Atlanta Region, Fifth Round: (1) Bret Hart vs. (2) The Rock

[Born To Fly]

Technically Bret will always be considered a WWF guy, saying he has the home field advantage is off the mark a bit- ya kno, being from Canada & all.

I didn't mean home FIELD advantage. More so, home ARENA advantage, with it being in the Georgia Dome. I always thought there is a solid backing for WCW in Georgia and Bret Hart was one of the biggest guys they had, so it could come back to help him.

Ya, cuz one of the best technical wrestlers of all time couldnt make Rock tap to the sharpshooter? The same move Rock uses a terrible version of? Your statement makes little sense b\c thats exactly what it would come down to.

This would remind me of the match The Rock had with Chris Benoit on Smackdown when Brock Lesnar came out. Chris Beniot slapped him with the Crossface twice and he never gave up. Beniot was an equally as strong technical wrestler, IMO, and if he couldn't make The Rock tap, I don't see Bret Hart doing it. Stone Cold was equally as difficult to submit, so...

Your last statement makes Bret seem like a bumbling idiot or so full of rage he would forget the plan. Just how often did you see Bret make a mistake? Ive seen alot of his matches & he is as smart as they come in the ring. Sure something might go wrong in the plan, but unlikely something so bad he would lose because of it. Plus, when Bret seemed to get frustrated, he still was composed- just a more dangerous & cunning. An angry Bret Hart isnt something to be taken lightly & is rarely seen.

I didn't say that Bret Hart was a bumbling idiot. I just feel The Rock would frustrate Bret Hart just enough to score a win. I've seen Bret Hart in the ring and I know he's as composed as they come, but The Rock has made a ton of wrestlers aggravated and I believe Bret Hart would be the next one.

 

[D-Man]

This would remind me of the match The Rock had with Chris Benoit on Smackdown when Brock Lesnar came out. Chris Beniot slapped him with the Crossface twice and he never gave up. Beniot was an equally as strong technical wrestler, IMO, and if he couldn't make The Rock tap, I don't see Bret Hart doing it.

Ohhhh... you must mean this match:


Looks like he gave up to me. Better get your history straight.

This proves that the Rock is perfectly capable of tapping out to a good submission maneuver. And according to your information, tapping out to Benoit is just like tapping out to Bret.

Yup, Bret wins.

I didn't say that Bret Hart was a bumbling idiot. I just feel The Rock would frustrate Bret Hart just enough to score a win. I've seen Bret Hart in the ring and I know he's as composed as they come, but The Rock has made a ton of wrestlers aggravated and I believe Bret Hart would be the next one.

So you're saying that he'd win by aggravating Bret to the point where Bret would give in and lose? If that were the case, Vickie Guerrero would win every match by merely speaking to her opponents. This argument is awful.

I know how popular the Rock is but I really can't see him out-wrestling someone who is considered to be a near-perfect in-ring competitor. Especially with the footage above... the Rock was distracted for a split second and a technical wrestler like Chris Benoit gained a victory. The Rock will suffer the same fate.

 

[Born To Fly]

Ohhhh... you must mean this match:

Looks like he gave up to me. Better get your history straight.

This proves that the Rock is perfectly capable of tapping out to a good submission maneuver. And according to your information, tapping out to Benoit is just like tapping out to Bret.

Yup, Bret wins.

That wasn't the one I was thinking about. Watched another one on Smackdown where Brock Lesnar came out and The Rock went outside the ring to meet him. I believe it was before Summerslam. I didn't remember that match you brought up, but if that was the FIRST time he ever tapped, it means he's tough as nails.

So you're saying that he'd win by aggravating Bret to the point where Bret would give in and lose? If that were the case, Vickie Guerrero would win every match by merely speaking to her opponents. This argument is awful.

I see what you're saying about Vickie Guerrero, but IMO, it doesn't hold weight. I meant throughout the match, The Rock would break The Sharpshooter and Bret Hart would get angrier each time. Vickie's voice is annoying, but she wouldn't be breaking holds or forcing an opponent to rethink his game plan.

 

[nightmare]

I didn't mean home FIELD advantage. More so, home ARENA advantage, with it being in the Georgia Dome. I always thought there is a solid backing for WCW in Georgia and Bret Hart was one of the biggest guys they had, so it could come back to help him.

Ya, i always thought home field\arena advantage meant the same thing but i could be wrong- but im not. They are the same. Besides i doubt a handfull of fans in a city Bret just happened to wrestle in front of at the end of his career would be an advantage. Atleast not as much influence as if, say, in Calgary?

Beniot was an equally as strong technical wrestler, IMO, and if he couldn't make The Rock tap, I don't see Bret Hart doing it. Stone Cold was equally as difficult to submit, so...

Rock is tough, but Austin is tougher. Bret made Austin pass out. If Rock dosent tap & passes out, Bret still wins. So....


Rock will go down in the HOF as one of the best, but in a one on one match, Bret wins. Rocky cant talk his way out of a sharpshooter.

 

[Born To Fly]

Bret Hart did face The Rock before — and Bret Hart got aggravated.

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Bret Hart didn't get the pinfall after rolling through The Rock's Flying Crossbody, so he had to rely on wrapping his legs around the ring post and getting DQ'd.

 

[nightmare]

Grasping straws there my friend....


In the land of kayfabe, no way was Hart going to get a clean win over the IC champ while in the middle of a big feud with Austin. That would be going backwards & would have made zero sense. It would have made the very green 'rising 3rd gen star' look bad as the champ & in no way helped Bret in his current storyline. What made sense was for Hart to be DQ'd further showing his attitude change & building his image in battle against Austin.


Ric Flair got himself DQ'd against Kerry Von Erich a few times so does that mean he was better than Flair? ...Nope.

Bob Backlund won by DQ against Hogan back in the day. Does that mean the "Immortal" Hulk Hogan wasnt as good\couldnt beat Backlund? .....Nope.


....I now await the random 'Chewbacca Defense' response that usually follows when lame reasoning is defeated.....

 

[Born To Fly]

I looked for video proof of my statement and I found it. Nothing more, nothing less.

How many matches did The Rock have against Bret Hart? I can't seem to find any more on YouTube. If that's the case, The Rock is 1-0 against him.

Also, good job pulling out the classics with Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. I had a feeling you were going that way and you didn't disappoint.

As of right now, there are 32 other people who have the same opinion as me that The Rock would beat Bret Hart. Does that mean that we're all correct? No. Does that mean that we all have our own separate opinions on how The Rock would win? Yes.

I appreciate a healthy debate. Thanks.

 

[Mac Attack]

I am astonished as to how The Rock is winning this. Bret Hart is clearly the far better technical wrestler and the far better wrestler in general. There is no possible way the Rock can pull this off as we are talking about Bret Hart. Here is my general check list that I usually decide who I am voting for. I usually decide what wrestler wins each category and then use it to cast my vote.

Wrestling Ability-Bret hart
Bret Hart is one of the best if not the best pure wrestler we have seen and we will see.


Mic Ability-Rock
I give this to the Rock, he is one of the most electrifying men in the sports industry, however Hart was good at promos during his long career.

Quality Title Reigns- Bret Hart
Yes the Rock has had several short title reigns but Bret Hart generally has had title reigns that have impact.

Durability/Stamina- Bret Hart
He has been trained to go at it nonstop. The Rock may be a big brawler but he will never outlast the Hitman. Bret Hart would wear the Rock down and ultimately make him tap out.

Personal Favorite-Bret Hart
Yes here the bias comes out. I'm from Calgary Alberta so is he, our minor hockey team was named after him and well what else do I have to say the man is a legend here.

 

[gd]

This has got to go to Bret Hart. Why? Because he's a much better worker than the Rock, and he doesn't lose nearly as often.

For what it's worth the Rock lost 35.28% of his matches while Bret lost 34.82%, so they are actually pretty even when it comes to how often they lose. Of course, there isn't much context for this and whatnot, just some numbers to throw out there.

As for my vote, it goes to The Rock becaues I enjoyed The Rundown

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

This one has really torn me as I can see a counter to every argument I put for one to go over the other and I'm struggling to just like one over the other...

Bret was more dominant as a headliner but Rock was part of a better roster so apples and oranges. This analogy also holds in the draw stakes as well, the Best There Is, Was or Ever Will Be is regarded as the company carrier during what is regarded as a low in WWF ratings but whilst he was part of the biggest boom in ratings, that's the problem - he was only a part, try and tell Austin, Trips, VKM, Kurt et cetera that Rock was the figurehead.

The Hitman was a greater mat technician but I don't remember any Great One matches I didn't enjoy. If you will, a Hart match is akin to watching Heat or Raging Bull and watching a Johnson match is the Last Boyscout or Rocky (ironic, huh?).

Unlike many others, I wouldn't put Rocky over in the promo stakes - if the Rock is a descendent of Ric Flair promo, then I regard Bret as being of the Arn Anderson ilk and I'm a big fan of both styles.

Impact on the business? Bret may have had a longer career and his inspiration can be seen in the types of Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio but despite his shorter career, Dwayne's influence echoes maybe louder still in big talking headliners like Cena and the Miz.

Both proved the ability to work both sides of the face/ heel divide... no help there then!

Emblems...

Brahma Bull

Hart Foundation

5h17!

Legacy? Hart family dungeon versus Rocky Johnson and Samoan heritage... dead end again!

I'm just going to have to go with gut instinct then, who did I initially think would win if these guys faced off... I'm going with the Excellence of Execution, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

It never... EVVVVVERRRRRR... oh wait, wrong catchphrase.

Um.




It never fails on WrestleZone that when Lance Storm, Chris Benoit, Curt Henning, Arn Anderson, many others, and especially Bret Hart are in this tournament, they ride a wave - a totally and completely overrated wave - called "technical ability." Because a performer is more inclined and able to execute a crisp armbar, they are looked upon as deities. Let me tell you this:

TECHNICAL ABILITY =/= BETTER WRESTLER

I know, I know. I'm sorry you had to hear that, but it was time.

[YOUTUBE]Ve6lJDxEkyY&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

It's okay, Johnny.

The Rock was a much, much better professional wrestler than Bret Hart. We all agree that he was a much bigger draw (and still is) and that he was far superior with the microphone in his hand. He was also involved in much better storylines, carried the WWE in a time of prosperity, and has a list of accomplishment equally as impressive as Hart's in a smaller amount of time. Simply put, the Rock did as much or more than Hart (against stronger competition) in less time and was 100x more entertaining while doing it. My personal opinion of Bret Hart is not high (read: I couldn't give two shits about Hart) and the Rock is my favorite wrestler ever. I understand that Bret Hart was important to a lot of people, but wouldn't be able to hang with the Great One. Rocky was just better.

 

[Tastycles]

It's style against substance here, isn't it? There may never be a wrestler who understands and performs the basics as well as Bret Hart ever again: Sublime ring psychology, technical proficiency and solid, if unspectacular, in the charisma stakes. The Rock is not as good as Hart in the ring, nor can he put on matches as good, but he is possibly the greatest mic worker in the history of professional wrestling, and in a fake sport, that's important. One only needs to ask Tom Billington how far you get without being able to talk in professional wrestling regardless of how good you are in the ring.

When you look at their careers it again becomes hard to establish a clear cut favourite. It's true to say that the Rock had short title reigns, but they need to be viewed in context. Between Steve Austin winning the title at WrestleMania XIV and Kurt Angle winning the title at No Mercy 2000, there were 20 World title reigns. Of those 20, 2 were longer than 100 days, and both belonged to The Rock.

At the same time, a criticism levelled at Hart is that he presided over a poor period for the WWE. Maybe that's true, but don't forget that his first title came at a time when both Ric Flair and Randy Savage were still wrestling in the WWF and Warrior and Hogan weren't permanently out of the picture. He then went and won titles in the stacked closed shop that was WCW.

Ultimately, this has come down to a matter of personal choice for me, and I went with style over substance and picked The Rock.

 

[wrestlingfan]

Two of my favorite legends here, but even though Bret Hart was better out of personal preference and the fact The Rock has never won the WZ Tournament I choose The Rock.