This Or That (3/24/2015) Wrestlemania Edition

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:

Better wrestler?

Adrian Neville – 68%, Bad News Barrett – 32%

Better wrestler?

Rockstar Spud – 87%, Grado – 13%

Better wrestler?

Nigel McGuinness – 67%, Dynamite Kid – 33%

Better food?

Fish and chips – 75%, Meat pie – 25%

More valuable to Wrestlemania history: The Undertaker or Shawn Michaels?

Tim:

The Undertaker and his streak became more important for Wrestlemania later on. I think his two matches with Shawn Michaels, the Wrestlemania 27 match against Triple H, and his match against CM Punk were not only great but pretty important to those specific Wrestlemanias. Besides the matches I just named there are no Undertaker matches at Wrestlemania that I actively go back and watch.

Shawn Michaels definitely had a few of his own Wrestlemania clunkers but there was always something about him that captivated me. He just oozed charisma. As a kid who was raised on WCW, HBK was the main reason to ever get excited about a Wrestlemania. Now that I’m older HBK is still one of, if not THE, biggest reason to go back and watch old Wrestlemanias on the WWE Network. You just knew you were going to see a star do what he does best even if the chemistry wasn’t right or the build was shitty. When The Undertaker is in a boring or just plain bad match he does not grab my attention at all. Without the right build or the right opponent, The Undertaker at Wrestlemania was and is just an entrance.

Shawn Michaels

Joey:

Guess what – half of The Undertaker’s Wrestlemania matches are unwatchable. They started to get better in the 2000’s but didn’t become as legendary as they are viewed until Shawn Michaels and ‘Taker had arguably the best match of all time at Wrestlemania 25.

The crazy thing is you can debate it wasn’t even Michaels best Wrestlemania match. His bouts with Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Chris Benoit and others could rival it based on your preference. Not to mention all the other classics he had over the years. Undertaker may have meant more for a few years but in the bigger picture, Michaels provided better matches, better moments and will always stand the test of time.

Shawn Michaels

Tom:

I came into this assuming that it’d have to be The Undertaker, but thinking back, he really did have too many clunkers to take it. Not all of Shawn’s were classics, but he was still almost always in the best match on the card. He was also pretty much responsible for solidifying Undertaker’s Wrestlemania legacy and making “The Streak” the attraction it became, so yeah, gonna have to go for HBK here.

Shawn Michaels

Better Wrestlemania event: Wrestlemania 17 or Wrestlemania 19?

Tim:

Ashanti performing America The Beautiful. Limp Bizkit performing Rollin’ while The Undertaker rode out on his wicked hog. The Miller Lite Catfight Girls pulling down Coachman’s pants. “Dare To Dream.”

While all of that (besides Ashanti) was ridiculous, Wrestlemania 19 is my favorite of the two and probably my second favorite Wrestlemania behind the mass hallucination that was Wrestlemania 30. Wrestlemania 17 was entertaining but it doesn’t strike my fancy the way Wrestlemania 19 did. Safeco Field was a great atmosphere. It has one of the best Wrestlemania sets ever. Matt Hardy vs “Daredevil” Rey Mysterio was an enjoyable opener. Stratus vs Victoria vs Jazz is one of my favorite WWE women’s matches. Team Angle vs Los Guerreros vs Benoit and Rhyno didn’t live up to what I think it could have but it was still pretty enjoyable. Then you had Michaels/Jericho, Triple H/Booker T, Rock/Austin, and Lesnar/Angle. C’mon!

Wrestlemania 19

Joey:

I am so torn and want to fight for Wrestlemania 19 badly thanks to my love of Safeco Field and the event featuring better wrestling due to Wrestlemania 17 relying more on hardcore matches all night.

However, I must side with Wrestlemania 17. There’s the biggest stars of an era in their prime in the main event with Austin vs. Rock. Two other top 10 legacy stars in WWE history of Undertaker vs. Triple H. Maybe the greatest technical wrestlers of Angle vs. Benoit. The last chapter of the great tag team era of TLC matches. KANE DOING A LEG DROP OFF THE STAGE. This show was a landmark event featuring the stars of the most popular era in wrestling history.

Wrestlemania 17

Tom:

Wrestlemania 19 is great but 17 is close to flawless for me, especially in terms of pacing. There’s so much variety to the show, despite Joey’s disgusting accusation that it relies “more on hardcore matches”, AS IF THAT’S A BAD THING! I have very fond memories of almost every match on the card and Paul Heyman’s commentary made things especially great. Also! It has the insane Vince / Shane match, which my main man Werner Herzog always brings up when he talks about why he watches wrestling. If it’s good enough for Werner, it’s good enough for me.

Wrestlemania 17

Worse Wrestlemania main event: John Cena vs. The Miz or Randy Orton vs. Triple H?

Tim:

Both matches can take a hike but The Miz had no business in the main event of Wrestlemania. Randy Orton can be a complete bore but he is also a solid worker and his face ISN’T THE MOST ANNOYING THING ON THE PLANET OMG FUCK THE MIZ.

*Clears throat*

I mean, he’s just not very good. You knew that this match was a bad idea going in. Orton vs Triple H had potential to be good but it just didn’t work. So yeah. The Miz. Go away.

John Cena vs The Miz

Joey:

John Cena and The Miz may have technically been worse considering where Miz is at now but with that match, you know the purpose going in was to set-up The Rock vs. John Cena so the expectations weren’t there.

Randy Orton vs. Triple H had a tremendous build setting up one of the most personal feuds in recent memory. There were expectations for a special match and they just bored the building for 20 minutes. I can’t tell you a thing I recall from that match while I clearly remember The Miz falling on his head in the more recent ‘Mania dud.

Randy Orton vs. Triple H

Tom:

A bad John Cena match is always superior to a bad Randy Orton match and that’s a fact, jack. Also, Cena / Miz featured Miz getting a concussion, top that.

Randy Orton vs. Triple H

Better Wrestlemania celebrity involvement: Mike Tyson or Floyd Mayweather?

Tim:

Mike Tyson was a huge get and made more waves at a crucial time for WWE. He was used perfectly and it was all pretty awesome. So I have to say it is Tyson, hands down… even if I loved how naturally Floyd Mayweather fit into the WWE atmosphere.

Mike Tyson

Joey:

One of the tougher questions to answer for me. I truly believe the turning point in the Monday Night Wars that made WWF a must see promotion again overtaking WCW was Mike Tyson’s involvement and his interactions with Steve Austin. That being said, Floyd Mayweather was just made for sports entertainment. Mayweather was instantly a better heel than anyone in WWE upon arriving, set up a great Wrestlemania story and had an entertaining match with The Big Show. No doubt in my mind “Money” Mayweather will be back in WWE when his boxing career ends.

Floyd Mayweather

Tom:

Floyd Mayweather was just tremendous and really seemed to take to wrestling better than almost any other ‘outsider’ – Tyson was fun, but there was always the sense that he was just playing along with things, whereas Mayweather has this naturally anatagonistic personality that made him perfect.

Floyd Mayweather