The Triple Threat 12.07.08: The 118th Edition - Cena and Edge as Champs, TNA's Final Resolution, Cody Rhodes and More

Posted by David Martell on 12.07.2008

This week old news is good news. We talk about Cena and Edge winning the two world titles, the Slammy awards, TNA's Final Resolution, and Cody Rhodes is our superstar highlight. Enjoy!

Welcome back to the Triple Threat Column. We are back from Thanksgiving break and this week old news is good news. We talk about the two title changes from Survivor Series, TNA's Final Resolution card, and the Slammy Awards. Are superstar highlight is Cody Rhodes. Please enjoy.


Topic # TNA‘s Final Resolution is this Sunday, what are your thoughts on the card?

Alex Mattis: Time again for another TNA PPV, which always promise to be at least interesting. The main event for Final Resolution has left me scratching my head; why would Joe want to help AJ win the title? Doesn't he want it back for himself? Confusing. A Team 3D turn seems extremely obvious, that being said, will TNA take this route? No telling with TNA. Interesting is the word I would use to describe this match. In the "Double Main Event" Kurt Angle will take on Rhino. Should be a decent match but expect Angle to pick up the victory setting up what I highly anticipate, the rematch with Jeff Jarrett. Beer Money has turned into one of the best tag teams around, but don't expect their match against Abyss & Morgan to be one of their better matches. The under card is filled with TNA goodness, even the return of the "Feast or Fired" match!!! Should be something.

Zach Brown: As much as I think TNA has been putting on quality PPVs lately, I don't think this one has much to offer. First of all, the match for the tag titles looks very uninteresting to me. I expect Beer Money to retain solely on the fact that Abyss and Matt Morgan would do nothing to interest me. Bashir vs. Eric Young could go either way, but I also expect Bashir to retain. But hey, Young could get a roll up. Stranger things have happened. This whole "Feast of Fired" thing better only mean one thing: Curry Man getting fired and Christopher Daniels re-debuting as The Fallen Angel. The Frontline needs him more than ever right now, and it's just frustrating seeing TNA misusing one of their best talents. Awesome Kong vs Christy Hemme should be both awful and uninteresting because Christy has no chance of beating Kong. I expect the Six Woman Tag match to be much more entertaining, however much of a spot fest it will be. Kurt Angle vs. Rhino is monumentally ruined because of the stipulation. Even if I was at all interested in seeing the match, the outcome is completely given away. As if Angle has any chance of leaving TNA at this point. And finally, the Eight Man Tag match is an interesting concept because the title is still on the line. While I think it will be a great time for AJ to win the title, I just don't think it will happen. But I think the match will be ruined by heel shenanigans. It makes no sense for Team 3D to even be with the Frontline guys, so I fully expect 3D to backstab Joe and AJ, making the main event almost useless. If AJ somehow pulls out the win, that may be worth the price of admission, but of course there is really no way to know. Overall, I'd have to say that Final Resolution is a pass because nothing really jaw dropping or remotely interesting on the card, and the main event is almost guaranteed to be a dirty finish.


Topic # 2 The Slammy awards are back this Monday night on RAW. What do you think about this?

Alex Mattis: Goodness I hope Tod what's-his-name is still hosting and I hope at some point in the broadcast Stone Cold beats the shit out of Doink. Ah, those were the days. This should be a fun little event though. The losers of the different awards will surely stir up some drama that will result in spur of the moment matches and whatnot. It should be a solid Raw. Chris Jericho for WWE Wrestler of the Year!!!

Zach Brown: I'm excited that WWE is bringing back the Slammy Awards. Part of me wishes that the fans should vote one this, but I'm fine with the way it is. First of all, if Chris Jericho doesn't win Superstar of the Year, it would just be absurd. He's come so far in terms of his character and he was a great champ up until Cena interrupted it. Batista is just average right now, Jeff Hardy still hasn't won a title, Edge took a long hiatus, Cena was injured for a lot of 2008, and Triple H had one of the most bland title runs in recent memory on Smackdown. As for MOTY, I really hope they pick HBK vs. Flair. That match was an instant classic. Other things like "OMG moment of the year" or "Couple of the Year" are pointlessly entertaining awards, but obvious choices. All in all, I'm looking forward to the revival of the Slammy, and WWE built a solid card around the event, which is always a plus.

Topic # 3 What are your thoughts on John Cena having the World title?

Alex Mattis: Joy. What a joy it is to not only see Jericho lose the strap while he is in the peak of his career, but to see John Cena with the big gold belt around his waist. Joy. I don't want to seem to be a Cena hater because I'm not, I like the guy. My problem is with Vince & Co. and their wanting to push Cena until the end of the time, enough is enough ya know? On the plus side of things, I don't see Cena holding onto the belt for long. I think they wanted to give him the title at SS for the surprise factor and to shake things up but I think Cena is always better when he is in the chasing role. So for those reasons I'm predicting Jericho to take his title back at Armageddon. The Cena dominance does get annoying, and his promos as of later have been quite agitating, but all in all I'm glad to see him back.

Zach Brown: I don't want to say too much of what has already been said by countless other people. But I have to say that I really haven't been a John Cena fan lately. It's my opinion that Chris Jericho was the best thing to happen to the RAW main event scene since Randy Orton. And John Cena derails Jericho with only one match? When a wrestler comes back from any sort of hiatus, don't give him an immediate title shot on his return. And I'm not just saying this about Cena, I mean any wrestler. Even Jericho got an immediate title shot when he came back to the WWE, and I didn't even like that they did that. And I'm a big Jericho fan. And even when I didn't like that, Jericho still lost; they didn't make him champion immediately, which I'm completely fine with. But with Cena, it's a different story for some reason. If a big name wrestler is coming back from an injury, give them the W on their first match back. That's a no-brainer. They deserve it to get people interested again. But being booked in the title match on your return and actually winning? That's just ridiculous. Combine that with the fact that Cena gave one of the most God-awful promos on RAW the night after...I just couldn't stand that Cena had the title again. But hey, the guy puts on exciting matches, he moves merch like none other, and women and children love him. I hate that it makes perfect sense from a business standpoint, because I just don't enjoy watching Cena as champ.

Topic # 4 What are your thoughts on Edge having the WWE title?

Alex Mattis: Double joy! Could Survivor Series have gone any better for me? I will give the E this much, the comeback/title win of Edge mixed with that Jeff Hardy angle was done very well and really paid off in the end. Unlike Cena, I see Edge having another solid reign leading all the way to WrestleMania. I see a Edge-Trips, or more likely Edge-Jeff, title match for Mania and the build has already begun. The payoff from this entire deal could be very rewarding.

Zach Brown: I had a hunch that Edge was coming back, but I thought he was going to interrupt the casket match, not run out and win the title. I'm not a huge fan of Edge, but I pick Edge over HHH any day of the week. However, it's a little unfortunate that Edge is cementing himself as someone who never wins the title legitimately. Oh well. And as I said before, I'm not a fan of anyone winning the title on their return match. Although, since it was a great shocking moment to everyone, it's slightly more forgivable in my eyes. It's good to have Edge back because Smackdown's main event scene needs him more than ever. And HHH was just not doing anything with the belt. I thought he was bland and boring for the longest time. Granted, Edge as champ is pretty familiar territory for Smackdown, so hopefully Jeff Hardy can get the strap sometime in 2009.

Topic # 5 What are your thoughts on Tomko possibly returning to the WWE?

Alex Mattis: Has he officially signed yet? This would be the first I've heard of it. Whatever the case I do fell that Tomko deserves a spot on the E roster, more now than ever. He has improved leaps and bounds from his work overseas and turned out some really solid stuff during his run in TNA. Where the problem lies here is the Christian-factor. Christian and Tomko were made for each other, they work soooo well together and wherever one is the other should be. Time will tell if CC is headin' back to the E and if he will realign with his Problem Solver, I certainly hope so.

Zach Brown: This makes perfect sense if Christian is making the move to WWE. It's only natural for Christian to already have his buddy Tomko with him when he arrives in WWE. Tomko really did improve while in TNA, so it could be interesting to see what kind of chemistry he can have with some of the newer guys in WWE. Hopefully, Christian and Tomko go to Smackdown to team with Edge. It's all just a no-brainer. And he showed that he can be part of a great tag-team when he teamed with AJ Styles, so hopefully WWE can find someone that works well with Tomko. Evan Bourne maybe? Who knows. And I hope Tomko still has staying power in WWE, because I want him to have another good singles push as well. He could have good programs with other monster heels such as Umaga, Kane, Koslov, and the list goes on.



Superstar Highlight

Cody Rhodes


Our thoughts on Cody Rhodes.

Alex Mattis: The Priceless grandson of plumber man, the son of the American Dream, the brother of Goldust. This fucker sure has an interesting family tree. But in all seriousness Cody is one the top and most promising new talents in the E. In the short time he has spent in the E he has more than impressed me and many of the fans. His program with Hardcore Holly leading into Priceless was very beneficial to him and his transition from face to heel was pretty much seamless. We have since learned that he makes a much better heel than face. I think he can go a long way in the E, I also think Priceless could really excel... but not Manu. If anything I really feel that the tie to Manu is holding Cody back, but when this program with Orton runs out I think we should see some more singles work from Cody. I look forward to what the future brings for this guy.

Zach Brown: Cody Rhodes is one of my favorite young talents in WWE. "Priceless" was one of the best tag teams of 2008, and Cody is showing that he can actually deliver some pretty heel-tastic promos as well. And he's a talented wrestler. For some reason, everything just clicks with me when I watch him wrestle. Also, have you ever noticed that he has the Triforce symbol on his boots? Greatness. But seriously, he's athletic, he's a good heel, and his concentration is on actual wrestling. Not high flying, not "brawling," but actual wrestling. He gets up on the top rope every once in a while, but its never overkill. So talent wise, I think he's a great balance of style, and he has what it takes in my opinion. That being said, there are some things that Cody needs to work on in order to break into the upper echelon of WWE. First of all, he needs to get as far away from Manu as possible. Maybe some of you think that's a little harsh, but fuck it. Manu sucks. Second, he needs to ditch the DDT as his finisher. I love a good old DDT, but everyone has a DDT now, so it shouldn't be his finishing move. It's just generic these days. Third, his character needs to stop biting off more than he can chew. You honestly think you can pin Batista, Cody? That whole thing was just embarrassing. And lastly, while he's good on the mic, he's not great. I really want him to hate the audience with all his being. That's what makes a good heel. When I watch Randy Orton, there's no doubt in my mind that he hates fans, he hates his opponent, and he hates authority figures. That's all Cody needs to do to be a great heel. Embrace the hate! But in the end, I think Cody Rhodes has a bright future in WWE, and he's one of my favorite people to watch on Raw.


That is it for this week. Leave us comments if you please. Have a great week in wrestling. CYA!