You have one match to convince a stranger that pro wrestling is an art form
 

Poll for a slow Sunday afternoon: one of your best friends who has never watched, appreciated, or respected WWE has agreed to watch one match. Your aim is to convince them that wrestling is an art form. What is the one match you pick?

Vince McMahon v Zack Gowan

HBK vs Undertaker at WM 26

Successful troll is successful!

HBK - Taker from WM 26 is a good one. Not sure if that would top my list, but HBK-Taker (any match they ever had) tells a great story.

Dunno a match off the top of my head, but if I ever feel the need to convince my friends that wrestling is an art form, I hope those friends are kind enough to put an icepick through my skull and put me out of my misery.

wrestling in general or just wwe?

In general, although with WWE being the most recognizable brand it may have more traction with a non-observer.

My friend always says wrestling is lame, but I played the HIAC Brock vs. The Undertaker at No Mercy 2002 and he was into it

Well, considering I think it would have to be a current match... I mean, why show him a match from years ago with wrestlers who arent even in the company? I'd want my submission to be more relevant. Someone he could turn on the TV and go, "Hey, that's the guy!"

I'd probably say Punk's match at Capitol Punishment. If Punk leaves, probably Christian vs. Orton from Over the Limit.

As much as everyone loves HBK vs. Taker at WM, I wouldn't want to show the match, then have to add the disclaimer both those guys have quit and don't wrestle anymore. (And yeah, Taker is pretty much done. I don't expect to see him till WM next year.)

But it's also the most generic version of it out there. It's like saying you want to show people how good science fiction is, so you show them Independence Day.

Clox vs. the guy who stomps on fingers

Definitely would have to say Taker/HBK I. However, the crowd was just into a good match and you'd have to know the buildup. There was no real face/heel dynamic there.

I'll come back to this thread. This is a good one...

Benoit/Angle from Royal Rumble.

The first Royal Rumble that Shawn Michaels won, heck possibly the second one too.

It's not a fucking art form. Stop it.

It is when you consider what passes for 'art' these days.

Over the years iv shown a few guys and girls (some were non fans, some were aware of it and hadn't watched in years) the TLC match from WrestleMania X-7 and it worked well every time. Other matches that went over well were Foley vs HHH from Rumble 2000, Edge vs Foley from WM22 and Rock vs Austin at WM X-7. No point showing a non fan something like HBK vs Taker I and saying 'what a terrific story eh?'

HBK/Flair Retirement Match.....

Bushwhackers vs some jobber team on Rasslin challenge in 1990

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Franz Schumann (CWA Euro Catch Festival, December 19, 1992)

Triple H vs Shawn Michaels - SummerSlam 2002

The Undertaker vs Mankind, HiAC. It has all the elements you need. A good story, great action, drama, and of course seeing Mick Foley getting tossed off the cell.

Anything with Kurt Angle or AJ Styles.

Kurt Angle vs The Big Show during Kurt's early years when he told people not to fuck... Go ahead and explain that as "art."

If my friend told me to show him a wrestling match so he could get into it I would probably say "nah I can't be bothered, let's go do something else".

But hypothetically speaking, a TLC match or Rock vs Mankind - I quit match or something.

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker HIAC

or

Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart Iron Man Match

but wwe isn't pro wrestling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR5tIFlhetw
AJ Styles VS The Hurricane. How is that "art"?

How is it less art than every other match ever? Explain that.

No build up, no drama, it was pretty much The Undertaker vs Barry Horowitz when it came to the tipsters for this match, it was short, the action we weak, Hurricane was the midcarder and Styles was the local jobber.

That doesn't mean it's not art. It means it's bad art. There's a difference.

.....so you want to tell people that wrestling is bad art?

How about this- you tell me why The Hurricane vs AJ Styles on whatever they renamed Shot Saturday Night to should get the same artistic merit as HBK vs The Undertaker at WM26.

I didn't say it should? Why are you clinging to this one match so hard. I clearly wasn't being literal when I said any match. Pretty sure most people understood that. But you apparently just had to try and nitpick a meaningless exaggeration that I have no intention of arguing about. You win. Congratulations.

That'll be a nice quote in my sig.

But anyways, you asked me how is that match any less worth of being called art.
"How is it less art than every other match ever? Explain that. "
I, in turn, explained it. You, in turn, defended it art by claiming it as art as "bad art."
After that I asked you to explain why it should have the same merit as a huge match. I can accept it as "bad art" (much like throwing pigs blood on the canvas while reading twilight dressed up in drag can be seen as art) but just defend your point. You defended it once by saying it's bad art.

All you had to do was say "lol, my bad" or something like that after I pointed out AJ vs Helms on a late night show that was used as filler for the people who bought tickets to Raw or SmackDown, which then got turned into cheap tv. But no, you still claimed it was "art" even it was "bad art."

I already said you won. I over exaggerated and you totally put me in my place. This topic is not nearly interesting enough to get into an argument about. You can have it.

Randy Orton vs Mick Foley - No Holds Barred Match

While Orton and Foley "raised the the roof", so to speak, I still feel Edge and Foley blew the damn thing off.

Well, wrestling is art. You have two people in the ring performing physical theatre, in the round, to a live audience. They are not really fighting each other. They are acting out a fight routine they have choreographed to whatever degree.

I think if I was going to persuade someone that rasslin' was indeed, an artform, I suppose i'd either show them a match with a huge emotional level to it, such as HBK/Flair (letting them in on the build-up, if that was allowed) or something extremely impressive to look at visually, such as the classic Eddie/Rey HH '96 match.

Great match, but do you really want to be the guy saying "Hey, thanks for taking an interest in wrestling. Now watch these two guys for an hour."