Tournament: The Greatest Match of All Time! Brackets and Tournament Hub

[Everlong]

SquaredCircle's Greatest Match of All Time!

Announcing the brackets for the Squared Circle greatest match tournament (visual bracket to follow, those are a pain in the ass to make )

BRACKET ONE

1. John Cena vs. CM Punk, Money in the Bank 2011
2. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania X-Seven
3. Mankind vs. Undertaker, Hell in a Cell, King of the Ring 1998
4. Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero, No Way Out 2004
5. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania XXV
6. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania XVIII
7. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog, Summerslam 1992
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness, ROH Unified 2

BRACKET TWO

1. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania XXI
2. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe, TNA Unbreakable 2005
3. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack, Street Fight, Royal Rumble 2000
4. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, NXT Unstoppable 2015
5. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs. Rey Mysterio and Edge, No Mercy 2002
6. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Hell in a Cell, Badd Blood 1997
7. Edge vs. Undertaker, WrestleMania XXIV
8. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, 2 out of 3 Falls, Extreme Rules 2012

BRACKET THREE

1. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Submission Match, WrestleMania XIII
2. The Hardys vs. The Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian, TLC II, WrestleMania X-Seven
3. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon, Ladder Match, WrestleMania X
4. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WrestleMania III
5. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003
6. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville, NXT R-Evolution 2014
7. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Wrestlemania X
8. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena, Royal Rumble 2015

BRACKET FOUR

1. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, WrestleMania XX
2. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Cage Match, Summerslam 1994
3. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, Halloween Havoc 1997
4. Mick Foley vs. Edge, Hardcore Match, WrestleMania XXII
5. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, Unsanctioned Fight, Summerslam 2002
6. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, 60 Minute Iron Man Match, WrestleMania XII
7. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania XIX
8. WAR GAMES: Sting, Windham, Rhodes, Steamboat and Koloff vs. Austin, Rude, Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko, WrestleWar 1992

(Strikethru = eliminated)

FIRST ROUND MATCHES WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

1. John Cena vs. CM Punk, Money in the Bank 2011
VS
8. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness, ROH Unified 2

2. The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, WrestleMania X-Seven
VS
7. Bret Hart vs. British Bulldog, Summerslam 1992

3. Mankind vs. Undertaker, Hell in a Cell, King of the Ring 1998
VS
6. The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan, WrestleMania XVIII

4. Brock Lesnar vs. Eddie Guerrero, No Way Out 2004
VS
5. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania XXV

____

1. Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania XXI
VS
8. Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, 2 out of 3 Falls, Extreme Rules 2012


2. AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe, TNA Unbreakable 2005
VS
7. Edge vs. Undertaker, WrestleMania XXIV

3. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack, Street Fight, Royal Rumble 2000
VS
6. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Hell in a Cell, Badd Blood 1997

4. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, NXT Unstoppable 2015
VS
5. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit vs. Rey Mysterio and Edge, No Mercy 2002

____

1. Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Submission Match, WrestleMania XIII
VS
8. Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins vs. John Cena, Royal Rumble 2015

2. The Hardys vs. The Dudleys vs. Edge and Christian, TLC II, WrestleMania X-Seven
VS
7. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Wrestlemania X

3. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon, Ladder Match, WrestleMania X
VS
6. Sami Zayn vs. Adrian Neville, NXT R-Evolution 2014

4. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WrestleMania III
VS
5. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit, Royal Rumble 2003

____

1. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H, WrestleMania XX
VS
8. WAR GAMES: Sting, Windham, Rhodes, Steamboat and Koloff vs. Austin, Rude, Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko, WrestleWar 1992

2. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, Cage Match, Summerslam 1994
VS
7. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle, WrestleMania XIX

3. Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio, Halloween Havoc 1997
VS
6. Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, 60 Minute Iron Man Match, WrestleMania XII

4. Mick Foley vs. Edge, Hardcore Match, WrestleMania XXII
VS
5. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, Unsanctioned Fight, Summerslam 2002

___________________

Tournament general discussion can happen in this thread. Each individual match will have its own threads.

Let's go!

[Everlong]

List of people in nominated matches, arranged by number of nominations:

Shawn Michaels: 8
Bret Hart: 5
Undertaker: 4
Triple H: 4
Kurt Angle: 4
Edge: 4
Chris Benoit: 3
Mick Foley: 3
Brock Lesnar: 2
Stone Cold Steve Austin: 2
John Cena: 2
Owen Hart: 2
Eddie Guerrero: 2
Rey Mysterio: 2
Daniel Bryan: 2
The Rock: 2
CM Punk: 1
Rob Van Dam: 1
Kane: 1
Booker T: 1
Randy Savage: 1
Ricky Steamboat: 1
Nigel McGuinness: 1
Sheamus: 1
Becky Lynch: 1
Sasha Banks: 1
Jeff/Matt Hardy: 1
D-Von/Bubba Ray Dudley: 1
Christian: 1
Sami Zayn: 1
Adrian Neville: 1
Razor Ramon: 1
AJ Styles: 1
Christopher Daniels: 1
Samoa Joe: 1
British Bulldog: 1
Chris Jericho: 1
Hulk Hogan: 1

[Hanley!]

One ROH match. One WCW match. One TNA match. 29 WWE matches.

The WWE bias is strong here. Though I suspect the same would be true just about anywhere on the internet these days. We're regularly reminded of our favourite WWE matches during WWE programming. The same isn't true for other companies.

What I like about this tournament as compared to the wrestler tournament is that these opening round matches don't have obvious winners. I think a lot of these will be really tight. Should make for interesting discussions!

[Viazon]

Sorry to say, but I think there is a mistake on here.


In bracket two, you have the Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Kane Elimination Chamber match listed and it says it was at New Year's Revolution 2005. However, that match was at Survivor Series 2002. The chamber match that took place at New Year's Revolution 2005 was Triple H vs. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton. So which match is it that made it into the tournament?

[Everlong]

Sorry to say, but I think there is a mistake on here.


In bracket two, you have the Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H vs. Booker T vs. Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Kane Elimination Chamber match listed and it says it was at New Year's Revolution 2005. However, that match was at Survivor Series 2002. The chamber match that took place at New Year's Revolution 2005 was Triple H vs. Edge vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton. So which match is it that made it into the tournament?

Oh, then that actually changes who gets into the tournament, because I think I merged the two together thinking they were the same match.

I'll update in a second.

[Everlong]

Nice catch on that, @Viazon. The Elimination Chamber is now out. Shifting into a 7th seed is Edge vs. Undertaker, and shifting into the 8th seed is WAR GAMES: Sting, Windham, Rhodes, Steamboat and Koloff vs. Austin, Rude, Anderson, Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko, WrestleWar 1992.

Brackets and first round matches have been updated.

[Everlong]

The WWE bias is strong here.

Yeah, I sort of expected that, though. Would have liked to have seen more WCW/NWA representation in particular but a lot of us just haven't been exposed to those matches as much. Plus, there's recency bias to consider as well.

In general I think this is a pretty strong pool, though there are a few I'd remove and a few I'd add on. But even coming up wtih a top 50 would be a really tough task.

[The Legend]

Really interesting field and I think some really strong chances for upsets. I think the final of each group would be:

Bret/Bulldog vs Lesnar/Guerrero
Michaels/Angle vs HHH/Cactus Jack
Hart/Austin vs TLC II
Foley/Edge vs Bret/Owen

The interesting thing there would be under my predictions Bret could be in 3 of the final 4 matches or Edge could possibly be up against himself in the semis.

Some other interesting match ups or potential match ups:

HBK/Razor vs TLC II is a great second round match up. As would Bret/Owen vs Bret/HBK in the second round.

Those should all be fun debates.

[KaiserGlider]

I think its interesting that Bret vs Owen and Shawn vs Taker both have two matches each on here, really a testament to the chemistry they had with each other.

[Str8Shooter]

Pretty good list, although I'm pissed Owen vs Bulldog to crown the first European Champion didn't make it. Seriously, I implore everyone to go watch this match. Great chemistry and technical ability and a great fast paced match, an underrated gem. It's on the Network, the March 3 1997 Raw under Raw Replays.

One ROH match. One WCW match. One TNA match. 29 WWE matches.

The WWE bias is strong here. Though I suspect the same would be true just about anywhere on the internet these days. We're regularly reminded of our favourite WWE matches during WWE programming. The same isn't true for other companies.

I expected it and quite frankly I can't complain about many of these selections though. And I'm dreading trying to find these RoH matchs to watch already . I'm sure there are lots of good ROH matches, but honestly I think mostly WWE matches is for the best as it's way easier to watch them again with the Network than TNA or ROH matches.

And WCW quite simply doesn't have the history of high level matches as WWF/E, certainly not after 1994 Hogan Era began.

[The Legend]

I wouldn't worry about it. There's 1 TNA and 1 ROH match and both are easily found through Google.

[Messiah]

Will be an interesting opening round. I know I have a different opinion on the Savage/Steamboat match that I am sure will be met with a lot of disagreement.

[Str8Shooter]

Will be an interesting opening round. I know I have a different opinion on the Savage/Steamboat match that I am sure will be met with a lot of disagreement.

If you mean you don't think it's as great as it's been made out, then you may have an ally

[VaderBomb]

Savage vs Steamboat was an amazing match for it's time, but I wouldn't give it 5 stars either.

Glad to see that Danielson/McGuiness got a match on there. Too bad it's up against Punk/Cena which reduces it's chance of moving up, but Bryan's match is better.

[KaiserGlider]

Because of all the fuss, I rewatched Austin/Hart last night and I found it quite fascinating. It was different than the kinds of matches we see these days. They were able to tell a great story and have a great match while doing a relatively few amount of moves - mostly brawling, working on body parts, and both guys playing their characters very well. The end of the match (and post-match) put over Austin so fucking hard it's unreal. The fact that the crowd and commentators were 100% into the match helped a lot as well. Most of all though, the match felt very real. The offense, the punches, the selling, it believably looked like two guys having a legitimate fight that they wanted to win. I don't think it's unquestionably the greatest match of all time and whatnot, but I can understand where people are coming from, ranking it that high.

[Str8Shooter]

Because of all the fuss, I rewatched Austin/Hart last night and I found it quite fascinating. It was different than the kinds of matches we see these days. They were able to tell a great story and have a great match while doing a relatively few amount of moves - mostly brawling, working on body parts, and both guys playing their characters very well. The end of the match (and post-match) put over Austin so fucking hard it's unreal. The fact that the crowd and commentators were 100% into the match helped a lot as well. Most of all though, the match felt very real. The offense, the punches, the selling, it believably looked like two guys legitimately having a fight that they wanted to win. I don't think it's unquestionably the greatest match of all time, but I can understand where people are coming from, ranking it that high.

The difference is styles of matches from different Eras is fascinating to watch and something I think will likely end up playing a big part in people's decisions and arguments going forward. For instance, I watched Flair vs Steamboat from Clash of the Champions before this because it was so highly thought of. And it was good, but have a hard time buying into the hype, it was good.... but slow.... sometimes real slow. That was just the style of match, we're so used to seeing fast paced stuff now that watching that match was jarring.

[Everlong]

Moved the tournament to General Wrestling discussion since not all the matches are WWE (just most )

[Tom]

Pretty good list, although I'm pissed Owen vs Bulldog to crown the first European Champion didn't make it. Seriously, I implore everyone to go watch this match. Great chemistry and technical ability and a great fast paced match, an underrated gem. It's on the Network, the March 3 1997 Raw under Raw Replays.

I actually agree. It was certainly in the top five matches of 1997. Looking back, I probably should have voted it myself . There was some great technical action, awesome athleticism and a great moment at the end. If this match had happened in the UK it probably would get more praise than it does today. But yeah, if you haven't seen it I definitely advise anyone to go back and watch it!

[Hanley!]

Owen & Bulldog were actually one of my favourite ever tag teams too. They did some great stuff back in 1997.

[Everlong]

Thoughts on three days for voting? Too few? Just right? Leave it open?

Let me know. One of the criticisms last time was that we weren't consistent with vote times for each match so I wanted to keep it consistent all across the board this time.