Before calling this fight in John Wick’s favor, as many would since Wick’s ability to use various weapons that would allow him to annihilate Ezio Auditore, one of the greatest assassins from the Assassin’s Creed franchise, it’s important to remember that despite using outdated weaponry, Ezio’s skills are every bit as impressive as John’s in a lot of ways. The inclusion of modern weapons would put Ezio at a serious disadvantage, but the problem with calling this entirely for Wick is that Ezio’s training is impressive enough that if he was brought into the modern era he would still be a highly-skilled fighter and someone who could disappear into a crowd, much as John can do. This would be another tough fight to call, largely because while Ezio has been seen to use a firearm in the game, it’s nowhere near as effective as the array of weaponry that Wick can access. But even with that, Ezio’s own arsenal is impressive enough that it could be highly effective even in John Wick’s era. But putting them head to head feels like it would be a game of cat and mouse, or cat and cat more likely since there’s no telling who would gain the edge first.
The setting would be important, but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for either man since Ezio’s ability to move among a crowd and climb buildings and use his surroundings to his advantage might actually tip the scales just a bit in his favor. Wick’s abilities are just as impressive, but the use of free-running hasn’t been seen as a part of his arsenal. If anything, John Wick is more like an immovable object, while Ezio could easily represent the irresistible force that would seek to put Wick on his back. That’s easier said than done obviously, but if anyone could do it, Ezio feels like one of those that might stand a chance.
It’s tempting to state that Ezio might be able to adapt to Wick’s environment, but thinking that Ezio could become used to the more advanced weaponry it feels that he’d come up short and find himself outmatched. But the fact is that both of these men can fight from a distance and hand to hand. Wick would have a serious advantage from a distance since nothing Ezio carries could possibly counter a sniper rifle, unless one is counting his ability to remain hidden or outfox his opponents and get in close before they even know he’s there. Wick is just as skilled as this, however, so it does stand to reason that he would still have the advantage since he knows a thing or two about stealth, and he knows how to strike absolute terror in the hearts of those that he’s set against. It does stand to reason that this wouldn’t work with Ezio however, since he’s another individual that’s been highly trained and doesn’t fear others, no matter how stacked the odds have been against him in the past. Both assassins are the type of men that know how to handle themselves, how to get out of a tight spot, and most importantly, how to be the best at what they do.
So who would win? This could easily be a 50/50 match that would come down to who blinked first, and who slipped up at the wrong moment. John isn’t perfect, that’s been seen. While he’s undeniably tough and has gone through hell for three movies thus far and is going to go through even more in another movie, Ezio’s experiences can’t be discounted, since he too has had to go through hardships that have hardened him and have become a deadly instrument that serves his own purpose. Both men had resources they could call upon that were impressive as well as secretive, and there was almost no limit to what they could accomplish with said resources. But bringing Ezio into the modern era would prove to be a challenge. Even with that being the case, it does feel that he might be able to adapt and evolve quick enough to use his skills to gain the upper hand on Wick. It’s a possibility at least.
In the end, if things came down to a hand to hand fight, it does feel that both men bring a certain level of skill to the fight, but it might be Wick that would end up triumphant unless Ezio could bring his hidden blade into the fray and put it to good use. The fact that it can be activated quickly and even be retracted could grant him an edge, but it’s fair to think that Wick might only need to see this trick once, and would be able to counter it somehow as his brutality and skill might put Ezio on his heels just long enough to give Wick the win. As I stated, the fight could go either way, as it would be a matter of who tired first and made the first noticeable slip. Of course, given the fighting styles of both men, that slip might end up being a feint. There are just too many angles to cover in this fight to say that either assassin would have the obvious edge.