The only ships I have not beaten in this mode are Tirpitz's, Bismarck's, and Eugen's. The closest I've come was a Draw against an incompetent Derpitz that let me ram him while I was on 1,000 HP.
They just sail straight in your direction and due to map size a CL or CA can't kite away long enough to make the battle even remotely close. Hydro for them also makes torping impossible.
I don't think paper-rock-scissors is the right analogy. Maybe for DD's and CV's that analogy works, but for Cruisers or BB's it's like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Only those who are very skilled with the knife, or plain lucky, can win.
The only ship that I think would be able to match the Tirpitz's, Bismarck's, and Eugen's in this mode would be a Kitakami. The 40 Torpedo wall of skill would be the balancing factor against the pure skill (Pressing "W") exhibited by most German ships; dump, run, and pray they give you time to reload.