Hulk Hogan vs. Chris Benoit:
Are there any two men hated more for actions that occured outside of the ring then these two men? With this, on paper you have a clear cut winner in Hulk Hogan. In most matches, no one is going to vote Benoit over Hogan.
However, this is the realm of gimmicks, and this is the roudn that Hulk Hogan has bowed out each and every year so far. if this match goes into an iron Man match, I'm not sure Hogan is walking away with the win to be honest. I can't recall for the life of me a Hulk Hogan match going past the 30 minute mark, and Chris Benoit is a cardiovascular machine. He has Iron Man match experience, in both the 60 and 30 minute versions. If, and it's a big if, Benoit can get some sort of lead on hogan, I simply think that Benoit wins this match in a shocker.
If this ends up being the Triple Cage, again, advantage Benoit. I don't think it's advantage Benoit myself, but i remember last year with Hogan and Triple H, and the argument was used that Hogan can't climb a ladder. I really can't see how people's opinions on Hogan and the ability to climb could have changed in one year. I think Hogan should win, but I doubt he will in either match.
Sting vs. the Undertaker: Franchise player vs Franchise Player. Screw the homefield advantage, because it means nothing when the Undertaker is staring at you from across the ring. In all honesty, this is probably one of the five most anticpated matchups of the tournament. I think when the brackets came out, this was one most people were looking forward to.
Sting might have a slight advantage in the 60 minute match. Sting has gone the distance before, but that was very, very early in his career. The Undertaker on the other hand has had 30 minute matches at the end of his career. However, I can't remember an Undertaker match that lasted much more then 1/2 hour, so the question remains, cna the Deadman stay going, or will he run out of Gas?
Then the other match is the Triple Cage, and simply put, Undertaker in an enclosed environment of any kind is simply dangerous. If Sting can get some distance, he walks out with a win, but I can't see it happening. Either way, i think we're looking at a great match here.