Rock Region, Third Round, 2/3 Falls Match: (2) Ric Flair vs. (7) Daniel Bryan

[klunderbunker]

This is a third round match in the Rock Region. It is a 2/3 Falls match. It will be held at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.

Rules: The first wrestler to win two falls wins this match. A fall can be earned via pinfall, submission, countout or disqualification.

#2. Ric Flair

Vs.

#7. Daniel Bryan

​

Polls will be open for four 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. Assume that the wrestlers are coming in fresh after their first round match.

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.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

What a match that would have been. Two of the best in ring wrestlers of all time. But there's no question when it comes down to the result. Ric Flair is considered one of the greatest all around perfomers of all time.

Top guy in every compay he went, 16+ time world champion. Flair gets this one.

 

[SSJPhenom]

This would be a great match and I would love to watch it. It would go down to the wire. Flair is going to get the win, though. Flair one of the biggest names in the business and some consider him the greatest ever. Daniel Bryan had what? 2 hot years at best?

Vote Flair.

 

[Bernkastel]

Flair wrestled these regularly as the NWA champion. 2/3 fall matches were commonplace in wrestling during the 50's-70's. Single fall matches were rare.

This match would probably play out like a typical Ric Flair title match from the era...

Daniel hits Flair fast and hard from the get go. He relentlessly pummels Flair in front a crowd screaming "Yes!" He hits the flying knee. Bryan takes the first fall in under 10 minutes. Crowd goes wild. They think Bryan has a real shot of winning the world title.

Daniel continues to pummel Flair but can't put him away as easily. Flair blades. Flair goes through his routine of moves and maneuvers he either borrowed or stole from other performers like Ray Stevens, Johnny Valentine, Jack Brisco, Freddie Blassie, and Buddy Rogers. After a 30 minute back and forth war, Bryan finally succumbs to the Figure 4. The series is tied 1-1.

Flair proves why he is the dirtiest player in the game. He low-blows Bryan and places his feet on the ropes where the ref can't see them. Taking the final fall in just under 3 minutes. The crowd is shocked and appalled. They nearly riot. Flair gets the hell out, still the world champion.

I've seen this match a dozen times already. Flair wins.

 

[Dave]

It's a tough one that, from a booking standpoint, is not as decidedly easy as Echelon would have you believe. In his scenario, there's a lot of confusion about who is playing the face in the match and who is playing the heel. Bryan acts like the heel, trying to put Flair away by any means neccesary. But then Flair hits him with the low blow for the win in the third fall? That would make Bryan the face, right?

Well, let me tell you this, there hasn't been many better faces in all of the history of the WWE than Daniel Bryan at his height. You want to talk about best 2 out of 3 falls matches? Hell, Daniel Bryan beat Triple H in a singles match and then Batista and Randy Orton in a triple threat match. AT WRESTLEMANIA. ON THE SAME NIGHT! He was a one in a million face that captured the imagination of the audience and that is why he wins this match.

So let me posit this scenario as an alternative. Flair wins the first fall by cheating his way to the cover. Then the fans get behind the underdog and start driving him towards the win. The night he beat HHH/Batista and Orton, he beat 3 people with a combined reign of 33 WWE Championships. He is the ultimate underdog. And when 20,000 start chanting “YES!” as he builds his momentum and locks in the Yes Lock, there's no way he doesn't win.

Bryan for my vote.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

another one that I'm on the fence with but while I can be convinced to change my mind I'm leaning Flair.

Both would shine in this game and I do see Daniel getting a fall but Flair isn't called The Dirtiest Player In The Game for no reason. After it's tied up 1-1 I see Daniel on the cusp of a victory but out come Arn & Tully for the distraction letting Flair cheat to win.

 

[OYDK]

I think Ech and Dave both laid out good arguments for how this match can ultimately end up playing out. Basically, what this all boils down to for me is who benefits more from the win; the ultimate heel or the ultimate babyface. If Flair beats Bryan by nefarious means, he gains a nuclear amount of heat heading into the fourth round. If Bryan beats Flair, his momentum sky-rockets. This might be a stupid argument, but I think the positioning of this match would have a lot to do with the outcome. As Dave mentioned, Bryan beat basically every member of Evolution (except Flair ironically) in one night to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. But that was at Wrestlemania, in the culmination of one of the greatest stories of the modern era. If this were the final match of the tournament, I would 100% buy the story of the ultimate babyface overcoming all the odds to beat the Dirtiest Player in the Game.

But I pretty much feel like this match would be used to build Flair's heat while keeping sympathy for Bryan high among the crowd by having Flair royally screw him. I don't know, maybe my logic is faulty but I'm tired so shut up. I'm going to reserve my vote for now, but I'm leaning towards Flair. Bryan had his one moment on the grandest stage but up until that point, he was used as a means to heap all kinds of heat on Orton and HHH. I see a similar situation playing out with Flair.

 

[Bernkastel]

So let me posit this scenario as an alternative. Flair wins the first fall by cheating his way to the cover. Then the fans get behind the underdog and start driving him towards the win. The night he beat HHH/Batista and Orton, he beat 3 people with a combined reign of 33 WWE Championships. He is the ultimate underdog. And when 20,000 start chanting “YES!” as he builds his momentum and locks in the Yes Lock, there's no way he doesn't win.

Bryan for my vote.

2/3 fall matches were used as a way to get the local stars over. Every local champion that Flair defeated was seen as the "ultimate underdog," just like Daniel Bryan. Fans would have always been 100% against Ric Flair. And do you know how many times he lost? Not many.

The man made a career of defeating underdogs. Performers that were every bit as cherished as Daniel Bryan.

The politics of the wrestling world were also a lot more cruel in the 1970's than they are in the 2010's. Daniel Bryan would have never been the NWA world champion. I can say that with utmost confidence. Even after getting his Mania moment, in an era that is far more kind, he never drove WWE business the way Flair did for the NWA.

Flair is the ultimate dream killer, and fans would not go home from this match happy.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Fuck. This is really the perfect match for Flair I think.

Daniel Bryan was a character that tried to overcome the odds but always fell short. That was his entire appeal. Sure, he did the impossible at Wrestlemania XXX, and was quickly sidelined for it afterwards. I don't believe for one minute that, if Bryan won this match, he'd be ready to compete in the next round. The stipulation sets his character up nicely as being the guy that was once again screwed over.

I think Ric Flair would get the first fall on Bryan, setting up the crowd to go nuts when Bryan gets a win off of him afterwards. But ultimately The Dirtiest Player would cheat to get the overall victory, pissing the locals off enough to rally for Daniel Bryan harder and they'd bitch about it online.

Going Flair.

 

[enviousdominous]

I don't want to do this, but I'm going with Flair.

I've weighed too many factors to list here without going way the fuck off track, so I'll just say what is making me vote against my gut here.

Ric Flair has beaten top faces before, there. That's what does it for me. Villains are they that are supposed to be toppled by compulsively happy baby-faces, but Ric transcended that paradigm by being seen as someone who has skill that's comparable to his ego.

Daniel Bryan had a great run in his career, and I would love more than anything to see him win here. Though; I don't equate Daniel as being nearly as capable as someone like Sting or Randy Savage, the latter two men being individuals that Ric Flair has defeated in his career. Daniel may have beaten some evil villains in his time, but Ric has him statistically beaten in that regard.

Ric has the experience, the skill, and above all a will to win that can match Daniel's on his best day.

Vote Ric Flair.

 

[Tastycles]

I prefer Bryan, I enjoy him more, I think he's far more entertaining, and maybe if he'd managed to go on a couple more years and beat Lesnar or something I'd be able to go with him here, but as it is I can't. I genuinely believe that Flair's star never burnt as brightly as Bryan's did in 2014, but it certainly burned very brightly for a lot longer. I think on balance of their entire careers, Flair must win here, but it pains me to do it.

 

[ShinChan]

Logically it's Ric Flair's match to win. But I'm going to be personally biased here.

I know that Bryan won't win here. Ric Flair has had bunch of such gimmick matches and has either won or lost them. I don't remember such a match for Daniel Bryan though.

Still, I voted Daniel Bryan because he inspired me in my real life. Don't know about others but he played a big role in my life. Ric Flair was a legend and I respect his skills but for me, a real life inspiration is infinitely more important.

Vote Bryan if you're inspired by him.

 

[Celtic Tiger]

Woooooo......what an awesome match this would have been... Daniel Bryan is an amazing technician and great worker, and Ric Flair is one of,if not best there was...Flair is known for being an hour long guy,can easily go the distance has the stamina to come from a fall behind to get the victory.....but Bryan is the ultimate underdog and I am quite torn,for now I'm veering towards Flair.....I'll see what else the people are thinking.....

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Ric Flair spent basically half his career having and winning this exact same match.

He's not losing this one.

Sorry Bryan.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Daniel Bryan for a couple of reasons.

He is the best technical wrestler ever.

He beat Orton, HHH, and Batista on the same night.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

From a wrestling standpoint, without any sort of hardcore stipulations, this has to be the match of the tournament. It's extremely easy for me to picture Flair and Bryan in a series of matches along the lines of the Flair and Steamboat matches of 1989 that're considered by a lot of fans to be the best in-ring work of both men's careers. The two of them couldn't be more different in terms of personas and it would've been solid gold: Flair was this materialistic, jet setting heel while Bryan is this down to earth, blue collar nice guy.

I think strong cases can be made for either one of them. In terms of overall technical ability, Bryan takes it as he trained in so many different styles and incorporated them into his matches, especially the submissions. From an athletic standpoint, I also have to give it to Bryan; that's not to say that Flair couldn't go or was out of shape, he just wasn't as fast, agile or could continuously work at the same pace Bryan would. Flair could do the submissions, Flair could brawl and Flair was wily to the upmost extreme.

For this particular match, I've little doubt that Flair will take with the massive achievements of his career being partially responsible for tipping the balance. Can't really argue that as Flair had the sort of career during the 80s that was probably second only to Hulk Hogan. I do think that Bryan could've walked out with the win as he had the ability and the sheer tenacity to hang with the champ. I'm voting with my heart this time for Bryan, I think he could beat Flair in a 2 out of 3 falls match if he can beat Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista all in one night.