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The 7 - Pro Wrestling - Meltzer on Bill Simmons BS Report Register and log in to post!
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BigDaddyLoco
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#1 Posted on 10.7.09 1511.35
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1511.38
A long, but pretty interesting conversation between Bill Simmons and Dave Meltzer. They focus on UFC, but merge into wrestling and then kind of compare the two. I don't get to read much Meltz and it was kind of nice to hear the two sports taken somewhat seriously, by someone outside the bubble.

One random question that struck me was, who is the wrestler of the decade?

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JustinShapiro
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#2 Posted on 10.7.09 1542.00
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1542.21
    Originally posted by BigDaddyLoco
    One random question that struck me was, who is the wrestler of the decade?


Hmm.

1. Shawn Michaels
2. Triple H
3. Kurt Angle
4. Edge
5. John Cena

(for the United States only, obv)

- Michaels has been MVP of WWE from 02-present, has been in the greatest matches, has been in either the Wrestlemania main event or de facto main event at 20, 22, 23, 24, and 25.

- Triple H has headlined for the entire decade, which does suck, but you can't help but develop a resume over that time. The stale periods and inertia of his position are there but he's got his 2000-01 prime, 2004 bounce back year in-ring and Evolution angle, 2005 Batista program which was a huge moneymaker, being in all the Wrestlemania title matches (though two of them famously bombed big time).

- Kurt Angle put together a run of great matches so strong that it destroyed his body, then he continued having great matches in a destroyed body, then he continued having great matches in a destroyed body in front of a tiny audience.

- Edge has been co-MVP from 2006-present, helped make John Cena at a crucial time in Cena's career, has had a crazy resume of great matches with dozens of different opponents over ten years, and before main eventing, pads his credentials with his tag run and strong matches as a single before getting over the top.

- Cena has been the biggest star in the country, headlined Wrestlemanias, had tons of great matches on PPV, but only for half the decade.


next five: Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero (both on the body of work + Time Man of the Year criteria), Undertaker, Bryan Danielson, and ... somebody. Chris Jericho? I'm not sure just how high I should go with the Rock for just 2000-2002 and three other matches.

(edited by JustinShapiro on 10.7.09 1648)
lotjx
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#3 Posted on 10.7.09 1558.46
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1559.01
I would have said He who cannot be named prior to the debacle. I do think Eddie and Jericho could be in the top five, but Jericho took time off and Eddie, well, didn't make it to the end of the decade. If we look at Wrestlemania Main Events, HHH should be number, but considering his family situation I tend to throw him out of the discussion. Shawn isn't a bad number one pick, but once again he didn't wrestle for all of the decade and has taken probably a year or two worth of time off in his second WWE run. I would pick either Kurt or John Cena as number 1 or 2. Kurt even in front of small audiences is the MVP of the company which amazes me that is still around after seven years and seems to be going strong. Cena is a good choice for number 1 as well since 2002, he has been in multiple Wrestlemanias main events and has become the face of the company of the last four years. Unlike the 1980s where it was Hogan or Flair and the 1990s when it was Austin, the 2000s have a lot of contenders to be the number one guy of the decade, but each one has a flaw or has passed on.
CRZ
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#4 Posted on 10.7.09 1620.21
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1620.24
    Originally posted by lotjx
    I would have said He who cannot be named prior to the debacle.
Benoit, Benoit, Benoit. Please stop doing that, everyone. It's so much shorter and easier to type than that bullshit that you're using. B-E-N-O-I-T. This isn't the WWE and we never STOPPED saying "Benoit." So, pretty please.
odessasteps
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#5 Posted on 10.7.09 1642.55
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1643.24
    Originally posted by CRZ
      Originally posted by lotjx
      I would have said He who cannot be named prior to the debacle.
    Benoit, Benoit, Benoit. Please stop doing that, everyone. It's so much shorter and easier to type than that bullshit that you're using. B-E-N-O-I-T. This isn't the WWE and we never STOPPED saying "Benoit." So, pretty please.


no DVDVR-style framistans here?

SKLOKAZOID
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#6 Posted on 10.7.09 1727.38
Reposted on: 10.7.16 1728.33
I would say Triple H moreso than Shawn Michaels, despite Michaels being a better in-ring performer. The decade is almost over and ever since 2000, HHH has always been at or near the top, positioned in the highest of high profile matches.

Michaels has had probably one of the best comebacks of all time, but to me comes across more like an Undertaker as an established superstar who remains in the spotlight, main event a WrestleMania or two, but still routinely takes a backseat to HHH or Cena who are almost always there when the heavy shit goes down in the main event.

But, keep in mind that "taking a back seat" for Michaels usually means stuff like "retiring Ric Flair" so it's by no means a mark against him, just to say that he's a peg lower than HHH.

Cena is the biggest success story of the decade, though. He's the only guy to have come close to filling the void left by the last of the megastars. Even when HHH has a big feud, Cena is usually right there fighting for the other world title.

In short, HHH is the wrestler of the decade, as far as I can tell.


Personally, though, despite whoever the wrestler of this decade is, I'm still waiting for a new main eventer to come along and really show me something. There's a quality to someone like Hogan or Austin that just kicks your ass and tells you to watch them that we just haven't seen for the majority of this decade. Still waiting...

(edited by SKLOKAZOID on 10.7.09 1529)
BigDaddyLoco
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#7 Posted on 10.7.09 2112.58
Reposted on: 10.7.16 2113.30
    Originally posted by JustinShapiro
      Originally posted by BigDaddyLoco
      One random question that struck me was, who is the wrestler of the decade?


    Hmm.

    1. Shawn Michaels
    2. Triple H
    3. Kurt Angle
    4. Edge
    5. John Cena




I really want to say Kurt Angle. His WWE run was trememdous. He worked heel, he worked face, he put over tons of people and never lost credibility when he did. He has won the major titles and is really the face of TNA right now. There of course is the problem, his TNA run has been good, he's put out maximum effort, but the booking and the fact that it is TNA just seems to dimish something.

Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero might have been the guy. They may have been broken down by now anyways at the rate they were going.

Triple H's bad runs were very bad and stick out more to me than his good ones.

John Cena is a great company man, big with the kids a key demographics and puts out solid but unspectacular matches.

The Undertaker still comes up big when it matters.

HBK puts out a lot of quality stuff. I feel like a lot of his matches are basically the same match just with a different dance partner. Plus he never really gives off that full time vibe.

So, I'm going to say Edge. He was in the center of last great tag team phase early in the decade. His TLC matches helped revolutionize the ladder match. His singles act has always been fresh and updated. His feuds are never one-sided. His matches are almost always solid, he can still go all hardcore just as well now as he could
10 years ago. So, there you go. Edge.

1. Edge
2. Angle
3. HBK
4. Triple H
5. Benoit/Guerrero


Quezzy
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#8 Posted on 10.7.09 2221.42
Reposted on: 10.7.16 2221.42
No love for AJ Styles? I know that Styles has not been in a organization that is as big as the WWE but it also means he has far inferior opponents and still has great matches. I mean I love Benoit, Eddie, Jericho, Angle, Edge, Triple H and HBK as much as anybody but they all get to wrestle each other. What does AJ Styles get? Abyss, Jarrett, Raven, Daniels, D'Lo, Nash, Booker T? Not exactly even talent to work with.
drjayphd
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#9 Posted on 10.7.09 2321.16
Reposted on: 10.7.16 2321.34
    Originally posted by CRZ
      Originally posted by lotjx
      I would have said He who cannot be named prior to the debacle.
    Benoit, Benoit, Benoit. Please stop doing that, everyone. It's so much shorter and easier to type than that bullshit that you're using. B-E-N-O-I-T. This isn't the WWE and we never STOPPED saying "Benoit." So, pretty please.


At least the Wrestlecrap Bob Holly fad never took hold here.
CajunMan
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#10 Posted on 11.7.09 1500.51
Reposted on: 11.7.16 1500.55
Wrestler of the decade? Well Triple H kind of had help to get to the top. Hmm I would put Dave Batista on the list. they all have had injury setbacks. I would even consider putting Randy Orton in even though he really was on the scene later in the decade. Everybody says that Benoit was the greatest Canadian technical wrestler ever, what about Jericho? Jericho put on some great matches with Benoit.

Just my thoughts
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#11 Posted on 11.7.09 1524.11
Reposted on: 11.7.16 1524.37
No one has had more high-quality matches this decade than Bryan Danielson. In a decade where the business fell off from its giant peak at the beginning of the decade, and where no one really was a draw from beginning to end, my vote is going strictly on in-ring performance.
redsoxnation
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#12 Posted on 11.7.09 2143.53
Reposted on: 11.7.16 2143.57
Considering his multiple world championships in multiple organizations, Booker T would have to be considered a viable contender for wrestler of the decade honor. Also of distinction for Booker T, he was a participant in probably the most historically significant match of the decade vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell on RAW in 2001. The reaction to that match helped lead the wrestling industry on its current path.
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