WrestleMania Tournament

[humanoid92 0]

(EDIT: after Chris' post, I now realize that the easiest way to tally the votes would be if people only write down the upsets they're picking in each bracket. So from now on if you can do as I suggested below but only write the upsets, that'd be great. For example, Chris's post would look like: Pontiac- 9, 12, 13; AC- 12, etc. Thanks.)

 

People are either gonna think this is the dumbest thing ever or be mildly interested in it, but I made brackets containing WrestleMania matches. Three different things inspired this: 1) the stupid WWE.com tournament that has "moments" such as "crowd annihalates Brock and Goldberg," 2) real March Madness, 3) everyone seems to be voting in tournaments on this site anyway.

 

If you just want to look at my brackets, that's fine. If people want to actually vote on these, well... I've never been a big fan of counting up other people's votes but I guess if this is popular enough I can suck it up and do it. But I do ask that instead of bolding your choice or listing your choices in order, you just write the number of the seeds you're voting for. It'll be much easier to keep track of that way. For example, for the Pontiac region, if you vote for seeds 1, 9, 4, and 12 in the first round, please just write:

 

Pontiac

1

9

4

12

etc.

 

It will make it much easier. I encourage you to include your comments and explanations, but please do it at the bottom of the post, separate from the votes.

 

Also, if you're going to vote, simply vote for your favorite match of the two choices. That's the only criteria. Money drawn, buyrates, historical significance, main event over mid-card, **** over ***1/4, clean finish over DQ - all that bullshit is out the window. Just simply vote for which match you personally like more. If you've always hated Hogan vs. Rock, and it's up against Money In The Bank 1, and you love that match, then vote for MITB. Don't feel pressured to vote Hogan vs. Rock just because it's the more famous match. If you loved Honky Tonk Man vs. Beefcake as a kid and couldn't get enough of that match, then vote for that over something you don't care about even if most people consider what you don't care about to be ***1/2. This is about your favorites, not what's universally seen as the best.

 

This will hopefully make the results interesting. There are a lot of matches in this tournament that you wouldn't necessarily think are among the elite WM matches, but that's what makes it fun. We already know how everyone feels about the top matches. We've talked about Bret vs. Austin and Austin vs. Rock a million times before. This gives us a chance to evaluate the middle of the pack stuff and see what the more popular unheralded matches are. What do most people like more? Jake vs. DiBiase from WM 6 or Harts & Davis vs. Tito & Bulldogs from WM 3? Who knows? Well, now we will.

 

A few notes on how I made the brackets:

 

- First off, there are really two tournaments. Two fields of 64. The first field is comprised of matches from WrestleMania I-XI (1985-1995), and the second is from WrestleMania XII-XXII (1996-2006). I did this to get more notable matches on the card. Too many would have been left off otherwise. Plus, the last 6 or 7 shows have been so stacked with main event level matches that combining all 22 events together wouldn't be fair to the earlier shows.

 

- I tried to include infamous matches over standard non-descript matches that may technically be "better" but aren't nearly as memorable. So Bart Gunn vs. Butterbean, the midget match with Bundy, HHH vs. Ultimate Warrior, and other notable stuff like that gets into the tourney instead of, say, Kurt Angle vs. Kane or Tatanka vs. Rick Martel.

 

- I seeded things by general perception, and I gave main event type matches and World Title matches the benefit of the doubt for the most part. Stuff that has cracked the WM elite that wasn't a main event or World Title match weren't punished- they're still seeded very highly. But I tried to rank all the main event matches highly so that a World Title match wouldn't end up as a #8 seed. This will surely make for some upsets. I didn't simply rank my favorites from best to worst. Believe me, there are several lower seeds I like more. It would be pointless to just rank things according to the way the internet already believes they should be.

 

If this doesn't catch on and nobody votes, that's fine. You can just read the brackets and discuss them. I'm not really excited about tallying things up anyway. But if there's enough interest, I'll do it. Unless there's someone out there that's all about stuff like that and wants to take over... I'll gladly turn this thing over to you. Anyway, here we go...

 

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

 

1 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (III)

16 Tito Santana vs. The Executioner

 

8 Dusty Rhodes & Sapphire vs. Randy Savage & Elizabeth

9 Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund

 

5 Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper

12 Brainbusters vs. Strike Force

 

4 Lex Luger vs. Yokozuna

13 Randy Savage vs. George Steele

 

6 Wrestlemania 2 Battle Royale

11 Wrestlemania IV Battle Royale

 

3 Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter

14 Brutus Beefcake vs. Honky Tonk Man

 

7 Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior

10 Tatanka vs. Shawn Michaels

 

2 Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

15 Roddy Piper vs. Bad News Brown

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1 Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

16 Dream Team vs. Rougeau Brothers

 

8 Undertaker vs. Jake Roberts

9 Andre the Giant vs. Big John Studd

 

5 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (IV)

12 Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect

 

4 Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels

13 Demolition vs. Strike Force

 

6 Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

11 Rockers vs. Barbarian & Haku

 

3 Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair

14 Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules

 

7 Demolition vs. Andre the Giant & Haku

10 Undertaker vs. Jimmy Snuka

 

2 Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels

15 JYD vs. Greg Valentine

 

Toronto Region

 

1 Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan

16 Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna vs. Doink & Dink

 

8 Randy Savage vs. Crush

9 Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver & Haiti Kid vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook

 

5 Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy

12 Demolition vs. Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji

 

4 Yokozuna vs. Bret Hart (IX)

13 Twin Towers vs. Rockers

 

6 Mega Maniacs vs. Money Inc.

11 King Kong Bundy vs. SD Jones

 

3 Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice

14 Owen Hart & Yokozuna vs. Smoking Gunns

 

7 Nasty Boys vs. Hart Foundation

10 Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett

 

2 Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart

15 Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana

 

New York City Region

 

1 Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage

16 Mr. Perfect vs. Blue Blazer

 

8 Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. British Bulldogs & Tito Santana

9 Ted DiBiase vs. Jake Roberts

 

5 Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

12 Jake Roberts vs. Andre the Giant

 

4 Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff

13 Steiner Brothers vs. Headshrinkers

 

6 Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper

11 Brutus Beefcake vs. Mr. Perfect

 

3 Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase

14 Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake Roberts

 

7 British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team

10 Jake Roberts vs. Rick Martel

 

2 Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna (X)

15 Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

1 Steve Austin vs. The Rock (X-7)

16 Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus

 

8 Edge vs. Mick Foley

9 Undertaker vs. Randy Orton

 

5 John Cena vs. JBL

12 HHH vs. Owen Hart

 

4 Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon

13 Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn

 

6 Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

11 Undertaker vs. Big Boss Man

 

3 HHH vs. Chris Jericho

14 RVD vs. William Regal

 

7 Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (2000)

10 Cactus Jack & Terry Funk vs. New Age Outlaws

 

2 HHH vs. The Rock vs. Mick Foley vs. Big Show

15 JBL vs. Chris Benoit

 

Seattle Region

 

1 Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart

16 HHH vs. Goldust

 

8 Undertaker vs. Kane (XIV)

9 Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

 

5 Undertaker vs. Psycho Sid

12 Shane McMahon vs. X-Pac

 

4 Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton vs. Kurt Angle

13 Hardcore Battle Royale

 

6 Undertaker vs. Ric Flair

11 Chris Jericho vs. William Regal

 

3 Batista vs. HHH

14 Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy

 

7 Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon

10 Christian vs. Chris Jericho

 

2 Steve Austin vs. The Rock (XV)

15 LOD & Ahmed Johnson vs. Nation of Domination

 

Chicago Region

 

1 Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin

16 Ultimate Warrior vs. HHH

 

8 The Rock vs. Steve Austin (XIX)

9 Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit

 

5 Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon

12 Undertaker vs. Kane (XX)

 

4 Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle

13 Akebono vs. Big Show

 

6 Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels

11 Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall

 

3 John Cena vs. HHH

14 Gimmick Battle Royale

 

7 Undertaker vs. HHH

10 Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero

 

2 Chris Benoit vs. HHH vs. Shawn Michaels

15 The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock

 

Anaheim Region

 

1 The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

16 Owen Hart, British Bulldog & Vader vs. Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson & Jake Roberts

 

8 Money In The Bank (XXI)

9 Money In The Bank (XXII)

 

5 Edge & Christian vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz (X-7)

12 John Cena vs. Big Show

 

4 HHH vs. Booker T

13 Undertaker vs. Mark Henry

 

6 The Rock & Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair, Batista & Randy Orton

11 Roddy Piper vs. Goldust

 

3 Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle

14 HHH vs. Kane

 

7 Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kurt Angle

10 Undertaker vs. Diesel

 

2 Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels

15 Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko & Perry Saturn vs. Too Cool & Chyna

[CanadianChris 0]

Interesting idea...

 

Pontiac

1

9

12

13

6

3

7

2

 

Atlantic City

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

Toronto

1

8

12

13

6

14

7

2

 

New York City

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

15

 

Houston

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

Seattle

1

8

12

4

6

3

10

2

 

Chicago

1

9

5

4

6

3

10

2

 

Anaheim

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

2

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

1985-1995

 

Pontiac Region

 

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1

8

12

13

6

3

7

2

 

 

Toronto Region

 

1

8

5

13

11

3

7

2

 

 

New York City Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

15

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

1996-2006

 

1

9

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

Seattle Region

 

1

8

12

13

6

3

10

15

 

 

Chicago Region

 

1

9

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

 

Anaheim Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

10

2

[Vern Gagne 0]

Pontiac Region- 9, 12, 13

 

Atlantic City Region-9, 12, 11, 10

 

Toronto Region-12, 10,

 

New York City Region

 

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region- 13

 

Seattle Region-12, 11, 14, 10

 

Chicago Region-9

 

Anaheim Region-

[alfdogg 0]

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

9

12

13

 

Atlantic City Region

12

11

 

Toronto Region

 

No upsets.

 

New York City Region

9

13

 

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

12

 

Seattle Region

10

 

Chicago Region

9

 

Anaheim Region

 

No upsets.

[Aero 0]

Pontiac Region

 

1

8

12

4

11

3

10

2

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1

8

12

4

11

3

10

2

 

Toronto Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

14

7

2

 

New York City Region

 

1

8

5

13

6

3

10

15

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

1

8

12

4

6

14

10

2

 

Seattle Region

 

1

9

12

4

6

14

10

15

 

Chicago Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

Anaheim Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

10

2

[haVoc 0]

Pontiac Region

 

1

 

9

 

5

 

13

 

11

 

14

 

7

 

2

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1

 

8

 

5

 

4

 

6

 

3

 

7

 

2

 

Toronto Region

 

16

 

8

 

5

 

4

 

11

 

14

 

7

 

2

 

New York City Region

 

1

 

8

 

12

 

4

 

6

 

3

 

10

 

2

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

1

 

8

 

12

 

13

 

6

 

14

 

7

 

2

 

Seattle Region

 

1

 

9

 

5

 

13

 

6

 

3

 

7

 

2

 

Chicago Region

 

1

 

8

 

12

 

4

 

6

 

3

 

7

 

2

 

Anaheim Region

 

1

 

8

 

5

 

4

 

11

 

3

 

7

 

2

[Si82 0]

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

1

8

12

4

11

3

7

2

 

Atlantic City Region

1

8

12

13

11

3

7

2

 

Toronto Region

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

New York City Region

1

9

5

13

6

3

10

15

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

1

8

12

13

6

14

7

2

 

Seattle Region

1

8

12

13

11

14

10

15

 

Chicago Region

1

8

5

4

6

14

7

2

 

Anaheim Region

1

8

5

4

11

3

7

2

[humanoid92 0]

Thanks for the responses so far. Not a lot of comments yet but I guess that's to be expected when A) the criteria is to pick your favorite, which doesn't really lend itself to arguments and B) it's the first round. I'd expect we'll get to the more interesting matchups in the second or third round.

 

Also, it's a lot easier to tally the results with the # system so I'll have no problem doing it. For the record, here are my upsets:

 

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

 

9, 12, 11, 10

 

Atlantic City Region

 

12, 11

 

Toronto Region

 

12, 10

 

New York City Region

 

13

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

12

 

Seattle Region

 

12, 13, 11, 14, 10

 

Chicago Region

 

9, 14

 

Anaheim Region

 

No upsets.

 

 

I've always loved Jericho vs. Christian and Jericho vs. Regal. I also voted against a few 3 and 4 seeds that I've never really cared for.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Sorry. I didn't think we were supposed to put comments. I will for the next round.

 

The only real high seeds I voted against were Bret/Yoko, which never really impressed me and certainly I was never as interested in as Hennig/Luger and Austin/Rock (XV) which I thought was an overbooked mess in comparison to the fun brawl that was the LOD/Ahmed vs. NOD match at XIII. I didn't care for Austin/Rock at XIX either, but Austin/Rock at XVII is one of my favourite matches of all time.

 

I'll do the upset thing in the next round too.

[Guest BlueStang302]

EDIT - I didn't see how you wanted the format until I posted. I left the match I voted for reference to anyone reading but I'll let you get my votes easier.

Pontiac - 9, 12, 13

Atlantic - 12, 11, 10

Toronto - 9, 12, 13, 11, 10

New York - 15

 

This is fun. I hope it's alright, but I don't want to tarnish the voting by voting for matches I'm not too familiar with so I will only do the first brackets. 85-95 is an almost perfect timeline of my wrestling fandom. I started in '88 but I've seen the first 3 Wrestlemania's numerous times. I've seen WMs 12-20 as well, but not nearly as familiar.

 

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

 

1 Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant (III)

9 Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund

12 Brainbusters vs. Strike Force

13 Randy Savage vs. George Steele

6 Wrestlemania 2 Battle Royale

3 Hulk Hogan vs. Sgt. Slaughter

7 Rick Rude vs. Ultimate Warrior

2 Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage

 

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1 Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

8 Undertaker vs. Jake Roberts

12 Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect

4 Diesel vs. Shawn Michaels

11 Rockers vs. Barbarian & Haku

3 Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair

10 Undertaker vs. Jimmy Snuka

2 Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels

 

 

Toronto Region

 

1 Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan

9 Hillbilly Jim, Little Beaver & Haiti Kid vs. King Kong Bundy, Little Tokyo & Lord Littlebrook

12 Demolition vs. Powers of Pain & Mr. Fuji

13 Twin Towers vs. Rockers

11 King Kong Bundy vs. SD Jones

3 Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice

10 Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett

2 Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart

 

 

New York City Region

 

1 Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage

8 Hart Foundation & Danny Davis vs. British Bulldogs & Tito Santana

5 Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow

4 Hulk Hogan & Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorff

6 Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper

3 Randy Savage vs. Ted DiBiase

7 British Bulldogs vs. Dream Team

15 Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect

 

 

UPSETS:

1. I never liked "boxing" matches too much, so I chose the pretty decent Busters-Strike Force match.

2. Savage/Steel is pretty disjointed but interesting which is more than i can say for Luger-Yoko

3. Perfect/Bossman to me is much better than a half-assed Andre/Hogan match (WM4)

4. Rockers/Barb,Haku I felt had more action than Piper/Adonis which I did like but had more in atmosphere and "Piper's last match" dynamics. This was a close call.

5. Undertaker was my favorite, and it was a nice squash on Snuka with good commentary. Also close, as I liked Demolition, but it was kind of sad to see Andre not even tagged in.

6. Bundy/Hogan wasn't great. Demos-Powers was sorta fun with Fuji in there taking bumps, and I wanted to give a Demolition a vote as they were my favorite tag team back then

7. No way is Rockers match ever worse than anything with Yoko involved. JMO.

8. Maniacs-Money Inc was terrible and slow. SD/Bundy was fast and made me look at Bundy with awe.

9. Ramon-Jarrett had some nice action, just a bad finish. I liked the Harts but always disliked the Nasty Boys.

10. I'll take anything with Perfect over anything with Yokozuna.

[J.T. 0]

Pontiac Region

12

 

13

 

11

 

10

 

 

Atlantic City Region

 

12

 

11

 

Toronto Region

 

16

 

12

 

13

 

14

 

New York City Region

 

13

 

 

 

Pure Garbage that Savage/Flair and HBK/Razor is in the same side of the same bracket.

 

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

16

 

13

 

14

 

15

 

Seattle Region

 

9

 

12

 

14

 

15

 

Chicago Region

 

9

 

10

 

 

Anaheim Region

[King Cucaracha 0]

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac Region

9

12

13

11

14

 

Atlantic City Region

12

11

 

Toronto Region

12

13

14

 

New York City Region

9

12

13

 

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

12

 

Seattle Region

12

13

10

 

Chicago Region

9

14

 

Anaheim Region

[humanoid92 0]

Ramsus- That's quite alright. I know my initial post was kind of a mess, especially with the edit. I'll try to make the directions more clear for the second round.

 

Stang- yes, it's okay if you only want to vote on the first half. At the end, I'll just have to take into account that there's one less vote to consider for the second half.

 

JT- Those are two of my favorite matches too, but it happens.

 

I'm surprised Bret vs. Yoko (X) isn't getting much love. Not that it was a great match by any means, but it was Bret's crowning moment. But that's what I like about this tourney; just keep voting for what you like (or for that matter, against what you don't like).

 

I've tallied up the votes so far and we've got a lot of upsets brewing. What's great about this is you really start to see the variety of people's preferences. Only 10 and a half people have voted so far (Stang only voted on the first half) and only 9 out of the first 64 and 12 of the last 64 matches have been shut out completely. Two different 16's and two different 15's have votes. There's backlash against some of the top seeds already, which I think is great. It'll be interesting to see if/when all the major matches go down.

 

When do you think the second round should begin? I'd like to get as many people as possible to vote so I'll definitely let the first round carry over into the weekday. But when should I end it? I'd like to get at least 30-40 votes but I don't know if that's gonna happen. So I'm wondering if there should be a time limit or a # of voters limit. Any input?

[Darth Vader 0]

Pontiac

1

9

12

13

6

3

7

2

 

Atlantic City

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

Toronto

1

8

5

4

6

14

7

2

 

NYC

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

Houston

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

Seattle

1

8

12

4

6

3

7

2

 

Chicago

1

9

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

Anaheim

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

2

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Pontiac Region

 

1

9

12

13

6

14

7

2

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1

8

12

4

11

3

10

2

 

Toronto Region

 

1

8

12

13

6

3

10

2

 

New York City Region

 

1

9

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

1

8

12

4

6

14

7

2

 

Seattle Region

 

1

8

12

13

6

3

10

2

 

Chicago Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

14

7

2

 

Anaheim Region

 

1

8

5

13

6

3

7

2

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Pontiac Region

 

1

9

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

Atlantic City Region

 

1

8

12

4

6

3

10

2

 

 

Toronto Region

 

1

9

5

13

11

14

7

2

 

 

New York City Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

7

2

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston Region

 

1

9

5

13

6

3

10

2

 

Seattle Region

 

1

8

12

4

11

3

7

15

 

Chicago Region

 

1

8

5

4

6

3

10

2

 

Anaheim Region

 

1

8

5

13

6

3

10

2

[Chui 0]

1985-1995 Tournament

 

Pontiac: 1, 9, 12, 13, 11, 3, 10, 2

 

AC: 1, 8, 12, 4, 6, 3, 10, 2

 

Toronto: 1, 8, 12, 13, 11, 14, 10, 2

 

NYC: 1, 8, 12, 13, 6, 3, 19, 2

 

1996-2006 Tournament

 

Houston: 1, 8, 12, 4, 6, 3, 7, 2,

 

Seattle: 1, 8, 5, 4, 6, 14, 10, 2,

 

Chicago: 1, 9, 5, 4, 6, 3, 10, 2

 

 

Anaheim: 16, 8, 5, 4, 6, 3, 10, 2

 

The conspicuous choices are based on how I felt about certain matches in my mark days.