ROUND 2 PART 3 HERE
POWERING through the second round, we are on our last few matches before the Sweet 16 begins. The Austin Region is up.
(1) Steve Austin v. (9) Mick Foley
Two anti-authority, anti-McMahon pals goofin'. Vincent Kennedy McMahon made it a point to sort of make these guys' lives living hells, and they would give it right back in their own ways. Whereas Austin was the brash and brazen student in class that was constantly getting into it with the teacher and causing havoc, Foley was more of the class clown who's placing whoopee cushions very carefully on teachers chair. Almost like a Nelson Muntz and Bart Simpson situation except Nelson and Bart are kind of on the same side. Foley no doubt has iconic moments, and perhaps THE iconic moment getting thrown off Hell in a Cell. But Austin has moments too and also had kids getting sent to the real life principals office literally probably once an hour at least in his prime.
WINNER: STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN
(4) Daniel Bryan v. (12) Kevin Nash
A lot of what I said about Scott Hall's legacy can also be applied to Kevin Nash, as they will always be intertwined and among the more important figures in wrestling for reasons that are good, bad, controversial and everything in between. Daniel Bryan, however, has been a modern revelation and has proven you really don't need to be 6'8" and jacked to the gills to get over with the crowd.
WINNER: DANIEL BRYAN
(3) Shawn Michaels v. (6) CM Punk
One of the hardest matchups for me personally, because I love Shawn Michaels but I LOVE CM Punk. Punk is perhaps my favorite talker in modern wrestling and his run during the Summer of Punk and his battles with WWE are some of the best ideas of storytelling I have seen. Now, they definitely let it fizzle out unceremoniously, but the image of Punk blowing that kiss to Vince and leaving through his hometown crowd with the title is simply iconic. The Pipebomb promo is iconic. Michaels is Mr. Wrestlmania though. He's responsible for some of the best matches of all-time throughout his long ass career. They both have had fire entrance music. I'm basically pulling my own hair out trying to decide and I wont like either decision so we're just gonna go with one.
WINNER: SHAWN MICHAELS
(2) Andre The Giant v. (7) Randy Orton
First things first, bet you're wondering, "Hey, where's the picture of Randy Orton? I see Andre being The Giant, but where could Randall be?" Well friends, that IS Randall Keith Orton, as a child, engulfed in Andre's massive, support beam arms. Now, Mr. RKO certainly has a chance here. He is incredibly captivating when he cares, and even when he doesn't give a flying F about whatever program he is in at the time you still go, "This could be interesting just cause Randy doesn't care." I used to dislike him a lot but now that I've gotten older and wildly more cynical I love him. Just this psychotic freak athlete who has gotten his anger issues under control and is a super cool, laid back guy unless he snaps. No matter the situation, Randy Orton can crush it. Is it enough to topple the 8th Wonder of the World? Andre is one of the most important figures in wrestling history. But does he have better skills than Randy? Better character work and ring psychology than Randy? Does he have a viral move like the RKO? This is a very tough call but I'm going with my gut and will hate myself for it in about 32 minutes.
WINNER: RANDY ORTON
What's going to suck is more and more tough calls now. It's a tough job* but somebody has to do it. Sweet 16 soon come.
*I am getting paid zero (0) US dollars for this.
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