The Triple Threat 3.18.07: The 41st Edition

Posted by Sean, David, Alex on 03.18.2007

We're not too far away from Wrestlemania now, so should WWE have turned HBK or Cena yet? What's up with TNA, and don't forget about those Wrestlemania moments too.

Hello everyone, glad you could join us on such a wonderful Sunday afternoon. It's almost here can you sense it? Well if you don't know by now what is on April 1st then you just are not a fan. Wrestlemania 23 folks is very close and we cannot wait. Our spring break started this week, so we do get some rest and relaxation before we head into the homestretch of the semester. We do have some things concerning TNA in this column, namely about the PPV that happened last week, and if they should be even considered competition for WWE at this point. Also, should WWE have already turned HBK or Cena, and you cannot forget about our continuing look at Wrestlemania moments. That's all here in this edition of the Triple Threat.


Topic #1 TNA's Destination X was last Sunday. What did you think of the show?


David Martell: It seems like the show really wasn't that great. I heard that the last rites match sucked it up, but that the Joe vs. Christian match was awesome. Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch the PPV, so if you want all the information you need on Destination X look at Alex's part.

Alex Mattis: This was a C PPV that came across as a B PPV, mostly due to the fact that AAO was so terrible and that the crowd was hotter than it has been in months. There was some good, some great, and also some bad on this show. Let's get the bad out of the way. VKM vs. The Heartbreakers was a joke. Scott Steiner vs. Kurt Angle was a tremendous disappointment, it wasn't terrible but it was bad. Finally, the "Last Rites" match was atrocious. The "Fire Russo" chant was awesome though. I will give credit to Sting and Abyss, they bumped like crazy and worked their ass's off in this feud, as terrible and ridiculous as this feud has been, the two men deserve some props, especially Sting, after that horrific blade job last Sunday.

Now, on to the good things about the PPV, the "Ghetto Brawl" turned out better than I expected, it was better than the "Little Italy Street Fight," and race wars are always entertaining. Chris Sabin vs. Jerry Lynn was pretty solid, better than their previous match but still wasn't the great match that these two can put on. Elevation X was probably about as nervous as I have ever been watching a wrestling match, I hope we never see that structure again; we're lucky everything went right in this one. That being said, the match itself was somewhat entertaining. The spot where AJ hid inside of the X was a clever idea; it killed time but was still fun to watch. For those who haven't seen this match, when you watch it, pay attention to AJ's face when he takes out the baby powder of doom, the shit-eating grin he has on his face was just so priceless and oh so heel-a-licious. Austin Starr vs. Senshi more than delivered at Destination X. I was more than disappointed with their match at AAO and I thought the "Chicken-Wing" gimmick was going to hurt the match, but they turned it into a great match. This was Starr's first strong showing since his return to TNA, and one of Senshi's better matches in recent memory. I also like how Starr snapped at the end and put Backlund in the Chicken Wing, I'm actually interested in seeing a Backlund-Starr match.

Now for the great, I knew that Christian and Joe could have a great match, but this was even better than I expected. No run-ins and a ref bump that made some sense, helped to make the match better. TNA did a great job of making us think that it was going to be Joe's night, with the grand entrance and streamers. The ending made both men look strong and show that Christian was that sneaky champ who knows how to retain his title, and it showed that Joe would have had that match won if Christian hadn't cheated, one of the best TNA Main Events in the past few months. Also, on a side note, the segment with Christian and Abyss was pure gold…SHAKE AND BAKE.

Sean Garmer: I didn't watch the PPV, but obviously as Alex pointed out it was a mixed bag and it's kinda sad that the last two TNA PPV's haven't delivered like they have in the past. Christian vs. Joe was great and an early candidate for TNA match of the year. Other than that, I think Alex summed it up well.



Topic #2 No titles changed hands at the PPV. Do you think there should have been any?



David Martell: Well the only title that I really wanted to change hands was the TNA title. I really wanted Joe to win, but at least the match was awesome. If they don't give Joe the title the next time he wrestles for it, then TNA is really dropping the ball with him.

Alex Mattis: Tag straps weren't on the line. Sabin is more than likely going to have a long run as champion unless Lynn becomes Randy Couture and destroys the young champion. As far as Joe winning the title, Christian's run will more than likely go until Slammiversary where he will once again lose his belt in the "King of the Mountain" match which Samoa Joe will win.

Sean Garmer: Sabin should not lose the title until they give him an opponent that is not Jerry Lynn. Mainly, because Lynn has already retired once from the X-Division and it wouldn't look too good for Sabin to lose to him. Honestly it is probably a good idea that they went ahead and kept the belt on Christian because he's having a good run right now and they shouldn't end it prematurely. The fans are still behind Joe and they are going to be for a long while. I agree with Alex, wait until Slammiversary (which also would be the two year anniversary of Joe in TNA) for him to win it. He does need to win it soon, so that he gets that loser tag off of him, but for right now, it is ok.


Topic #3 Shawn Michaels and John Cena have been teasing turns on each other for weeks. Should WWE turn them already? Wait to the week before Mania? Or don't turn either one and wait for some surprise at Wrestlemania?


David Martell: I have really been liking this storyline, where they are teasing who is going to turn. I do hope someone turns before Wrestlemania and I frankly don't care who it is. I think it would be a big shocker if it ended up with Cena turning. This stuff is great and I hope they continue building this storyline until Wrestlemania.

Alex Mattis: I personally think this story line is very bad and pretty reminiscent of the Eddie-Rey feud that led into WrestleMania 21. HBK will not be bought as a heel these days and the chance to turn Cena heel and make it effective, was wide open about a year ago. This will be built as a face vs. face match. Having a surprise at WrestleMania would be cool, but what can they do with this feud to really surprise us.

Sean Garmer: You have to wonder if Alex just hates this because two wrestlers he loathes are in this feud? This is nothing new for Shawn Michaels as he's done this in many major feuds he's had. Two of them end up in this same sort of situation with Michaels as a tag team champion with his eventual Wrestlemania opponent. It happened at Wrestlemania XI with Diesel and at Wrestlemania XIV with Stone Cold. If it wasn't for Marty Jannetty's problems it would have happened with him at Wrestlemania VIII or IX, I cannot remember which one. HBK also turned on Hogan in their epic feud. That's why it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see HBK turn on Cena either this week or the next. However, because they will be in Detroit this might turn into another Cena vs. HHH deal, where Cena will end up getting a majority of the boo's anyway. Also, you have to think of the shock factor that Cena turning would provide not only vindication for the audience, but possibly turn a new leaf for John Cena. Will it happen? Probably not because Cena and DX are the big time merchandise movers and it will end up as a face vs. face match. I wouldn't be surprised to see a turn at the show itself, just to make things interesting for Backlash. We will have to wait and see, but no matter what happens, I've loved the build up to this. As someone that doesn't watch all the time, it sure has made me want to watch RAW every week.


Topic #4 I know we were all surprised by the appearance of the Rock this week on RAW. Should he make a return to wrestling in some form, even if it's for a little bit?


David Martell: It was really a big surprise to see the Rock back on WWE television even if it was taped. It really makes me miss the guy and the whole attitude era in general. We really dont have people like the Rock anymore, well maybe Mr. Kennedy. It would be great to see him show up every once in a while but I doubt that hes going to wrestler again. We can all dream but its probably not going to happen.

Alex Mattis: Oh it was great to see the Brahma Bull on Monday night. How I miss the Rock. It was really cool to see that he hasn't completely forgotten about wrestling and that he can do a video promo now and then. I would love to see The Rock do another live appearance, but I just don't know if it is in the cards. Stranger things have happened and you never know in the world of pro wrestling.

Sean Garmer: I did not see this live because I was participating in the 411 Fantasy Baseball draft and my laptop was having Java problems, so I had to stay downstairs. I did see this online the next day and I couldn't help but smile at seeing the Rock on my screen again. Yeah this wasn't a live segment, but hearing the crowd's response at seeing him means they still love this guy. I wouldn't mind him coming in and doing a short stint to do a match with Kennedy. One can only imagine they great promos that would come out of that, and what a huge deal it would be for Kennedy to get a win over the Rock. He probably won't ever appear in the ring, but there is always hope I guess.



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 Wrestlemania moment that I didn't like was when Bret Hart was going against Yokozuna at Wrestlemania IX. After their match, when Bret Hart lost, Hogan came in and out of nowhere, he gets a match for the title. The worst part was that he won the belt in like 5 seconds. That was so retarded, God I hate Hogan! I'm sure Bret Hart was mad about that too.

Alex Mattis: At WrestleMania XII Roddy Piper and Goldust had the "Hollywood Back Lot Brawl." What it turned out to be was one of the most ridiculous segments in WrestleMania history. I was pretty young, when WrestleMania XII happened so I didn't get the joke, but I recently re-watched it and it is so funny and well pulled off. It was great how they would cut back to the OJ footage at random moments of the night, only to bring the fight into the ring and have Piper strip Goldust down to some freaky lingerie, RIDICULOUS. If you haven't seen what I'm speaking of, it is worth a view.

Sean Garmer: My moment this week goes to one of the best Triple Threat matches I've ever seen. Of course, I'm talking about the one at Wrestlemania XX between Triple H, HBK, and Chris Benoit for the World Title. HBK & HHH pulled out all the stops to make sure Benoit looked awesome. Yeah this suffered from the normal WWE Triple Threat formula but it was great because it wasn't guaranteed that Benoit was going to win. I'll never forget the nasty Sweet Chin to Benoit when he had HHH in the Crossface. All three men really showed they wanted the belt. This one though is not just about the moment of Benoit winning the title. I'll never forget that, because I was in a big movie theater with people that weren't big fans, but when Benoit won, everyone jumped from their seat and went crazy. Then seeing Eddie & Benoit hug at the end, is something priceless that almost made cry because it was so special. I'll never forget that moment, and I know plenty of others that won't either.



Topic #6 JR said recently on his blog that TNA has a long road to travel before they even come close to competing with WWE, saying that mainly they should focus on themselves and not on some "imagined" war with WWE. Is JR right here?


David Martell: I think JR is perfectly right. It is true that TNA should try to concentrate on making their product better and stop trying to out do the WWE. TNA may have years before they are good enough to compete. I just hope TNA will one day be big, so we can have a monday night war, it would make wrestling better as a whole.

Alex Mattis: I totally agree with Ol' Barbeque Sauce on this one. This is one of TNA's biggest problems, some within the company think that they are going to have or are in a war with the WWE. The E sucks right now, but regardless, TNA could NOT go head-to-head with them right now and win. TNA needs to focus on making TNA better and not on trying to hurt the WWE. Did we learn nothing from WCW?

Sean Garmer: Don't think anyone can sensibly disagree with JR on this one. TNA no doubt has the talent to light a fire in the ring but they are so focused on WWE and making sure they get the message that they are here. When in reality, they are just a blip on Vince's radar that comes into play when WWE happens to put something on at the same time. Also you have the silly TNA fan that decides to start chanting TNA thinking that those kinds of things are going to get most of the WWE audience, (that doesn't even know TNA exists) to change their minds. If you want a more concrete example the whole reason VKM lives is to attack WWE. The funny part is that the two members would go back to WWE in a heartbeat. TNA needs to focus on themselves, how bout for starters living up to their slogan of "We are wrestling." Yeah they only have one hour, but if they were really wrestling they could dedicate at least 20 minutes a show to wrestling and have better matches than ECW. How is it that ECW can have more wrestling on it's show than TNA? Yeah ECW doesn't have PPV's every month, but that still doesn't matter. You can do promos and all that, along with the wrestling too. There is no way in the world that TNA can compete with WWE right now on any kind of level. Again, on a night that WWE doesn't even have wrestling, they get a 3.0 for RAW, and TNA's normal show gets knocked down almost 7 points. Alex may think that WWE "sucks" right now, but TNA is not any better. The state of wrestling according to all the smart people has to suck then, because honestly I'm just happy it's Wrestlemania time.



Topic # 7 WSX had their finale pulled but their contracts are supposed to expire 90 days after the finale is over. Are there any wrestlers on that roster would make a good deal for WWE or TNA?


David Martell: I think that TNA and WWE should probably pick up some of the good indy talent on WSX. Matt Sydal and Jack Evans would be good choices, because these guys would help either roster and it would be great to see them make it big.

Alex Mattis: This is going to be interesting to see what the formalities of the contracts are, 90 days after the finale airs, what if the finale never airs? Either way most of the wrestlers on that show are doing ok for themselves in their respective promotions. As for any of them going anywhere else, both the E and TNA have more talent than they know what to do with right now, but, if additions were to be made, I could see Joey Ryan getting over in the E and I have always thought Colt Cabana could do some good things in the E. As for TNA, I have never understood why Jack Evans isn't in the X-Division, but like I said, WWE and TNA don't need anymore talent.

Sean Garmer: Alex brings up a good point that, what if the finale never airs? Does that mean they still get paid by MTV? I highly doubt that MTV will keep paying them money for no reason. WWE should consider grabbing Colt Cabana since he's funny and can wrestle. Even though I don't really like Jack Evans, I too, have always thought he should be in TNA. If WWE wants to sign a Mexican wrestler, Puma is a good one too.


Match of the Week Nominees: MITB Triangle Match: Randy Orton vs. Carlito vs. Ric Flair (RAW), New Breed vs. Originals Battle Royal, Randy Orton vs. Bobby Lashley (ECW), Jack Evans vs. Human Tornado (WSX), King Booker vs. Undertaker, London & Kendrick vs. MNM, Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy (SmackDown).

David Martell: MITB Triangle Match: Carlito vs. Randy Orton vs. Ric Flair

Alex Mattis: Jack Evans vs. Human Tornado

Sean Garmer: Matt Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy



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Now! Time for Feedback


Our feedback this week comes from our loyal follower John Bryant Bateman Who has some good dream matches to choose from.

Well here is the next match.So It will be Bryan Danielson vs Alex Shelley vs Dean Malenko in a Pure Rules-style Elimination match. Heh well hopefully all 3 of you guys will recap this. and earliear last week me & Shaun had a debate. Do you, Alex & David believe that if it ever happened, Eddy Guerrero vs Christopher Daniels that it would be worth the price of admission alone. and what do you consider would be the Ultimate Dream match from your perspective.

Sean Garmer: Thanks as always for your feedback John. First, how on earth do you misspell my name? I have a nameplate before every topic and when I answer feedback? That's just horrid. We've already discussed the CD vs. Eddie match being worth price of admission and I think so. I'd be puzzled if American Dragon vs. Alex Shelley didn't happen in ROH already. This would be an awesome spectacle to behold. I don't really know if I can describe it, but I think Danielson would win.


Finally, our #1 fan Jeremy Robertson has some congrats for us.

Hey, it was good to finally hear from everybody. I only wrote a hateful message b/c I wanted to provoke Alex to respond to some feedback. So you can calm down, Alex, I'm not as hard headed as you think. :P Good to see that you guys have made it to column 40 and still going. It was still Goldberg's fault.

Sean Garmer: Hey thanks for the congrats and we couldn't have done it without all your help and confidence in us pal. That's why you'll always be our #1 fan cause you are the best. We miss ya man. Try to send your feedback a little earlier, cause usually if we don't get something by Monday afternoon I don't check it again. As always man, we thank you for the support. Oh yeah, it was both their faults for being big butts about the whole situation.


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. Thanks everyone for the feedback, it's greatly appreciated, and let's us know, people read this column on 411. Sorry about not linking this week, I promise I'll begin linking again, next week because we will be on break, I didn't have time to do it this week. We hope you enjoyed this edition of the column and we will see ya's laters. Later Triple Threaters.


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