WCW Region, Phoenix Subregion, First Round: (7) Eddie Guerrero vs. (26) Gene Kiniski

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round match in the International Region, Los Angeles Subregion. It is a standard one on one match held under WCW Rules. It will be held at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

#7. Eddie Guerrero

Vs.

#26. Gene Kiniski

​

Polls will be open for four 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]

I'll take a stab at this one since no one else has. Eddie is ranked way too high and he's going to pay for it here. Gene Kiniski was a multiple time world champion comparable to big names like Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Jack Brisco, Bob Backlund, Bruno Sammartino, Dick the Bruiser, and Harley Race. Eddie on the other hand was mostly a midcarder until he broke the glass ceiling close to his death.

Kiniski was regarded as the best pure athlete to ever come of of Canada [cry me a river Bret Hart.] And his list of accolades and achievements stomps Eddie's. And Kiniski was a heel during his heyday, so the "lying/cheating/stealing" mantra wouldn't work here.

It's obvious that Kiniski would win. He was far more dominant for longer than Eddie. He had more meaningful title reigns than Eddie. He was a bigger deal than Eddie. He was a better wrestler than Eddie.

Vote "Canada's Greatest Athlete" Gene Kiniski.

 

[The Brain]

I told myself I'm going to try to not put as much stock into long title reigns from the 50s-70s as I used to. The wrestling world was a different place back then and it's not really fair to just compare dates of title reigns. With that said I'm still going with Kiniski here. Not just because he had a three year NWA title reign (which he beat Lou Thesz for) but because he was just a bigger deal than Eddie Guerrero was. Eddie got a brief reign as a feel good moment but he was never the main guy on the roster. I loved Guerrero but he was better in the mid card role than the main event spot. Kiniski was a main event guy. I expect Guerrero to win this since the internet fans love him so much but my vote goes to Kiniski.

 

[Tastycles]

Kiniski was consistently a top level guy in a time when it was very difficult to be a top level guy. Guerrero was a flash in the pan at the top level, getting his chance in WWE's year of experimentation - other new champions that year included JBL, Chris Benoit and a 24 year old Randy Orton. Guerrero was forever popular, and he certainly had a lot of fans, but when push comes to shove, he was simply not in the same league as Kiniski.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Man this is closer than it should be.

I like Eddie as much as the next guy...well at least I think I do, he does have a lot of fans in the IWC. Gene Kiniski was Canada's greatest athlete. Suck it Gretzky. He also had a career that spanned a few weeks over forty years. No disrespect to Eddie, but when your career span is longer than your opponents life span, you win out.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

As much as I love Eddie I can't in good conscious vote for him against Canada's Greatest Athlete. Because he was my dad's favorite I grew up watching Gene Kiniski matches and truth be tod he was a much bigger deal and a much bigger star than Eddie was. He's a former world champion, I believe he ended Thesz's final NWA title reign and was a strong champ at a time where being the champ meant you were the top guy, I don't think Eddie can ever lay claim to being the top guy and although he flirted with the main event I wouldn't call him a main eventer.

I have more ties with Eddie because he was from the era I grew up in but he isn't getting past Gene Kiniski.

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

Kiniski was a top tier guy during his time period, Eddie was only a top tier guy for a couple years. It really isn't that close.

Winner- Kiniski with a devastating backbreaker and clean victory

 

[nightmare]

I really do like Eddie because he was great to watch in WCW & some of what he did in WWE will always stick with me. Problem is he really never was 'the' guy even when he had a belt. Entertaining? Sure. Eddie is up against someone who was a pretty big deal. Kiniski had some great title runs & was one of the first heel champions that stood out. The man just was better in the ring than Eddie was. If this was a promo or backstage skit competition- Guerrero takes it by a landslide. Unfortunately this is a matched based tournament & Kiniski has this one.


Kiniski on to the second round.

 

[HBsam31]

Kiniski was a big deal his whole career, and honestly Eddie was only the top guy for a very little while. I have always thought Eddie was overrated and he is definitely ranked to high here. Kiniski to the second round.

 

[deem]

I'm on board with everyone. Kiniski should cruise through this one. Eddie's kayfabe prime was getting dominated by Lesnar and Angle in back-to-back PPV's and pulling out wins vs both. He showcased his resiliance vs Lesnar before getting the opportunistic assist by Goldberg. Vs Angle, his intelligence won through in creating an chance to seize the upset against the dominance of his opponent. The theme here? Eddie became exposed when facing top level competition (he also lost clean to Batista in late-2005), yet was able to creatively come up with ways to win.

Kiniski is undoubtedly a top level star. As kayfabe tough as prime-Brock and Angle? I'm not sure, certainly comparable. So it's whether you can convince yourself that Eddie will be able to create an opportunity like he did Vs Angle to get an upset - the majority of the time. That's what you need to be able to say to vote Eddie, not that he COULD beat Kiniski, but that he is likely to.

Kiniski is genuinely up there with the biggest stars of his era. Not many fueded with Thesz, Sammartino AND Gagne at various stages, a force in every federation he entered. Against Thesz, not only did he take the NWA title from him, he also beat him in multiple rematches.. sure, Thesz was aging at the time.. but an all time great at 50 is still a force, just look at Undertaker. He's also 4-0 lifetime vs Inoki for what its worth.

Kiniski is an all time great - his record could be slightly better vs the absolutely top echelon and his run will end at some point, but I don't think Eddie is quite good enough for what we saw of his prime.

 

[Milkyway!]

Eddie is why I initially started liking professional wrestling. His lies, his cheats, his steal. His mexican heat. He's "I'm your papi" feud with Rey Mysterio. Everything about it made me simply fall in love with the guy.

He was entertaining, always got a great pop from the crowd, could play both heel/face, and I simply loved the guy.

Vote: Eddie. Why? Nostalgia.