SCF Tournament, Round of 32 - Shawn Michaels vs. Vader

[Slyfox696]

The following match is scheduled for one fall. The match is held in Indianapolis, Indiana and is a Round of 32 matchup. All seeds represent overall tournament seeding.



https://steelcageforums.com/tourney/pics/shawnmichaels.jpg


https://steelcageforums.com/tourney/pics/vader.jpg



#2 Shawn Michaels

vs.
#31 Vader






The discussion period will last for two days, followed by two days for voting. You may vote for whomever you feel deserves to win this match. Please post your reasons below if you wish.

[Fallout]

I love Vader. Great big guy, with a combination of athleticism and strength, as well as underrated charisma. But he's against HBK, the man who beat him at Summerslam 96, and whilst you could make the argument that backstage politics held Vader back, it's hard to deny that HBK has had the more influential career and bigger career wins than Vader in his prime. That, combined with his career renaissance, blows Vader out of the water here unfortunately.

[SSJPhenom]

Vader is arguably the greatest "big guy" in the history of professional wrestling. His athleticism, ring presence, and charisma were off the charts for anyone, much less a man of his size. He's going up against probably the greatest in ring performer in pro wrestling history though. This is tough. I could throw HBK's accolades around, but Vader isn't lacking in that department either. Vader is a man that has held world championships in three different continents while HBK is only limited to the WWE. WWE is the biggest game in town though.

Gotta go with HBK on this one.

[Spidey]

Real question: Was Shawn the first wrestler with a rabid women's fanbase? Like watching his work with Vader, Sid, British Bulldog, etc it's apparent that a good portion of cheers are coming from the ladies, and the camera makes sure we know that. Hogan was never a sex symbol, was he?
HBK's sex appeal has gotta be unrivaled. I don't recall anyone going gaga for a wrestler's look like his. On that alone I think he should be voted for over Vader. He brought something fresh to the table.

Sexy boy.

[Echelon]

Real question: Was Shawn the first wrestler with a rabid women's fanbase? Like watching his work with Vader, Sid, British Bulldog, etc it's apparent that a good portion of cheers are coming from the ladies, and the camera makes sure we know that. Hogan was never a sex symbol, was he?
HBK's sex appeal has gotta be unrivaled. I don't recall anyone going gaga for a wrestler's look like his. On that alone I think he should be voted for over Vader. He brought something fresh to the table.

Sexy boy.

Jim Londos practically invented that archetype some 30 years before Michaels was even born. Shawn was definitely not the first wrestler to benefit from marketing his sex appeal.

On the topic of Shawn vs Vader, I have to go with Shawn. Michaels became a huge attraction in his later career, and was a frequent headliner for major shows. Vader? Not so much. He was a prime example of the big, bad monster heel that would carry the main belt until either a face, or more popular performer, toppled him. He played that same role wherever he went. New Japan, All Japan, WCW, WWE; Vader's role was always the same. He was the monster built up to lose to the main face. Like Shawn Michaels. At Summerslam 1996. Vader never had a promotion built around him. Shawn did.

[Gazprom]

Yeah, though Michaels would probably refuse this fight after the debacle at Summerslam 1996, there is only one winner here. Vader's a big name, but he's not had the sort of sustained success in one place as Michaels has. It's easy to be a big deal when you're not staying long, as seen by the first three months of literally every single monster heel ever, it's harder to stay interesting.