TNA Region, Nashville Subregion, Second Round: (8) Great Muta vs. (9) Jerry Lawler

[klunderbunker]

This is a second round match in the TNA Region, Nashville Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under TNA Rules. It will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

#8. Great Muta

Vs.

#9. Jerry Lawler

​

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.

 

[jmt225]

I could make the argument that the Great Muta is the greatest Japanese wrestler of all time. I think that highly of him.

The fact is, out of all the Japanese greats in the business, he's the only one to have true success in the states.

Jerry Lawler, on the other hand, has really only had success in one city... Memphis. His time in WWE has been entertaining, sure, but he's won a total of zero important matches in the company. Hell he couldn't even beat Michael Cole at Wrestlemania.

Now, this match is taking place in Nashville, no doubt Jerry Lawler territory. But, has Jerry ever booked for TNA? Nope, so that takes the home field advantage out of the equation as far as I'm corcerned. All of Jerry's success in Tennessee has come within companies he partially owned and/or booked.

Like I said, Muta has had great success in the states. He won the NWA Television Title back when it meant something, and beat the likes of Sting for it. Not to mention all the brutal battles and enormous victories he has had in Japan on top of his success in the US.

I think the fair vote is Muta. He's the better worker, has the better legacy, and he would kick Lawler's one-dimensional ass in a match.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

IF... and only if this match were in Memphis, I'd side with Lawler.

Nashville isn't Memphis. It's TNA territory and if I'm not mistaken, hasn't Muta worked in TNA before?

Anyway, Muta's the far better wrestler who had success in both Japan and the USA. Why? He was entertaining, innovative, and could flat out work in the ring. Sure his successes in the USA are relegated to a TV title win, but in Japan, he's much more seasoned and has beaten many of Japan's finest wrestlers, and some American names along the way, too.

Lawler didn't do much damage outside of Memphis, aside from him beating Kerry Von Erich to unify the WCCW and AWA belts. And those belts were as worthy as tin foil when he won them. Doesn't mean Lawler sucks... it just means outside of Memphis, Lawler lost quite a bit.

Vote Muta. HADOUKEN!

 

[X]

Yeah this is all Muta here. Lawler has had the benefit of having the WWE look back on his career with rose-colored glasses, overstating his importance and legacy quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, he was one of the best heels working in the 80s and early 90s and his Memphis work is unforgettable stuff that would go on to massively influence decades of booking to come in every major and minor promotion in the world. But he just never quite broke through. It probably hurt that he never had a real run with the WWF or NWA during his prime and didn't pop up into national awareness until his stint as a semi-wrestler/announcer in the 90s, but his work in places like Memphis, Texas, and even the dying AWA were all incredible, influential stuff (I could watch his feud with Terry Funk all day every day).

All that said, Muta is better. He's a better worker, a bigger draw, has a more impressive resume, and I could even make the argument that he was a better heel. He also has the honor of being one of the few legends of modern Japanese wrestling to have a very successful stint in one of the big US promotions (Muta in NWA circa '89 is smark-boner inducing stuff), certainly making him more familiar to Western fans. I'm not going to go much more into detail here because I think it's already been covered, so, yeah, just vote Muta and be happy you did it.

 

[HBsam31]

I agree with everyone on Muta. He was my first taste of Japanese wrestling as a kid, and will always remember being a little scared of him when i saw him in WCW. Lawler had success in one place. Muta is probably the most known Japanese stars in the US. I couldn't vote against him here.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

If Lawler isn't booking the territory, then no way should he go over Muta in this.

While Jerry had a fantastic career in Memphis, he never became a nationwide star like Flair, Rhodes, Race etc until he joined the WWF way past his prime. Muta is an icon in Japan and is highly respected across the world, including the US where he is thought of as one of the all-time greats of Japanese wrestling.

He's more innovative, more entertaining than Lawler and while not disrespecting anything Jerry accomplished, Muta should win this.

 

[Tastycles]

Rather than repeating what everyone else has said, I'm going to tell you why I voted Lawler. Basically, Muta will win. He's more influential and arguably had a better career. Lawler was only big in Tennessee, which is where this match is being held. Lawler is a bit of a relic to the territorial days and this is the sort of thing where the big name travelling wrestler would come and have a time limit draw against the local hero. Lawler is losing, so to make it a draw I gave him my vote. Muta winning is not a travesty, though.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Muta is one of the biggest Japanese stars of all time, and probably the most successful in America. I think too much of Lawler's success is attributed to him booking himself, but it is something that has to be remembered. Lawler will be the excellent heel that he is, but Muta moves on with a moonsault.

 

[The Brain]

I'll hop on board with Muta. The only thing Lawler really has going for him here is Tennessee. It's not like a wrestler has never lost in his home town before. It's happened plenty of times to draw heat. I think Lawler puts on a good show in front of the hometown fans and just as their worked up in a frenzy because it looks like Lawler is about to win he receives some mist in the eyes and isn't able to recover.