First Round: New York - Bret Hart vs. Edge

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round matchup in the New York City 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: Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Bret Hart

Vs.

Edge

Voting is open for 4 days.

 

[Coco]

Edge is shit. The man has weak looking offense and has no idea how to get people interested in your average main event level match. When he's not being dragged kicking and screaming to a decent performance by certain superior talents (John Cena, Rob Van Dam, occasionally CM Punk and Jeff Hardy), he's not delivering on the promise of his hype. He's not a great wrestler or a guy who can carry the show when for 90% of his matches, people are bored out of their mind or looking down the ramp to see what kind of clusterfuck finish is going to be thrown at them. The man underwhelmed at shocking levels against Undertaker and Triple H. That, ladies and gents, takes a great deal of sucktitude. Bret Hart, for all of his foibles as a draw (some of which has more to do with the time he was on top than the performer himself), never had an issues when it came to quality of performance. For that, he gets my vote.

 

[Mr. TM]

The long running tag team of Edge and Bret Hart really makes me question whether or not these two will actually fight. That time I saw them tag once... like a week ago.

Nah, Edge loses here, even though he has more titles, its a time when titles change weekly. Bret has better offense, and can take much more of a beating. You know that when Edge was getting beat up, he loses. When Bret got beat up, he was coming back.

 

[DirtyJosé]

Kayfabe: Bret owns Edge. It's as simple as that. Edge is tough, and Edge can work out of most situations, but a Sharpshooter is not one of those situations.

Performance: Edge's talents lay more in his gimmick and his promo chops. He's a natural heel, but a fairly weak face. His in ring work, beyond gimmick matches, is a little lackluster. Hart can do it all with ease. Hart can beat Edge in a flat out wrestling match with no bullshit, and can make Edge look good doing it.

Personal: Edge has impressed me in the sense that I'd have never thought back in '99 that he'd be main eventing and be a multiple world champion title holder. But Bret Hart is Bret fucking Hart, and while he can be beat in this tourney, Edge will not be the one to do so this year.

Bret Hart for the win.

 

[Alex]

While Bret Hart is one of the best, I find him to be overrated because everyone makes him out to be a god when he's not.

Edge, I find people know what he can do and expect it, whereas Bret Hart they'll want a Wrestlemania X match all the time and they won't get it (all the time)

Edge could possibly win by the skin of his teeth. He can mat wrestle, brawl and do highflying moves, Bret can only really do one of these things, but Edge could also use some heel tactics to his advantage allowing him to win.

 

[Mr. Truth]

This isn't a gimmick match. Based on that, Edge is already at a disadvantage. That, and Edge's spear looks weak. Bret is arguably the best wrestler ever. Sure Edge has more titles, but he's won them at a time when the title seems to change every month. Edge was a member of one of the best tag teams ever. Unfortunately, Christian isn't with him. Bret wins this.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Bret Hart has outwrestled the best and Edge isn't the best. Bret is in a class that very few people reach. I like Edge but no way in hell is he getting past Bret. The Hitman has made Austin pass out, made Ric Flair tap, pinned the Undertaker, made Shawn tap and the list goes on. Bret is just too good for Edge.

 

[Dave]

Fuck all of you guys, I am voting for Edge.

Personally, I love both of these guys. Last year's tournament really opened the world of Bret Hart up to me. Upon some sound advice, I watched wrestling with shadows and since then, I have thought the world of Bret Hart. I then went through hundreds of Bret Hart matches online and otherwise and I can tell you that he is one of the finest workers that has ever graced a WWE and WCW ring.

That being said, I very much enjoy Edge. I read his book last year and since then, I know how much he has went through and how much passion he has for the sport. I know of his drive and determination to get any victory and I think that sees him through against Hart. Hart is going to go over massively but I still think that this match would be a lot closer than people will make it out to be. It seems clichéd to say but Edge truly is "The Ultimate Opportunist" and anything can happen. Bret Hart is a fantastic athlete but so is Edge. The only way I can see Hart coming out of this on top, is if he manages to keep the match on the mat. Edge has wrestled for Hart and should know some of his weaknesses, I would think.

Personally, I think Edge has a more varied and better offence than Hart and as much as it pains me to do, I am voting for Edge. Not that I expect it to do much anyway.

 

[D-Man]

I'm voting for Bret Hart without some huge, elaborate explanation. I will just say this:

Both of these men are disgustingly overrated, in my opinion. This matchup is a dream come true for me because one of these men have gotta go. But, if I had to choose, Edge would be getting his ass booted out because of his fluke of a run in last year's tournament, thanks to Will. Edge deserves NOTHING in this tournament, and although I believe Bret is overrated, he's still OVERQUALIFIED to take Edge out in the opening round.

Bye bye, Edge, you cheating, cheap, "opportunist" mother fucker.

 

[The Doctor]

Bret Hart here. He's considered one of the best ever, and has wrestled and defeated some of the biggest names in the business. Edge gets by by being "sneaky". Well that isn't going to fly with Bret Hart. He'll go after Edge and twist him up before Edge even has a chance.

If this were a ladder match, I may have voted differently. Then again, perhaps not, considering Bret was the one to pitch the concept of ladder matches to McMahon and he's been in several during his career.

 

[Remix]

Gotta be Hart here. The man's a flat out better wrestler than Edge, and on a level playing field, Edge is already at a disadvantage. It'd be a good match, but Bret will lock in the sharpshooter and Edge will tap the fuck out.

Bret's overrated. So's Edge. And with no cheapshots or advantages given to him, Edge is fucked and a spear isn't going to get him out of the sharpshooter any time soon.

 

[Machismo]

I was never big on Edge until the Triple Threat match he had this week on Smackdown. I always respected him, but felt him being in main event matches was due mainly to his mouthpiece.

Bret Hart, on the other hand, deserves to be regarded as one of the best to ever step in the ring. The excellence of execution always came to the ring with a golden gameplan, and Edge's torn achilles would be food for Hart to devour. Bret all the way.

 

[Shocky]

It's all for not at this point, but I'm going with Edge. I seem to remember a match that opened up the show at Wrestlemania 10, with a guy that was vastly superior on paper against a man that never won a world title. What happened, Owen Hart beats Bret Hart in a shocker.

Do I think Hart is a better wrestler, certainly, but he also bored me more often then not. Edge simply entertains me more then Bret. Is he spotty, certainly, but far from a spot monkey. Bret Hart will win, but I'm giving Edge my vote.

 

[GenMe]

Like this is a non gimmick match my vote will go to Bret Hart. Edge is the shit in gimmick matches, But he will never stand a chance against Bret Hart in a regular single match.

Edge is quick and he is the ultimate opportunist, Edge goes for the spear and he misses, Bret goes for the piledriver and after goes for the sharpshooter making Edge tap.

Winner: Bret "the hitman" Hart

 

[Tastycles]

I've voted for Edge, and the reason for that is kayfabe. I don't really care about the outcome, and I know Hart will win, but put simply, Bret Hart always loses at some point in his feud, usually the most important time, just look to Michaels, Austin, British Bulldog, Owen et al. Edge on the other hand almost always beats his opponent after an initial defeat, as shown by The Underaker and a load of others. It's a weak argument, and I voted for Hart in the final last year, but I fear that a lot of people are voting as revenge for Edge's run last year, so I'm giving him a vote.

 

[Ferbian]

While I think Edge is a great wrestler, able to put on great matches both gimmick and non gimmick wise, I just don't see him going over Bret Hart, Bret is THE guy to go to when it comes to putting on great matches.
Bret is a pretty clean choice for this, simply because of both the impact, the numerous kind of matches he could wrestle, and the long list of great matches he's put on through 3 decades (24 years right?) without injuring anybody, I say that's a damn good feature in a sport like this while it's not legitimate, it's quite experienced when it comes to injuries.

And I agree with Doc, give Edge a ladder match, or a TLC match, and it's he has a pretty clean victory right there, but it's not, it's a normal match, and Edge is gonna be tapping after a long match without a doubt.

 

[Theo Mays]

Two of my favorites here. Both men are overrated by the wrestling world, but that is not to say that they aren't good. Bret Hart is one of the best to ever grace the squared circle and he could work a good match with mostly anyone. Edge has become a star in the modern day with numerous amount of short title runs and his passion for the business is something I will ever question considering what he has had to comeback from. Both guys have the same sort of path. Both Canadian stars, both started out as tag team guys, worked their way through the IC title ranks, and then moved on to becoming main eventers. For me it is a shame that one of these guys will be out in round 1 and in the end I will be voting for Bret Hart, as he is my all time favorite superstar and I couldn't vote against him in round 1. This would be an excellent match though.

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

Although he's already as good as out, I voted for Edge. I suppose if you look at this from a kayfabe point of view, then Bret would win in the absense of a gimmick match or interference, but I'm not going by kayfabe outcomes here. Whilst I have a huge respect for Bret, he's never entertained me the way Edge has. Edge never disappionts me with the mic. I even enjoyed his recent "SPEAR SPEAR SPEAR" stuff, which alot of people bitched about.

It's not just the promos either. I generally enjoy Edge's best matches more than Bret's best. I'm not just talking about his TLC matches either. Edge has had plenty of great matches that didn't involve tables, ladders or chairs. Don't get me wrong, Bret's had plenty too but Edge's are just more entertaining for the most part. So, from a pure entertainment point of view, Edge gets my vote.

 

[ZeroVX]

Bret Hart wins here. This is surprisingly an easy choice for me. While I like Edge's promo skills, I prefer Bret's. Edge has a persona when he cuts a promo, whether he's a face or heel. It's entertaining, no doubt, but it doesn't seem real to me. Bret is real. When he cuts a promo, you feel that it's really him talking about it. No bullshit, no gimmicks, just a normal person. Bret is obviously better in terms of wrestling ability, and he was the face of a company when WWE was having issues with the law. Edge is good, but Bret is the best.

 

[tbanger]

Bret for me, hands down. He can out-manoeuvre Edge and when he slaps on the sharpshooter, Edge will tap.
I do like Edge, but his ultimate opportunist streak of winning the title every other month last year just frustrated me, I thought the booking was often sporadic and illogical. But that's beside the point.
Bret Hart is a superb technician, I haven't seen as much of him as I have as Edge due to my age.
However, I do think Bret's got what it takes to win this one.

 

[Kashagi]

I voted Edge last year but this time, I am not sure.

Generally I am ignoring kayfabe this year, it has been established that we vote by whatever basis we want. I am voting by who I prefer rather then who I think would win.

I like both of these guys and feel they are both a bit overrated (Bret more so), but I cannot decide which I prefer. I have noticed Mr BigWill has not appeared with his arguments so I think I might just wait. Very tough decision here.

 

[X]

Another fairly easy choice here, atleast for myself. I'm a fan of both men and I do feel Edge has established himself as a true WWE legend and will no doubt be a future Hall of Famer just like Bret Hart, but even at his best Edge wasn't half the worker that Bret was. Bret, what can really be said about the man that hasn't already? I'll save the real arguments for when he actually needs it, there's no shame in Edge tapping out to the sharpshooter to one of his childhood heroes. Bret Hart moves on.

 

[Blue Chipper]

While (needless to say) Edge had quite an impressive showing last year, he's packing his bags early this year, as he should. Bret is the better wrestler, simply put. Edge is problematic, but Hart has faced and defeated many tricky opponents. This would be a good match that would see Hart apply an agonizing sharp shooter to end the match.

 

[Tenta]

Both of these men are disgustingly overrated, in my opinion. This matchup is a dream come true for me because one of these men have gotta go.

This. Look, Bret is a great wrestler, but few people ever recognize the truth; Bret Hart was never Vince McMahon's first option to run with the belt. Rather, Vince always put the belt on Bret for one reason. Namely, He didn't have the superstar on his roster he had hoped for. Vince McMahon put the belt on Bret in an era in which all of the big names had either left Vince's side, or had weak competition. Bret Hart never had to deal with the likes of Hogan, Warrior, Flair, Sid, or any of the names that were far more over than him. The only name that could have rivaled Bret would have been Randy Savage, which for some strange reason, Vince just never utilized. Everyone else had left, and Vince needed a clean guy to put the belt on, while he was under investigation for steroids. Once Vince had a champion in mind, he abruptly ended whatever title reign Bret had. See; Hogan coming back for Wrestlemania IX, Diesel taking the title in 1995, Shawn in 1996. The only time Vince gave Bret something to work with in a title reign was during his 1997 run, and we all know how that went. Vince just never believed in Bret as champion, as long as there was another name bigger or more equal to Bret to put the belt on.

Bret's going to get my vote here, but if he faces Jun Akiyama, he'll not get my vote. Hell, I may actually join the D-Man's bandwagon of getting Owen over Bret.

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Bret Hart

You can make the statement, "Edge has won 8 world titles!" Well guess what, More than half werent won fairly. MiTB Cash-Ins have been Edge's claim to fame. I mean that's why he's called, "The Ultimate Opportunist." Bret Hart competed at a time where there was no Money In The Bank match. A time where if you wanted a world title, you had to earn it. He's headlined Wrestlemania's, he's put guys over, and yes, he is one of the greatest technical wrestlers to step into a WWE ring.