TNA Region,Mexico City Subregion,First Round:(6)Nick Bockwinkel vs.(27)Mad Dog Vachon

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the TNA Region, Mexico City Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under TNA Rules. It will be held at the Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.

#6. Nick Bockwinkel

Vs.

#27. Mad Dog Vachon

​

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.

 

[Bernkastel]

So here we have a battle between 2 multiple time AWA champions. Vachon was champion several years before Bockwinkel's prime, but looking at the history it's clear that Bockwinkel was the better of the two. He was arguably the last great AWA champion. Not that Vachon or the later Larry Zbyszko weren't great, because they were, the AWA didn't immediately go out of business when the WWE expanded after all. But Bockwinkel was great on the level of approaching Verne Gagne's greatness.

I would liken this match to WWE terms. Just to throw out well known names for the sake of argument lets say Bockwinkel is Austin and Mad Dog is HHH. Austin was more popular than HHH - Bockwinkel. Austin had higher profile feuds than HHH - Bockwinkel. Austin was closer to Hogan's popularity than HHH - Bockwinkel to Gagne. On top of that Bockwinkel had the longevity advantage and was AWA champion for a longer period of time.

Vachon was great, but he wasn't Bockwinkel great. So the Bock man should go over here.

 

[Tastycles]

Bockwinkel is far more compelling in interviews than he was in the ring, in my opinion, but that doesn't alter the fact that he was pretty dominant in a relevant AWA, and given that Vachon's never been dominant anywhere whilst being a solid hand everywhere would suggest he'd come short here.

 

[klunderbunker]

Bockwinkel is far more compelling in interviews than he was in the ring, in my opinion, but that doesn't alter the fact that he was pretty dominant in a relevant AWA, and given that Vachon's never been dominant anywhere whilst being a solid hand everywhere would suggest he'd come short here.

I'd question your definition of dominant. Vachon was a five time AWA World Champion and held the title more than two years combined, plus two World Tag Team Title reigns that lasted more than a year each. He's not as dominant as Bockwinkel or Gagne were, but he was a bit more than just a solid hand.

 

[Tastycles]

I'd question your definition of dominant. Vachon was a five time AWA World Champion and held the title more than two years combined, plus two World Tag Team Title reigns that lasted more than a year each. He's not as dominant as Bockwinkel or Gagne were, but he was a bit more than just a solid hand.

Well exactly, he never had a reign longer than a year and dropped the title a fair bit over his 3 years or so on top of the card there. If you compare that to his contemporaries like Gagne, Thesz, Sammartino, Kiniski etc., he did not have a very dominant period at all.

 

[klunderbunker]

Well exactly, he never had a reign longer than a year and dropped the title a fair bit over his 3 years or so on top of the card there. If you compare that to his contemporaries like Gagne, Thesz, Sammartino, Kiniski etc., he did not have a very dominant period at all.

If you compare him to the majority of wrestling history, he's quite dominant. A reign of 365 days is nothing to sneer at and five title reigns is more than Bockwinkel.

In case it's not clear, if Bockwinkel wins this by anything less than 25 votes it's absurd, but Vachon was better than you're giving him credit for.

 

[Tastycles]

If you compare him to the majority of wrestling history, he's quite dominant. A reign of 365 days is nothing to sneer at and five title reigns is more than Bockwinkel.

In case it's not clear, if Bockwinkel wins this by anything less than 25 votes it's absurd, but Vachon was better than you're giving him credit for.

I'm not disputing that he wasn't a decent wrestler, I'm merely saying that at a time when dominant wrestlers who companies pinned their hopes to were on top at that time, they'd hold the title for 1000+ days. Vachon was the best bet AWA had, but they still broke up his reign because he wasn't capable of dominating and holding the fort for three years continuously.

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm not disputing that he wasn't a decent wrestler, I'm merely saying that at a time when dominant wrestlers who companies pinned their hopes to were on top at that time, they'd hold the title for 1000+ days. Vachon was the best bet AWA had, but they still broke up his reign because he wasn't capable of dominating and holding the fort for three years continuously.

True but that doesn't always mean it's a good thing. I'd take five broken up Vachon reigns over anything from Kiniski anyday.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I agree completely with Kunderblunker here.

Bock wins this matchup each and every way possible. He simply was one of the greatest World Champions that ever lived. He would have been NWA champion when it was the most important title in the business. He didn't want it because he could make just as much money as AWA champ working his own schedule. One of the main reasons that Jerry Jarrett gave for seceding from the NWA to partner with the AWA was that Nick Bockwinkel was a better World Champion. He is criminally underrated around these parts, and if not the favorite in each of his matchups, he should always be considered a very legitimate threat to win.

But Mad Dog Vachon was a hell of a lot more than just a 'good hand'. He was one of the best heel wrestlers of all time. When Verne wanted to give himself a rest from being Champ, it was Vachon who he trusted to keep his business thriving. The fact that they kept going back to him (5 time champ in the 60's), was a huge deal. That just wasn't something that was done. It spoke to the talent of the guy that they would keep going back to him, and that he'd keep staying over and be considered a legit champ or threat to the title despite losing it so many times. Usually back then, one short reign, and someone was done as legit champion material. Not the Mad Dog.

His staying power was enormous. So much so that even today, he's still remembered fondly and his name is well known... when most of his peers have been long forgotten. Go ask 10 people if they've heard the name Mad Dog Vachon. You'll probably be surprised at how many have.

He doesn't win this matchup. Like I said, Bock was just on another level. This is a classic AWA matchup that actually happened quite a few times too, and Bock almost always came out on top in those (and if he didn't, he was DQ'd). But if you could promise any professional wrestler that they'd get to have the career that Mad Dog Vachon had... every single one would take it.

 

[Kermit]

Disclaimer: I won't pretend that I have in-depth wrestling knowledge about a wide range of superstars. So, I'm going to perform my voting a little differently. There will be 127 matches in total in this tournament. I've comprised a list of 63 random 1v1 events. I'll randomize the list and base my vote off the results of who I think would win the selected event with my odd logic.

This event: Fifa

Logic: It should be noted that the only Fifa game I ever played was on the N64. That being said, I am finding these video game debates growing to be quite boring. I regret putting so many of them on my event list. Mad Dog Vachon sounds like a fake name someone would use for a created character, and I keep wanting to call the other Bullwinkel. That being said, I never really liked Rocky and Bullwinkel. Mad Dog for the upset.

Winner: Mad Dog Vachon