TNA: Charlotte Sub-Regional

[Shocky]

Come in here to discuss the Charlotte Sub-Regional, headlined by the Nature Boy Ric Flair. Remember, all matches take place in the six sided TNA Ring.



The First Three Rounds Take Place In: Charlotte, NC
2. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
63. Blackjack Mulligan

31. Giant Baba
34. Nikolai Volkoff

15. "The Iceman" Dean Malenko
50. King Kong Bundy

18. Matt Hardy
47. Antonino Rocca

7. "The Beast From the East" Bam Bam Bigelow
58. "The Road Dogg" Jesse James

26. "The Shaman of Sexy" John Morrison
39. "The All American American" Jack Swagger

10. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
55. Frankie Kazarian

23. The Big Bossman
42. Road Warrior Animal


Round 2 Matchups.
Charlotte, NC.

2. The Nature Boy Ric Flair
31. Giant Baba

15. Dean Malenko
18. Matt Hardy


7. Bam Bam Bigelow
26. John Morrison

10. Jake "The Snake" Roberts
23. The Big Bossman

Round 3 Matches:
Charlotte.

2. Ric Flair
15. Dean Malenko

7. Bam Bam Bigelow
10. Jake Roberts

 

[Mr. TM]

WOOO! That crowd will erupt in it. The North Eastern Beast will have a hard time down south, even with his size. Ric Flair has taken on big men before, and with his edgyness, he will take apart the fast moving Bam Bam. Jake has little hope against Ric, so he better be hoping someone from Ric's past has the ability to take him out. A lot of TNA guys will have the advantage mastering the 6 sides to the ring.

 

[klunderbunker]

Flair will dominate here. He's the king of Charolette, and he'd be the king here. TNA seems to respect tradition, and what screams tradition more than Ric Flair? Nothing at all. He's taken on big men and he's beaten big men. Roberts could give him a headache, but he'd take him out in the end. That figure four isn't his only weapon. You give him a non American object or a solid roll up and Flair wins this so easily that he's wining and dining before he breaks a sweat.

 

[Khalifa]

Yeah Ric Flair should and will win this. The corwd behind him, one of the best wrestlers in the world. Ric also being the smartest of the two would find a way to get Bam Bam down and then finish of Jake the Snake Roberts. The 6 sided ring shouldn't effect him but lets see what happens.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Bam Bam Bigelow would be a hard out in this region and Jake the Snake was good in the ring and had the psychology factor. I want to say Ric Flair will win this but it's a matter of who else is in here. For now I will say Bigelow but it is subject to change.

 

[NSL]

I'm sure we'll see Damien at least once here, but I don't see what Jake can do to get much further. He has a devastating DDT, but little else that would put him over the other 2 listed, and pretty much anyone else that could pop up.

I love Flair. He was #3 on my list, and should've had better luck than landing in TNA. He's got more charisma than anyone else in the TNA Region, and can lock on the Figure Four in a snap. But, I don't see how the 6-sided ring will work for him. His chops can hurt anyone, and he can take a bump more than most people acknowledge, but I think he'd lose in a fight to Bam Bam.

Is Bam Bam better than Flair? No. But, he's more agile, and is under-rated as a big man. I think his moveset adjusts better to the TNA style. If he beats Flair, there's nothing stopping him from beating just about anybody in the following round, and he'd be well set for the Monster's Ball. I think he's toast if he runs into an Ultimate X match.

I wouldn't be surprised if Flair won, but I think it's more likely if Bigelow runs into a tough match before then.

 

[Papa Shango]

Bam Bam is the favorite due to sheer size, but NEVER count out The Nature Boy. Some might say that never having been in the six-sided ring may hurt his chances. I say it gives the Dirtiest player in the Game 33% more of a chance to use rope leverage during a roll up or a submission maneuver. TNA referees have never seemed very bright to me; I could see Naitch stealing a lot of wins here. Even Bam Bam would be in trouble if Flair gets to use the ropes.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I don't really know what to say about this one. I'm not real impressed. Flair should go over, but Bam Bam has the size and strength advantage. It doesn't matter at all, though. No one from this sub-regional will win TNA.

 

[HBK-aholic]

Ric Flair in his prime could beat almost anybody, there will be no exception here. As long as people think of Flair in his prime, and not these last couple of years he shouldn't have a problem. However, I've seen a growing "Anti-Flair" base here on these forums, slightly worried they'll automatically vote for his opponent.

 

[Lee]

The Naitch really has ther advantage here...He's in his home town region, him in his prime was something else. However I feel the TNA ring may go against him and it would suit Bam Bam Bigelow that bit more.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Ric Flair in his prime was truly untouchable. Especially in Carolina. Flair is so well-rounded, that he could withstand speed from quicker guys, with endurance. And he could overcome power, with logic and strategy.

This taking place inside a 6-sided ring won't, or rather shouldn't hurt Ric Flair, as he can adapt very quickly.

I forsee Irish's backing of Bigelow being tough for Natch, but in the end, he's no match for Flair in Charlotte.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Flair is unstoppable in Charlotte, and that is why he will crush both Bigelow and Roberts with the Figure Four. Don't get me wrong, Roberts wasn't half bad and Bigelow was a good big man but it just ain't happening, 4 sides, 6 sides, 8 sides whatever. Flair wins. WOOOO!!!

 

[NSL]

This saddens me a little, that Malenko drew the same bracket as Flair, Bigelow, and Jake. He's a great in-ring competitor, and would be able to adapt to the 6-sided ring well, but he'd be much better in the WCW Region.

If he advances to face Flair, it'll be a boring match, but a wrestling clinic. Will Flair lock in the Figure Four, or will Malenko get him in the Texas Cloverleaf? Flair has the fans, the home field advantage, and the gold to advance past Malenko. I'd probably vote Malenko, but I don't see a scenario where he would win the match in this tournament.

If he did pull off the upset, he'd be an interesting match-up for Jake Roberts, but he wouldn't get further than that. I don't see where he could pull off a win over Bigelow either.

The Beast From The East is still my winner here.

 

[Blade]

Malenko SHOULD go far, he's a great wrestler.

But unfortunately it doesn't like he'll get very far. Not if Flair is able to cut him off before he has a chance to get some real competitive matches.

 

[NSL]

There's nothing I can do to put Malenko over Hardy, is there? In a pure wrestling match, there's no way he doesn't beat Hardy. I'm not saying either of them should beat Flair, but he should at least get past Hardy.

If Matt were luckier, he would've landed in a different bracket, where he could've won more than one or two matches. I'm still giving the early edge to Bam Bam, with Flair being my darkhorse. He's only the darkhorse because this is a totally new environment for him, and because you never know how fans will vote for him. He's the only one here that can take Bigelow out.

 

[Shocky]

This is Flair's territory to lose. A second round matchup with Baba should be no problem. Flair is a big enough star to counter Baba's own star. An interesting matchup could be Dean Malenko vs. Hardy. I personally feel that Malenko is better, but it'll be Hardy that gets the win. Regardless, Flair comes from the top.

The bottom is intersting. Their is a potential war brewing with a Morrison vs. Bigelow matchup, and I think that will be the match winner to determine who faces Flair. Roberts and Bossman are good, but will be overmatched. In the end though, Flair wins

 

[klunderbunker]

I'm with Shocky. Flair can beat men of any size. He took Vader out at Starrcade 93 in a clean win. Vader is better than Bigelow, so why wouldn't Flair be able to stop Bigelow? Bam Bam and Morrison could be a hell of a match in its own right. It very well could be Morrison against Flair, which would be another victory for the Naitch. Shocky's right. It's his to lose.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Dean Malenko is the guy that has what it takes to defeat Ric Flair. But because he's not popular and well over with a ton of people, he might not even make it beyond Matt fricken Hardy? How the fuck is that fair?

Malenko can defeat Hardy with a blindful, both hands tied behind his back, and one leg. Hardy's about as worthless as the Ultimate Warrior was. The guy sucks, and the only thing that's even gotten him over, was his ex-girlfriend cheating on him with actual talent.

Malenko gets my approval in most of this, but I still believe it's Ric Flair's overall sub-region in the end.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

I have doubts that Flair can survive in this region. Bigelow will be a tough out for Flair. Malenko can hang with Flair and beat him but the Flair fans will be in full force to vote for Ric. At the end I see Bigelow advancing in a hard fought match against Flair.

 

[NSL]

Dean Malenko should be in the finals here. He won't be, but that's because, as Sly thinks, "Boring means you suck as a wrestler". He's got more talent than anyone in this bracket, but will lose to Hardy.

I think Giant Baba will go over Flair, although i'm sure I agree. Flair can take him, but there's a growing anti-Flair group, while no one knows enough about Baba to hate him. Either one will hopefully take out Matt Hardy in the end.

Bossman and Morrsion are a nice addition to the bottom half. Too bad Bossman won't get past Roberts. The Morrison v. Bigelow match-up will be interesting, but Morrison will probably win in a close one.

I think Morrison can take Baba, for the reason that Flair can't. While Flair's star is fading, Morrison's is shining brighter than ever. Some may call it an upset, for Morrison to win this bracket, but that'll be the way the chips fall if Flair is upset by Baba.

 

[Father:_Polley]

Poor Bam Bam. He's never going to a dark horse, but the fact is, he has landed in a VERY bad half of the draw. Jake Roberts will never be a pushover no matter who he's up against. Now, the fact is that James Morrison will prove to be a hard guy to knock off, seeing as to how popular he is on here.

Flair will probably take the region with minimal effort. It's in Charlotte, and Flair won't give a damn as to how many turnbuckles there are for him not to climb. Fact is, he can use them to get behind his opponent and take their legs out.

 

[NSL]

Flair is slowly becoming my favorite here. Morrison and Bigelow will/could provide a test, but Flair should have enough support to muster out a win.

Giant Baba is still my darkhorse though. There's a few anti-Flair guys out there, and if the debate works out for old school fans, Baba may get enough support to pull off the major upset.

I don't care who that Rocca guy is, he won't get past Hardy with the level of fan support he has. Hardy won't, and shouldn't go far, but he'll get the win here. Either by fan support, or people just believing he's the better wrestler.

I'll be doing my homework on Rocca though, and if he gets the win over Hardy, and sneaks past Malenko, he's suddenly a Cinderella story, but quickly approaching midnight with Flair in the way.

 

[Rusty]

Yeah, I'm in the majority here when I say that Ric Flair has to be the favourite here.

Despite Flair never wrestling in TNA before, neither have Dean Malenko, Bam Bam Bigelow or Jake Roberts. This is the veteran regional because all 4 are retired from the business, at least I think they are. I never understood what people loved about Dean Malenko because I never saw him wrestle before, but after watching a few matches and watching his WCW matches with Rey Mysterio on the DVD I got for Christmas, I'm already a fan of the guy.

But Ric Flair is in his hometown and the guy is ranked #2, so that says something. Plus, I don't think anyone can argue that Ric Flair (the 16th time World Champion) didn't have a more successful career than Malenko, Roberts or Bigelow. Ric Flair in his prime could beat all of these guys, he has the hometown crowd with him, and he could continue being the dirtiest player in the game by utilizing the ropes in the 6 sided ring to steal a few victories.

Ric Flair wins this regional.

 

[Christian Battlez]

I expect Naitch to take this sub region meeting the Agile and Underrated Bam Bam Bigelow in the finals. Flair won't have the horseman to back him. But he will have the Charlotte crowd backing him and letting out a resounding WOOO after every chop. I don't think he will make him submit with his patented figure four. But he will use his cunning and ability to sneak out a win over the dominant big man. He'll wait for Bigelow to take to the air and make a mistake and capitalize on it. He's the naitch its what he does. If he takes out Bigelow's base being his legs with clips and chop blocks to the knee. Bigelow won't even have a leverage advantage so in the end. I see Flair taking this sub region.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Eh, I'm not the biggest Flair fan, but I like him better than any of the other wrestlers so far announced in this region (save for Bam Bam and Matt Hardy, but they have nowhere near the legacy that Flair does). This is Flair's sub-region to lose, although I do see him possibly having some trouble with Bigelow, given IrishCanadian25's campaign for the Super Heavyweights.