Why This Match?: A multitude of reasons. Both are initially cast as the awkward one. Both are whiny science geeks who complain incessantly about their faltering love lives despite possessing track records that the Heff himself would be proud of. Both hopelessly dote on the girl next door from afar who happens to be the woman of their dreams, finally engage in an unlikely long-term hook-up with them, then cheat on them to boot. Both profess to be all-round good guys, despite numerous instances of evidence to the contrary. The Battle: At first on Friends Ross Geller was an unlucky in love, hopelessly infatuated romantic with an awkwardness about him that made him charming, and a strong moral fibre that had viewers rooting for him in his eternal early seasons quest to woo the delectable Rachel Green. When he eventually got with her he became a possessive maniac, messed her around, and fell completely off the rails. Dalliances with a plethora of women followed, as Rosss character shifted from amiable goof to yelling psychopath. Dont touch his food, dont go to the tanning salon with him, and absolutely dont mention weddings if you are in his vicinity. Leonard was cast in a very similar role, beginning life as a full-on nerd with limited social interaction skills and permanently-raised eyebrows. He was a dreamer, longing for a relationship with his beautiful pinup next door neighbour. A harmless geek crush turned into a full-on unlikely pursuit, and sure enough his persistence paid off and he got his girl. Then, like Ross, he became a bit of a jerk. Leonard drove Penny away repeatedly with his neuroses, need for validation and desire for immediate long-term commitment, but somehow she always came back. By the time they tied to knot at the start of season nine, the aww factor of seeing them happy together had well and truly diminished. Their relationship had jumped the shark too many times. Winner: Leonard. Despite Rosss 180 degree shift in personality as the series went on I actually found him more entertaining with each passing year. Watching him rant, rave and scream at anyone and everyone who irked him was amusing, even if it bordered on slapstick silliness and was hard to take seriously. But Leonard takes the duke through sheer consistency. Serving as the glue that holds the show together, Leonard is far more vital to The Big Bang Theory from episode one to the present season than Ross became for Friends past season six. Score: Friends 1-1 The Big Bang Theory
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
