Cena Region, Melbourne Subregion, First Round: (12) Jerry Lawler vs. (21) Samoa Joe

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the Cena Region, Melbourne Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

#12. Jerry Lawler

Vs.

#21. Samoa Joe

​

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.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

While wrestling in Memphis, Jerry Lawler was a mega star. Of course, he was also a mega star who lost as often as he won considering he was AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion, the territory's top title for many a year, literally dozens of times. He was a former AWA and WCWA World Champion but that came about due to working relationships those companies had with the CWA in the late 80s.

This could be a pretty fun brawl but I think Joe gets the better of Lawler. Joe's a more well rounded guy and can easily just combine brawling and submission wrestling seamlessly. I think there'd be a lot of blood shed here with Joe ultimately putting an exhausted and bloody Lawler out with the Coquina Clutch.

 

[Bernkastel]

Nope. This Jerry Lawler every day, and twice on Sunday. Joe has never been a big deal in wrestling. He's cool, but lets be honest with ourselves. Jerry might have been a "territorial star" but he has drawn infinitely more money in his career than Joe ever has. Joe has never carried a company. His matches have never been all that lucrative. Jerry was a great technician and could brawl with the best of them. Memphis was a crazy territory, filled with all sorts of colorful characters and unique matches. Jerry saw it all. He even transcended wrestling into the mainstream culture in ways that Joe never has thanks to his media fueled feud with Andy Kaufman.

This is Lawler's match to win.

 

[justtxyank]

Nope. This Jerry Lawler every day, and twice on Sunday. Joe has never been a big deal in wrestling. He's cool, but lets be honest with ourselves. Jerry might have been a "territorial star" but he has drawn infinitely more money in his career than Joe ever has. Joe has never carried a company. His matches have never been all that lucrative. Jerry was a great technician and could brawl with the best of them. Memphis was a crazy territory, filled with all sorts of colorful characters and unique matches. Jerry saw it all. He even transcended wrestling into the mainstream culture in ways that Joe never has thanks to his media fueled feud with Andy Kaufman.

This is Lawler's match to win.

So much this.

Jerry Lawler was a great brawler and story teller in the ring and was a WAY bigger deal. Samoa Joe is a good wrestler with some really good high spot moments in his career, but he's not Jerry Lawler.

 

[nightmare]

High spots are not what people know Joe for. Its kicking the shit out of people. The chant has never been "Jerry's gonna kill you!"

Ruler of the Memphis kingdom & eventual bad joke enthusiast Jerry Lawler would be choked the fuck out here. Why? Because sometimes you have to break a few big name eggs to get to the good stuff. You bring in Joe to get the job done & legends do die. Lawler will be a sacrificial lamb unable to stop Joe. Especially if you factor in the kayfabe Samoan skull. A fist drop and piledriver are not denting this coconut.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Jerry Lawler's feud with Andy Kaufman is bigger than anything Joe will ever do. Add in Lawler's accolades, influence, and importance, and you'll see the King marching on.

 

[nightmare]

Making a cocky celebrity look like a chump does not mean you can take down a maniac, not even with all the powers gained from years of memphis bbq & blow.

 

[Tastycles]

Lawler was a great territory guy and the Kaufman thing was a big deal, although I think it could have really been anyone in that position - it was Kaufman that made it happen. The thing is, the closest thing we have to a territory these days in mainstream wrestling is NXT, and when Joe went there he tore the place down, beat its big stars and broke most of its conventions. I see no reason why this would be any different. Joe wins.

 

[stingray11214]

Jerry Lawler was the King of Memphis. No questions asked. If this was in Memphis, no way Lawler loses. In reality, Joe is just so much more well rounded as a wrestler that I could actually see Lawler losing to Joe, even in Memphis. The Samoan Submission Machine goes over.

 

[tdmoon]

I'm guessing we all see some results in this tourney that surprise us. I must say, none has surprised me more than Samoa Joe taking the lead over The King. Jerry Lawler should be running away with this one; while a very fine wrestler, Joe is nowhere near Lawler who is a legitimate all-time legend in the sport.

It's doing a disservice to Lawler to dismiss him as a mere territorial star. He wasn't just a star, he carried the promotion on his back for decades. It wasn't some rinky dink little organization, either; the CWA was one of the countries most successful territories and one of the last to succumb to the major federations. There were lengthy periods where Lawler was consistently drawing over ten thousand people on a weekly basis and their television show garnered incredible ratings. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if more people were watching Jerry Lawler either live or on tv than were exposed to Joe in ROH. To be dismissive of Lawler's time in Memphis should mean a dismissal of Joe's ROH tenure. Sure, Joe had some success in TNA but not what he should have had and he was eventually relegated to ridiculous angles like being abducted by ninjas and running around with a machete.

Lawler's greatness was finally recognized with a World title victory. I know the AWA was in decline but keep in mind he pinned a guy named Curt Hennig to win it, which adds considerable distinction. He did his best to be a true World champion, defending the title in different promotions.

I've seen Jerry Lawler defeat the likes of Terry Funk, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kerry Von Erich, Rick Rude....the list goes on. After taking down those bona fide Hall of Famers, he's gonna' lose in the first round to Samoa Joe? Even without his historic program with Andy Kaufman, his years of doing color on the hottest wrestling show in the country and his role in a major motion picture I'd pick Jerry Lawler over Samoa Joe eight days a week. And so should you-do the right thing, vote Jerry "The King" Lawler.

 

[Lowdown]

There's no denying the career of Jerry Lawler. But aside from the millions of championships he's won in Memphis, and his run in AWA, what truly made him stand out? This is no disrespect to the man, but Joe is no joke. Like it was mentioned before, just about everywhere Joe has wrestled, the chants of "Joe's gonna kill you" are heard far and wide. And the dude can flat out wrestle.

Joe wins this easily.