KB"s Wrestler Challenge #8- Brown vs. Tatanka

[klunderbunker]

This week in the WC, we have a match of the same company but different eras.

We begin with a wrestler that I and many other people have felt was 10 years ahead of his time: Bad News Brown. Brown was a legit bad ass with a bronze medal in Judo. His character was almost what the Gangstas had in SMW and ECW. He claims that he was the man who was supposed to take the title off Hogan, which I could see. Had he been around in the Attitude Era, imagine him against Austin. Great rivalry.

On the other hand, we have a man that was undefeated for two years in WWF: Tatanka. He was a former bodybuilder so he had good strength and had a decent gimmick to go with it. While he only held a tag title, he was around WWF for a long long time and even made a return a few years ago. While he never really won anything, his time in WWF was memorable.

Therefore, you know the drill by now. WHo wins, and why?

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Gotta say Bad News Brown.

KB hit the nail on the head - Brown was LEGIT. He competed in Judo for the US in the Montreal Olympics, and as KB pointed out, won the Bronze. Yes, Bad News Brown was an olympic medalist in the WWF LONG before Mark Henry had a silver or Kurt Angle had a gold.

Brown was also trained in Japan by the legendary Antonio Inoki, and I cannot imagine a better teacher than Inoki. Except Vader.

Funny story about Brown, is that he was the one who coined the name "The Ultimate Warrior" while wrestling Owen Hart and Dynamite Kid in Stampede Wrestling. Of course, that name landed with Jim Helwig, and the rest is history.

Brown was Steve Austin LONG before Steve Austin was cool. While faces in the late 80's were the Paladinistic superheroes, and heels were the cowardly cheaters, Brown was one of the first to be his own man. Total tough guy in front of EVERY challenger, not aligning with other heels because he didn't feel they deserved respect. In 1988 and 1989, he abandonned consecutive Survivor Series Teams.

Brown won a major Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 4, feuded with then-champion Randy Savage and then-sober babyface Jake Roberts. During his feud with Roberts, Brown did an appearance on the Arsenio "don't call me Eddie Murphy" Hall show:

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Brown claims Vince McMahon was supposed to make Brown the 1st black WWF Champion. Looking back, I would have respected that, because that would have made the first African American WWF Champ legit and memorable.

Brown also challenge Andre the Giant to a fight during a bus ride in Japan fora racist comment. Andre backed off and apologized. Who the hell makes Andre the Giant back off?

Sadly, Brown died in 2007 of a heart attack. He was an extremely intelligent man in actual interviews, as shown here (looking like Sid Haig), where he discusses the bus incident with Andre:

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And as a special treat, here is the match featuring Brown vs Hogan:

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KB, thank you for this. Bad News Brown is a classic, and you've rekindled my respect for him. Compared to Brown, Tatanka doesn't even get space in my post.

 

[jmt225]

Tatanka. Why, you ask? Simple. Let video below load, and then fast forward to the 4:30 mark.

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If Rodney Dangerfield is a mark for the guy, then so am I.

Seriously though, Tatanka was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up. For whatever reason, when I was a kid, I had a huge fascination for Indians (to the point where the fucking Redskins were my second favorite football team only because of their mascot), so when his character debuted, I became a fan instantly. And I still think to this day he was one hell of a performer. He had good matches (huge fan of his shit against HBK), and his storyline with Luger is one of the most underrated storylines in history, in my opinion. And even though he was obviously out of shape during his run a couple of years ago, he still could work and I was always impressed with that.

Bad News Brown, I respect the hell out of, but not because of his pro wrestling ability. I respect him because as mentioned, dude was legit, and because of the intelligence and humor he should in the shoot interview DVD I have of him (IC posted a little sample of that in his post). However, there was nothing he did as a pro wrestler that ever interest me. He had some good matches in Stampede, and I always found what he did to Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 4 to be hilarious, but that's it. Tatanka entertained me his entire run in the WWF back in the nineties, and I was impressed with what he could do at an old age and huge belly when he had his last run with WWE. So he gets my vote in this.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Bad News Brown. As said before this guy was legit. He could look at you and destroy you. He made you BELIEVE he was going to kill you. Tatanka was a one trick pony. A horrible gimmick, and to me one that was very unbelievable. Brown was the shit, and he made you believe it. To sum it all up, he was LEGIT, and he was a bad ass.

 

[Mr. TM]

It is unfortunate that Bad News Brown never was booked better. I think the reason behind that was his attitude. He was always known for having a horrible attitude, even known for packing around a gun. If he wanted to get the proper push he deserved in the WWE, he needed to change that. He didn't and he didn't last long. Tatanka on the other had was great for the WWE. He was a hard worker in the ring, he had a good attitude, besides some instances, and he was given a great push, including an extended undefeated streak.

 

[Davi323]

Bad News Brown. Not only was he a legit badass toughguy, but, his name is very oldschool wrestling. He was tough enough that he could have a nickname like Bad News, and pull it off. Tatanka never impressed me at all. It takes a special wrestler to pull off a lengthy undefeated streak, and his came off more as just storyline driven, and not because of any real talent he had. Basically, Tatanka's winning streak simply wasn't believable. Plus, if this wikipedia info is accurate:

As written in the autobiography of the Dynamite Kid, his well-known toughness was accentuated in a confrontation involving André the Giant, who had made a racist comment on a tour bus for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Coage overheard it and made the driver stop the bus, walking off and yelling at the Giant to get off and fight him one on one. In one of the few times anyone can remember him backing down from someone, Andre did not move from his seat and later apologized for the remark.

Then Bad News Brown is one of the ballsiest guys EVER. Any guy that has the guts to confront Andre the Giant for real, because of a real insult, has my respect. (This is opposed to guys that would want to challenge Andre just to do it, to prove how tough they are)