IrishCanadian25
Going on 10 years with WrestleZone
What I want to do is take a look at four participants in this thing - 1 per region - seeded outside of the top 8 and why they deserve a closer look in this tournament than they may get.
Calgary Region - Arn Anderson
Not a huge stretch here, but Arn absolutely deserves a look. He has two MAJOR career hindrances. 1) he never won a major world title, and 2) he was always the Kato to Flairs' Green Hornet. Double-A is one of the toughest, smartest, and most consistent workers in the history of the business. He is under rated for his size - he was "The Enforcer" of the Horsemen, afterall, and for his technical prowess. He held the WCW TV Title in the early 90's when it was the true "workers title" along side guys like Regal.
Above all else, Arn has the size, the strength, and the endurance to hang in a major tournament. He'll beat Chavo Guerrero handilly, and should give Piper or Khali a major run for their money in round two. He'll then likely get Hogan, who will go over on popular vote, though Arn would give the Hulkster a bigger run for his money than you think.
Houston Region - Mike Awesome
Somehow, this guy who was once considered a prototype for professional wrestlers in terms of look and agility for big men is a #27 seed. Now I recently wrote a thread - half satire to try to draw some posts in - panning and criticising Mike Awesome. Facts are facts, though - the man took ECW by storm out of nowhere, was noticed on a national scale because of his out-of-this-world athleticism, only to go to WCW to be victimized by their god-awful booking schemes. Had he made the smarter move to WWE rather than WCW at that time, he may have a totally different legacy.
Awesome draws Terry Funk in round one. Funk is a legend, no doubt about it, but he's a legend best known for his Hardcore reputation. Awesome is ALSO known for being hardcord, but also for being technically sound, big, strong, agile, etc. He can take a beating - his ECW feud with Masato Tanaka proved that - and fans may strike out both Funk and Awesome's hardcore offense and toughness and look at the fact that Awesome is bigger, stronger, and faster.
From there he gets either Muta or Gagne. That's a crap shoot, but if Awesome makes the 3rd round, I'd not be shocked.
New York Region - Bam Bam Bigelow
I was tempted to pick Ultimate Warrior here, because Warrior is somehow a #10 seed despite the fact that he'd beat or at least challenge most of the 9 guys listed ahead of him (Styles, Flair, van Dam, for example). But Bigelow gets my support here not just because he's a Super Heavyweight, but because he is a #22 seed and I need a bigger challenge than Warrior.
I've backed Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow for a few years now because of his role as one of the prototype super heavyweight wrestlers with brutality, size, agility, speed, and a technical background. Bam Bam is a 2-time state high school wrestling champion in my home state of NJ, and NJ is known as one of the toughest wrestling states in the US. Though rarely a "#1 guy," Bam Bam was a mainstay in WWF, WCW, and ECW, and won titles in nearly all. Though he was never a WWF Champion to the level of many others, he was the man entrusted with Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania 12. We all know - that match was brutal because of Taylor, not Bigelow, and yet Bam Bam still got something out of the guy in the main event of the biggest PPV of the year.
Phoenix Region - JBL
This was the toughest region to call, because to me, it has the least depth. You have a very heavy top level - Michaels, Andre, and Triple H all are solid draw with the main challenges being from Lesnar and Benoit.
JBL is a guy whom people I think are starting to remember favorably. He was a big guy, a strong guy, a tough guy. Though he was known for much of his career as a tag team competitor, his singles run towards the end of his career - including a successful series with John Cena - sort of solidify him as a guy with a decent enough history to go over a few people. He could absolutely beat Ted DiBiase Sr., a guy who often relied on others for his success in the ring.
JBL is the 10th WWE Grand Slam Champion. No small feat.
Calgary Region - Arn Anderson
Not a huge stretch here, but Arn absolutely deserves a look. He has two MAJOR career hindrances. 1) he never won a major world title, and 2) he was always the Kato to Flairs' Green Hornet. Double-A is one of the toughest, smartest, and most consistent workers in the history of the business. He is under rated for his size - he was "The Enforcer" of the Horsemen, afterall, and for his technical prowess. He held the WCW TV Title in the early 90's when it was the true "workers title" along side guys like Regal.
Above all else, Arn has the size, the strength, and the endurance to hang in a major tournament. He'll beat Chavo Guerrero handilly, and should give Piper or Khali a major run for their money in round two. He'll then likely get Hogan, who will go over on popular vote, though Arn would give the Hulkster a bigger run for his money than you think.
Houston Region - Mike Awesome
Somehow, this guy who was once considered a prototype for professional wrestlers in terms of look and agility for big men is a #27 seed. Now I recently wrote a thread - half satire to try to draw some posts in - panning and criticising Mike Awesome. Facts are facts, though - the man took ECW by storm out of nowhere, was noticed on a national scale because of his out-of-this-world athleticism, only to go to WCW to be victimized by their god-awful booking schemes. Had he made the smarter move to WWE rather than WCW at that time, he may have a totally different legacy.
Awesome draws Terry Funk in round one. Funk is a legend, no doubt about it, but he's a legend best known for his Hardcore reputation. Awesome is ALSO known for being hardcord, but also for being technically sound, big, strong, agile, etc. He can take a beating - his ECW feud with Masato Tanaka proved that - and fans may strike out both Funk and Awesome's hardcore offense and toughness and look at the fact that Awesome is bigger, stronger, and faster.
From there he gets either Muta or Gagne. That's a crap shoot, but if Awesome makes the 3rd round, I'd not be shocked.
New York Region - Bam Bam Bigelow
I was tempted to pick Ultimate Warrior here, because Warrior is somehow a #10 seed despite the fact that he'd beat or at least challenge most of the 9 guys listed ahead of him (Styles, Flair, van Dam, for example). But Bigelow gets my support here not just because he's a Super Heavyweight, but because he is a #22 seed and I need a bigger challenge than Warrior.
I've backed Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow for a few years now because of his role as one of the prototype super heavyweight wrestlers with brutality, size, agility, speed, and a technical background. Bam Bam is a 2-time state high school wrestling champion in my home state of NJ, and NJ is known as one of the toughest wrestling states in the US. Though rarely a "#1 guy," Bam Bam was a mainstay in WWF, WCW, and ECW, and won titles in nearly all. Though he was never a WWF Champion to the level of many others, he was the man entrusted with Lawrence Taylor at Wrestlemania 12. We all know - that match was brutal because of Taylor, not Bigelow, and yet Bam Bam still got something out of the guy in the main event of the biggest PPV of the year.
Phoenix Region - JBL
This was the toughest region to call, because to me, it has the least depth. You have a very heavy top level - Michaels, Andre, and Triple H all are solid draw with the main challenges being from Lesnar and Benoit.
JBL is a guy whom people I think are starting to remember favorably. He was a big guy, a strong guy, a tough guy. Though he was known for much of his career as a tag team competitor, his singles run towards the end of his career - including a successful series with John Cena - sort of solidify him as a guy with a decent enough history to go over a few people. He could absolutely beat Ted DiBiase Sr., a guy who often relied on others for his success in the ring.
JBL is the 10th WWE Grand Slam Champion. No small feat.
