The Triple Threat 3.09.08: The 83rd Edition - Destination X Preview, WrestleMania Celebrities and More

Posted by David Martell on 03.09.2008

TNA's Destination X preview inside plus this weeks superstar highlight is Christian Cage! Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Triple Threat. Last weeks column was a great success with the newly added superstar highlight. It seems that every fan has something to say about Triple H. This week we have a preview for TNA's Destination X and a superstar highlight with one of TNA's best, Christian Cage. Hope everyone enjoys!

Topic # 1 TNA's Destination X is this Sunday. What are your thoughts on the card?

David Martell: One reason why I don't watch TNA that much is because of how many ridiculous gimmick matches they have. This PPV demonstrates that. We have the Elevation X match, the Stand By Your Man Strap match, and the Fish Market Street Fight. What the fuck? The names of those matches alone make me not want to watch the PPV. The other thing that bothers me about this PPV is that there is no TNA World Title match. In my eyes, there should be a heavyweight title match at every PPV. It is the top prize in the business and it should be showcased at every PPV. There are a few little gems in this PPV though. The triple threat tag team match for the number one contender spot for the tag belts with LAX vs. Rock N' Rave vs. MCMG is going to be awesome if not match of the night. Black Machismo vs. Petty Williams should be a great match up and I am going to guess that Black Machismo gets the victory. The only other match that I think has potential is the Women's match with Kong vs. Gail Kim vs.ODB. TNA has done a great job with the Women's division and it should show off in this match up. That's about all I care for in this PPV. It should be very underwhelming.

Alex Mattis: Much like all of TNA's PPVs this event has potential. I think that the main event has the possibility to be a really good match, but it could also be a big ol' goatfuck. As far as the outcome goes, you could make a case for both teams. It's quite possible that the Angle Alliance will win via HEEL TACTICS!!!! But since the title is not on the line in any fashion, I see Christian, Joe, and Nash winning this one and getting some revenge against their adversaries. The X Division title match could be good, but we'll see what happens when the booking kicks in. I think the 3-way matches on the card are going to be the best of the night. The women's match should be good with plenty of domination by Kong. And I'm really looking forward to the three way tag match between the Motor City Machine Guns, The Rock N' Rave Connection, and LAX. If the booking doesn't muff this up, then it could be an awesome match. But like with all TNA stuff, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. The rest of the card looks decent, I'm gonna be nervous as hell come the Elevation X match... it's just such a bad idea. This should be a good show, but like I said it's TNA... who knows.

Zach Brown: Destination X doesn't look THAT bad this year…LAX vs. MCMG vs. Rock N' Rave should be a great match and possibly sleeper of the night. The Fish Market Street Fight will most likely be awful because Team 3D is terrible, and it's impossible to take Curry Man and Shark Boy seriously. Booker T vs. Robert Roode could be pretty decent, and Jay Lethal vs. Petey Williams could also be a sleeper hit of the night. And for God's sake, WHY did they bring back the Elevation X match!? It's not even a real wrestling match! It's just a spectacle where you are on the edge of your seat because you are legitimately worried if the wrestlers will fall and injure themselves. Not looking forward to that at all. And the Six Man Tag match should be very entertaining. Kevin Nash has no place in that match, but that's nothing new. I do think that the Heavyweight belt and the Tag belts should be defended at the PPV, but this is still a good main event.



Topic # 2 The WWE has confirmed that several celebrities are going to be attending this years Wrestlemania including 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg. How do you feel about this?

David Martell: I am all for having celebrities at Wrestlemania but some of these people are ridiculous. Who in the hell cares about Raven Symone or Kim Kardashian? I don't see how either one of them would be drawing any buys for Wrestlemania. Snoop Dogg and 50 cent are a little better because I can see the WWE using them as some sort of entourage for Mayweather. I just hope that the E will focus more on the quality of wrestling instead of worrying about what kind of reactions the celebs will get.

Alex Mattis: Ehhhh, it's kind of bittersweet. I like the fact that this may bring more outside eyes to wrestling, but it'll take away from the wrestle aspect of WrestleMania. Plus no one has like true celebrity appeal to them, but it'll still be fun to see the likes of Snoop Dogg mix it up with all the women and what not. It sooo gonna be Raven at WrestleMania. What does Raven Symone have to do with professional wrestling? John Legend and 50 Cent? This may reminisce a bad season of The Surreal Life than a "star studded WrestleMania."

Zach Brown: If you've been reading this column, you would know that I don't like any celebrities getting involved with wrestling. That goes for Donald Trump, Kevin Federline, Mike Tyson, David Arquette, Floyd Mayweather, or anyone else for that matter. It's almost always a ratings stunt, and I think it detracts from the actual wrestling. Now I'm hearing that 50 Cent, Kim Kardashian, and Snoop Dogg are all getting involved with Wrestlemania, and that's something I would despise. If these celebrities are actually drawing viewers, I'd be pretty surprised. It really seems like WWE is reaching hard to try and pull in more viewers. As a fan, I'm just sick of it. WWE may pull in viewers that don't normally watch wrestling, but they're also annoying the actual wrestling fans in my opinion.



Topic # 3 Supposedly Stephanie McMahon has been upset with Mayweather's recent promos. Were the promos really that bad and does she have something to be angry about?

David Martell: This isn't really a big surprise to me. Its not like boxers actually have to make promos. Not just anyone can go other there and cut a promo that's good. He's a boxer not a wrestler. The best part of the whole segment was when the Big Show murdered that "MMA fighter." Hopefully we won't see too many Mayweather promos in the near future. Maybe, if we are lucky, the E will just give him someone to talk for him.

Alex Mattis: Well duh, anyone with any sense who saw these videos would see how awful they are. The only entertaining part of the segment was watching Show heave that dude over the top rope with absolutely no regard for him. Awesome. But I don't know if the producer of the vignettes is the one to blame, maybe Steph should realize that Floyd has NO mic skills what-so-ever and that they're just going to have to take what they can get. Bring in a "manager" for Mayweather, someone who can actually cut a promo because what we are seeing or hearing from Floyd is totally horrendous.

Zach Brown: I honestly don't know why Stephanie was upset over the Mayweather segments. I mean yeah, it makes Mayweather look like a bitch, and he's terrible at talking trash, but that's nothing to cry about. Besides me not liking Mayweather's involvement, I actually thought the segment was pretty hilarious. Not only did the back and forth comments between Show and Mayweather seem heated, but I also liked Big Show tossing some limp boxer out of the ring like a freaking rag doll. If you haven't seen that, please Youtube it…it's pure genius. Apparently Stephanie is appalled at the quality of the segment, but I thought it was one of the more entertaining segments in the last few weeks.



Topic # 4 RoH's Rising Above PPV became available on In – Demand this weekend. What are your thoughts on the card and the show?

David Martell: Unlike the TNA PPV, this PPV has an amazing card. Grudge match galore! ROH always proves that you dot need any gimmick matches to have a great PPV. From what I read, McGuinness vs. Aries for the RoH Title was the match of the night and an instant classic. Of course, Morishima and Danielson is always good and so is Chris Hero and Claudio. The rest of the card, from what I heard, had solid matches. It is definitely a good way to spend two hours of your night although several of the matches were rather short. It is worth buying in my book.

Alex Mattis: This PPV has a pretty solid line up, as do all of their PPV's. Now I'd be lying if I said I've been constantly keeping up with the ROH product, so I don't know all the inner-workings of all the feuds and what not, but I'd have to be an idiot to turn away from such matches as Austin Aries Vs. Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima. I've seen highlights from the Aries-Nigel match, including the spot that busted Nigel open in a SICK way, and from what I saw it looked promising. And I've only heard good things about the Morishima-Danielson. But that's not all, you've also got promising matches such as The Briscoes Vs. The NRC, and Claudio Castagnoli Vs. Chris Hero on the card. I'm excited for my local cable company to pick up this event on In-Demand, as I can't wait to see it.

Zach Brown: ROH has a tradition of putting on quality PPVs, and this one is no exception. While I haven't viewed the show myself, I have heard that the Tag Team Scramble match and Nigel McGuiness vs. Austin Aries were instant classics. And I couldn't be happier about the Tag Scramble match because I am a huge fan of Kevin Steen and El Generico. Danielson vs. Morishima is another match that I'm dying to see simply because those are two of the greatest wrestlers on the indy scene in my opinion. I am a little surprised that Necro Butcher won the Fatal Four Way, but I like Necro, so I'm happy about that. I can't really talk about every match on this PPV simply because it's one of the most stacked cards I've ever seen, and it would take up a whole page just to do it justice. I really hope ROH can keep this up and get some sort of a TV deal going, because this is a quality promotion that more wrestling fans need to see.



Superstar Highlight

Christian Cage


Career Stats:
- 2 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 3 time WWE Intercontinental Champion
- WWF European Champion
- WWF Light Heavyweight Champion
- WWF Hardcore Champion
- 9 time WWF/E World Tag Team Champion 7 times with Edge, 1 time with Lance Storm, and 1 time with Chris Jericho


What are your thoughts on Christian Cage?

David Martell: This man started the new era of jumping ship by being the first WWE star to switch over to TNA. I honestly didn't blame him because he was getting the short end of the stick in the E. I thought that when he got moved to Smackdown that he would get his chance to shine. Of course he didn't and we all know what happened to that…he went to TNA. In my honest opinion, he hit his prime in TNA. He has not only had amazing matches with names such as Samoa Joe, he is also the face of TNA. I will say that I do hate him as a face. He is so much better as a heel and a hell of a lot funnier. I kind of feel that he's getting a bit overshadowed now that Kurt Angle is in TNA but I am sure that he will end up with the title belt once again. He is the most redeeming quality of TNA at this point and there is even times that I wish he was back in the E. Hopefully his career will continue to be a success.

Alex Mattis: The man who originally shook up the whole TNA-WWE thing. The first man to jump ship, and one of the most under-appreciated wrestlers of the past decade. Christian Cage has completely changed his career since moving to TNA. A man who was constantly hitting the glass ceiling in the E is now finally doing what he should be doing, main eventing on PPV's. The E had a golden opportunity with a feud between Christian and John Cena, that they never pulled the trigger on and it was shortly after that that Christian started a new chapter of his career in TNA. Christian has only done great things, in my eyes, since joining TNA. Having some great matches and really stepping his game up to another level. I see good things in his future and maybe even another title reign come this time next year. He's one of my personal favorites in the biz to watch and I really look forward to what's to come.

Zach Brown: I am a huge Christian Cage fan. He almost always puts on quality matches, and in my opinion, he's one of the funniest personalities in professional wrestling today. Many of his interviews and segments on WWE and TNA are absolute classics. If you want proof of Christian's greatness, there are several things you can watch for a great example. The ladder match main event that he had with RVD on RAW, Christian winning the NWA Title from Jeff Jarrett (a top ten moment in TNA in my opinion), and Christian's rap battle against John Cena were all classic Christian moments. And he's such an excellent heel as well. While he's also entertaining as a face, I always crave him being a heel, especially in TNA where he seems to shine brightest. He's definitely in my list of top 10 active wrestlers, and he's doing great things for TNA in my eyes.



Here is something Christian Cage is remembered by.




That's it for this week. Remember to leave comments at the bottom of the page because we DO read them. Once again have a great week. Cya!