DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - SummerSlam Predictions & 'Greatest Wrestler Ever' Poll Results
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 at 8:15 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #97

Welcome one and all to the 97th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling. Just 3 more weeks until #100!!!

This will be a longer than usual column today, so let's get straight into it.....


APPETIZERS

SummerSlam Predictions

BILLY KIDMAN, PAUL LONDON & REY MYSTERIO vs BUH-BUH RAY, D-VON & SPIKE DUDLEY: In what should be the obvious opener for the night, this could really be a great match with a good mix of everything. I'm really hoping that the bout gets more than 10 minutes & each competitor is given every opportunity to show their strengths to entertain the crowd. I've really liked the way the WWE have carefully handled the Kidman/London vs Dudleyz feud, while the Spike & Rey feud has started off nicely. If we can kick things off with an 8 out of 10 match here (and it has the potential to be), this could be a great show. Winner: Kidman, London & Mysterio

MATT HARDY vs KANE in a 'Till Death Do Us Part Match': If this was going to be the final match of this feud, then I wouldn't have too much trouble with both this match & the way it has been built up. But we know that in some way or another, we are going to get more of this. With Kane looking like he will take on HBK upon his return, I'm almost hoping that Matt loses, gets injured & has a couple of months off. It's the only way us fans will get a respite. Yes, we would lose Matt in the process, but he needs to hit the 'restart' key on his V1 program anyway!!! I can't see this match being any better than the one at Vengeance, whatever role Lita plays in it. As for the winner, it will be definitely be storyline driven (& I still am not 100% sure what plans the WWE have), but I just can't see Matt defeating Kane at 2 ppv's in a row. Winner: Kane

BOOKER T vs JOHN CENA for the United States Title: While I am not expecting anywhere near the quality of the Benoit vs Booker WCW series from these two, I do like the idea of having a best of 5 series. I think these 2 do have the ability to mix well inside the ring, and both of them get a good reaction from crowds. In fact, this may be exactly what Booker needs to get the heel heat that could elevate him to main event status towards the end of the year. The result of this match is basically inconsequential, as there are 4 matches in the series left. My guess though, is that the eventual winner will go 1-0 up & then 2-1 down before taking the final 2 matches. I think Cena is about 2 months away from challenging JBL, so for me, it's Booker T to win the series & also this match. Winner: Booker T

EDGE vs BATISTA vs CHRIS JERICHO in a Triple Threat Match for the InterContinental Title: Initially, I thought the WWE went a little too far with the animosity shown between Edge & Jericho. But on this past edition of Raw, the aftermath of their non-title bout made it a little more intriguing. I still feel the WWE should have gone for the more tried & true method of just having one or two little mishaps in tag matches, rather than the full blown face-to-face fisticuffs, which basically has already turned Edge heel. That also worries me with regards to the Benoit vs Orton match, but that's another story. I'm certain that this triple-threat match will have the inherent problems that they usually do, but I think the addition of a big man could throw something different into the mix. Furthermore, it could work as a positive by masking the wrestlers' weaknesses. Whether he comes out as face, heel or tweener, I think Edge should & will retain his title. Winner: Edge

EDDIE GUERRERO vs KURT ANGLE: Neither of these 2 will be at their very best due to injuries, but this is still certain to be a very good match. It may be a fraction slower paced than what these 2 would put on at their very best, but Eddie & Kurt are such professionals that they will make that work in their favor somehow. The winner is a toss-up. Elsewhere on the card, I have predominantly heels coming out on top, so I'm going with Eddie here. Either way, I think the feud may continue anyway. Winner: Eddie Guerrero


TRIPLE H vs EUGENE: I have to say that I just loved the intensity that Triple H showed during his opening promo on Raw 10 days ago. Hopefully, he can carry it into this match & Eugene can play off of it. Because of it, I am actually looking forward to this match purely to see what type of match it will be. Will Triple H go hardcore? If so, will Eugene follow him? Or will Triple H play cocky & feel that he can beat Eugene in a technical bout. I'm sure that Eugene will frustrate Triple H, and I always find him at his best when he is frustrated (both intense & funny). At the end of the day though, the veteran should get the win. Winner: Triple H

JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD vs THE UNDERTAKER for the WWE Championship: The match that some fans have been dreading is finally here!!! I can't say I'm too excited about it either, but am expecting a decent big man match. Hopefully, the WWE don't let these 2 outstay their welcome, as 15 minutes may be enough for them. I'm fairly certain that JBL will be retaining his title here. It's just a matter of whether he wins cleanly, via outside interference, or he loses by disqualification. I think the middle option may be the best & you can flip a coin on whether it will be Orlando Jordan or John Heidenreich. Winner: JBL

CHRIS BENOIT vs RANDY ORTON for the World HeavyWeight Title: I pretty much stated what I think should be the result of this match in my column last week. I feel that Orton defeating Benoit in his first attempt would do more harm than good to both wrestlers. Having said that, I have no problems with Orton winning the title in the next 1-3 months. The match quality should be high as Benoit is on a roll right now & with Orton being a fresh opponent, we should see some different things. Basically, Orton vs Edge without as many restholds, better selling & psychology. The rumors are rampant that Orton will win, but I'm hoping that the WWE err on the side of patience. Winner: Chris Benoit

You know, I thought of something when doing my prediction for the Benoit vs Orton match. Do I favor what I think should happen, or what I think will happen when doing my predictions column. I suppose that if I was going by the definition of the word 'prediction', I should write down what I think will happen. But more often than not (especially in the higher profile matches), I write what I think should happen. Just thought I'd throw that in.

Now, some of you might be asking "Davey, how can you forget the 'Diva's Dodge-Ball Match'!?!?!?". The answer is "easily". I'm not going to predict a winner here. I wouldn't know where to start the analysis!!! Hell, I'm not even sure I exactly know what dodge-ball is. But I've got an idea for this one... Instead of using it as scripted humor, make it a genuine game. At least that way, we get to see who has some sort of (for want of a better word) athletic talent.

All in all, the SummerSlam card is shaping up as interesting. I use the word 'interesting' carefully because I am anticipating the event & I think the WWE have done a good job in putting together a card that will get very good buyrates. However, it's not a complete certainty that the card will be anything special in the ring. It should be, but it's not guaranteed. These are the types of cards however, where the WWE usually come through with the goods. Fingers crossed that they will do so once more


MAIN

'Greatest Wrestler Ever' Poll Results

Well, as most of you already know, I have run a few polls here in my tenure. The first few received roughly the same amount of votes; between 90 & 120. Then, my 'Most Memorable Moment Ever' poll received just under 180 votes. Finally, my poll on finishing moves blew them all out of the water with approximately 240 votes. This 'Greatest Wrestler Ever' poll didn't quite get up to those dizzying heights. I initially received 192 votes, but just to make it a round figure, I hunted down 8 people to get us up to 200 votes in total.

In total, I received votes for 21 wrestlers. Of them, 6 wrestlers only received 1 vote. I will list those 6, while listing & commenting on the top 15 who received 2 votes or more. Instead of attempting to comment too much of my opinion for each wrestler, I will endeavor to sum up the feedback of why people voted for the person that they did.

The number listed following the wrestler is the actual amount of votes that he received. So here we go...

(1) Bret Hart: = 49 votes: The winner of this poll by what I would call a fairly clear margin. Most voters thought Hart was the closest thing to an all-around wrestler that we have ever seen. Most admitted that he was not exactly Mr.Charisma, but everything else made up for this. Some voters also stated that the tie-breaker against other wrestlers was his lack of politics & his willingness to put opponents over.

(2) Shawn Michaels = 42: Pretty much everyone who voted for HBK did so because they thought he was the perfect combination of wrestling talent both inside & outside of the ring.

(3) Ric Flair = 21: Apart from the numerous titles that The Nature Boy has won over the years, Flair was voted on for his intensity (both in & out of the ring), his longevity at the top, his charisma & his professional wrestling skill. Furthermore, his overall contribution to the business could not be under-estimated.

(4) Hulk Hogan = 16: Pretty much everyone that voted for the hulkster admitted that he was nothing special inside the squared circle. However, that was overcome by his overall contribution to the wrestling business. Some argued that if it wasn't for Hogan, we would not be seeing WWE in it's current form today.

(5) Kurt Angle = 15: Higher placed than I thought he would be, many voters called Angle the perfect mix of everything... He can adapt to practically all styles of wrestling, makes his opponents look great in the ring, and has obvious talent both as a face or heel on the microphone. Some people even stated that his years in amateur wrestling should not be ignored. Many had Angle as their 2nd-5th best pick, as his longevity (& injuries) counted against him

(6) The Rock = 9: Pretty easy to see why The Rock received these votes. His charisma is arguably unequalled & his contribution to the business cannot be under-estimated.

(7) 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin = 8: Seen to be the modern day version of Hulk Hogan, but a lot better in the ring. Some argued that without Austin, the WWE would have struggled to overcome WCW in the late 1990's.

(8) Triple H = 7: I knew that he would get some votes, but this tally surprised me a little. Most who voted for him stated that he was the brightest light for the WWE in a down period, and that when he was at his best, he was a great mix of everything that a main-event wrestler should be.

(9) Chris Benoit = 6: If this poll was taken 6 months ago, I doubt he would have received a vote. But his current title reign, plus the release of his DVD have given him greater exposure to fans. A good mix of everything in the ring, Benoit's obvious down fall is with charisma.

(10T) Sting = 5: Not many reasons given for these votes, as Sting was pretty much the favorite of a lot of people. Although, it is arguable that he was the mainstay of WCW for over a decade.

(10T) Randy Savage = 5: Seen as very good, if not outstanding, in many criteria, Savage started out as an excellent midcarder who made the transition well to main-event wrestling against the bigger guys. His charisma & microphone work are under-rated, as he always received an excellent crowd reaction.

(12) The Undertaker = 4: See comments for Sting, except replace 'WCW' with 'WWE'.

(13) Bruno Sammartino = 3: Seen as an excellent wrestler anywhere on the card, Sammartino was an excellent hybrid in the ring, during his time. The phenomenal factor though, was his title reigns which lasted many many years (EG: Almost 8 years from 1963-1971).

(14T) Eddie Guerrero = 2: Similarly to Shawn Michaels, Eddie is seen as basically a cruiserweight who made the jump to become a successful heavyweight. His ability to change styles against different opponents has served him well. As has his above average charisma.

(14T) Chris Jericho = 2: See comments for Eddie Guerrero.

And finally, the 6 wrestlers that received 1 vote each were:

- The Dynamite Kid
- Jushin 'Thunder' Liger
- Curt 'Mr.Perfect' Hennig
- Mick Foley
- Raven
- Bill Goldberg

So there we have it. The 'Greatest Wrestler Ever' poll is now in DaveyBoy's archives. I'm not too shocked at any of the results. I actually expected Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels to be the clear top 2 picks. I also expected Flair & Hogan to be behind them on the rankings. The surprise in the poll was Kurt Angle. For a wrestler who has only been with the WWE for just over 5 years, that is quite amazing. Even more so, when you consider that he has probably missed a cumulative of over 1 year through injuries in that time. Apart from that, the only other real surprises were Stone Cold only getting one more vote than Triple H.


DESSERT -MY TOP 3

I initially was going to list & comment on my top 5 greatest ever wrestlers in this section, but I will cut it down to 3 today. There are two reasons for that. Firstly, this column is long enough as it currently is. Secondly, I may have a more in-depth look at this topic in my special column #100 in 3 weeks time.

Those that have been reading my column from the beginning will already probably know my #1. It is Shawn Michaels. I believe he is the professional wrestler that has most been able to adapt to what is necessary at any given time, both inside & outside of the ring. People often forget that HBK had a great cocky heel character early in his career.

But I already hear people saying "But Bret was just as good as a heel". That's a fair argument & maybe I should compare Shawn to Bret as to why I made my decision. Their careers regarding longevity & titles are hard to split. There is no doubt that Michaels loses points on politics, but not on loyalty. He was just as loyal as Bret. While Shawn may have been less willing to put over colleagues, I don't think the gap was huge. In my opinion, Michaels' charisma factor is above Bret's.

So basically it comes down to one thing: Ability in the ring. While Bret Hart was definitely more technical than Shawn, I do believe that Michaels was under-rated in this area. However, this is where it comes down to personal choice. I simply personally prefer the faster-paced wrestling style of HBK compared to the hitman. I'm not necessarily just talking about high-flying either (although that is an extra feather in HBK's cap), just the pace of a match. Others may personally prefer the more psychologically paced bouts of Hart. Neither is right or wrong. I just think it's a matter of who gets the correct mix against different types of opponents. In my opinion, it is Shawn Michaels.

It may now seem obvious that Bret Hart is my pick for #2, but he is not. This one will be harder to argue, but again, it comes down to personal preference. My choice for the 2nd greatest wrestler ever is Chris Benoit. I don't need to go into too much detail here. We all know that there are many similarities between Hart & Benoit, with Hart ending up ahead in terms of longevity, titles, contribution to the sport, etc...

But I feel that Chris Benoit has something which is unmatched in the history of professional wrestling: Intensity. Granted, Hart is way up there in this area as well (as is someone like Kurt Angle), but Benoit is just in a league of his own (in my opinion). Practically every single move that he performs is done with superb intensity. For example; His snap suplex has real 'snap'. But even the simplest of moves such as punches, kicks & chops look like he is really laying into his opponents. The same can be said for his selling which is right up there with the best of them. In fact, I think it is the best.

I'll leave it there. I think what the above shows is that it really comes down to personal opinion & what each fan values the most in a wrestler. Overall in-ring performance & intensity are the 2 factors I value the most. Hence why I have Shawn Michaels at #1, Chris Benoit at #2 & Bret Hart (for the reasons explained above) at #3 on my list of greatest wrestlers ever.


Ok, that is all for edition #97 of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I know it was an extra long one, but I hope you enjoyed it. I think the results of the poll were especially interesting & very entertaining to read through. Any feedback on the poll results are quite welcome. As is your opinion & predictions on the SummerSlam card. As per usual, I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

So, what's on the agenda for next week's 'Wrestling Menu'...??? Well, there will obviously be my SummerSlam Review. Wouldn't it be great if it could rival the SummerSlam of 2002!?!?!? I will probably have some feedback from my poll results today, if enough comes my way. Apart from that, who knows. Look out for the column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.












• TUESDAY: Elimination Chamber Spoiler, WWE Star in Brawl with Tasered Fan, Triple H as WWE Champ? LOTS MORE
  

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