WWE vs. TNA 3.25.07: Finlay vs. Roderick Strong
Posted by Jordan Linkous on 03.25.2007
Two very similar superstars from two different eras clash this week on WWE vs. TNA!
The Pre-Match Warm-up:
Welcome one and all to another grand edition of THE MOST POSITVE ARTICLE (as said by me) on the internet. Not only that, but it is my 20th~! edition. I seriously can't believe that they haven't canned my ass yet. Anyways, we had a great week a couple weeks ago as we tackled Rey Mysterio vs. Senshi. Here are the results:
Rey Mysterio: 47% 204 votes
Senshi: 53% 232 votes
Woopiee! Another TNA superstar won. That means great things for TNA as they are starting to win! I had a one week sabbatical last week, but I wanted to do something for St. Patty's Day. One Irish wrestler that pops into everyone's mind is Finlay. But then I got to thinking, who in TNA would be a good matchup? I couldn't come up with any, so I turned to my small knowledge of ROH, and one superstar stood out to me: Roderick Strong. Yes, I found many similarities between the Messiah of the Backbreaker and the Fighting Irish Bastard. By the way, I consulted ROH video reviewer extraordinaire Jacob Zeigler for some of my Roderick Strong info.
Finlay vs. Roderick Strong
Category 1: Strengths
Finlay: He loves to fight. Simple as that. Many people (smarks and marks alike) have taken a liking to Finlay. He has had success in WCW and WWE, being able to pick up some titles along the way. In WCW, he won the World Television Championship, and in WWE he was the United States Champion. His time in WCW lasted approximately five years, from 1995 to 2000, and then was picked up as a road agent and trainer. He surprisingly showed up on WWE TV in early 2006, and has been hitting people with shillelaghs since. How, might you ask, did this Finlay get so over? As I mentioned before, he loves to fight. He is a no nonsense smash mouth wrestler who just loves to beat the crap out of opponents. His main strength is his determination. He knows what he wants to do in a match, and he sticks with his game plan. If he wants to work over someone's arms, he will work on the arms with arm breakers and such. If he wants to work the legs, he will hit his opponents with chop blocks, leg locks, and shillelaghs. Finlay is also very knowledgeable and aware in the ring, as he knows what's going down and what he can do to stay on top. Another little known fact about Finlay is that he is one tough bastard. He can take a large amount of abuse, as seen in his matches against such gargantuans as Batista and Bobby Lashley. He takes what the big men dish out and uses his resilience and smarts to regain his composure, so to speak, and take control. He is a hard hitter and a bruiser. He rocks his opponents with some hard shots and keeps firing at his opponents. His moveset consists of many traditional moves, such as chops, STIFF kicks, piledrivers, suplexes, and basically the old school stuff that he has mastered. If he was to meet Strong in a match he should stick to the basics, and slowly, and methodically, work down Roderick. Then hit him with a shillelagh.
Roderick Strong: Roderick Strong is a strong wrestler (no pun intended). He has won championships in ROH, NWA Florida, PWG, IPW, and is currently the FIP World Heavyweight Champion. He hits hard, has tons of endurance, is resilient, and is strong. A match that I will be referencing for this is the match from Vendetta against Bryan Danielson. It is the quintessential Roderick Strong match. It shows his resilience, endurance, STIFFNESS, and strength. First are his strikes. If anyone has watched a solid Roderick Strong match, they would know what I am talking about. His chops annihilate his opponents. In his match with Danielson, he BLOODIED his chest with all of his chops. Not only that, but his running Yakuza kick is painful to watch. He levels opponents with hard shots right to the head or chest, and it can be heard. Another strength shown in this match was his resilience. Danielson hit Strong with a vicious Dragon Suplex, but Roderick managed to kick out. That was a mark out moment for me because I thought Strong would win. Then Danielson locked on the Crossface Chickenwing, but Strong made it to the ropes. During the match he was also able to escape other submission maneuvers, such as the Cattle Mutilation. This match also showed his endurance. This match lasted for about forty-five minutes, and he was able to keep his intensity and focus throughout the match. Exhaustion obviously played a part in the match, but Strong would not go down. It was only when Danielson repeatedly elbowed Strong in the head did he lose the match. The ending made both men look strong, but Strong stood out. He was able to go tot to toe with the champ for forty-five minutes, despite the blood lose and exhaustion, and THEN he made it to his feet and walked out on his own power, to a large pop. And of course I couldn't forget he is a master of breaking backs. He has many variations, ranging from a powerbomb to the knee to a half-nelson slam on the knee. If he was to cross paths with Finlay, he should work over Finlay's back with his backbreakers, and then finish him with the Strong Hold.
Category 2: Fighting Styles
Roderick Strong: As I previously mentioned, Roderick's main fighting style is a strength based game. Aside from that, he also can be technical and a striker. The obvious thing about Roderick is, despite his size, he is STRONG. He is able to perform such power moves as powerbombs, Butterfly suplexes, half nelson suplexes, Superplexes, and basically any other "plex" you can think of. He hits those moves with a lot of velocity and force, so they are more devastating than usual. Aside from that, he is innovative with his strength, as he hits many of those moves, but also modifies them into backbreakers. He also hits those moves hard, and it is almost an explosion when he obliterates his opponents' backs. His strength plays a major part in his success, as he is able to weaken his opponent with his power moves. While being strong is an important aspect to his success, it is not the only one. He is also able to weaken opponents with submission moves. He tends to work over the back, with Boston Crabs, Bow and Arrow, and of course the Stronghold. He is precise with these moves, and applies then when they count. Along with his strength and submission, Roderick is a striker. That mean that he hits, and he hits HARD. Like I said before, he bloodied the chest of Danielson and it looked like he was severely sunburned. Along with this, he has STIFF kicks, which he uses to depreciate his opponents. Along with the kicks, there is the Sick Kick, which is a Running Yakuza kick. Needless to say, Roderick's many fighting styles are all major factors in his success, and none is more valuable than the other. When combined, Roderick is able to gain the advantage over many opponents, which is what he should try to do with Finlay.
Finlay: Finlay's main fighting style is a mix of Brawling and Old School. He is a brawler in the sense that he gets down and dirty when competing. He will used closed fists, hit them when they are down, and utilize the five counts. He stomps away at his opponents, working over whatever body part he pleases, because he is Finlay. He also utilizes many objects around the ring, besides Hornswaggle and the shillelagh. He chokes out opponents with the ropes, the tag rope, and even the apron. He drives his opponents into the announce tables, steel steps, and the barriers. If it is by the ring, he will use it. What I am trying to say is that he is not only a brawler, but resourceful as well. But don't going thinking he is a one trick pony. He is also a good Old School wrestler. He is known to use such moves belly-to-back suplexes, piledrivers, German suplexes, among others. Along with this he uses typical yet effective submission maneuvers such as Boston Crabs, leg locks, toe holds, among others. Similar to Strong, he is able to mesh these two styles and hone them into a perfect craft. He is a rough, tough SOB in the ring, and he can back up everything he does. And if he can't, Hornswaggle can. But seriously, Finlay should stick to what he knows best and deliver Roderick with brutal yet precise wrestling techniques and take advantage of the young up and comer.
Category 3: Finishers
Finlay:
While in WCW, Finlay often used the Rolling Fireman's Carry, which is where he has his opponent in the fireman's carry position, runs, then does a somersault. It is similar to the Green Bay Plunge that Kennedy uses. It was a good move that worked the midsection. Also, while in WCW, Finlay would rock his opponents with the Tombstone. Recently, however, he has been using the Celtic Cross. In this move, he has his opponent is the Alabama Slam position, then tucks their head under his arm. He then brings them down with all the force going on the upper back/neck area of the opponent. This move is devastating and not many have been albe to continue the match after getting his by it.
Roderick Strong: Roderick Strong's two primary finishers are the Half Nelson Backbreaker and the Stronghold. Once the back is sufficiently weakened, Strong like to put the finishing touches with these two moves. First, the Half Nelson Backbreaker. He has his opponent in a Half Nelson, then quickly lifts then up and brings them down on his knee. This is a devastating move that delivers a lot of punishment. But if that's not enough, Strong will lock on the Stronghold, which is a Single Leg Boston Crab, which sees Strong drive his knee into the back of his opponent. Strong cinches this move in after his opponents are weakened, and unless they are near the ropes, there is little hope.
The Final Result:
I cannot decide between these two superstars. They are both very similar, and the both kick some ass. It is up to you guys, the readers, to vote.
Also, be sure to check out my friends Jacob Zeigler and Brad Garoon's two latest reviews, Black Friday Fallout and Dethroned. Happy reading to all, and be sure to check me out next week, if I am still around.
