Is William Wallace really deadlier than Tshaka Zulu?

For those that have the time, on Tuesdays there is a show on Spike TV that’s quite interesting. The show is called Deadliest Warrior. At its roots it is a rip-off of Mythbusters with a twist. But the twist is what makes the show interesting.

There have been several episodes already this season. Each episode breaks down to the following formula:

2 separate warrior tribes/armies are selected from very different eras (normally) and vastly different regions of the world.

Each fighter is given a breakdown of their historic battles, main arsenal of weapons, and tactics

Then the 2 fighters, with a small selection of key weapons, are compared to each other in the areas of long range, mid-range, short, and special weapons. Each category introduces the weapon, highlights its use, has a demonstration enacted on ballistics gel or a dead pig/cow – then the same for the opponent.

There is an E.R. doctor, and 2 techies that evaluate the damage done, and a winner of that scenario is determined.

Finally, based on all data selected, a program is run simulating an encounter with both fighters each using the tested weapons. The simulation is run 1000 times. The final outcome is then enacted by actors, with the tally of the effectiveness of each weapon shown to the audience.

It’s simple, a tad bit repetitive, and interesting. Shaolin Monk beat Maori, Samurai beat Viking, Pirate beats Knight, and so on.

This week’s episode may be the most debatable and hotly contested. For the first time the show took on individual warriors instead of random groups. They picked Tshaka Zulu vs. William Wallace.

(I like the song choice by the way. My video just has the audio from the show)

Now I understand the concept that steel beats wood. And I will give the fact that a claymore sword can inflict horrific damage. But I still don’t think Wallace wins.

Shaka Zulu is a lifetime trained warrior, with far more experience than Wallace. Shaka is faster, with lighter more flexible weapons. One miss with a claymore and Wallace is exposed for way too much time. That is the nature of his sword. The short spear of Shaka should leave Wallace dead in my opinion.

But before this gets racial (because someone out there will make it so) this is not about the race of the fighters. Not for the show, nor me. Just based on my knowledge of the weapons both men used, the number of battles they fought, and the likely conditioning of each, I put Chaka Zulu above Wallace.

But do you agree with me, or the Deadliest Warrior team? And why?