ROUND ONE: Chris Jericho (3) vs. Chris Benoit (6)

[Everlong]

The Ultimate Wrestler Tournament
ROUND ONE: Chris Jericho (3) vs. Chris Benoit (6)

We'll try our best to keep this one strictly wrestling-related folks. Let's not let this thread get ugly. Benoit, Jericho, who was better overall as a performer? LET'S DECIDE!



Chris Jericho is a man of many characters, many hairstyles and many talents. From his time in the cruiserweight division at WCW to his main event stints in WWE and becoming the first ever Undisputed Champion, he's a guy who's accomplished almost everything in the business. Plus, he's got badass entrance music.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*WCW Championship (x2)
*World Heavyweight Championship (x3)
*WWF Undisputed Championship (x1)
*World Tag Team Championship (x5)
*WWE Tag Team Championship (x2)
*WWF European Championship (x1)
*WWF Hardcore Championship (x1)
*WCW Cruiserweight Championship (x4)
*WCW World Television Championship (x1)
*ECW World Television Championship (x1)
*WWE Intercontinental Championship (x9)
*Triple Crown Champion
*Grand Slam Champion

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT





It's difficult to look at Chris Benoit in the same light as years past for obvious reasons, but there's no denying that he was one of the finest technical wrestlers ever to grace the WWE. His moment at the end of WrestleMania XX with Eddie Guerrero was, at the time, maybe the most emotional WrestleMania moment of all time. He put on classics with guys like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and more. The guy was intense in the ring and made the action seem stunningly real.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

*World Heavyweight Championship (x1)
*ECW World Tag Team Championship (x1)
*WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (x1)
*WCW World heavyweight Championship (x1)
*WCW WOrld Tag Team Championship (x2)
*WCW World Television Championship (x3)
*WCW Triple Crown Champion
*WWE Tag Team Championship (x1)
*WWE United States Championship (x3)
*WWE Intercontinental Championship (x4)
*WWE World Tag Team Championship (x3)
*Royal Rumble Winner (2004)
*WWE Triple Crown Champion
*5 Star Match (1994 vs. Great Sasuke) from The Wrestling Observer

NOTABLE MATCH



NOTABLE SEGMENT



VOTE NOW!

[ShaneOfan]

Y2J is one of the better mic workers to ever step into the ring. Screw Christian, Jericho should have been Captain Charisma. Dude just has "it". Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

[SortaCreative]

Y2J is one of the better mic workers to ever step into the ring. Screw Christian, Jericho should have been Captain Charisma. Dude just has "it". Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

I understand completely but lets leave it to wrestling.

Because:

I disagree with drugs, disqualify Jake Roberts and half of the tournament roster.

I disagree with capitalism, disqualify The Rock for working in Hollywood.

I disagree with alcoholism, disqualify Stone Cold for drinking beer.

I disagree with divorce, disqualify John Cena for divorcing his wife.

While none of these are on the level of what Benoit did, just keep it to wrestling and it's fine. Benoit was always going to lose this match up anyway.

[prophet]

Jericho was the better talker and the better character, Benoit was the better wrestler.

I could talk for ages about why I'm voting for who I am but I'll try keep it simple. For me, when it comes to talking and characters - Jericho wins by a country mile. When it comes to wrestling - Benoit wins but not by a country mile. Therefore my vote goes to Jericho who I've also personally enjoyed more over the years and to me was easily better overall than Benoit was.

[KaiserGlider]

Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

I wish this wouldn't even be a factor in this tournament. Can we just discuss these guys based on how good they were at their job?

[DanielsonTHAGOAT]

Benoit was an amazing wrestler and had classics with Kurt Angle and Jericho during 2000-2001. The reason why I will pick Jericho is because his character has evolved so well. He went from the Lionheart, to Y2J, to Rockstar Jericho, to the suit and tie wearing Jericho. His feud with Shawn Michaels should serve as a blueprint to all wrestlers today on how a feud should be booked.

Benoit was phenomenal in the ring but he just wasn't appealing on the microphone to me.

[ShaneOfan]

I understand it SHOULD be based on what they have done in wrestling but it is hard to get past and ignore what Benoit did outside of it. It's sad it really is and while it might be a bit over to the top to say I would have voted for Gilberg, I will say I would have abstained and not voted at all but in this case I do think that Jericho's character and accomplishments should push him on anyway.

[Str8Shooter]

Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

I wish this wouldn't even be a factor in this tournament. Can we just discuss these guys based on how good they were at their job?

Believe me, I don't think there's a person reading this who wishes we could just discuss it based on how good they were at their job. But as much as there are MANY flawed individuals in the history of wrestling, some are complete pricks, some are hard drug addicts, some are serial womanizers, some are all of the above, you can't just dismiss Benoit's transgressions as easily as you can the others.

There hasn't been another case like the Benoit one in the history of wrestling, it's completely unique and you have to have a unique set of circumstances to judge him in this.

[HFX]

Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

I wish this wouldn't even be a factor in this tournament. Can we just discuss these guys based on how good they were at their job?

Believe me, I don't think there's a person reading this who wishes we could just discuss it based on how good they were at their job. But as much as there are MANY flawed individuals in the history of wrestling, some are complete pricks, some are hard drug addicts, some are serial womanizers, some are all of the above, you can't just dismiss Benoit's transgressions as easily as you can the others.

There hasn't been another case like the Benoit one in the history of wrestling, it's completely unique and you have to have a unique set of circumstances to judge him in this.

What about Jimmy Snuka or Carlos Colon?

[Str8Shooter]

Benoit was great in the ring but honestly if he were up against Gilberg right now I still wouldn't vote for him I can't get past what he did and it would be wrong to send him on to the next round.

I wish this wouldn't even be a factor in this tournament. Can we just discuss these guys based on how good they were at their job?

Believe me, I don't think there's a person reading this who wishes we could just discuss it based on how good they were at their job. But as much as there are MANY flawed individuals in the history of wrestling, some are complete pricks, some are hard drug addicts, some are serial womanizers, some are all of the above, you can't just dismiss Benoit's transgressions as easily as you can the others.

There hasn't been another case like the Benoit one in the history of wrestling, it's completely unique and you have to have a unique set of circumstances to judge him in this.

What about Jimmy Snuka or Carlos Colon?

Those situations are totally different. Neither of those guys has ever been directly implicated in anything, there are rumours and stories and innuendo, but the authorities have never proven anything enough to charge them.

[Kirbi]

Benoit was the better wrestler, and I've never found Jericho entertaining (he's the vice-douche of doucherton).

What Benoit did was unforgivable, but I don't have to forgive him anything to be realistic about his skill level in the ring.

[Str8Shooter]

It's Jericho for me. If Benoit hadn't have done what he did then the decision would have been a lot closer and Benoit may have gotten my vote.

The difference between the two is easily the level of charisma. Jericho has it in spades and Benoit doesn't. Benoit was able to cut minimal promos decently, but the talking portion of his rivalries had to be carried by whoever his opponent was. Jericho is supremely comfortable and confident behind the microphone and is easily able to cut promos as a both a heel and babyface, and was able to go from a comedic character to a serious one and still cut good promos.

Benoit to me was better in the ring. The best thing about Benoit in the ring was a ferociousness, and a stiff, intense style that you didn't see much then and even less so now. Every move he did looked like it was intended to hurt the opponent and put them away. He was technically proficient, but he could fly when it was needed and he could brawl when it was needed as well. A well rounded wrestler who also could sell like a million bucks when he had to. Jericho is no slouch in the ring either, although I think he's definitely fallen off the past couple comebacks he's had. That may have had to do with motivation and facing opponents he probably was better than.

Ultimately Jericho is the more well rounded package, and Benoit's actions of his final days pushes Jericho easily onto the next round for me.

[Westcoastvibes]

Putting what he did aside, I went with Benoit. I have always loved his work in the ring, what he lacked in mic abilities he made up for on the mat. I was always impressed with his matches and was always able to be drawn into the emotions of his storylines. Jericho on the other hand, I always had a "who cares" attitude with him. I was never a follower of his and always found his matches average. I suppose I would be more drawn to Jericho if he stuck around more often instead of just stopping by whenever fozzy is not touring.

[VaderBomb]

Chris Benoit. This is the closest call for me but in the end, it's obvious that Chris Benoit is superior.

Also, Pegasus Kid beats Cowboy Chris Jericho any day of the week.

[The Legend]

I can easily make this call without considering anything than how entertaining they were to me as pro wrestlers which ultimately is what this tournament is about. Benoit was very literally a one trick pony. If given the right circumstances (enough time and the right opponent) any match Benoit had would be better than any match Jericho had from a straight up scientific and technical ability stand point, but Benoit could never make me care about a match as much as Jericho. He could never pump me up with a promo as much as Jericho. Benoit could never put the special touches on a match like Jericho and wasn't as athletic as Jericho.

Benoit wins one of the categories I take into account when choosing who wins in this tournament, but Jericho wins in many of the categories.

[Hanley!]

This is a tough one. I didn't want Benoit to get through, because he carries too much baggage with him. It's going to be harder for people to fight Benoit's case, knowing what he did. And I certainly didn't want to be put in that situation. Yet here I am.

Benoit was better than Jericho. I'd have liked it better if he were placed against any of the many competitors in this tournament who were objectively superior to him, but he was only pitted against Jericho and Jericho is substantially overvalued by the members of the IWC.

Jericho is good in the ring. When he's on form, he's very good in the ring. I have no problems with his wrestling ability, yet most of us would still agree that this is the area in which Benoit will definitely beat him. Because Benoit was that much better, and one of the best of that period.

Most people will give it to Jericho on the microphone, and Benoit never really got much mic time so it makes sense that they would. But Jericho was often tedious as fuck on the microphone. He had a tendency to lay it on too thick and was just irritating much of the time. I thought his shtick was best as a midcard performer in WCW - his mic skills didn't really translate to the main event. I'm not disputing that he probably wins in this category, but I wouldn't give it to him by all that much because he's very overrated as a mic worker.

As a character though, Benoit was superior. He was able to make you care about his stuff. While he wasn't great on the mic, he did pretty well in backstage segments. I remember seeing a segment where he was crying after he lost the WHC because he had let himself and everyone else down. It made the championship look more important than it has since. Jericho could never do anything like that. He could never make you really invest in something on that more basic level. He was more comfortable talking in front of a crowd, but it was just catchphrases and cheap insults and (during that SRS run) long words that he didn't understand.

Benoit also never had any really terrible runs during his career, at least that I remember. And you certainly couldn't say the same about Jericho. His 2007 return was terrible. His heel turn ended up being successful, but his face run before that was a disaster. The audience lost interest almost immediately after his triumphant return. His trolling gimmick a few years later was even worse. Just bafflingly bad television, which presumably came about due to the douchey Jericho crowning himself king of reinventing himself after the SRS gimmick managed to take off.

I have to give it to Benoit. He was never even one of my favourites as a performer, but he was better than the overrated Jericho. And certainly a lot more consistent.

[Ace]

Jericho does it for me.

Jericho, no matter how many times he stepped out of the ring for whatever reason has always come back (his returns are always epic) and can still captivate a crowd. His mic & promo work is always personal & it always evolved with generations. He knows how to be funny. He knows how to make a crowd hate him. As a matter of fact, Chris Jericho in my eyes is one guy who was always a better heel than a face. He put on awesome matches with guys like Shawn Michaels & the Rock. He is excellent at putting other wrestlers over which is what a successful heel can do.

There is no excuse for what Benoit did. That being said, I'm one of those who want to keep this in wrestling. This one was truly hard. Benoit was an awesome technical wrestler & his technique shined in his matches. Awesome to finally see him win the World Heavyweight title. His mic/promo skills weren't too good considering his character was more savage than anything so he just ripped his opponent apart instead of talking about it which is awesome in and of itself.

Jericho has just always been more entertaining & is one of my favorites. Close match-up tho

[Viazon]

Chris Benoit was probably one of the greatest technical wrestlers ever. I'm sure we can all agree on that. But when it comes to being a successful professional wrestler, it comes down to a lot of factors. Was Jericho great in the ring? Yes. Was he on par with Benoit? Perhaps not. I mean, he was up there, but Benoit had better in ring ability. But Jericho had some many more factors that made him great. He had charisma. Something which Benoit lacked. Charisma goes in a long way in getting over. He was one of the best ever on the mic. He could play any role and play it great. He could be the heel or face. He could be the cocky arrogant guy or he could be the playful cheeky guy. Jericho had it all and that's why he edges it for me in this one.