TNA Hartford, Round 1, Match 4: #20 Dustin Rhodes vs. #45 Michaels Hayes

[Shocky]

The following match takes place in the TNA Region inside of the six sided ring, from Hartford, CT.

#20: Dustin Rhodes

vs.

#45. Michael Hayes

 

[klunderbunker]

I'll go with Dustin here. Hayes was successful in a boarderline major company for awhile but other than that didn't have a lot of success. Goldust had success in WCW and WWE and is still around as a wrestler. He did have a lot of natural wrestling talent in him and it showed. In the matchup of the southerners, I'll take the short haired one.

 

[Tastycles]

Despite being a bit of a laughing stock, Goldust has actually enjoyed quite a lot of success in WWE, as he did in WCW wrestling under his real name. He was a multiple time midcard tite holder and even challenged Shawn Michaels for the world title.

Short of a forgettable US Title reign, Hayes has actually done very little in singles competition, an while I feel he was the standout member of the Freebirds, he never really managed to break out of that.

Goldust wins this one.

 

[Slyfox696]

This is a tough matchup, and I believe would be one HECK of a match up. This would be a very good match.

I picked Michael Hayes. While Goldust is highly underrated as a worker (mostly due to the Goldust gimmick), I feel that Michael Hayes is just as underrated, and was a much better character. The Goldust act got stale fairly quickly, and quickly declined to that of a submissive BDSM animal, and was just dumb. Michael Hayes and the Freebirds were a heat magnet for years.

That and Hayes had one badass song, arguably my favorite in wrestling. I go Hayes.

 

[Shocky]

I hate Hayes, and I hate the Freebirds, so this is a no brainer for me. Hayes is a hack in the ring, Mr. Charisma himself couldn't carry a wrestling match if he tried. Good ole' Goldustin learned a helluva lot from his father, and was at least better athletically in the ring hten his father. Dustin took a helluva chance with the Goldust character when he could have just road his Daddy's coat tails his entire career. Goldust was a very well accomplished IC champion, and the only reason it got stale is because the WWE became Must Shock TV and the Goldust Character became stale compared to the other bullshit that was in the company at the time. However, the guy is as solid as they come.

 

[NSL]

Hayes' best days were as a manager in my opinion. He was alright as a Freebird, but I don't think any modern fans know him as anything but the guy that bought the Hardyz to the WWE.

Goldust on the toher hand, is a flat out better wrestler. He was good in WCW and WWE, and had a measure of success in TNA. His style works better for this ring also. This match being up north helps him a little bit, as Hayes was at his best in the south.

 

[Theo Mays]

While Goldust is one of my favorites, I went with Hayes. It is really a toss up for me though. I think this would be a good matchup between in my opinion two underrated superstars. Hayes wins this one just slightly with a little help from the Freebirds.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Rhodes' best days were in the early 90s when he was a babyface in WCW. I have no idea what the hell happened that made him transition into the Goldust character, but I shake my head every time I see him due to the tragedy of all that potential being wasted. He could've been big, and, to make matters worse, his brother is only half the talent he was but will probably advance a hell of a lot further.

On the other hand, I have recently had the pleasure to watch some old WCCW shows, and I have been nothing but impressed with Hayes. Gordy was probably the best of them in terms of in-ring work, but Hayes just oozed charisma and was definitely not a slouch in the ring.

Ultimately, this would be an excellent match that would be an instant classic if they fought in WCW in the early 90s and they were both in their primes (I am aware this is in TNA, but, indulge me for a bit please). In a close one, I'm giving the edge to Hayes.

Pick: Hayes