This Or That (3/31/2014)

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, @typicalROHfan and @TomBlackett 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 historical Wrestlemania match?

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin @ Wrestlemania 13 – 66%, Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock @ Wrestlemania 18 – 34%

Which one man Jim show would you rather attend?

Jim Ross – 67%, Jim Cornette – 33%

Better show idea?

Steve Blackman Bounties – 63%, WWE Pros vs. Joes – 37%

Better Mexican food?

Burritos – 70%, Tacos – 30%

Will Wrestlemania 30 be among the greatest events in Wrestlemania history: YES or NO?

Get your prediction shoes on!

Tim:

It’s a huge night for Daniel Bryan and could lead to one of wrestling’s greatest moments but definitely not seeing it as one of the greatest Wrestlemanias in history. Most of the undercard seems thrown together just to fit in the most wrestlers it can. The high-profile matches are kind of weak when it comes to exciting build-ups.

The main event could be something special if Daniel Bryan wins and the whole scenario of Daniel Bryan going the distance would make it one of my favorite Wrestlemanias of all-time but that doesn’t make the overall show one of the greatest.

No

typicalROHfan:

So tough to forecast but it comes down to one thing for me. Are you a big Daniel Bryan fan? If so, yes.

Other than Bryan/Triple H and the title match, nothing really has a big match feel going into the show. Undertaker/Lesnar has had a horrible build but should deliver in the ring. Cena/Wyatt is hit or miss. Everything else looks like complete filler. That being said, Daniel Bryan is my favorite wrestler and I expect him to deliver two GREAT matches and one of the best moments in Wrestlemania history if he wins the championship for real this time.

YES

Tom:

I think the story of Bryan’s struggle to overcome everything has the potential to make the main event one of the best in Wrestlemania history, but as far as the whole show being among the greatest events overall… I don’t see it. The two Bryan matches are sure to be excellent, but given how great a lot of the guys are on the roster, the rest of the card is too depressingly empty for me to have much confidence in it.

I’m interested in Cena/Wyatt and I think they’re capable of something special, but maybe only once they’ve had a couple of big matches together. The Brock/Taker match will be good, though I just don’t have the feeling that it’ll be any better than their previous efforts. The rest of the card is just a series of missed opportunities and guys thrown together for no particular reason. I’d love to be proven wrong and for this show to be incredible, but I personally don’t see it as happening.

No

Bigger scumbag entering the Hall of Fame: Ultimate Warrior or Carlos Colon?

The Hall of Fame is this Saturday and features many controversial figures, some with really low reputations. Which of the two is a bigger scumbag?

Ultimate Warrior has been known to be unprofessional in wrestling and homophobic out of the ring.

Carlos Colon was rumored to cover up the horrifying death of Bruiser Brody.

Tim:

This is a hard one because I really want to say it’s a tie but that feels like the cheap way out. One man helped someone get away with murder. The other is a homophobic and vile shit-stirrer that I don’t think has any kind of place in the spotlight. Neither should be commended or thought highly of but I’m going to go with Carlos Colon.

Carlos Colon

typicalROHfan:

This is such a weird year for the Hall of Fame. Razor Ramon and Jake Roberts aren’t known for being the kindest guys in wrestling in the slightest yet they’re probably the most sympathetic figures being inducted this year. Ultimate Warrior once commended Heath Ledger for dying so his kids wouldn’t have to live with a father who played a gay man in a movie. Completely terrible homophobic human being.

However, it’s Carlos Colon. His testimony during the trial of Jose Gonzalez for murdering Bruiser Brody was the reason Gonzalez got away with it. His story was somehow different from every other wrestler in the locker room who stated Brody was stabbed in the shower by Gonzalez. There are rumors that Colon played an even bigger part in the murder but either way, contributing to someone getting away with murder is near the top of terrible things one can do. At least Warrior is doing his garbage from afar and you can tune him out and ignore his ridiculousness.

Hopefully there’s a Bruiser Brody chant at the Hall of Fame during Colon’s induction.

Carlos Colon

Tom:

The Warrior seems to have toned down his rampant homophobia and general awfulness since he was brought back into the WWE fold, though there’s no sign that he’s really changed his perspective on things or has any sense of regret for being so deeply unpleasant. I wasn’t aware of Colon’s role in the Gonzalez / Brody situation until now, but that’s really pretty horrific and enough to have him be the first ballot inductee into the Scumbag Hall of Fame 2014.

Carlos Colon

Worse podcast: Talk Is Jericho or The Ross Report?

Both new and polarizing podcasts, which do you think is the lesser of the two podcasts?

Tim:

Jim Ross is a condescending and hard-headed human being. That alone makes his podcast really difficult for me to listen to. Chris Jericho isn’t very likable UNLESS he’s interviewing another wrestler. When that happens you get some really great stories and a more down-to-Earth Jericho, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I’ve yet to hear a Ross Report that I could sit through all of the way.

The Ross Report

typicalROHfan:

After giving each of these podcasts a chance, both feel like attempts to recreate the magic of an Art Of Wrestling and cash in on a fad after Steve Austin’s podcast became such a phenomenon on PodcastOne.

As much as I respect Jim Ross, his act is starting to get old and a lot of times, he comes off as a bitter old man. I’d understand why as his firing from WWE was completely unjust but he comes off as a guy frustrated at not being able to leave the wrestling world so he has to deal with the “morons” that is wrestling fans and is forced to talk wrestling for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Chris Jericho is just an annoying person if not in moderation. He at least seems enthusiastic and conducts some great interviews in the right situation as he lets the guest talk. His best was with Chavo Guerrero; a must listen. JR has a bad habit of talking over his guests and pushing his own thoughts instead of letting it be about the guest. I can deal with Jericho’s if you skip the monologue.

The Ross Report

Tom:

I’m not sure if JR just has a very dry sense of humour, but a lot of his comments (especially about ‘the folks on Twitter’ and ‘the dirtsheets’) can make him sound pretty miserable. I can only imagine how many stupid fans and questions and silly situations he’s had to deal with over the years, but he does come off as fairly jaded now. However, the history he has with a lot of his guests does make for some fun interviews, in between his weird asides.

As for Chris Jericho, I really can’t stand his podcast persona. His talk with Chavo where they spoke about their experiences with Benoit was excellent, but it’s been tough to get far into some of the others. His questions aren’t bad, but there’s a constant feeling that he’s trying very hard to be a radio personality and it ends up feeling a little desperate and Michael Scott-esque.

Talk Is Jericho

More anticipated film: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is coming out this Friday. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 comes out in May. Which superhero movie are you more excited to see?

Tim:

I loved the first film of the Spider-Man reboot and I am beyond excited to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I have never been a huge Captain America fan but Captain America: Winter Soldier is sounding unbelievably good even though I didn’t like the first movie all too much. I have way more faith in Marvel Studios than I do Sony Pictures.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 looks great and I think it is going to set up a pretty great third installment for the series but I have been swept up in the Captain America: Winter Soldier hype.

Captain America: Winter Soldier

typicalROHfan:

Captain America is cool but I’m a Spider-Man mark for life. I enjoyed the first Amazing Spider-Man more than the first Captain America of their current respective film series but my x-factor (no relation to Sean Waltman) is Jamie Foxx.

I view Foxx as a goofy comedian first thinking of such legendary memories as The Jamie Foxx Show and Booty Call. However, every time the guy takes a role I’m shocked at him getting, he hits a home run. Django Unchained and Ray being the main candidates. I see him striking gold again as Electro and Amazing Spider-Man 2 being the more enjoyable movie overall.

Amazing Spider-Man 2

Tom:

While I thought Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone were pretty great in the first Spider-man reboot, the film felt like kind of a mess overall. They seemed to be very conscious about making a Spider-man film that was serious and dark and not just for kids, but that just made all the goofiness even more jarring. The Raimi films might have been prone to melodrama and camp, but at least they had a decent sense of fun, which the new film didn’t have so much. Anyway, Amazing Spider-man 2 looks to be more of the same stuff that the first film gave us, albeit with slightly better villains (but STILL no J. Jonah Jameson, which is BAFFLING).

Meanwhile, Captain America looks really great across the board. Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World were both perfectly serviceable sequels, but it’s exciting that Winter Soldier will act as more of a follow-up to The Avengers and we’ll see some fall-out from everything that happened in that film and some more definition given to the Marvel cinematic universe.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier