TNA Region, Edmonton Subregion, First Round: (5) Ricky Steamboat vs. (28) Christian

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the TNA Region, Edmonton Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under TNA Rules. It will be held at Rexhall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

#5. Ricky Steamboat

Vs.

#28. Christian

​

Polls will be open for three days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[Alex]

Christian is A. Canadian and B. Was in TNA. He's got home field advantage.

A lot of people will say Christian is a midcarder who got lucky, but there's not that many midcarders who could carry one company for a few years (TNA) and then carry a failing brand in WWE (ECW)

Don't get me wrong Ricky Steamboat is a great wrestler and this would be a great match but Ricky Steamboat is also honourable, something Christian sometimes isn't. If Christian can find an underhanded way of helping him win he'll take it.

Christian moves on for one more match at least.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

A lot of people will say Steamboat is a midcarder who got lucky,

Funny how that works either way you phrase it, eh?

These guys are actually very similar if you think about it. They are midcard guys whose biggest flashes of brilliance were in midcard affairs at WrestleMania's and brief periods in the world title pictures whilst living in the shadow of their good friends (Edge and Ric Flair respectively).

People will no doubt come in here and talk about how wonderful Steamboat is and how crisp and smooth he was and how big a legacy he has, but Christian matches up with him in almost every way I can think of. Classic matches throughout their careers? Check. Good in-ring talents? Check. Lesser than their buddies? Check. Good mic men? Ch--wait, only Christian can say that, can't he?

Alex also raises a great point. Christian's a dirty scoundrel. He lies, he cheats, he wins by any means necessary. Things don't always go his way, but he gets the results. There is a reason he held multiple world titles across TNA and WWE. Steamboat will go for that roll-up or that Crossbody and Christian will reverse it, grab his tights, put his feet on the ropes and pay the referee off all the while setting events in motion to have Steamboat's pet dragon be #44 (with fried rice) at your local take-away.

Christian's a bad-man who does bad things to win. Ricky Steamboat's a nice guy who'd chop off his nose not to spite himself but to cheer you up. Christian takes advantage of that and scores the win.

 

[Bernkastel]

I've never liked Christian and have never seen his appeal. I was hoping he'd miss the field this year so I wouldn't have to put up with him this year. Luckily he drew Ricky Steamboat. Overrated a tad bit in recent years in this shindig, but for good reason. Steamboat was a fantastic worker, and unlike Christian actually had charisma. And if you're counting Christians NWA title reign as a serious world championship, then you may as well count the Mid Atlantic world title that Steamboat held for half a year because the title Christian won had long since been a shell of its former glory.

At least Steamboat is part of the "shoulda woulda coulda" for potential WWE world champions, while Christian never would have gotten that honor.

Vote Steamboat.

 

[Dave]

I'm going to go for Christian in this one. Steamboat is a terrific worker, that's for sure. He's a cult icon in the WWE and the world of wrestling. He was so fluid and so entertaining that he definitely deserves a place in the history of wrestling. But I still think that Christian wins this one, and it's for some of the reasons that have been stated before. Firstly, this is in the TNA division, a place where Christian kept the company in the limelight when it possibly shouldn't have been. He's a Triple Crown Champion and a Grand Slam Champion in the WWE. Not only that, he's Canadian and is going to have town advantage in this one.

Don't get me wrong, I've always liked Steamboat and I always will. But he's been out done by the location and the region this match is being wrestled in. Christian was a decent singles wrestler as well as an awesome Tag wrestler. Hee goes over here.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

For those saying that Christian has the advantage because this is the TNA region... please bear in mind that TNA is a company that blows it's load over just the thought of having a star working for them. And Steamboat was a far bigger STAR than Christian ever was.

In the biggest matches of their respective careers, Christian went over as part of a tag team. A team where he wasn't the star. Steamboat on the other hand would go over on his own. The biggest show in history, Wrestlemania 3, was sold in part on Steamboat's rivalry with Randy Savage, and they stole the show. One of the greatest series of matches of all time, is Steamboat/Flair. Going back to the territory days, whatever role Steamboat was given, he could pull off. Whether it was main eventing, working mid card, working tags, it didn't matter. Steamboat is revered as one of the greatest competitors of all time. Christian, while a guy I always liked, simply does not match up.

This would be an awesome match. As was typically the case with Steamboat, this match would end up stealing the show. Hell, even when he came back briefly over a decade after retiring against Jericho, Steamboat was still stealing the show. He'd do it here too, and he would go over. No question in my mind whatsoever.

 

[Tastycles]

What you have here is two mid card wrestlers that had a brief spell in the sun - Steamboat got it for being so reliable, Christian because his best mate got injured. Whichever way you look at it, these guys aren't particularly separable. I don't doubt that had I been older, I'd be going Steamboat, but I've only seen him in hindsight, whereas Christian was part of the era that got me interested in the first place. So, for no other reason than the fact I love The Brood, I'm going with Christian.

 

[klunderbunker]

Ricky Steamboat is on a short list with Rey Mysterio and Sting as the most naturally likeable guys of all time. There is absolutely nothing evil about him and he's got everything it takes to be great. That's all in addition to him being one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers you'll ever find. It's almost impossible to find a bad Ricky Steamboat match.

On the other hand you have Christian, one of the most successful second bananas in history. That's the key to him though: he's second best. Edge was a much bigger star than Christian could ever hope to be and Christian never broke free of that mold. Yeah, Christian had a really good run in TNA. Ricky Steamboat had a series of matches called the Trilogy From Heaven with Ric Flair and a match considered the best of all time at Wrestlemania III. Christian won two World Titles. One time he pulled the title belt from a hook hanging from the ceiling and the other time he got Randy Orton disqualified. That really doesn't match up with pinning Ric Flair in Chicago.

Don't let the region fool you. Yeah Christian had a great TNA run, but he's outclassed here. Christian got a run with the World Title because he had been around for a long time and had proven himself reliable. Steamboat got a run with the World Title because he was the best in the world at that time. Finally, if you want to look at a double homefield advantage, look one more time at Christian's buddy Edge at Unforgiven 2006. Edge was in his hometown in his match against a guy more talented than he was and he got beat. This is the same thing, but it's Steamboat's game: a straight wrestling match.

This should go to Steamboat and it really shouldn't be close, because he's flat out better than Christian at everything that matters.

 

[deem]

I get the similarities of the two. Career midcarders with brief stints of relevancy, both very likeable and great professional wrestlers. Dedicated and respected by peers.

I've been vocal in the past about Steamboat being overrated in these tournaments. I think he's good for a win here tbh. Two main reasons. 1) draw power. It's just logical to keep one of the most beloved babyfaces in the tournament at first over a non-elite heel. 2) Steamboats brief forays into the main event saw him shine SO much brighter than any of Christians. The feud with Orton was excellent and underrated - Steamboat's series with Flair is considered one of the greatest ever and often discussed 30 years later. Imagine it's 2040 - you think people are raving over Orton vs Christian? no way. I'm happy to identify that peak as higher than Christian's win/loss trading with Orton, which makes this trivial.

Christian is probably worth a place in the field, but he needs a good draw to progress a round. This isn't an awful one, but it should be pretty clear that Steamboat is the choice

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Kinda surprised, I thought the majority would prefer Ricky over Christian. Anyway, The Dragon for me. I just think he was a bigger deal in his day back in the late 80s than Christian in his singles prime, which was extremely short lived.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

Going with The Dragon here. Ricky Steamboat is my favorite wrestler of all time so it may be biased but as far as legendary status, Steamboat shines over Christian in every way. I always liked Christian though a bit below how most people did and never really saw him as World Champion material and I firmly believe he would never have gotten a World Title if it wasn't for Edge retiring which explains why he lost it two days later to Orton.

Christian and Ricky Steamboat are similar in some ways though. Probably the most common one being both were a great hand to have on the roster and you could count on a good match every time they were in the ring.