Round 1, TNA - Hart Foundation vs. The Acolytes

Round 1, TNA:
The Hart Foundation - Bret Hart & Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart
vs.
The Acolytes (Protection Agency) - Bradshaw & Farooq

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TNA rules are identical to WWE rules except:
- The ring has six sides and the ropes are made out of elevator cables for greater tension

The reigning champions take on the first black world champion and JBL.

 

I am going to have to say that the Hart Foundation will go over the APA, but it is going to take some skill to do so. The APA holds the power, brute force & striking ability to knock you out where both members can be inclined to do so. Only Neidhart has that same ability that can be matched within the pairing. However, due to Hart's ring presence, phenomenal wrestling/technical/submission skills that have taken down brawlers such as Stone Cold & the amount of time that the HD spent together is greater than the APA... I give the nod to Hart Foundation.

If either Faarooq or Bradshaw had two different wrestling styles, this might of been given to them... this is the best matching i have seen so far on the Tourney & believe the reigning champions just come close in beat APA here.

 

On one side there is two world champions, and on the other side, there is Bret Hart, one of the best wrestlers ever. However, JBL only became champion after a haircut and some weight gain. And Farooq became champion, probably due to his skin colour.

That being said, APA was not that good of a tag team, they were a top jobbing tag team. I think all the cigars slowed them down too much, and the beer.... well Damn, just look at JBL.

Hart Foundation was was around the greatest Tag Team Strategy. Power and Speed. But with Hart's endurance, artistic abilities, and sharp shooter ways, mixed with Niedhart's ferocious mic work, this was, and is the greatest team ever.

 

Hart Foundation wins here. Simmons and Bradshaw will give them fits, but Hart is a wizard in the ring and Neidhart and his crazy goatee can get in and match power with Simmons and Bradshaw. APA didn't do much as a tag team. We all know them for smoking cigars, a door without a wall, poker, and beer. I can't remember much from their matches. Hart Foundation can go with any team, no matter the size and have that perfect combo of speed and power, so they'll go far in this tourney.

 

This is a pretty easy pick here. The APA, for some odd reason, have been vastly overrated by the fans. Perhaps it's because of JBL's eventual rise to the main event, but let's face it, the APA at their best were nothing more than a comedy routine. They were pretty good as the Acolytes, but still not good enough to even compare to the legendary team of the Hart Foundation. Must I really explain all of the ways in which the Foundation is superior to the Acolytes? I didn't think so.

 

I love the APA, and wish they would have gotten a better draw, but they're done here. The Hart Foundation are probably heading for the finals again, so there's no doubt they'd get a win here. APA shows up to make them look good, but they're a team that would bring the best out of Anvil. Add that to Hitman, and that's dangerous.

 

This is going to be one hell of a fight. Faarooq and JBL may have been tag team jobbers but they were real good brawlers. They will give Hart and Neidhart a run for their money but I see the Hart Foundation being too much at the end. Bradshaw and Faarooq weren't as good as they were when they were together and Hart was just hitting his stride.

 

This is tailor made for the Harts. The Anvil can match both guys for power, and Bret made a career out of having big guys beat the tar out of him before coming back in the end. There is simply no way I can possibly imagine either Hart getting beaten here. APA was a big tag team when the division was awful. The Harts were the top tag team in the best era of tag team wrestling ever. That makes this an easy one to me.

 

The APA is a fun tag team, but they can't win here. Sure, they may equal a physically stronger presence than the Hart Foundation does when added together, but back in the day, Neidhart as the strength of that team was on par to anything Bradshaw and Simmons could do, and when you add in Bret Hart you always have to account for him being able to not only out-wrestle you, but out-think you, and out-draw you lol.

Hart Foundation wins here.

 

I'm giving this one to The Hart Foundation due to the fact that it's in a TNA ring. Jim, Farooq & Bradshaw are 3 big guys who I'd imagine would have a bit of trouble adapting to a TNA ring. However 'The Anvil' has 'The Hitman' on his side and like most fast wrestlers Bret would fly around the ring winding the APA giving 'The Anvil' the opportunity to get some power moves in that would finish the APA.

 

This is the APA's. Obviously, people see the name Hart and vote for it, but they really shouldn't. The Hart Foundation weren't really that good at all. They were basically given the tag titles when the British Bulldogs got boring, and as soon as Demolition came along they lost them and started getting spanked by the Rougeaus. They lost to the Rockers, except they didn't, but they did really. And they finally lost to the Nasty Boys, who are actually a very similar outfit to the Acolytes.

The Acolytes were booked as being feared by the entire roster, and beat all of the major tag team players at the time. They beat X-Pac and Kane, a team with a similar dynamic to the Hart Foundation. Obviously Sean Waltham wasn't as good as prime Bret Hart, not even close, but the fact of the matter is that he was a significantly more decorated singles star at the time than Hart Foundation era Bret Hart was. Hart when he was in the Hart Foundation was quite crap, kayfabe wise, with hardly any singles success, and tag team success only over smaller technical teams and a Demolition trio on their way out. The Acolytes won their titles off the Hardys, the Dudleys, and X-Pac an Kane, teams that at the time had enjoyed far more success than The British Bulldogs or even Demolition. Honestly, Jim Neidhart was shit. Always was. Hart was booked to be quite weak in Hart Foundation, and was regularly exploited.

The benefit of hindsight is a great thing, but had Bret Hart retired in 1990, when the Hart Foundation finished, they probably wound't be a staple in this tournament, and would have never won it.

 

Not as big on the Hart Foundation as some others, but they get the win here. I am a fan of JBL, but APA really wasn't anything that great. They would have a significant speed disadvantage in this match and I think the HF would capitilze on that.

Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart weren't the greatest tag team ever, but they were an above average one. I'd reckon that they are good enough to get out of the first round of this thing, especially with their opponent being such an unspectacular and average team.

 

The Acolytes are an underrated tag team, but I can't believe they made the tournament. Ron Simmons was a member of a dominant tag team in NWA, Doom. That team should be here. I would pick Doom over the Harts. Doom was booked to dominate, and it took the Steiners two or three years to take the titles off of them.

In this match, you have two world champions on APA, and one on the Harts. The success of all four men in the ring here is among the top in the tournament. I truly think that Bret Hart was the last World Champion to hold the belt when it was more than a prop. He held it when it still meant something.

On to the match. I think the power of the APA gives Hart all kinds of fits. I think he is technically sound enough to get to Neidhart. But once Neidhart is in the ring, what is he to do? He can't outpower the APA like he could Janeatty. Still, in the end, I think the Harts find a way to get it done. I can see JBL missing a clothesline from hell and being isolated long enough for the Hart's to finish him off.

This is a match I would have loved to see.

 

Sure, the APA has 2 world champions but there's no way they beat the Hart Foundation in this match. The Hart Foundation is a technically great team with power from Neidhart. The APA's Farooq and Bradshaw are big powerful guys but they don't have the skill to get past someone like Brett Hart. Yeah, APA are ok and could have gone far in this tourny but unfortunatly they drew the Hart Foundation, they're good but they're not winning here.

Hart Foundation FTMFW!

 

This one is surprisingly easy. I think the APA was a great Tag Team, but the Hart Foundation, as a team, were just phenomenal. The combination of strength and speed was very well displayed by the Hitman and the Anvil. Hell, it’s being displayed right now with Smith and Kidd. I think the balance of the Foundation can overcome the straight up power of the Acolytes.