WWE vs. TNA 11.04.06: The Hardy Boyz vs. America’s Most Wanted

The Pre-Match Warm-up:

Hello my many fans. Actually, my fanbase has grown recently. Here are the results to the Bret Hart/ Samoa Joe match.

Bret Hart: 73%
Samoa Joe: 27%

Whoa. Looks like nobody has any faith in the Samoan Submission Machine. It is done. Now time for my new addition. I take the results from the fantasy match, and make the match happen. I got the idea from 411mania faithful John Bryant . This one is actually a fourway submission match, not because I didn’t have faith in the two men involved, but it makes it better. Here it is, folks.

The match starts out with Joe and Hart, and the crowd is divided. Clothesline by Samoa Joe. Joe tries to hit a Belly to back, but hart elbows out of it. DDT by Hart. Suplex by Hart. Samoa Joe comes firing back, with a stiff chop. Hart tags out to Benoit. Joe and Benoit stare each other down. Joe slaps Benoit in the face. Again. Benoit hits a massive chop. And another. Joe retaliates and levels him with a clothesline. Stiff kick by Joe to the chest of Benoit. Samoa Joe tries to pick up Benoit, but he hits him in the gut. Back drop by Benoit. Benoit hits a German Suplex. Throat cut! Benoit up top, but Joe rushes him. MUSCLE BUSTA! Joe locks on the Crippler Crossface. BENOIT TAPS TO HIS OWN MOVE! Angle in, Joe tags out to Hart. Angle and Hart are nose to nose, haymaker by Angle! Kick to the midsection. Snap Suplex on Hart. Angle has a headlock on Hart. Hart makes it to his feet, Back Suplex! Hart whips Angle against the ropes, beautiful dropkick connects. Now Bret has the Boston Crab locked on to Angle. Angle powers out of it and tosses Hart through the middle rope. ANGLE JUMPS OVER THE TOP ROPE AND LANDS ON HART! AND NOW SAMOA JOE COMES WITH A FLIPPING CORKSCREW OVER THE TOP ROPE! OH MY GOD! Joe lands on his feet, and he’s back in the ring. He postures as Hart makes his way to his feet. He tosses Angle in. Hart goes for a kick to the midsection, but Angle counters. ANKLE LOCK! Bret’s crawling almost to the ropes, but Angle pulls him away. Bret rolls out of the Ankle Lock and puts the Sharpshooter on Angle. ANGLE TAPS OUT! It’s down to Hart and Joe! Hand shake by these two. Joe starts blasting away with some rights. Bret Fires back! Hart goes for a clothesline but Joe ducks and hits a sick Yakuza Kick. Joe picks him up and nails an Overhead Belly to Belly. Joe locks on a face lock. Bret makes it to the ropes, though. Joe picks him up but hart hits a missile dropkick out of nowhere. Hart goes up top. Flying crossbody caught by Joe. ISLAND DRIVER! Joe goes for the Coquina Clutch but Hart puts him in a knee lock. Joe is in excruciating pain. Elbows to the head by Joe. The hold is broken. Hart off the ropes, flying shoulder block is caught. Joe sets him up in the corner… MUSCLE BUSTA! COQUINA CLUTCH! Bret tries to hold on he’s fading. The ref lifts Hart’s arm. One…. Two… Thr….. NO! Hart has consciousness. He rolls onto his stomach. He stands up, with Joe’s full weight on his back and everything. He slams Joe into the turnbuckle. Joe grabs Hart; it looks like he is going for an Alabama Slam. Hart counters it into a PILEDRIVER! SHARPSHOOTER! Bret has it lock on pretty tight. Joe is crawling. Hart pulls him back. Joe PASSES OUT! BRET HART WINS! He stands over his fallen opponent……

So there it is everybody. I like it, but what about you? Be sure to send me your feedback. Now onto this week. Once again, I was brainstorming really hard. Then it came to me… Why not do a tag team matchup? So some stuff happened, and no we have our matchup.

The Hardy Boyz vs. America’s Most Wanted!

Category 1: Strengths

The Hardy Boyz: Perhaps one of the biggest strength of these 5-time WWE World Tag Team Champions is their resilience. These guys would keep going, no matter what the odds were. Whether it was a TLC or a Cage match, they would press on. They also were a extremely creative tag team. They, along with E&C and The Dudleyz, innovated the wrestling scene as we know it. They were not afraid to take risks, evident from their numerous TLC matches. What made these guys so different was the fact that they were always willing to do what they need to do what it took to win. They put their bodies on the line numerous times, and the result of their matches showed. However, their most predominant strength is their high-flying arsenal. They could take any team off guard with their quickness and agility. When they combined their teamwork and their high-flying style, the result was nothing short of spectacular. If these two teams were to meet up, I would look for the Hardyz to use these two traits in their quest for success. They also had a few years of experience under their belt, too.

America’s Most Wanted: Similar to the Hardyz, AMW always work well together as a tag team. They are the longest reigning Tag Champs in TNA history, and have held the belts SIX times. They have each others backs, trust each other, and it shows. They always try and make sure that the other one is safe, and do what they can to protect the other. They are also very versatile. Mainly they are all-around wrestlers, but they can adapt to other genres of wrestling. They can be Hardcore, and brawl with some of the best. They have proven that in some of the street fights they have been in. They can also be an innovative team. Remember the greatest tag cage match ever against XXX? If you don’t here is a quick brush up. Nevertheless, it is obvious to say that AMW is one of the most coherent teams TNA has ever seen. They have also been a tag team since about 2002, if I am correct. Needless to say, AMW is a force to be reckoned with, and I would think AMW would always keep themselves aware of The Hardyz, and utilize all of their strengths.

Category 2: Fighting Styles

America’s Most Wanted: Like I said before, AMW is the all-around wrestling fans team. They can fly, they can be hardcore, and they are driven. Their main fighting style, however, is balanced. They have an equal mix of all fighting styles in their blood, and it shows. If they are fighting a team like Styles and Daniels, they can fly. When they fight a team like 3D, they can be hardcore and use weapons. They can coexist so well together. They use their teamwork to their advantage, and you hardly ever see a match end without both of them being part of the finish. For the most part, AMW is an adaptable, synchronized tag team that can go when the going gets tough.

The Hardy Boyz: The Hardyz are daredevils. Plain and simple. They put their bodies on the line almost every time they go out there. But more specifically, they are high-flyers. This is oh so evident based on the matches they created and perfected: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs. Both Matt and Jeff utilize high flying moves in their finishing arsenal. However, to be successful in these types of matches you also have to be hardcore. They know how to use ladders, both as weapons and as mean to jump off of. Jeff and Matt have both had their fare share of Hardcore Championship gold, and I’ll be danged if they didn’t earn their titles. They combine Hardcore and High-Flying in a way that was unknown and revolutionary at the time, and frankly still is.

Category 3: Finishers

The Hardy Boyz: The Haryz combined finisher is known as the Event Omega/ Falling Fate, which is when Matt does a leg drop while Jeff does a body splash. Ouch. It is an impactful move, especially when done off of a ladder. They Boyz also both have finishers of their own. Jeff Hardy does the Swanton Bomb, with is a dive off the top rope where Jeff does a flip and lands on his opponent. He has done this move off of 20 foot ladders ans the top of the TNA Structure at Bound For Glory in Monsters Ball. He has also been know to do this move while his opponent is on a table or in a trash can. Matt does the Twist of Fate, which….. well I’ll let Wikipedia tell ya. “In this variation of a cutter the wrestler first applies a front facelock, before pivoting 180 degrees to bring themselves into the three-quarter facelock position and dropping down to the mat to hit the cutter.” Sweet.

America’s Most Wanted: The Death Sentence is an awesome double team move. In this move, James Storm has the opponent in somewhat of a bearhug, but the opponent is leaning back. Then Chris Harris leaps off the top rope into a leg drop. It is a devastating finisher to say the least. Chris Harris’s singles finisher is the Catatonic, which is a swinging side slam. Storm’s is the Superkick. They have also been known to use the Hart Attack and the PowerPlex.

The Final Result:

I really have no idea who would win. Both teams were the dominant tag teams of their respective company at one point, and both have teamed with each other for a while. If it came down to it…… well I really have no idea. But I do have an idea for a match up. In the Six Sides of Steel, there are tables ladders and chairs. The object is to escape, and the weapons are for you to use in any way you want. Send me your ideas on who would win. And don’t forget to vote…….

Who would win a Six Sides of Steel TLC match? The Hardy Boyz America’s Most Wanted    Free polls from Pollhost.com

I GOT FEEDBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We start things of with first time writer, long time reader Frank Cook.
Hey Jordan:

Firstly, my sincerest appologies for NOT responding last week. Your column was quite good, and I would personally loev to see Petey Williams DESTROY RVD in true Canadian Fashion. I think they would work well in either an extreme environment or a classic wrestling setting.

Secondly, as for your column this week… you are really trying to get some readers! This is certainly one that everyone would want to see. As soon as you put HBK and AJ Styles in the same sentence, you should be getting all sorts of hits.

I do believe I’d like to see these two go at it, mainly to see them try and one-up each other in showmanship (as I know that they both have the potential to get a bit of pride as they chug along in a bout). I know that HBK WOULD win because that’s the way booking works, but I would have to say I’d like to see him win anyway, much like he pulled out a win over Shelton Benjamin a while back. And even though Benjamin was a young star, I still felt that HBK’s win was the upset because Benjamin had proven to the fans what an asset he was in the ring. AJ would be much the same way, as most people don’t know who he is. As soon as he cut loose a little bit, people would get solidly behind him, and Michaels pulling off the upset victory would be nothing short of amazing for both superstars, making AJ a viable threat, while keep Shawn as the wily veteran.

I guess if they feuded, I’d want to see it go in a progression of at least four matches. The first being the aforementioned, straight up with Shawn winning. The second being a return match, where it plays off of the previous, but yet again with Shawn winning. I’d then like to see either a 2/3 falls or an iron man style. Finally, have an Ultimate X match/Ladder match, and either way have AJ win and earn Shawn’s respect.

Jordan, you write well and you have a great concept. Keep the column strong! How’s about a Roderick Strong/Arn Anderson match?

Glad to see you finally came around and wrote me. You made it on the page, so it was worth it. And I am trying to get some readers, thank you for noticing. I think that this a pretty good feud idea. Keep up the good work.

Next up, we have MY FAVORITE READER FROM SCOTLAND, Paul Stevenson

Much as I’m a Bret Hart mark and have been ever since 1989 (Yes I was actually a fan of the guy BEFORE his solo success). There is simply no denying that Samoa Joe is the meanest, toughest S.O.B. who’s appeared in quite some time.

So you ask what would happen if these two met in their relevant primes?…

…Lest we forget, Bret’s matches against guys like Undertaker and Kevin Nash were close and both Yokozuna and Shawn **cough-talentedinringsc–baginreallife-cough* * Michaels have bested Bret more than Bret bested them. NO-ONE has gone up against Joe and come out with the upper hand.

One off matches are a rarity these days so I think we’d see a best of three over 18 months or so with both guys getting a victory. Bret would win the straight match and Joe would take the hardcore re-match making it 1-1

TNA audiences might be smaller than WWE by a huge chunk. But Joe seems just as over with the fans as Bret was in his prime, which is also a contributing factor in the rubber match.

Taking that into account and having seen enough of both guys in the ring I think Joe would JUST have the slight edge in the submission match which would be No.3. It would be close but I think after a very lengthy (and brutal) match up, Joe would come out on top.

The real winners of this feud would of course be the fans. As with the previous suggested AJ Style/Micheals feud I would have the emotional attatchment (Bret’s my hero in this case and with Styles/Michaels I have disliked – while respecting his in ring abilities- Michaels ever since the split up of The Rockers in 1992) and be treated to some five star classics in the process.
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Speaking of Joe….

BTW don’t be suprised to see TNA pull a swerve on us and have Joe get the suprise victory over Angle. Angle could easily take the loss from Joe without it doing much harm to him, debut match or not, especially if he comes across with a very strong performance in the match.

Joe is TNAs golden boy. They know he delivers and they know he’s reliable. And using Goldberg as a template we all saw what happened to him when his unpinned/unsubmitted streak went out the window. He was still popular. But something happened when he finally lost in the ring, his stock dropped somewhat. He was never the popularity moster he had been before that again. Would the same happen with Joe if he becomes Angle’s beeyotch in Angle’s debut?. Meanwhile Angle is an unknown quantity as of yet in TNA. Is he going to appear a couple of times and then just vanish?. Will his short time off have lead to any ring rust?. Will he even work in TNA?. Lest we forget the failures that became the careers of Goldberg, Hart, Hall, Vader and many others when they swapped over to another promotion!

COOL! I have a reader in Scotland. I agree with you about the Samoa Joe being tough, and the fact that WWE has a much larger fanbase. That’s why the polls are always in WWE’s favor. And while HBK was a scumbag, he found the light. We’ll have to wait and see on this whole Angle/Joe feud.

Someone named Rick Cobos gave me a few matchups he would like to see me take on. I’ll give my thoughts on a few of them.
Hi Jordan,

Love the dream match column, hope it continues. Eventually, I’d suggest doing a dream card extravaganza that Gavin Napier did once when he used to take care of the 411wrestling Q&A.

Ideas for matches:

– Owen Hart vs. Christopher Daniels (The King of Harts or The Fallen Angel? Take your pick for the most underappreciated wrestler of either company during their eras)

– Edge vs. Sting (the ultimate asshole going colliding with the ultimate nice guy)

– Randy Savage vs. Samoa Joe (two crazed lunatics that really don’t think about anybody but themselves)

– Steve Austin vs. Samoa Joe (see above, but add more brawling elements)

– Steiner Bros. vs. LAX (Could the Steiners get away with throwing around Hernandez like a rag doll, or would the favor be returned? Also, how would Homicide deal with the Steiners’ smug attitude and arrogance based on the size “advantage?”)

– CM Punk vs. Kurt Angle (the match we never got to see in the new ECW)

– Eddie Guerrero vs. Samoa Joe (the storyline that would determine the roles of each wrestler has so many possibilities)

– Chris Benoit vs. Samoa Joe (who doesn’t wanna see this?)

– Brian Pillman vs. Christopher Daniels (two men who have true RESPECT for the industry and have left tremendous legacies in different ways)

– Bryan Danielson vs. Eddie Guerrero (Eight days before Eddie’s tragic death, I saw Bryan Danielson perhaps at his absolute finest in his portrayal of what a prick should be. On that night, if Eddie Guerrero could have had the opportunity to wrestle against Danielson, I am sure the two of them could have turned out the classic that I’m sure would have made Eddie truly proud to end his career. Combining Danielson’s prick persona against Eddie’s “Latino Heat” character that also knows how to be a prick when his buttons are pushed, not to mention their workrates, and you’d have yourself a GUARANTEED five star match.)

Keep the columns coming.

Owen/Daniels: This matchup could be good; however I don’t think either of these men were/are underappreciated.
LAX/Steiners: I don’t know much about the Steiners, except the fact that they were an awesome tag team. I’ll look into it, but I have something special planned for Homicide.
CM Punk/Angle: Nuff said.
Danielson/Guerrero: This match has all the makings of a classic, but I have something special for Eddie as well.

Next some feedback from Pete, who points out some of my errors. Awesome…

First off, cool column concept. I like it a lot. Just caught it for the
first time today, so I was reading the older ones. A few comments for you:

First, about Petey Williams, you say: “He has the ability to be a high
flying, lucha machine. He can also be a technical genius.” Okay, please show
me a match where Petey is a technical genius. Petey, I’d say, is one of the
worst X-Division guys in TNA precisely for that reason…his matches have no
psychology, no “technical prowess”, no build to anything that makes people
care. However, if you’re going for an athletic highspot fest, RVD vs. Petey
I suppose would work.

Second, AJ vs. HBK…an ironman match would be the last thing I’d want to
see them in. These guys specialize, again, in athleticism and high spots,
not mat wrestling or “technical prowess”. Both guys can obviously trade
holds on the mat but it never goes anywhere and ends up just being pointless
empty matwork stuff. I think the obvious dream match there is the ladder
match, with HBK’s history and AJ’s athleticism, plus the fact that it
doesn’t require much intelligent hold for hold stuff.

Also, to your reader who believes HBK has become a much smarter worker since
his return in 2002, I highly disagree. I think his matches are pretty empty
until its time to work the finisher sequence, and that’s when HBK finishes
things off hot (thing HBK vs. Shelton, HBK vs. Angle, etc). But watch how
empty the first 12 minutes of HBK vs. Edge from RR2005 is. Watch how HBK vs.
Angle repeated the same spots again and again in their third and fourth
matches instead of each guy “learning” from previous encounters. Watch HBK
stand up and trade blows with guys like Big Show and Kane without getting
tossed around like a ragdoll. HBK is in no way the worker he once was.

Finally, I’m trying to think of the best guy to pair Benoit with from TNA
now that Joe has been used. Maybe Shelley? Homicide? Hard to say.

Keep up the good work, the column is very cool.

Pete

Don’t need to be a Negative Nancy. Just kidding. I think the Angle/HBK WM21 match was phenomenal from beginning to end, and many people would agree.

We now have Rob Fisher adding a few more things to Bret Hart’s strength’s list.

two thing you left out is bret hart is a lot wiser and far more crafty than Joe. Alos, as far as bret arsenal is concerned, one of my favorite Things about Brets matches were the random finishes. He could pull out a small package out of anywhere (Diesle/Bret Survivor Series) or a Mainstrol Cradle (Bret/Bulldog IYH) or a surprise roll up (BamBam Bigelow/Bret KOTR).. Im not even a Bret mark, but I dont think joe would stand a chance given his mind for the game.

OK. Dually noted. However, I do think Joe would stand a chance.

411 Faithful John Bryant is next. I combined 3 e-mails into one handy-dandy super e-mail.
Hoo-Rah!

How about Shelton Benjamin vs Christopher Daniels? well whenever you read this hopefully you will consider it. and btw Samoa Joe would KILL Bret Hart and make him cry. but personally I wanna know who you think would win between Bryan Danielson and Chris Benoit. Another match that I’d personally love to see you do, Would be Alex Shelley vs Owen Hart. if ya know anything about wrestling shouldn’t be hard to figure out why because both of these men are like water when it comes to a move to move basic and they are both so damn fluid and don’t waste a single move they use. Hey Jo, This is just something I’ve noticed out of the blue: has anyone noticed the facial similairities between Owen Hart and Kid Kash?

I will consider it.
Joe would kill Bret, and Bret would cry because true men cry.
I honestly haven’t seen enough of Danielson to answer that.
Water is also known as H20. Just wanted to point that out. Owen and Shelley are both good, too.
And finally, they do look alike. Thanks.

To wrap things up, we have “Animated Ken”
Bret gets my vote. Kayfabe-wise, Bret in his prime has stood toe to toe with the likes of Steve Austin, Undertaker, HBK, and Triple H. Joe in his prime and at the moment, has mostly been up against high-flyers (and in the world of WWE most cruiserweights are sadly portrayed as weak and reduced to perpetual jobber status). Furthermore, Bret has had wrestling experience since he was a kid and literally has it in his blood. His experience alone, even if they fought at the same age and condition, would still tip the advantage to his side. This is a very nice fantasy angle and would like to see a best of seven rivalry to showcase each wrestler’s strengths. Great column!

Ohhh…BURN! Take that, X-Division!

It’s all you from here, folks. Keep up the writing and send me your ideas! And tell me what you think of my new part, the matchup. Peace out, homefry.

Jordan Linkous