The Draw

[klunderbunker]

So here's the Tournament from the draw

First Round

CALGARY Region

Sub City 1: Palace of Auburn Hills - Detroit, Michigan
Steve Austin - 1 vs. 32 - Rhyno
Davey Boy Smith - 16 vs. 17 - Barry Windham
CM Punk - 9 vs. 24 - Shane Douglas
Randy Orton - 8 vs. 25 - Eric Young

Sub City 2: First Union Center – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Vader - 4 vs. 29 - Bob Orton
Brian Pillman - 13 vs. 20 - Rick Martel
Bob Backlund - 12 vs. 21 - Tully Blanchard
Lou Thesz - 5 vs. 28 - Hillbilly Jim

Sub City 3: Key Arena - Seattle, Washington
Hulk Hogan - 2 vs. 31 - IRS
Christian - 15 vs. 18 - The Miz
Arn Anderson - 10 vs. 23 - Chavo Guerrero
Roddy Piper - 7 vs. 26 - Great Khali

Sub City 4: Staples Center - Los Angeles, California
Edge - 3 vs. 30 - Sgt. Slaughter
Scott Steiner - 14 vs. 19 - Dustin Rhodes
Yokozuna - 11 vs. 22 - Ron Simmons
Eddie Guerrero - 6 vs. 27 - Bobby Lashley


HOUSTON Region

Sub City 1: TD Garden - Boston, Massachusetts
Bret Hart - 1 vs. 32 - Kenta Kobashi
Raven - 16 vs. 17 - Jerry Lawler
Jeff Hardy - 9 vs. 24 - Shelton Benjamin
Big Show - 8 vs. 25 - Perry Saturn

Sub City 2: Meadowlands - East Rutherford, New Jersey
Chris Jericho - 4 vs. 29 - One Man Gang
Jushin Thunder Liger - 13 vs. 20 - Ken Shamrock
Booker T - 12 vs. 21 - Kofi Kingston
John Cena - 5 vs. 28 - Carlito

Sub City 3: Bell Center - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
The Rock - 2 vs. 31 - Stevie Richards
Jeff Jarrett - 15 vs. 18 - Kerry Von Erich
Bruno Sammartino - 10 vs. 23 - Bobby Eaton
Harley Race - 7 vs. 26 - Gregory Helms

Sub City 4: Cow Palace - San Francisco, California
Randy Savage - 3 vs. 30 - MVP
Bruiser Brody - 14 vs. 19 - Daniel Bryan
Great Muta - 11 vs. 22 - Verne Gagne
Terry Funk - 6 vs. 27 - Mike Awesome


NEW YORK Region

Sub City 1: Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado
Ric Flair - 1 vs. 32 - Road Dogg
Sid Vicious - 16 vs. 17 - Samoa Joe
Rob Van Dam - 9 vs. 24 - Nick Bockwinkel
Goldberg - 8 vs. 25 - 2 Cold Scorpio

Sub City 2: Rupp Arena - Lexington, Kentucky
Sting - 4 vs. 29 - Jesse Ventura
Stan Hansen - 13 vs. 20 - Mr. Anderson
Kane - 12 vs. 21 - Pedro Morales
Mick Foley - 5 vs. 28 - Wade Barrett

Sub City 3: Air Canada Centre – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Undertaker - 2 vs. 31 - Bob Holly
Scott Hall - 15 vs. 18 - Magnum TA
Ultimate Warrior - 10 vs. 23 - Rikishi
Batista - 7 vs. 26 - Brutus Beefcake

Sub City 4: Scottrade Center - St. Louis, Missouri
Kurt Angle - 3 vs. 30 - Finlay
Lex Luger - 14 vs. 19 - Dory Funk Jr
Jake Roberts - 11 vs. 22 - Bam Bam Bigelow
AJ Styles - 6 vs. 27 - Masahiro Chono


PHOENIX Region

Sub City 1: Reunion Arena - Dallas. Texas
Shawn Michaels - 1 vs. 32 - Robert Roode
Taz - 16 vs. 17 - Billy Graham
Curt Hennig - 9 vs. 24 - Val Venis
Rey Mysterio - 8 vs. 25 - Junkyard Dog

Sub City 2: American Airlines Arena - Miami, Florida
Ricky Steamboat - 4 vs. 29 - Paul Orndorff
Dusty Rhodes - 13 vs. 20 - Tito Santana
Ted Dibiase - 12 vs. 21 - John 'Bradshaw' Layfield
Chris Benoit - 5 vs. 28 - Earthquake

Sub City 3: BC Place - Vancouver, Canada
André The Giant - 2 vs. 31 - Haku
DDP - 15 vs. 18 - Sheamus
Owen Hart - 10 vs. 23 - Big Boss Man
Kevin Nash - 7 vs. 26 - Steve Corino

Sub City 4: Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, North Carolina
Triple H - 3 vs. 30 - Greg Valentine
Jack Brisco - 14 vs. 19 - Lance Storm
Rick Rude - 11 vs. 22 - Dean Malenko
Brock Lensar - 6 vs. 27 - Marc Mero

In the final three rounds we'll draw the names for the final matches at random. Beginning on the 22nd there will be 16 matches a day for four days.

 

[Rayne]

The Right Way to Vote
CALGARY Region

This is a big tourney, so let's not waste much time ducking and fucking with the introductions. There is a right way and a wrong way to vote, and hopefully this post will guide people towards voting the right way. Let's get to it. This post will cover the Calgary region; I'll get to the other three when I get some more time for this.

Steve Austin - 1 vs. 32 - Rhyno
One was the top performer of his era and one half of one of the most memorable story arcs in professional wrestling history. The other was a slightly overweight, slightly more popular version of Louie Spicoli with an anger issue gimmick. I will leave it to the reader to decide who is who.

Davey Boy Smith - 16 vs. 17 - Barry Windham
Tough one. Both had their successes in their careers, although they never quite grasped the brass ring. Both had their failings outside of the ring; both are renowned tough men. (Although not as tough as Meng.) Considering that the winner of this match has the honor of losing 10 to 1 against Steve Austin in the next round, this pick doesn't matter too much, so I'm going to go with the British Bulldog. Bulldog worked several main event matches in his era and was a go-to guy to build main eventers; like Steve Austin, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels. Barry Windham was one of the Four Horsemen, and when they were good too; but it's Bulldog by a nose.

CM Punk - 9 vs. 24 - Shane Douglas
In three years, CM Punk will be a #2-3 seed in this pool. Shane Douglas will have dropped out. CM Punk is a WWE main eventer. Shane Douglas is a current champion- for Big Time Wrestling in Massachusetts. He's not a transitional star champion either, he's now held that belt for six months. CM Punk without question.

Randy Orton - 8 vs. 25 - Eric Young
Maybe I'm alone in this, but I think Eric Young is tragically underrated. He's a great actor; he can take shit writing and make it seem good, whether its comedy bits or more serious roles. He's respectable in the ring- nothing special, but nothing disgraceful. The one thing that seems to keep holding him back is his size, and if you aren't doing spin kicks, aren't Asian or Mexican, your prospects as a pro wrestler are limited. Randy Orton, I feel, is also very overrated. He's passable on the mic, but doesn't seem to carry a crowd the way so many other people in this tournament who have been in his position can. His wrestling consists of Irish whips and headlocks. He makes a menacing heel, but I just don't get what his appeal as a face is. However, taking ALL of that into consideration- the gulf between what the two men have done in the ring is just too large. One's been a multi-time WWE champion; the other's carrying around a defunct title belt he found in the trash. Randy Orton wins.

Vader - 4 vs. 29 - Bob Orton
Vader once had his FUCKING EYE pulled out of his head in the middle of a match. He took a second, removed his mask, popped in the offending oculary, and then shoved the concerned referee out of his way to continue with the match. Bob, you had a decent career, but fucking Christ, how could I vote for you next to that?

Brian Pillman - 13 vs. 20 - Rick Martel
Brian Pillman was good in the ring, and he definitely had his moments, but he's way overseeded here at #13. The only singles belt he was ever trusted with was the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship (which became the Cruiserweight belt). Rick Martel was an AWA champion for two years, when the AWA still had some meaning left. His WWE run wasn't as memorable as Brian Pillman's- he never threatened to fucking kill someone in front of a live national TV audience- but the totality of his in ring work, as well as his more... positive qualities outside of the ring, give the win to Rick Martel.

Bob Backlund - 12 vs. 21 - Tully Blanchard
This one was HARD. Bob Backlund did have a five year long run as WWF Champion, but this was during the WWF's territory days. (History buffs: He was the last WWF Champion of their territory era.) Tully Blanchard was an original Four Horseman, and was NWA National Heavyweight Champion; but the title is misleading as it was the regional GCW title. I'm reaching way back to when I was just a gleam in my parent's eye at an Eagles concert here, so I can only go by video and the Wikipedia. Backlund takes it, but you'd be forgiven for voting for Tully.

Lou Thesz - 5 vs. 28 - Hillbilly Jim
What the fuck is Hillbilly Jim doing in this tournament? What the fuck is Lou Thesz doing as a #5 seed instead of a #1 seed? One was the most dominant champion professional wrestling has ever had; the other I was going to look up to list some accomplishments, but there's no point. Lou Thesz walks in, Hillbilly Jim lays down, Lou Thesz walks out.

Hulk Hogan - 2 vs. 31 - IRS
It's not really a competition at all, is it? IRS gets votes from people who won't vote for Hogan for any reason, and that's it.

Christian - 15 vs. 18 - The Miz
The Miz has "it", and a lot of people haven't noticed yet. The Miz is going to be the next breakout star in professional wrestling- this is not the last time we will see him fight John Cena at Wrestlemania. Christian's a talented wrestler as well, but he's hit the peak of his career as the NWA/TNA champion. He's a solid anchor for the mid card and I take nothing away from him, but The Miz is the real deal.

Arn Anderson - 10 vs. 23 - Chavo Guerrero
Ooooooh, Chavo. You're so talented and yet you never get a chance to show that off on television. You aren't going to get a chance to show off in this tournament either, as Arn Anderson is recognized as the greatest wrestler to never hold a world title by everyone here old enough to buy a pack of cigarettes. One of the original Four Horsemen? Holder of virtually every title for the promotions he wrestled for besides their world title? Sorry, Chavo, Arn Anderson for the win.

Roddy Piper - 7 vs. 26 - Great Khali
Closer then it looks. Both are movie stars, and Khali actually gets the edge in this one- the movies he has been in have sucked less then the ones Roddy Piper has been in, although to be fair almost every movie featuring professional wrestlers has sucked. Khali's been a WWE Champion; Roddy never grasped the ring. But listen to Roddy carry a crowd. (On tape. Not on Raw, fucking kids these days.) The Great Khali often seems unaware that he's on television and needs to wrestle as such- he has a bad habit of mugging to the side of the arena opposite the hard camera. He has a tiny little Pakistani guy who follows him around and spits out sentences for him. Piper squeaks it out.

Edge - 3 vs. 30 - Sgt. Slaughter
Didn't we actually see this match in the not too distant past? Sgt. Slaughter might be underseeded here, and Edge might be a little overseeded, but look at the differences in what each man has accomplished in his wrestling career. Edge is a multi-time World-level champion in the WWE, was one of the anchors of the TLC matches, has held the tag titles more than I believe anyone else; Sgt. Slaughter just doesn't match up.

Scott Steiner - 14 vs. 19 - Dustin Rhodes
Dustin Rhodes has had a very good career in the midcard. He builds guys and builds them well. He's had his off moments, like "Black Reign", and we've seen him quit the Golddust character more times then Andy Dick's quit cocaine, but the summary of his work is at least respectable. Scott Steiner scares the fuck out of almost everyone in this tournament. He is very large, has legendary anger control issues, and also happens to be very talented on the microphone- some of his promos border into the insane but hilarious, like his threatening to sodomize Bill Goldberg after a match. Squash for Big Poppa Pump.

Yokozuna - 11 vs. 22 - Ron Simmons
Yokozuna had one of the most memorable WWF title reigns in history; Ron Simmons held the NWA title when most people didn't know the NWA still existed. The one advantage Ron Simmons has? He's not dead.

Eddie Guerrero - 6 vs. 27 - Bobby Lashley
In a fight, I'd take Bobby Lashley, even if he's never going to be a UFC fighter. (Chad Griggs didn't get lucky- Bobby Lashley got hit hard, turtled up and got shelled. If you can't rebound quickly from taking a hard shot, you don't succeed in MMA, period. Guys will hit you hard.) Sherdog material aside, Lashley was a pretty shitty professional wrestler. He had the look, could do a few moves, and that was about it. But, then again, that same formula made Goldberg into a sensation. Eddie didn't have the size expected of main-eventers of his level; he was Hispanic, which before him had never translated to the main event in the US; but despite the traditional barriers to his success, he became a main eventer in the WWE. Eddie moves on.

Later, when I feel like it, I'll get to the other three regionals.
​

 

[Rayne]

HOUSTON Region
​

Bret Hart - 1 vs. 32 - Kenta Kobashi
If this was a contest over who was the better in-ring wrestler, this is a nailbiter. However, it's a popularity contest taking place on an English-speaking board, so it's very easy.

Raven - 16 vs. 17 - Jerry Lawler
Yikes. Raven was the top heel during ECW's most memorable years, and is on one side of almost all of the programs people remember fondly from that promotion. His gimmick is poorly imitated by dozens of aspiring professional wrestlers. He's also a very talented writer, and had his requisite cup of tea in WCW and WWF. Jerry Lawler was the King of Memphis. He was never a major national champion; the glory days of his career took place before the national days, but he has had a long, illustrious career all over the professional wrestling world. He's been a wrestler; he's been the TV cross-over actor; he's been a manager; and he's the 2nd best announcer that the WWE has ever had. Oh yeah, and he's played himself in a movie. I don't even think Hulk Hogan's gotten to do that yet. Scott, you're no slouch, but Jerry's the King.

Jeff Hardy - 9 vs. 24 - Shelton Benjamin
I could take the time to shit on Jeff Hardy for how his TNA run reminds us all of how good the WWE made him look, but... eh, I already did. Still, it happened for Jeff Hardy. He's lived the dream. Shelton, despite every attempt by man and God to get him over, never caught on. I always liked him- the WWE has plenty of guys who can do backflips, but no one- save maybe John Morisson- has had the natural raw athleticism that Shelton showed. Compliments aside, Jeff Hardy wins.

Big Show - 8 vs. 25 - Perry Saturn
The last we saw of Big Show, he was promoting his just-released DVD. The last we saw of Perry Saturn, the mop he was trysting with had just been shoved into a woodchipper.

Chris Jericho - 4 vs. 29 - One Man Gang
Chris Jericho can knock someone back with a punch thrown from his right hand, while belted into the driver's seat of a car. If you're right handed, have you ever tried that? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that kind of leverage from that position? Heh, I'm playing. How could someone pick Akeem the African Dream over Y2J?

Jushin Thunder Liger - 13 vs. 20 - Ken Shamrock
I've never seen Jushin Liger in an honest fight, but I've seen Ken Shamrock. He's one of the guys the UFC was borne upon. Liger was the more successful professional wrestler, but I think Ken Shamrock was the better professional wrestler. The past few years, however, have made this decision a lot closer for me then it would have been otherwise.

Booker T - 12 vs. 21 - Kofi Kingston
Kofi's hit his peak. He's going to carry on at this level for a long time, but ask yourself- would you care if he was announced as the next #1 contender? Booker T, on the other hand, is a 6-time world champion in a wrestling climate that has never been too friendly to the Black Champion.

John Cena - 5 vs. 28 - Carlito
These guys ran a program so that John Cena could use his rub to get Carlito over. Didn't work.

The Rock - 2 vs. 31 - Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards- a guy I've always liked and who most people remember fondly, has absolutely no chance when going against the best microphone worker in the history of professional wrestling.

Jeff Jarrett - 15 vs. 18 - Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Von Erich is mostly remembered as the Erich brother that lived. He also must have married a really hot woman, because some how Lacey von Erich sprung from his loins. Hot daughter who can't wrestle aside, Jeff Jarrett is wrestling a top program for the #2 company in America right now. Kerry's a dramatic overseed here.

Bruno Sammartino - 10 vs. 23 - Bobby Eaton
Bruno Sammartino was the guy that was able to carry the WWWF into being the top regional promotion in the regional days; all of his late life craziness aside. Bobby Eaton's career highlight was being half of the Midnight Express. They just don't compare.

Harley Race - 7 vs. 26 - Gregory Helms
What's Gregory Helms doing in this tournament? Besides a lot of booze and pills, what's Gregory Helms even doing right now?

Randy Savage - 3 vs. 30 - MVP
Ah, MVP. He's a tragic case. He has the ring skills. Great on the phone. Fans respond to him. And he can't travel to most of the countries the WWE is looking to expand in, all because he made a stupid decision as a kid. He's a case that in this country, you never really can make amends for your past. Randy Savage is a multiple time world champion, you do the math.

Bruiser Brody - 14 vs. 19 - Daniel Bryan
Bruiser Brody is the original brawling wrestler. Every time you see a husky guy swinging his arms around wildly in a wrestling ring, utter a silent prayer and a thanks to his memory. Guys like Mick Foley and Necro Butcher owe their careers to him. He once scared a young Lex Luger so badly that he jumped out of the ring in the middle of a match and ran to the locker room. Brian Danielson was king of the indies, and hasn't risen to his full potential yet, but he most likely won't ever be the legend that Bruiser Brody is.

Great Muta - 11 vs. 22 - Verne Gagne
FACT: If you own your own promotion and hold down your own promising stars, dooming you to failure, you too can buy your way to a #22 seed in an internet tournament far in the future. The Great Muta had limited success in America, but is the Japanese Hulk Hogan. Easy decision for me.

Terry Funk - 6 vs. 27 - Mike Awesome
Back in 1996, who would you choose if you were asked who'd still be alive in 2011? One was beginning the most dominant run of ECW's history; the other was putting a pantyhose sock on his head and carrying a chainsaw, looking like pale white death. Terry Funk has carried on forever, and it is a cold, dead wrestling fan who doesn't have a soft spot in his heart for the Funkinator. Mike Awesome was hot for a year, then burned out in a blaze of tie-dye and fat women.