THE TOURNAMENT TO END ALL TOURNAMENTS: Fourth Round, Brackets V-VIII

BRACKET V

Triple H VS Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit would whoop Triple H any day of the week, being that he beat him three times in six months during 2004.  Yes, Hunter Hearst Helmsley is legitimately one of the best to lace up a pair of boots, but Chris Benoit was just that much better.

BRACKET VI

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin VS Bobby Lashley

Bobby Lashley has been Lesnar-like in his TNA run, as he kind of was in his WWE run, but The Texas Rattlesnake managed to defeat the likes of The Undertaker, The Rock, Shawn Michaels and Triple H in his five year run at the top.  Bobby Lashley can't quite say the same.  Austin for the win in a doozy.

BRACKET VII

Booker T VS Davey Richards

Davey Richards is the man that made me finally pay attention to Ring Of Honor.  I knew they had good talents, but I could never bring myself to care enough to keep track of a third wrestling company.  Until, that is, I saw Davey Richards win the ROH title from his American Wolves tag-team partner "Die Hard" Eddie Edwards.  If not for Punk/Cena at MITB 2011, Richards/Edwards would have been the match of the year for me.  Dude is Daniel Bryan level of good.

But Booker T is no slouch either.  The 5-time (five-time, five-time, five-time, five-time (yes, I typed those all out; no copy/pasting)) WCW Champion also has a World Heavyweight Championship win in WWE (and should by all rights have two; WMXIX was BS), four U.S. Title runs, six WCW TV Titles, 17 tag straps (13 with Stevie Ray), and was the 2006 King Of The Ring.  He has six inches of height, 70 pounds of weight, and 15 years of experience more than Davey Richards.  It would be a hell of a match; both men have had the skills to pay the bills since they started paying bills, but Booker T is just too much for an American Wolf to handle.

BRACKET VIII

Kane VS Cody Rhodes

A lot of people may not agree with me on this one, but I gotta go with Kane.  Arguably, Cody Rhodes (aka Stardust) has not yet reached his prime, but it's too hard to extrapolate.  The Big Red Machine, The Devil's Favorite Demon, Fake Diesel...call him what you will, but Glenn Jacobs has taken the Kane character some pretty awesome places.  He's been world champion in three different decades, counting the ECW title (which is being HELLA generous).  People seem to forget how good Kane can be because of ALL the DUMB...SHIT they make him do.  But trust me, in his prime, Kane was nice with the physicality.


Recap:

Chris Benoit defeats Triple H
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeats Bobby Lashley
Booker T defeats Davey Richards
Kane defeats Cody Rhodes

Come on back for Brackets IX-XII!