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The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be...Chris Benoit
For those of you wondering, the title of this article is indeed accurate. I am about to make an argument that no doubt many wrestling fans will take issue with but here goes...Chris Benoit is a better wrestler than Bret 'The Hitman' Hart.
Now we all know the careers of these two Canadian greats have been inextricably linked over the years but while Bret Hart is frequently regarded as the greatest wrestler of all time by peers and fans alike, Chris Benoit rarely if ever is spoken of in a similar vein. I think this is an injustice because I believe Benoit ranks above the Hitman. To illustrate my point I will compare the two men in ten key categories. Read on...
Contribution - Bret 8, Benoit 9
I think Benoit gets the nod over Bret here due to his work in Japan, ECW, WCW and ultimately WWE. While Bret made a name for himself in Canada prior to his stellar WWE run, he didn't make that much of an impact in WCW or elsewhere.
Promo skills - Bret 8, Benoit 7
Arguably the weakest aspect for both men. Bret Hart struggled with promos early in his career as he himself has admitted however as the years went by he became more comfortable and he gave a very good promo in WCW on Bill Goldberg in the famous metal plate incident. Benoit is good at giving intense promos but it is not his best area. I think Bret gets the nod in this one.
In-ring ability - Bret 10, Benoit 10
It is hard to choose a winner in this category and personally I can't. Both are exceptional.
Intensity - Bret 8, Benoit 10
While Bret had all the ability in the world I felt he was lacking when it came to showing intensity and aggression. Benoit on the other hand is surely the most intense wrestler of all time. I think the only guy who comes close to him is Kurt Angle. Benoit gets the nod over Bret here.
Charisma - Bret 9, Benoit 8
While I wouldn't rank him near the level of Hogan, Austin or Rock, Bret nonetheless was incredibly over with the audience. Hell, he even got himself an appearance on The Simpsons. Benoit never reached Bret's popularity but the fact he has been a babyface for the last four years and yet remains over with the crowd shows his connection with fans.
Still, I have to go with Bret in this category.
Matches - Bret 9, Benoit 10
Some might feel this is controversial but I'll go with Benoit here. I'd rather watch Benoit's Iron Man match against Triple H than Bret's Iron Man match against HBK. I'd rather watch Benoit's 2004 Royal Rumble win than Bret's 1994 joint Rumble win with Luger and so on...
Wrestlemania Impact - Bret 10, Benoit 8
I think Bret easily gets the win here. He has competed in some great matches on the grandest stage of them such as his match against his brother Owen at WMX, not to mention the legendary bout with Steve Austin at WM13. Benoit's finest hour was winning the World title at WM20 and while he has had quality matches at WM17 and WM21, Bret's impact is greater just about.
Ring safety - Bret 10, Benoit 9
This is of course something Bret Hart has cited in his argument that he's the best ever and to be fair to Bret his safety record in the ring is first class. While Benoit is widely trusted himself, he did break Sabu's neck in ECW not to mention knocking out his late great friend Eddie Guerrero in the early days of his career in Japan. Therefore Bret
gets the nod here.
Specialty matches - Bret 8, Benoit 10
Specialty matches were not Bret's forte but he did put on some great cage matches in his career and also took part in the WWE's first ladder match against Shawn Michaels. Benoit however gets the nod here as he had an unbelievably good ladder match at the Royal Rumble in 2001 against Chris Jericho and a phenomenal cage match against Kurt Angle, also in 2001.
Accomplishments - Bret 10, Benoit 10
Both men have won pretty much all there is to win in wrestling. While Bret has more world title wins to his name, Benoit was the second man in history to win the Rumble after entering at number 1 and unlike Bret has the distinction of being the first man to retain his title in an Iron Man match. It's fairly even so I rank this category a tie.
Now then if you take a look at the ten categories above you'll note that Bret Hart and Chris Benoit are tied in two of the categories with Benoit winning in four and with Bret also winning in four. Looks like it comes down to points then and by adding the scores together I have Bret on 90 and Chris Benoit on 91.
So there you have it. While there's not much in it, Chris Benoit is just about better than Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!
If you've any thoughts on my article you can email me at queasydub@yahoo.ie or check out my blog at www.queasydub.blogspot.com.
To those of you who disagree with me, in the words of Chris Benoit - prove me wrong!
