TNA Region, Mexico City Subregion,Second Round:(6)Nick Bockwinkel vs.(11)Daniel Bryan

[klunderbunker]

This is a second round match in the TNA Region, Mexico City Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under TNA Rules. It will be held at the Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.

#6. Nick Bockwinkel

Vs.

#11. Daniel Bryan

​

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.

 

[Dave]

I'm going to do the impossible and actually vote for an old school legend over someone I k ow a lot more about. And whilst I might get some heat for that decision, I stand by it. It's remarkable actually, how similar these guys are in a lot of ways. When I think of what Nick Bockwinkle was; an expert technical wrestler who used ring psychology to his ultimate advantage but was always in control of his emotions. It happens to remind me a lot of Daniel Bryan. Both guys are great wrestlers, there's no doubt about it. This match will be a clinic from start to finish with both me putting on a great show.

However, with Bockwinkle having about 30 pounds on Bryan, I have to give the edge to the old school legend. And you might think that the extra weight meant less stamina but that's not true. Bockwinkle was an expert ring psychologist that knew when to slow down the pace and when to up the ante. For me, Daniel Bryan is still developing and will eventually grow into what Nick Bockwinkle was; eventually surpassing him in the eyes of a lot of fans. But Bockwinkle is the finished article. A former AWA Champion on a few occasions who could carry a company on his shoulders. Daniel Bryan will get there but this tournament match comes a few years too soon.

 

[Tastycles]

Look Bockwinkel could deliver a good promo and carried AWA in a way that few other wrestlers ever did, but if you're looking for sheer determination and likeabilty, you can't look beyond Bryan. He took a comedy tag team act with Kane and turned that gimmick into being the winner of the main event at Wrestlemania. The audience booed Reu Mysterio for not being Daniel Bryan, which is incredible. Bockwinkel is great, but I think the manner that Bryan has made himself a top name is remarkable, so that's who I'll be voting for.

 

[Bernkastel]

Uh.. no. Bockwinkel was one of the AWA's flagship stars. Second only to Gagne. Bryan has had one Wrestlemania moment where he achieved greatness. Bockwinkel had numerous amounts of those moments, and is better in every category that a pro wrestler can be measured. Bock was more popular than Bryan, more consistent than Bryan [who instead of headlining this year has been regulated to the mid card] had more longevity than Bryan, was a better champion than Bryan, and was faaaaaaaar more charismatic and connected to many, many more people than Bryan over his long career.

If Bryan wins then it's a joke. Bigger than Lesnar beating Hogan last year. Vote Bockwinkel.

 

[Tastycles]

How many times did Bockwinkel headline a stadium or have a TV show with millions of viewers based around him?

 

[Bernkastel]

How many times did Bockwinkel headline a stadium or have a TV show with millions of viewers based around him?

Many. Considering that he was basically the reason the AWA survived as long as it did after the WWE began its expansion in the 80's. After he finally left the limelight after a decade as its top star, the promotion soon folded. Bryan can thank the WWE's massive marketing and promotional machine for pushing him that one time, and not for using him as a headliner again this year.

 

[nightmare]

I think some people forget that Bryan is pretty damn good in the ring & its mostly due to his somewhat watered down version they see on WWE. The guy can go & if anyone has not checked out some of his earlier stuff then go do so. He plays the underdog card well now & that is all fine, but he is much more than what we see currently. Trained by HBK & Regal, he is more than capable of getting the job done here. His resume reads off like a wrestling check list with numerous titles across America as well as Japan. From the minor promotions to the major ones, he has done damn well for himself, even before he set the WWE on fire recently with his Team Hell No antics right up to the awesome finish to last years WM.


Daniel Bryan can take down Bockwinkel here. It would be a classic technical match & would surely have no problem hitting the 30 minute mark, but I think we would see Bryan taking this one.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Bockwinkle kept a promotion afloat for YEARS.

Daniel Bryan lost a world title match at Wrestlemania in 18 seconds.

If this were to take place 5 years from now, and D Bryan keeps this run up of being the most popular guy in the E, I'd vote for him. But "The Yes Movement" isn't nearly old enough yet for me to consider this one.

Vote Bock or Die.

 

[Tastycles]

The primary Bockwinkel argument is that he drew enough to a company to stop it dying. Well, so did Bryan in Ring of Honor. Literally nobody who isn't a wrestling fan would have heard of Bockwinkel even at the peak of his success. The same isn't true of Bryan who has had mainstream exposure.

 

[Bernkastel]

The primary Bockwinkel argument is that he drew enough to a company to stop it dying. Well, so did Bryan in Ring of Honor. Literally nobody who isn't a wrestling fan would have heard of Bockwinkel even at the peak of his success. The same isn't true of Bryan who has had mainstream exposure.

First off AWA > ROH. And second LOL at the mere thought that Bryan has somehow transcended the industry to the point that non wrestling fans know who he is. The only superstar that could possibly have that distinction in the massive shadow that the WWE promotion's name value casts over its performers is John Cena. Bryan left the company in May and missed 6 months of action due to personal issues and injury. That's 6 months of not headlining, not holding the belt, not making WWE money, and not surpassing Bockwinkel as a better wrestler and performer. And then he makes his return and is eventually passed up for Roman Reigns. I've defended Bryan in the wake of that decision, but that demonstrates that WWE does not see Bryan as the man right now. They see him as a consistently over superstar that they don't have to push ATM because he'll retain his heat anyway. Bock was the man. And for a much, much longer period of time than Bryan has been.

Bock should win. Bryan needs to spend many more years of actually being the man.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Bock did a lot for AWA, and while Gagne was adamant on pushing his son all the way Bockwinkel slowly moved in as the resident heel and cemented his legacy. He lost to Verne numerous times and then turned face later. His match with Henning is infamous and people know about it and all. But the nepotism in that company and stars leaving made the numbers dwindle.

Bock's big run was as a heel and D Bry in his prime, last year I guess, went through a few losses but then beat 3 of the company's top names on one night at Wrestle friggin Mania. A face prime Bryan Vs a heel Bock, I might just give it to Daniel.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

In a larger market, in a bigger promotion and in front of more people the world over (not just in the country of origin), Daniel Bryan is watched and sought after more than Nick Bockwinkel. Now granted Santino Marella would apply to the previous criteria, but throw in the fact that Bryan is possibly a better in-ring competitor than Bockwinkel and has had just as much if not more success than Bockwinkel inside the ring, then you have a fairly clear answer. Bockwinkel's great, but so is Bryan and he's done it in front of more people with more money at stake.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

It's not really accurate to make the point that Bryan has only headlined wrestlemania as if it's a detriment to him. In reality, since D Bryan became the biggest face in the company, fans had to fight constantly for him to be given the spot that should've been his for a while.

WWE has made it a point to say that they don't want Bryan as the top guy in the company. A mere year after beating HHH, Randy Orton and Batista all in the same night, he's losing back to back shows to Dolph Ziggler who isn't in his league.

Daniel Bryan got his spot by being the most consistently entertaining performer in the WWE for years. He played a great heel in his run where he got the WHC and was involved with AJ. He lost to Sheamus in 18 seconds and he was the guy that was over the next day, which people seem to readily forget. Then he and Kane were one of the most entertaining teams of all time. All the while, he was putting on great matches through and through until he got to the point where he met Cena at Summerslam and was the top guy from there.

I'm certainly not speaking ill of Bockwinkel, but I thought a bit of accurate depiction of Daniel Bryan's career was necessary.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

So people are going to hold it against Bock because they have zero understanding of the difference between the territory days and the national days of today? Seriously, some of the comments here are as ignorant as the ones saying that Dave Batista was a better draw than Dusty Fucking Rhodes.

Look, if Bryan wrestled in the territory days, he would have done good for himself... but he wouldn't have been some transcendent nationally known star. And if Bock wrestled in this era, he would have been pushed consistently at the top of the card.

Bock could have been NWA champion. The board wanted him. He wasn't because he didn't need to be. Territories left the NWA for the AWA because they felt that Bock was a better World champion. In kayfabe, Hulk Hogan couldn't beat him... and then took the world by storm because he could beat absolutely everyone else.

Nick Bockwinkel is one of the biggest stars of all time. Daniel Bryan is still working towards becoming that.

If Bock worked in this era, he'd be in the main event of Wrestlemania on Sunday. Bryan does work in this era, and he's been stuck in an 8 man match for the IC title.

Don't kid yourself. Bockwinkel is more important and deserves to go over here. The only reason you have to not vote Bock is because you know absolutely nothing about his era, and don't care to.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Gotta go with Bockwinkel in this. I haven't seen that many of his matches but I know his legacy. The guy carried a promotion on his back for many years, has a hugely impressive resume and was a excellent technical wrestler. Bockwinkel was also brilliant on the mic, something Bryan isn't that great at, other than getting 1 word over with the crowd.

I think Bryan is one of the best wrestlers in the world, but at the moment he's had a very short run at the absolute top of the card, while Bockwinkel was the guy that a major promotion was based around for years, and is the sort of guy that would be a big success today also.