WWE: The Miami Sub-Regional

[NSL]

The potential showdown between Ron Simmons and The Rock would be classic. What will be even more classic, for true wrestling fans, is the showdown between Ron Simmons and Arn Anderson. I'd consider them both darkhorses in the WWE Region, as either could beat Rocky, but neither have the fan support that he does.

I still have Kane as my favorite here, but now that there's someone that could match his strength and size, I'm not so sure. If Ron can get past The Enforcer, than this whole bracket should get very interesting. He can upset The Rock, and can dominate Kane if that match-up happens.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I can see any five of these competitors coming out of this region. Simmons has the power to match up with any of the other four and I believe he will beat either Kane or Arn. He may run up to a challenge against Perfect so I see a Perfect/Rock matchup with Mr. Perfect advancing.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Eh, I'm going to wait and see who else is put into this bracket before coming to a decision. As things stand right now, The Rock should take the bracket. Arn Anderson was a great technician and tactician, but his whole strategy relied on first being able to immobilize his opponent. And, The Rock is just too strong and fast for Arn Anderson to incapacitate him properly.

If no one better comes in, then I see Kane and Hennig in the semi-finals, with Kane winning and being decimated by The Rock in the finals of this sub-region.

 

[Shocky]

This is a pretty even pairing of eight guys as you're about to get in this tournament. The Rock is the highest seed, but their is enough of an Anti-Rocky sentiment on the forums to possibly see him go home. I'm eyeballing that Evan Bourne potential match in round two as a potential bracket buster match.

Double A vs. Ron Simmons could very well go either way. Hennig vs. Martel is a fantastic match, as both men were truly exceptional when they were in their primes. Even Kane could make a decent run. Bockwinkle is certanily a wild card. As many fans aren't familiar with his work, he maybe only one poster's push away from making a decent run in this thing.

On paper, I could see the Rock winning it, but I have a feeling he's not. If I had to make a pick, i would go with Mr. Perfect.

 

[CENAtion]

Finalllyy.........The Rock....i mean Dwayne Johnson has come back....to the WWE.

The Rock returns as the #1 seed in this subregion and this to me is a loaded region with him, clearly the fan favorite, Curt Henning, and double A. A mathcup of Arn Anderson and The Rock shoudl be quite interesting. The former most electrifying man in Sports Entertainment vs. the Enforcer. Arn has the advantage in i think almost every category with the exception of the Rock's ability to not stay down. The Rock has had the nact throughout his career to kick out of people's finishers. Also, the Rock still has a huge following on these forums and will probabbly go over Arn Anderson.

As for The Rock vs. Curt Henning. Wow. Curt Henning should win BUT he wont. The Rock is going to go along way in this thing and probably not rightfully so. I'm not going to hold the fact that i think he sold out against him, because he has had success in acting. The Rock's popularitiy will give him this subregion even though double A and Curt Henning are better pure wrestlers.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

This is a pretty even pairing of eight guys as you're about to get in this tournament. The Rock is the highest seed, but their is enough of an Anti-Rocky sentiment on the forums to possibly see him go home. I'm eyeballing that Evan Bourne potential match in round two as a potential bracket buster match.

Amen to that, and I'll be leading that charge. I get that The Rock was entertaining, but you know the funny thing about that is.. so is a Clown at a carnival. But you don't see that Clown winning anything big for being funny, do ya?

The Rock was anything but good at the sport. He was average, at best, inside the ring. Someone like Arn Anderson, or especially Ron Simmons should and most likely would've sent him packing.

As far as Evan Bourne goes. As much as I can't stand The Rock, not even "I" would push to say Bourne could defeat him. Rock sucks, but he's not completely weak. And Bourne hasn't proven himself enough to be capable of hanging with someone that had the build Rock did.

Double A vs. Ron Simmons could very well go either way. Hennig vs. Martel is a fantastic match, as both men were truly exceptional when they were in their primes.

I think sadly more people are going to compare Ron Simmons to his days as Faarooq instead of his days as the first Black African-American World Heavyweight Champion. And that's a shame.

Simmons was a great athlete and ironically, he's more similar to The Rock than people might realize. The difference being, Simmons knew how to wrestle.

Even Kane could make a decent run. Bockwinkle is certanily a wild card. As many fans aren't familiar with his work, he maybe only one poster's push away from making a decent run in this thing.

Kane in his "prime" (ie. beginning of the Kane gimmick) was good enough to push him, but the Kane that's currently now.. is ruining what people will want to believe in the character, overall.

On paper, I could see the Rock winning it, but I have a feeling he's not. If I had to make a pick, i would go with Mr. Perfect.

Curt Hennig might be a very wild underdog. He was a great athlete, possibly the best of the bunch. But he wasn't exactly what his gimmick claimed he was.. that of course being, "Perfect".

He was never pushed as a World Heavyweight Champion, and mainly it's because I don't believe people could get behind ever believing he could be. He was a great performer, a great in-ring wrestler. Almost like Shelton Benjamin in a ways, only more entertaining. But the fact is, being a great wrestler isn't always going to work for you.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

First of all...let me correct all of you in saying that Henning was never a world champ:


HENNING WAS AWA CHAMP FOR 373 DAYS


I've squelched this argument before, but I guess people don't remember. Furthermore, some people discount the reign, saying that the AWA was crap. Well, PWI recognizes the reign as a world heavyweight title reign, and that's pretty much the canon in wrestling statistics.


As far as the region goes, I think it is way up in the air. The Rock isn't largely popular around here, and I'd say that smarks often back Henning for good or bad. Kane could be huge in the region, as he was simply booked as an unstoppable monster at the onset of his time in the WWF. But let's remember that this "unstoppable" run last merely a few months. They fed him to the Undertaker at Wrestlemania XIV, fed him to the Undertaker AGAIN in an inferno match on PPV...then gave him a one night title run simply (I am guessing) to spike the ratings during the summer months. While Kane may have been unstoppable at the beginning, it was short-lived. I'm trying not to legitimately compare the two, but let's also remember that Snitsky was undefeated for quite awhile. Yes, Snitsky.

I hope Nick Bockwinkle gets more than just a glance from the noobs. I predict he will lose soundly to Kane in the second round...but I really hope he's given a chance, as he's one of the most decorated wrestlers of all time.

 

[Big Sexy]

Most people are saying that it will be Arn Anderson and Mr Perfect who give The Rock a run for his money, but I don't think either guy will get to the Rock. I see Anderson losing to a very underrated Simmons in the second round, and I see Kane getting by Mr Perfect in the third. I hope people remember Ron Simmons from his WCW days more then they do when he was Faarooq, and I hope people remember Kane as the Big Red Monster that destroyed everything in his path when he first came to the WWE.

 

[NSL]

Yet again, I'm with Will here. And Big Sexy. In my tourney brackets, I have this coming down to Ron Simmons v. Kane.

Simmons is going to be remembered as Faarooq, and for the APA. He should be remembered as a member of Doom, and as a singles wrestler under his own name. He's a tremendous athlete, and most people forget, he does have his jersey retired at Florida St. Not exactly a shitty football team. His match with Anderson could go either way, and won't be a blowout for either man, but Simmons strength puts him over. His strength again should put him over The Rock, and the match with Kane will come down to who hurts who faster.

I won't even get into Martel on the bottom half, and to be honest, I'm surprised he's even in. Mr. Perfect should coast until the match with Kane, but Kane wins. I've said before, the PerfectPlex won't mean anything in that match, and Kane's not the typical monster that just runs at you and hurts you. He can come off the ropes, and has some heavy hitting finishers.

The winner here, if I have my brackets set right, would face Kurt Angle. It doesn't really matter who it is, Angle's got the win.

 

[Miko]

Anywhere else but the internet and this is a cake-walk for The Rock. Seeing how he "sold-out" (his fucking career) and "couldnt wrestle" (again bollocks) he probably wont win, which is a shame because in reality there are few, if any better people than The Rock in this tournament.

Anyway my vote goes to The Rock, as in his prime he was nearly unbeatable. Kane? Needed Undertaker and a Steel Chair to beat Austin, Austin needed McMahon and a steel chair to beat The Rock, still Kane is Rock's toughest opposition, Perfect has a good chance but he loses to either Kane or The Rock. Sure he was technically sound, but technically sound is overrated. I'll take the People's Elbow over The Perfect Plex and even the Chokeslam anyday.

Ron Simmons is the real dark-horse in this one though, of course I am talking about the first ever black World Champion. I'll be pushing for him to go far.

Evan Bourne would just flip alot before losing.

So The Rock vs Angle in the next round then? Rock's beat him before, should be able to do it again.

 

[The Todd]

These people who are saying The Rock goes out cos he can't wrestle, I presume you are going to vote against Austin, Hogan and Cena as well then?

My counter arguement is, being a good wrestler alone does not win you a wrestling match. Would Chris Benoit beat Hogan? No, and my reasoning is this. You are not going into the ring for a wrestling match, it is a showdown. And you are against Hogan or The Rock. Not only do you have to beat the man in front of you, who has so much confidence in themselves you have to destroy their self belief first, you have to beat the crowd nine times out of ten. Many of their opponents are beat before they step into the ring.

Put another way, if you were to have a fight with Hulk Hogan, would you think "I'm against some guy who may be 6 foot 7 with 24 inch pythons, but he can't wrestle for shit" or would you think "I'm fighting Hulk Hogan. Oh crap." The same goes with Austin, Rock and Cena which is why I will be voting for all four over most of their opponents and not listening to any of the crap that they "can't wrestle"

 

[Bernkastel]

I find it amusing that some of you guys would would say that the WWE only pushed Kane as a dominant monster early in his career. Look what happened in late 2003 early 2004 after Kane took off his mask for the first time. Kane was arguably more of a monster then than he was in 97'/ 98'. Kane dominated feuds with RVD and Shane McMahon, set JR on fire, and even managed an attack on Linda McMahon. Kane was arguably even made to look more dominating than even Goldberg (the man who obliterated The Rock in his debut match.) Kane was also one of the very few men never pinned by Goldberg during that time; he was also never pinned by HHH during that time. So, if neither Goldberg nor HHH were booked to pin Kane cleanly during that time, I would bet money that if Rock were still wrestling at that time, he wouldn't have been booked to either. In fact, I'd say that if the Rock would have stayed around that season, he probably would have ended up being squashed by Kane at one point.

Kane was face in 2001/ 2002, but he was just as dominating, he did pin the Rock on a few occasions during that time period, and vice versa.

Kane career has only started to go downhill in the last 2 or 3 years or so. Only fans that have just started watching the product in the last year or so will recognize a weak Kane.

As far as Kane and Henning goes, I think think this speaks for itself.

[youtube]vZcd--9pAXY[/youtube]

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I find it amusing that some of you guys would would say that the WWE only pushed Kane as a dominant monster early in his career. Look what happened in late 2003 early 2004 after Kane took off his mask for the first time. Kane was arguably more of a monster then than he was in 97'/ 98'. Kane dominated feuds with RVD and Shane McMahon, set JR on fire, and even managed an attack on Linda McMahon.

In his first year Kane feuded with Undertaker, Mankind & Austin. He wasn't once made to look weak. Several weeks after removing his mask, this big unstoppable monster was forced to sell for Shane McMahon.

End of the day, that push was soley to build him up so he could lose to Undertaker at WrestleMania. Several months after that show he was losing to Matt Hardy, the guy not good enough to get squashed onto that very same show.

 

[Bernkastel]

In his first year Kane feuded with Undertaker, Mankind & Austin. He wasn't once made to look weak. Several weeks after removing his mask, this big unstoppable monster was forced to sell for Shane McMahon.

End of the day, that push was soley to build him up so he could lose to Undertaker at WrestleMania. Several months after that show he was losing to Matt Hardy, the guy not good enough to get squashed onto that very same show.

And Kane losing to Undertaker at WM 20 was a bad thing? Since when was anyone losing to the Undertaker at Wrestlemania a bad thing? And the booking wasn't his fault. The WWE spent the better part of the year building up Kane's character only to job him out to Undi in less than 7 minutes in that match.

Forced to sell? You mean simple character evolution. The monster Kane became in 03/ 04 was more of a realistic psychopath, humanistic, and not based on the supernatural like his character in 97/ 98 was.

Matt Hardy may have beaten Kane on RAW but I but recall him ever winning on PPV.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

And Kane losing to Undertaker at WM 20 was a bad thing? Since when was anyone losing to the Undertaker at Wrestlemania a bad thing? And the booking wasn't his fault. The WWE spent the better part of the year building up Kane's character only to job him out to Undi in less than 7 minutes in that match.

Up until Mania they'd done an ok job of pushing him as a legit threat. That soon ended after he'd done what they wanted him to. If he had the skill to carry on as a legit force he would have.

Forced to sell? You mean simple character evolution. The monster Kane became in 03/ 04 was more of a realistic psychopath, humanistic, and not based on the supernatural like his character in 97/ 98 was.

I mean forced to sell for Shane McMahon, the same way Orton had to recently. He's a non wrestler and he's made to look just as strong, if not stronger than the wrestlers he's facing.

Matt Hardy may have beaten Kane on RAW but I but recall him ever winning on PPV.

Vengeance 04.

 

[Bernkastel]

Up until Mania they'd done an ok job of pushing him as a legit threat. That soon ended after he'd done what they wanted him to. If he had the skill to carry on as a legit force he would have.

not really, the WWE had other plans for him, whether or not they were the best plans for Kane remain questionable, but I have no doubt that if the WWE had chosen to keep pushing Kane as a monster heel it would have worked, simply because it was working those months prior to Wrestlemaina.

I mean forced to sell for Shane McMahon, the same way Orton had to recently. He's a non wrestler and he's made to look just as strong, if not stronger than the wrestlers he's facing.

Going back to the statement I made about character evolution, Kane was still being pushed as a monster during that time period, similar to the way he was when he first debuted, but his character wasn't based on the supernatural vein that it once was so it was believable for a "mortal character" like Shane McMahon to deal damage to him.

Vengeance 04.

touche, doesn't change anything though, Kane was still a major focal point of that storyline more so than Matt Hardy

 

[Christian Battlez]

I think the Rock wins this one. I've picked the highest bracketed superstar in each region so far not intentionally. It just seems they had a bigger advantage in the matchups they were placed in. While the brackets haven't been completed they are surely filling out. Now I'm staying with my going theme and saying The Rock will win here. His presence and energy combined with competing on his hometown turf will be too much for Hennig or Kane to endure. Rock will find a way to win and move on after capturing his hometown region.

 

[Blade]

This is looking like the most interesting bracket so far.
But despite all that, it's looking like it'll come down to Rock vs Kane.

But there are a few who could come out of nowhere for this. Let's not forget how good Simmons was in his prime. Same with Hennig.
And Bourne has a looot of fans, so he could do well.

 

[Richard]

The Rock is going to take this one fairly easily and he should, so what if he no longer wrestles, he's one of the most loved and hated wrestlers and has been involved in many memorable moments, feuds and matches and by all rights should win this.

Sure, he might not be the best technical wrestler, but being a great technical wrestler doesn't matter because it's not MMA, it's professional wrestling which involves promos which The Rock was arguable the best during his time at, getting a crowd reaction which The Rock was able to do, etc. He was the complete package, really.

Hennig might have the best chance of beating The Rock, but I don't think he will, but it could be close. Kane, not so much, I don't think he'd be able to topple The Great One.

 

[Father:_Polley]

People only hate Rock because he walked away at the peak of his success, and, instead of remembering all the good times, they accuse him of selling out. These are the same people who wanted Flair and Hogan to retire because they were too old and wouldn't give up, but because Rock leaves at his best, he 'sold out'

Contrast with Simmons, who still embarrasses himself with one word appearances, Kane who is a Big Red Machine in need of a tune up. They kept going, but are so much less effective than their former selves

 

[Bernkastel]

The Rock is going to take this one fairly easily and he should, so what if he no longer wrestles, he's one of the most loved and hated wrestlers and has been involved in many memorable moments, feuds and matches and by all rights should win this.

Sure, he might not be the best technical wrestler, but being a great technical wrestler doesn't matter because it's not MMA, it's professional wrestling which involves promos which The Rock was arguable the best during his time at, getting a crowd reaction which The Rock was able to do, etc. He was the complete package, really.

Hennig might have the best chance of beating The Rock, but I don't think he will, but it could be close. Kane, not so much, I don't think he'd be able to topple The Great One.

On the contrary, I think kane does have a shot at beating the Rock if the match ups are approached from an objective angle and not just from favoritism. Kane held his own against the Rock and was made to look dominant against him. Kane has several pinfall victories over the Rock, but wins and losses are beside the point as it is the quality of character that matters. So do you really think the Brahma Bull could have had a shot of beating a guy that at one point no one outside the Undertaker could even have a prayer of beating? I don't. Even Steve Austin was made to look weak against Kane at one point, whose to say that the Rock wouldn't have been made to look weak as well.

 

[NSL]

Koloff v. Hennig could be interesting. I think Hennig will win, and probably should.

If he's widely considered the best wrestler to never hold the WWE or WCW title, and a favorite to face The Rock (if it weren't for Kane), than he's got to get the win here. I'll need to refresh a little on Koloff, but if my memory is right, there's no way he beats Mr. Perfect.

Either man should dominate Martel in the 2nd Rd., or whoever squashes him. The winner of this match should have a fairly easy path to face the Kane v. Bockwinkel winner to determine who faces Rocky.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

not really, the WWE had other plans for him, whether or not they were the best plans for Kane remain questionable, but I have no doubt that if the WWE had chosen to keep pushing Kane as a monster heel it would have worked, simply because it was working those months prior to Wrestlemaina.

But they didn't. It's easy to push Kane as a monster heel because he's always had solid support from fans and it's the only thing he does well. It's a testament to how poor his ring work is that he hardly ever has a sustained push.

Going back to the statement I made about character evolution, Kane was still being pushed as a monster during that time period, similar to the way he was when he first debuted, but his character wasn't based on the supernatural vein that it once was so it was believable for a "mortal character" like Shane McMahon to deal damage to him.

What was wrong with it was that Kane sold more for Shane than he did the Undertaker 6 months later.

touche, doesn't change anything though, Kane was still a major focal point of that storyline more so than Matt Hardy

Nope, that would be Lita.

 

[Bernkastel]

But they didn't. It's easy to push Kane as a monster heel because he's always had solid support from fans and it's the only thing he does well. It's a testament to how poor his ring work is that he hardly ever has a sustained push.

Well, since you'll agree that Kane has always had support from the fans tells me that he must be doing his job as an entertainer, and in contrast to what you just said must have pretty decent in ring skill in order to have kept that support for so many years.

People can say that Kane is crap all they want, but the truth of the matter is that if the guy truly did suck, the fans would have stopped caring about him years ago. Kane's been with the WWE for 12 years now, and still receives strong reactions from the crowd and his character is still relevant.

What was wrong with it was that Kane sold more for Shane than he did the Undertaker 6 months later.

That was hardly Kane's fault. He and Shane worked a series of 10- 15 minute matches and Kane and the Undertaker worked one 5 minute match at Mania, so of course Kane would have sold more for Shane than he did Taker. Had the booking been better at Mania, Kane would have sold better for Taker as well.

Nope, that would be Lita.

So what are you saying, that Kane didn't have an equal part in that storyline? I beg to differ.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Well, since you'll agree that Kane has always had support from the fans tells me that he must be doing his job as an entertainer, and in contrast to what you just said must have pretty decent in ring skill in order to have kept that support for so many years.

So you're saying that because people like Kane, he must have some in ring skill? People liked The Undertaker in the early 90's and he was having shit matches with everybody.

People can say that Kane is crap all they want, but the truth of the matter is that if the guy truly did suck, the fans would have stopped caring about him years ago.

Not really, he's a gimmick wrestler. They have it easy. He has a cool look, cool pyro, cool music and a nostalgia factor.

Kane's been with the WWE for 12 years now, and still receives strong reactions from the crowd and his character is still relevant.

Since when did monsters in wrestling ever become irrelevant? WWE could easily book Khali into the same monster he was 3 years ago, with minimal effort.

The Kane gimmick isn't over because of Glen Jacobs, it's over in spite of him.

So what are you saying, that Kane didn't have an equal part in that storyline? I beg to differ.

I'm saying that Lita was the important part of the storyline. That's proven when a version of it it was still going on a year later and Kane was written out of it so he didn't interfere.