High Road/Low Road 01.19.07: The Thirty Minute Iron Man Match

Welcome back to the High Road/Low Road! A brief explanation of the column: Uncle Trunx takes the Low Road (negative view) on angles, gimmicks, and other wrestling related “stuff” while Sat takes the High Road (positive view).

The Results for the Rated RKO versus DX [Before the Injury]:

High Road: 66%
Low Road: 21%
Both Roads: 12%

The Results for the Rated RKO versus DX [After the Injury]:

High Road: 55%
Low Road: 33%
Both Roads: 12%

E-Mails:

These are all of the e-mails that we received this week. We do not respond to the actual e-mail, but the reply to your e-mail will be below.

Reichou Shinsake Writes:

HHH’s injury may not be such a horrible thing for storylines or PPV buy rates. Here’s what I think WWE should do: have the Rumble come down to these 2 finalists: Edge and Orton. Instead of fighting it out, they jump off the ring apron at the same time. Coachman, who wants to screw Cena anyway, declares the Mania main event to be a Triple Threat match. The smarks get a better match than a Cena singles match, and the casual fans get to see if Cena (who just survived Umaga and Khali) can survive the 2 guys who ended HHH. To make the match-up even more intriguing, somewhere along the way Rated RKO should “injure” HBK. This could give HBK a storyline reason for going to part-time in the future, but it mainly allows Rated RKO to boast of being career killers and run roughshod over Raw shows. WWE can tease dissension between the 2 leading up to March, but also build up the whole “Cena can’t overcome the odds” thing. If Cena wins, it doesn’t ruin Rated RKO because they lost due to their inabilities to co-exist; but if he loses, Cena still saves face because he at least walked out on his own after facing career killers in what amounted to being a handicapped match.

HBK returns sometime before Backlash with Cena as a partner, or maybe with Flair. Both will have reasons for seeking revenge. After that, the next Raw PPV isn’t until June, when HHH may return to take out his frustrations, and then on to SummerSlam where new rivalries are created.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it would work, or be something in which WWE would be interested?

Sat: That’s a pretty good idea about them jumping of the apron at the same time. It is something that we haven’t seen. Plus, it puts Cena in a triple threat match at WrestleMania and Cena always has a good triple threat match.

I think that Rated RKO should “injure” Shawn Michaels, but when would that be? You can’t do it now because he misses WrestleMania. If you do it after WrestleMania, then it might not mean as much.

Uncle Trunx: I can’t see them going with no Rumble winner at all; that’s too screwy even for WWE. I think they’re going to keep HBK going for a while just to keep people interested in the whole DX thing. I just hope they can keep it interesting until HHH comes back.

Nathan Carter Writes:

Before the injury I would have to say that I went High Road for the feud. The reason is I loved seeing DX do something other than bury the whole Raw and ECW locker room. DX was serious and it was great to see them with some real competition. Not to mention it made VKM ***COUGH Vince Russo COUGH*** look like total jackasses telling DX to stop running the stupid skits that they had stopped doing months ago. I think the fat oily dude has been on TNA now more than in the WWE, which I do believe that he was only in a DX skit twice. I had really enjoyed the feud and I thought the match they had at NYR was great. HHH’s injury is a huge blow to the great feud they were having and Raw. Now after the injury I would say Low Road because the feud is over, Rated RKO has won and it shouldn’t continue. I want to see Rated RKO destroy Michaels come Monday and then move on to more important things, Cena and the WWE championship. Hell I would love to see Dykstra and someone join Rated RKO so they could become Evolution 2. I am sure we will see either Edge or Orton in the Raw main event this year at Mania which I am really looking forward to. So Before the injury High Row, after, Low if they choose to continue the rivalry and not give Rated RKO the push that would be perfect for them now

Sat: I don’t think that Rated RKO will destroy HBK tonight because that leaves HBK out of WrestleMania. The best bet for Rated RKO should be that they take out HBK this Monday (mainly Edge). Have HBK throw Edge out at the Rumble, Orton throws HBK out right after that, HBK & Edge brawl out of the arena, and Orton wins the Rumble. Orton and Cena will not be the best the main event, but it does help to keep Rated RKO together, which would be the best thing to do.

Uncle Trunx: I think they need to give HBK some backup for a little while at least if they’re going to insist on keeping him vs. Rated RKO going. Otherwise anytime he gets the upper hand (and he will, you know it) really weakens Edge and Orton. In my view, it’s a perfect job for Ric Flair…

This week’s High Road/Low Road featuring…

The Thirty Minute Iron Man Match at Final Resolution

High Road:
The first two matches between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle were regular matches. Kurt Angle won the first one and Samoa Joe won the second one. This past Sunday, we saw the third fall, which was a thirty minute iron man match. Whenever, there is a stipulation for the third match, the match usually delivers. A perfect example of this would be HHH vs. Batista. The same was true for this match as they both delivered an amazing match. Add the injuries to both competitors and this match looks even better.

Low Road:
This was a really good match, that can’t be denied. However, a number of things lead me to think it fell short of its potential. Firstly, the injuries. Apparently at the end, Angle was so concussed he couldn’t remember large portions of the match. I can’t help but feel that would have affected his performance. Also, it came too soon after the last two matches. Had they left this alone for a little while and then built it up over several months, the anticipation would have been through the roof.

High Road:
It makes perfect sense for this thirty minute Iron Man match to be a number one contender’s match. Both of these guys are two of the best wrestlers and they have been feuding for the last two pay per views. Both guys have both shown that they deserve a shot at the NWA Title. A thirty minute Iron Man match between two main eventers with each containing a victory over the other is the best way to determine who the real number one contender is.

Low Road:
What would have made more sense would have been to have this as a title match. Wait until one of these two had the belt and then deliver this match. Yes, it was good, but it would’ve been even better and more dramatic if the belt had been on the line and with a little more time to build up to it, it would have been even more keenly anticipated. As it is, we’ve seen these two go at it twice in the past few months; that can’t help but devalue this contest, which is a shame.

High Road:
The last two matches between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle have been the main event of that pay per view. I am not a big fan of that because it hurts the credibility of the NWA Title. Whenever something goes after the NWA Title match, then it makes it seem like the NWA Title is not that important. However, this problem was corrected and Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle went on before the NWA Title Match. Good job by TNA for recognizing this.

Low Road:
This is true, but the match which followed was certainly not a better one. As I said above, had this match been in a few months and for the title, it would undoubtedly have been a main event. That would have been a better place for it, I feel.

High Road:
The thirty minute Iron Man match had the right sequence of falls. Looking back at the falls now, they all made sense. Samoa Joe got the first one and that was the correct choice because he lost the thirty minute Iron Man match. That allows him to say at a later date that he won the first fall and he would have won had it been a regular match. Then it was a good idea to get Angle the next two falls to have Samoa Joe fight back to tie. I would have liked to see only three falls in the match, but I felt that five worked perfectly because it allowed for Samoa Joe to come back. If he had gone down 2-0, then it would have given him no chance. Awesome job in laying the match out.

Low Road:

Sat: Uncle Trunx forget to reply to this High Road, so if you the readers can think of a Low Road for this, then drop us a line.

High Road:
The thing that I loved about this match was that Samoa Joe had a chance to get the tying fall at the very end of the match. That gives the fans the impression that Samoa Joe could tie this match and maybe win the match in sudden death. I thought we were going to see sudden death before the match started and with Joe having a shot at the end, it helped to add some more suspense to the match. Samoa Joe also benefited from having Kurt Angle tap out after the thirty minute time limit. This gives Samoa Joe an argument that he can beat Kurt Angle. Even though, Kurt Angle won the match, Samoa Joe also benefited from this match.

Low Road:
To be honest, it seemed a bit cliché that Angle would tap out after the bell. In a way, it made the rest of the match somehow weaker, as if all that had gone before didn’t matter; it was all about the final few seconds. I also would have liked to see it go to sudden death, but then you can’t have everything.

High Road:
When I heard that this match was going to be for a shot at the NWA Title, I knew that Kurt Angle had to win this match. Why? Because this allows for Samoa Joe to beat a top champion. Christian Cage is decent, but he is no Kurt Angle. Abyss hasn’t done a good job with the title and Sting is just a veteran. If Samoa Joe had won this match then he was going to beat one of these guys. It makes more sense for him to beat Kurt Angle.

We all know that Samoa Joe is next in line after Kurt Angle to get a title shot and it is better that he beat Kurt Angle, then some of the other competitors. I think it makes more sense for Samoa Joe to beat Kurt Angle for the title, and then to have Joe beat somebody else. Plus, it ties the series at 2-2 and it sets up one final match.

Low Road:
I’d prefer it to have been this match which was for the title; there’s something suitably final about an Iron Man match which would have made this the best end to the feud. As it is, this is just another step on the journey. To me, it’s just a bit of a waste; too much of a good thing can put you off it.

Are you taking the High Road or the Low Road?

High Road/Low Road on the Thirty Minute Iron Man Match
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High Road/Low Road Plugs

We are taking the high road on these articles so you should read them…

Andy Clark’s The Shimmy
Ari Berenstein’s Column of Honor
Bayani Domingo’s Truth B Told
Daniel Wilcox’s Schmozzes and Screwjobs
Fact or Fiction
J.D. Dunn’s 411s Hall of Fame: The Rock and Roll Express
John Meehan’s MeeThinks
Jordan Linkous’ WWE vs. TNA
Julian Williams The Top Ten
Larry Csonka’s 3R’s & 3Rs: New Year’s Revolution
Mathew Sforcina’s Evolution Schematic
Michael Weyer’s Shining the Spotlight.
MSD’s The Sunday Morning Hangover
O’Dog’s Forgotten Goodness
Phill Feltham’s The Quick Talkdown
Prag-Thomlison’s Hidden Highlights
Ronny Sarnecky’s The Piledriver Report
Ryan Byers’ Ask 411
Samuel Berman’s The Independent Mid Card
Sean, David & Alex’s The Triple Threat
Sforcina-Marsico’s The Fink’s Payload
Stuart Carapola’s Friendly Competition & That Was Then
Zac Calhoun’s The Ripple Effect

There are other articles that we didn’t list, so check them out as well.

E-mail us your reasons for taking the High Road or the Low Road and suggestions for future High Road/Low Road at [email protected]. Your reply will be included in next week’s column.