This Or That (10/7/2014)

Everybody loves binary decisions, especially wrestling fans! In This Or That, we’ve forced ourselves to choose between two options that relate to wrestling.

Over four questions, @TimWelcomed, @JoeySplashwater and @TomBlargh will have to choose one of two options and give their reasoning on each of their choices. You can then vote on which one you’d choose, giving you the false impression that you’re somehow involved and we care about your opinion chance to join the conversation!

Before we start, here’s last week‘s results:

Who will face Seth Rollins in the Cell?

Dean Ambrose – 76%, John Cena – 24%

Who will retire first?

Big Show – 75%, Kane – 25%

Which product would you rather try first?

DDP Yoga – 58%, JR’s BBQ sauce – 42%

Who reigns supreme?

Beyoncé – 51%, Rihanna – 49%

Better Hell In A Cell Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker or Mankind vs. Undertaker?

With Hell In A Cell in two weeks, which early Cell match did you like more?

Tim:

Both are memorable matches in their own ways but no Hell In A Cell match tops the storytelling of the Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker match. From the big stuff, such as it being the first Hell In A Cell, to the small intricacies, like the narrative of the chair being used in this feud culminating here, all being superbly intertwined and exploding to life thanks to the out-of-this-world chemistry and talent of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.

The way these two can always strike a genuine emotion by a simple move or a facial expression is amazing. I also think it’s something special to have the debut of Kane which was pretty big at the time. It’s always nice to see two storylines unfolding at once without being too much. So… umm… yeah. I’d say I like this match more than the Undertaker vs Mankind match, which wasn’t bad by (hardly) any means.

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker

Joey:

Both are classics but I lean towards Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. Shawn Michaels from 1996-1997 was on another level from any wrestler I’ve ever seen aside from the last few years of Daniel Bryan. That match was an emotional roller coaster that ended with the debut of Kane, which was a big deal at the time. You got to see two stories unfold, a classic match between two of the greats and it was the FIRST time you ever saw The Hell In A Cell cage so it just holds a special place in my little ol’ wrestling heart.

Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker

Tom:

While the first is objectively the better match, the second is one of those few spectacles in wrestling that I don’t think will ever be matched. It’s also the match that got me back into wrestling as a teenager, so as much as I like the HBK / Undertaker Hell In A Cell, I’ve got too much tied into the Mankind / Undertaker one to put anything above it.

Mankind vs. Undertaker

Who is the overall MVP of the Hell In A Cell match: Undertaker or Mick Foley?

Who do you think of more when it comes down to the Cell?

Tim:

Mick Foley took an Undertaker-centric gimmick match and made it synonymous with his name. Undertake has been in too many and I think that definitely counts against him in the end. Mick Foley risked his well-being to entertain the fans and that kind of thing doesn’t get looked over easily.

One could argue that Mick Foley set expectations so high for Hell In A Cell matches that he inadvertently harmed or even ruined them because no one could ever fully deliver after his dangerous antics set a ridiculously scary bar so high. Either way, he’s the one that comes to mind when I think of “Hell In A Cell.”

Mick Foley

Joey:

Undertaker may have done more and had a higher volume of matches but it’s Mick Foley. The memory of Foley falling off the cage made that match stipulation what it was where it could still exist 15 years later. Foley also had a great one with Triple H where he fell through the cage again. I’ll always think Mick Foley first when the words “Hell In A Cell” are mentioned.

Plus a lot of the Taker matches were a little overrated, especially that 6 man match featuring Undertaker vs. Triple H vs. Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. Kurt Angle vs. Rikishi which under-delivered so I will place blame on Mean Mark. HMPH!

Mick Foley

Tom:

Yeah, I think Undertaker suffers here from being in so many more than Foley, making it inevitable that he’s been in a couple which are clunkers. Foley really kinda redefined what a Cell match was all about, though at the same time, he took it to a level that no-one else was ever going to reach. Like, the Hell In A Cell matches Foley was in are worlds away from the Hell In A Cell matches we see annually and I can’t imagine that we’ll ever see them taken to the extremes that he went to.

Mick Foley

Is there anything at all that interests you on TNA Bound For Glory: YES or NO?

It’s this Sunday in Japan. We’ll preview the show later this week but some quick thoughts on if anyone cares about the show.

Tim:

NO.

NO

Joey:

No Hardys? No Wolves? No Rockstar Spud? No thanks. I care about nothing on this show.

NO

Tom:

UH EXCUSE ME BUT THIS IS A WRESTLING SHOW IN JAPAN SO IT IS TECHNICALLY PURO AND PURO IS NOT TO BE CRITICISED.

YES

Who would you rather sit next to at a wrestling show: Green Lantern Fan or CM Punk Kid?

Green Lantern Fan is hated by many wrestlers and fans. CM Punk Kid is on his way there. If you HAD to sit next to one of the two for a full wrestling show, who would it be?

Tim:

They both seem highly uncomfortable being to sit around but I think CM Punk Kid’s antics would be more attention-grabbing and awkward.

*takes a deep breath* Green Lantern Fan

Joey:

CM Punk Kid has not even entered his prime as a crazy wrestling fan. How scary is that? Green Lantern Fan seems to be at a place where he’s just sitting there and being a grump. Plus I could laugh when wrestlers clown on him as they tend to do when spotting him.

CM Punk Kid is still a teen (or young adult?) so I’d feel so awkward having to sit next to his craziness and not feel free to laugh at him without judgment of being a prick. I’ve also seen him single-handedly ruin a match between good wrestlers. I’ve only seen Green Lantern fan pout and get chewed out by wrestlers. I’ll take him and hope I live through the show.

Green Lantern Fan

Tom:

Man. Yeah, CM Punk Kid (though he might be CM Punk Tween?) is a tricky one – he’s SUPER OBNOXIOUS, which is funny from a distance but not when you’re close to him. He’s still a kid, so you hope he’ll grow out of it and, as good brother Joey says, you can’t really say anything when he’s in his element and just flipping out and being crazy, especially when his mum’s RIGHT THERE.

Green Lantern Fan is pretty high up on the list of guys I’d want to avoid being sat next to as well, but more because I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was pals with him. His awfulness tends to manifest more before and after events, rather than during matches, so I guess I could deal with him for a little while.

Green Lantern Fan