The Real Gold Standard

[DD84]

Shelton Benjamin has a nickname called The Gold Standard, while he is a very talented wrestler and has some accomplishments, he is not by any means The Real Gold Standard of the WWE. In the WWE, there are many wrestlers who have done a lot and have many accomplishments, who is The Real Gold Standard? I am sure there will be a lot of Triple H's and Undertakers here. As for me, I am undecided, its between four or five wrestlers.

Your thoughts.

 

[PlayTheGame]

Well, although I think this debate would go much farther if you didn't place any limitations on it, in terms of just active wrestlers I really don't think you can beat Triple H. Triple H, a 13-time world champion, is the WWE's most decorated active wrestler (in terms of world titles, which are what really matter). 8 of those world titles happen to be WWE Championships (these titles definitely mean the most in this debate considering we're talking in WWE terms), and HHH also happens to be the record holder of most WWE Championship title reigns. The Game also has many other titles under his belt, such as the IC, European, and World Tag Team Championships. He's definitely the WWE's real gold standard, not Shelton Benjamin.

 

[WATSONationWWE]

john morrison is the most talented wwe athlete. he can do a standing shooting star press. can shelton benjamin? No..he is boring to me. morrison can do an interview with the best of them. he is simply amazing. im telling you all.. he is the NEXT big thing

 

[hArdyPUNKmArk]

You would have to go with Triple H. He has won more WWE Championships out of any of the current wrestlers and is 2nd only to Flair. He is always striving to win another world championship when he hasnt got one and has long reigns. Trips is the only contender really... And if you count previous guys, as PlayTheGame said, Flair would be the man.

 

[azza1090]

If we're reffering to 'gold standard' as being championship reigns, i'd seriously consider edge to be one serious contender for the title. He has held every title he is eligible to compete for multiple times (excluding US champ, just the one reign there, which was a unification). He has a total of 26 championship reigns in the WWE, 1 MITB win (2 some may argue), and a KOTR win when it meant something. They're some pretty good numbers

 

[bigtymerjdawg]

The answer is easy, Edge. Since Edge debuted back in 1998, he's been a champion 26 times! 8-time Heavyweight Champion (4-time WWE Champ, 4-time World Heavyweight Champ), 5-time IC Champ, 1-time U.S. Champ, and 12-time Tag Team Champ (11-time World Tag/ex-WWF Tag Champ, 1-time WWE Tag Champ). To go along with that, he's the 2001 King of the Ring and 2-time Money in the Bank winner (If you count him beating Mr. Kennedy...........Kennedy, which I do). And he's won a Slammy! How could you not say Edge? He's come a long way since the Brood days. He's, if not the top guy, one of the top guys WWE has right now and he'll be around for hopefully another 5-10 years.

Now everyone is probably going to say Triple H. He's been champion only (only?) 21 times with 13 of those Heavyweight Championship reigns which is impressive. The only two things Triple H has done that Edge hasn't done is win a Royal Rumble and win the European Championship. And Edge has been a U.S. Champion which HHH has not. Other than that, Edge and Triple H have accomplished the same things (Championships, KOTR, Slammys). And Triple H has been in the WWE three years longer than Edge. Edge has averaged 2-3 Championship reigns a year since debuting in 1998 while Triple H has averaged 1-2 Championship reigns a year since debuting in 1995. But to Triple H's credit, his reigns have on average lasted longer in tenure than Edge's.

All in all, Edge is the Real Gold Standard. No active wrestler has held as many total championships than Edge (if I'm wrong, please correct me). Edge averages more championship reigns in one year than other guys hold championships in an entire career. And how could you not vote for a guy who had the nickname King Edge the Awesome?! He does totally reek of awesomeness and great magnitutions!

 

[Mitchguy]

This all depends on what the criteria is. If you're counting purely titles and accomplishments then yes those are all worthy contenders.

I on the other hand, consider "The Gold Standard" within the context of the name as it's been applied to Mr. Benjamin. In his case, it's denoting his consistant level of high performance and putting over his althelicism. A gold standard is the thing that you measure other things up against. It's a level of performance to be strived for.

When taken into that context, the Gold Standard of WWE would be reserved for someone who sets the bar for what other performers should strive to be. Someone who works consistantly at a level of excellence. And in that case I would have to throw Shawn Michaels name into the hat. Even at his age with all of the wear and tear his body has endured, he performs at a level unreachable by most.

That's what I consider to be a gold standard. If Bret had kept going to this day, he likely would have been a candidate as well due to his work ethic and consistant level of performance.

Those are my two cents.

 

[rowdy ruben]

even though i dont like him the real gold standard is edge

 

[ECWillRiseAgain]

thinking Edge became an 8-Time world champion in a matter of three years is a damn accomplishment

Undertaker has been in the WWE for nearly twenty years and he is just a six-time world champion..
hell Kane is just a Two-Time world champion (WWE Championship, ECW Championship ; yes it counts for me) and he's been staying here for like 15 years (as Isaac Yankem, and Fake Diesel)

 

[TwistofRKO]

It has to be Edge. He's carried gold 26-27 times and has been at the top of both the tag team and individual divisions, both of which he'll (assumingly on my part) end up carrying 10+ times.

Second would easily be Triple H, 13x World Champion, it's kind of the definition of what we're talking about.

 

[WunNightStan619]

Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels are the measuring sticks in the business. They are who everyone is compared to and put up against in order to make a name for themselves. No doubt they are the 3 "bosses" of the WWE. However i wouldn't call them Gold Standards. The Gold Standard is the wun who's skills in the ring, on the mic and whose wrestling persona is superior to everywun elses. This is the person who everywun tunes in to see and is selling tickets. This is the guy that is the BEST the business has to offer at this point. Although HHH, HBK, and Taker may be the measuring sticks, the Gold Standard at this point has got to be Randy Orton

 

[Dropkicked]

Yes sir. I agree. I am excited to say I will have been able to see HBK's entire career as well as Morrison's whose will be just as exciting. This kids push needs to coem now by taking the IC title and giving it some cred. Morrision and Morgan are reason enough why the E should bring back Tough Enough.

Morrision is hands down the Gold Standard for tomorrow while Michaels is the Gold Standard for today. They set the standard for what wrestling is.

 

[Santino_Rules]

It's tough to argue against HBK, HHH or even the Taker, especially since I have been around to witness their entire career.

Edge on the other hand.....not 1 single meaningful title reign. 26-time champ yes....but what does it mean when your not remembered for a single one or a single run. NOTHING!

 

[PlayTheGame]

The answer is easy, Edge. Since Edge debuted back in 1998, he's been a champion 26 times! 8-time Heavyweight Champion (4-time WWE Champ, 4-time World Heavyweight Champ), 5-time IC Champ, 1-time U.S. Champ, and 12-time Tag Team Champ (11-time World Tag/ex-WWF Tag Champ, 1-time WWE Tag Champ). To go along with that, he's the 2001 King of the Ring and 2-time Money in the Bank winner (If you count him beating Mr. Kennedy...........Kennedy, which I do). And he's won a Slammy! How could you not say Edge? He's come a long way since the Brood days. He's, if not the top guy, one of the top guys WWE has right now and he'll be around for hopefully another 5-10 years.

Now everyone is probably going to say Triple H. He's been champion only (only?) 21 times with 13 of those Heavyweight Championship reigns which is impressive. The only two things Triple H has done that Edge hasn't done is win a Royal Rumble and win the European Championship. And Edge has been a U.S. Champion which HHH has not. Other than that, Edge and Triple H have accomplished the same things (Championships, KOTR, Slammys). And Triple H has been in the WWE three years longer than Edge. Edge has averaged 2-3 Championship reigns a year since debuting in 1998 while Triple H has averaged 1-2 Championship reigns a year since debuting in 1995. But to Triple H's credit, his reigns have on average lasted longer in tenure than Edge's.

All in all, Edge is the Real Gold Standard. No active wrestler has held as many total championships than Edge (if I'm wrong, please correct me). Edge averages more championship reigns in one year than other guys hold championships in an entire career. And how could you not vote for a guy who had the nickname King Edge the Awesome?! He does totally reek of awesomeness and great magnitutions!

To all those that say its Edge... Yes, I agree he would probably be second, but I just don't see how he's anywhere close to Triple H, let alone over him on the list. Look at it this way- world title reigns are what REALLY matter. World title reigns trump everything else. Sure, Edge was a good midcard champion back along time ago... but Triple H was maineventing and winning world titles (and still is) during that time. So, I'd say world titles outweigh any other title-related accomplishments. When you apply that to the HHH/Edge debate, you then see that HHH's 13 world title reigns (8 of them being with the WWE Championship, the premiere title in the WWE) trump Edge's 8 world title reigns (only 4 of them being with the WWE Championship), and not only for superficial/numerical reasons. You also have to take into account the substance of their title reigns, something that def needs to be analyzed in a debate over who is the "gold standard", a moniker that implies substance to the max, as others are measured by it. So, when taking that into consideration, you see that HHH's world title reigns beat out Edge's world title reigns in both substance and overall quality due to such things as longevity, importance, and meaning. Simpley put, HHH busted his ass off to be "that damn good" and garner all of those world title wins whereas Edge prides himself on having the moniker of "the ultimate opportunist", basically admitting (as a good heel would) that the majority of his world title wins came only at overly opportune times (MITB cashins, Vickie Guerrero interferences, cheating, and more come to mind). Thus, you just can't say that Edge is the gold standard over HHH. The 13-time world champion HHH is the true gold standard of the WWE.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

in my opinion the true gold standard is ....Triple H..... i mean 13 time world champion, winner of most wwe championships in history, ic, us,tag team championships, royal rumbles, KOTR, grand slams, this guy has done it all in this business, and lets face it ALL of his title reigns have meant something and are remembered, then in my opinion comes Shawn Michaels, simply because there isnt something this guy hasnt done, then edge with his 26 title reings, but quite frankly i only remenber like 15 of all those title reigns

 

[GNR8701]

What about Chris Jericho??? If you want to use "Gold Standard" as someone who is a measuring stick, then why not Y2J???? Jericho is more accomplished than you may think- I got this off of wikipedia so that if i get it wrong , you have my source : 1 NWA middle weight championship, 1 ECW World television Championship, 4 time WCW cruiserweight Championship, 1 time WCW television champ, 2 time WCW world heavyweight champion, 1 time WWF European champion, 1 time WWF hardcore champion, 8 time WWF/E intercontinental champion, 1st ever undisputed champion which I would count as 2 titles, because he won both the world and the wwe in the same night but in seperate matches, 3 time WWE tag team champion (all with different partners), 2 time WWF world heavyweight champion. That is 26 titles. tied with edge, but if you dont count the nwa title then it would be 25. If you throw in the fact that he too also won a slammy like edge, was in the first ever MITB match, and was the guy who had the idea for MITB in the first place, he is a 2 time most hated wrestler of the year by PWI, he had one of the biggest debut segments of all time when he was revealed as the millenium man, and then also returned to be the saviour in save_us.XXX, and he is also the man of 1004 holds, can make you tap or pin you, it makes him up for the debate as the real gold standard.

What wins the debate.....

on top of his accomplishments in the ring, he also was the host of a reality show, has his own rock band and is a published author. Edge, HHH, Undertaker DO NOT have any of that, and it proves that Y2J can survive without wrestling and is a success on his own and does not depend on a title push if he is successful because he has had so much success on his own.

He also has mic skills that cast shadows over everyone in the WWE

 

[Ryanhitman316]

john morrison is the most talented wwe athlete. he can do a standing shooting star press. can shelton benjamin? No..he is boring to me. morrison can do an interview with the best of them. he is simply amazing. im telling you all.. he is the NEXT big thing

lol how do you know if Shelton can do a shooting star press? We didn't know that Brock Lesnar could had done one until he actually done it. You never know what Shelton or anyone can do. It all depends on there character and how they wrestle. Today I see Jericho perform less moves than he did years ago but whos fault is that?

 

[Decarow]

it's alot easier to win more world titles when that's all your after. that's why HHH has more world titles than edge. plus edge fought his way up to the main event. it only took HHH a few years and he was WWE Champion, and it took Edge 8 years. But back when Edge held the other titles, they actually meant stuff. So I would say Edge is the Golden Standard.

 

[thisisatest]

I always though that Gold Standard referred to his hideous hair color (j/k)...but seriously I have to go with Edge simply because of his numerous title reigns with multiple partners, through multiple eras. Although, to paraphrase RVD when Booker T said he was the "5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time, 5 time World Heavyweight Champion.".....wow so you lost the title like 5 times?. Multiple reigns mean multiple times losing the title. To me, JBL's reign, Hogan's reign, Moolah's reign, Honky Tonk Man's reign are much more impressive simply for their duration. FABULOUS MOOLAH AS THE NEW GOLD STANDARD.

 

[AgeOfOrton]

Shelton Benjamin = the most underated superstar of the decade

Shelton has potential to be one of the best in the business a little bit of work on his mic skills then youl have the total package like

We need to see a shelton push hopefully he will win the Money in the bank and hopefully wel see some high spots

 

[Legendary_Undertaker]

The answer is easy, Edge. Since Edge debuted back in 1998, he's been a champion 26 times! 8-time Heavyweight Champion (4-time WWE Champ, 4-time World Heavyweight Champ), 5-time IC Champ, 1-time U.S. Champ, and 12-time Tag Team Champ (11-time World Tag/ex-WWF Tag Champ, 1-time WWE Tag Champ). To go along with that, he's the 2001 King of the Ring and 2-time Money in the Bank winner (If you count him beating Mr. Kennedy...........Kennedy, which I do). And he's won a Slammy! How could you not say Edge? He's come a long way since the Brood days. He's, if not the top guy, one of the top guys WWE has right now and he'll be around for hopefully another 5-10 years.

COuldn't put it better myself...... With all due respect to HHH and everybody else in Wrestling today, EDGE's name and the word CHAMPION go hand and hand. A record 26 Time champion who you love to hate. and he keeps getting better. Hes only been in the WWE for 10 years and look at what hes already achieved! Edge is the gold standard and there isn't anybody else who comes close except HHH and even he comes up 7 title reigns short!