Rating System
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 285 lbs.
Born: July 12, 1977 in Webster, SD
Weighted Age: 26.5
****1/2 Matches
1. 4/29/12 John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules) ****1/2
****1/4 Matches
2. 3/30/03 Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle ****1/4
2. 8/24/03 Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar ****1/4
2. 9/18/03 Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (Iron Man) ****1/4
2. 12/4/03 Brock Lesnar vs. Chris Benoit ****1/4
**** Matches
6. 10/20/02 Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker (Hell in the Cell) ****
6. 2/15/04 Eddy Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar ****
***1/4 Matches
8. 7/21/02 Rob Van Dam vs. Brock Lesnar ***1/4
8. 8/25/02 Brock Lesnar vs. Rock ***1/4
8. 5/18/03 Brock Lesnar vs. Big Show (Stretcher) ***1/4
*** Matches
11. 9/22/02 Brock Lesnar vs. Undertaker ***
Score: 78.5
Good stuff so far. You've obviously put work into this, and my comment is in no way intended to diminish your effort, but I am curious how much different the results would be if the comparisons only used the best matches against any particular wrestler, in other words, use the best ten matches possible against ten different guys. The Billy Kidman one was especially glaring, because his listing mostly showed that he and Juventud Guerrera had good chemistry. Likewise, Batista had several great matches with Cena and Undertaker. I'd argue that the mark of a good worker is how many *different* guys he can get a decent match out of. I was actually surprised by how many different guys showed up on RVD's list.
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's another project when you're done with this one? :-) At any rate, I'll happily keep watching this series and see who comes out on top.
You're absolutely right!
ReplyDeleteI think of it like the RBI in baseball (sorry, I'm an even bigger baseball fan). How many runs a batter drives in are as much a function of the quality of hitters in front of him and playing time as they are his own ability. Hall of Famer Tony Perez had 90+ RBI for like 11 straight years. Was that because he was a great run-producer, or because he had Pete Rose and Joe Morgan constantly on base for him? Or what combination of these two elements?
Owen Hart will be on this list (Spoiler alert!!), but he spent 3/4 of his career as a tag team wrestler, and then died young. Does that mean most of the guys ahead of him in my Top 50 are better workers? No, probably not. It just means they had a lot more opportunity. Then again, Hulk Hogan wrestled everybody for 20 years, and he missed the Top 50, so opportunity doesn't count for EVERYTHING.
That's something to keep in mind with these ratings (maybe I need to update the explanation). I like your idea for weighing the matches by quality/variety of opponents, but I can't promise I'll ever get around to it. I came up with this system two years ago (right after HBK retired), and just now calculated scores for every worker these past few months. Maybe somebody else will pick up the mantle and come up with an upgraded system?