Which Wrestler (Not Named John Cena) is Most Like Tom Brady? Undertaker vs. Bryan vs. Reigns

Tom Brady is the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. You can try to debate it, but you’d probably lose that one. John Cena will most likely end up considered the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, of course, this is something everyone who watches wrestling wants to debate, and no one ever wins that one.

But don’t you agree that John Cena is the Tom Brady of pro-wrestling?

The parallels are uncanny:
– Brady plays in Boston, Cena is from Boston.
– Brady was drafted 199th, Cena was a low-level underdog following his initial main roster debut.
– Both have since racked up an historic numbers of championships.
– Both are irrationally disliked by what we can only refer to as “haters”.
– Despite being so generally disliked, they consistently put on the most entertaining performances for said haters to continually enjoy.
– Both guys are seemingly humble gentlemen.
– Despite both being nearly 40, they appear to be in their physical prime and capable of many more years of high level athleticism.
– And both have worked for the same team/promotion for their entire careers.

Too easy right? Then my question today is, who is the next most Tom Brady-like professional wrestler? Now we’ve got a 3-Way Dance column!

I believe there are three wrestlers who can make an argument for being the most Brady-esque after John Cena, and they are the Yes-man Daniel Bryan, that dude Roman Reigns, and the phenom, The Undertaker.

The 411mania Wrestling 3-Way Dance matches up three opponents in an intellectual battle every week. The biggest advantages and disadvantages of each contender will be highlighted before a final ranking will declare the ultimate winner. This week’s 3-Way Dance:

Which Wrestler (not named John Cena) is Most Like Tom Brady?

Undertaker vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns

Best Reason for being most Tom Brady-like…

Roman Reigns = Fans hate winners.

In real sports, outside of the home team fans, when you’ve got a dynasty the rest of the country generally hates you. Of course, in pro-wrestling the wins and losses are not sporting contests, but it is all still a game, one that all fans buy into consciously and subconsciously at times. And for the past couple of decades now there has been a general rejection of things considered “successful” by the promoter, mainly in the WWE.

It seemingly started with the ECW mentality of rejecting pretty, athletic types, as a generation of geek Ric Flair fans gaining legitimacy for loving the bad guy and embracing this counter culture fandom. This bled over to the mainstream in the nWo, Bret Hart, The Rock, Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, and inverted back onto itself into the John Cena solution: if the fans don’t don’t want to like who the WWE wants you to like, then hate the guy we want you to like, see if we care?

Roman Reigns has won that game. Despite all fans knowing that wrestling isn’t real, and understanding what the WWE looks for in their stars – good looks, intensity, size, charisma – the haters they still want to treat wins and losses like they determine something. Roman Reigns winning on the screen is just a symbolic interpretation of the winning he’s already done behind the seasons. He’s already has his figurative 16-0 season, it happened when he was training, being evaluated, locked in meetings with the producers, looking good, doing what was asked, honing his skills. He did it all, he measured up to the greatest of objective WWE standards, and yet still people want to hate the guy. In this way, Roman Reigns is like Tom Brady who has seemingly done everything imaginable as a football player and yet is still generally despised by fans outside of Boston.

Daniel Bryan = Technical Excellence.

You might compare a lot of successful wrestlers – like Hogna, Stone Cold, The Rock, HHH, Lesnar, Goldberg – to quarterbacks like Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, guys with big arms who can throw amazing passes over long distances that thrill the crowd. In wrestling that’s kind of what we just want to see, big finishers, kick-outs, and even bigger finishers.

An audience generally doesn’t “pop” for the little things… unless you’re Tom Brady, or Daniel Bryan. Both men are total experts at the fundamentals (the short pass / an arm wringer), or the small moves (quarterback sneak / small package), and that makes their wins that much more exciting because we feel like they got there the hard way. There was no luck or Hail Marys that go these two their last minute wins, but rather long, tricky drives in the closing minutes of games or the closing stretches of long matches that mattered because the beginnings always made so much sense.

Whereas other have achieved success today by adapting to the bigger and badder style of their sport, Brady and Bryan found glory in embracing a traditional, old school philosophy of hard work and mastering every aspect of their craft.

Undertaker = The Streak.

Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to an undefeated regular season – 16-0 – in what arguably is the greatest statistical year of football from a quarterback in recorded history. They went through the playoffs undefeated and looked to be on their way to a Super Bowl victory in what was surely going to be recorded as the lasting example of excellence in the NFL for our lifetime. And then the Helmet Catch.

The New York Giants came back and won that game in the final minutes, killing that undefeated streak.

The Undertaker also had an unprecedented streak going, his now legendary decades-long streak of victories at Wrestlemania. He was 21-0 going into his match against Brock Lesnar, a match that to many felt like it was going to be an obvious win for the Deadman, much like the Giants were for the Patriots. Then Lesnar starting hitting multiple F-5s, and the impossible happened: Undertaker lost at Wrestlemania.

Now, of course we know that the matches are “real”, it was decided beforehand that the Undertaker would lose to Brock in a shocker not unlike the Helmet Catch when it occurred. The reasons can be debated and discussed for the rest of our lives, but the simple fact now remains, the Undertaker will not retire undefeated at Wrestlemania.

As incredible a career as the Undertaker will have on paper, like the statistics and historic wins that Tom Brady will accumulate, neither one will have that elusive, untouchable perfect streak on their resumes.

Reason for NOT being most Tom Brady-like…

Roman Reigns = Too young.

Reigns is kind of more like the Tom Brady of those first 3 Super Bowl championship teams of the early 2000s. He hasn’t had that 2007 season yet, he hasn’t had those epic loses and late career epic wins that put Brady so far into the stratosphere of untouchability.

This is why Cena is such a perfect comparison because he and Brady are similar ages and have had the same length of success, but Reigns is just still too early in his career to be full-Brady.

Daniel Bryan = Retired too young.

Unlike Reigns, Bryan had the long career of achievements and excellence of a Brady and Cena, but unfortunately he won’t be able to have their shared longevity.

Considering that we’ve seen so many of the greatest wrestlers perform well into their 50s or even 60s, it’s sad to think that we won’t get to see what Bryan would have done for the next 20 years of his career, but it does make you wonder how long Cena will keep going? If Brady looks to be competing for championships for another unprecedented 3-5 years arguably, does this mean that we should assume that Cena will still be main eventing Wrestlemanias into his 70s?

Undertaker = Wrestled too old.

Tom Brady has yet to retire, and we’re all waiting to find out if he does with the grace of a Stone Cold Steve Austin, or stays on too long like the Undertaker.

No doubt, the Undertaker had some good runs in his 40s, and had some great Wrestlemania matches despite not seemingly being in the best of shape, but it’s starting to look at this point like he should have hung up the boots a few years ago.

It’s not that he can’t draw, it’s not that his matches are going to create excitement and attention, it’s not that even he won’t be able to produce moments that are still legendary, it’s just not going to be up to a level of general excellence.

In sports, there’s not a good precedent for someone of Brady’s stature to retire before they get too old, we see it over and over, from the Michael Jordan to Wayne Gretzky, Muhammad Ali and Bret Farve, they all stayed too long. So time will tell, but I’d say right now that we can assume Brady, with all his money and accolades, will retire before it’s too late.

The Final Ranking

Okay, fine, these three are all good choices, but exactly who is the most Tom Brady-like professional wrestler NOT named John Cena?

#3 = Undertaker

For me the Undertaker was more about presence and presentation. He could work a good match technically, but his aura came from those entrances, those promos, that iconic look. Reigns and Bryan less of this “New Generation” type of wrestler and more of an athletic, ring work period where they are constantly required to prove it on the field, so to speak.

While Brady and the Undertaker carry similar track records of greatness, I believe Brady, like Cena, isn’t focused on ego and persona and instead more about in-the-moment skill, practice and preparation. In some ways, the Undertaker would more resemble Brady’s biggest rival Peyton Manning, in that both ‘taker and Manning represent the last real tangible connection to that kind of good ol’ boy, locker room etiquette of doing the honors, hazing the rookie, and partying hard. Brady just isn’t that type of guy.

#2 = Roman Reigns

That irrational responses that Brady and Cena must endure from their haters is the aspect that draws Reigns closest in comparison, but he also has their hard work and dedication to his sport that often got overlooked in the rush to brand him as “not ready”.

Another old school aspect of the Undertaker was his traditional ability to effectively work face or heel, but Reigns, like Cena and Brady, has the look, personality and actions of a babyface, but no matter what he does gets treated like a villain. However, the #1 choice gets the treatment Brady gets in Boston no matter what city he’s in…

#1 = Daniel Bryan

What often gets lost in contrasting the careers of Bryan and Cena – the indy work horse and the mainstream corporate champion – is just how similar they are. It’s no coincidence that they coupled up with twin sisters of different personalities, but both Bellas, both beauties and both successful. Just like Tom Brady.

Bryan and Cena have both worked so hard to give everyone in the audience the greatest experience, Bryan who would just focus on the appetite of that one loner in the crowd, and Cena envisions an entire audience as one massive, breathing entity. Just like Tom Brady.

And just like Brady, win or lose, Cena and Bryan always exciting performances. No matter how you feel about Brady, the games he is featured in are usually gripping, intense and wild, and from an entertainment perspective you can’t ask for more.

Often fans and critics want to fantasy book how things would have been different, or predict the way things will play out in the future, so rarely taking the time to enjoy the match of the moment. Not everything is about how many stars you want to give something, what this match “means” in the bigger business picture, or the snarky tweet or chant you can produce in-the-moment… sometimes a wrestling match is just a wrestling match, like a football game is just a football game. Just enjoy.

Bryan facilitates this mentality so well. It almost brings a tear to the eye of those so jaded among us, but yes, he was a craftsman in the ring of such beauty and grace that he could make you forget what you were watching was not a sport but a story. In the opposite, Tom Brady is the lone NFL player who has that ability to make you forget he’s playing a sport because he builds such epic narratives in a game that you almost think it’s scripted.

So Daniel Bryan, love it or hate it, you my friend are the most Tom Brady-like pro-wrestler NOT named John Cena… so take that you silly Seahawks fan!