TNA Hartford, Round 1, Match 6: #28 Ken Shamrock vs. #37 Ole Anderson

[Shocky]

The following match takes place in the TNA region inside of the six sided ring, From Hartford, CT.

#28. "The world's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock

vs.

#37. Ole Anderson

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Man, this is tough.

With Shamrock, you've got a legit tough guy and shoot fighter, who was quite believable in a WWF ring. His matches with guys like The Rock and Owen Hart were pretty good, and his involvement in major stables such as the Corporation and The Union were enjoyable. Totally devoid of mic skills, but like a Lesnar or an Angle, he was believable because of his pre-WWF credentials.

Ole Anderson, while maybe not the best athlete on his team, was an amazing worker and one of the best on the mic in the business for many years, along with the rest of the Horsemen. Credit where credit is due, ya know?

In the end, as much as I WANT to vote for Ole, I am likely to vote for Shamrock due to pure athleticism and intensity, as well as the fact that Kenny has done some work in the 6-sided TNA Ring, where as Ole will be confused.

You've all got a few days to convince me otherwise, but this is where I am leaning.

 

[Tastycles]

Shamrock wins this one. He has been champion in TNA, and was booked very strongly during his run in the WWE, beating the Rock and winning both King of The Ring and the tournament for the IC title.

Ole Anderson was a solid performer, but he is another person in this tournament who is far more notable for his tag work than his singles. Shamrock would do some tough moves on him and eventually set him up for the ankle lock, and get the win here.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Both tough competitors here but I will have to go with Shamrock as he was accomplished in TNA and was impressive in the WWF. His overall toughness will get him slightly past Anderson.

 

[jmt225]

I've always preferred pro wrestler Ken Shamrock over MMArtist Ken Shamrock. I thought he was a phenomenal worker and extremely entertaining during his run in the WWF. He had great matches against Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Vader, Owen Hart, Foley, and many others in, like, only a two year period. He had a tremendous run I thought.

Ole Anderson, on the other hand, pretty much bored the living shit out of me in every match I've ever watched him in. The guy sucked, both inside the ring and behind the curtain. There aren't many guys in this tournament I would feel that Ole should be able to defeat, and Ken Shamrock definitely isn't one of them.

In a shoot or a pro wrestling match, Shamrock would destroy Ole Anderson within 30 seconds, guaranteed.

 

[NSL]

In the end, as much as I WANT to vote for Ole, I am likely to vote for Shamrock due to pure athleticism and intensity,

This is what it came down to for me, as well. I liked Ole. Him and Tully were my favorite Horsemen, and his matches always looked good, which was important in the 70's and early 80's. His mic skills were probably the best of the Horsemen, outside of Flair, but that's not exactly a bad guy to be #2 to.

Shamrock was insane though. His wrestling skills were better than expected, and he was great to watch. While Ole may put up a fight, Shamrock wins this with an ankle lock bthe first time Ole is off his feet.

 

[Theo Mays]

I always found Shamrock entertaining and I think he'd win this tough match up. Shamrock was booked well and he was a legit tough guy. After nailing Ole with some suplexes, Ken locks in the ankle lock and moves on.

 

[Shocky]

Meh, Ole Anderson was the Horsman time forgot. He gets the benefit of being a part of that group, but for the most part, he was unimpressive in singles ranks. Without being a decent tag wrestler, no one would care about Ole. Hell, Arn is more remembered for tagging with Tully then he is with Ole.

This is a cake walk. Shamrock is a former NWA Champion, something Ole never sniffed, granted the title might not have been the same in prestige, but it was the NWA title regardless. Shamrock is familiar with the TNA region, and he's damn good in the ring for a two sport guy.

 

[butsecks]

atleast Ole can cut promos and wasn't bad at wrestling...and since this IS wrestling, not shoot fight, OLE wins this one...the man has achieved more than shamrock...half of one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling "minnesota wrecking crew" and also part of the 4horsemen...shamrock? oh yeah...he was in "the union". Ole over three leaf clover.

 

[Harthan]

atleast Ole can cut promos and wasn't bad at wrestling

Remember the part where this tournament was about kayfabe wrestling skills?

...and since this IS wrestling, not shoot fight, OLE wins this one...

Never mind that Shamrock is an established single wrestler who achieved the majority of his success there, hell, one of the best midcarders in terms of pure wrestling skill, while Ole was a tag team wrestler with Arn, and Arn and Ole weren't nearly as good as Arn and Tully. In singles competition, Ole couldn't hold a candle to Shamrock.

the man has achieved more than shamrock...half of one of the greatest tag teams in wrestling "minnesota wrecking crew" and also part of the 4horsemen...shamrock? oh yeah...he was in "the union". Ole over three leaf clover.

Why would you even count tag team accomplishments, here? It's a singles match. Hell, why would you even count accomplishments at all? It's a kayfabe wrestling match, what does it matter what titles are won? But fine, if you must. As a singles wrestler, Ole has nothing but some regional midcard titles. Shamrock's IC title reign, NWA title reign, and King of the Ring are more than enough to surpass that.

The match is an easy one for Shamrock. An NWA-TNA Champion, he's got plenty of experience in the six sided ring, while Ole's never stepped into one. Shamrock has Ole skinned in in-ring work, and would make quick work of him here.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I like Ole Anderson, but I've got to go with Shamrock, someone who had considerable success in TNA's early days, while only being there for a short period of time. Furthermore, Shamrock is the type of opponent that Anderson had the good fortune to never face back in his days: a cut, fierce, and strong beast of a man with unbelievable stamina.

Pick: Shamrock

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've never been a fan of Ken Shamrock. He's extremely overrated both as an MMA fighter and a pro wrestler. I will admit that he has a great deal of physical toughness, though everything about the guy in wrestling was boring and predictable.

I enjoyed watching Ole Anderson work and he was pretty good on the mic. Ole was arguably the best tag team wrestler of the 1970s, though that is also a hindurance. While he held numerous tag titles, his work as a singles wrestler never really got noticed. He won a handful of titles in singles competition, but he'll always be remembered as a tag team wrestler.

While I don't like Shamrock, I think his aggression coupled with toughness and athleticism would be too much for Ole Anderson to overcome. While Anderson was in pretty decent shape overall, I don't know if he'd have the endurance to go with Shamrock. He wouldn't have the advantage of being able to tag in a partner if he started to get winded. I think Ole would give Shamrock a pretty good go for maybe 10 minutes but would lose steam very very quickly after that.