WCW Region, Baltimore Subregion, First Round: (15) Lex Luger vs. (18) Davey Boy Smith

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the WCW Region, Baltimore Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, Maryland.

#15. Lex Luger

Vs.

#18. Davey Boy Smith

​

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.

 

[Davi323]

This is one of those potential upset type of matches. I think that while he was ranked lower than Lex Luger, overall, The British Bulldog is a better wrestler. In addition to his strength being equal to or greater than Luger's, people always seem to forget that Davey Boy Smith actually has a lot of technical wrestling skill as well. This is under ECW rules, which means no DQs...Davey Boy Smith trained in the Hart dungeon. If he could thrive under those conditions, somehow I doubt he would be scared of a little bit of barbed wire. I would certainly buy his ability to wrestle in a hardcore environment more than I would Luger.

 

[Big Sexy]

I'm going with Luger. Bulldog was better in the ring, neither was very good on the mic, and Luger was the more successful of the two. The biggest accomplishment of Bulldog's career was winning the IC title from Bret Hart at Summerslam 92, a title he lost just 2 months later. Luger is a 2 time WCW champion and 5 time US champion.

In terms of the ECW environment, I think that favors Luger. Bulldog didn't have very many high profile matches in a hardcore type of environment. Luger has defeated Stan Hansen in a Texas Bullrope match, and the likes of Ric Flair and Barry Windham in cage matches. Neither has a ton of experience in that regard but Luger has defeated some big names in the non traditional environments.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I have to say that all the signs here point towards Luger. First off Flexy Lexy was always more over and successful as a heel, whereas Davey Boy's success was as a white meat babyface - in the reverse psychology World of ECW, this would mean Luger receiving the cheers which would throw the Bulldog of his game. Secondly (and more importantly), Luger's greatest run was his heel reign as WCW World Champion under the managerial services of Harley Race with a very close relationship from the Dangerous Alliance - run by a certain Paul E Dangerously... who ran ECW again?

 

[Shocky]

In the land of the Extreme all things are legal. Beware the flying forearm of doom from Luger!

In all seriousness, Luger should win, and win easily. Lex Luger just has the better overall body of work. Luger was a better mid card champion then the Bulldog. Luger's US title reign is still the longest in history I believe, while the Bulldog ended up being nothing more then a transitional IC champion between Hart and Michaels. Luger has a Royal Rumble win, the Bulldog has a Royal Rumble runner up. Let's not forget about big boy title runs, Luger > Bulldog and his zero world title reigns.

Luger was a bigger draw in both WCW and the WWF, Luger was the more successful of the two, and Luger was just flat out the better of the two. Vote the Lex Express.

 

[Theo Mays]

Both of these guys are pretty similar in my book. Both powerhouses with limited mic work and thrived off their physique. Luger however was given the chance to make it at the top and Bulldog never really got backing completely. Bulldog had the advantage that he could go in the ring much in his early days as he was just as good a technician as a power guy. This one is definitely tough and in terms of personal favorites I'd take Bulldog. While the argument of Luger having some experience in matches like this is valid, I'm pretty sure Bulldog had some matches back in the day of Stampede Wrestling that would fit the bill, plus being a graduate of the dungeon has to make you a tough SOB. It is tough for sure. Right now I'm leaning Luger as his work rate is better than Bulldog's, but it is definitely a close one.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Luger wasn't as good as Bulldog, but Bulldog wasn't that good. Bret carried him to one fantastic match, and that's it.

Besides, why should I believe Bulldog could pull this off? Luger has a loaded forearm, and he has beaten more big time guys than Bulldog ever did. I don't particularly care for either man, but even in an ECW Rules match, I think Luger has the edge. Luger had a mean streak, more so than I ever saw from Bulldog.

Luger wins.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Both these guys were powerhouses with great builds and tended to rely more towards power than technical finesse anyhow. All in all, on the surface, I think it looks pretty even.

Neither of these two are really known for being badass brawlers so I don't see one being more of a "specialist" in this sort of environment than the other.

I've never been a Lex Luger fan, I think the guy is massively overrated. A huge reason for his success, especially in the first few years of his career, was that he was surrounded by great talent. He was a member of the Four Horsemen for about a year and Arn, Tully & Ric were so damn good that he looked good by association. When left the Horsemen, he had feuds against guys that could carry him and make him look like a million bucks, like Ric Flair & Barry Windham. When he wasn't working with talent of that caliber, his limits were painfully clear. At the same time, I do have to say that Luger's accomplishments are more impressive. While I'm not a fan, it'd be hard not to acknowledge that Luger is possibly the best United States Champion in the history of the title. Like Jeff Jarrett, Luger is a guy that should've stuck to the mid-card scene in my book.

Davey Boy Smith was an overall better wrestler than Luger inside the ring but, at the end of the day, Smith's one truly shining moment came at SummerSlam '92 in front of over 80,000 fans when he wrestled Bret Hart for the IC title. It was a tremendous match and was the high point of Smith's career. He never had a bigger moment than that before and certainly didn't after. That was Smith's one moment of true greatness in my eyes.

At the end of the day, I have to go with Luger. As much as it pains me, I just can't vote against Luger in this particular match against this particular guy. He'll be battered, bruised & bloody when it's all said and done, but I think he'll also be victorious.

 

[The Brain]

If this match took place at SummerSlam 95 after their tag team break up like I wanted it would be Bulldog all the way. However, when I look at their carrers as a whole Luger is the better man. I've never been the biggest Luger fan, and his WWF run was a bust for the most part, but he was always a major player in WCW. Bulldog seems to be a forum favorite but take away SummerSlam 92 and what has he accomplished? He was a solid challenger but usually came up short in big matches. Davey Boy was definitely a great tag team wrestler but in this individual tournament Luger moves on.

 

[JJYanks121]

It's Luger. More accomplished as far as resume goes and has had far more big matches. Heck, he was a freakin Horseman! That's gotta tell you that he was pretty revered in his day.

Still, if it's even, Luger had that loaded forearm which is completely legal in an ECW match so even if Bulldog outwrestled him, Luger loads that thing up for the win.

Luger moves on.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Although Luger gets shit quite often for being lazy in the ring and a backstage problem, No one can argue the guys success. That's just something that not a lot of people can say they have with Davey Boy being one of them. Snith never reached the spot on the card that Luger had for almost his entire career. I can't see how anyone would be able to book Smith over Luger in any type of match.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm a bigger fan of the British Bulldog in general, but there's really no denying Lex Luger was the bigger superstar. Davey Boy's death may have added to the hype - and I'm not saying he didn't deserve it - but he never quite reached the level Luger was eventually pushed to.

There was a while, after Hogan left of course, that Lex Luger was THE guy in the WWF. They filled the missing "All-American" role left behind by Hulkamania with Luger and the Lex Express. Helicopters, giant body slams on naval bases, etc etc etc. Luger was the man, albeit for a short while, and that's just something the Bulldog can't claim. He was also very near the top in WCW for awhile as well, but in my opinion there's more bragging rights being able to say that Vince McMahon trusted you with the ball than Eric Bischoff. No offense meant in any direction.

All that considered, this is supposed to be a "match", right? Bulldog has the advantage in pure wrestling ability, but I think factoring in the No DQ style of ECW you have to give this to Luger. Anywhere else and it'd be anybody's game - under Exteme Rules "The Total Package" takes the match.

Sorry Bulldog, better luck next year!

 

[Johnny Scumm]

If this was the original Davey Boy Smith, the "Dynamite Kid", he'd have run away with this. But Bulldog was nowhere near as good as Dynamite, so I know who I'm gunning for here.

Luger. He's more accomplished than Davye & not to mention this isn't a Tag match, but a singles match. It's gotta go one way for me, especially under ECW Rules;

JS votes Lex Luger

 

[NSL]

Man, I loathe Luger. He never once entertained me, and I couldn't stand listening to him on the mic. I'm not saying Bulldog was any better on the mic, but he was infinitely better in the ring. He was more technical, just as powerful, and faster. This match would be about brute force.

With both men armed with the same weapons, I'd give Bulldog the edge every day. Someone mentioned ECW's backward philosophy about the heel getting cheers. That may be true, but if you were shit, they let you know, no matter what "side" you were on. Luger would get run out of town by the crowd, and by Bulldog.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I may like Bulldog more than Luger. May being the important word here because I do not care much for either guy. As far as the environment goes, Davey has won a Hardcore Championship against Crash Holly, and lost to the same guy as well while Luger has gone toe to toe with Bruiser Brody in a Cage match and defeated Stan Hansen in a Texas Bullrope match. Those are two legends right there which makes Luger the clear winner here. Luger also has more kayfabe accomplishments than Davey too. If this was some sort of amateur wrestling match, then maybe Davey would have stood a chance, but in any other environment, including the hardcore environment, I do not think Davey stands a chance against Luger.

 

[peterpib2]

Bulldog was a great technical wrestler and had colossal strength. He can pull out innovative moves and pins, (like he did to Bret Hart at Summerslam '92), for the win.

Also being trained in the Hart Dungeon would help a lot since good old Stu would stretch the guys so hard! Davey has built his immunity I think. Davey wins.

 

[IHW]

This is a close one for me. . . but i got to say Lugar would win simply because of the loaded forearm and the ECW rules! Not much I can say other than that.

 

[pumpkinking8987]

The stats all point to Luger but, i just dont think he would win. If Davey was American he probably would have gotten as big a push as Luger. Smith is just as built, he is hands down a better in ring worker. In a one-on-one match up under ECW rules i would go with the Bulldog.

 

[ShreddedWheat]

The Allied Powers dissolve! I'm surprised no one has mentioned that the Bulldog is a former WWF two-time Hardcore Champion. Granted, that combined title reign was for a grand total of coughthree dayscough but if I'm not mistaken, that's still three days more than Luger in any sort of hardcore division. Sure, Lex has the loaded forearm, but after a career of trying to be sneaky about it, too honorable to use it, or getting disqualified when he did, it's not pre-programmed in his head to immediately go for it, and Bulldog takes the win in a minor upset.

 

[Tastycles]

Both of these guys could be exciting in the ring, albeit in slightly different ways, despite neither of them being blessed with the good fortune of charisma. Luger tends to get a bum deal in these tournaments, despite having been a big deal in the early 90s. I guess it's because nobody ever put all their eggs into his basket. They did put some eggs in there though, which can't be said for Bulldog. It wouldn't be a travesty if he won, but based on who is the better career, you have to give it to the man who actually won the big one.

 

[Jaffa]

Luger by a thread (no pun intended) just because he is that little bit bigger and that little bit stronger

 

[ErictheEnt]

I highly respect the British Bulldog and even really enjoyed him for a while. Still, he never convinced one of the big companies to put the World Title on him. Luger had it and WCW pushed him to the moon and back. He racked and beat so many awesome wrestlers (whether I agree with those decisions or not is irrelevant). You also have to give him credit as the only man I ever saw make Bret Hart submit. ... to a torture rack on Monday Nitro. No joke.

 

[Bernkastel]

Jesus, the war of the powerhouses right here. And under Extreme Rules no less. These two would beat the fuck out of each other.

Personally I can't stand Luger, but i'm going with him on this simply because he was a bigger star than Bulldog was. He would have easily been booked to win a match like this.

Interesting enough thse two were a tag team for a while; I could so see Davey Boy being tossed through a window ala Marty Jannety.

 

[stblink]

A crazy beat em up match where two powerhouses battle, but Davey Boy would over come Lugar's power and squeak out a victory

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Davey Boy has become one of the more overrated wrestlers in history due to his early death and his ties to the beloved Hart family. Was he a better in-ring worker than Luger? Sure, but not by that much. Davey for most of his career as a singles wrestler was stiff and somewhat strained, agility-wise. For some reason, people associate Bulldog's agility as always being as good as it was when he first broke into the WWF with Dynamite. He was good, not great in the ring, and he was never a Main Event guy.

Lex was. That's the difference.