Sunday, January 15, 2012

One On One: The Horsemen versus The WWE - January 15, 2012

One On One...

As most of my regular readers know, every so often I do a piece in the wrestling columns called "One On One" where I like to match up stars from the past against stars of today and attempt to analyze and figure out who would win in each prospective match-up. Well, I was thinking and decided that since the Horseman have been (rightfully) chosen to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2012, I'll do an "All Horseman" edition of this segment. And not just the five members of wrestling's most elite super-group that are being inducted, but ALL of the men who proudly wore that Horseman banner (and no Jeff Jarrett - that doesn't include you. Arn said you were never a Horseman and I have to listen to Double-A.). So I've gone down the list of The Horsemen and we're going to match them up against the top stars of the WWE, as indicated by the WWE Power 25 for the period ending January 7, 2012 (courtesy of WWE.com). We'll have both singles and tag matches. The WWE stars are in the order they're ranked. The Horsemen are in the order I decided to list them. (My column - my perrogative). Let's do this.

Ric Flair w/ J.J. Dillon versus Daniel Bryan

Ric Flair from the late 80's / early 90's against the man once known as "The American Dragon", but now known as the World Champion. This would be a classic match of move versus move that could easily rival the Flair - Steamboat matches of the 80's. Flair (surprisingly) has the size & strength advantage, while the edge in speed and science would go to Bryan. Both men could easily go sixty or ninety minutes so stamina wouldn't be much of a game changer for this match. I think, the deciding factor would be the man on the outside, the infamous J.J. Dillon. When it came to that subtle interference (and sometimes not so subtle), few are better than Dillon. So look for a back and forth match with quite a few two-counts on both men's behalf and finally, we get a trip on Bryan from the outside by Dillon. Bryan is distracted and goes after J.J., who tosses his shoe to Flair during the confusion. Flair slams Bryan across the head with the shoe before tossing it out of the ring and covers Bryan to get the pin.

Winner: Ric Flair

Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard w/ J.J. Dillon versus Dolph Ziggler & The Big Show w/ Vickie Guerrero

I'm not sure how Dolph and Big Show would do as a team, but they were the # 2 and # 3 men ranked in the WWE Power 25 so that's what we ended up with. We'd see Tully and Arn trying to break the ring in half and keep Ziggler on their side of the ring away from the Big Show and pretty much working over Dolph with the double-team. Dolph is bigger than Tully or Arn though and faster and would escape to tag out to the monster, Big Show. I could see Show in there working over Double-A and then he tags out to Ziggler to finish off "The Enforcer". Tully signals to J.J. Dillon, who goes after Vickie Guerrero on the outside. Big Show drops from the ring apron to go protect Vickie from Dillion and Tully, seizing the opportunity, interferes with a cheap shot from behind on Dolph. Tully tags in and hits the "Hot Shot" on Dolph and then a tag back out to Arn who scores with the DDT and a pin while Tully prevents Big Show from getting into the ring in time to break up the pin.

Winners: Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard w/ J. J. Dillon.

Ole Anderson versus CM Punk

This would be an awesome match to see because Ole, in his prime, was a legitimate shooter in the ring. He could outwrestle anyone and match move for move against the best. Plus Ole is strong as an ox and just a mean-ass guy. Punk is a great wrestler with a lot of moves and a mean streak of his own. He's a bit lacking in the size department, but would have the stanima edge over Ole, who preferred tag team wrestling to singles action. In a legit fight, back in the day, Ole would beat Punk's ass! I have no doubts about that, BUT in the ring, I think the advantage of Punk's martial arts kicks and vast array of moves would give him the edge. It'd be a brutal match for the ages, but I think CM Punk would end up getting the nod at the end with his arm raised in victory.

Winner: CM Punk

Lex Luger & Barry Windham versus Sheamus & Kane

Luger and Windham were a great team. Sheamus and Kane could be a good team if the WWE ever decides to go that route. Both have the size and power and are faster than one would suspect. This would be a stiff and brutal match, but I think the advantage would go to Barry and Lex because while Kane & Sheamus are both muscle guys who can wrestle a little bit, with the Luger / Windham team, you have a power guy and a wrestler. Lex is primarily a power guy who can wrestle, just like Sheamus and Kane. But Barry is first and foremost a great wrestler, who just happens to have some size to him as well. The match would be lots of pounding and grounding by all four men, but in the end, it would be a little subtle sneakiness with Windham using a small-package on Kane to get the win for his team.

Winners: Lex Luger & Barry Windham

Sid Vicious versus John Cena

Sid has the size advantage and is actually a better wrestler (sort of) than Cena and might even be stronger as well. Cena is far better on the mic (although that doesn't matter in the ring). Sid also has the intensity factor going for him but he tends to lose focus and gets distracted. That's where Cena has the advantage. He rarely loses focus in the ring and doesn't know the meaning of how to back up or slow down. He's all go-go-going forward. And this would be a better match than most would expect. Although Sid would dominate most of the match, in the end, Cena would walk out the victor with his infamous "five moves"...

Winner: John Cena

Sting versus Zack Ryder w/ Eve Torres

As much as I am a fan of Zack Ryder's, a match with him and Sting wouldn't even be a close contest. Zack would get some moves in, but Sting would control the match and the flow and the ending would be his whenever he was ready. Scorpion Deathlock and the tap out. Sting wins.

Winner: Sting

Chris Benoit & Flyin' Brian Pillman w/ Woman versus Wade Barrett & Cody Rhodes

This would be another great match that I'd love to see, but unfortunately, Benoit, Pillman and Woman are all no longer with us and I can only speculate and dream. All four men are great talents in the ring and while the size would be with Wade & Cody, the ruthlessness and intensity would be on the side of the Horseman team. It would be brutality at it's best and neither team would be able to totally overwhelm the other. I think the deciding factor would be Woman at ringside, ripping at clawing at the eyes of Cody, setting him up for a series of suplexes by Benoit and a crossbody and pin by Pillman. By hook or by crook- the Horsemen win.

Winners: Chris Benoit & Flyin' Brian Pillman w/ Woman

Steve "Mongo" McMichael & Dean Malenko w/ Arn Anderson versus R-Truth & Chris Jericho

Mongo was a wild and crazy guy and a former Super Bowl champion, but he sucked as a wrestler. Malenko is a fantastic wrestler, but he lacks the size to really compete against most opponents. This would be a good match for a while, mainly due to the great chemistry between Malenko and Jericho who had one of WCW's best feuds in the mid-nineties. But sooner or later, Mongo and Truth would get into the ring and it would become slightly less stellar. In the end, Jericho and Truth would walk out the victors and take that trip to the pay window.

Winners: R-Truth and Chris Jericho

Paul Roma versus The Miz

Roma should never have been a Horseman. Miz is awesome. Miz wins! End of story!

Winner: The Miz

Curt Hennig versus Hunico

Hennig is a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion, a former United States and Intercontinental Champion. He's a true legend who definitely lived up to his former monicker, "Mr. Perfect". And while Hunico is a great talent in the ring and impressed a good many people during his run as the evil Sin Cara in the WWE, he's not quite in Hennig's league as of yet. It'd be a fun match to watch and could even be a potential show-stealing match, but the outcome isn't really in any doubt. Perfect-plex by Curt and the easy pin.

Winner: Curt Hennig

So there you go. The Horsemen win the series (6-4) proving once and for all that "diamonds are forever and so are the Horsemen! Woooooooooo!"

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