The Triple Threat Column 05.17.09: The 140th Edition - WWE Judgment Day, Flair Returing, the Hart Trilogy, More

Posted by David Martell on 05.17.2009

This week we preview WWE Judgment Day, and we give our thoughts on the recent forming of the "Hart Trilogy" as well as Flair's desire to get back into the ring. Plus our picks for a dream tag team, and who never deserved to hold a world title! Does it rhyme with Mavid Barquette? Matt Morgan is our Superstar Highlight! That'll put some butts in the seats!

Welcome back to another edition of the Triple Threat Column. As you may know, this has been somewhat of a slow period for wrestling news, but we are doing our best to keep things interesting! This week, we run down the card of Judgment Day, our thoughts on the "Hart Trilogy," and Flair's desire to return to wrestling. We also talk about our dream tag teams, and who never should have held a world title! Read on to achieve greatness!

Topic # 1 WWE Judgment Day is this Sunday, what are your thoughts on the card?

David Martell: This PPV is pretty stacked in my opinion but it almost seems that Smackdown could have their own PPV at this point. CM Punk vs. Umaga could be fun although I doubt it will be anything as good as Punk vs. Joe. Umaga has a lot to prove since hes been gone for quite a while it seems and a good match would put him back where he was. I think CM Punk will get the win. Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio for the IC title could be great. Rey has had a great year so far wrestling wise and I hope he keeps it up. Jericho is Jericho, he's just plain awesome. This is by far one of the best matches on the card and although I would like Jericho to stay closer to the World Title, I can't complain about a new and interesting feud so I believe that Jericho will get the win here. John Cena vs. Big Show is possibly the worst match on the card. I remember when Big Show was good and that was a very long time ago. Cena has been pretty stale for quite some time now and I just don't see this match being any good. Unfortunately I see Big Show winning since they will probably be continuing this feud. John Morrison vs. Shelton could possibly be the show stealer if they get the right amount of time. I am actually surprised that this match got on the card. If anything I would think that they would put MVP vs. Regal but I am definitely not complaining. Maybe the WWE actually wants us to see better wrestling matches and I am all for it. If this match gets time, it should be great and I see Morrison getting the victory here. I still hope we get a Jericho vs. Morrison feud in the future! Now we get to the trio of big title matches. Jack Swagger vs. Christian for the ECW title should be a good one. There matches have been very good and I expect this to be no different. I see Christian continuing his reign and having some respect type feud against Tommy Dreamer for Extreme Rules. Jeff Hardy vs. Edge should be good but I have a feeling Punk is going to cash it in here. They are in Chicago and I know WWE likes getting big crowd reactions so this is the place for Punk to cash it in. I think Edge will win in a very close match with Hardy but ultimately lose to Punk after the match. If this match ends up the main event on the card then I definitely see this happening. Orton vs. Batista is probably going to suck. RAW got sucked of life after the draft and its sad because Randy Orton is my favorite wrestler. The show is bland and boring and this match basically sums it all up. Batista is terrible and depending on how long this match goes, he will get very slow very fast. Orton should retain here with no problems but unfortunately, I think this feud with Batista/Triple H will continue. Overall, the PPV looks great and I think most of the matches are very solid.

Alex Mattis: Lord how many times can we watch the same matches? Replace a few names and arrange the card different and this could be confused with a PPV from '04 or '05. And seriously only three weeks between PPV's? This is getting ridiculous. All these matches and feuds (minus Swagger-Christian) have been ridiculously rushed and are prematurely climaxing. But people are still dishing out money for it so I must be missing something. Expect no title changes and no matches that will blow your mind. Aside from the Morrison-Shelton match none of this card interests me. Punk-Umaga!!??!! This is starting to resemble how well PPV's were put together in 2002.

Zach Brown: Initially, I thought Judgment Day looked terrible. But I'm beginning to think that I only thought this because I saw the image of Batista vs. Orton on my screen about 80 different times on Raw. I think it says volumes about this PPV when the only matches I'm interested in seeing are the Smackdown and ECW matches. So lets get into it, shall we? First up, Morrison vs. Shelton. Such an a solid matchup, and it will definitely be sleeper hit of the night. Rey Mysterio vs. Jericho is a fresh matchup, and I'm hoping to see great things out of these guys. But overall, I don't want Jericho to hold the Intercontinental Title. Jack Swagger vs. Christian is probably the match that I'm most excited about because I'm a big fan of both of these guys and I think their ongoing feud is on of the best things in WWE right now. CM Punk vs. Umaga should be entertaining, but I feel like it's just a sidestep for CM Punk instead of a focus on his title shot. I expect CM Punk to win, especially after his confusing loss to Kane. I am seriously hoping that Big Show vs. Cena will be at least halfway decent, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I have not been a fan of either guy lately, and my excitement for Big Show has especially waned ever since he got involved with La Familia. In my opinion, Edge is what made this feud exciting. So now that Edge is off doing his own thing on Smackdown, this feud is just dull to me. Speaking of which, Edge vs. Jeff Hardy should close the show in my opinion, because it's the better of the two main title matches. I enjoy these guys together, and I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff hold the title again. And finally, the big stinker of the night, Batista vs. Orton. Can Orton honestly carry Big Dave to a good match? I sincerely doubt it. I haven't enjoyed a Batista match in years, and I don't expect this to be any different. And I never thought I could ever hate Raw when Randy Orton is champ, but WWE has managed to do that. Raw has just been God-awful for the past two weeks. And this is the most underwhelming main event that WWE has had in a while; so bad that it almost made the whole night a no-buy for me. But all in all, Judgment Day has a great undercard, and thats what pulls it out of the depths of bad booking.

Topic # 2 The "Hart Trilogy" was formed this past week on ECW. What are your thoughts on this new stable?

David Martell: It is about damn time. WWE has been in the works trying to make this happen for who knows how long and we finally get it. With Teddy Hart getting thrown out of the WWE, DH Smith getting bit by wellness and then rumored to join the Legacy, this stable almost seemed unlikely. Once Smith got moved to ECW it was only inevitable. I forgot how big Smith actually was, he's a big kid. Slowly but surely, it seems that tag teams are starting to pop up all around the WWE and maybe just maybe we could have some interesting developments in the tag team ranks. With the Hart Trilogy, Legacy, WGTT, the Colons, Brian Kendrick and who ever he picks as a partner, and Cryme Tyme, we could actually have a cross branded tag team division. I can only hope that the Hart Trilogy lives up to the name and becomes something great but right now I am going to hold my breath on this one. I still need to see how well DH Smith is in the ring and feuding with Finlay is a good thing on helping him get better in the ring. I look forward to seeing where all this is going.

Alex Mattis: It took the E long enough to pull the trigger on this whole deal. And thanks be to the lord that that headcase Teddy is out of the equation we can get down to business. Of course the mark in me would love to see Jack Evans be a part of this is someway but that ain't gonna' happen. But realistically speaking, this tandem could help put a little boost in the very lacking and needing tag/stable state of the E right now. I'm not too sure about the work ethic of the team right now as what I've seen has been rather short and sweet but I have no doubt that if they're given the chance they could make a go of it

Zach Brown: This is interesting, but I'm not entirely sold on it yet. I want to get behind Tyson Kidd, but I'm not just not digging him quite yet. I mean he's not an instant eye opener for me like Evan Bourne, CM Punk or Jack Swagger was. I don't mind watching his matches, but I just haven't seen anything in his matches that made me super excited about the guy. And DH Smith seems alright but he kind of looks generic in a Lance Cade sort of way. Nattie Neidhart is really the only one I'm absolutely sold on because the girl can wrestle, she has great mic skills, and she's attractive to boot. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are putting this stable together. I mean WWE has talked about doing a New Hart Foundation for how long? It seems like it's been forever. So I'm glad it's finally coming to fruition. But the thing that bothers me a little is that there are now two heel stables that all comprised of second generation wrestlers, and each stable is too small. Why don't they just join The Hart Trilogy with Legacy? It would be perfect if that team won some gold. Orton as champion, either Legacy or Kidd and Smith as tag champs, someone else to hold the US Title (perhaps Cody or Ted), and Natalya as Divas champ. It would work perfectly! We haven't had a completely dominant stable in some time, and I miss the days where a stable would have several belts. But that's neither here nor there. All in all, I'm excited for this stable, but it's too early to tell how it will work out.

Topic # 3 Who do you think should have never won a world title?

David Martell: I think that the Great Khali should have NEVER won the World Title. I understand that technically it would be realistic for a guy that size to go over everyone in his path but he is just not a good wrestler. I have never been impressed with his matches and the guy is so damn slow. I do think that Khali is a good building block for other wrestlers to get to the top so he does have some purpose. People do like seeing monsters in the ring but I just don't think he's worthy of a World Title. Hell, I don't even mind if he gets a shot at the belt as long as he doesn't win. I just think that they are other guys other they who deserve that chance such as Morrison, Shelton, or MVP. These guys put on quality matches and deserve a chance to shine. Forever the Great Khali's name will be on the World Title and there's nothing I can do about it.

Alex Mattis: This is a real question? David Arquette. Duh. But if we're looking outside of him there are a few answers that spring to mind. Knowing what we know now the strap never should have been put on the Warrior but you know it made sense at the time. Xavier never should have got the world title when you look at his named compare to the other people that have won the ROH World Title it just doesn't look right. Hogan shouldn't have won the title in his '02 run in the E. Foley shouldn't have the TNA title right now, but that's just one of the many problems they have. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind.

Zach Brown: The first name that comes to mind is Rey Mysterio. I'm not saying Rey didn't deserve it, because I think he did. But he just had an incredibly weak title reign, and that was unfortunate. It felt like he barely escaped with the belt every time, and it seemed like he was getting dominated left and right. I also seem to think of The Great Khali in this catagory. Now THIS was a guy that didn't deserve it one bit. He was just downright terrible in the ring, and his reign was a complete joke. Also, David Arquette. Duh. What a stain on the big gold belt. Oh, and Mick Foley recently won the TNA World Title. Downright awful. Does every ex-WWE guy in history need to hold this belt!? People told me left and right not to give Foley a hard time because he was only going over to TNA to put over the younger talent. Man, nothing puts over the younger guys like winning the title when you are way past your prime, and can't cut it in the ring anymore. Why I continue to watch TNA is a question I ask myself every night before I fall asleep. Give Chris Daniels the belt. Or give Alex Shelley the belt. Or give Hernandez the belt. All of those guys are better and more deserving to be the face of the company. Please TNA, at least do something to help me forget these past 2 months of the title history.

Topic # 4 Which two wrestlers ,from any promotion, would you like to see as a tag team?

David Martell: For some reason, the first thing that pops into my head is Umaga and Samoa Joe. I think I'll just run with this one. With Samoa Joes current gimmick, how could this be wrong? If Samoa Joe was in the WWE this would certainly freshen up the tag division and they would be quite dominating. Both of these guys are pretty stiff and who wouldn't want to see them beat up on everyone countless times. Although I think Joe could be something more than a tag team wrestler, this is an interesting concept. Another tag team that I wouldn't mind seeing, is the formation of Alex Shelley and John Morrison. It is truly the best of both worlds. This could possibly be the greatest tag team ever formed in the last ten years. Yes, I know, completely genius but we all know it is never going to happen. Both of these guys are destined for better things and I can only hope they both get what they deserve.

Alex Mattis: Nigel and Willy Reg. Could you imagine? The guys would work great together and be MONSTER heels as a team. It would just be a perfect pairing. It could be the return of the Blue Bloods!!! Oh, how marvelous it could be. Joey Ryan and Val Venis together would have been money. Taker-Fallen Angel, I know Taker isn't a tag-team wrestler but I think these two would deliver great promos and theatrics. There are many great tandems that could be thrown together, but like I said the best tag team you could put together in the US today would be the Blue Bloods 2.0.

Zach Brown: This is a complete dream team for me, but I would love to see Bryan Danielson and Christopher Daniels. The...Danielses...hmm no that wouldn't work. But seriously, I'd love to see these guys team up. Bryan is arguably one of the best technical wrestlers alive today, and Danielson is one of the best all-around wrestlers as well. But if we're talking kayfabe here, I doubt it would happen considering Daniels cut that classic promo about "Bryan Danielson's bank statement." But hey, Danielson formed a great tag team with another great high flyer, Paul London. So that's pretty much as good as it gets in real life. Another obvious choice would be AJ Styles and Evan Bourne. They're simply the two best high flyers in the business, and I'd love to see what they could do together.

Topic # 5 Flair has said in a recent interview that he would like to start wrestling once again. How do you feel about this?

David Martell: The fact that he said he was 90% better than the guys on the WWE roster is a joke. I understand that Flair has been wrestling all his life and that is all he knows but the man is almost sixty years old, he is going to kill himself. WWE gave him a great retirement and if he ever wrestled again it would tarnish the whole thing. He did state that HBK and the WWE's retirement that they gave him was the only reason he hasn't started wrestling again but he just always keep that in mind. He has nothing left to do wrestling wise. He as done everything a wrestler can do. I like the role he is playing in RoH right now and I think he could be a good trainer for future wrestlers. The guy needs to stay away from wrestling in the ring.

Alex Mattis: I knew this would eventually happen. I don't think any wrestler actually means it when they retire. Yes Flair wants to get back in the ring and more than likely he eventually will but I don't really understand why. He had one of the greatest runs in the history of professional wrestling and has a legacy that he should be intent with. The only thing holding him back is respect for Shawn and the retirement the E gave him? I think his pride and respect for the biz should be what is holding him back. I just don't get it. I guess he was very bad with his money and needs more. Maybe he should go check out Japan; it's working well for Jose Canseco.

Zach Brown: Well if David Flair was to start wrestling again, he faces serious ring rust, and I'm pretty sure he's out of shape. Whoa...you mean Ric? I know you couldn't possibly mean Ric Flair because the man had a sendoff at Wrestlemania 24 and the following episode of Raw that made any sports figure's retirement look like a 3 ring circus. All kidding aside, it's seriously uncool if Ric wants to come back and wrestle some more. I don't doubt that the man still has it, because his last match with HBK made me hate the fact that he was retiring. But it was just time for Ric to hang up the boots. And he did it in the classiest way possible. He really shouldn't tarnish that because he won't get a better sendoff in his life. I don't know if he misses the spotlight, or if he was jealous of the enthusiasm for Steamboat, or whatever else. He's just far too old to be in the ring anymore. Ric Flair should just stay retired because it's the best thing for him and the fans as well.



Superstar Highlight

Matt Morgan


Our thoughts on Matt Morgan.

David Martell: There was a time when I actually liked Matt Morgan but he has fallen off the map for me. He is not a very impressive wrestler but he does have a great look. He is the most fit giant in wrestling and by far the fastest. The problem is that he is still very green and needs a lot of work on his in ring ability. Morgan is also one of those guys who has been plagued with bad gimmicks. His stuttering gimmick in the E was god awful and this whole blueprint thing is a joke. With a guy his size he doesn't really need a gimmick, he just needs to squash people to get over. I think Matt Morgan has a lot of potential but TNA needs to help him hone his ability and learn how to use him right.

Alex Mattis: THE BLUE-PRINT!!! Talk about a guy that is really hit or miss, Matt Morgan has had an up and down track record but I give the guy props because he always brings it and works hard. I've never been the biggest fan of his. I couldn't stand him in the E because of how green he was, and while I've enjoyed some of his work in TNA I've never had "Oh my God what is Matt Morgan gonna' do next?!?!?!" thoughts. Before they really screwed 'em up I really dug the pairing of Abyss and Morgan and thought it was working well for the two of them but TNA had other ideas... bad ideas. I'm not sure where Morgan is going to go from here but am slightly interested to see if he has peaked or still has more to offer.

Zach Brown: I'm not a huge fan of Matt Morgan. He has a good image, and he's not bad on the mic, but I'm just not all that high on his in-ring abilities. His bicycle kick is cool enough, but as a finisher? Eh. He still strikes me as being incredibly green in the ring. I don't doubt that he could be the hottest thing in wrestling sometime in the future. But as of right now, I just think he needs more training. Maybe feuds with more wrestling veterans could do the job. And he constantly refers to himself as "The Blueprint" and the future of the business. I don't mean to be harsh, but the guy is 32 years old. That's arguably the age where most wrestlers are at their peak. So when is Matt Morgan going to be "it?" When is he going to be there? Is he going to be "the blueprint" of professional wrestling for his entire career? Hopefully that recent promo aimed at the Main Event Mafia will do good things for Morgan because I actually do want him to be successful as a wrestler. But even if Matt Morgan starts hitting some sort of stride, I doubt TNA will be able to sustain it for long because they have much more talented guys than Morgan who have still never seen the main event.



Well that's it for this week. Get off your butts and go see Star Trek! Watch Kirk take the captain's seat with Starfleet Regulation 619!
BOOYAKA BOOYAKA!