Phoenix Region, Third Round: 2/3 Falls : (4) Ricky Steamboat vs. (5) Chris Benoit

[klunderbunker]

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

This match takes place in University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona.

It is a Two Out of Three Falls Match.

Rules: This contest has standard rules, meaning falls can be won via pinfall, submission, count-out or disqualification.

#4 Ricky Steamboat

Vs.

#5 Chris Benoit

This contest is one fall with a 30 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 will open in 48 hours and will be open for five days and all posts must be non-spam. You may use the 48 hours to present your cases as to why either competitor should/should not win.​

 

[The Best]

O wow, what a dream match this would be, two of the greatest of all time either if it was in ring talent, or achievements. In this 5 star matchup though, i'm going with Chris Benoit, and here's why he should go over:

1.Stamina: Benoit went over 60 minutes in the ring when he won the 2004 Rooyal Rumble Match, and outlasted guys like Big Show(who he eliminated last), Randy Orton, RVD, Cena, Kurt Angle, and many more. Also, Benoit has done as many as 10 german suplex's at one time, which would exhaust any average man.


2.Quality Wins:Benoit has defeated former champions like HHH, Shawn Michaels, JBL, Big Show, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and more.
Steamboat defeted champions like Savage, Flair,and Steve Austin(pre stone cold.)
Overall a good list who he has defeted, but Benoit has a lot more quality wins.

3.Non-Kayfabe: Benoit was a monster technician, one of the best ever in professional wrestling, and in a real fight, Benoit would take Steamboat to the ground and submit him easily.

4. World Recognition: Steamboat has never won a title outside of North America(USA and Canada), while Benoit has won titles in three continents, and four countries(USA, Canada, Japan, and Germany), Benoit is a lot more successful around the globe, and he's the the titles to prove it.

Winner: Chris Benoit in 3 falls, after a great match.

 

[a0161613]

O wow, what a dream match this would be, two of the greatest of all time either if it was in ring talent, or achievements.

I can agree with this much

1.Stamina: Benoit went over 60 minutes in the ring when he won the 2004 Rooyal Rumble Match, and outlasted guys like Big Show(who he eliminated last), Randy Orton, RVD, Cena, Kurt Angle, and many more. Also, Benoit has done as many as 10 german suplex's at one time, which would exhaust any average man.

Steamboat made a career in the NWA of going at least 45 minutes for 300 + days a year. Stamina works in his favour here. No doubt.

2.Quality Wins:Benoit has defeated former champions like HHH, Shawn Michaels, JBL, Big Show, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and more.
Steamboat defeted champions like Savage, Flair,and Steve Austin(pre stone cold.)
Overall a good list who he has defeted, but Benoit has a lot more quality wins.

Steamboat not only beat Savage and Flair, names which level him with any of Benoit's big wins, he also beat Tully Blanchard, Jake Roberts, Rick Rude, Tiger Mask (Misawa) to name some. I'd give the edge here to Steamboat.

3.Non-Kayfabe: Benoit was a monster technician, one of the best ever in professional wrestling, and in a real fight, Benoit would take Steamboat to the ground and submit him easily.

Did Steamboat ever tap to the figure four? Well, even if he did, he put up a bigger fight than anyone else ever has. Steamboat was technically sound also. Benoit was great but this is hardly a massive advantage.

4. World Recognition: Steamboat has never won a title outside of North America(USA and Canada), while Benoit has won titles in three continents, and four countries(USA, Canada, Japan, and Germany), Benoit is a lot more successful around the globe, and he's the the titles to prove it.

Means less than nothing here. Benoit didnt surpass Steamboats achievements. His World Title reign was a dud compared to the successes that Steamboat had in the NWA. And just because Steamboat didnt win anything in Japan, it doesnt mean his appearances there (where he faced Muta and Hase) werent high-profile because they were.

Winner: Chris Benoit in 3 falls, after a great match.

I disagree but I cant split them. im leaning toward Benoit but this argument is massively flawed.

 

[Tastycles]

Neither man is particularly stand out as the winner here - they both spent most of their careers in the upper midcard, while having brief and unspectacular jaunts into the main event. Both have beaten special wrestlers, but both have lost to more. Both have put on great matches, neither were top of the league in the charisma stakes, though Steamboat is definitely in the lead in that respect. With all this in mind, it's a simple case of voting for my favourite. I could never really relate to Benoit, and I never really liked him very much, despite enjoying his matches. Steamboat on weekly television was before my time, but everything I've seen of him outside the ring is certainly more enjoyable than Benoits stuff. Steamboat's performances at WrestleMania 25 and Backlash after it are the perfect example of how a wrestler can go old gracefully, and for that feelgood factor, he has my vote.

 

[JGlass]

This would be one of the most amazing matches to watch, and it could honestly go either way. Benoit is the scrappier wrestler, and he can and will use everything in his expansive arsenal to wear down Steamboat. On the other hand, Steamboat is the more agile competitor and he's probably smarter too. People site Benoit as a great technical wrestler, but Steamboat was one of the original technically sound superstars in the WWF.

Endurance in this match is a non-factor. Both men have a record of wrestling long matches and winning. Steamboat is more bred for these long matches, but Benoit has that second wind type of mentality, and just when you think he's out of it he can come back from the dead.

The Best's non-kayfabe argument is silly. First of all, this is a theoretical tournament based on a form of entertainment with predetermined out comes and scripted fights, so to bring in reality is already somewhat ridiculous, and we furthermore don't know how good of a fighter either man was in real life. Sure, Benoit could lock on the Crossface in the ring, but that's because his opponent's let him do it. And who's to say Steamboat wasn't as talented a street fighter as he was a wrestler? He certainly had the look for it.

Both men have had their successes, but I have to give the edge to Ricky Steamboat. While Benoit does hold some pretty high profile wins, you have to respect Steamboat's wins more. He beat a prime Ric Flair (which should tell you enough really), Tully Blanchard, and Randy Savage. Savage and Flair alone are more impressive than JBL, Big Show, Jericho, Lesnar, Angle, and probably even Triple H. HBK is the only wrestler who can even hold a candle to Flair or Savage in terms of legendary status.

Benoit's biggest disadvantage is the fact that he's willing to endanger is own body for short term gains. Watch Benoit's matches and you can see the diving headbutt hurting him almost as much as it hurts his opponents. His recklessness will come back to haunt him in this match, and a wise wrestler like Steamboat will capitalize on it. That's why I have Steamboat going over for now.

 

[PsychoBlack]

This is without a doubt the match of the tournament. I think that Benoit takes this one just because it comes down to his experience in these long grueling type of match ups. He defeated HHH in an Iron man match, HHH and Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XX, His battles with Angle and Jericho, not to mention the wars he had in Japan.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Chris Benoit has a pretty solid record in 2/3 Falls matches. However, Steamboat competed against Ric Flair (and won) in one of my favorite 2/3 Falls match of all time at The Clash of Champions in April of 1989. This one is tough.

I'm voting Benoit, mostly due to personal preference. I love Steamboat, and while I wasn't old enough to fully enjoy his prime, I've watched every match I could over the years, and the guy was nothing short of great. He had all the talent to be a top guy in the 80's, but no one was going past Hogan. With that being said, I would rather watch a Steamboat match any day of the week over one with Hogan. Now that I got that off my chest...

I'm voting Benoit because I followed his entire U.S. career, and never saw the guy put on a bad performance. He wasn't the most charismatic guy, but he was aggressive and intense, and that's really all I cared about. Benoit takes this match, but I have a feeling it would be an absolute classic.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

A dream match up, no question about it.

Steamboat has proven his stamina throughout his career, putting on long, gruelling matches night after night in the NWA, while Benoit also has superb conditioning and is more than capable of holding his own in 2/3 falls match.

Both men have fantastic resumes, with notable wins over some of the all time greats. I do not need to name those opponents here, you all know who they are.

Experience will not be a deciding factor either, as Steamboat and Benoit have wrestled all over the world, facing opponents of all shapes, sizes, styles and backgrounds, and are 2 of the most well-rounded wrestlers of all time.

I think both men would take 1 fall each, but when it came down to the last fall, its anybodys to win. I am leaning slightly towards Benoit, as he has the aggression, will-to-win and strength to MAYBE take this one from The Dragon. After an incredible match, with both men really worn down and beaten up, if Benoit managed to lock the crossface in one last time, I would expect Steamboat's resolve to break JUST before Benoit could hold on no longer, and he would tap out.

Benoit 2-1

 

[Shocky]

This is one of those matches that I'm willing to let the posters of Wrestlezone decide the outcome for me. You literally have two guys cut from the same mold. Chris Benoit might be (kayfabe) a darker mirror image of Ricky Steamboat.

Stamina is pretty much a push. Both guys proved routinely that they could go the distance in long matchups, and multi matchups. Both have experience in 2 out of 3 fall matchups, both have gone over an hour. Cardio is simply not a factor in this match.

The only problem I could see is Benoit has a tendency to hurt himself trying to go for the killshot in a matchup. The flying headbutt is simply feast or famine. He hits, he wins a fall, he misses, he losses a fall. Steamboat comes across as a more intelligent wrestler. So ultimately it might come down to Intelligence vs. Ruthless Aggression.

 

[gd]

I really don't know here. Both were killer performers and could really take your breath away in the ring. They are both ruthless, making sure they finish the job, even if it comes at the expense of their own health.

In the end, this has to go to the person who can essentially finish two opponents, not just one, which has to be Benoit.

 

[Coco]

Clear as day to me that this goes to Benoit. Look, I know that Steamboat had a tendency to go long on occasion in his day and that endurance isn't a problem for him against most guys. But he's not facing most guys. He's facing Chris Benoit. This is the man who went on a weekend long binge of murder, chatting up the neighbors, visiting his doctor, sending out creepy texts with his address, laying out Bibles, writing to Eddie Guerrero in his diary, and probably a whole lot of shameful crying, and capped it all off with his most intense workout session ever. The man went for three days until he dropped. Steamboat might be able to go for an hour, but Benoit's proven he can go for seventy two. That's enough to lock him up the win in my book.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

As others have said, this would be a true dream match. Quite possibly, this could be the best match of the entire tournament and if it had happened in real life, it'd easily be a match of the year nominee on anyone's list.

I don't really think either of these men have any significant physical advantage in this match. Neither of them was all that charismatic but they were so good inside the ring that they didn't have to be. They got over on their in-ring ability and that was all they needed. As far as in-ring ability itself goes, again, it's a toss up.

Looking at the accomplishments of both wrestlers, again it's just too close to call. Both of them are former World Champions though they were two wrestlers that were never ultimately defined by such an accomplishment. Both held numerous titles as mid-card and tag team wrestlers.

I have a feeling that this is one of those matches that ends after the match has gone for the better part of an hour, both men are heavily fatigued and have pushed each other to the near limits of their endurance and one of them makes a minor mistake. Could be anything from a missed high cross body to an attempted figure-four leglock and the other guy is caught off guard for a moment and loses the match. Either that or it'd end in a draw. I don't see the winner of this particular match coming away with a decisive, dominant victory.

It could go either way and I can't fault anyone for voting the way they'd vote. Benoit was someone that could be downright vicious in the ring and it could possibly help him here. But, to be fair, Steamboat could possibly find a way to use that aggressive brutality that Benoit let out sometimes against him. I'm leaning Benoit, but my mind could be changed.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

As other posters have already pointed out these two are evenly matched in almost all aspects. Both have endless stamina in the ring( that is what I care about, unlike Coco). Steamboat is a more risk free wrestler than Benoit but at the same time Benoit has a more powerful finisher which could put Steamboat away quickly thus rendering Steamboat's technical skill and ability to exploit opponents' weaknesses moot. Both have immense experience in this type of gimmick match as well.

But I still think that Steamboat should win this match because he is the bigger star. He has victories over guys like Savage and Flair in a one on one setting. The only guy whom Benoit has defeated in a one on one match who can be considered to be at par with these big names is Triple H. More interestingly at least for the short time in which he was main eventing Steamboat had a storyline designed for him with him being the working class hero as opposed to the ladies man that Ric Flair was. Benoit was just interjected into a HBK/ Triple H feud to make him relevant. A lot of people feel that Benoit was held down by Triple H when he was champion and that the spotlight should have been on him and not on HBK or Triple H. Well the point is that the casual fan has never cared for Benoit and that is why he was not main eventing shows even as World Champion. At least when Steamboat was champion he could claim to be the man who was selling out arenas along with Flair, something which Benoit cannot claim to have done.

Steamboat also won the World Title at a time in which there was only one World Title in WCW as opposed to Benoit who had the benefit of wrestling at a time in which there were two world titles in the company. Steamboat is undoubtedly the bigger star.

Vote Steamboat!!!

 

[El Rev sXe]

Dream match!

Steamboat has given us probably one of the best matches, if not THE best match, of Flair's career. I do think that Steamboat can go over an hour, that being said, a 2 out of 3 falls does seem like the perfect match for the dragon.

On the other hand, Benoit has participate in many matches, iron man match with HHH, ultimate submission and 2 out of 3 falls with Angle, best of 5 (or 7?) series with Booker T etc...

I guess I have to give the edge towards Benoit, I think that both men are AMAZING technical wrestlers, I guess Benoit has a little more experience in this kind of match; not ingeneral but in this kind of match.

Benoit wins 2-1.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

It's the ultimate Good vs. Evil. Ricky Steamboat carried his young kid and had his wife accompany him to the ring. Benoit killed his wife and kid.

But that's not the point of this. Benoit being a certified nut job has nothing to do with his wrestling acumen. Or so most of the IWC says. Here's my reason Steamboat wins this. Benoit is prone to be stupid and take high risks when they're really not even needed. Steamboat takes high risks, but less of them and they have less ill effects on him.

I see this going three falls and see Steamboat winning this in a rollup and getting the third and last fall. I also see Benoit going on a killing spree after the match. (Kayfabe that is)

Fuck Benoit. Vote Steamboat.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

I have tons of respect for The Dragon and the way that he has conducted himself both inside and outside the ring. As he proved a two years ago, the man is still highly gifted with what he does.

The argument of who has the better stamina, in my mind, will always come to a draw as both men have proved time and time again that they can go above and beyond the distance.

My vote comes down to who has the greater experience with two out of three falls matches and that has to go to Chris Benoit.

Steamboat's big two out of three falls match was against Ric Flair. Benoit has competed in this type of match against the likes of Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho etc.

As for the claims of Benoit putting himself in situations where he puts his body through as much pain as his opponent, he wrestled that style during all matches and he still has a pretty decent record in two out of three matches.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Two out of 3 falls matches are about capitalizing on your opponents weaknesses or mistakes. They're about intelligence. Knowing how to conserve yourself, and knowing when to explode and pounce. Chris Benoit was much more of a risk taker. He was overly aggressive and Ricky, ever the technician, would be able to smartly counter Benoit. IN the ring, Steamboat was the superior technician. I know the IWC has a love affair with Benoit, but it's just the bottom line. Two of 3 falls matches, as I said, require intelligence and opportunism. Steamboat beat the probably the wiliest competitor in history, the Dirtiest Player in the Game, in this format. Benoit, meanwhile, lost to MVP in this format.

Benoit's notable wins in the format are over Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho. While both guys are technically proficient, and Angle could actually match Steamboat's in-ring prowess (and better Benoit's), both guys are known for dilly-dallying. Angle rarely goes right for the kill when the moment presents itself, he often has a guy dead-to-rights, and instead of going for the win, will head to the top rope for ridiculously superfluous moonsault that he doesn't need to do. Same with Jericho, except it's usually taunting his opponent that costs him. Steamboat has neither qualm. He's efficient. And he would win.

Also, fuck Chris Benoit, that psychotic, child-smothering fuckbag.

Vote Steamboat.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I gave this one to Steamboat 2-0. As much as I liked and respected Chris Benoit for the bulk of his career, I simply refuse to cast my vote in his direction for obvious reasons.

Both guys are great technically skilled wrestlers. Both have displayed stamina and endurance in the ring. Both had longevity in their careers. One is a Hall of Famer and the other one absolutely would have been, except for obvious reasons.

I simply cannot stomach the thought of voting for Benoit after what he did. I don't like the thought of him getting anywhere near winning this tournament. I have voted against him in the other rounds, I voted against him in this one, and I will continue to vote against him as long as he remains in the tournament. Plus, the difference between him and Steamboat is pretty negligible. Out of the ring issues aside, it would have been a close vote for me anyway. With these issues factored in, I give it to Steamboat 2-0.

 

[The Other Hardy Brother]

Wow would this be a good one. I'm giving Benoit the edge based off having more moves to put away his opponent. Benoit had the Crossface, the Sharpshooter, the Headbutt. Steamboat would get one quick fall on him in the beginning. Followed by Benoit making him tap to the Crossface in the second fall. Then Benoit would work over the arm of Steamboat and eventually pin him for the final fall. I couldn't see Steamboat tapping twice. But I could see him tapping fairly early in the match just so he wouldn't have to wrestle the rest of it with a broken arm. Unfortunately for him Benoit would just work on that arm for awhile anyway until he could hit the three german suplexes and the headbutt for the win.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I think Ricky will win by frustrating the hell out of Benoit, I'm not 100% on this so I expect to be corrected if this isn't the case but has Ricky (a career babyface) ever submitted? Benoit's offence was primarily based on getting guys to tap. I can see Benoit losing one fall by refusing to release the crossface when he is in the ropes and getting a DQ'd. As Benoit gets more and more desperate trying to break down the Dragon's resistance, a botched flying headbutt is capitalised on and Ricky takes the victory with the pinfall.