Int Region, Minneapolis Region, First Round: (13) Jake Roberts vs. (20) Barry Windham

[Tastycles]

This is a first round match in the International Region, Minneapolis Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

#13. Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Vs.

#20. Barry Windham

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[Davi323]

Last year at this time, I would have thought Jake Roberts would have dominated the voting...But Barry Windham was just inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame a few weeks ago as a member of the Horseman, which brought his name back into the conversation. Had the Horseman not been inducted, most people wouldn't have had their memories stirred by how good a wrestler Barry Windham actually was. Hell, I kinda forgot most of it too, and my first memory of Windham was a 60 minute time limit draw against Ric Flair for the NWA championship. But by seeing the highlights from when he was a Horseman brought a lot of those forgotten memories back, which makes this a much tougher matchup for Jake the Snake than I think it would have been earlier. A year ago, Jake Roberts wins convincingly.

However, this is the WCW region. Barry Windham was a much bigger force in the NWA/WCW than he was in the WWF, and in terms of actual wrestling talent, Windham would win. I love Jake Roberts, I love his dark, moody psychologically perfect promos, and all of that. But, Barry Windham in his prime, in the WCW region where he spent most of his career, should get the win here.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have to give it to Windham. In my eyes, Windham was one of the best overall guys during the 80s and was someone that could be consistently counted on to provide top quality matches.

To me, Jake was at his best when he was on the mic. He gave fantastic promos and while he was often fun to watch inside the ring, Jake never even remotely made it out of the mid-card scene. Windham did eventually make it to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, even though it came years too late to really do him any good.

If Windham can avoid the DDT, he takes this match whether it comes from hitting a bulldog or a flying lariat or a roll up from behind.

 

[klunderbunker]

This would be a great match. I listened to a Windham shoot interview once and this exchange summed up his career really well:

Interviewer: "What are your memories of your hour draw on TV with Flair?"

Barry: "You're going to have to be more specific."

Interviewer: "The one that everyone said was the best match of the year and one of the best TV matches ever."

Barry: "You're going to have to be more specific."

Back in the 80s, Barry was a BEAST. He eventually stopped caring and got a lot worse, but at the time, he could go move for move with Flair and no one else could keep up with him. Jake is one of my all time favorites, but Barry would be ready for the DDT and if he can stop that, it's over.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

If both are in their prime, this could be the most underrated match in the region. Between Roberts' psychological games and Windham being the sadistic guy he is, they both could hurt each other pretty bad.

And you can never count out interference from JJ Dillon and the Horsemen. Damien, Jake Roberts' snake would offset most of that though.

Nip and tuck and about 20 minutes into it, Windham catches the Snake with a Lariat and gets enough for the 1-2-3.

Windham here.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

As much as I like Roberts, I hated Windham. Like with a fucking passion. Windham was someone I was legitimately afraid of when I was a kid, I was worried he was going to be walking down the street one day and kick my ass for no reason. He was that type of villain.

I'm sure these two storytellers would have a fantastic match, filled with false finishes and close calls. But like everyone else here said, if Windham avoids the DDT, he would win.

Windham by pinfall, 23 minutes.

 

[The Brain]

Another good first round match. This one goes to Windham. For whatever reason he never had any individual success in the WWF but he was always a significant player in the NWA/WCW. There were times when he was the main man there. Jake was always a popular guy and while he was talented in the ring he is best known for his mic work and gimmick. Windham for the win.

 

[Tastycles]

Jake Roberts is pretty much the embodiment of why what you do with a microphone and how you finish your matches are what stirs a crowd immensely, but not what draws them in in the first place. It's a mistake smaller companies often make, particularly with the flashy (for the time) finisher. Strip away his finisher, and you have one of the best mic workers of all time, but I doubt anyone would remember anything about his matches.

Windham is someone that I don't care about particularly, but unlike Roberts, he was more than an entertaining stepping stone for other people, having actually won something in his career. Roberts was popular without the need for midcard titles, but I still think the fact they wrestled at similar times and Windham was far closer to the main event that he takes this one.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

This would be a war, as Roberts wouldn't lie down for anyone, but Windham takes it.

They're evenly matched in many ways, but Windham has beaten better guys than Roberts, and wouldn't drop out of this tournament in the first round.

I prefer Roberts, but Windham takes it.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I've got to go with Windham here. I think it would be a solid match, around the 15 minute mark with Jake using that slow methodical pace and trying to break Windham down but Windham hits a lariat so devastating it makes his dad proud.

Jake was a master of psychology but he never broke out of the mid-card and in some ways it was sad because he was a spectacular heel and a great mic worker. Windham had a fair amount of NWA success and he had three 5* matches by Dave Metlzer, even though I dislike Meltzer that has to count for something.

And I know it doesn't matter in the long run but Windham comes from a fairly well known wrestling family so that would only help in his preparation.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

With time to get in his head, Jake might have had an edge, but as a one off match I'd have to give this one to the mean Texan - especially as one of his sparing partners (Double A) would mean that he'd be pretty adept at avoiding the DDT.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

I'm wondering why the vote is so close honestly. It has to be Windham. He could do anything in the ring Robers could, but could also pick up the pace in a way Jake couldn't imagine. They didn't show a lot of break out athleticism, but Windham was always a standout IMO.

Windham hits him with a Lariat, picks him up, & DDTs him. Disrespectful.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

This one is really close but that should not be the case. Jake Roberts has some great moments to his name but few notable victories. He was the guy to have a great feud with and eventually go over to further your career. He was a great promo man, had a great finisher but he failed to win a heavyweight title at anyplace significant.

Barry Windham is the guy who has victories against the likes of Sting, Lex Luger, Dusty Rhodes and draws with Ric freaking Flair. He was also a great promo man like Roberts and a great wrestler to boot. He had dominant midcard and tag title reigns, was a part of the Four Horsemen and has also won the NWA World Heavyweight belt.

If the two of them were to ever face each other, I'd expect a great feud with Windham eventually going over in their match, which is what should also happen here.