Houston Region, Boston Subregion: First Round: (9)Jeff Hardy vs. (24)Shelton Benjamin

[JGlass]

I won't be heartbroken if Shelton upsets Jeff, but I'm gonna vote for the meth head here. Why? Because at least I found him fairly entertaining at one point in his career. I was one of the many who threw their arms up in the air in celebration when Jeff captured his first WWE Championship at Armageddon 2008, and I felt for him for most of his career after that. That is until CM Punk cashed in his briefcase on Jeff and took the belt off of him, I was all about CM Punk around that time.

Shetlon Benjamin has never done anything for me except leave me feeling mildly impressed but empty. He just doesn't have what it takes to draw me into the match. Hardy did.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

As of late, Jeff Hardy has been completely worthless. It doesn't seem like any of his WWF/E fanbase has followed him to TNA, he looks like shit, his matches suck, etc. He just doesn't do it for me anymore.

However, Shelton has never done anything for me. He can jump high, and that's where it ends. Outside of being an incredible athlete, he brought nothing to the table. He is probably one of the worst talkers in the history of the business, although Jeff isn't much better.

Both are spot-monkeys, but people responded to Jeff. No one cared about Shelton.

I'm voting for Hardy (pre-2010).

 

[The Chosen One of WZ]

Please everybody enter the relm of IWC wetting their pants over Shelton Benjamin.

Give me a break Jeff Hardy would destory this guy in any type of match. Dont think about the drug look at skill and Jeff Hardy would beat Shelton in this match.

 

[Alex]

So wait Shelton Benjamen who is the definition of vanilla is winning in votes. Yeah some people will claim 'Benjamen beat Triple H, Shawn Michaels etc.' Last time I checked Jeff Hardy had beaten Triple H, Undertaker, Edge and numerous others.

Yeah Jeff Hardy's shit on the mic but he's improving (somewhat) Benjamen has still had the same monotone voice for god knows how long.

As for accomplishments, Shelton Benjamen has what won three sets of belts. (IC, US, Tag) Jeff Hardy has one every belt in the WWE except for two (those being the US and ECW which is know defunct)

People voting against Hardy purely because of what he's done outside the ring is very hypocritcal and yet these same people will probably get Eddie Guerrero fairly far.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how Benjamin is winning via 2 votes (as of typing this). I mean, there isn't really anything Benjamin has done career wise that even touches what Hardy has. But hey, it's a Hardy - so that's a sure strike, right? And it's Black history month, so Hardy is down right screwed.

Yeah, that's about all I can say that is relevant to any reason I see Benjamin being a legit threat to winning this, and yet he is.

Hardy has won Heavyweight Championships and defeated all the same names Benjamin has, only more impressively. Benjamin got countout and DQ victories over HHH - Hardy got a pinfalls and won a title off HHH. Benjamin has fallen off a ladder - Hardy has fallen off a ladder, while holding onto a Championship he'd just won. Benjamin painted his hair gold. Hardy paints his whole face, as well as hair. I'm sure I could go on.. but I'll just stop.

Hardy wins, simply because he's been more impressive in his career and actually went somewhere instead of multiple gimmick matches simply as a fill-in to grab flashbulbs.

 

[EasyE]

I'm happy to see Shelton winning, even if it's not by much. Keep it going for Benjamin, people! Yes Jeff has had a better career, but this isn't a "who had a better career tournament". Jeff is/was hugely popular for jumping off of ladders, not wrestling, not mic work. He left WWE after making it to World Champ status because he didn't like the wellness policy! After his arrest, he got mad that CM Punk referenced it in a PPV promo. What a baby! I thought him going to TNA would be huge for them, but the ratings haven't changed. I guess his main fan base of women & children don't watch Spike TV- the network for men. OOPS! Not that any parent in their right mind would let their kids lookup to Jeff now that he's shown his true self w/out the soft glow of the WWE spotlight. My wife watches just for Jeff and she's disapointed every week by his druggy sloppiness. Oh, and he gets a chance to evolve with his first major heel turn, and ends up as a copy of Raven from ECW in 1996. Way to go creative genius! So all the indignant druggies vote for Jeff, everybody else vote for Shelton.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

This is a VERY tough choice, as both men have always thouroughly entertained me in the ring. Benjamin is an unbelievable athlete, and never achieved what he should have in WWE, but I think he will be back at some point.

Jeff Hardy, even with all his personal issues has done almost everything possible in the business. WWE Champion, IC Champ, Hardcore Champ, many time Tag Team champ, TNA World Champion.... his achievements dwarf those of Benjamin, but the sloppiness of his in-ring work these days brings him down a notch in my eyes.

I love Hardy's new Anti-Christ character, it was the breath of fresh air he needed and his mic skills are improving, so he beats Shelton on that level too.

As I can barely split these two, I am going to look at my younger self to decide and remembering the enjoyment and excitement I use to have watching The Hardy Boyz back in 1999-2001 and the memories, that swings it to Jeff Hardy.

Swanton Bomb after a show-stealing match, and the pinfall victor...JEEEEEEEEFFF HAAAAARDY

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Sorry I just wanted to note out a few things I found funny:

Yeah Jeff Hardy's shit on the mic but he's improving (somewhat) Benjamen has still had the same monotone voice for god knows how long.

Good. By this rate he'll be able to drop a killer promo when he's in his retirement home, should he reach that age, which is taking enough for granted already. That's marvellous.

I'm happy to see Shelton winning, even if it's not by much. Keep it going for Benjamin, people! Yes Jeff has had a better career, but this isn't a "who had a better career tournament". Jeff is/was hugely popular for jumping off of ladders, not wrestling, not mic work. He left WWE after making it to World Champ status because he didn't like the wellness policy! After his arrest, he got mad that CM Punk referenced it in a PPV promo. What a baby! I thought him going to TNA would be huge for them, but the ratings haven't changed. I guess his main fan base of women & children don't watch Spike TV- the network for men. OOPS! Not that any parent in their right mind would let their kids lookup to Jeff now that he's shown his true self w/out the soft glow of the WWE spotlight. My wife watches just for Jeff and she's disapointed every week by his druggy sloppiness. Oh, and he gets a chance to evolve with his first major heel turn, and ends up as a copy of Raven from ECW in 1996. Way to go creative genius! So all the indignant druggies vote for Jeff, everybody else vote for Shelton.

I don't really have much of anything to say about this except I found it hilarious your name is Easy E and your endorsing Shelton Benjamin over the world champion of the company run by Bischoff himself. That is all.


No but in all seriousness I voted for Benjamin. I could care less about on paper accomplishments, I know Hardy is a grand-slam winner. I could care less whether more people liked him. My two criteria are being a good wrestler and entertainer. Now we both know men aren't exactly comfortable with a mic, neither man is known for their speaking prowess. But I think Benjamin gets shit on more than he is warranted for, he never had a marketable personality but he isn't as bad at talking as people have themselves believe. Besides has he ever had the time and attention Hardy has to deliver something worth listening to? Hardy isn't improving on the mic at all, I thought the same thing when his gimmick changed but as I watch with the weeks I realise the man is just stranded on a plateau of mediocrity, it was the gimmick change that made his mic work seem fresh.

For me Jeff Nero Hardy is the definition of a spot monkey. He only works well when he's jumping off something, into something, onto something etc.. Anything else he does in the ring or outside is underwhelming, he can't deliver superb technical wrestling, talking or anything outside of his comfort zone. Benjamin is far less of a spot monkey in my eyes, he's actually a damn good wrestler and hence why they chose him to beat HHH in early 2004 only a couple of years after being in the company whilst Jeff was off trying to make a name for himself in a company that was only a couple of years old, a company that has a reputation for picking up ex-WWE talent and instantly making them champions, and yet Hardy just wallowed around never really being champion material?? That doesn't say good things on how people viewed his capabilities. He's just another example of a guy with a fan following being given a push to an area where physically he didn't belong, Benjamin was never the beneficiary of such a fan following.

Benjamin for me is a more complete wrestler and well worthy of beating Hardy, accomplishments aside.

 

[Alex]

For me Jeff Nero Hardy is the definition of a spot monkey. He only works well when he's jumping off something, into something, onto something etc..

No offence but if Shelton Benjamen is going to be remembered for anything it will be doing the exact same thing.

Anything else he does in the ring or outside is underwhelming, he can't deliver superb technical wrestling, .

Yeah he's not great but he can put on a good technical match, the match he had against Kurt Angle at No Surrender was a very good match and seeing as he was against Kurt Angle (arguably the best technical wrestler ever) thats impressive. Not to mention his match against Randy Orton at Royal Rumble 2008 was also very good and wasn't a gimmick match.

Benjamin is far less of a spot monkey in my eyes, he's actually a damn good wrestler and hence why they chose him to beat HHH in early 2004 only a couple of years after being in the company.

Yes he may have beaten Triple H after being there for a short time but what else has he done since. People harp on about how Benjamen beat Triple H, but it didn't get him anywhere. Not to mention Hardy beat Triple H for his first IC title run and he'd been a contracted performer for a relatively short amount of time as well.

whilst Jeff was off trying to make a name for himself in a company that was only a couple of years old, a company that has a reputation for picking up ex-WWE talent and instantly making them champions, and yet Hardy just wallowed around never really being champion material?? That doesn't say good things on how people viewed his capabilities. .

You can argue this point but back in 2004 Jeff Jarrett pretty much kept the Heavyweight title on himself.

He's just another example of a guy with a fan following being given a push to an area where physically he didn't belong, Benjamin was never the beneficiary of such a fan following.

And if Benjamen was as good as people said he is his abilities would shine through giving him that sort of fan following.

 

[Alastor]

Both can fly off ladders. Both can botch often enough for people to hate. Shelton can hang with Hardy in a fast paced match. Hardy cannot hang with Shelton in a mat-based technical wrestling match. Shelton can beat Hardy in Smackdown vs Raw on the xBox. There is only one winner here and that is Shelton Benjamin.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

No offence but if Shelton Benjamen is going to be remembered for anything it will be doing the exact same thing.

Sure some people will look at it like that. I myself think he is a more well-rounded in-ring performer.

Yeah he's not great but he can put on a good technical match, the match he had against Kurt Angle at No Surrender was a very good match and seeing as he was against Kurt Angle (arguably the best technical wrestler ever) thats impressive. Not to mention his match against Randy Orton at Royal Rumble 2008 was also very good and wasn't a gimmick match.

I wouldn't say it's particularly impressive that he had a technical match with Kurt Angle. The phrase "......... could make anyone look good" may apply here, not that Jeff Hardy is bad to the point of needing to be made to look good. In any case, he's not a technicians dream, I just believe Shelton had a more all-round game. I mean being able to fly and being a spot monkey are very different, Shawn Michael could fly but well I'm not even going to pose the question.

Yes he may have beaten Triple H after being there for a short time but what else has he done since. People harp on about how Benjamen beat Triple H, but it didn't get him anywhere. Not to mention Hardy beat Triple H for his first IC title run and he'd been a contracted performer for a relatively short amount of time as well.

Hmmm, Hardy's title win was a little misleading. It wasn't clean like Benjamin's, it came at the end of a Matt Hardy interference with a chair when the ref wasn't looking. In Shelton's match, Benoit even had to come to ringside for him to negate any Ric Flair interference. Bottom line is Benjamin was booked as a serious contender whilst Hardy was booked as a competitive lower-card guy.

You can argue this point but back in 2004 Jeff Jarrett pretty much kept the Heavyweight title on himself.

Mostly, but another champion around that time was former WWE employee K-kwik, an even lower card former WWE cast-off. Hardy was easily a bigger name than him. You could easily make the case that if he was worth a title run, so was Jeff.

And if Benjamen was as good as people said he is his abilities would shine through giving him that sort of fan following.

Well that is often the case, guys who are lacking in the personality department but are superb wrestler can often still get over like Benoit and Bret Hart. But it's not always the case. How many loyal Dean Malenko fans were there? He was just a casualty oh nobody caring. That doesn't diminish his abilities though.

 

[JGlass]

And the spot monkey argument comes out in round one. Well I call bullshit on the spot monkey argument, especially when it's being used on one of the most fantastic spot performers in the last decade or so.

Whether Jeff Hardy is calling the match as he goes or planning it backstage, he has given us a plethora of "holy shit" moments. He's put his body at extreme risk to deliver some breathtaking, jaw dropping, awe inspiring spots inside (and often times outside) the ring.

When a wrestler is a shitty spot monkey, I can see why one would complain. If a wrestler could do NOTHING but perform spots, I would see why one would take issue. Jeff Hardy is great at what he does and Jeff Hardy is not limited to doing nothing but spots.

Can you think of anything that Shelton Benjamin has done in a wrestling ring that made you stop and think, "Wow, nobody else in the world could/would do that but this guy."? I've never had that reaction to Shelton, but I have with Hardy. The most memorable thing Shelton has ever done in a ring is eat a Sweet Chin Music off of a springboard move, while Jeff Hardy's most memorable moment could be any one of his many amazing spots.

 

[Coco]

Can you think of anything that Shelton Benjamin has done in a wrestling ring that made you stop and think, "Wow, nobody else in the world could/would do that but this guy."? I've never had that reaction to Shelton, but I have with Hardy. The most memorable thing Shelton has ever done in a ring is eat a Sweet Chin Music off of a springboard move, while Jeff Hardy's most memorable moment could be any one of his many amazing spots.

You're telling me that that SCM didn't strike you as something nobody else could do? Fuck, that took athletic ability. All Jeff Hardy does is climb to a height and fall with style. They're two different beasts. What Hardy does takes guts and nothing else. Mr. Benjamin has straight skill. I'd take his ladder run at WM21 over any Jeff Hardy spot ever. Fuck, I'd also take his straight leaps from the mat where, without any support, he balances effortlessly on the top rope. Benjamin makes the near-impossible look ordinary and seamless. Hardy does the simple from higher and higher places because he hasn't any other idea what to do. He's special in no way so needs to take the stupid bumps that nobody else will.

Couple that with Hardy's deterioration from a mediocre worker who gained a lot from the WWE formula to a shitty worker who's nothing without the crutch that is the Vince McMahon system and it's clear who to choose in this match. Benjamin continues to thrive as a wrestler in environments that are decidedly un-WWE. Hardy flounders and coasts on past glory while Shelton Benjamin has shown himself to be an exceptional indy talent in a company that Hardy got booed right out of once upon a time because of the high degree of suck he carries with him anywhere other than the WWE.

Jeff Hardy's an adequate WWE superstar. Shelton Benjamin is a professional wrestler who is truly world class and whose ring work can thrive anywhere in the world. Jeff Hardy needs Vince McMahon and high places to jump from to give the people something to care about. Meanwhile, Shelton's going to be just fine in any ring in the world.

Vote Shelton!

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I'm getting a little tired of the phrase "spot monkey" myself now. I can't think of a single competitior confined to only spots, and with no pure wrestling ability, it's an undeserving title for anyone really. But certainly Jeff Hardy's claim to fame is primarily big, dangerous spots. It's of little consequence if those spots are well-performed or not, in this case yes he is a chief propagator of some of the finest mark out moments or the noughties, but his most admired offence is these big suicidal moves nonetheless.

Certainly neither of these deserving guys is a pure breed spot monkey if there is such a thing, and both have had some fine moments, Hardy more than Benjamin. But I find it unfair to restrict someone's career to simply moments. I'll be honest now, Shelton doesn't really excite me either, and I don't just mean on the mic. But I recognize Shelton could do what Hardy has done with ladders and tables and 30 ft drops if needs be, and a lot of things Hardy isn't capable of, that's the deciding factor for me.

Loving this debate, very close, can't wait to see who wins.

 

[JGlass]

You're telling me that that SCM didn't strike you as something nobody else could do? Fuck, that took athletic ability. All Jeff Hardy does is climb to a height and fall with style. They're two different beasts. What Hardy does takes guts and nothing else. Mr. Benjamin has straight skill. I'd take his ladder run at WM21 over any Jeff Hardy spot ever. Fuck, I'd also take his straight leaps from the mat where, without any support, he balances effortlessly on the top rope. Benjamin makes the near-impossible look ordinary and seamless. Hardy does the simple from higher and higher places because he hasn't any other idea what to do. He's special in no way so needs to take the stupid bumps that nobody else will.

Jeff Hardy may not be the athlete Benjamin is, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of wrestlers that would be willing to do half the shit he does. The Swanton Bomb is not an easy move to pull off, and that's only one of his many skills.

Oh, and Benjamin isn't the only one who can balance effortlessly on the top rope without any support. Sabu can do it too, and he's Sabu.

Couple that with Hardy's deterioration from a mediocre worker who gained a lot from the WWE formula to a shitty worker who's nothing without the crutch that is the Vince McMahon system and it's clear who to choose in this match. Benjamin continues to thrive as a wrestler in environments that are decidedly un-WWE. Hardy flounders and coasts on past glory while Shelton Benjamin has shown himself to be an exceptional indy talent in a company that Hardy got booed right out of once upon a time because of the high degree of suck he carries with him anywhere other than the WWE.

This is a fair point, but it depends if you're evaluating Jeff as he is now or as he is at the height of his career. At the height of his career Jeff was a WWE Champion and a force to be reckoned with. Now he's in TNA...

Shelton can get cheered by the ROH smarks all he wants, we all know that ROH fans have a very specific type of wrestling they enjoy watching. Shelton fits that mold, Hardy doesn't. I could say the reverse about Shelton and Hardy in the WWE. Hardy was insanely over, Shelton never got to the top level.

Jeff Hardy's an adequate WWE superstar. Shelton Benjamin is a professional wrestler who is truly world class and whose ring work can thrive anywhere in the world. Jeff Hardy needs Vince McMahon and high places to jump from to give the people something to care about. Meanwhile, Shelton's going to be just fine in any ring in the world.

He can thrive anywhere around the world? Too bad he's proven unable to do so in America. I know, I know, he's over in ROH, but that's ROH, it's only watched by a fraction of the audience of WWE or even TNA. I suppose our definitions of "just fine" are different. I'd say Shelton did "just fine" in the WWE and that Jeff Hardy is doing "just fine" in TNA. Fact of the matter is Jeff Hardy has been and always will be more popular with the majority of fans than Shelton Benjamin could ever be.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Couple that with Hardy's deterioration from a mediocre worker who gained a lot from the WWE formula to a shitty worker who's nothing without the crutch that is the Vince McMahon system and it's clear who to choose in this match. Benjamin continues to thrive as a wrestler in environments that are decidedly un-WWE. Hardy flounders and coasts on past glory while Shelton Benjamin has shown himself to be an exceptional indy talent in a company that Hardy got booed right out of once upon a time because of the high degree of suck he carries with him anywhere other than the WWE.

Jeff Hardy's an adequate WWE superstar. Shelton Benjamin is a professional wrestler who is truly world class and whose ring work can thrive anywhere in the world. Jeff Hardy needs Vince McMahon and high places to jump from to give the people something to care about. Meanwhile, Shelton's going to be just fine in any ring in the world.

Vote Shelton!

The arguement that Shelton Benjamin is thriving in an un-WWE like environment makes me laugh and not only for the reason that success in the WWE should be regarded as greater than success in any other company in the world.

Please tell me in which indy company has Benjamin won a world title till date? He has only won the WWC title once, that too just recently, while Jeff has quite a few indy world titles to his name. Just go and have a peek at Wikipedia. So by that logic Jeff has thrived even in a non WWE environment as well and even more than Benjamin. Also whether you like it or not he has had success in TNA as well. TNA is still better than WWC. Also Benjamin is performing in ROH as a part of a tag team and it could be said that the WGTT aren't even the best tag team in the company. Again to you that is tremendous success at the indy level and somehow comparable to Hardy's achievements in much bigger companies.

And speaking of TNA how about this? When Hardy got released by WWE, TNA signed him almost at once. When Shelton was released TNA did not bother despite recieving plenty of backing from Kurt Angle. It could be that TNA was not interested in him or it could be that Shelton thought that he was better off performing his insane spots in front of a smaller crowd and get paid less than expose himself in a somewhat more well known organization.

Like I mentioned in another post Shelton just cannot score a one up on Hardy anywhere as far as career achievements and popularity are concerned. So like I said earlier whether you like him or you don't you cannot deny that Jeff Hardy works.

Vote Jeff!!

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Jeff Hardy is a current World Heavy Weight Champion in the second largest promotion going.

Benjamin is reliving glory days as the Worlds Greatest Tag Team with Charlie Haas, not to mention "The Worlds Greatest Tag Team" can't hold a kayfabe stick to what the Hardy's have accomplished.

I just took a shower this morning, and the towel I used to dry myself off has more personality than Shelton does.

Shelton is a great athlete, whoopity doo, so are a bunch of other people. Being a great athlete doesn't really mean anything other than you can jump high and have a defined body. It doesn't make you interesting, it doesn't make people care about you, and it doesn't win you Championships. You want to bring up athletes, may I present Mick Foley, the magnet to your computers memory. Foley is proof that being a great athlete has NOTHING to do with the wrestler you are and the success you can have in pro wrestling.

Hardy is lightyears ahead of Benjamin in the world of Pro Wrestling. This isn't a about who would win in a high school mat wrestling even, we are talking Pro Wrestling here people.

You guys want to complain about drugs, DRUGS, FUCKING DRUGS. Are you people serious, yet again, this is Pro Wrestling. Is their a "sport" out there that has more drug abuse than Pro Wrestling. Steroid, Painkiller, Nose Candy - You name it and someone is doing it. Drugs where EVERYWHERE in the eighties and early nighties as well, so anyone who plans on defending ANYONE from the Eighties who voted for Shelton should plan on having their asses absolutely mutilated beyond belief, by yours truly.

Ridiculous statements left and right in this thread, y'all should be ashamed.

 

[Coco]

Jeff Hardy may not be the athlete Benjamin is, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than a handful of wrestlers that would be willing to do half the shit he does. The Swanton Bomb is not an easy move to pull off, and that's only one of his many skills.

First of all, that skill you associate with the Swanton is the skill of falling forward. Nothing athletic about it, especially not the ones that are basically just Hardy letting his dead weight drop off of ladders or scaffolding. Fuck, I've seen Swantons from fat indy nobodies working in absolute dives in front of nobody that rival the quality of Hardy's move. That shows you just how special it is. Meanwhile, none of those chubby indy scrubs can do half the shit Shelton can athletically. Score one for Shelton in the degree of difficult department.

Oh, and Benjamin isn't the only one who can balance effortlessly on the top rope without any support. Sabu can do it too, and he's Sabu.

Sabu's had legitimate match of the year candidates and when he has his nights is one of the best in the world. So I don't see why you're using that tone to belittle the man. And that in no way negates the degree of difficulty in both Shelton's jump and landing. Thanks for trying though.

This is a fair point, but it depends if you're evaluating Jeff as he is now or as he is at the height of his career. At the height of his career Jeff was a WWE Champion and a force to be reckoned with. Now he's in TNA...

I'm evaluating his entire career as a complete body of work. You know what I see? A scrawny backyarder who's lucky he caught on with fans by jumping off of tall things who then got to ride the WWE formula by being able to sell rather well. That's all fine and dancy, but after that he's used none of the knowledge he gained in the WWE to benefit himself and help the quality of his performance elsewhere. Sure, he's TNA Champion because of his former glory, but his skills haven't generalized into superb performances outside of the WWE. When that's the case, the whispers of "poor worker" start to gain from credibility. His work in Japan, TNA, and the indies has been ubiquitously panned. He's found a plethora of environments to fail in by not adapting while he's only found one place where his shtick work. He's proven himself extremely limited. Seeing as this isn't a "Who did better in big companies?" tournament, as Hulk Hogan wins hands down every time, I think we should be judging things like quality of performance. And in doing so, it becomes clear that Hardy doesn't hold water against Benjamin.

Shelton can get cheered by the ROH smarks all he wants, we all know that ROH fans have a very specific type of wrestling they enjoy watching. Shelton fits that mold, Hardy doesn't. I could say the reverse about Shelton and Hardy in the WWE. Hardy was insanely over, Shelton never got to the top level.

And yet Shelton got over in many a match in the WWE because he can work. In the WGTT, he had many matches that thrilled audiences. As Intercontinental Champion, he hung with the best in the business. And the WWE saw this and kept going back to him as US Champion and top ECW contender as a result. Did he ever reach the same level as Hardy? No. But the WWE was impressed enough with his work that for seven years, they never gave up on him. He thrived when the WWE gave him the chance and then went onto thrive elsewhere. Hardy only thrived in one place. Shelton has shown that his skills are broader and more adaptable outside that environment. In the territory days, some might say that'd have made Shelton a better journeyman than Hardy. Do we really not care about such things in professional wrestling? Because promoters would have.

The ability to adapt matters. A lot. Shitting on ROH for having some smark audience with niche tastes misses that point.

Fact of the matter is Jeff Hardy has been and always will be more popular with the majority of fans than Shelton Benjamin could ever be.

And Shelton Benjamin will give a better match to the majority of promoters in the world. That's gotta count for something.

I'm not saying Shelton's work makes him better than all world champions. Hogan was just as adaptable and at a higher level, Austin did well in many environments, etc. This isn't a legitimate push to get Shelton through to the end. It's a call for you to consider that maybe, just maybe, Shelton's ability to adapt makes him a better performer than Hardy will ever be. Shelton is better than this world champion. And once that realization sets in, people should vote for Shelton.

 

[Mr. Truth]

I'm not actually reading through this thread since I'm no being swayed to vote the other way. For just about all the matchups, I vote on who I think would win in an actual match. With that in mind, there's zero doubt in my mind Hardy would win. He's a main eventer with multiple world titles to his name. On the opposite side we have Shelton Benjamin who is a midcarder who at his best was in a tag team. While Benjamin is a superior wrestler, he'd be booked to lose this match.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I'm not actually reading through this thread since I'm no being swayed to vote the other way. For just about all the matchups, I vote on who I think would win in an actual match. With that in mind, there's zero doubt in my mind Hardy would win. He's a main eventer with multiple world titles to his name. On the opposite side we have Shelton Benjamin who is a midcarder who at his best was in a tag team. While Benjamin is a superior wrestler, he'd be booked to lose this match.

Jeff Hardy is in the same boat that Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero are in: Career midcarders who got their shot when everyone was injured (moreso in Guerrero's case). Edge was tag teaming with Jericho and then got injured and all you had were CM Punk and Jeff Hardy on a weak Smackdown roster as it usually is. Even when Hardy was supposedly a "main eventer", he was losing to Matt Hardy and Kane who are on the same level as Shelton Benjamin.

 

[Coco]

The arguement that Shelton Benjamin is thriving in an un-WWE like environment makes me laugh and not only for the reason that success in the WWE should be regarded as greater than success in any other company in the world.

So we're going to give guys from the territory days credit for going all over and thriving everywhere but for modern wrestlers, we're going to penalize them because they didn't reach the top in ONE environment? Sounds like a massive double standard to me.

Please tell me in which indy company has Benjamin won a world title till date? He has only won the WWC title once, that too just recently, while Jeff has quite a few indy world titles to his name. Just go and have a peek at Wikipedia. So by that logic Jeff has thrived even in a non WWE environment as well and even more than Benjamin.

I'm talking quality of performance, not world titles. Sure, plenty of indy companies out there are TNA-like parasites who need to book big former WWE names to get people at the gate. Frankly, it's the nature of the beast. But do we think Hardy is putting on matches which rival the quality of Benjamin? If you do, you're either a blind Hardy fan or a raving apologist for WWE's vision and their use of talent.

Also whether you like it or not he has had success in TNA as well. TNA is still better than WWC. Also Benjamin is performing in ROH as a part of a tag team and it could be said that the WGTT aren't even the best tag team in the company. Again to you that is tremendous success at the indy level and somehow comparable to Hardy's achievements in much bigger companies.

TNA is a fucking parasite bent on throwing money at anyone who ever worked for the WWE. Spike Dudley and Orlando Jordan and gotten spots as good as or better than that which they had in the WWE. Are you really going to tell me that success in TNA is an accurate barometer for one's adaptability to life outside the WWE? If you are, that's a joke.

Also, WGTT aren't better than KOW, thus Shelton isn't thriving? If that's the case, the Hardy Boyz never thrived in the WWF in the Attitude Era because Edge and Christian were better.

It's a shit argument. You should be better than that if you want me to bother with you.

And speaking of TNA how about this? When Hardy got released by WWE, TNA signed him almost at once. When Shelton was released TNA did not bother despite recieving plenty of backing from Kurt Angle.

You don't think Shelton got the call but turned it down because of what he saw as a place where his abilities wouldn't be appreciated? Puh-lease.

It could be that TNA was not interested in him or it could be that Shelton thought that he was better off performing his insane spots in front of a smaller crowd and get paid less than expose himself in a somewhat more well known organization.

Or it could be that Shelton thought it better for him to ply his craft in places that appreciate what he brings to the table rather than one which would shelve him like countless other X-Division style athletes who are also vastly superior to Hardy.

Use your brain. I know you have one.

Vote Shelton!

 

[Mr. Truth]

Jeff Hardy is in the same boat that Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero are in: Career midcarders who got their shot when everyone was injured (moreso in Guerrero's case). Edge was tag teaming with Jericho and then got injured and all you had were CM Punk and Jeff Hardy on a weak Smackdown roster as it usually is. Even when Hardy was supposedly a "main eventer", he was losing to Matt Hardy and Kane who are on the same level as Shelton Benjamin.

You can't be comparing Matt Hardy and Kane to Shelton Benjamin. Matt beating Jeff a few times had to happen in their little feud for it to work. It was supposed to be a deep, personal, brotherly feud. As for Kane, the guy has been in the gimmick since 1997. He was always an uppermidcarder/main eventer. Shelton is a midcarder. I mean seriously, what has Shelton done in his career? Seriously? He has a couple of tag titles and won the US title once and the Intercontinental title a few times. When he won the midcard titles, they had pretty little weight. This is without even going into the fact that Jeff also won multiple titles in TNA. You want to factor in his multiple titles in TNA and then tell me that Shelton would be booked to win this match?

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Vote Shelton!

This is what it looks like when you directly quote somebody.

Now you may have thought that I was directing my statement at you, but it was a generalization. As there is so much stupid shit in this thread that I would literally have to quote about 20 different posts if I wanted to address everything that's been said.

I know you didn't mention drugs Coco, but there have been a number of posts that have. In this very thread, and I was addressing those posts as well, sorry you had to assume I was putting words in your mouth; but honestly I didn't even read your post, I figured if you where voting for Benjamin that you would at the very least put up a somewhat intelligent argument, but since your post has now been brought to my attention, lets go ahead and take a closer look at it.

You're telling me that that SCM didn't strike you as something nobody else could do? Fuck, that took athletic ability. All Jeff Hardy does is climb to a height and fall with style. They're two different beasts. What Hardy does takes guts and nothing else. Mr. Benjamin has straight skill. I'd take his ladder run at WM21 over any Jeff Hardy spot ever. Fuck, I'd also take his straight leaps from the mat where, without any support, he balances effortlessly on the top rope. Benjamin makes the near-impossible look ordinary and seamless. Hardy does the simple from higher and higher places because he hasn't any other idea what to do. He's special in no way so needs to take the stupid bumps that nobody else will.

So Shelton is a Great athlete, fantastic. WOW. GROUND BREAKING, NEWS WORTHY, GOTTA PUT IT IN CAPS kinda stuff right there.

Since I am now directly talking to you Coco, tell me what being a great athlete has to do with professional wrestling other than being able to preform athletic spots.

Foley is the furthest thing from an Athlete, is Benjamin going to go over Foley because of his athletic ability. I mean all Foley does is jump off cages and take hardcore spots and bumps. According to your logic, being an athlete is all that really matters is Pro Wrestling.

Well, the fact is. You Are Wrong. Being an athlete is certainly a good start, but it's not the end all be all of Pro Wrestling. I could run Miles and miles around guys like Vador and Foley, doesn't make me a better Pro Wrestler, maybe a better ATHLETE, but not a better Pro Wrestler.

Couple that with Hardy's deterioration from a mediocre worker who gained a lot from the WWE formula to a shitty worker who's nothing without the crutch that is the Vince McMahon system and it's clear who to choose in this match.

So I guess he used that Vince crutch to become current TNA World Heavyweight Champion... for the second time.

I didn't realize that TNA followed the Vince McMahon System, please do enlighten me!

Benjamin continues to thrive as a wrestler in environments that are decidedly un-WWE.

You talking bout the Indies, the Minor Leagues, Triple A. Basically the stuff that nobody really cares about.

Hardy flounders and coasts on past glory while Shelton Benjamin has shown himself to be an exceptional indy talent in a company that Hardy got booed right out of once upon a time because of the high degree of suck he carries with him anywhere other than the WWE.

So the the Smark Indy crowd, the same crowd that you where bitching about after EC. That's what you're going with, Hypocrite much?

Jeff Hardy's an adequate WWE superstar.

Grand Slam Champion - Putting him ahead of guys Like Cena, Rock, Stone Cold, Hogan and many more. I think Adequate is the wrong word.

Shelton Benjamin is a professional wrestler who is truly world class and whose ring work can thrive anywhere in the world.

Anywhere that doesn't matter that is, any where that doesn't have a TV contract, anywhere that doesn't have the pressure of more than 30 fans watching.

Jeff Hardy needs Vince McMahon

Remeber kids, Vince is really in charge of TNA, and that's the only reason Hardy has become a two time Heavyweight Championship in TNA. It's because of Vince McMahon.

and high places to jump from to give the people something to care about.

At least people care when Hardy Jumps off a latter.

Meanwhile, Shelton's going to be just fine in any ring in the world.

Shelton Benjamin, he can job in any ring in the World, he also runs a wicked 5:45 mile.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

You can't be comparing Matt Hardy and Kane to Shelton Benjamin. Matt beating Jeff a few times had to happen in their little feud for it to work. It was supposed to be a deep, personal, brotherly feud. As for Kane, the guy has been in the gimmick since 1997. He was always an uppermidcarder/main eventer. Shelton is a midcarder. I mean seriously, what has Shelton done in his career? Seriously? He has a couple of tag titles and won the US title once and the Intercontinental title a few times. When he won the midcard titles, they had pretty little weight. This is without even going into the fact that Jeff also won multiple titles in TNA. You want to factor in his multiple titles in TNA and then tell me that Shelton would be booked to win this match?

He has performed and won more great matches without the use of a ladder, table, or chair than your man Jeff Hardy. Where's his great non-gimmick matches? I've seen Shelton do more and do well in more companies across the world than I have somebody who had the WWE machine behind them and is a poor worker everywhere else. Hardy couldn't even get a rub off of the Undertaker in 2002 when he was fighting for the world title. Shelton did off of Shawn Michaels in 2005.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Jeff Hardy is in the same boat that Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero are in: Career midcarders who got their shot when everyone was injured (moreso in Guerrero's case). Edge was tag teaming with Jericho and then got injured and all you had were CM Punk and Jeff Hardy on a weak Smackdown roster as it usually is. Even when Hardy was supposedly a "main eventer", he was losing to Matt Hardy and Kane who are on the same level as Shelton Benjamin.

Give me a fucking break.

Shelton couldn't even hold Kanes fucking Jock Strap.

Kane just finished of one of the longest, most entertaining WHC title runs in a long time. Going over Taker in three straight PPV Matches.

How many times Has Shelton gone over Taker? Yeah, that's what I thought. Kane has gone over everyone there is in the WWE and is a certified, believable Main Eventer. At worst Kane is upper mid card Jobber to the stars kind of role, something Benjamin had never been at his highest point.

Do we really want to go over the list of wrestlers that have gone over Shelton before, I mean Really. Shelton has been lower mid card/jobber quite a few times in the WWE, with some absolute shit losses on his resume, yet you're going to sit here an compare him to Kane.

Give me a fucking break. This is some of the most asinine logic I've ever read.