The Triple Threat 7.27.08: The 101st Edition - D'Lo Brown, The Great American Bash, CM Punk and More!

Posted by David Martell on 07.27.2008

We are back from vacation and better than ever. We talk about D'Lo Brown, The Great American Bash, and the booking of CM Punk. Are superstar highlight is a man who will shock the world! He is none other than Sting! Come inside!

The Triple Threat is back once again. We are back from vacation and ready to go. I am postponing the top ten best matches since the Triple Threat's existence piece this week because we didn't have time to discuss what are number nine pick was since we were all out of town. This week we talk about the Bash, D'Lo and our superstar highlight is Sting. Please enjoy.

Topic # 1 D‘Lo Brown made his return on RAW this past Monday on RAW. What are your thoughts on his return?

David Martell: I am not going to lie, it is good to see D'Lo back. He actually looks like he's in pretty good shape and he is a good addition to the mid card on RAW. The only problem I have with him, is that he is just another face on RAW. RAW needs more heels! He will probably do the normal returning star spiel, squash match after squash match until they figure out what to do with him. Thinking about it, I might have even liked it more if he was on ECW. He could feud with Mark Henry and bring back some old flames. It might not be the best match up but it would be quite interesting. Anyways, it is good to see him back and I hope he has a good run the second time around.

Alex Mattis: You're lookin' at the real deal now! I had read that B-Lo had been working dark matches and such, and that he may be making I return. But I still marked out on Monday night. D-Lo was one of my favorite wrestlers during the Attitude era, and I think he may rival Cowboy Bob Orton for being injured the longest period of time with the oh' so damaged chest. I always thought that Brown was very underrated and hope that he gets a good spot upon his return.

Zach Brown: I was really shocked when they brought back D'Lo Brown on RAW. I thought D'Lo was going to be stuck doing dark matches for the rest of his career, or rarely making any sort of appearance on TV much like Val Venis. But maybe they're actually giving the guy some time and possibly a feud with Santino, and that's actually something I'd be interested in. Even though the match was pretty short, it looked like D'Lo is still pretty talented in the ring. I don't know how over he would get these days, but I'd be interested to see him in a few mid-card storylines. Just as long as they don't replace him with Rodney Mack again. Ugh.


Topic # 2 ECW has a brand new ECW Title Belt. What do you think about the new look?

David Martell: I actually like the new ECW Title belt. I was never to fond of the old belt. Actually I thought the old belt was pretty damn ugly. I understand it has history behind it but lets face it, the old ECW is dead and we are stuck with the new ECW. I like how the belt is all silver. I don't know, it just looks more prestigious and less kiddy in my opinion. It is sad that Mark Henry is the first man to hold that belt but lets hope that he doesn't hold it for that long.

Alex Mattis: Who is designing this new line of E belts? A fuckin' 5 year old? The spinner belt, the God awful Divas title, and now this 3D ECW title... what is the deal? Oh how far the E has gone from the great looking belts like the IC title of the early 90's, European title, and of course the WWF eagle belt. I guess the E thinks this is updating with the times, but just one look at the big gold belt will show that you don't need a bunch of zazz to have a fantastic title.

Zach Brown: Well ECW now has the second best looking belt in WWE. It actually looks like the belt means something. The old belt looked way too small, and there's really no reason for ECW to have a belt that's smaller in size compared to the other two brands. However, the giant "ECW" letters on the belt make it look a little stupid. I mean why don't we have the other belts say RAW and SMACKDOWN right across the front? I mean yeah, it's the ECW title, but they could have concentrated more on the design of the belt instead of the giant letters. But really, it's not a bad belt design. Anytime I see a slightly mediocre belt, I always think "At least it's not that God-awful spinner belt." And by the way, whoever designed the new "Divas" belt needs to get out of the biz IMMEDIATELY.

Topic # 3 What are your thoughts on The Great American Bash?

David Martell: I actually thought the card for the Bash was actually decent but obviously it didn't live up to what it could have been. I didn't get to watch it myself but I heard it was pretty much uneventful. I did hear that the HBK vs. Jericho match was very good. I like how it ended in an MMA type finish. It shows how ruthless Jericho is. For the first time in a long time it seems that Jericho is actually a threat. This storyline is the best this year by far and I can't wait to see where it goes. I was surprised that Edge and Edge won the tag belts and yes I mean Hawkins and Ryder. I never thought the WWE would invest to much in these guys but I guess there giving them the ball in the "Tag Team Division." Matt Hardy also lost the belt to Shelton. I thought this was a good move. After all the US Title is meant to be on Smackdown. Matt Hardy is moving on to bigger and better things, if you want to call it that. Other then that there's nothing really there to note. Everything else just seems to be there. Nothing real special out of this one folks.

Alex Mattis: Eh. Wasn't great, but wasn't as crappy as the GAB has come to be known. I was not at all happy to see Hawkins and Ryder win the tag straps, how long do you expect these guys to have the belts? I was glad to see Shelton get the US title, still the mid-card gate keeper. COLIN DELANEY TURNS HEEL!!!! Who cares. Jeri and HBK delivered another show stealing match, it wasn't quite as good as I was expecting and I didn't care for the MMA-like ending but I'm sure their grand showdown is still to come probably at SummerSlam. Michelle McCool has improved greatly as a wrestler and looking great in her winning the "Divas" title. Punk cut an excellent promo before the match, but his contest with Batista was average at best. The ending was awful and turned the whole match sour. The JBL-Cena parking lot brawl was fun. The fire spot wasn't needed, but the match was fun. Props to both men as they both went through some brutal spots. Especially Cena for taking that final bump. I didn't see much of the main event but what I did see was solid and the crowd has hot for it. The ending was pulled off well. It seems Trips may be holding onto the strap for awhile.

Zach Brown: I didn't really like this year's Great American Bash. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't exactly good either. The Cena/JBL match was terrible. It seemed way too staged and it just made me roll my eyes the entire time. And who the hell booked Hawkins and Ryder to win the tag belts? Worst tag team booking in history maybe? Miz and Morrison are light years ahead of Hawkins and Ryder. Talk about some bland talent. I also wasn't too thrilled when Nattie Neidhart didn't win the Divas title. I mean yeah, it's a terrible looking belt, but she's a great wrestler, and I think she's more talented than Michelle McCool. In other news, Colin Delaney turned on Tommy Dreamer. Don't care. However, I was really happy for Shelton to win the US Title. That was one of the few highlights of the night. Another high point was Jericho vs. HBK. It was a pretty good match, but this feud is so good that it's hard not to like anything that they put out there. CM Punk vs. Batista had a disappointing match, but the match itself was alright. And Triple H beating Edge was the surprise win of the decade. Not. I could care less about Triple H and Edge. Overall, the night was a C- at best.

Topic # 4 How do you feel about the way CM Punk is getting booked as the World Champion?

David Martell: I haven't been real impressed on how the E is booking Punk. They are not making Punk the main attraction. He seems to still be overshadowed by Cena, JBL, and Batista. I don't understand how the night he wins the title they make him look like a big deal and he ends the show looking like a dominate champion and the next few weeks he is just another part of the show. He is looking like a paper champ right now. I hope who ever he faces at Summerslam he beats clean without any interference. He needs a big win to reestablish himself as the TOP guy on RAW. Will this happen? Who knows but CM Punk really needs some good booking to make he seem like a dominate champ.

Alex Mattis: I hate the way this is being pulled off, but quite frankly I should have expected this. Punk hasn't looked good at any point of his title reign, in my opinion, and his match with JBL at SummerSlam will determine if his title reign is going to mean anything at all. He's cut some great promos since wining the title, but he wasn't won clean or his matches end with a DQ or something lame. This could just be past of a greater plan, but for the time being I'm not digging the way Punk is being booked.

Zach Brown: I'm actually pretty upset at how WWE has been booking CM Punk. I'm glad he has the title, but they're making him look as weak as possible. Granted, he went over JBL on his first night, but with Batista, he can't seem to get a clean win to save his life. It was Double DQ at The Great American Bash, and on RAW, Kane came out and chokeslammed Batista before the match. So even if Punk did win, it was because Batista was attacked before the match. But he didn't even win that match. And he took a spinebuster, and the crowd popped for it. Boo. Batista needs to hurry up and turn heel because they're making the champ look way too weak, and he doesn't have enough of the crowd behind him. Even when JBL and Batista were cutting that promo on RAW last week, it seemed like CM Punk was a side note in the conversation. If CM Punk gets a Rey Mysterio-esque title reign (losing every match except title matches), I'll be pretty mad at WWE's booking.

Topic # 5 What are your thoughts on WWE programming going PG?

David Martell: Ugh…this looks like bad news. If you want to make interesting storylines you are going to need a higher rating then PG. Who ever said that WWE was for kids? I get what they want to do but their main demographic is young adults and teens. I understand that they want more people watching but to me all this looks like one big epic fail.

Alex Mattis: Could the E be cleaning up their product? Let's hope so. Because the less smut on the program, the less over the top angles and more focus on the wrestling. This could be a very positive thing for the company. Keep the weekly programming at PG, save the TV-14 content for your PPVs. I look forward to see if the E ditches some of the material that has given them a negative image to the main stream public.

Zach Brown: Whatever happened to the edge of WWE programming? Stone Cold giving the finger and wrestlers saying "Kiss my Ass" or "Bullshit" were a staple of WWE for God knows how long. Even Cena's retarded "Ruck Fules" hat was pretty edgy. Now they're going TV-PG? Kids are already a huge part of the wrestling audience, so I don't understand why they would tone down the themes or language. I should have seen it coming when I saw Cena write "JBL is poopy." This could come back to bite WWE though. If they make it too kiddy and tame, it could alienate their adult audience. If this change affects the ratings in any negative way, we probably won't see PG WWE for very long.



Superstar Highlight

Sting



Our thoughts on Sting.

David Martell: Sting is what you would call a living legend. He is the biggest superstar to never wrestling in a WWE ring and believe me he takes pride in that. He is one of the biggest stars of the 80's, 90's and today and he just keeps on going. I have liked Sting since I was a kid I even had a picture of him right next to one of Hogan. To bad we will probably never see him in the E. There are so many matches I would love to see and number one would be against the Undertaker. Sometimes I feel like he's wasting his time over in TNA. I cant wait till the day that WWE releases a best of Sting DVD. To bad we will probably have to wait till after sting hangs up his boots. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he ended up in the WWE Hall of Fame one day. Either way, I am glad he is still going and I hope that he continues to impress.

Alex Mattis: One of the greatest of all time. I don't know how anyone could argue that. I have been a life long fan of Sting and to think day will watch anything with him in it. I could go on all night and day about what this man has done in the past, all the great matches he has had, all the great promos he has cut, etc. But looking to today, Sting has been nothing but good since coming into TNA, well his titles reigns could be argued as being unnecessary but Sting has been positive for the company. He has had some great matches, put over talent, and just helped the company move forward. The Icon has to be bound for the Hall Of Fame, and I hope the E doesn't exclude him. When all is said and done I hope the E also puts out a DVD set of Sting similar to the ones they did on Flair and Hart. I think the end to this amazing career may be coming, but even at this stage of his life Sting still "has it."

Zach Brown: Sting is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. In professional wrestling, it's nearly impossible to get famous and never work for Vince McMahon. But Sting accomplished that, and he's still one of the best talents in wrestling history. Sting was phenomenal back in the WCW days. His character was great, and I would mark out so hard for the Stinger Splash or the Scorpion Deathlock. I don't know how, but he made a simple move like a splash into something that fans looked forward to in every match he had. And when he returned to wrestling with TNA, I was so excited for him to be back. He clearly hadn't lost any of his talent from WCW. I mean the guy is 49 and he's still one of the best wrestlers in the business. He definitely does for TNA what The Undertaker does for WWE. There have been so many wrestlers that have been mentioned as being too old to wrestle, or they're over the hill, or that they don't have the talent that they used to have when they were younger. And Sting isn't mentioned within any of those categories. Throughout his career, Sting has always been a cut above. It will be a sad day when he retires, but until that day, I hope he can keep delivering the way he has been in TNA.

Something to remember Sting by.



That is it for this week. If you haven't seen the Dark Knight, then shame on you. Have a good week in wrestling. Cya!