Japanese Region, Osaka Subregion, 2nd Round: (3) Mickie James vs (6) June Byers

Bring the stats for June Byers. Someone with more knowledge than me surely has them, but I dont think that will sway me much from voting against Mickie. Unless they are some monumental stats that cannot be ignored I just dont see her beating Mickie James. Seriously, Mickie is one of the best in the past 20 years and holds some wins over a few high ranking ladies in that time span.


Plus, she is fucking hot & lord knows there are few things more fun\dangerous than a hot crazy chick.

 

Never saw June Byers but from what I've read, she performed at a time women wrestlers were really wrestlers......in the mode of guys like Strangler Lewis and Frank Gotch.

Mickie James was a damn good ring performer, even without the "crazy" gimmick. She certainly had a better build for the rigors of wrestling than do the emaciated divas we see today.

I suppose the conditions of a match between the two of them would make all the difference. If it's to be a real wrestling match without scripting and pageantry, I'd have to pick June Byers.

 

Byers belongs among the the great pioneers of the early decades of women's wrestling, but also belongs among the pioneers for more dubious reasons like sleeping with promoters to improve her lot.

Still, given her legacy and championship pedigree, it would take someone pretty accomplished to knock her out this early. Which brings us to...

Mickie James, who is arguably the top women's star on the national level in the modern era. She is the first woman to hold the WWE Womens title, Divas title, and TNA KO title; and holds a total of nine world title reigns across the two promotions(adding up to nearly two years) to compliment her litany of successes in other smaller promotions. She is a two time PWI Woman of the Year and in 2009 she was ranked first in the PWI Female 50, and she has finished in the top 4 in four out of the seven years that that list has been published.

That resume and a lot of skill in the ring, plus some great matches, are enough for me to be willing to choose Mickie over Byers on merit, without at all resorting to the bias that I find James to be maybe the most attractive woman in the business.

 

Never even heard of June before this tournament, but from what I've read she was great. That said Mickie is perhaps my all-time favorite women's wrestler and she's one of the best ever. Mickie takes this one and advances.

 

Simply, I think Gail Kim and Mickie James are the greatest women's wrestlers of my lifetime because they have succeeded in a very image conscious division were ethnicity, body type and age are all used against you. Despite this, both have overcome such things to produce great careers... and neither had to go down the Byers/ McCool line.

Vote Mickie, this ain't UFC - who'd win in a shoot don't mean Jack!

 

The difference between James and Byers is night and day.

People look at Byers as a Champion for many years. Problem was that she was never really "the woman". Mildred Burke's ugly divorce with promoter Billy Wolfe allowed Byers to get the title. In a two-out-of-three falls match, the Commissioner stopped the contest after one hour with Byers leading 1-0. Wolfe even acknowledged that fact. But, he went to the papers to claim that Byers won fair and square, and the media set out to discredit Burke. Hence, there are those who claim, and maybe rightfully so, that Byers never won the belt.

Cue Mickie James, probably one of the best female wrestlers in an era where Tits and Ass trumps talent and ability. Mickie had the latter T & A in spades.An accomplished wrestler who won every Major Women's straps in WWE and TNA. Her resume is among the best out there.

So, in closing, you have one of two choices: You can vote for someone whose championship resume is above reproach. Or, you can vote for someone whose championship reign will always remain suspect. Vote for Mickie.