TNA Region, Lawrence Subregion, First Round: (16) Jake Roberts vs. (17) Bruiser Brody

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the TNA Region, Lawrence Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under TNA Rules. It will be held at Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas.

#16. Jake Roberts

Vs.

#17. Bruiser Brody

​

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.

 

[Bernkastel]

Now this is a good match up. I feel like Brody doesn't get the respect he deserves because he was a damn fine worker. So was Jake. But there was one glaring difference between the two, Brody was far more popular. I've always counted Jake as a career midcarder, while Brody was a main-eventer and a huge attraction practically everywhere. He was perhaps the last great journeyman of the 80's.

Looking at Jake's resume, and then comparing it to Brody's resume with success in Japan, the US, Mexico, and Latin American it's hard not to call Brody the clear winner here.

Vote Brody.

 

[Bagpipes]

This might be the beat matchup of the first round. Two of the greatest (real life and kayfabe) heels of all time in Jake and Brody.

While Jake mastered the dark, cryptic promo, Brody's mic work is extremely underrated.

As for drawing power, that's where the contest shifts abruptly toward Bruiser. He was knocking down paychecks upwards of $14,000 per week while working a program with Inoki for New Japan in the mid-80s, making him the highest paid professional wrestler of the time. As Ech put it best, you can't argue with Brody's worldwide, promotion-wide success, all the while maintaining one of the most memorable brawler gimmicks in the history of pro wrestling.

Long Live Bruiser Brody.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

As many have noted, this could be the match of the first round. Jake Roberts is the master psychologist and Bruiser Brody is the master of violence. They’re both regarded in history as innovators and were extremely popular in their primes and while Roberts was on TV in the States making a massive impact, Brody was doing the same across the globe showcasing his talent across multiple continents.

It has been noted that these two would be difficult to separate if it were not for the simple fact that Roberts has the remarkable record of winning bugger all on a big stage while Brody has far more titles and accomplishments both as a tag and singles star. Thus, Brody is the man to go through but i'd certainly pay to see this one.

Also, as a side note, they both have terrific themes:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]2_PsyHGMcVQ[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]t45_3gaIXWE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Tastycles]

Jesus Christ, total pair of fuck ups here. Whenever you see a journeyman wrestler who's career came after 1980, you know one of two things. Either, they were not able to maintain an audience, or they were so unprofessional nobody wanted to work with them. Brody probably falls into the latter camp, but regardless, he never had the widespread adulation that Roberts had. Roberts was arguably the second most popular face throughout Hulkamania, made excellent promos and invented the DDT, what we now neglect but should recognise as one of the best finishers ever. It really isn't a contest for me, Jake should progress.

 

[deem]

I love Jake. Everything about him. His micwork is up there with Rock and Foley as the best ever for me, his matches are exactly the type of pro wrestling I enjoy, his gimmick was simple and terrifically effective. And yeah, people sleep on how popular Jake was. Definitely the #2 behind Hogan in early WWF and he was getting CHEERS OVER HIM AS A HEEL at the peak of Hulkamania!! I don't think that happened any other time (i'll probably be corrected with someone like Roddy, but it's the most notable I can think of).

You have to vote in kayfabe though, and Brody achieved so so much more. It's subjective how you rank wins over certain stars - I don't think it's much of a stretch to point out that he's 4-1 up lifetime vs Flair, 1-1 with Terry Funk, 3-5 down to Dory Funk but won 2 titles from him, 2-1 up to INOKI!, 4-2 up to Jumbo.

Jake just doesn't have those win/loss accolades, nor the titles or periods of dominance to overcome it. In fairness, he beat Andre at Wrestlemania! (overall record of 4-40, but that's not a surprise its f Andre). 7-65 down to Savage. 1-15 down to Sting. 2-2 against Piper is about as good as it gets.

I probably slightly prefer Jake as the two so i'll try one more thing to find a single way to justify a vote. Him vs guys similar to Bruiser - maybe he excels against wild, big brutes.

2-1 up to Vader, including their most notable meeting at King of the Ring when he was way past his prime!
1-0 up vs The Warlord
8-0 down vs Sid
2-1 down to The Barbarian

Does that win over Vader overcome that dominance from Sid? Not for me. Bruiser would win this in kayfabe - the booking decision would be close, but Bruiser probably gives slightly more to the tournament in my opinion.

It's not the worst thing ever if Jake wins, but I think Brody is the clear and logical choice

 

[stingray11214]

As a boy, I remember when Jake Roberts first came up. I remember Gordon Solie calling his matches on Championship Wrestling from Florida on Channel 47 here in NYC. Roberts was a tough as nails SOB who took no crap in the ring. When he came to WWE, Damien only added to his mystique. Roberts was one of the most feared and later beloved Superstar in the Hulkamania era. A mid-carder for sure, his legacy will be fondly remembered.

Bruiser Brody was a genuine, Grade-A, nutcase. A skilled but crazed brawler in the ring. An enigma outside it. This man would beat the crap out of you, and come back for more. He was famous around the World. Tag teaming with Stan Hansen, and wrestling the likes of Kamala, Jerry Blackwell and Abdullah the Butcher. His feud with Abdullah was so hot, he was disqualified for nearly strangling Abdullah with TV camera cord. Afterwards, Brody would attack the audience with a chair, and fire it football style into the runway exit. It was his last televised match before his being murdered days later. Was Brody nuts? Absolutely. Was he at times unprofessional? Definitely. Would he kick the living daylights out of Jake Roberts? Indubitably. Vote for the Bruiser.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Brody and Brody because he became this crazy mad brawler who even played face and still did well for himself. He will get eliminated soon from these but for now, ye he should go forward.

Jake is class just class, I would want to vote for him but I can't here.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Jesus Christ, total pair of fuck ups here. Whenever you see a journeyman wrestler who's career came after 1980, you know one of two things. Either, they were not able to maintain an audience, or they were so unprofessional nobody wanted to work with them. Brody probably falls into the latter camp, but regardless, he never had the widespread adulation that Roberts had. Roberts was arguably the second most popular face throughout Hulkamania, made excellent promos and invented the DDT, what we now neglect but should recognise as one of the best finishers ever. It really isn't a contest for me, Jake should progress.

Except you'd be wrong.

Brody was a journeyman because he chose to be. He knew his own value, probably better than most, and simply booked himself the way he did because that was how he could make the most money. The Japanese idolized him. There was nothing that would get him to drop his incredibly lucrative Japanese tours that allowed him to make as much or more than say top WWF workers of the time, while still only working a fraction of the dates.

As for not having the widespread adulation? Completely wrong. Without having the McMahon marketing machine behind him, he was still one of the most sought after attractions worldwide. Look at it this way. Before he went to the WWF, Jake Roberts was just another wrestler. A good one, but not a guy that was going to sell out any show on his own. He became a household name because of the WWF. Bruiser Brody was a guy that could sell out shows by himself, and he was a household name despite never working for Vince McMahon... which in the 80's was an extreme rarity. When he was murdered, EW even did a feature story on it... which they would never have done if he didn't have that widespread adulation you claim he didn't possess.

This is a great matchup, but I have to go with Brody.

 

[jmt225]

This match ends in a DQ.

We're not in the gimmicks portion of the tourney yet, so this is a straight up match.

And Brody will get himself DQ'd, like almost all of prime Jake's opponents did.

Brody will bite Damien's head off and then choke Jake with the rest of the snake's body, getting himself disqualified. No way this match would ever end any differently.

Jake advances, although he gets demolished in the process.