Road to the final

Dazz def Oncall 6-2
Dazz def Baker 8-6

Emperor def PI 9-3
Emperor def Kilgore 7-5



Dazz



1. Austin vs Rock at Wrestlemania 17



2. Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuiness at ROH Unified 2006



3. Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen AJPW Summer Action Series 1993



4. Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii, NJPW G1 Climax 23.



5. Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins 30 minute Ironman match in FCW in 2011



6. TJ Perkins vs Kota Ibushi, Cruiserweight Classic Semi-Final Match



7. Kushida vs Hiromu Takahashi, Jr. Heavyweight Title Match, Dominion 6.11 2017.


8. TAKA Michinoku vs The Great Sasuke, IYH: Canadian Stampede 1997







Emperor





1. Undertaker vs Mick Foley Hell In A Cell at King Of The Ring 1998



2. Jericho vs Benoit Ladder Match at 2001 Royal Rumble



3. Goldberg vs DDP at Halloween Havoc 1998



4. Sasha Banks vs Bayley at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn



5. Tiger Mask vs Dynamite Kid NJPW Big Fight Series II in 1983



6. Tommy Dreamer vs Raven at Wrestlepalooza 1997



7. British Bulldog vs Lord Steven Regal at Halloween Havoc 1993



8. Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu at AJPW Super Power Series, June 5, 1989

Dazz did extremely well to make it as far as he did. There were plenty of contemporary matches that not a lot of people would have heard about, but if you looked into them realised they were great matches well worth the time.

However, Emp picked the best card of the tournament and with maybe one exception, ticked every box. The Sasha/Bayley match was an inspired pick, not only because women's wrestling was over-looked, but because it was one of the greatest WWE matches in recent history. The Tsuruta/Tenryu match may have been the biggest steal of the tournament as well and could easily be considered his best match on the entire card.

Dazz is fighting too much of an uphill nostalgia battle, at least for me.

And even the strength of Austin/Rock is tempered by the WTF finish involving Vince interference and Austin's heel turn.

So it kinda makes this an easier vote than I realized.

Pete, what's this exception you speak of? I'm curious.

Feb 26, 2018 14:35:01 GMT 🤯 said:

And even the strength of Austin/Rock is tempered by the WTF finish involving Vince interference and Austin's heel turn.

I think this is an unfair statement that restrospectively takes into account Austin's failed heel run when it hadn't happened yet. Maybe you didn't like the Vince turn when it happened, but for most people the reaction was that it was a "holy shit" swerve in a good way, and a pretty awesome way to conclude an all-time great match/show.

Comparatively speaking, Regal/Bulldog is the weakest match on your card. It's a fine match but on a card that is either full of significant moments or great matches, a Regal time limit defense doesn't stack up.

As far as Austin/Rock is concerned, believe it or not but the heel turn was reported going into the match and was seen as a huge mistake. This had been on the cards since 1999 and was originally intended as the finish for Wrestlemania 2000 before Austin decided to delay his return to the ring.

Feb 26, 2018 15:40:52 GMT Big Pete said:

Comparatively speaking, Regal/Bulldog is the weakest match on your card. It's a fine match but on a card that is either full of significant moments or great matches, a Regal time limit defense doesn't stack up.

In my defense, I had no idea it was a time limit draw when I picked it. Still, I suppose it is the odd match out on the card.

Feb 26, 2018 15:40:52 GMT Big Pete said:

As far as Austin/Rock is concerned, believe it or not but the heel turn was reported going into the match and was seen as a huge mistake. This had been on the cards since 1999 and was originally intended as the finish for Wrestlemania 2000 before Austin decided to delay his return to the ring.

Feb 26, 2018 15:14:04 GMT Emperor said:

Pete, what's this exception you speak of? I'm curious.

Feb 26, 2018 14:35:01 GMT 🤯 said:

And even the strength of Austin/Rock is tempered by the WTF finish involving Vince interference and Austin's heel turn.

I think this is an unfair statement that restrospectively takes into account Austin's failed heel run when it hadn't happened yet. Maybe you didn't like the Vince turn when it happened, but for most people the reaction was that it was a "holy shit" swerve in a good way, and a pretty awesome way to conclude an all-time great match/show.

I mean, BP kinda addressed this from a broader perspective, but... watching this live, in real time, I was pretty put off by the turn within the confines of the match and post-match itself. In hindsight, I can come up with ways where it sits better for me now (Austin stuns Vince after the fact, or Austin just murders Rock with the chair on his own... no Vince interference), but I don't think any of those armchair quarterback revisions help me swallow the turn/finish in real time.

Well obviously i'd have loved to see this go down to the wire for excitement purposes and maybe a crucial vote near the end.

That said, my sincerest thanks to everyone who participated, voted and posted.

By a comfortable margin of 11-2, your winner of the first ever PW singles match draft competition is Emperor

No prize money or trophy but feel free to imagine me shaking your hand.

Mar 4, 2018 23:14:07 GMT Call said:

Well obviously i'd have loved to see this go down to the wire for excitement purposes and maybe a crucial vote near the end.

That said, my sincerest thanks to everyone who participated, voted and posted.

By a comfortable margin of 11-2, your winner of the first ever PW singles match draft competition is Emperor

No prize money or trophy but feel free to imagine me shaking your hand.

That was a very original, exciting, and fun draft. I'm very pleased to be the one to win the inaugural Oncall draft. Congratulations to Dazz for making the final. I'm actually surprised he got so few votes here considering his popularity in the previous rounds.

Most of all, big thanks to Oncall for coming up with this awesome idea. I look forward to future instalments!