Phoenix Region, Miami Subregion: First Round: (12)Ted DiBiase vs. (21)JBL

Who Wins This Match?

  • Ted DiBiase

  • John "Bradshaw" Layfield


Results are only viewable after voting.

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The following contest is a first round match in the Phoenix Region.

This match takes place in the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.

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#12 Ted DiBiase

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Vs.

#21 John “Bradshaw” Layfield

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This contest is one fall with a 20 minute time limit. The match will take place in a 16 x 16 ring with no ramp leading to it. Any traditional managers for either competitor will be allowed at ringside.

As for voting, vote for who you think would win this match based on the criteria you choose. Some suggestions would be (not limited to): in ring ability, overall skill, their level of influence at the highest point in their career, ability to connect with the crowd, experience in major matches or simply personal preference etc.

The most votes in the voting period wins and in the case of a tie, the most written votes wins. There is one written vote per user, meaning if a poster make ten posts saying Bret should win that will count as a single vote. In the event of a second tie, both men are ELIMINATED, no questions asked. Only winners advance.

Voting is open for four days and all posts must be non-spam.​
 
JBL all the way. The man is superior to Ted DiBiase and here's the main reason why: Success. JBL defeated basically everyone in his era. He defeated John Cena (the Hogan of his era), Eddie Guerrero, Booker T, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and the Big Show. All of these men were defeated by JBL. Most of them during the 10 month title reign he had. JBL defeated men who were good to great wrestlers. He also happened to have a world championship under his name, something DiBiase doesn't. DiBiase had a tendency to walk away from his tougher matches or get disqualified. If these things were to happen here, JBL would walk it and move onwards. JBL defeated the men I listed above. Vote for the right person, Vote for John 'Bradshaw' Layfield.
 
DiBiase is what JBL wanted to be after becoming a financial tycoon, only exception is JBL is legitimately who he is because financially, he's loaded. However, aside from gimmicks, JBL is tough, like bull tough. He can take hits, and give it right back. DiBiase is solid in the ring, like how Del Rio is now, but fighting a tough man from Texas is like fighting with a stubborn steak at dinner, the steak will never get cut.

My vote: JBL
 
Man, this one is tough for me. I have such appreciation for both of these men.

Ted DiBiase proved to the world that championships do not equal true success in this business while JBL needed to prove his success in this business by winning championships.

I need some major convincing here. Help me out, guys.
 
Man, this one is tough for me. I have such appreciation for both of these men.

Ted DiBiase proved to the world that championships do not equal true success in this business while JBL needed to prove his success in this business by winning championships.

I need some major convincing here. Help me out, guys.

Maybe quality doesn't equal quantity? JBL in terms of ring psychology is not as good as DiBiase is, and will use it to his advantage, but looking back with JBL in that same sense is smarter and might be able to keep up with him.

Both have used a small black guy as their servants (Virgil to DiBiase, Orlando Jordan to JBL), both have used their financial status to gain a push, but in JBL's case has made him the longest WWE champion on Smackdown.

Probably that's all I can think of...
 
I took John Bradshaw Layfield, but this one was really hard.

Ted DiBiase was an amazing manager, and a pretty good wrestler to boot. His gimmick was the classic version of what JBL is, and he was truly "The Million Dollar Man". I think the thing that made this so hard for me was his charisma and manager work. He was a great manager. His stuff with Andre, King Kong Bundy, Virgil, Stone Cold, etc. All amazing. He held titles, managed the best and wrestled the best. It's hard to vote against that laugh you hear everytime he enters too. Everyone who knows wrestling knows what that laugh is. That's just what DiBiase was all about. Not the laugh, but making people know who he was and what he was about. He was a showman. Plus, that Million Dollar Belt is pretty fancy.

Though, JBL is a man of all things wrestling too. His charisma as a heel was awesome. Can't say the same about the cabinet, and Jillian's mole issue (am I the only one who remembers that?). But that's not what this is about. That was however one of the more successful things JBL did, along with his almost year long title run. His old run as just Bradshaw along with Farooq, and earlier was great too. The APA always had appeal and was an underrated tag team in my book. Bradshaw definitely made the best of it to become a great singles competitor towards the end of his career. His US title run wasn't bad either, along with his other titles. Nothing can live up to that one year title run though. Before Cena and even during the Cena feud, he was doing great things in the ring, which is why I have to vote Layfield.
 
This is Ted DiBiase and it's not even remotely close.

DiBiase was EVIL. That man was the best heel that there has ever been bar none. Go watch the ending to the world title match on February 5, 1988. DiBiase buys the world title from Andre the Giant and the look on DiBiase's face when he's wearing the title is pure evil. What people seem to forget about JBL is that during his reign most people were BEGGING to have the title taken off of him due to boredom. DiBiase as top heel and his master plan going down at WM 4 outdrew WM 3 in PPV buys. He was top heel for most of 1988 and was a completely different kind of heel. Rather than coming straight at Hogan with power, he came at Hogan with intelligence. Take a look at some of his promos. Or the basketball thing. Oh yes the basketball thing with a future WWE Champion as his victim. DiBiase was great, JBL was a DiBiase ripoff.
 
DiBiase gets this. The dude was evil. I've never been so angry at a character than I have with The Million Dollar Man. That dude knew how to draw heat back in his prime.

JBL was close to getting the same kind of heat the Million Dollar Man had, but at the height of his heel run, JBL didn't quite cut it. I think the Million Dollar Man was a more interesting character, and because of that, could invoke more emotion out of the audience.
 
I voted for the Million Dollar Man. Sure, he didn't win the world championship, but you have to contextualize it. Look at the list of guys that didn't win world titles from the late 80's to early 90's. It wasn't this terrible thing back then, especially when someone like Hogan had the title for so long. DiBiase was one of the best heels of all times, made a meaningless title (Million Dollar Championship) relevant, and got huge reactions all the time.

JBL, meh. I've come to appreciate his work, kinda. I still think he got over on cheap heat and racist jokes. His in ring work is simply God awful. JBL got to the top, kinda. If you consider that he got to the top at the end of his career during the brand extension era, well more power to him. He had a forgettable title reign, at best.
 
I don't think this is as close as most people might make it out to be.

Sure, JBL won The WWE Championship, and Ted Dibiase never did. But, I think Eras and time frames have more to do with that then either one of their talents did. Look at who was in the business when Ted was trying to capture the gold. Hogan, Warrior, Savage, Andre and numerous other big names. Compare that to JBL's competition on SmackDown in 2004. Eddie Guerrero, A lesser known John Cena, and some other guys that do not have the same backstage stroke or tendency to stand off when they don't get their way.

I have always looked at JBL as sort of a "Million Dollar Man" rip off. I give JBL credit for his business sense to negotiate his way to the World Title. That is definitely a commendable attribute for him. But I consider his reign as bull shit. Though he was a great Heel, he was in no way WWE Title material.

To me, he took Ted's gimmick and just added a Cowboy/Texas angle to it. Oh, and a white Limo. I respect all of JBL's accomplishments, some are more deserved then others. But, I think Ted is more original then JBL and his feuds were more entertaining and mean more to the history of wrestling.

JBL's feud with Eddie was good. But I believe it fails in comparison to Ted's feuds with Hogan, Savage, Jake Roberts and many of his feuds while aligned with I.R.S. in their team, Money Inc.

I vote Ted Dibiase, without a doubt!!!
 
Compare that to JBL's competition on SmackDown in 2004. Eddie Guerrero, A lesser known John Cena, and some other guys that do not have the same backstage stroke or tendency to stand off when they don't get their way.

Oh look we've conveniently left off the Undertaker & Kurt Angle. Taker & Angle could've been champion if they wanted, but he knew that JBL was the right man to hold the championship. They knew that JBL was the man who was going to carry the championship into the 21st WrestleMania and drop it to the new generation. JBL was the right man to go to WrestleMania and drop the championship to Cena. JBL was the hated heel and the champion who everyone wanted to see lose.

I have always looked at JBL as sort of a "Million Dollar Man" rip off. I give JBL credit for his business sense to negotiate his way to the World Title. That is definitely a commendable attribute for him. But I consider his reign as bull shit. Though he was a great Heel, he was in no way WWE Title material.

JBL was exactly what the WWE needed at the time: a great heel to carry the championship from the summer to WrestleMania. JBL was the answer to Vince's prayers. With Brock Lesnar’s departure from WWE and SmackDown's other losses from the draft lottery and injury, JBL was the man who needed to be champion. No one else on SmackDown could've delivered what JBL did.

To me, he took Ted's gimmick and just added a Cowboy/Texas angle to it. Oh, and a white Limo. I respect all of JBL's accomplishments, some are more deserved then others. But, I think Ted is more original then JBL and his feuds were more entertaining and mean more to the history of wrestling.

Just because the gimmicks are similar doesn't make them the same. Make no mistake, JBL was partially inspired by Ted DiBiase, but it was also a caricature of the real John Layfield, a man known for his clever business strategies and cut throat nature.

Vote John 'Bradshaw' Layfield.
 
evil. yes. that was ted. throwing his money around & being sneaky to win matches. definately one of the best heels in wrestling during his time.

but lest we forget JBL? the man who drew fantastic heat as champion while beating some of the greater people during his era. the man who took out freaking godzilla! lol. but seriously, his us & world title reigns were pretty damn good. plus, you cannot discount the clothesline from hell. simply destructive. IMO his time in the APA was great & they would have dragged Money Inc back to the ring & whooped their ass for trying to sneak away. JBL wins this by smash mouth texas style ass whoopin.
 
Without Ted DiBiase there would be no JBL. JBL wouldn't exist, he'd probably spend his entire career as Bradshaw, the angry, beer drinking Texan that isn't Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man was pure evil, he did anything he could to make sure that his enemies suffered and would pay good money just to see people humiliated.

JBL couldn't get the type of heat DiBiase got in his wildest dreams. DiBiase fucking kicked a ball away from a kid who he promised $500 to, pocket money for The Million Dollar Man. That's fucking brilliant. JBL's most infamous heat grabber? Goose stepping in Germany.

DiBiase was more innovative than JBL, he had more of an impact on the industry than JBL, and he was just a better performer than JBL. The only thing JBL has on the Million Dollar Man is his success and slightly better in-ring ability, but that could easily be compensated for by the Million Dollar man who could drag a certain Giant down to ring side with him, or any one of his many employees.

Get this joker JBL out of the tourney early, vote DiBiase.
 
Ted DiBiase. Look, it's easy to say JBL won the title and DiBiase didn't, but within a year of winning the title he was losing to the Boogieman. He won the title in the WWE's most transitional year since, well probably ever, and as soon as the new guard came along in Cena and Batista he went straight back to nowhere.

Ted DiBiase's role in the 80s is probably exaggerated, but he played his character so well, and it was his workings that got Hogan to lose his title. JBL was essentially a more vulgar version of DiBiase, unable to get over on his character alone to the same extent, and forced to go for cheap heat. I doubt these two would ever be booked alongside each other, as DiBiase would just make JBL look shit, but if they ever were, the richer, more well rounded DiBiase would win.
 
Without Ted DiBiase there would be no JBL. JBL wouldn't exist, he'd probably spend his entire career as Bradshaw, the angry, beer drinking Texan that isn't Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man was pure evil, he did anything he could to make sure that his enemies suffered and would pay good money just to see people humiliated.

Sigh. JBL isn't just a Million Dollar Man rip-off. He's mostly based on John Layfield himself. JBL is a caricature of the real man. Yes DiBiase inspired him (flaunting the wealth etc...) but only to a degree.

JBL couldn't get the type of heat DiBiase got in his wildest dreams. DiBiase fucking kicked a ball away from a kid who he promised $500 to, pocket money for The Million Dollar Man. That's fucking brilliant. JBL's most infamous heat grabber? Goose stepping in Germany.

Just because he nearly got killed in Germany for goose stepping doesn't make it his most famous piece of heat. JBL was hated throughout his time as an active wrestler (and even as a commentator too). JBL was loathed by everyone. I get that DiBiase was hated the world over, but so was JBL. JBL could draw heat from a crowd quicker than anyone in his era on a constant basis. From London to Los Angeles, JBL was despised by the fans.

DiBiase was more innovative than JBL, he had more of an impact on the industry than JBL, and he was just a better performer than JBL. The only thing JBL has on the Million Dollar Man is his success and slightly better in-ring ability, but that could easily be compensated for by the Million Dollar man who could drag a certain Giant down to ring side with him, or any one of his many employees.

Which is what I would say counts the most. JBL was more successful in a shorter period of time than Ted DiBiase was over the span of his entire career. JBL's matches are better remembered these days also. DiBiase's main events at WrestleMania & SummerSlam are what people remember. JBL's series with Eddie Guerrero, his 2005 I-Quit match with John Cena and his WrestleMania 24 match are all recalled by fans more than Ted DiBiase's.
 
This goes to Dibiase easily. JBL was basically just a poor mans version of the Million Dollar Man. The whole "world title" argument is bullshit as well. JBL is the definition of a right place right time world champion. Ted Dibiase wrestled in a time period where it was nearly impossible to get a world title run especially if you were a heel. Dibiase was better in the ring, better on the mic, and far more entertaining.
 
I'm voting DiBiase, and I have about 243 reasons rolling around my head as to why he should win.

1. Better in-ring worker. Period. JBL was being carried through most matches, while Ted was doing the carrying during a lot of his.
2. Ted was the original "Rich Guy" which paved the way for JBL.
3. DiBiase didn't win the WWF title, but neither did anyone else during Hogan's prime, and if JBL had been around at that point in time, he wouldn't have been on the card at all.
4. JBL was decent on the mic, but he didn't draw anywhere near the heat DiBiase did. Ted attempting to buy the championship from Andre beats anything JBL ever did in the ring.
5. DiBiase made it to the final match of the WWF Championship tournament at Wrestlemania IV. I doubt JBL was ever in good enough shape to make it that far, and if he did happen to stumble his way through, there's no way he could have put on a match with Savage that was anywhere near as amazing as what actually happened.

I won't go any further, it's clear who should win. Vote DiBiase, and please, do not overthink this.
 
This is kind of a tough one.

Neither of these two were particularly great athletes though DiBiase was always in better overall shape. JBL has the advantage of size and strength while DiBiase is much more technically sound. It'd be a pretty interesting mesh of styles.

Probably the biggest card in JBL's hand is the fact that he was WWE Champion and was WWE Champion for a very respectable 280 days. DiBiase is arguably the greatest wrestler to have never been a World Champion in the past 30-40 years and was always someone that seemed to be on the fringe of winning it but never quite pulled through.

From a fan's perspective, I like DiBiase much more than I ever liked JBL. DiBiase was always much more entertaining, better in the ring and on the mic in my opinion than JBL ever was.

DiBiase is one of my all time favorite heels but it does come back to the WWE Championship, at least to some degree. Whether it be Hogan, Savage or Warrior DiBiase always wound up losing no matter what sort of schemes he dreamed up whereas JBL managed to fend off some of the top babyfaces in the WWE to hold onto his championship. Ultimately, JBL managed to do what Ted DiBiase wasn't able to do and that is a factor that just can't be brushed aside like it's nothing.

My heart tells me DiBiase while my head is leaning just a little bit more towards JBL so I really don't know.
 
You can spin it anyway you want but in a kayfabe match JBL easily wins. We are voting on who wins the match. Voting for DiBiase based on the other stuff only is acceptable but I tend to look at a combination of all. DiBiase's advantages in the other categories are no where near what people make them out to be. You can try and contextualize JBL's accomplishments to chip away at them but the truth is you have to contextualize your feelings about DiBiase as well. If you were a kid you would not be smarking over JBL stuff, you would have been eating it up. JBL may have "only" had one title run but it wasn't short, he is 18th in days holding the belt all-time. He is one of only 10 grand slam champions.
 
Shattered! You actually have a dog in this hunt? When I saw you had posted, I figured I was in for a brilliant post explaining just how overrated both of these WWF/E saps really are. Surprising, to say the least.

Waiiiiit a minute, I know what's going on here. You're hoping JBL reads this, signs with TNA, and replaces that bum Taz on commentary? Admit it.

You can spin it anyway you want but in a kayfabe match JBL easily wins.

Easily? How do you figure this to be even remotely true?

DiBiase's advantages in the other categories are no where near what people make them out to be. You can try and contextualize JBL's accomplishments to chip away at them but the truth is you have to contextualize your feelings about DiBiase as well.

You seriously just talked yourself in circles. Do you even know what you're getting at here?

If you were a kid you would not be smarking over JBL stuff, you would have been eating it up. JBL may have "only" had one title run but it wasn't short, he is 18th in days holding the belt all-time. He is one of only 10 grand slam champions.

Hogan. Hulk..Hogan. If DiBiase had been a young man during any other era of professional wrestling, he would have been the champion. Too talented to say otherwise.
 
JBL was great on commentary.

Why does JBL win a kayfabe match easily? Because his kayfabe accomplishments are superior and his gimmick is one of the worst possible matchups for DiBiase. JBL renders the entire money gimmick useless for DiBiase. JBL also knows all the little tricks and he is going to brawl it out. How is DiBiase going to win? He assuredly is the underdog based on kayfabe.

You can play time machine police all you want. It just gets silly and isn't especially meaningful. If JBL was a young man before DiBiase then he would have had the gimmick first. Spare me the he wouldn't have had a job crap before you bring it up. JBL is incredibly old school all the way around.
 
For once we can't use the argument that Dibiase could buy off his opponent. However I still think Ted gets the win over JBL. Dibiase didn't need world championships to prove just how damn good he was. He was one of, if not the greatest heel to step foot in this business. JBL has been hit or miss. Sometimes he was great (during his world title run), but other times he was just awful (think Justin Hawk). Sure Dibiase floated around the card, but he was at least consistent. He consistently stayed in the upper midcard/main event during the Hogan era and then stayed steady in the tag team division with Money Inc. JBL is pretty darn good, but his inconsistency makes this easy to vote for Ted Dibiase.
 
I'm going with JBL here easy... when you look at how each character functioned both were actually pretty similar, both were rich enough to hire their own stablehands, and both had the tendency to hide behind said stablehands when things got tough. The thing that really helps JBL here is his size; he was a tough brawler who could fight tooth and nail with the best of them.

Not only that but Dibiase had the tendency to split once things really got tough; at least JBL had the ring presence to figure out ways around his disadvantages. Just look at his cage match that he had with the Big Show as an example. JBL was chokeslamed off the top rope and through the mat, and despite being badly hurt he still managed to recover and crawl underneth the ring to escape the cage win. Quick thinking like that is why JBL's going to win this match.
 
My posts are not high enough to vote on this poll so i just want to give my written vote to jbl in case this one goes down to the wire as it looks pretty close, even though i admire the dibiase character i really enjoyed jbl's work in his late career and i was also a big fan of the apa. Very difficult to pick between these two though.
 
I don't know. Ted DiBiase was doing the millionaire gimmick long before JBLL and another thing about JBL was is even as a kid when I didn't know nothing aboutt faces or heels often he bored, and now thinking about it I feel as if maybe he just got cheap heat instead of actual mic skills.
 

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