This match pits one of my favorite wrestlers of all-time against one of the wrestlers that I hate more than any other. It's the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla against the Excellence of Execution, Chris Jericho against Bret Hart. I've promised TM that I would judge this fairly and be unbiased, thus I am going to examine all aspects of professional wrestling: accomplishments, physical attributes, etc.
Physical Attributes
This is the most straightforward category of all things I'm judging by. I'm a firm believer that physical strength, speed, stamina, etc. is a deciding factor in a match. After all, in the WWE, commentators, and by commentators I mean Vince yelling in their ears, heavily push physicality. They emphasize Cena's strength, Mysterio's speed, and Show's size. Thus, in deciding the victor of a match, I will do the same. Bret Hart is billed at 6'1 and 234 lbs. and slightly larger than the 5'11, 225 lb. Chris Jericho. With both in their physical primes, I'd say they were both in top physical condition. They're built very similarly and it's hard to say who has a strength advantage. I think it's a push. Neither man's size will be a deterrent to the other, meaning both mean will be able to utilize their entire moveset.
I have to give speed and agility to Chris Jericho. He worked a faster paced style and did much more to show off his agility, things such as the Lionsault. Bret Hart, no doubt, is fast and agile, but his style of wrestling was a much slower style than Jericho's. Not to say there is anything wrong with it, but from my experience, I haven't seen anything from the Hitman, other than the great shape he was in, to evidence any extraordinary speed or agility.
I'd say that Hart has a small edge in toughness, locking horns with Stone Cold at WrestleMania 13 proving that. Chris Jericho is, without a doubt, tough. He's won hard fought battles against The Rock and other hard hitters and he's been involved in his fair share of hardcore matches. I'm still giving an edge to the Hitman. After all, if my brother pee'd in my mouth in the shower, I'd be tough too. Neither man, to my knowledge, has had any major injuries to date, therefore durability won't factor into this match.
I'll address stamina in the next category. I don't think I've missed any physical qualities. I don't think either man holds the edge here. Chris Jericho and Bret Hart are as close to equals physically as you could find.
Previous Match
Chris Jericho just overcame The Whole Fuckin Show, Rob Van Dam. He's a wild one, and Jericho would have had trouble with his unorthodox offense. The kicks to the legs would surely slow Chris Jericho down and give Bret Hart a point to work from. Chris Jericho is also sure to be dizzied; two or three roundhouse kicks to the back of the head will have certainly taken a toll. You can also make bet that a frog splash came into play. Jericho could be winded still.
On the other side of the ring, you have Bret Hart coming off a victory against The Great One. The Rock uses moves like the Spinebuster, Samoan Drop, Scoop Slam, Snap Overhead Belly to Belly Suplex and the DDT to wear his opponent down. Every one of those moves is high-impact, most driving the back into the mat and wearing down the body as a whole. If you couple that with The Rock Bottom and People's Elbow, then Bret Hart is going to have a sore lower back, which plays right in to Jericho's hands (Walls), and be fairly drained in general. If you've ever seen The Rock wrestle, you would know that he is nigh impossible to put away. Bret Hart would have had to go for an extended period of time, exerting a high level of energy.
It's not debatable; The Rock is a harder opponent to face than Rob Van Dam. Bret Hart had a tougher match up and is going into this match more worn down than Chris Jericho. It isn't that Bret Hart isn't going to be capable of wrestling, but he's not going to be capable of wrestling at his highest level. Then again, Bret Hart on his worst day is still better than most.
Style of Wrestling
Bret Hart, as has been mentioned in every one of his matches thus far, is an outstanding technical wrestler. That has been enough to carry him to this point. Bret Hart is good at wearing down a wrestler and targeting weaknesses, then finishing up the match with a sharpshooter. Conversely, Chris Jericho does a lot of the same. He works the back and sets up for the Walls of Jericho. I see a lot of Bret Hart in Chris Jericho. To be honest though, I'm not one of those that takes the style of wrestling into account. To me, it doesn't matter if you brawl, fly, ground and pound, mat-wrestle, or whatever as long as you are effective in doing so and win matches. For the sake of argument, though, I'd say that Bret Hart is the better technical wrestler and brawler, but Jericho is more versatile, has a larger moveset, and is the jack of all trades.
Finishers
Bret Hart's two most commonly used finishers are the Piledriver and the Sharpshooter. Hart is world renowned for his use and perfection of the Sharpshooter. You'd say that the greatest names in the business fell to it, but as I think about it, did they? The most notable name to fall to the Sharpshooter, I believe, was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Of course, that was a Steve Austin that was just getting ready to come into his prime and passing out in the Sharpshooter was one of the last stepping stones on the path to greatness. Others such as Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Papa Shango, Mr. Perfect, and an over the hill Bob Backlund. I'm really trying to be impartial here, but for someone who is said to have put down the best with the Sharpshooter, his list of victims doesn't jump out at you. As for the piledriver, well... it wasn't really anything. I'm going to declare it fair to say that The Walls of Jericho is on an equal level as the Sharpshooter. Chris Jericho's Codebreaker put's Hart's Piledriver to shame, though. It's unpredictable, can be pulled in the most desperate of situations, and could knock an opponent out whenever hit. It's a truly dangerous move. Chris Jericho has the advantage when it comes to finishers.
Experience
In every sport, experience comes in to play. The Magic were whooping boys for the Lakers in the finals this year. I believe the Magic were more talented. The only problem was lack of experience. Bret Hart had a longer career than Chris Jericho. Does it make a difference in this match? Not the slightest amount. Both men have been here. They've wrestled more than one match a night and been successful. They know the ins and outs of the ring and could navigate it blindfolded. They are both great with counters and not giving opponents openings and neither often make mistakes. This is another push.
Accomplishments
If I'm going to examine most aspects of professional wrestling, I
cannot exclude accomplishments. Chris Jericho is officially a five-time world champion. (2x WCW Champion, WWE Undisputed Champion, and a 2x WHC) He also pinned Triple H for the WWE Championship, but the decision was reversed weeks later and the reign is not recognized. Chris Jericho is the greatest Intercontinental Champion (Though TM would argue for Santino.
) of all-time, being the current and nine-time holder of the belt. He's had multiple tag-team championships and other mid-card belts along with a cruiserweight title or two. Bret Hart has similar accomplishments, winning five world championships in the WWF and two in WCW, also with an array of lower-card belts.
Both wrestlers are very decorated, one already a Hall of Famer and another an essential lock. By the time Chris Jericho is ready to hang them up, they'll likely be arm and arm when it comes to world titles. Jericho has more misc. belts, but they are easier to come by now. This is developing into a very close match as I'm calling this one a push as well.
Miscellanious: Mic Skills, Ring-Work, Entertainment Value
Bret Hart may well be the greatest in ring worker of all time. He was a master of ring psychology and storytelling and took spectacular care of his opponent, supposedly never injuring another man within the squared circle. In this aspect, Chris Jericho is far and above the level of the average wrestler. That being said, he can't compare to Bret Hart.
Outside of the ring, Bret Hart is very bland. He's never been able to capture my attention on the mic and I feel he lacks charisma. Then you have Chris Jericho, the man that has crafted two of the most entertaining feuds of the last two years, has been able to reinvent his character completely, always is entertaining on the stick and makes the fans care about him one way or the other. The ways Chris Jericho finds to stay over with the crowd are outstanding. He's one of the most versatile superstars in the history of this great business.
Summary
Chris Jericho and Bret Hart are physically as similar as you can find. Bret has an ever so small strength advantage and gives up an ounce in speed and quickness. Both men are well versed in multiple styles of wrestling and can adapt to most every situation. They're very decorated and have had illustrious careers that I would have cut my own dick off to have. (Well, maybe.) Both can put on incredible matches. This is one of the hardest matches for me to vote for in this tournament.
My Vote
While I'll give you that Bret Hart has more 5-star matches to his name, a technical master (where as Chris is the jack of all trades and the master of none), one of the greatest of all time, and a superstar I've gained a new sense of appreciation for, I still give this match to Chris Jericho. Trust me, this was one of the hardest to call yet. I just think that a fresher Jericho will be able to take advantage of Hart's sure to be worked over back will secure the win. On top of that, he's been the wrestler that has entertained me more than any other wrestler has and that locked in my vote.
I'd encourage you to vote for Chris Jericho, but will not condemn a vote for Bret Hart.
Edit: Formatting errors.
