ROUND ONE: Eddie Guerrero (2) vs. Bobby Roode (7)

[Everlong]

The Ultimate Wrestler Tournament
ROUND ONE: Eddie Guerrero (2) vs. Bobby Roode (7)

One of the most beloved WWE wrestlers of the past decade takes on one of the truly great stars to be produced by TNA. Latino Heat and Bobby Roode, let's do it!



What people will most remember Eddie Guerrero for was the years he spent toiling away in smaller promotions and WCW, overcoming his personal demons of drug and alcohol abuse and finally reaching the top of the mountain in WWE. He was a truly likeable star, a great all-around talent and a man who passed away far too soon. We miss you, Eddie.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*WWE Championship (x1)
*WWE Tag Team Championship (x4)
*WWE United States Championship (x1)
*WWF European Championship (x2)
*WWE Intercontinental Championship (x1)
*ECW World Television Championship (x2)
*WCW Cruiserweight Championship (x2)
*WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (x2)
*WWE Triple Crown Champion
*WWE Grand Slam Champion
*WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006)
*5 star match (w/ Art Barr vs. El Hiho del Santo and Octagon, 1994) from The Wrestling Observer

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT





TNA obviously knew they had something special in Roode during his time with Beer Money, when the team brought significant attention to the company with its consistently outstanding matches. Since going single Roode has accomplished a lot on his own and become one of the company's brightest all-around talents.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*TNA World Heavyweight Championship (x1)
*TNA World Tag Team Championship (x5)
*NWA World Tag Team Championship (x2)
*Bound for Glory Series (2011)
*Team 3D Invitational Tag Team Tournament winner (2009)
*TNA Tag Team Championship Series (2010)
*TNA Tournament of Champions (2013)
*Longest-reigning TNA World Heavyweight Champion

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT



VOTE NOW!

[ShaneOfan]

Eddie and it isn't even close. There really isn't much to even say.

[HFX]

This was an easy vote but it's absolutely nothing against Bobby. I think being in TNA holds Bobby Roode back from the world and limits his exposure and peoples opinions of him. . He's good in the ring and entertains me with whatever he does. I personally believe him to be better than Randy Orton and he would have made the perfect heel to be Corporate champion in this feud with Bryan. I really think WWE have missed out big time by never bringing Roode into the fold.

But Eddie Guerrero is Eddie Guerrero. He was great everywhere he went be it it Mexico, Japan, ECW, WCW and finally WWE. He put on countless classics, he was entertaining and good on the mic, he was one of the best in-ring performers I've ever seen. Feuds against Malenko, Angle, Benoit, Lesnar, JBL, Chavo, Team Angle/WGTT, Mysterio, Jericho and Edge. His runs as tag champ, US champ and WWE champion were great and never dull. The man could make you hate him or love him like few others in history. Latino Heat was one of the best characters ever. Eddie just added something unique to the wrestling world with his "Lie, Cheat and Steal" persona. It's a nothing but a damn shame that the lifestyle caught up with him so early and tore him from this world as he was finally really back on track in life.

[prophet]

I like Bobby Roode, he's one of those rare breeds these days as he's an exceptional wrestler, talker and all-round character. He was great in Team Canada, brilliant in Beer Money and fantastic as the World Champion. That said unless he was ever to appear in the WWE his talents will never truly get the recognition they deserve - same goes for a number of TNA guys actually.

Eddie Guerrero is, as has been said, Eddie Guerrero. Arguably the most loved superstar to me growing up, a phenomenal in-ring talent and an infectious personality made him everyone's favourite. This one is a no-brainer, honestly. Viva La Raza, Rest in Peace Eddie.

[ShaneOfan]

I will say of the few times I have watched TNA Roode was one of the few things I actually enjoyed about the show.

[VaderBomb]

LOLOLOLOLOL!

Eddie takes it.

[The Legend]

I really want to choose Bobby Roode because I can make a strong case I believe that he's the best wrestler in the world today, but to me Eddie Guerrero was at certain times just a transcendant personality and wrestler. He had a great mix of ring ability and character and knew how to put it all together to put on a show.

[Str8Shooter]

Yeah I was actually surprised to see Roode get into this at all. Not saying he isn't good and all, but the best of the best ever? Being in TNA does work against him, he doesn't have nearly the exposure that he would in WWE, where his work would probably be better appreciated. TNA's mainly negative reputation has hurt him as well, despite being no fault of his own and he's usually been one of the brighter spots I've seen on there when I do watch.

Eddie is one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time, and if this tournament was purely based on how well liked people are then he would probably be the runaway winner. He could play face and heel to near perfection, although I would say he was probably better as a face in his later WWE run, turning him heel in 2005 was probably a mistake looking back. Likely why they started turning him face again shortly thereafter.

Eddie's wide range of styles helped him to have memorable matches and feuds with a wide variety of people. His WCW run was excellent, not just in the ring but the stuff as a heel vs Mysterio and against Chavo, turning him into his slave was pretty funny. Even though Eddie was more than likely pretty messed up on drugs around this time he was still able to produce some good stuff.

His WWE run went above and beyond what I'm sure Vince and company expected when they brought him back. His ability to get the crowd to love him and care about what happened to him in the ring made everything he did seem important, and him winning the title from Brock in 2004 was probably one of the best wrestling moments ever, with genuine joy from himself and the fans.

Eddie's death was one of the worst moments in wrestling and truly probably killed a lot of fans love of it right then and there. He was that beloved. But fortunately I'll always remember his mischievous grin in the ring and watching him do what he loved to do.

[Everlong]

I'm abstaining from voting on this one because I have never seen Roode perform, but I do have a hard time believing that he comes close to touching Eddie.

[VaderBomb]

I'm abstaining from voting on this one because I have never seen Roode perform, but I do have a hard time believing that he comes close to touching Eddie.

Roode is very good, no doubt about it. But we're talking about Eddie fucking Guerrero, a guy who transcended the "size matters" philosophy better than anybody not named Bryan Danielson. Not to mention that his ring skill and charisma is almost unmatched. Eddie set a very high standard for being the top face in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, a standard which has yet to be matched by anyone other than Daniel Bryan, let alone raised.

[Viazon]

Poor Bobby. Eddie should really run away with this one. One of the best ever.

[KaiserGlider]

I think Eddie is overrated as far as being one of the greatest of all time goes, but I gotta give it to him here. I'm kinda bummed that Roode made it into the tournament and Austin Aries didn't, as I think Aries is better and has been among the top 3 WWE/TNA pro wrestlers for the last couple of years. But that's beside the point.

I always thought Roode was a solid hand, had some great matches (Bobby Roode vs James Storm at Bound For Glory 2012, please check it out), but overall was never really that exceptional. His lengthy TNA world championship reign in 2011-2012 was bland for the most part. His run in TNA over the last couple of months has been pretty good, but not good enough to bump him into the elite category, in my opinion. Like I said, I think Roode is a solid hand that can have a good match and cut a good promo when he needs to, but he doesn't really stand out to me the way Austin Aries and AJ Styles have.

[Hanley!]

I really want to choose Bobby Roode because I can make a strong case I believe that he's the best wrestler in the world today, but to me Eddie Guerrero was at certain times just a transcendant personality and wrestler. He had a great mix of ring ability and character and knew how to put it all together to put on a show.

I agree with this. I would argue that Roode is the best wrestler in the world today. Everything he does, he knocks out of the park and he really doesn't have a hole in his game. He works on a show that's often maligned, but his performances remain consistent and he never phones anything in. Roode elevates every episode of Impact he appears on.

In my mind, he's a lot like Triple H as a performer, but slightly better in most categories. That might not be a popular opinion, but it's far from an outrageous one.

I campaigned pretty hard to get Roode into the tournament because he's a great talent and I'm a big fan of his. But also to try and invite more discussion and to open people's minds up a bit to new things. I get the impression that every vote that goes against one of the big wrestlers of the 90s is going to be treated by many as crazy "just because" and that kind of attitude bothers me. I don't think we should write anyone off as a lesser talent, just for working in a smaller company or not being as well known. This tournament should be about challenging some of those popular perceptions.

I can honestly say, I would have voted for Roode over many of the top ranked people in this tournament for sheer well-rounded talent. I would have voted for him over Hogan or Flair or Undertaker or the Rock. Maybe even Michaels. And people would have acted like I was crazy, but I could have argued the point well and with a straight face. And I was looking forward to getting that opportunity.

Unfortunately, that bastard Tim paired him against Eddie. And I'll probably vote Eddie over everybody in this tournament if given the opportunity. He's my favourite wrestler of all time. I loved his face champion run, I loved him in the ring. He could play an excellent heel and a really likable face. He had charisma coming out his ears. I liked him back in the day for the same reasons that I like Roode now - he had everything you want in a great pro-wrestler.

So Eddie gets my vote, but both these guys are great. It's hard to vote against my favourite guy in the business right now, but it is my honest opinion.

[Chewy]

LOLOLOLOLOL!

Eddie takes it.

This doesn't give Eddy enough credit. He's top five all time.

[Ace]

Gave this one to Eddie.

Bobby Roode is one of a few rare professional wrestlers today that can look good doing what he's doing. Good mic work. Awesome in Beer Money & a just as good heel. His last name is Roode (rude) for God's sake. He puts on good matches with most people he gets into the ring with. A WWE run for him would easily make him a bigger name in the industry like CM Punk or Daniel Bryan.

That being said he's up against Latino Heat. Eddie Guerrero started stealing the show back in his WCW days. He comes from a legendary family of professional wrestlers. It's in his blood. Even before his reign as WWE Undisputed Champion, Eddie was one of the most charismatic superstars of all time. His win over Brock Lesnar was much deserved and I can say with full conviction that if he had not passed, he easily would've had another world title reign. Eddie Guerrero has been & will always be missed.