Rock Region, Leeds Subregion, First Round: (10) Big Show vs. (23) Hiroshi Tanahashi

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the Rock Region, Leeds Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.

#10. Big Show

Vs.

#23. Hiroshi Tanahashi

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Big Show's exactly the sort of guy I'd wheel out to face Hiroshi Tanahashi in a tournament. He's huge, powerful and seems to be greater than Tanahashi in every aspect on the surface. Then you see him go and boy does it change things. People say Tanahashi is the Japanese John Cena and that's true, but he doesn't have the same physical strength as Cena, instead making up for it with a quicker move-set which is clearly inspired by lucha-libre.

He'd use that speed to wear Show down, tiring him, ducking and dodging the giant's swings and misses, all the while making the crowd invested, showcasing his suffering and pain versus the giant. He'd have the crowd in the palm of his hand and then he'd make the grand comeback. He'd hit his variation of the five move of doom, capping it off with the spamming of the High Fly Flow (Frog Splash) to put the matter to bed.

 

[Tastycles]

The Big Show is, in my opinion, the best superheavyweight ever. He's managed to do what virtually no monster has ever done - had longevity. Andre wasn't booked as a wrestler for much of his career, just a side show in battle royals. Big Show has lasted 18 years in WWF and 4 in WCW before that. Compare that to somebody like Vader who wrestled in places for much shorter stints, ultimately because people get bored of it.

Big Show is so criminally underrated by the IWC as a whole that it's pretty sad. He would win this match, because ultimately a neutral crowd is going to get behind an incredibly agile giant (as he once was) over any manner of innovative speedster. Big Show wins.

 

[Bernkastel]

If people are voting Nakamura over Kevin Nash then they sure as shit better be voting Tanahashi over Big Show. Big Show was world champion in both WCW and WWE. A great feat. He's been a consistent performer for 20 years and has constantly been able to reinvent himself. Tanahashi though is New Japan's ace. He was able to breathe new life into the promotion during the 00's after New Japan had been losing money. He's a 7 time world champion and one of the greatest wrestlers of the past decade; often being compared to John Cena.

I would like to see just how far he can go this year. Vote Tanahashi.

 

[ShinChan]

Do you know who's John Cena? Well, you surely do know him.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is the Japanese version of John Cena. I respect Big Show for his longevity in the business. Also, he has had some good matches in the last couple of years against the likes of Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. But can I put him over John Cena? Nopes. Same goes for Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Hiroshi Tanahashi here.

 

[OYDK]

Tanahashi should win this one. I'm a fan of the Big Show and more often than naught his credentials would be enough to put him over most mid-upper tier wrestlers from the past and present, but Tanahashi is the ace of New Japan and one of the better performers of the past decade. He (along with Nakamura) is one of the key reasons, if not the key reason for the resurgence of New Japan over the last 10 years and has been crucial in cementing their place as the clear #2 wrestling company in the world.

Whether he was in WCW or WWE, Big Show has always been pretty low on the depth chart. That's not a knock on the guy, it's just a fact. I'll admit he was a bigger deal in WCW but even then you had Hogan, Savage, Nash, DDP, Sting and others as the bigger stars. As a world champion he has never been featured very prominently. Show did his job and did it well, he's a legend, but I'd be overstating it if I were to call him a career main-eventer because he was far from it. Tanahashi on the other hand, has headlined 8 of the past 10 Tokyo Dome shows drawing upwards of 45,000 fans at times.

He's also had the most IWGP title reigns ever with one lasting something like 400 days or more. In that reign, he set a new record for the most successful title defenses of all time. Tanahashi has carried a company on his back and has widely been considered as one of the best wrestlers in the world for years now. Big Show's been a good hand. Tanahashi's the ace (or the face to put it in more Americanized terms) of the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world.

Vote Tanahashi.