Mex. region, Guadalajara subregion, 2nd round (3) Beth Phoenix vs (6) Melina Perez

[Bernkastel]

This is a second round match in the Mexican region. It is a standard wrestling match. It will be held at the VFG Arena in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

#3 Beth Phoenix

VS.

#6 Melina Perez ​

There will be 1 day of discussion before the poll opens. It will remain open for 2 days. Spam rules will apply. In case of a tie the winner will be decided based upon how many people have made a case for them in the discussion thread. One per each poster.

Who wins the match up?

 

[Bernkastel]

This is a very close match. Both women had similar careers... both were former 3 x time women's champions. Beth held the Divas title once, while Melina held it twice. Melina spent around 400 days as a champion while Beth was champ for around 570 days. Beth also had greater longevity, but she lost allot during her final few months, where as Melina didn't.

You'd think Beth would win because of the way she was booked, but when the two clashed Melina came out with the better record - 39 wins to Beth's 27 wins. Melina even defeated Beth at the Royal Rumble to win the women's title.

In kayfabe Melina would win. But adding in other objective criteria this match become too hard to call, so I flipped a coin and it came up Melina so I'm voting for her.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I much prefer Beth in the ring, and I always thought she should have been booked more dominantly during her WWE run due to her size and strength. Even though Melina does have a winning record against Beth (which really surprised me), I'm going to give my vote to The Glamazon.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Never saw Melina as a good wrestler; she was too busy vamping around the ring. Her entrance was more exciting than her matches.

Beth was a real wrestler and I kept hoping they'd let her do what she did best, which they didn't. Eventually, she rarely showed up on TV at all, but I'd still pick her in a match with Melina.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Its hard to use pure accomplishments to decide this one. As contemporaries, these two were booked fairly evenly. Melina had a little more head-to-head success, while Beth had a little more total time on top of the mountain.

So to make the decision, ability as a pro wrestler should be taken into account. And in that battle, this is a no-brainer. Despite apparently having some people fooled, as I stated in the last round, Melina was a very shitty pro wrestler. Beth, however, was a very good worker who could seamlessly transition to working with men or women, not just because of size, but because she's a damn fine pro wrestler, regardless of gender.

Vote for Beth on the grounds that she was a clearly superior talent.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Head To Head (TV only):

• WWE One Night Stand 2008
  1 June 2008 @ San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California (United States of America)
  Beth Phoenix defeated Melina [I quit Match]
• WWE Royal Rumble 2009
  25 January 2009 @ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan (United States of America)
  Melina defeated Beth Phoenix (c) - TITLE CHANGE!!! [WWE Women's Title Match]
• WWE No Way Out 2009
  15 February 2009 @ KeyArena in Seattle, Washington (United States of America)
  Melina (c) defeated Beth Phoenix [WWE Women's Title Match]
• WWE RAW #821
  16 February 2009 @ Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington (United States of America)
  Melina (c) defeated Beth Phoenix [WWE Women's Title Match]
• WWE RAW Taping @ London
  20 April 2009 @ The O² arena in London, Greater London, England (United Kingdom)
  Melina (c) defeated Beth Phoenix [WWE Women's Title Match]
• WWE RAW #936
  2 May 2011 @ American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida (United States of America)
  Beth Phoenix defeated Melina

Melina has more reigns (5 to 4) but Beth has longer reigns (571 to 398). Beth has two more years wrestling but Melina has a better win / loss record. Beth was a better physical specimen but Melina was probably the better character.

Basically, either lady can be voted for here and you wouldn't be wrong. I'm giving my vote to Melina simply because, to me, she was the better all round performer.