Gold Medal Submission Match - Bret Hart (CAN) vs Antonio Inoki (JAP)

[IrishCanadian25]

GOLD MEDAL MATCH

Bret Hart (CAN)

vs

Antonio Inoki (JAP)

This is the GOLD MEDAL MATCH in the 2010 Wrestlezolympics. This match will be contested under general Submission Match Rules. The match will continue without pinfalls until a wrestler either taps out or is rendered unconscious by an opponents submission maneuver. WZO Submission Matches are contested under no count-out, no DQ rules, but the match can only end via submission inside the ring.

The winner of this match will win the Gold Medal in the Submission Event. The loser will be awarded the Silver.

The match will open for discussion on Friday, February 12th, and voting will begin on Saturday, February 13th. This is a non-spam thread, so if you decide to post, you must provide reasons why you are backing a particular wrestler. You may vote without posting.

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[Барбоса]

Bret Hart may well have been trained in the Dungeon but it is very difficult to look past Inoki here. Even if some of his MMA matches were considered works, the sheer breadth of his training makes Inoki particularly dangerous in a Submission match

 

[LSN80]

I think that the nod goes to Inoki here, just due to the fact that he has an MMA background along with his wrestling background. Add in the fact that most of his signature moves(indian deathlock, seated armbar, stepover standing armbar) were all submission moves, and I give him the slight edge over Hart.

 

[LascoX]

People sometimes forget that Hart was a very good heel. With the gold on the line in a no DQ situation against a ledgend like Inoki I can see Hart reverting to heel methods and cheep shoting Inoki with an object and after knocking him cold slapping the sharpshooter on for the cheep but effective victory. Both are well match opponants on a near equal footing. I think Hart is going to do whatever is nessasary to bring the gold home for Canada.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

When I think of Submission matches in a hardcore element, I think of Bret Hart against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13.

I think of how Steve Austin, a tried and true bad-ass, got taken above and beyond his level and bloodied, broken and beaten in the middle of the ring. Now I'm not going to vote just yet but am leaning toward Bret Hart because I don't know enough information about Inoki to know he can handle Bret Hart in this type of match, with a hardcore element thrown into the mix.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

This match is Bret Hart's. He's as fine a technical wrestler as ever lived, and technical ability is very important in submission matches. That said, he was also very accomplished in no-DQ type matches, showing a versatility that belies his staggering technical expertise. Bret Hart locks on the Sharpshooter to elicit the tap.

Also, I know it's kayfabe, but it's hard to forget the story of Inoki trying to shoot on Bruno Sammartino, and getting schooled, and Bruno wasn't the most skilled guy in the world. Also, while Inoki has some "MMA training", Hart is very well-versed in catch wrestling, a submission based form of wrestling. Bret Hart for the win!

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I think I may just go straight ahead and vote Bret Hart. I'll give anyone who wants to try about a day, maybe two, to sway my vote. But I just finished the Survivor Series 1994 match Bret had against Bob Backlund and he was plain and simply a tough unbeatable man in that contest.

While he lost, the cold hard truth is - it was due to his own Mother throwing in the towel. Both announcers were literally yelling that all Bret had to do himself, was say he quit. He refused to quit. He was IN the fucking Crossface Chicken Wing for about 12 minutes if not longer, and did not quit. He was in serious pain, and simply refused to say the words.

That makes me firmly believe, the only way Bret Hart would ever lose in any type of submission match.. is if his Mother shows up and is begged by Owen Hart to throw in the towel. Since two of those three individuals aren't currently alive, God rest their souls. I don't see any way in the realm of reality that that could ever happen. Bret Hart should take this.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm going with Hart. I'm not sure that we should really be using MMA records in this kind of match, because it doesn't mean anything in kayfabe terms, which is how most of us are selecting this. I don't think Hart ever gave up and I think the anything goes aspect of the match plays into his hands. I'm voting Hart, but I don't think a reverse result would be a travesty.

 

[Mr. TM]

I went with Bret Hart, the man to have been in dozens of matches by winning by submission, while never losing in one. Ionki's one benefit was his success in MMA, I event watched his MMA special with Fedor in it, and I thought it was great. But that is MMA, and this is Pro wrestling, and I think that there is a seperation between them.