WWE Region, Fourth Round, TLC: (2) Triple H vs. (3) Shawn Michaels

[klunderbunker]

This is a fourth round match in the WWE Region. It is a Tables Ladders and Chairs match, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. One week has passed since the third round, so some injuries or fatigue may be a factor.

Rules: A briefcase is suspended above the ring. The first person to climb a ladder and pull it down is the winner. A supply of tables, ladders and chairs are available for use, as well as anything else the wrestlers can find.

#2. Triple H

Vs.

#3. Shawn Michaels

​

Polls will be open for five 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]

At first glance this match seems like a toss up, but it's actually more obvious than that. Triple H is certainly the bigger draw of the two, has had more title reigns that were more meaningful, and feuds at a more constant rate with a greater variety of different stars over the years. And since Trips is the boss now he could easily out politic Michaels if need be. But jokes aside, Triple H's legacy just seems to be far more important to wrestling as a whole. That's certainly no disrespect to Michaels, but if I had to choose one of them to advance in a legends tournament, then I'd have to chose Triple H.

Triple H gets my vote to advance in another classic match between the two.

 

[SSJPhenom]

Yes Trips has a bigger overall legacy then that of HBK, however, this match is right up HBK's alley.

We know the history of these two and if this had have been a cell match or a street fight then I'd go with Trips, however, it's not. It is a match type where HBK can excel.

I'm going with HBShizzle in this one.

 

[Jaffa]

The only time either HBK or Triple H were in a TLC match was as a tag team however, they did vs each other in a ladder match in the 3rd stage of hell at Armageddon 2002. This was won by Triple H and Triple H has never lost a ladder match whereas HBK has only won 40% (or 50% if you count the house show/ippv in Canada against Goldust) of the ladder matches he's been in. Seeing as Triple H always seemed to win the important matches in their feud and the above stats about ladder and TLC matches I'm going with Triple H.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

This would be a fantastic match. Triple H and Shawn Michaels know each other inside out, and have had many great matches over the years. This one would be no exception.

Shawn went down as the pioneer of the ladder match in WWE, after his classic with Razor Ramon at Wrestlemania 10, but remember...he lost the match. He has faced Triple H in a ladder match before (albeit the 3rd fall of a 3 stages of hell match)...and he lost. HBK is rightfully thought of as one of the greatest of all time- but his win/loss record isn't all that impressive. It was the performance that made HBK who he is, not whether he won or not.

He'd put on another show stealing performance in this one, almost certainly coming flying off the top of the ladder at some point, but I don't see him getting the win. Triple H always seemed to have Michaels' number in matches between the two, and this would be no exception.

Vote Hunter.

 

[Loveless]

Triple H always seemed to have Michaels' number in matches between the two, and this would be no exception.

Vote Hunter.

In 1 on 1 matches, it's 5-4 to HBK, and that's including him laying down for the European title.
I'd also like to point out that Prime 2002 HHH lost clean twice to a HBK who had been gone for over 4 years at that point, and in a street fight of all things.
HBK was always better than HHH and had Shawn not got injured, HHH never would have gotten out of his shadow.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Shawn's record against Trips has already been mentioned, and based on other arguments made in earlier rounds, that alone should be enough to get Shawn to the next round.

I want to take that a little further though. Shawn had to take extended periods of time off due to injuries. He managed to win world titles both before and after his injuries. Triple H was never given a chance to break out until Shawn went down with his first injury. Yes, Trips did go on to win more titles, but how many of those wins simply caused us to groan and say something to the effect of 'not again' Can you name one HBK title win(minus his winning the European Title) that made you roll your eyes and groan? I can't. Michaels was the first guy to win a Royal Rumble from #1, the second guy behind Hogan to win multiple Rumbles, is tied with Kane for most eliminations all time despite being in five less total Rumbles, he was the first grand slam champion, won PWI match of the year a record 11 times, Wrestling Observer Match of the year 4 times in the '96 Rumble he eliminated Yokozuna and Vader at the same time effectively eliminating half a ton of wrestlers at once. Who else can say that? Shawn did all that without fucking the bosses daughter.

So vote HBK. Maybe you will get rep from Becca. It happened to me before, it could happen to you too.

 

[#tamale]

HBK was always better than HHH and had Shawn not got injured, HHH never would have gotten out of his shadow.

But he did get injured and HHH did step out of Shawn's shadow becoming the #1 heel in the business.

Shawn is the pioneer of the ladder match but his record in them is abysmal. HHH has a winning record including a victory over Shawn in a...ladder match which was the third fall in a three stages of hell match for the World Heavyweight Championship.

In gimmick matches, Triple H has a 4-2 edge over Shawn. The match will be great, but Triple H would knock Shawn off the ladder with a sledgehammer and pick up another victory over HBK.

 

[Dragon Chief]

Yeah I got to go with Triple H, he beat HBK in a ladder match after two vicious rounds of other stipulations. Imagine how the match would play out if Triple H and HBK were to go fresh into a TLC match. Triple H also seems to be at home in matches that throw the rulebook out the window, more so than HBK anyways.

I'm going with The Game.

 

[HBsam31]

I was initially going to vote HHH, but after thinking about it and reading the arguments I got to go with HBK. He beat HHH clean twice in HHH's prime, and that wasn't even in what I would consider Shawn's prime. Shawn Michaels was always better than HHH, and I am voting him to the next round.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I was initially going to vote HHH, but after thinking about it and reading the arguments I got to go with HBK. He beat HHH clean twice in HHH's prime, and that wasn't even in what I would consider Shawn's prime.

One of those was in an Elimination Chamber match with four other guys. This is not a match with four other guys.

Shawn Michaels was always better than HHH, and I am voting him to the next round.

Better at what? Both weren't great draws but 2000 was one of the best years in company history and HHH was the top heel during that period. Both have had great matches with numerous opponents throughout their careers.

 

[The Brain]

Yes Trips has a bigger overall legacy then that of HBK, however, this match is right up HBK's alley.

We know the history of these two and if this had have been a cell match or a street fight then I'd go with Trips, however, it's not. It is a match type where HBK can excel.

I'm going with HBShizzle in this one.

Is this match really up HBK's alley? Sure he can excel. He can wow us with some innovative moves before he eventually loses. He's lost ladder matches to Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Chris Jericho, and guess who...Triple H. In addition to beating HBK Triple H has defeated The Rock and Kevin Nash in ladder matches. When I saw this match this is the first thing that came into my mind

[YOUTUBE]jDsGVGfxPas[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Is this match really up HBK's alley? Sure he can excel. He can wow us with some innovative moves before he eventually loses. He's lost ladder matches to Bret Hart, Razor Ramon, Chris Jericho, and guess who...Triple H. In addition to beating HBK Triple H has defeated The Rock and Kevin Nash in ladder matches. When I saw this match this is the first thing that came into my mind

[YOUTUBE]jDsGVGfxPas[/YOUTUBE]

Honestly if this were a street fight, it should go HBK's way but seeing as Hunter did win this match over HBK it's hard to ignore. HHH should probably win this imo, because they are basically equals as far as wrestling history is concerned, but HHH has the advantage having beat HBK in this match

 

[klunderbunker]

This should go to Shawn Michaels for one reason: he's flat out better that HHH.

We're not talking about drawing power. We're not talking about attitudes. We're not talking about impact on the business (and even if we were, there's a good case for Shawn in each one. HHH really hasn't been much of a draw when he's the top man in the company). We're talking about what happens when the lights are on bright and it all comes down to one match. In that situation, there is only one choice and it's Shawn Michaels.

Let's take a look at the peaks of their careers. Actually hang on a second as that might be hard to determine. Shawn actually had two amazing careers when you think about it. Who else could break their back and return four and a half years later to be possibly the best in ring performer in the company for another seven and a half years? He might have been even better than he was in the 90s which is covering a lot of ground.

Anyway, let's say Shawn in the 90s was better than he was in the 2000s. You know what Shawn didn't do much back then? Lose. Unless I'm missing something, Shawn lost by pinfall on average of about once a year on TV from 1994-1996. The guy was as close to unbeatable as you can get in modern wrestling.

HHH on the other hand lost a good bit during his peak (2000-2001). He lost to Undertaker at Wrestlemania, he lost the WWF Title to Rock twice, he lost his rematches for the title. Even though he could talk and make you hate him as well as almost anyone ever, HHH's in ring record at this point just doesn't match up.

At the end of the day, this is a case where HHH has been around a lot longer and been on top for longer, but he's not better. Think of Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Hogan was a big star for a longer run, but on their best day, Austin wins. It's the same case here: HHH has been around a lot longer than Shawn was but Shawn's in ring accomplishments and abilities are just flat out better.

 

[Tastycles]

I don't really see this as much of a contest, to be honest. Triple H has consistently performed at the highest level and won, particularly in gimmick matches. Michaels has consistently performed at the highest level and sometimes won, often not in gimmick matches. HHH wins.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

The likable HBK would lose to Triple H but the selfish egotistical HBK? He'd dump his old bag boy to the curb as quick as he'd look at him! Without that HBK, Hunter might still be with Chyna.

HBK superkicks Hunter through two chairs set up on top of a table and saunters up the ladder to retrieve his ticket to the next round.