The Triple Threat 2.04.07: The 36th Edition

Posted by Sean, David, Alex on 02.04.2007

Come find out our thoughts on Royal Rumble, Raw afterwards, would Hogan fit in TNA?, and what should be the main event at Wrestlemania. All that and we debut our Wrestlemania moment of the week.

Hello everyone, as the road to Wrestlemania has finally started with the Undertaker having the ability to choose which Champion he wants to face at Wrestlemania. We try to help him make that decision in this column. How bout the Royal Rumble, was it good? We will let you know. We all were at RAW on Monday so stay tuned for our live reports. Also we debut our Wrestlemania Moment of the Week. Stay tuned for an action packed edition of the Triple Threat.



Topic #1 the 20th Royal Rumble was last Sunday. What did you think of the PPV? Be sure to include your match of the night in there as well.


David Martell: I thought the Royal Rumble was a damn good PPV. This year we ended up with some decent matches, a great match, and one hell of an entertaining rumble. Of course everything wasn't perfect. The Lashley vs. Test match wasn't anything special and it had a horrible ending with Test just walking out. The Kennedy vs. Batista was a good match for the time it had and Kennedy worked his ass off to make everything work. The opening match with the Hardys and MNM was good but not as good as some of their past matches. The greatest match of the night, by far, was the last man standing match between Umaga and Cena which gets my match of the night. They both played there parts perfect. Umaga was a monster and everything he did in that match just added to it. It was a great match and had a unique ending. The rumble match was also great and entertaining. I was really happy about Finlay lasting as long as he did and the fact that CM Punk was the longest lasting ECW guy. Khali played his part well as the big man taking Big Shows role. The last part with HBK and Undertaker was nothing less than exciting. No one really knew who was going to win between them and I was at the tip of my seat the whole time. I'm glad Undertaker won even though I was going for Orton, but all in all it was a great Royal Rumble.

Alex Mattis: This show turned out to be ten times better than I thought it was going to be. The atmosphere live was pretty good, the crowd was hot all night, with the exception of the ECW title match, I took a refreshment break during that match. Undertaker winning was a nice surprise, and the whole Rumble match was good, not the best, but not bad at all. My crew and I really enjoyed ourselves, and weren't disappointed with the show, now to break it down by the matches. MNM-Hardy's was a good opener, the E found a good recipe mixing these two teams, but they are already killing it, they have wrestled each other for three PPV's in a row now, but I will forgive it all because Johnny Nitro executed a beautiful European Uppercut and a cravate! The ECW title match was a joke. Walking out on your title shot? Man, that belt must mean a lot just to give up on it. Batista-Kennedy was better than expected, but not great. Kennedy is pretty good, still looks to have some green in him, but his charisma overshadows it. Batista...*sigh*. Cena-Umaga surprised a few people, myself being one of them. Solid match that made Umaga look like a unstoppable force. I don't care for Cena's version of the STF, but the ending to the match was very clever, and believable at that.

Sean Garmer: Alex was lucky to be there live, but we were able to catch it at home. MNM vs. Hardyz was a perfect choice for the opener. They did a good job focusing on Matt Hardy's injury and Mercury's face. I guess these four will still be involved with each other at Wrestlemania and I'm looking forward to it, this was a nice way to keep the feud going, but MNM has looked kinda weak against the Hardyz. Unless they are planning on having MNM get the win at Mania. Poor Lashley had to deal with some silly choices made by creative to have a count out on a PPV. Only to have the same tv match the next week, so that Test could lose again. Batista vs. Kennedy was surprisingly good, in which, Kennedy used some great psychology working on Batista's leg. Batista actually sold the leg well, but he's still showing some signs of not caring, and that's why he needs to lose the title to a future star like Kennedy. John Cena vs. Umaga was great, they did a lot of unexpected things aside from the innovative finish. Umaga doing the running splash was cool. I couldn't believe Umaga got up after that and getting choked out once. That totally made the Cena vs. Umaga feud worth it. I'm kinda interested to see what they do with Umaga from here. The Royal Rumble was good too. It came down to the ones we thought would be there at the end. HBK showed his greatness again actually surprising me a few times and WWE did a good job of picking Undertaker for the win, and not going for the hometown hero thing. Best PPV WWE's had in a while, I can say that for sure. Match of the night goes to Cena vs. Umaga for me.



Topic #2 We all went to the RAW in Dallas, so we thought we should talk about the first show on the road to Wrestlemania. Was it good?



David Martell: I thought it was a pretty decent RAW even though we didn't have the best of seats. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the opening scene with Orton, Edge, Cena, and HBK. The money falling from the ceiling was awesome... wait no it wasn't because our seats were too far away, thanks Sean! I hated how Cena and HBK won the tag belts but the ending with the Undertaker was a cool site to see. All in all, it was a decent RAW.

Alex Mattis: Once again, I was on hand live for this show. A good show looking at what Raw has been like for the past few months. Dumbest thing in the world to have Cena and HBK tag champs...earth to WWE, you COULD have a credible tag division and those belts COULD mean something, but for some reason all they are a label put on two main event stars put together. They have the World's Greatest Tag Team...COME ON! Aside from all of this Raw was entertaining, and seeing the Undertaker come out at the end was awesome.

Sean Garmer: You know, some people would be happy just to go. I'm sorry that I wasn't at home when the tickets went on sale. I was attending a wedding eight hours away, Besides, if anything, my other roommates didn't wake up that day in the hotel either. David stayed home that weekend, so I guess he can rag on me a little. I thought it was cool Vince dropped 2,000 bucks on the fans, but there are greater things in life than money. Anyway, it's always fun to go to a WWE event because quite frankly no other promotion does live events like WWE. I went with David and my two roommates, and I had a blast. The opening promo was great where the four contenders in the Rumble come out to confront each other. We get the inevitable tag match but it was a cool tag match, (more on that later.) Cryme Tyme vs. World's Greatest Tag Team was good, I'm happy Cryme Tyme (cool T-shirt and all) are improving in the ring. Melina vs. Mickie at Mania could be interesting and it's nice to see Maria is improving in the ring too. Carlito & Super Crazy as a tag team? I called for WWE to merge these two a long time ago and finally WWE has noticed it. They had a fun match together. I really hope I don't have to see Khali in a match against any good wrestler again. The tag match at the end was really good and HBK & Cena winning the titles made everyone in the arena go nuts. Everyone in the arena was looking at me weird because I was cheering for Cena but I don't care. It was fun being a fan and having my friends there with me. Taker coming at the end was awesome.



Topic #3 With Undertaker winning the Royal Rumble things are left open for him to choose where to go. What should be the main events at Wrestlemania for all three brands? And who should Undertaker face?


David Martell: This is a hard question to answer because I really have no idea. I was hoping for an Orton vs. Cena match but it looks like it's not going to happen. It seems like Orton will be going against Edge, which is still great but I would like Orton to have the gold around his waist again. Hell, we should just have an HBK vs. Undertaker match, why not, it seems like people would go ape shit over this. I really don't know who I want Undertaker to face for the title but he better win because I will be big time pissed if he ends up losing.

Alex Mattis: I would first like to say that I loved the angle of Taker showing up on all three shows this week, really builds suspense, and adds more "unknown" to his character. Ok now what should be the WrestleMania main events? Raw: Randy Orton Vs. John Cena. ECW: CM Punk Vs. Rob Van Dam. SmackDown: Undertaker Vs. Chris Benoit. Now will those happen? Absolutley not, Will CM Punk and RVD even be on the card? It's questionable. Now back to reality. What we are looking at is two legends having to carry two guys who can't keep up with them. The rumored HBK-Batista match would not be good... it would be hard to watch. Cena-Taker already happened, and it was decent, but not WrestleMania Main Event status, then again look at the last two WrestleMania Main Events. With what I have to work with, I think the Undertaker should face Cena, and go over. If anyone was literally destined to end the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, it was Orton. But the ship has sailed, now Taker should stay undefeated.

Sean Garmer: Having Taker appear on all the shows this week giving importance to the fact that he can choose who he wants to wrestle at Wrestlemania is great. I'm happy he showed up on ECW because for once Vince didn't make it look stupid. Anyway, here's what I would like to see, on RAW Cena vs. HBK, or a Fatal Four Way including EDGE & Orton. If we have to I wouldn't have a problem with a Triple Threat between Taker, Cena & HBK, that'd be awesome. On SmackDown, they can go with Batista vs. Taker or finally end the Kennedy vs. Batista thing with Kennedy winning the belt at Mania. On ECW, Lashley vs. Marcus Cor Von would be cool, but I doubt WWE would do it this soon. Maybe Lashley vs. CM Punk, either way Wrestlemania's main events look pretty good, along with a possible EDGE vs. Orton match too.



Topic #4 Samoa Joe announced this week that he's done with ROH. Does that hurt ROH?


David Martell: It is good because he's concentrating on the main picture but its bad for all those ROH fans because he wont be wrestling all the excellent indy workers. It is a good and bad thing.

Alex Mattis: Well, it was a matter of time. TNA is starting to gain momentum and get bigger, and ROH is growing so quickly. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. First ROH lost AJ, then Shelly, now Joe, who's to say that Fallen Angel, Austin Aries, and Homicide aren't going to have to do the same. This isn't going to kill ROH by any means, Gabe is a smart cat and is constantly making new stars. Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer, Brent Albright, Chris Hero,
Jimmy Rave, and now that SHIMMER is doing more with ROH, it is safe to say that losing Joe, while a huge loss, won't kill the company. For god sakes, they are doing two international tours this year, I think they have got their feet under them.

Sean Garmer: Well I guess now Joe can focus solely on TNA, and ROH should expect more TNA guys to start leaving because the people paying them want to make sure they stay safe.



Wrestlemania Moment of the Week: Up until Wrestlemania we will take the time every column to retell of a Wrestlemania moment that was cool to us.


David Martell: One of my favorite Wrestlemania moments was when Jericho went against HBK. It was a great storyline with Jericho trying to prove hes better then HBK and the match itself was the match of the night for me. When Jericho superkicked HBK when he was coming off the top rope I decided that was the best superkick I have ever seen. It was a moment, too bad Jericho didn't win.

Alex Mattis: I'll start off simple this week. At the tender age of ten I wanted nothing more than for Stone Cold Steve Austin to win the WWF title from HBK at WrestleMania 14. I now joke around with my dad saying that that night was "the culmination of all my childhood dreams." It was a great night for wrestling fans and for the business itself that night was a turning point,
shortly there after the business exploded and Stone Cold soon became the face of Pro Wrestling. *Side Note* I will always give HBK endless props for working that match. I just recently re-watched the match, and now knowing about his back it makes the match hard to watch, the pain is so noticeable. So yeah, this is the the "HBK Respect Section."

Sean Garmer: I'll never forget being 11 and watching the Ironman match between my favorite wrestler ever HBK vs. Bret Hart. I wasn't into these long matches back then but I found myself glued to the screen. As the time got closer to the end I started getting excited because all the action was happening fast. When Bret had HBK in the Sharpshooter I was screaming at the TV for him not to give up. When they announced overtime I was confused, but soon figured it out. When HBK hit that 2nd Superkick and got the pin. I was so happy jumping up and down as if the Cowboys had just won the Superbowl or something. It was a cool moment for me and I'll never forget it.



Topic #6 Hulk Hogan has said that he has interest in doing something with TNA. Should TNA go after Hogan?


David Martell: I hate Hogan, so that's a no.

Alex Mattis: No, No, and No.

Sean Garmer: I don't have a problem with Hogan because he draws people to arena's and television like no other. He made a reality show about his family popular, so I'm sure he could help TNA. Angle wasn't crazy when he said Hogan would be a big catch for them. He would give them instant credibility in the eyes of the casual fans. He could have big time matches and I think he would be willing to put over some of those people. Ya never know, I wouldn't be opposed to it.



Topic # 7 Wrestling Society X got a 1.0 in it's first showing on MTV. This week they crown their first Champion. Should WSX go with 6-Pac or Vampiro?

David Martell: I would say they should go with Vampiro because I'm not a big fan of X-Pac. I just hope they dont end up falling into an electrical box because that was one of the stupidest things I have ever seen on a wrestling show.

Alex Mattis: I'm glad the rating was solid, but people may get the wrong idea about Pro Wrestling by watching non-stop spot fests and over the top death matches. That being said, their champ? I assume they will give it to Vampiro, he fits the "look" they are going for.

Sean Garmer: And the result is, Vampiro wins and becomes the first WSX champion. Sorry, I forgot that MTV does these "early" showings of the next WSX episode, and asked them this question. I'm fine with Vampiro because he's a veteran and he probably deserves it over that punk Waltman. I'm glad WSX is doing well in the ratings, maybe it will teach TNA to pay attention to their crappy shows. Even though it's not really fair because MTV has a lot more viewers than Spike TV. What does it say to TNA that a show that only goes 30 minutes gets the same ratings they do. That's why I'm not too quick on saying that a 2nd hour for TNA would boost their ratings any. They have a few things to fix if they want to advance. They are getting there, but at the slowest crawl I've ever seen. If Wrestling Society X catches on, they could quickly overshadow TNA. Vince is not stupid for feeling WSX is competition because they have a behemoth like MTV on their side. TNA has a horrible channel like Spike TV helping them, I'm sure Vince couldn't be happier he got off that piece of crap channel.


Our Indy Scene


Sean Garmer: Remember that promotion No Limit Pro Wrestling? Well Alex is here to review their 2nd show that was just released on DVD very recently. We were all there for this one and it was cool getting to see Samoa Joe vs. Hernandez live. So here's Alex with the review.


Alex Mattis:


NLPW: Bigger Than Texas DVD Review


For the loyal readers of our column, you may remeber several months ago I
did a review of No Limit Pro's first DVD. Well now it's time to review their
second show. This, much like the first show, was a showcase of the best
independent talent in Texas with some big names mixed in.

The Texas Treats Vs. Brett Barnes & Mike Foxx
Hot opener. All four are very talented and clicked well together. The match
had a good pace, good double team moves, and was given a good amount of
time, but didn't go too long. The Treats hit some awesome double team moves
in this one. I wouldn't be surprised to see any four of these guys get some
bookings in FIP or even ROH.

BJ Turner Vs. Wally Darkmon
Not my favorite match on the card, but both worked really hard and put on an
entertaining match. The crowd was not as into this one as they were for the
tag, the action pick up towards the end and the crowd was hot for the
finish, which was sick.

Hugh Rogue Vs. Darnin Childs - Hardcore Match
Any fans of IWA-MS should be familiar with these two. Fans didn't really
know what to expect. Match starts of with Hugh giving Darin a SICK series of
stiff forearms. From there Darin's tag team partner, Jacob Ladder, comes in
and saves the day, or so they think. After being double teamed, Hugh roles
out of the rings gets on the mic, and says that he rolls with backup, and
that he's got the "GODDAMN NECRO BUTCHER!" Out comes the Butcher to a
monstrous pop, comes in and stiffs the shit out of anything that moves. From
here we got some fun hardcore action, some sick spots. Hell Darin's manager,
Racheal, takes a Stroke on thumbtacks. Fun match and the crowd could not
have been happier to see Necro.

Gemini Vs. JT Lamotta Vs. Fast Eddie Vegas
Incredible match. There was some fun heel on face interaction great high spots, STIFF
chops and kicks, and some great high flying. Crowd was so into this one.
Like the tag match, this match was given a good block of time, and these
three delivered. The ending to this one has to be seen to believed. This is
about a good of an independent match that you'll see without the letter ROH
in front of it.

Ikaika Vs. Lance Hoyt
Much like the BJ-Wally match, crowd wasn't really into it, but Hoyt and
Ikaika worked hard, and did deliver a good match. Nothing spectacular but
was well placed on the card, seeing as how it came right before the main
event.

Samoa Joe Vs. Hernandez
Yea...a battle of giants. This one is what you would expect when you hear
"Joe Vs. Hernandez." Hernandez really displayed how agile he can be in this
match. Good stuff all around, crowd really into this one, people were
thrilled to see Joe, this was his first show in Texas. The set up for the
muscle buster at the end was pretty cool, and something new. But this was an
appropriate main event for this show, captured the stiff theme of the night.

Overall, very good show. I would just slightly recommend the first show over this
one, because of the incredible Sonjay Dutt Vs. Milano Connection AT match.
But head over to myspace.com/nolimitprowrestling for videos and pick up some
DVD's while your there. Also any Texas wrestling fans, there will be
information about the next show shortly.


Now! Time for Feedback

The first one as always comes from our loyal follower John Bryant Bateman

CM Punk vs Alex Shelley in a Pure Wrestling match? ah well whenver ya get the time. and also: was Khali actually getting over as a face during that Mini-battle royal? I know Sean has some unknown reasons for disdaining the Great Khali but you can't say he hasn't improved from his 1-move offense.


Sean Garmer: Hey sorry about not posting your feedback last week. I didn't think it was right to post feedback when we didn't have a column the week before. Anyway, this would be a great match between two young guys. I would love to see it, I doubt it will happen unless TNA releases Alex Shelley. Thanks as always for the feedback man. As for Khali, he was impressive in the Rumble match, but he serves his purpose, but he shouldn't be winning any titles because he can't do anything. He can't even talk regular English.


Another piece of feedback comes from Zach Marcus Who wants to throw out his opinion on the Basebrawl ordeal.

By bringing in baseball players TNA acomplishes nothing. The average
fan doesn't know who either player is as they are nowhere near being
superstars. The baseball or sports fan who does know who they are
won't order the PPV because to them wrestling is fake and dumb. Also,
there is NO rivarly between the White Sox and Cardinals. There is one
between the Cubs and Cardinals. Who should baseball fans care about a
made up rivarly. When ESPN and other sports programs show the footage
people, as I have seen with my friends, think TNA is some WWE company,
or just some joke.TNA needs better fueds quick.


Sean Garmer: First I'd like to say, thanks for the feedback man. You have a point about the casual fans probably not knowing who they are, but being World Series MVP's gives you some kind of credibility. The P man from the White Sox even walks around with that TNA X-Division belt. It will be in St. Louis so it's going to get press there and fluctuate to ESPN again. That's good, even if ESPN makes it into a joke. I mean look at that Stone Cold Sportscenter Commercial, the whole thing was a joke, but it was funny. You do have a point about their being no rivalry because at least if there was one, ESPN could tie it in with the real Baseball rivalry through the years. Also the thing about being a WWE company is true too, mainly because when you think Wrestling, WWE or WWF comes into anyone's head, not TNA. This obviously isn't their main feud, I can see why they do this because of publicity, but I agree, that ultimately it does nothing.


There is something you should know about


411 Video Games section Go read the whole damn section. This is the place to go for your Video Game needs and maybe even more than you asked for as well. Seriously, everyone has been working hard to keep this running and any feedback for them is greatly appreciated. I do reviews and organize the roundtables for the section, but it's all those column writers, news reporters, other reviewers, and our Editor Caleb Newby that keep it afloat. I'm just happy to be a part of it.


Well that is all for this week folks. Thanks everyone for reading. Well let us know what your opinions are with some feedback. It's always good to have someone else to argue with besides these guys. Sorry, about not posting any links this week, but I just finished up the 411 Games Roundtable, and then I had to rush to do this. I'll post links for sure next week. We hope you enjoyed this edition of the column and we will see ya's laters. Later Triple Threaters.


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