the one who didn't draw money is Ricky Steamboat.

Ricky may have been the better worker, but that's about the only thing that Ricky has going for him, in this match. Batista is the bigger star in wrestling, he's far and away a better promo cutter, and he really interests me more. You can tell me Batista isn't the better worker, but history has shown time and time again, Batista always gets the upper hand against the jumpy, athletic guy. Ricky Steamboat always struck me as a more accomplished Kofi Kingston; every time Batista got in the ring with Kofi, Kofi got squashed.

This match ends the exact same way.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I'm just going to go anti-smark here and go with Batista. Steamboat may be the superior technical wrestler, but that's about the only advantage he has here. Batista has the charisma advantage, the "I'm not a perennial mid carder" advantage, and he's gone over the likes of John Cena, Undertaker, Randy Orton, and Triple H, the 4 top guys of the past decade, clean as a whistle. The biggest name Steamboat has gone over is a mid card Randy Savage and Ric Flair, who put everyone over.

Batista, hands down.

 

[The Brain]

I love Ricky Steamboat as much as any smark here but Batista wins this one. If not for a three match series against Ric Flair in 1989 would Steamboat be remembered as a main event player? Probably not. He would still be a favorite. He’d still be remembered for his win against Savage at WM3, but I don’t think anyone would think of him as anything more than an upper midcarder. Steamboat was one of my favorites to watch and even though I loved his style I remember losses to guys like Jake Roberts, Greg Valentine, and Honky Tonk Man. If you give me a dvd collection of both guy’s matches I’ll watch Steamboat’s. If you ask me who would win a match between the two I’ll pick Batista. He’s too big and too strong for Steamboat to overcome and I see the Dragon getting pinned after selling the hell out of a Batista Bomb.

 

[Tastycles]

Batista for sure. Steamboat had good matches, but rarely against those who aren't known for having them with other people, which I think is the benchmark. Batista is a beast, and nowhere near as bad as people make out. Fundamentally, he's had bigger matches against huge opponents and it's as simple as that. Batista is a big deal.

 

[Shocky]

I'm voting for Ricky Steamboat, because at least I know what I'm going to get out of the guy. Dude was a fucking workhorse in a half, but he was just terribly boring. By boring, I mean I could watch paint dry while watching grass grow, and those two events would still be more interesting then Ricky Steamboat.

Then you have Dave Batista. A guy that coasted on his size and relationship with the boss for years. Then Big Dave decides he's going to develop a personality and fucking walks out the door. Fuck you Batista. You had that in you this entire time and you decided to be a lazy asshole you're entire career, minus 2 months. I'm voting for Steamboat merely out of spite.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's Batista.

At the end of the day, what in the world is Steamboat going to hit him with that's going to keep Batista down? Somebody tell me this. What in the world could Steamboat use? The cross body? He'll be lucky if he gets Big Dave to stumble. At the end of the day, Steamboat could wrestle circles around Dave (why he'd want to wrestle in a circle I'm not sure but it's a common expression so I'll use it here) but he's gotten a horrible draw in this case. Batista is too big and too strong for anything but a rollup or small package from Steamboat.

Another thing to remember: Steamboat very rarely won the big matches. He's famous for a win over Savage, but other than that and his win over Flair in February of 89, Steamboat was never a long term main event player. Batista has won on the big stage more than once and would win here, which is kind of a shame.

 

[Loveless]

I don't even have to think back that far to know why Steamboat is better than Batista. You only have to go back 3 years to the last time we saw Steamboat in the ring, he was 56, putting up a damn good fight against Chris Jericho and proving he was still better than 95% of the roster. Even at that point he was quicker than Batista and if you go back to his prime, he was far and away better than Big Dave and hardly losing massive in the power stakes. Steamboat would wrestle rings around Batista, who (as I've said before) is not as strong as he looks and has nothing to offer here and no way to win unless he botches something.

 

[JJYanks121]

I can't believe the vote has gone like this. Really?

On one hand we have one of the few guys to beat HHH AND John Cena clean on Pay Per View. This is a guy who beat pretty much everyone over a 5 year period. On the other hand we have an internet hero who very rarely won a big match and certainly not one over another major face.

Now, if for some reason the latter guy was huge and the first guy was small, you might have something. That's not the case though as the first guy is HUGE while the second guy is normal size. Case and point, Steamboat has nothing that can counter Batista's power and his resume is not even close to touching Batista's either. There's nothing about Steamboat except "technical ability" that is better than Batista. Batista is the much bigger star and goes over here. The fact that he's not dominating the vote here is embarassing.

 

[Slyfox696]

This is one of the few threads I've posted in during this tournament, but I can't help but think this could potentially be one of the greatest matches this tournament has ever produced. These two guys are PERFECT for each other. Batista is the muscled up cocky asshole (doesn't matter if he's face or heel, he's still a cocky asshole) and Ricky Steamboat is the plucky good guy everyone loves. This match in the 80s would tear the house down. These two guys are perfect for each other.

As for the comments in this thread, I've seen a lot of statements, from both sides, that try to belittle the other's ability. For the record, BOTH of these guys were very good wrestlers, in their own way. They worked completely different styles, but they both did their thing so well. Steamboat was your stereotypical old school face, the guy fans loved, women swooned for, and everyone could genuinely care about. Batista was the badass, who would run through and over you, regardless of whether it made the fans like him or not. Both played their parts well.

I think if we're talking strictly about their in-ring ability, the edge goes to Steamboat. He was more versatile in the ring, he could sell the story of a match almost on his own, and he knew how to build heat in his matches so well, and how to capitalize on that heat.

When it comes to being a superstar, I have to give the edge to Batista. While Steamboat was clearly loved by everyone, I feel Batista is more of the "you HAVE to notice this guy" type. I think he's more of an attention grabber, and ultimately, that will sell a lot of tickets.

I haven't yet decided who I'm going to take in this match. All I know is that I REALLY wish it could have happened.

 

[Larry]

Yea, well, whatever. How many WMs did Steamboat main event? Oh, none, because he is dull as shit wank fodder for smarks. Let me tell you a little story.

I was at D-man's house one evening, we were passing time before a night of deabucherous buffoonery. Ricky Steamboat is his favorite wrestler, so we put on the documentary about his carreer.


We both fell asleep during it. Because Ricky Steamboat is bland and boring as fuck.

60 minute matches with Ric Flair? Two overrated guys in an overrated era having overrated matches.

Batista on the other hand, rocked. Sure his skills were not the most refined, and had his share of shitfests, but at least they were fairly fucking funny. Also, as I have said, ME high profile matches in the biggest show on earth, the pinnacle of pro wrestling would be...


Steamer 0 Batista 3. Years in the biz - Batista about 6 Steamer about 100.

Probably fighting a losing battle, especially on an internet wrestling forum, but the hard truth is, this is a match up of one of the most grossly overrated guys against one of the most grossly underrated guys to ever come along.

Batista has beaten John Cena, Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge. Clean. I shouldn't even have to list his accolades against the Chris Benoit types who are comparable to the Dragon because as impressive as those are, Batista is also a killer a real wrestling greats. As a headliner, he hasn't taken many clean losses. And he certainly doesn't take them to white-bread smark-bait like Ricky Steamboat. Do you see Steamboat cheating to beat Batista? I certainly don't. Once again: He beat Undertaker CLEAN.

Steamboat goes down. Hard. Vote: Batista.

Steamboat was FAR, FAR superior inside the ring to Batista. I've never been much of a fan of Batista, he's someone that's definitely overrated in my eyes. Unless he had someone great he was wrestling against to carry him, his matches were flat out hard to watch. Steamboat is one of the all time best in-ring guys to lace up a pair of boots. We all know he had some classic matches in his day.

However, in spite of everything, Batista was a guy that made it to the main event level. While I'm not crazy about Batista, he was one of the most dominant guys in WWE over the course of the past decade. He's a multiple time World Champion, with some of his reigns being pretty lengthy & dominant. He's scored clean wins over guys like Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena & The Undertaker.

While I do think this match could go either way, I have to say that I'm leaning towards Batista. I know how great Steamboat is, nobody has to remind me of that, but...well, let's be totally honest, Steamboat was a career mid-carder that briefly made it to the main event stage in WCW for about 3 months. The series of matches he had with Ric Flair in 1989 are all time classics but, at the end of the day, it felt like Steamboat was given a run with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as sort of a reward. He'd been a huge star in the Mid-Atlantic territory since the mid 70s, most of his biggest accolades came in the Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett/WCW promotion. Right now, I just can't make myself vote for Steamboat against Batista. Just because I happen to like Steamboat a lot more, for me, isn't reason enough to give a career mid-carder a win over a dominant main eventer.

And once again, we have the clear cut case of someone who drew money in wrestling against a guy who didn't. Can you guess which one is which?

I'll give you a hint; the one who didn't draw money is Ricky Steamboat.

Ricky may have been the better worker, but that's about the only thing that Ricky has going for him, in this match. Batista is the bigger star in wrestling, he's far and away a better promo cutter, and he really interests me more. You can tell me Batista isn't the better worker, but history has shown time and time again, Batista always gets the upper hand against the jumpy, athletic guy. Ricky Steamboat always struck me as a more accomplished Kofi Kingston; every time Batista got in the ring with Kofi, Kofi got squashed.

This match ends the exact same way.

I'm just going to go anti-smark here and go with Batista. Steamboat may be the superior technical wrestler, but that's about the only advantage he has here. Batista has the charisma advantage, the "I'm not a perennial mid carder" advantage, and he's gone over the likes of John Cena, Undertaker, Randy Orton, and Triple H, the 4 top guys of the past decade, clean as a whistle. The biggest name Steamboat has gone over is a mid card Randy Savage and Ric Flair, who put everyone over.

Batista, hands down.

I love Ricky Steamboat as much as any smark here but Batista wins this one. If not for a three match series against Ric Flair in 1989 would Steamboat be remembered as a main event player? Probably not. He would still be a favorite. He’d still be remembered for his win against Savage at WM3, but I don’t think anyone would think of him as anything more than an upper midcarder. Steamboat was one of my favorites to watch and even though I loved his style I remember losses to guys like Jake Roberts, Greg Valentine, and Honky Tonk Man. If you give me a dvd collection of both guy’s matches I’ll watch Steamboat’s. If you ask me who would win a match between the two I’ll pick Batista. He’s too big and too strong for Steamboat to overcome and I see the Dragon getting pinned after selling the hell out of a Batista Bomb.

Batista for sure. Steamboat had good matches, but rarely against those who aren't known for having them with other people, which I think is the benchmark. Batista is a beast, and nowhere near as bad as people make out. Fundamentally, he's had bigger matches against huge opponents and it's as simple as that. Batista is a big deal.

It's Batista.

At the end of the day, what in the world is Steamboat going to hit him with that's going to keep Batista down? Somebody tell me this. What in the world could Steamboat use? The cross body? He'll be lucky if he gets Big Dave to stumble. At the end of the day, Steamboat could wrestle circles around Dave (why he'd want to wrestle in a circle I'm not sure but it's a common expression so I'll use it here) but he's gotten a horrible draw in this case. Batista is too big and too strong for anything but a rollup or small package from Steamboat.

Another thing to remember: Steamboat very rarely won the big matches. He's famous for a win over Savage, but other than that and his win over Flair in February of 89, Steamboat was never a long term main event player. Batista has won on the big stage more than once and would win here, which is kind of a shame.

I can't believe the vote has gone like this. Really?

On one hand we have one of the few guys to beat HHH AND John Cena clean on Pay Per View. This is a guy who beat pretty much everyone over a 5 year period. On the other hand we have an internet hero who very rarely won a big match and certainly not one over another major face.

Now, if for some reason the latter guy was huge and the first guy was small, you might have something. That's not the case though as the first guy is HUGE while the second guy is normal size. Case and point, Steamboat has nothing that can counter Batista's power and his resume is not even close to touching Batista's either. There's nothing about Steamboat except "technical ability" that is better than Batista. Batista is the much bigger star and goes over here. The fact that he's not dominating the vote here is embarassing.

This is one of the few threads I've posted in during this tournament, but I can't help but think this could potentially be one of the greatest matches this tournament has ever produced. These two guys are PERFECT for each other. Batista is the muscled up cocky asshole (doesn't matter if he's face or heel, he's still a cocky asshole) and Ricky Steamboat is the plucky good guy everyone loves. This match in the 80s would tear the house down. These two guys are perfect for each other.

As for the comments in this thread, I've seen a lot of statements, from both sides, that try to belittle the other's ability. For the record, BOTH of these guys were very good wrestlers, in their own way. They worked completely different styles, but they both did their thing so well. Steamboat was your stereotypical old school face, the guy fans loved, women swooned for, and everyone could genuinely care about. Batista was the badass, who would run through and over you, regardless of whether it made the fans like him or not. Both played their parts well.

I think if we're talking strictly about their in-ring ability, the edge goes to Steamboat. He was more versatile in the ring, he could sell the story of a match almost on his own, and he knew how to build heat in his matches so well, and how to capitalize on that heat.

When it comes to being a superstar, I have to give the edge to Batista. While Steamboat was clearly loved by everyone, I feel Batista is more of the "you HAVE to notice this guy" type. I think he's more of an attention grabber, and ultimately, that will sell a lot of tickets.

I haven't yet decided who I'm going to take in this match. All I know is that I REALLY wish it could have happened.

Does it need to be said any better than all the stuff quoted above? I doubt it. It's really hard having to vote against Ricky Steamboat simply because he is such a beloved legend and everything. He's apart of my childhood, I used to think he was cool as hell and that he was a really good wrestler because of all the high flying stuff he did. At the time he was one of the best high flyer's around and I think his technical prowess made him even more special. The harsh reality though is that even though he is that beloved legend, he is simply outmatched here, and I think that serves true for a lot of the matches in the tournament.

You can't change what's changed, you can't undo what been done, and in the last 20 or so years a lot has been done and changed. These as great as a "Wrestler" as Ricky Steamboat is, one can't really expect a career mid-carder, even one who did it as well for as long as Steamboat, to be able to beat a true main eventer like Batista.

Think about it. Do you think that if the match took place in 1987 that it would change the outcome at all ??? I doubt it. I think Slyfox said it best when he said "While Steamboat was loved by everyone, Batista is more of the "you HAVE to notice this guy" type. he's more of an attention grabber, and ultimately, that will sell a lot of tickets." and as a result I think that even in Steamboats own time, a big powerhouse like Batista still goes over him. Even though big guys like Batista have lost to Steamboat (e.g. Don Muraco and Hercules), they weren't real main event guys like Batista which makes a big difference here. Batista is a whole other kind of animal(no pun intended).

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

This match should go to Batista. Steamboat, for the great wrestler that he was, has very few big wins to his name. The only big name I can remember him defeating in his prime is Ric Flair. He obviously did defeat the midcard versions of both Randy Savage and Steve Austin but yes, those victories are of little significance. Maybe you can rate the victory against Savage a significant one, though as Savage was probably the third most important guy in the company at that point.

But regardless those achievements pale in front of Batista who has literally defeated the who's who of wrestling in his career. John Cena, Orton, Triple H, Mysterio, Edge, The freakin Undertaker, HBK and just about every big star of the past 8 years has been defeated by Batista. Not to mention the fact that he has won several world titles compared to Steamboat's single world championship.

Even if you were to strip both the guys of their accolades and just look at the type of wrestlers they were, even that favours Batista. Steamboat was the quintessential upper midcarder and would have been that regardless of the era he would have wrestled in. What would have hindered him from getting over in this era would have been mic skills just like his size was the factor in the era in which he wrestled. He may have won a few more World titles had he wrestled in this era though I doubt if he would have become a permanent main eventer. Batista, on the account of his size and decent ring and mic skills would have been a dominant star in any era. Steamboat just seems like the kind of guy Batista would defeat in order to move upto bigger feuds.

Vote: Batista.

 

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Steamboat wins by out wrestling Batista. Steamboat doesn't have one move that will finish Batista, but his wrestling arsenal is far superior to Batista.

Steamboat's matches with Macho Man Randy Savage and The Great Muta are considered to be instant classics. I can't think of any classic matches, off the top of my head, that Batista wrestled.

Steamboat by rollup for the three count victory