Intl. Region, Houston Subregion, First Round: (15) Curt Hennig vs. (18)Antonino Rocca

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the International Region, Houston Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under Standard Wrestling Rules. It will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

#15. Curt Hennig

Vs.

#18. Antonino Rocca

​

Polls will be open for four 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.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I have a feeling that Hennig will go over here, but its the wrong choice. Hennig had some success in the AWA, but in WCW and WWF he was a career midcarder.

Rocca on the other hand. He beat up Superman.

Here he has Lou Thesz in a backbreaker rack. No easy task.

Rocca was the father of the aerial assault, and would slap opponents in the face with his feet. HIS FEET. A pretty boy like Hennig wouldn't want someone's feet in his face.

Also, Rocca was never in a corny commercial like this.
[YOUTUBE]gdnB7OLHNwM[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Tastycles]

Mr. Perfect was a great storyline, but ultimately for whatever reason I don't think he ever became the huge star his talent warranted. Rocca, for me, is the winner here. Hennig's in ring skills were second to none, but Rocca had in abundance the ability to draw a big crowd - a fundamental skill in wrestling. Hennig could entertain a crowd that would have been there anyway, Rocca would have brought them in himself, and deserves to win here as a result of that.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Henning was one of the best in AWA history. And at the time he might have been the best in the world. That said he went to the WWE and he was never the same. Rocca was a WWWF champion, a damn good one at that and he's bigger than Henning. I hate to see Henning go out in the first round but it's really a matter of which guy would win this match and that's Rocca

Winnner- Rocca with the Rack!

 

[Bernkastel]

Rocca wins. It's not even close. This is another Lewis vs Piper type match where if Hennig wins it's due to bias and general stupidity. Hennig was a world champion during the dying days of the AWA. Rocca was AWA champion during the promotions heyday. And he was one of the greatest stars of his days and of all time. He wipes the floor with Hennig with superior drawing power/legacy/influence/better skills.

I'm cooking dinner so I can't be bothered to write more.

Winner: Rocca.

 

[nightmare]

I have always liked Perfect, but his lack of real success hurts him in this tournament. One of the biggest question marks in wrestling. Mr. Perfect is like Mr. Should have been. For whatever reason, he just failed to make it. That does not diminish what he did manage to do & all of that was great- but not enough to warrant a victory here. I wont pretend to know much about Rocca, but what I do know makes enough of a case to gain a victory in this round.

 

[HBsam31]

I have been convinced to vote Rocca. I agree that Hennig's inability to gain any major success hurts him in this tournament. It is a shame because he is fantastic in the ring. Rocca was WWWF champion along with AWA champion. That is enough for me in this one. Rocca should win.

 

[The Brain]

Ok, I'll vote for Rocca. I don't know a whole lot about him but from what I've learned I think he can go over Curt Hennig. Mr. Perfect is very overrated on this forum. Maybe overrated isn't the right word. He was tremendously talented and was extremely charismatic. I just think people remember him being more successful than he was. I loved Mr. Perfect and really wish he didn't have to miss so much time in the 90s due to injury. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done. What he did do was win a couple IC titles and was AWA world champion toward the end. Those are some great accomplishments but not enough to move on here.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

What the heck? Antonino Rocca was NEVER a World Champion, he held a couple of territorial belts (2 time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion, AWA WHC {Ohio version}, AWA WHC {Montreal version}). Then there is the anomaly that is the CWC/ WWWF International Heavyweight Championship - a belt that he held for 15 years... it is not certain who he defeated to become the first holder of this belt, there is no history of rivalries over the belt, the belt vanished for 18 years before reappearing as a belt shared with NJPW before vanishing again with no announcement - wrestling stat sites like "Wrestlingdata.com" and "cagematch.net" do not even list this reign or provide details.

Hennig, on the other hand, held the IC belt when it meant something for a total of 342 days (2 reigns) and while the AWA might have been on it's way down, he was still a recognized World Champion for over a year. He also held the WCW US belt for 104 days during WCW's Monday Night dominance.

So, we've a guy who never rose above territorial belt holder level vs a guy who was held major belts on multiple occasions. Injuries may have prevented Hennig becoming all that he could be but 'Mr Perfect' deserves to win this.

 

[ServantofTwilight]

Henning was one of the best in AWA history. And at the time he might have been the best in the world. That said he went to the WWE and he was never the same. Rocca was a WWWF champion, a damn good one at that and he's bigger than Henning. I hate to see Henning go out in the first round but it's really a matter of which guy would win this match and that's Rocca

Winnner- Rocca with the Rack!

Rocca was never WWWF World Heavyweight Champion.

Rocca wins. It's not even close. This is another Lewis vs Piper type match where if Hennig wins it's due to bias and general stupidity. Hennig was a world champion during the dying days of the AWA. Rocca was AWA champion during the promotions heyday. And he was one of the greatest stars of his days and of all time. He wipes the floor with Hennig with superior drawing power/legacy/influence/better skills.

I'm cooking dinner so I can't be bothered to write more.

Winner: Rocca.

Rocca was never an AWA World Heavyweight Champion.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Rocca was never WWWF World Heavyweight Champion.

That was my bad and I'll admit it, the problem was I swear to this day that he beat the world champion believe it was Bruno and I thought he had won the belt. so that was totally on me, but it doesn't change my vote, Rocca crossed pop culture lines when it wasn't the norm and he was still a big draw. Bigger than Henning in his hey day.

 

[Bernkastel]

Rocca was never an AWA World Heavyweight Champion.

You're correct. I must have gotten my sources crossed. No real biggie, it doesn't change my vote. Rocca was still one of the most influential wrestling stars of all time, and had way more crossover appeal than Hennig. His legacy was far more substantial and he was far more important as a draw. One botched statistic isn't going to affect the outcome of the match.