Austin Region, Fourth Round, Iron Man Match: (1) Steve Austin vs. (4)Bruno Sammartino

[klunderbunker]

This is a fourth round match in the Austin Region. It is an Iron Man match. It will be held at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Rules: There is a 60 minute time limit and the most falls in that time limit wins. A fall can be obtained by pinfall, submission, countout or disqualification.

Assume a week has passed since the previous round so there may be some lingering damage.

#1. Steve Austin

Vs.

#4. Bruno Sammartino

​

Polls will be open for five days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster. Assume that the wrestlers are coming in fresh after their first round match.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

Steve is fucked. Bruno wrestles 1 hour in his sleep. He won't burn out. Austin puts all of his energy into everything he does like an idiot, and won't be able to last. Bruno is a good man whose accomplishments dwarf Austin. Austin is a wife beating piece of shit who tries to get people to eat Nature Boxes now.

Vote Bruno.

 

[The Gribbler]

^^ My argument exactly ^^

That and Sammartino eating a pin had to be a rare occurrence right?

 

[Bernkastel]

Before anyone says "Bruno was only a big star in the Northeast" Bruno was internationally known and, according to Apter, held a marketing advantage. Bill was able to sell 3 times the magazines with Bruno on the cover. The NWA wanted Bruno to be their world champion in the 60's. That should tell you everything you need to know about Bruno's appeal. He was the one that turned that offer down.

Pretty much anything Austin could do, Bruno could do better. Brawling, grappling, technical wrestling. Bruno possessed inhuman strength and endurance. He was still wrestling 60 minutes into the late 1970's.

This is how the match is going to go, Bruno is going to punch Austin all over the arena. And when he's done he's going to target Austin's knees. Austin did not have strong knees; that's why he wore the brace. They would be a huge target for Bruno. On shaky legs, the Rattlesnake would be no match for Bruno.

Even though this is in Austin country, they were both WWE stars. And there's no way that McMahon would let even a prime Austin defeat a prime Bruno.

Vote Bruno.

 

[enviousdominous]

I've got to go with Bruno.

Both men came out of their previous matches with the exact same ratio of votes, so the notion of damage from the previous match is effectively negated.

Bruno was a "good guy", but he was nobody's fool and heaven help you if you make him mad. Steve Austin will not be able to intimidate Bruno with his antics, Bruno would smirk at being given the bird and only say "I'll see you in the ring kid" as a response to Austin's banter.

The only advantage I see for Austin is that this is in his general turf of Anywhere, Texas. A huge disadvantage I see for Austin is that his longest one-on-one match (for what I can research) was 28:36 in a losing effort against Bret Hart at Survivor Series in 1996. I'm sure most of you remember that match, where the pain of the sharpshooter and subsequent blood loss caused Austin to pass out.

I don't ever recall Bruno looking like he was gassed, even when he bled and endured painful submission holds.

If Steve couldn't last against Bret, his chances against Bruno are slim to none.

Vote Bruno.

 

[nightmare]

Even in Dallas. Even knowing Austin will punish Bruno with some nasty chair shots to sacrifice a fall for the greater good. Even though I like him more.

I cannot vote Austin over Bruno here. Nobody should, honestly.

 

[stingray11214]

If Fritz von Erich was booking this match, he'd tell Bruno "Look, this kid Austin is a little cocky. If you feel the urge to work him over, just don't kill him, okay?" We are talking about a guy that even Antonio Inoki, who was as tough as they come, feared in the ring. Austin sold a lot of t-shirts. However, Austin was more of an entertainer. Bruno was an athlete AND a wrestler.

In closing, Bruno would grab the six-pack from Austin, drink it in front of him, then he would proceed into wiping the entire arena and parking lot with Austin. Vote Bruno.

 

[sikkbones]

I've got to go with Bruno.

Both men came out of their previous matches with the exact same ratio of votes, so the notion of damage from the previous match is effectively negated.

Bruno was a "good guy", but he was nobody's fool and heaven help you if you make him mad. Steve Austin will not be able to intimidate Bruno with his antics, Bruno would smirk at being given the bird and only say "I'll see you in the ring kid" as a response to Austin's banter.

The only advantage I see for Austin is that this is in his general turf of Anywhere, Texas. A huge disadvantage I see for Austin is that his longest one-on-one match (for what I can research) was 28:36 in a losing effort against Bret Hart at Survivor Series in 1996. I'm sure most of you remember that match, where the pain of the sharpshooter and subsequent blood loss caused Austin to pass out.

I don't ever recall Bruno looking like he was gassed, even when he bled and endured painful submission holds.

If Steve couldn't last against Bret, his chances against Bruno are slim to none.

Vote Bruno.

That was the second match at wrestlemania 13 in 1997.

The first match at survivor was more technical

But you made your point. Austin wouldn't quit, but Bruno would win,

Leaving a comatose austin in the ring with back problems from a far too long bearhug

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I don't strongly adhere to the idea of McMahon booking Bruno over Austin. Austin 3:16 was a fucking HUGE merchandise machine and I still remember seeing shirts, posters, mugs, and fucking alarm clocks in retailers. McMahon would have to be an idiot to not let one of his biggest cash cows go over, especially in Dallas. I don't recall seeing Sammartino mugs at Wal*Mart, but then again I'm a product of my generation.

That said, I am leaning Bruno. Pulled out of his hospital bed or not, Buddy Rodgers was squashed by Sammartino in a matter of seconds, dropping the title to him. Can't imagine Austin destroying anybody with the Nature Boy's prestige that quickly, especially since Austin's prime included hard fought matches with dirty finishes. So not only would Bruno's long game be strong (as has been covered here already), but he can also get a point or two as soon as humanly possible.

Austin would look like a million bucks, but endurance and legacy has me thinking the Italian Superman would beat him. Vote Bruno.

 

[SSJPhenom]

Bruno routinely had matches that would go to the time limit. Not saying that Austin didn't have endurance and couldn't go, just that the experience edge in a match like this goes to Bruno. While Austin may have arguably been the greatest draw in wrestling history, his career was short and Bruno was on top and the man for a lot longer.

It pains me to say this, but being impartial, I have to go with Bruno.

 

[Lowdown]

Hmmm, a lot of compelling arguments for Bruno, but I wouldn't count out Austin. He's defeated foes he shouldn't have in the past, so why would this be any different. I'm going against the grain and voting Stone Cold.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

I'm voting for Austin for the same reason I voted for Sting. This should not end up looking like a squash.

 

[Tastycles]

Steve Austin in his prime would never be booked to go for an hour, so this match would never happen. However, as it is, we have to look at those injuries as a reason that Bruno would be able to win. He'd stay in the early stages long enough to exploit them, and that's that. Bruno wins.

 

[The Brain]

Bruno wrestles 1 hour in his sleep. He won't burn out.

He was still wrestling 60 minutes into the late 1970's.

Bruno routinely had matches that would go to the time limit.

Is any of this actually true? Maybe it is. I don't know for sure. I think a lot of people just assume that any main event match before 1982 went to a 60 minute draw. There were definitely a lot of those kinds of matches way back when but I think that was more an NWA thing. I don't think that was the New York style. Again, I don't know for sure, but I just don't think Bruno was going 60 minutes at the Garden every month. If you want to post some links that show otherwise I'll happily admit I was wrong. And not just a couple examples. You guys make it sound like it was a regular occurrence. I'm not saying Bruno is the wrong choice. Just don't vote for him because you assume he wrestled hour matches all the time because he wrestled in the 60s.

 

[ShinChan]

Is any of this actually true? Maybe it is. I don't know for sure. I think a lot of people just assume that any main event match before 1982 went to a 60 minute draw. There were definitely a lot of those kinds of matches way back when but I think that was more an NWA thing. I don't think that was the New York style. Again, I don't know for sure, but I just don't think Bruno was going 60 minutes at the Garden every month. If you want to post some links that show otherwise I'll happily admit I was wrong. And not just a couple examples. You guys make it sound like it was a regular occurrence. I'm not saying Bruno is the wrong choice. Just don't vote for him because you assume he wrestled hour matches all the time because he wrestled in the 60s.

I could find following matches of Bruno Sammartino that went 60 or more minutes:

• VS Waldo Von Erich at WWWF MSG Show Aug'64 #2 - 81 Minutes
• VS Gorilla Monsoon at WWWF MSG Show May'64 - 70 Minutes
• VS Pedro Morales at WWWF Showdown at Shea'72 - 65 Minutes
• VS Dr. Biff Miller at WWWF MSG Show July'65 - 60 Minutes
• VS Hans Mortier at WWWF Philadelphia Show Sep'63 #1 - 60 Minutes

He did have matches in 50+ minutes duration with Giant Baba and Nikolai Volkoff. That's all I could find.

I must say that I'm very impressed after reading a lot about Bruno, thanks to WrestleZone Tournament. He was a just a big name for me but I can see why he's so big name in professional wrestling. Selling out MSG arena consistently ain't very easy.

Vote Bruno Sammartino.

 

[ComeOnVince]

Steve Austin brutalizes an out-of-his league Bruno early and often with anything he can get his hands on, wearing the man out with Stunner after Stunner on the road to victory. Vince books the biggest star in his company's history to go over the longest-reigning champ of all time.