First Round: New York - Owen Hart vs. Jun Akiyama

[klunderbunker]

This is a first round matchup in the New York City Subregion. The ring and arena are universal throughout the first round and the organization is not a factor. There is a 20 minute time limit. Vote using any criteria you like. Most votes in the poll at the end of the time period wins. In the case of a tie we will go off of the number of written votes. In the case of a second tie, both are eliminated.

Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Owen Hart

Vs.

Jun Akiyama

Voting is open for 4 days.

 

[Mr. Truth]

It's a shame most people haven't heard of Akiyama. I'd argue that both of these wrestlers were at their best in tag teams. Akiyama with Kobashi and Hart as a member of the Hart Foundation. Akiyama is a fantastic wrestler who has put on a bunch of five star matches. A match-up between these two would most likely be a five star match. Honestly, I'm not sure how this would turn out. I'm leaning towards Akiyama, but I'll abstain from voting for a bit.

 

[D-Man]

You people ACTUALLY think I'd vote against Owen Hart here??? Excuse me for a second...

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Ok, I feel better.

But seriously, this is the one round where I'm pulling my "favorite wrestler" card. I admit to not knowing much about Akiyama, but I also feel Owen Hart is constantly underappreciated and underrated on these forums.

Nothing will stop me from voting for Owen here. Let's at least give him ONE round before everyone begins to bash him.

 

[thrilla11]

Please please please people, Don't choose Owen Hart because of his name or because you take pity on him because he is no longer with us. Please do your research. When you compare Owen to Akiyama, Owen is but a no talent no body who used his famous brother's popularity to stay relevant.

Owen was only in this competition because his death was a tragic one. His credentials? Weak in comparison to Akiyama. Akiyama is a 6 time tag team champion and three time Heayweight Champion. Owen never won the World Heayweight Championship. He was always low tier.

His best matches were against his brother Bret, not because people wanted to see a good match but because people wanted to see Bret finally give what's coming to his little brother.

Both men are known to be great tag team wrestlers. Who did Owen tag with when he won the championships? Yokuzuna. Jeff Jarret. And the British Bulldog. None of these men hold a candle to whom Akiyama has tagged with. Two of the greatest Japanese wrestlers of all time: Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi. Yes. THAT Misawa and Kobashi.

More credentials? Ok how about this. Owen had one 5 star match in his career. Akiyama? He had 7. Owen couldn't even beat his brother when Bret wanted nothing to do with him. Bret didn't even want to fight his brother and yet he still lost. Who has Akiyama beat? For the Championship no less? Akiyama choked out Kobashi for the Championship. Akiyama CHOKED out one of the greatest wrestlers in history. Owen could never in his life make such a claim.

So what about in the ring then. What could Owen have done to Jun in the ring? Could he pull out the sharpshooter? A move that his brother innovated? Highly doubtful. But how could Jun have won then? How about a wrist clutch exploder suplex or a Blue thunder Driver; two finishers that Jun himself innovated? Jun easily beats the crybaby of the Hart family. Jun has power and speed and overtakes Owen in the end.

So please people, don't vote for Owen because of his name or because you feel bad for how he died. Vote for the better competitor in the ring and for one of the best workers Japan has ever seen. Do your research. Vote Jun Akiyama.

 

[GenMe]

Wow I see that most of the posters had vote for Owen Hart.

I'll put my vote on Jun Akiyama. Owen Hart was good, But I think that a lot of people feel sorry for him because of his tragedy. Like Thrilla said his best match was only against his borther Bret Hart, I honestly can't remember any other match were he was over with the crowd.

In every match that Akiyama was included he always used to give all the fans his best. He always used wrestle like if that was Akiyama's final match. He was amazing in all of his matches. He was also a multi-time tag team champion and a multi-time heavyweight champion.

Vote for Jun Akiyama.

 

[Theo Mays]

I'll admit to not knowing much about Akiyama, but Owen is more than Bret's brother or more than a guy we feel sorry for because he died during a stunt. Owen was a legit midcarder and had great matches with the likes of British Bulldog, Triple H, and Jeff Jarrett. Yes he is known for his great battles with Bret and the back and forth matches they had. It is a shame that Owen never captured the title from Bret, as that would have been a great way to keep the feud going. Even if it was a short run it could have been great. I know of Akiyama's credentials and there is no doubt he is great, but Owen is great as well. Yeah he might not have won a world title but either have some other greats in the wrestling business. World titles aren't the only thing to judge a guy by. Owen was a numerous time IC champ, European champ, King of the Ring and a tag team champ. He could work with pretty much any superstar and consistently put on good matches with them as well. So I'm voting for Owen, not because he is Bret's brother, not because of his tragic death, but because I feel he deserves it.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Jun Akiyama is someone I'm not overly familiar with, I admit that. However, just because he's yet another "Japanese Wrestling God" and Dave Meltzer has a hard on for him isn't reason enough for me to vote for him.

Owen Hart is someone that's pretty underrated overall and I think could have been a world champion if he hadn't died. I don't see Owen Hart as someone to feel sorry for because he died during a ppv stunt. Owen Hart had legitimate skills, was a great mid-card talent and had some damn good matches over the course of his career. Will Owen Hart always be overshadowed by Bret? Of course he will. Owen was a young man when he died and, by the time he did die, Bret was a 5 time WWF Champion. But, Owen was a great mid-card wrestler with runs with the European and IC titles, 4 runs with the tag titles, King of the Ring winner. I'm voting for Owen Hart this round.

 

[ZeroVX]

This was not an easy choice for me at all. Both guys are excellent in-ring competitors. Both are well-known tag team wrestlers, but have won world titles. (USWA for Owen and NOAH for Akiyama) Thing is, I'm going to vote for Owen, solely because of his role as a heel. When he feuded with Bret, he was bought as a legitimate threat to him because of his victory over him at Wrestlemania X. He was easily able to make people hate him because he played a whiny little brat. Even his role as the Blue Blazer in the Attitude Era worked because he overplayed the goody two-shoes kind of character, something I think Kurt Angle emulated when he first appeared in WWE. Akiyama could give Owen a run for his money, no doubt, but I'm still betting on Owen here.

 

[Kashagi]

I am in the same spot as D-Man, I really dont give a damn about who would kayfabe this match. I love Owen Hart, probably biased but I dont care, the man was a fantastic wrestler and I am supporting him whole heartedly here.

I did look at a few Akiyama matches as well as read up on him, but this was one of those cases where all the research in the world will be in vain. There are very few wrestlers I will vote over Owen, this man is not one of them.

 

[X]

Jun Akiyama is someone I'm not overly familiar with, I admit that. However, just because he's yet another "Japanese Wrestling God" and Dave Meltzer has a hard on for him isn't reason enough for me to vote for him.

Of course not. But you know what is a good reason to vote for him? The fact that he had FAR more success around the globe in professional wrestling than Owen Hart did. I LOVE Owen Hart, I even think he was a better worker than his brother Bret, but the man never achieved true main-event status, regardless of how great of a worker he was. He was never a world champion in any organization and whether he "could have been" or not is irrelevant, because he wasn't. Whereas Jun Akiyama is a multiple time World Heavyweight champion and has been far more successful than Owen was and he's done it against much tougher competition. Jun Akiyama has defeated both Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa in a span of 48 hours, choking out Kobashi and winning the GHC World Heavyweight title off Misawa. If that doesn't impress you, I don't know what will.

I love Owen, but he's severely outmatched against Jun Akiyama, who was probably the single most important Japanese wrestler of the transition from the 90s to the millenium and the birth of NOAH. He'd take out Owen Hart about 15-20 minutes into a classic match with his patented Blue Thunder Diver.


Please people, I implore you to vote with your brains and not your hearts, we all love Owen, but to say he was superior to Jun Akiyama is simply flat out wrong, and it's not a knock on Owen who was a great, great wrestler and a great man. He's just outmatched here I'm afraid, Jun Akiyama is a towering figure in the last 20 years of professional wrestling and has one of the most impressive resumes you'll ever see. He and his multiple world title reigns deserve your support over Owen Hart who's career highlight was winning the Intercontinental title.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I'm voting for Jun Akiyama. Not only was he one of my staff choices, but he's pretty much the only great Japanese wrestler that came from the AJPW generation right after The Four Corners Of Heaven (Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, and Taue). Expect a more detailed post as to why Akiayama goes over O. Hart sometime tonight (I need to get my thoughts and resources in order).

 

[jmt225]

Owen Hart was a great, great wrestler, but Jun Akiyama is simply better.

As unfortunate as it was, the fact is Owen's career got cut short, and he was never given the opportunity to live up to his potential.

Jun Akiyama, on the other hand, has been around since the early nineties and has faced the absolute best Japan has had to offer. From legends like Kobashi and Misawa, to today's greats like Hiroshi Tanahashi and KENTA.

It's funny that in the CM Punk thread, people want to bring up what a "legend" Inoki is and that's why it would be a "shame" if Punk won, and it just shows such ignorance to say stupid shit like that, but yet not come into this thread and say the same thing for Jun Akiyama, who unlike Antonio Inoki, is actually a GREAT professional wrestler and one of the greatest to ever perform in Japan. It shows that the true knowledge of Puro does not exist with a lot of people here who act like they know what the fuck they're talking about, because if they knew a single damn thing about it, they'd be pushing HARD right now to get Jun Akiyama past Owen Hart, just like they have been for Inoki over CM Punk.

I love Owen Hart as much as the next guy, and his matches against Bret Hart are some of my favorites, but he simply has not given to the business what Akiyama has, and he was not as good as Akiyama is.

 

[gd]

Honestly, don't know much about Jun other than he's Japanese so that means he's great, right? I'm going to vote for him here though. Based on some of the arguments in here and a quick trip to Youtube, he seems pretty solid. Certainly better than Owen Hart, without Bret or his death would be just another midcarder from 20 years ago. Doesn't seem like it's going to matter at this point, but consider this coutnerbalancing the fact I'm voting for Punk and Joe.

 

[Tenta]

This is complete and utter bullshit.

I don't know much about Akiyama, but....

Well, you know what, if you don't know much about the guy, then honestly, don't fucking vote in the match. Seriously, it's as simple as that. I doubt most of you are really that hard of Owen Hart marks, aside from the D-Man. He is the only one that I understand going out of his way to vote for Owen. The rest of you, I just don't get. Are you voting sheerly for the sake of voting? Are youy admitting ignorance to the topic before you? Because, God damn it, if you voted in this poll, and said something along the lines of what I just quoted, you don't have to fucking vote. I'm not asking everyone here to stop voting, but vote for matches in which you actually have half a clue about the competition.

You want the cold, hard facts? Owen Hart was a great wrestler, but was always a mid card name. Always had been, and always will be. Sure, he had a massive amount of talent, but he was just never a main event guy. Even his only WWF Championship was relegated to the semi main event, as The Undertaker took the main event spot from Owen and Bret. He put on great matches, and was a Hell of a guy, but he was nothing more than a mid card name, plain and simple. He was always pretty bad on the microphone, and there's no other way arouns it. He was good, but just that; a mid card player who made wrestler's look good, but was never a champion himself.

Without Jun Akiyama, there would be no Pro Wrestling NOAH. Period. It took him and Misawa leaving to create another promotion, which has arguably become the best promotion in Japan right now. Otherwise, most of the wrestlers that took heart in NOAH, such as Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki. Yes, one could argue it was Misawa, but the truth was, Misawa needed a wrestler to carry the company, and the first man he turned to was Akiyama. Remember that ROH that most of you on this board seem to love so much? It'd really not have half as much fame with us had it been for their deal with NOAH. And how about this.... Akiyama was something Owen never was.... A heavyweight champion. It was Akiyama that choked out Kenta Kobashi. If Bryan Danielson did that, I swear to God, I wouldn't stop hearing about it, to this day. He has quality wins over Kensuke Sasaki, and his win over Kenta is more impressive than anything Owen did outside of a fluke victory against his old brother. Without Akiyama, one would have to wonder where puro stands today. And, yes, he's done more for the business than Owen Hart. I understand supporting Owen Hart, but for God's sake, actually do some research before you put up a vote. If for nothing else, to show you give a rat's ass.

 

[Ferbian]

I must admit I don't know very much of Jun, but reading what people has written about him (especially X) made me actually reconsider my first decision of voting for Owen straight away.

Having looked at some of his stuff on Youtube, this one in particular

[YOUTUBE]vftIbWqBXNU[/YOUTUBE]

It's quite obvious this guy is talented, and while I will give Owen, he was damn well talented too, and was very very loved as opposed to what I know of when it comes to Jun (I don't know if he was really loved, that's what I'm saying), but I think if these two really did meet in a match, they would tear the house down, but I think Jun would pull the victory.

 

[Mr. Truth]

After thinking, I've voted for Jun Akiyama. Owen Hart was pretty much a mid carder. Akiyama is just a great puro wrestler and held the heavyweight title in NOAH. That and after seeing so many people go with the "I don't really know Akiyama so I'll vote for Owen HART" line means I can't not support Blue Thunder in this match.

 

[PsychoBlack]

I dont know much about akiyama but Owen had tremendous ability and was excellent on the mic theres not many people in this tourney that i ould put over Owen i vote Owen

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I'm pretty sure a vast majority of everyone who voted Owen only voted out of either name value over Akiyama, or because he's dead. I knew what the results were going to be before I even voted. I also knew before the tournament even started that Owen was going to make it out of the first round simply because he's dead. When wrestlers die, fans' nostalgia goggles blast to full power, effortlessly.

On that note, I don't have too much relevant to say about this match up that hasn't already been said. Akiyama has been a part of legendary tag teams as Owen has been in one and a decent heel-run.

My decision was about 50/50, but I'm leaning toward Akiyama with this one. My vote goes to Akiyama.

 

[DirtyJosé]

Kayfabe: Owen Hart is not a nugget. Akiyama is...?

Performance: Owen Hart could run circles around most others during his time in the ring. This time included The Rock, Austin (Owen 3:16!), HHH, HBK, and Bret Hart. Akiyama could....?

Personal: Owen Hart will kick your leg out of your leg. Akiyama will....?

Owen Hart. Recognize Miracles.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Kayfabe: Owen Hart is not a nugget. Akiyama is...?

NOAH's first true star (Kobashi and Misawa were already huge in AJPW). Also, he has had three reigns as the GHC Heavyweight Champion. And, no these weren't just short title runs bunched up all together. They were all lengthy runs that were about spaced out almost evenly from 2000 to 2009. What can we infer from this? Well, we can infer that the belt just kept on finding its way back to Akiyama because, one, he's a damn fine wrestler, and, two, he was able to keep out of obscurity between his reigns.

Honestly, how many wrestlers do you know of nowadays that can remain relevant without a title? I could probably count them all on both of my hands.

Performance: Owen Hart could run circles around most others during his time in the ring. This time included The Rock, Austin (Owen 3:16!), HHH, HBK, and Bret Hart. Akiyama could....?

Uh, before he died, Owen Hart was doing a Blue Blazer comedy angle with Jeff Jarrett. Also, without breaking Steve Austin's neck and the Montreal Screwjob, Owen would have been in mid-card limbo about a year earlier.

Also, who has Akiyama held his own with? Oh, I don't know, just some guys named Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue.

Personal: Owen Hart will kick your leg out of your leg. Akiyama will....?

Owen Hart. Recognize Miracles.

I think you meant to say, "Owen Hart will break your neck and do stupid shit in the ring that Mick Foley will then write about in his best-selling books."

Ironically enough, though, one of Akiyama's signature moves is a slide kick to the knees. But, even without this, I'd take one of the many sick moves Akiyama has innovated over Hart's ability to kick someone's leg out of their leg any day of the week.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

I'm voting for the Japanese guy I've never heard of, over the career midcarder who's biggest win was against his Brother who in the same night over-shadowed his victory by winning the Heavyweight title.

Here's the deal.. Owen Hart isn't winning this thing because he should be. He's winning it, because its against a guy no one likely wants to take the time to learn about, or care about. Ironically, I'm voting in a similar way, yet opposite. If that makes sense. I'm voting for the guy I know nothing about (but what I've read Diglet say) over the guy I know probably too much about.

Owen Hart has won an Intercontinental title, only to rarely defend it against anyone worth remembering. Until losing to Austin. He was best in the Tag team division with the British Bulldog and Yokozuna, (two guys who did all the work, while Owen took all the credit, mind you) not to mention Jeff Jarrett. And finally, won 2 slammy's?! One of which was a stolen one, for best bow-tie. And this guy's.. winning?! Why again?

For all purposes needed.. I miss Owen Hart. I cried when the man died in the ring, and it was one of the worst days this business has ever, and will ever, see. Owen was a great Family man from what I've heard.. and he was entertaining to watch. However, simply put.. there are guys with twice the talent Owen has.. losing.. in this tournament. So for Owen to win, based on all the wrong reasons.. would only make this victory that much worse.

Do the right thing people.. Vote based on who SHOULD win through talent. Not who you want to win, because you feel bad he died. Remember Owen through memory, not tainted and sympathetic voting.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I'm voting Owen Hart due to my own ignorance. I really do not know much about Akiyama besides what I have read. I watched Owens entire career. He was a GREAT in-ring competitor. I have always felt Owen to be underrated, and it bothers me. I don't think he was better than Bret in the ring, but he was better than a lot of guys who went further than him, and I'm not sure why. He had a great character, decent on the mic (maybe better than Bret), and could put on a show in the ring.

I just can't vote against the Nugget!

 

[Tastycles]

I absolutely loved Rocket Owen, still do. However, the vast majority of his career was spent being Bret Hart lite and losing a lot. Owen died young, and that is a tragedy, but he was never going anywhere, and never managed to pull off any wins remotely as good as the one against his brother, which led to him losing on a regular basis against him for years. Akiyama is not someone I'd claim to be an expert on, but he has pretty much been the name in Japanese wrestling this century. MSG has a history of having foreign champions going over domestic wrestlers, and I see this as being one such time. Akiyama should win.