WCW Region, Chicago Region, First Round: (16) Booker T vs. (17) Christian

[Big Sexy]

Christian.Based off in-talent, Christian. Based off entertainment factor, Christian; or do some people actually find Booker T, "entertaining"?

You may not find Booker entertaining but many others do. Christian may be a better in ring competitor but Booker isn't exactly shit. Go watch his best of 7 series in WCW with Chris Benoit. The stuff Booker did with Goldust is more entertaining then anything Christian ever did. Booker's stuff with Stone Cold was classic entertainment as well.

While in TNA at the same time, Christian had more success, although yes I do realise he'd achieved most of it before Booker arrived, but the same argument stands, Booker achieved damn near nothing in TNA. Based off draw factor, I argue that Christian has drawn more.

Christian was in TNA during the prime of his career, while Booker was in TNA during his mid 40's and the twilight of his career. They also met one on one in TNA and you know who came out on top? Booker. Like I said in my previous post, Booker was 9-2-1 in his career vs Christian in one on one matches.

While WCW was going down the shitter, who was in the most talked about tag team of that time? Christian. While Booker T was being a transitional WCW Champion in a promotion that at that time had few names to give the belt and advance from the gutter,

It's kind of hard to be a "transitional" 4 time world champion (his 5th WCW title reign came in WWE). And is your argument really that while Booker was a main eventer, Christian was in a popular tag team? That's what your going with? How about when Booker came to the WWE and even though he basically had to start over once the Invasion angle ended, he still made it to the top faster then Christian who had been in the WWE for a few years at that point.

who was a part of one of the most entertaining and memorable matches of all time at Summerslam 2000? That's right, Christian.

You mean a tag team match that involved 5 other people? I'm not finding the relevance.

Sure, Booker T has had a couple stints as a Main Eventer in WWE, but while he was being pushed down the card, Christian was either holding the IC Championship, in the midst of a couple good feuds, becoming at one point one of the most entertaining characters in the WWE around the time of him labelling himself "Captain Charisma" and then leaving to TNA where he went like a year unbeaten without being pinned or submitted. Yeah, pretty impressive.

Booker was never lower then Christian at any point in the WWE. After his tag team stint with Goldust, Booker was always in the upper mid card and making appearances in the main event. Booker was a 3 time US champion and a 1 time IC champion in WWE. Christian was a 3 time IC champion. Christian won the world title twice for a total of 30 days, while Booker's world championship reign lasted 126 days. You talk about Christian being almost unbeatable in TNA? According to profightdb, Booker had a better winning % in TNA then Christian did.

Booker T has a good list of achievements himself. But in a wrestling match, especially in an environment where Christian would excel and Booker has little history in, Christian takes this in comfortable fashion. Need some examples of how good Christian is in hardcore matches, just look through his time in TNA and then proceed to watch his match with Randy Orton from Summerslam last year that in a majority of minds stole the show. You won't need to debate this topic any further.

You mean that match where Christian lost to Randy Orton? Yea, that's really going to win him a lot of votes here. And people who think Booker doesn't have much experience in hardcore matches are dead wrong. Don't forget that Booker was a main eventer in WCW's last couple years where almost every match had a gimmick.

Booker was in cage matches, a boot camp match, an ambulance match, a San Francisco 49er Box match (look it up). He has defeated guys like Jeff Jarrett, Mike Awesome (ECW original), and Kevin Nash in those matches. In the WWE he holds a first blood match victory over Steve Austin, steel cage and no dq victories over Big Show, an extreme rules victory over RVD, falls count anywhere victory over Kane, and he has been involved in plenty of other hardcore type matches as well.

Booker is the bigger star, he has had more success in the industry, and he has had plenty of hardcore experience and defeated some big names in those types of matches. People are putting way too much stock in Christian because it's in the ECW region. Booker T wins and moves his record to 10-2-1 over Christian.

 

[Silly Willy Nilly Vanilly in the Milly]

Wow, best one I've seen so far.
Very close, but when it comes to ECW rules...
Christian takes this one home.
Get a ladder, table, and chair, Booker will be done.
5 TIMES! 5 TIMES! 5 TIMES!
How about 9 Tag Titles, 23rd Triple Crown, and 11th Grand Slam.
Killswitch... ENGAGE!

 

[¡Roján!]

Booker T is about as clever as a toothbrush, and I believe that to overcome Christian in an Extreme Rules match, he'd need a fair amount of intelligence and cunningness to counter Christian's experience in the circumstances that he just doesn't have. All Christian would need to do is try and make the match as quick paced as possible and introduce a ladder and it's over. And, if all of Christian's gimmick matches are to be taken into consideration, that's likely going to happen.

 

[Big Sexy]

For all of you voting Christian because of the ECW environment I'd like to see you comprise a list of the best superstars he has beaten in one on one hardcore/gimmick matches. Fuck I can just make the list for you. The top guys he has beaten in those matches are Samoa Joe, Abyss, Kurt Angle, and Alberto Del Rio. That's the best he has to offer and three of those victories came in TNA. Booker's list includes RVD, Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Steve Austin, Big Show, and Kane. Advantage Booker.

And for those of you discounting Booker's main event status in WCW because the company was in its "dying days" then I hope you discount every single main event guy that has ever been in TNA because even when WCW was in its free fall, it still put up better ratings then TNA ever has.

 

[Ming]

This is close but I'm leaning towards Booker based off the record they have against each other and if you compare their times as World Heavyweight Champion in WWE it's quite easily in Booker's favour, I understand that Christian had one of the better feuds of the past decade against Orton but Booker was dominant. From kayfabe sense that's a lot more important.

The only thing Christian has going for him against Booker is that he was in a better tag team. Not that it matters here but it helped that Christian was paired with one of the greats in Edge while Booker was paired with Goldust, a career-long jobber. Anybody's welcome to convince me otherwise but I'm likely to vote Booker if not.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Booker T is about as clever as a toothbrush, and I believe that to overcome Christian in an Extreme Rules match, he'd need a fair amount of intelligence and cunningness to counter Christian's experience in the circumstances that he just doesn't have. All Christian would need to do is try and make the match as quick paced as possible and introduce a ladder and it's over. And, if all of Christian's gimmick matches are to be taken into consideration, that's likely going to happen.

The Book was no slouch in his prime Rojan. As I mentioned earlier, one of his key strengths was the spring and power in his legs, so if Christian were to go with a quick pace, it wouldn't be as if Booker couldn't keep up with him. Like Big Sexy has noted before, Booker has a great record over Christian, so the question is whether Christian could keep up with Booker and avoid those big ol' legs of his.

 

[CrissSpades]

This one is a close one. Booker is great, and unorthadox in the ring. Christian is very ring savvy, and can give a good match, no matter who its against, or what KIND of match it is. In the end, I do pick Christian, he has the stronger will, and even though Christian is no 5-Time WCW Champion, he is a 9 time Tag Champ, and a 2 time World Heavyweight Champ. Something Booker T, isn't.

 

[Big Sexy]

The only thing Christian has going for him against Booker is that he was in a better tag team. Not that it matters here but it helped that Christian was paired with one of the greats in Edge while Booker was paired with Goldust, a career-long jobber. Anybody's welcome to convince me otherwise but I'm likely to vote Booker if not.

Not that tag team wrestling has anything to do with this tournament but don't forget that Booker was a 10 time tag champion in WCW with his brother Stevie Ray as Harlem Heat. Harlem Heat was the most successful tag team in WCW history.

 

[Big Sexy]

This one is a close one. Booker is great, and unorthadox in the ring. Christian is very ring savvy, and can give a good match, no matter who its against, or what KIND of match it is. In the end, I do pick Christian, he has the stronger will, and even though Christian is no 5-Time WCW Champion, he is a 9 time Tag Champ, and a 2 time World Heavyweight Champ. Something Booker T, isn't.

Yea Booker was too busy doing all of this:

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
TNA Legends Championship (1 time, First)[134]
TNA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scott Steiner[134]

World Championship Wrestling
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[135]
WCW World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[136]
WCW World Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Stevie Ray[137]
WCW World Television Championship (6 times)[138]
Ninth Triple Crown Champion

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment
WCW Championship (1 time)1[136]
WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time)2 – with Test[137]
World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[139]
WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)[140]
WWE United States Championship (3 times)[135]
WWF Hardcore Championship (2 times)[141]
WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Test (1), Goldust (1), and Rob Van Dam (1)[32]
King of the Ring (2006)
Sixteenth Triple Crown Champion
Eighth Grand Slam Champion

You don't want to get into a "who has more accomplishments" match because Booker will win every time. I'd also like to pint out that Christians 2 World title reigns in WWE lasted a total of 30 days while Booker's 1 reign lasted 126 days. And of course Booker's 5 WCW titles easily trumps Christians 2 NWA titles in TNA.

 

[Big Sexy]

According to KB this match up was placed in the wrong region by accident. This match is now where it was supposed to be, in the WCW region.

And now I don't see how anyone could give Christian the advantage. Even in the hardcore environment this match favored Booker but with it now being in WCW I don't see how Christian would win. As I've pointed out, Booker was the more accomplished of the two superstars and spent longer as a main event talent. He is a 5 time WCW champion and this match is his to lose now.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

It's nothing against Christian, but Booker T has pretty much had his number for the better part of both men's careers. They faced off so many times between 2002-2005 I've pretty much lost count. Then they both went to TNA and did it again! But every single time Christian won/retained, with very few exceptions, it was by DQ, countout, or by cheating. Booker T walked away with several victories over Christian, in singles, tag team, and multi-man matches.

Add in the extreme stipulation and Christian probably has the advantage, but most of Christian's hardcore work was with Edge by his side. Not all, mind you, but most.

I still think you have to give this one to Booker T. He's beaten better guys than Christian. He's also just plain beaten Christian too many times to think it could go the other way.

EDIT: With ECW rules out of the picture, there's no way Christian beats Booker T. Especially not in WCW.

 

[#hamler]

According to KB this match up was placed in the wrong region by accident. This match is now where it was supposed to be, in the WCW region.

And now I don't see how anyone could give Christian the advantage. Even in the hardcore environment this match favored Booker but with it now being in WCW I don't see how Christian would win. As I've pointed out, Booker was the more accomplished of the two superstars and spent longer as a main event talent. He is a 5 time WCW champion and this match is his to lose now.

Yup, I'm officially voting for Booker T now. Taking out the Extreme Rules of ECW, Christian doesn't stand a chance against Booker T. It's been listed above, Booker T's accomplishments within the wrestling business absolutely destroys Christian's accomplishments. Booker has beaten bigger names that Christian can only dream of defeating. Booker wins in a hard fought match up.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Even before it was placed in the WCW Region, you had to go with Booker. Now that its in WCW, there's no question.

Christian would have been a great talent in WCW, like a big man facing the awesome cruiserweights. But he would have been stuck perpetually in the midcard, maybe even worse considering the crappy gimmicks he started his career with.

Booker T makes short work of Christian.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm assuming I'm not having some sort of hallucination or computer malfunctions. So, what's with all this stuff about a hardcore match???? This is the WCW Region and according to Tastycles' original post, this is "a standard one on one match."

As to the match itself, this one is extremely even in my eyes. In terms of overall athletic ability, they're both pretty even. Booker has somewhat of an advantage in terms of size & strength while Christian has somewhat of an advantage in speed & agility. Both of them are multiple time World Champions, both have held numerous mid-card titles and numerous tag title runs. I don't think comparing accomplishments is going to do much here as, all in all, they're both pretty even. If anything, I might give a slight advantage to Christian here because his runs with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship while he was in TNA have been far more impressive than any of Booker T's World Championship runs. By the time he got the title in WCW, the company was circling the drain and went under while he was champ. In WWE, it was hard to take him seriously as "King Booker", which did dog his final run as a World Champion even though it lasted a good length of time.

I could see this match going either way and I can't really blame anyone for voting for either guy. For me, I'm going with Christian mostly because I just enjoy him more. I like watching him in the ring more and listening to him cut promos. I think Christian is someone that's been underrated throughout much of his career. It'd be a close, close match with a lot of great near falls. I ultimately see Christian managing to counter Booker's attempt at a Book End, AKA Rock Bottom, and switching it around for the Kill Switch for the win at the 20 minute mark.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm assuming I'm not having some sort of hallucination or computer malfunctions. So, what's with all this stuff about a hardcore match???? This is the WCW Region and according to Tastycles' original post, this is "a standard one on one match."

KB made a mistake with the regions, and this match was originally placed in the ECW location. Given Christian's experience in those matches, it did give him a slight edge, but not really enough of one to win, in my opinion. Now that the bout is back where it belongs, I just don't think Christian has any chance of pulling out the upset in Booker T's "home field" of WCW.

 

[.]

Christian has my pick to win but this is a genuinely unpredictable match that could go either way.

Booker and Christian have feuded before but the feuds have never been one sided. The match does take place in WCW but I could easily see an upset.

Both men have similar careers with both of them holding World titles multiple times but having somewhat limited main event success in the WWE. This match would go back and fourth with both men exchanging near falls but ultimately Christian would pull out the win after hitting the killswitch after 10-15 minutes.

 

[Big Sexy]

Booker and Christian have feuded before but the feuds have never been one sided. The match does take place in WCW but I could easily see an upset

Actually it is completely one sided. Booker T and Christian have had 12 one on one encounters throughout their careers and Booker has a 9-2-1 record in those match ups. TNA is supposed to be the one promotion where Christian was better then Booker but in their one meeting in TNA at Turning Point 2008, Booker got the clean pin fall victory even though he was the heel.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

One thing I want to raise about Christian's finisher is that it takes some awkward maneuvering to get his opponent into the optimum position for it. The turning motion Christian does to get the opponent's head in the right position is very similar to what Booker used to do when he'd have his opponent in what I think was a wrist-lock before delivering a back-kick to the stomach, thus setting up his scissor-kick maneuvre.

So yes, Christian could reverse the book-end/rock bottom to the killswitch, but what's stopping Booker reversing that? Again, beware Booker's leg/kicking arsenal. That's why I believe he has the edge over Christian.

 

[¡Roján!]

Let's not forget that Christian has a second finisher he can hit out of anywhere he wants in the spear. Christian is cleverer than Booker, a second ultimate opportunist if you will and despite this being in WCW, there's no doubt that Booker was hardly considered a main-eventer whilst he was there. It'd be a close match, but Christian's intelligence and overall wherewithall in what's going on in the ring will push him through this one.

Vote Christian, and help the homeless.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Let's not forget that Christian has a second finisher he can hit out of anywhere he wants in the spear. Christian is cleverer than Booker, a second ultimate opportunist if you will and despite this being in WCW, there's no doubt that Booker was hardly considered a main-eventer whilst he was there. It'd be a close match, but Christian's intelligence and overall wherewithall in what's going on in the ring will push him through this one.

Vote Christian, and help the homeless.

He won the WHC 5 times while he was in WCW, which is a main-event title. If he had done a Ziggler and only had it handed to him for 10 minutes or so then I'd agree, but he repeatedly won the title.

Out of interest, where's the 'Christian is more intelligent' coming from? If it's from his win over Orton at Money in the Bank, remember this is just a straight-forward one on one match with no other stipulations. That was Christian's only win over Orton in the series, due to a stipulation, not through pinning or making Orton submit. I'm not saying Booker's a genius or anything, but he's on home turf and a savvy ring veteran against a guy who, in his prime, has a poor winning record.

 

[Davi323]

I am going to go with Booker T in this one. I was leaning towards Christian while it was still in the ECW region because of his experience with foreign objects, but in the WCW region, it's hard to come up with a logical reason to still lean towards Christian. I would then have to explain Booker T's record against Christian. Head to head, Booker T has dominated him. This is the WCW region, and Booker T enjoyed a lot of success in WCW. This is his home turf.

 

[Alex]

I don't see being in WCW being much of an advantage for Booker T. Christian pretty much walked straight into the main event in TNA and became the NWA World Champion.

For those saying Christian wouldn't have time to hit the Killswitch/Unprettier he has more than one finisher he can use. As ¡Roján! said he's got the spear but he's also got the frog splash so he's got plenty of moves he can use on Booker.

 

[Big Sexy]

I don't see being in WCW being much of an advantage for Booker T. Christian pretty much walked straight into the main event in TNA and became the NWA World Champion.

When exactly did TNA become WCW? I'm glad Christian had success in TNA but the fact remains he was never in WCW. Booker T was a main eventer and 5 time WCW champion (4 reigns in WCW, 1 in WWE during the Invasion). TNA even at its highest point has never had better ratings then WCW did when it was at its lowest.

There's also one major fact that no Christian supporter can overcome. Booker T is 9-2-1 against Christian in singles matches. Even in TNA when Booker T was in his mid 40s and in the twilight of his career, he beat a prime Christian clean.

 

[Silly Willy Nilly Vanilly in the Milly]

Well, now that this match has entered WCW...
Advantage Booker, who had a great run with the company.
5 Time WCW and 1 Time WWE > 2 Time NWA and 2 Time WWE

 

[Alex]

When exactly did TNA become WCW? I'm glad Christian had success in TNA but the fact remains he was never in WCW. Booker T was a main eventer and 5 time WCW champion (4 reigns in WCW, 1 in WWE during the Invasion). TNA even at its highest point has never had better ratings then WCW did when it was at its lowest.

My point was he walked into a new company and became the world champion, by beating the founder of the company no less.

There's also one major fact that no Christian supporter can overcome. Booker T is 9-2-1 against Christian in singles matches. Even in TNA when Booker T was in his mid 40s and in the twilight of his career, he beat a prime Christian clean.

Yes Booker's beaten Christian more times than Christian's beaten Booker, but that still means Christian can win. Just because you've scored ten goals in a row doesn't mean you can do eleven