Rock Region, L.A. SubRegion, Second Round:(8) Ricky Steamboat v. (9) Rey Mysterio Jr.

[NSL]

This is a second round match in the Los Angeles SubRegion of The Rock Region. It is a standard one-on-one match. It will take place at the Staples Center.

(8) Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

vs.

(9) Rey Mysterio Jr.

Polls will be open for three 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.

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.​

 

[NSL]

This is probably the 2nd round match I am most torn on. Their accomplishments speak for themselves, and they were both amazing in the ring for their time. I know Rey is still active, but he hasn't been an innovator of anything in quite some time now. They've been involved in major feuds, with top guys, and have headlined some of the greatest shows in the history of the business.

Based purely on in-ring skill, since their mic skills are both pretty average, I can't say who I would vote for. At least not this early.

 

[OYDK]

Like NSL said, this is probably the toughest match for me to call in Round 2. Putting these guys side by side, they've had very similar careers and this would have been the ultimate baby vs baby match-up had it ever happened... I really have no clue who I see going over.

Steamboat debuted in 1976 and, unlike Mysterio, was a pretty big deal straight out of the gate. Within a year he was feuding with Ric Flair over the Mid-Atlantic TV title and being groomed for a major role within the company. Personally, I think he deserved a couple of NWA title reigns throughout his first WCW run, but even so, he didn't need it to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the world, and he did everything but before leaving for the WWF in 85. Steamboat would never rise above the mid-card in the WWF for whatever reason but his match with Savage at WM3 will go down as one of the greatest of all time, it will never be forgotten by wrestling fans.

Throughout his career Steamboat was always a prominent player. Whether that be in Japan, Puerto Rico, or the States, The Dragon was always one of the more popular wrestlers and as such was treated like a big deal everywhere he went. The guy has more 5 star matches than I have fingers, was a pretty great draw even without the strap and has done it all in pro-wrestling, including winning the NWA World title. Still, the same can be said about Rey Mysterio. The guy is hugely over in Mexico and the US, also has had incredible matches and feuds with guys like Eddie, Batista, and basically anybody that weighed under 210 pounds during the years 1994-2001. A 3 time World Champion who has done it all and competed in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Wow, I typed all of that with the thought of defending Steamboat but now I'm second-guessing myself... Still, for the huge deal that Myterio is in Mexico, he's never been the AAA Mega Champion. In fact he's never won a World title anywhere but the WWE, and most people know the motives surrounding his first are... suspect, to say the least. Also, Rey has spent the majority of his career as a cruiserweight and had never been looked at as a legitimate threat to the World title before 04. In the end, I think people will remember Steamboat much more fondly and for having a much bigger impact on wrestling than they will Rey Mysterio. Mysterio was a great athlete, but 20-30 years from now, will people still talk about him?

Vote Steamboat... I think.

 

[NSL]

Wow, I typed all of that with the thought of defending Steamboat but now I'm second-guessing myself... Still, for the huge deal that Myterio is in Mexico, he's never been the AAA Mega Champion. In fact he's never won a World title anywhere but the WWE, and most people know the motives surrounding his first are... suspect, to say the least. Also, Rey has spent the majority of his career as a cruiserweight and had never been looked at as a legitimate threat to the World title before 04. In the end, I think people will remember Steamboat much more fondly and for having a much bigger impact on wrestling than they will Rey Mysterio. Mysterio was a great athlete, but 20-30 years from now, will people still talk about him?

I agree with all your reasons defending Steamboat, so I'm only replying to this part.

Yes, we all know the circumstances surrounding Rey's first win, but putting strictly their WWF/E accomplishments up next to each other, I'd have to say Rey has the edge. When you add in the NWA/WCW, or work done outside of there, it leans towards Steamboat.

When you look at their biggest matches, on the big stages, Rey has beaten the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, JBL, and CM Punk. And, while that's an impressive list, is it Savage, in arguably the greatest match of all time, or any of the 3 5-star matches Steamboat had with Flair in '89? I don't think so.

Damn, this is a tough one.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I'm a bit torn on this one as well. I think Rey had more accolades than Steamboat, but it is easy to ask what if Eddie never tragically passed? Would Rey still have won the titles he won?

Ultimately for me I think it is going to come down to who is more recognizable to the common fan, and Rey walks away with that, so I'm leaning toward Rey as of right now.

 

[NSL]

Ultimately for me I think it is going to come down to who is more recognizable to the common fan, and Rey walks away with that, so I'm leaning toward Rey as of right now.

I don't disagree with you, if we're talking about the "common fan" in the present day. But, to the common fan in the late 80's, I'd say that Steamboat was more popular than Rey is to the modern day casual fan. And it's not like Steamboat got a "Who?" when he came out for WrestleMania 25. He had tons of people chanting "You still got it!" to the point that he was given a follow-up match the next month.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I don't disagree with you, if we're talking about the "common fan" in the present day. But, to the common fan in the late 80's, I'd say that Steamboat was more popular than Rey is to the modern day casual fan. And it's not like Steamboat got a "Who?" when he came out for WrestleMania 25. He had tons of people chanting "You still got it!" to the point that he was given a follow-up match the next month.

Yeah, but the "You still got it!" chants are a dime a dozen anytime a former vet comes back. I can only think of one veteran in recent years who didn't get them, and that was Batista when it became obvious he was going to be pushed to the top of card as soon as he came back from his Hollywood hiatus.

 

[Tastycles]

Steamboat is a great worker that had a lot of great matches, but even his two defining feuds, against Savage and Flair, he lost a hell of a lot more matches than he won. Savage lost to move up the card, Flair ended up with the title again in the air. Mysterio is an all time great, in my opinion. You can say he only won the title because of Eddie, but considering Benoit was his other best friend and had already been a world champion, they had other options. Rey Mysterio is a cruiserweight wrestling a style that had almost no US representation, certainly not in national promotions that was able to raise his game to the main event level. Incredibly likeable, incredibly hard working, and so very good at what he did. Luchadors botch all the time, because what they do is so difficult, but at his height Rey rarely put a foot wrong. Rey is better, in my opinion.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

WOW!

Two men who have prolly never gone heel...(someone fact check Rey on this).

Amazing, Mania matchup this would be. I dunno which way to go but I'm leaning Dragon coz I just like him more to be honest.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

These guys are so similar it's almost strange. They are 100% babyface wrestlers, maybe more than any other two wrestlers ever. I can't say who the better worker is, even though Steamboat has been in several legendary matches (one with Savage and many with Flair) while Mysterio never really had that match people will remember for decades. Then again, Mysterio has (arguably) been more successful. I'll probably avoid voting as I can't really choose, but had to comment due to the clear similarities.

 

[AhSpicyDrop]

A lot of people in favor of Steamboat have pointed out his matches with Savage and Flair, and I agree... All of those matches were great. Steamboat also had great matches with Rudes and Austins of the world, not to mention many classics with Arn Anderson. He was one of those guys who could have a good match with anybody...

But here's the thing... Rey Mysterio, before he ever won a World title, made the entire wrestling world aware of the smaller guy. You can't give sole credit to him because he had great hands like Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, and a plethora of other talented junior heavyweights/cruiserweights to work with... But Mysterio was the face of it. During the Monday Night Wars I remember being stoked to see who Mysterio was going to wrestle, and always walked away feeling like he had the best match of the night on either show. For that I feel like ring-work wise I'd give the edge to Mysterio.

Mysterio was the much better underdog.. He worked with big men more easily than Steamboat. He was more popular than Steamboat, and maintained his popularity really well once he achieved the Main Event slot.

Mysterio edges Steamboat in nearly every category, even if some are just barely. You could make the argument for Steamboat because of his matches with Savage and Flair... but you can make the same argument for Rey's matches with Dean Malenko, which is a series I feel would be at the top of anybody's list.

Mysterio wins this in a great battle of babyfaces.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

First. Can I please watch this match?

It would be absolutely amazing.

As to who would win?

In real life, these guys would spend their careers just trading wins back and forth with each other, with each guy putting the other over more and more with every single match. When all was said and done, you wouldn't even remember the outcomes. You'd just remember the greatness.

But since there must be a winner, I'm going Steamboat, and the reason really isn't Mysterio's fault, but if I have to make a choice between the two, I need something to go by.

Steamboat was a guy who could have a great match with literally anyone. Regardless of where he was on the card, even during that early 90's Dragon run where he breathed fire and they did literally nothing with him (even going as far to ignore his own history in the company), he still made it a point to always have the best match on every card he was on. It was a source of pride with him.

Just like it was a source of pride that he could always have a different match with anyone. Most wrestlers eventually settle into a routine of what works, and what the crowds want to see. Steamboat was very good at always keeping it fresh, even when he was doing some of the same spots. It's one of the things that made him so great in the ring.

Mysterio, as time went on, became like most wrestlers and settled into a routine. Granted, this is also what the WWE wanted him to do. Fans liked the 619, so he should always be getting set up for the 619, no matter how ludicrous the set ups sometimes got. What was at one time just one of many cool spots the guy had, became THE go to spot for all of his matches. Not all his fault, but it still happened nonetheless.

Steamboat never came close to hitting that level of routine. His matches were always more fresh, and more compelling as a result. And for that, since I need a reason to put one of these guys over the other, I give my vote to Ricky Steamboat.

 

[NSL]

Finally decided on Steamboat. That is not a vote against Rey, but I'm hoping it counters the people who will come in, vote for the most recent guy, and leave. Steamboat is a legend, and deservedly so, but if he loses here, I won't break a sweat arguing over it.

This is a good match-up, and it'll be interesting to see how the voting goes.

 

[Dmbfantomas]

What. A. Contest.

While I've never really "gotten" Ricky Steamboat to the lengths that other people do, for me to call him anything other than a legend would truly be a disservice to him. A pure babyface his whole career, he made it work wherever he went. I like watching his matches, even though none of them have ever really blown me away.

That's why I'm voting for Rey. Their accomplishments in terms of titles and the like are similar enough that I'll consider it a wash. The influence of both men is undeniable, but I think twenty years from now we'll see that scale tip heavily in Rey's favor. There are so many children who loved Rey, not just because he did flippies, but because he was so small and was able to look like he fit. I've got little nephews that STILL love Rey, because of what he represents. He was the little kid like them who was able to beat out the big scary bullies, and it didn't matter that he was small. Are a lot of those kids going to fall out of love with wrestling? Of course they are...but a lot of them will stick with it, too, and I think that he will have a gigantic impact on "smaller" guys and gals still getting into the business because Rey did. Hell, we already see that now, and there are still generations of kids that are going to come up in the next 10-20 years.

I see people that are voting for Steamboat (which is TOTALLY fine and not a wrong choice in any way) say that it's not a vote against Rey. This is not a vote against Steamboat, it's a vote for Rey and what he represents.

 

[justtxyank]

I consider myself a Steamboat mark. He was my favorite wrestler as a kid before being supplanted by Sting later on. I think he was brilliant in the ring and was the perfect babyface wrestler.

This is a hard vote to cast and I will be persuaded by arguments.

Steamboat: The match with Savage is on most people's top 10 for greatest matches of all time. His series of matches with Flair often end up on that list as well and he gave Flair, who many consider to be the best worker of all time, his best matches of all time.

Mysterio: Was easily the dominant cruiserweight for WCW, and while Steamboat has WM3 with Savage, Jr. has Halloween Havoc with Eddy. That was a brilliant match. His tag team run with Kidman was awesome in WCW and he almost had the Jericho beats HHH moment before Jericho did when he got to face Flair on Nitro for the title and nearly pulled off the upset to a popping crowd. I will admit to being annoyed when he has been pushed against bigger guys because it is incredibly unbelievable and the pains the other guy has to go through to set himself up for Rey's moves are annoying.

I'm pretty sure I lean Steamboat, but I'll read other posts and see.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I made my vote for Rey because to me he is more recognizable and will be more recognizable down the road to the average fan, and because him winning better suits my bracket.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

This would be one of the standout matches of this round, and probably the tournament. 2 immensely likeable guys, both phenomenal talents in their primes and it's a really tough call to pick.

I like Steamboat, but I was blown away by Rey's insane moveset growing up that I'm giving my vote to the little Mexican. He has no business achieving what he has at his size, and he gets through another round here with the REAL 619 and west coast pop.