The Triple Threat 7.25.10: The 197th Edition AJ As Global Champion, MITB Winners, More

Topic # 1 What are your thoughts on Kane winning the Smackdown MITB ladder match and later cashing it in on Rey Mysterio to win the World Title?

David Martell: I definitely didn’t see this coming but I am not going to get all worked up about it. Although for the past several years Kane has been in some of the worst storylines and gave us some of the most awful matches, him winning the World Title isn’t exactly a bad thing. It is fresh and with all the stuff the WWE has put Kane though, it is well deserved. He is not the worst wrestler in the ring and he has actually been doing some decent work as of late. His promos have at least been good. I think it is smart to book him against Rey Mysterio at Summerslam. Lets face it, Kane vs. Swagger wouldn’t sell many tickets. Everyone likes to see an underdog go against a monster so it should be interesting. Most people believe that Kane will eventually be beat by Taker due to him being the one who attacked him all along. I think this is a terrible idea. I actually wish Taker would come back and lose to Kane. That would be fresh. What better way to make Kane look like a legitimate World Champion. I can only imagine how many people would jump on the Kane bandwagon. Too bad this will never happen. Taker basically always has to win. I hope no one is looking for originality in that storyline. Right now Kane is buyable as World Champ so I will just have to see what happens.

Jacob San Antonio: The last time I cheered for Kane, I was ten years old. It feels weird having done that again. It’s really hard to place how I feel about these events. On the one hand, kudos to the guy for going twelve years without one of the two big titles. In a business that’s usually overwhelmed with egos and politics, it’s rare to see a guy like Kane. As far as we know, he’s never thrown a fit about titles, he’s rarely hesitated to put someone over, and I have to give him credit for riding the WWE for as long as he did without throttling one of the writers. So Kane winning the MitB match was fantastic, with that in perspective. I would have been happy so long as Drew McIntyre didn’t win, sure, but seeing Kane finally getting his due reward was cool. His helping Rey Mysterio/cash in swerve was hilarious to watch, intentional or not. Seeing Kane hold the belt is still a bizarre sight, and I can’t say I’m on the edge of my seat awaiting the inevitable Undertaker confrontation, but overall I’d say it’s a good thing. This feels like it might be the beginning of the end of Kane, so if he wants to take one more run with the belt I’m all for it. He’s already shattering his old record, so he’s had a great reign already!

Zach Brown: I’m conflicted about this happening. On one hand, Kane winning MITB and then cashing in on Rey made me nauseous at first. Kane as world champ? Really? In the last five years, I haven’t taken Kane seriously at all. Sure, he’s had momentum recently with the whole Undertaker storyline, but I don’t think that storyline is any better than Jeff Hardy being mysteriously pushed down a flight of stairs. But then again, it’s relatively fresh. Kane was previously only champion for a day, so you can’t really say that his title reign is stale. Kane is a guy that has paid his dues in WWE for over a decade now. And he’s been through some of the worst storylines in WWE history. Hell, after putting up with the Katie Vick storyline, they should have given him the title simply as an apology. But all that aside, Kane’s first promo on Smackdown was actually very good. It makes me think that maybe Kane actually will have a good title reign and that he will be a legitimate main eventer. But will it eventually end up with Taker returning and beating Kane for the title? I like Taker and all, but I wouldn’t want to see that happen. We’ll just have to see where it goes from here, but so far, it’s not bad.

Topic # 2 How do you feel about The Miz winning the RAW MITB ladder match?

David Martell: For people who didn’t like Kane winning they should be happy with the Miz. I really think that if anyone deserves to win the MITB Ladder match it is The Miz. I mean just look at how much he has improved over the years. I would say now that he is one of the top three talkers in the WWE right now and his in ring ability has vastly improved. I never watch a Miz match and turn away because it is terrible wrestling. Yeah, he can improve on the front but he is no where near from bad. He would be a fresh face in the main event on RAW and I welcome it. One big win or one great match would really sell most everyone on the Miz. I just wonder when he will decide to cash it in. I cant imagine him keeping it till Mania but I also can’t see him cashing it in anytime soon. I think he will continue to tease it every once in awhile and that makes for some interesting television.

Jacob San Antonio: I’m usually the guy screaming til I’m blue in the face about pushing younger talent and establishing them as real contenders. With The Miz, I’m reconsidering it. Don’t misunderstand, he’s had a fantastic year and he’s really improved on the mic and in the ring. I’m happy that he’s got the briefcase, and it felt great watching him fight back tears as he grabbed it during the PPV. My biggest concern with The Miz holding the briefcase is the fear that we’ll see another Jack Swagger. I like Swagger, and I think he’s a talented wrestler, but I’d be lying if I said his cash in and following title reign was as great as I’d hoped. I think Swagger will recover, but it still sucks his big moment kinda floundered in the follow through. I would hate to see that happen with The Miz. Especially with Raw as stacked as it is, roster-wise, The Miz has a dangerously high chance of screwing up the MitB cash in or losing his title pretty quickly afterwards. Having seen this guy step up and improve in the last two years, it would just be heartbreaking to watch. Do I want The Miz to be WWE Champion? Absolutely. Do I think he’ll be able to cling to the title for more than a month? I’m not sure at all. That’s what worries me.

Zach Brown: This is the development that I was most excited about coming out of Money in the Bank. Miz winning the Raw Money in the Bank is a great decision in my eyes. Miz has evolved and improved the most out of anyone in the past year. He is getting to be one of the best talkers in WWE, and he has a lot of momentum behind him. This guy is a star and he simply has the it factor in my opinion. Everyone is saying that he is going to be the first one to cash in Money in the Bank and lose. I don’t think that will be the case. WWE is really high on The Miz right now, so I don’t think they would do that to him. He is US champ, he was a tag champ, and he gets a lot of spotlight right now. Granted, if he cashes in on the wrong guy, such as Cena, it could end up badly for him, or hard to believe if he beat Cena for it. And I’ll be the first to admit, Miz has some work to do in the ring. I really think he just needs to have one solid four star match to prove himself to the fans and silence the critics. But overall, I’m happy with Miz winning MITB, and I can’t wait to see him actually cash in, whenever it happens.

Topic # 3 AJ Styles won the Global Title this past week on Impact. Your thoughts?

David Martell: So AJ Styles basically won a worthless belt. Good for him. Although I am not a fan of the Global Title, I am happy that Styles won it for two reason. My first reason is that now the title is off Rob Terry. I am not a Rob Terry fan by any length. He is just another roid out wrestler who is terrible in the ring. I watched him do a spin kick two weeks ago on Impact and it was just plain awful. Doing moves like that at his size doesn’t make him look agile, it makes him look stupid. The second reason I like the title change is that it gives some gold to the newly formed (still forming) stable, Fortune. Giving gold to a new stable is one of the best ways to make them look legit. Although the title isn’t worth much, it does make them look better. Maybe Styles can make the Global Title look important. Who knows? But it was definitely a smart decision.

Jacob San Antonio: Pardon me, let me put on my “World’s Biggest TNA Fan” mantle as I address this one. Uh…sure, why not? I think it could just be the start of a feud with Rob Terry, but I’m not adverse to Styles getting the gold here. I just wish I knew what TNA was planning to do with him in the long term. For now this works, though I wonder how losing the belt will affect Terry. Actually, that’s what I’m worried about more. AJ Styles will be fine, and TNA will find a place to stick him. Assuming his feud with AJ Styles doesn’t last long, where does Rob Terry go from here? Even if he gets the belt back, where’s he going? I want to see TNA aim Terry higher. He’s a good wrestler, and the fans seem to like him. Well, why not see how far the guy can climb? If they want to use this ranking system, awesome. Let’s see Terry start working his way up the rankings. I’m interested in seeing where this guy can go.

Zach Brown: This isn’t something I’m thrilled about. AJ Styles does not need the Global title. It is a joke title that is barely defended in the first place. AJ has held this title before back when it was the Legends title, and he held for a long while. And it was a joke back then too. The only point of putting this title on him is to add some gold to Fortune. I get the point of doing that. A new stable needs some sort of legitimacy and having the Global title can help their image I guess. And hey, Rob Terry isn’t anywhere close to the talent level of AJ Styles, so taking the belt off of Terry is fine by me. It’s just that I don’t respect the belt enough. Plus, it changed hands with extremely little fanfare in just an average match on Impact. Hopefully AJ can make the title worth something, but as of now, I just look at it as a piece of jewelry for Fortune.

Topic # 4 Who do you want to get eliminated on the upcoming episode of NXT?

David Martell: Lucky Cannon needs to be axed from NXT. This guy has jobber written all over him. He even jobbed to Alex Riley in what seemed like a four minute match. He is awful in the ring and he is even worse on the mic. I would rather hear Eli Cottonwood cut a thirty minute promo on mustaches. At least that is entertaining. He just doesn’t bring anything to the table in my eyes. It even looks like the WWE is leaning towards him getting eliminated anyways. The guy needs to reevaluate himself and gain some type of interesting personality before he decides he can make it in the WWE or any other wrestling organization.

Jacob San Antonio: Can we please lose Lucky Cannon? The dude is so vanilla I seriously get a pillow out whenever he’s on the tv. I just want some personality outta the guy, and the WWE will not give it to me. He’s not terrible in the ring, and I’d even say he’s not the worst on the mic. But man…the guy just doesn’t stand out on his own. If this persona/gimmick/whatever is his own doing, he needs to rework it and add something to his character to make him unique. If it’s the WWE’s doing, shame on them. This guy’s presence on the NXT roster just bothers me, and he just seems like a random face in the ring most of the time. Sorry man, but a ridiculous name does not my attention get.

Zach Brown: Eli Cottonwood, hands down. Lucky Cannon is bad too, but nowhere near as bad as Eli in my eyes. The guy is awkward in the ring, terrible on the mic, and just weird to look at. Lucky at least looks the part in my opinion. All Eli has done is talk about a moustache and look terrible on the obstacle course. Well, more than that, but still, he’s bad. I mean who else should go besides Lucky and Eli anyway? Husky Harris is actually talented, and should not be anywhere near 7th. And everyone else is in close contention for the top in my opinion. Even if someone else like Lucky or Husky is the one to go this week, Eli’s days are numbered anyway. I just think it’s better to get it over with now instead of later.

Topic # 5 Do you think it is a good thing to break up tag teams?

David Martell: It is a two headed monster. On one hand it is a great idea. Look at Edge and Christian. Both guys had great personality and could stand out on their own. If they were still a tag team it would have been a very sad story. They are both world champions in their own right and proved that both members of a tag team can actually be successful. In another instance, what if HBK never broke from Marty Jannetty? It would have been a travesty. You just cant hold back potential stars by keeping them in a tag team forever. It can also be a bad thing. Breaking up Carlito and Primo was a terrible idea. The WWE broke them up and did nothing for them in singles competition. There was literally no point. If the WWE decided to break up the Dudebusters, that would be a terrible idea. Neither one could get over on their own at this point and both men would probably end up job fodder. Hell, some tag teams should never be broken up. The Dudley Boyz are a good example of this. Neither one of them could really get over on their own but together they were awesome. It could really be a good or a bad thing depending on the wrestlers themselves. If you can shine on your own, then there is no need to be stuck in a tag team.

Jacob San Antonio: It’s rarely a good thing, unless you have some seriously lopsided tag teams. I’m still crying myself to sleep over Cryme Tyme’s breakup, since that led to absolutely nothing of value. I like JTG a lot, and I thought Shad could make it as a big man, but the biggest flaw in the WWE’s “brilliant” plan was taking away the crowd pleasing face duo. I don’t see why the two couldn’t participate in solo matches while maintaining their tag team on the side. It’s the smartest way to approach a tag breakup, and it’s a pretty simple concept called testing the waters. The WWE is pretty bad about doing that, and as a result you see teams breakup and disappear. Of course, there are the rare wrestlers who thrive from the breakup and continue to improve on their own. The Miz is the best example of this that comes to mind. The biggest con, though, is the loss of talent. If the breakup fails or succeeds, you rarely see both partners end up being success stories. Inevitably, one guy just doesn’t make it. That’s really the worst part about the business. Most of the time, if it ain’t broke the business won’t fix it. Tag teams are the exception to that rule, for whatever reason, and it’s a dangerous path to take as a wrestler.

Zach Brown: Ah, the age old discussion of tag teams in professional wrestling. I go back and forth on this. Sometimes tag teams belong together, while other times they need to be broken up eventually. In WWE, every tag team is broken up eventually for better or worse. Maybe WWE thinks that no tag team can realistically survive forever. Who knows? Take JeriShow for instance. These are two guys that are very successful on their own. But when they joined forces, it was a great time for tag wrestling in WWE. I was disappointed when they broke up, and they could have easily existed for another year and I wouldn’t have had any complaints. But for every JeriShow, there are the Colon Brothers. Those are two guys that were nothing without each other, and when they broke up, they faded into obscurity. Each case is different. For example, Miz and Morrison were a great team, but I think they are now better as singles wrestlers. But the problem in WWE is, breaking up tag teams always affects the amount of legitimate contenders to the titles. If WWE created tag teams every two months, there would be less complaints. But the fact of the matter is, the tag division stays flat because there are typically only around 3 tag teams or less in the WWE. TNA does things decently. MCMG are finally getting their due, and they have been together for a good stretch of time now. Plus, there is no end in sight for Beer Money which is the right decision. I mean, call me crazy, but I don’t think people would take James Storm very seriously on his own. Then there’s Team 3D who will pretty much never get broken up for good. Not that I’m a big fan of theirs, but whatever. Those are all teams that would not benefit from a breakup. But Hernandez and Morgan were never that great, so their breakup was justified. But then TNA does retarted things like pushing the Nasty Boyz in 2010. Aside from dumb decisions like that TNA handles their division well. But there are even tag teams outside of the WWE that I think are better split up. For example, the Kings of Wrestling are a great tag team right now, no doubt. But I happen to like Chris Hero more on his own. That’s my own personal preference obviously, but Hero is a great singles wrestler, and a brighter star than Claudio in my opinion. Then again, I don’t know if a team such as the American Wolves would do as well if they go the singles route. But with Eddie Edwards as the TV Champ and Davey Richards quitting to do MMA soon, it seems inevitable. Then there are the Briscoes who are obviously better with each other. It’s just different with every team whether or not they should go long term as a team or break up to go their own way. So as for WWE, yeah sometimes they make poor decisions with breaking up teams too early and not having a deep enough division. But every once in a while, they do make the right decision on who to split up. It’s just too bad they don’t have enough tag teams in the division to go around in the first place.

Our thoughts on Dolph Ziggler.

David Martell: I like Ziggler. He isn’t the best guy on the roster but he has improved from his days in the Spirit Squad. It looks like he is going for another shot at the Intercontinental Title but will he actually win some gold this time? I just don’t see it happening yet. Unless Kofi gets bumped up to the main event, I don’t see him losing the IC title so soon. Don’t get me wrong, I think Ziggler would be a decent IC champ, in fact I think he would be a lot more interesting and buyable if he did hold the title. I just don’t think it is quite his time yet. He still has a lot to work out on his promo skills but overall he is a solid talent. He did some great work with Rey Mysterio and I expect the same out of his feud with Kofi. If he doesn’t win the gold this time around, I expect him to have it eventually.

Jacob San Antonio: This guy’s been playing Kofi Kingston’s song longer than Kofi Kingston. Poor Dolph Ziggler just cannot get over. He’s got an established character, he’s had some great matches, and he’s had some seriously awesome moments in the past year or two. Yet he has been held down, time and time again, for various BS reasons. While I worry about The Miz succeeding at his MitB cash in, I worry double about Ziggler and his quest for the Intercontinental Title. Will he ever hold the gold? Will Rey Mysterio, now without a title, descend from the main event to exact his wrath on Ziggler and the Intercontinental belt yet again? Will the WWE finally give this man a title he’s worked harder for than most of its champions? I’m not claiming Dolph Ziggler is the best in the business, nor is he deserving of the WWE bending to his ever whim. I just want to see this guy get what he’s been chasing after for far too long. Please, WWE. Let him hold the Intercontinental Title. Any longer, and I think I might start crying over this guy. That shouldn’t happen with heels.

Zach Brown: With his most recent win on Smackdown, it looks like ‘ol Ziggler is finally getting his due. How long has he been chasing the Intercontinental Title now? Whether it’s Rey or Kofi, he just keeps coming up short. Hell, he should have beaten Mysterio for it, but for some reason Rey didn’t want to do the job for him, which I think is unfair. But now he got the win over Kofi in a match that was actually very good. Probably one of his best matches to date. It was a great image to see Dolph pick up the belt as if it were his. I got excited for the guy because he simply looked legit with that belt. Too bad it was a non title match. Everyone says that Ziggler isn’t that good on the mic but I don’t happen to mind his talking skills that much. Maybe his stint with Vickie Guerrero will pay off, but its just hard to tell right now. I just hope WWE gives him the title because they gave him a crap gimmick, and made him come up short month after month, and he still made the best out of it. He’s put in his dues and he deserves to at least hold the IC belt. Hopefully, he can capitalize on this momentum next week. If not, I don’t know if WWE will ever give him a decent shot.

That is all for this week. Feel free to comment at the bottom of the page and have a great week in wrestling! CYA!