This is a new segment I'm starting on this here blog, the idea of Old vs New is to compare two wrestlers (or in this case teams) from different generations to see which one is better. For this I'll be using 5 different criterias; in ring ability, mic skills, overall image/appearence, personas and finally general crowd reactions. These are the things I'll be using to compare Terry and Dory Funk jr and Jeff and Matt Hardy, two brotherly duos who have dominated the tag team and main event scenes in there time, but who's the better tandem? Let's find out.
IN RING ABILITY:
This is a difficult one to choose since both teams have differing styles, The Funks relying on solid technical wrestling mixed with hardcore brawling, while Matt often uses technical wrestling mixed with few high spots, Jeff's offence is a constant barrage of unique, high flying spots, I've rarely seen Jeff use a submission. So this is going to have to go down to overall match quality over the course of each teams careers, while the Hardys have had many great matches with the likes of Edge/Christian, the Dudlys, HHH and CM Punk, there style often shines during stipulation matches such as TLCs, even Matts technical style can seem bland. The Funks however, have had many great matches, and the majority of them have been regular matches, but they've also been able to work many good hardcore style matches, especially Terry. In this round, the Funks win.
Winner: Funks
MIC SKILLS:
To decide this I'd need to look at each individuals skills. Dory jr is decent during interviews but never truely stands out or enthrals audiences, although that may be due to the time he wrestled in, where wrestling was mostly percieved as real and wrestlers were supposed to talk like normal sports people. Terry is on a whole other level from his brother mic work wise, in my Top 10 Talkers blog from a few monthes ago I named Terry as #7, that shows how great he is in that area. Jeff Hardy is actually pretty good on the mic, a smooth North Carolina accent that draws people in, his promos get his point across while also conveying his unique (understatment) personality. Matt's promos are about average, nothing special or captivating, just getting the point across. In the end though I'd have to say The Funks win this due to Terry's phenominal ability on the mic.
Winner: Funks (mostly due to Terry)
OVERALL IMAGE/APPEARENCE:
This doesn't just cover physiques, but also how a wrestler looks due to attire, hair etc. Physique wise Dory jr was rather pudgy, like most wrestlers those days, Terry through the 70s and early 80s did have a similar build, although by the late 80s he seemed to aquire a pretty good physique until it deteriorated due to age. The Hardys have also had a similar problem with their physiques, although they looked somewhat decent in their early years there's problems now. Jeff's waist looks plain, you'd think he doesn't do sit ups at all and his arms aren't the biggest, but Matt in recent years has been sporting a gut that looks like something a wrestler from the 70s would sport, not someone from the days where muscle matters to make yourself believable. General image however, is where the winner is determined, as The Funks have the look of basic southern wrestlers, simple tights but with the occasional cowboy hat or poncho thrown in, and while Terry's wild hair/goatie and mad eyes convey his danger, Dory jr's balding head isn't exactly the ideal image. The Hardy's keep themselves interesting, while Matt's tights aren't the most exuberent of attires, Jeff is colourful enough to make people interested in him, especially with face paint and rainbow hair.
Winner: Hardys (mostly due to Jeff)
PERSONAS:
A persona is the character of the wrestler on-screen, the brotherly duos have similar personas to the their partners (Terry with Dory, Matt with Jeff). The Funks share the same persona of a rough-neck, Texas brawler, although Terry's can be more deranged and violent at times, which gives audiences a good impression that these guys could win any fight. The Hardys both have the personas of being generation X outsiders, who fight against the odds when things look tough. But when you put the eccentric appearence of Jeff aside, their characters seem basic faces, if it weren't for there appearences they wouldn't seem that interesting, while the tough brawlers/psycopath is intriquing enough for me.
Winner: Funks
FAN REACTION:
There's a common thing in wrestling today, you either like the Hardys or you don't, back in 2008/09 crowds would give good pops when Jeff came out and Matt was commonly seen as an underutilized talent. Now in 2011 Jeff is seen as someone who squandered his popularity for drugs and who is unprofessional (showing up at events wasted) and Matt is seen as a chubby lunatic who is full of himself for no reason. Although there are still those who defend the Hardys, the Funks are generally seen in a positive way, as legends who've had great matches and who've benefited the business well.
Winner: Funks
Overall winners by 4-1: Funks.
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