Top MatchesThis is razor close to me. Both men have high quality matches in multiple places and against multiple opponents. Styles has probably the best TNA match ever in my mind against Joe, some absolute bangers in NJPW and in WWE, and some of the best indie matches of the 2000s. The problem with styles is that I feel like I am a bit lower on styles absolute best matches (particularly his top WWE run than most). Hero is very similar in a lot of ways. His 2015 and 2016 were unreal. Overall, he has top end matches with Danielson in PWG, Hidaka in Evolve, Gresham in Beyond, Kingston in IWA-MS, Regal in NXT and ZSJ in just about every promotion they were in together. This is a tough one, but a lot of these are going to be tough for me so I don’t want to cop out to too many draws. I am going to go Hero because if you listed all their matches together you would probably have to go through at least two, maybe three Hero matches before you got to a Styles match on my personal list. Again, razor close and very much based on personal taste.
Winner: Hero
VersatilityThis very much depends on how we are talking about versatility. If we are talking ability to succeed in different places, Styles takes this by a mile. If we are talking ability to have lots of different types of quality matches, I think hero takes it by a similar distance. I think for me the latter is a touch more important and what I really think of when I think of versatility. Hero also has a top notch tag run with Claudio, so a lot of his case comes from tag team wrestling. Again, this one goes to Hero.
Winner: Hero
ConsistencySigh…. There aren’t going to be many (if any) easy ones here. Both of these men have been insanely consistent throughout their careers. I think I actually have to call this a draw. There have been some dips for each, but for the most part both have been rock solid performers wherever they go.
Winner: Draw
Charisma/”It” FactorThis one seems a bit easier than the previous three. I have to give this to Styles. He feels like a big deal wherever he goes and sort of has since day one. He just has a swagger and presence about him that is sort of undeniable. Hero can very much feel like a big deal in a smaller room, but I do think he struggled with translating that to NXT a bit.
Winner: Styles
PromosI don’t think either Styles or Hero are particularly bad at promos, but I don’t think either is particularly good either. Styles has always sounded sort of clunky to me and it isn’t just the accent. I am from WV. I live in the south now. The accent doesn’t bother me at all. He just usually sounds strange to me on the mic. Hero has some good indie promos, but I don’t feel like he was known for them. Hero strikes me as more consistent, but Styles – once again – has had to do more promo work on bigger stages. I guess I’ll give this to Styles, but again, eh.
Winner: Styles
Elevating OthersThis one I am going to give to Hero. Especially big brawling Hero was really able to use his size and style to get guys over an elevate them in the broader discourse. I also think if you look at their BEST matches, most of Styles come against guys who are also top notch. While I love Eddie Kingston and Johnathan Gresham it would be hard to argue that they were – at the time of the matches – on the level of Brock, Danielson, Low-Ki, Joe, Reigns, Suzuki, etc etc – when their matches against Styles happened. I also go back to the Scenic City Invitational that Hero was part of. Finally, I think the early feud with Riddle really did wonders for Riddle’s career and helped build a foundation for what is already a great career and is only getting bigger. I think that whole tournament was really elevated by his presence. Styles has elevated people, but it isn’t something I associate him with really.
Winner: Hero
OffenseAnother category hat I think I have to give Hero. Styles is as athletically gifted as just about anyone who has stepped in the ring and his offense is really dynamic. Hero can do it all though. He is a better submission/technical wrestler. He can brawl. His strikes are top shelf. He was close to styles in terms of his dynamic athleticism when he was slimmer too. Additionally, I can’t give this to styles because I despise his pele kick at least 70% of the time. Sometimes it’s great, but most of the time it is contrived.
Winner: Hero
SellingAnother tough one. I think both are fairly good on this front. Styles has the more athletic selling, but Hero has always been good at consistency for the most part. I think I’ll give it to styles because he bounces around like a pinball sometimes. Styles by a slim marging, but not really a lot to unpack here.
Winner: Styles
Rewatch Value Both Styles and Hero have pretty extensive catalogues of top notch work. I think for me, Hero has more rewatch value. Styles isn’t one note, but he doesn’t have the same versatility in the way I discussed Hero above. I also feel like I am drawn to Hero’s top matches more than Styles and in turn I probably revisit them more. Plus, you get more top notch tag wrestling with Hero.
Winner: Hero
Elliott’s Bonus Question (Brody vs Nigel: or who did the best work with a bad wrestler)I am not really sure what to make of this one. I’m trying to think of the best work associated with a bad wrestler from each. I am not the biggest Marty Scurll fan and he has a great match with Scurll from Progress. The SCI tournament final had Gunner Miller in it and Hero was a huge part of making Gunner look good. There is also a banger of a cage match with Human Tornado from PWG in 2008. HT isn’t BAD, but I think Hero gets a lot of credit there. For Styles I actually think he pulled a pretty good match out of Shane at Mania. He also had a solid run with Abyss in TNA. Abyss is somewhat underrated I think, but its still impressive. I suppose the biggest badge of honor Styles has is the Elseworth stuff. Bobby Dempsy was a good spirited young wrestler that Hero and Sweeny both got more out of than anyone else could imagine. I’ll call this a tie.
Winner: Tie
Final Score Hero – 5
Styles – 3
Tie – 1.5
Honestly, this is probably closer than the score indicates. Hero just resonates a bit more with my wrestling tastes I think. We are probably closer to the end than the beginning for both men, but this would still be an interesting one to revisit in 5 - 10 years.
