First Round: East Rutherford - Mike Awesome vs. Rick Rude

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round matchup in the East Rutherford Subregion. The ring and arena are universal throughout the first round and the organization is not a factor. There is a 20 minute time limit. Vote using any criteria you like. Most votes in the poll at the end of the time period wins. In the case of a tie we will go off of the number of written votes. In the case of a second tie, both are eliminated.

Location: Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New JerseyCENTER]

Mike Awesome

Vs.

Rick Rude

Voting is open for 4 days.​

 

[PsychoBlack]

rick rude was one of the top wrestlers of the 80s and feuded with everybody he was a 4 time world champion and had many many great matches hes up there with brett and curt hennig in in ring ability its a shame that injuries cut his career short and his untimely death was a shame mike awesome had a nice run in ecw before being stuck in the middle of the new blood story in wcw he never really had a prime

my vote is for rude


RIP rude

RIP awesome

 

[Theo Mays]

Great battle of size here. Awesome was pretty versatile for a guy his size and Rude was no slouch either. The thing I think about with Rude is that he was the only guy I can think of that could get the best of Warrior in Warrior's prime. Consider that how you will, but it show Rude can go against guys bigger than him. Awesome is good no doubt, but Rude is greater.

 

[GenMe]

This right here is tough match for me.

Mike awesome is just awesome, he is a good wrestler capable of destroying you in less then one minute. Rick Rude is was also a good wrestler with tons of good feuds in the WWF and on WCW. I really love a the great feuds that Rick Rude had so my vote will be for Rick Rude in this match.

 

[X]

I voted for Mike Awesome here, and I'll admit right off the bat that it's probably not the right choice here, but I'll stand by it. We're all allowed a few personal picks, and this is one of mine. Mike Awesome is my all-time favorite big man wrestler and in my opinion could have been a BIG star if WCW hadn't decided to hire him for the sole reason of completely burying him in the most demeaning way I've ever seen in professional wrestling. Literally, could not imagine a bigger bury-job than if they had just hired Awesome and castrated him live on PPV in front of the ECW faithful. They took one of the most bad-ass motherfuckers to come along in a long time in wrestling with INSANE agility and just an all around great presence, and they turned him into the fucking Fat Chick Thrilla. I will never, ever forgive the powers in charge of WCW at that time for doing that to Awesome, he deserved SO MUCH better than that but instead he got absolutely fucked. God damn shame.

Rick Rude is great don't get me wrong, a true legend no doubt, but I really can see Mike Awesome defeating Rude. Rude never faced competition as physical and draining as the style wrestled in FMW during the 90s where Awesome dominated before coming to the US to dominate ECW for a short period before being buried by WCW. I've been a long time fan of the guy and consider his global feud with Masato Tanaka in the 1990s to be one of my very favorite in any promotion, ever. Whenever those two locked up you were in for a god damn WAR.

Yeah, Mike Awesome getting the nod from me here. I loved the guy and I'll support him as long as I can in this thing.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

I saw this match and said "whomever XFear picks, thats who I will pick"

and then he said his own pick was wrong. Fucking thankyou.

You would be well served to go either way. Both immensely talented, woefully underused guys, who in all seriousness, are all time greats.

Ill go with Rude, being as he was a part of some very major cards and angles at the apex of Pro Wrestling. You could go either way, and be well served here though.

 

[Ferbian]

I'm gonna vote Rick Rude in this one.

Rick was absolutely golden if you ask me, and don't get me wrong, I think Mike Awesome was golden too, but I've never really liked his microphone skills as opposed to Rick Rude who had some tremendous mic skills, very cocky heel, incredibly talented guy, and while I think both are incredible underused and underrated, I really wish Rick Rude would've accomplished more, it's a shame he wasn't getting more out of his run with WWF, I would've loved to see this guy on the list of former WWF world heavyweight champions.

Rick it is, RIP

And of course, cause it's be rude (no pun intended) not to, RIP Awesome.

 

[8thwotwATG]

Rick Rude's superior ring presence, better conditioning, better workrate.(I know this doesn't exactly count as workrate, but the guy was a bump machine.) I feel his overall skill level was better than Awesome's. Rude gets the nod.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Mike Awesome is a completely overrated big man that doesn't belong in the same ring as Rick Rude. Rude is someone that had great feuds and great matches with the likes of Jerry Lawler, the Von Erichs, Wahoo McDaniel, Chris Adams, Jake Roberts, the Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Ron Simmons, Ric Flair, etc. Rick Rude was a star in whatever promotion he worked for whether it be Georgia, Florida, Mid-Atlantic, World Class, WWF, WCW, etc.

Mike Awesome is someone that....well I can't really think of anything Mike Awesome has done that I particularly care all that much about. He beat Taz, Raven and Tommy Dreamer I'm sure, though that can't compare with the list of guys Rude has gone up against and beaten.

Rude takes this match all the way.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Rick Rude. Much more talented in the ring, even though Awesome wasn't bad either. Awesome was something different in ECW...he was normal. Big, strong guy, but I can't see Rude losing to many people in the first round. Rude's career reached a lot further than Awesome's did. Not to mention, this is in New Jersey, with all of those "Atlantic City Sweat-Hogs." Rude draws major heat, but takes the match.

 

[X]

Rick Rude. Much more talented in the ring, even though Awesome wasn't bad either. Awesome was something different in ECW...he was normal. Big, strong guy, but I can't see Rude losing to many people in the first round. Rude's career reached a lot further than Awesome's did. Not to mention, this is in New Jersey, with all of those "Atlantic City Sweat-Hogs." Rude draws major heat, but takes the match.

While I don't disagree with your vote for Rude, I do disagree with your assessment of Mike Awesome. He was hardly "normal", how many 6'6 300+ pound wrestlers do you see leaping from one end of the ring to other with frog splashes, moonsaults, suicide dives and a plethora of other aerial attacks and maneuvers? Not too many. Especially not ones with the power and agility of Mike Awesome. Guy was anything but normal, he was abnormal, which is what made him so absolutely awesome as his name would imply.

Plus, New Jersey is also right in the heart of the ECW faithful, so Awesome would be right at home here. I don't disagree with your choice for Rude because like I said in my previous post, either guy here would deserve to go on as both were criminally underrated wrestlers, but I just had to step in and correct you in calling Mike Awesome "normal". He was anything but normal. He was (wait for it...)....Awesome.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

While I don't disagree with your vote for Rude, I do disagree with your assessment of Mike Awesome. He was hardly "normal", how many 6'6 300+ pound wrestlers do you see leaping from one end of the ring to other with frog splashes, moonsaults, suicide dives and a plethora of other aerial attacks and maneuvers? Not too many. Especially not ones with the power and agility of Mike Awesome. Guy was anything but normal, he was abnormal, which is what made him so absolutely awesome as his name would imply.

Plus, New Jersey is also right in the heart of the ECW faithful, so Awesome would be right at home here. I don't disagree with your choice for Rude because like I said in my previous post, either guy here would deserve to go on as both were criminally underrated wrestlers, but I just had to step in and correct you in calling Mike Awesome "normal". He was anything but normal. He was (wait for it...)....Awesome.

Actually, I completely agree with you. What I meant by "normal" was that he actually looked like a wrestler. He had the look that a lot of other ECW guys didn't have. He looked like he belonged in WWF or WCW, although his wrestling style suited him perfectly for ECW. A lot of guys in ECW didn't have the look/physique that would match up to a lot WCW/WWF guys, but in the ring, most of them were at least solid, some great.

I agree with the homefield advantage, not enough to take my vote away from Rude, but I definitely agree. I guess when it came down to my vote, I just couldn't see Rick Rude losing in the first round, especially against Mike Awesome. Awesome worked, and I liked him, but never found him to be on the same level as Rick Rude. Just my opinion.

 

[D-Man]

First of all, this is a very interesting matchup. Mike Awesome was surprisingly agile for such a large, powerful man. Not the mention the fact that the Awesome-Bomb was such a dangerous and devastating move. But as large of an athlete as Awesome was, we also need to remember that he was a very rare type of pro-wrestler; he was a large man that was more than comfortable with high-risk maneuvers. The guy performed splashes and high-impact moves from the top rope like very few other men of his size. And if you could imagine what it would feel like for a 6'6", 300lb man to come crashing down on you from the top rope, you'd understand why he was such a feared opponent.

On the other hand, Rick Rude was a perfectionist in the ring (as well as with his character) and was often overlooked. He had that important characteristic that many wrestlers lack: the ability to make your opponent look incredible, even when you win the match. Rude was a hell of a wrestler that never got the push that he so rightfully deserved, but I believe that his body of work cemented his legacy strongly enough.

Plus, I'm trying to base my votes on who I feel is the better overall pro-wrestler. This means including charisma, mic work, and overall appearance in my analysis. Rude was obviously an impressive specimen to look at. But his charisma was off the charts. He was hilarious on the microphone, and he really got everyone to buy into his arrogant gimmick.

While I don't feel he has a shot in hell to win this tournament, I feel that Rude deserves to go over Mike Awesome in this round. In a very close matchup, I can see Rude finding a way to avoid one of Awesome's high-risk maneuvers, picking Awesome off the mat, delivering the Rude Awakening, and gaining the pinfall.

 

[Tastycles]

Mike Awesome is someone that I grow to like more and more all of the time, but I just don't think he's better than Rude. Rude is one of the best heels ever, and sort of was a world champion. The ring tights with pictures of his opponents on was genius, and the fact that he beat the Ultimate Warrior makes him a member of a very elite club. Rude should win this one.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I voted Rude for the sole reason of him being as durable as can be during a time where most talent worked all year and twice on Sundays. Rude defended the IC title lots and lots of times against forces of nature like the Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, and so forth and so on. Rude also defeated Sting near his peak, and is an extensive ring technician. But the most underrated thing about Rude here is that he was an Arm Wrestling champion. He was in tip top shape and was very underrated in the power department.

Awesome is also vastly underrated and anyone who thinks Awesome wasn't as good as advertised don't really know what they're talking about. Awesome could kick your fucking ass. And you knew it. Why WCW decided to fuck him over is beyond me. It was unfair to him and to be honest, was a huge mistake. X pretty much summed up why it was unfair, but the bottom line in all of this is that Awesome would give Rude all he can handle.

But I factor in experience and ring smarts. Awesome just powered his way through people and used superior athletic ability to hurt his opponents. Rude had all of that, plus ring smarts and the ability to find a way to win. Which is what it takes to advance in my book.

My vote was for Rude.