411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Should Sting Face HHH At WrestleMania?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week: First up is the one and only TJ Hawke! He battles Tony Acero!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals and hydroponics.

1. Judging from the comments made on his podcast with Colt Cabana, you side with CM Punk in his split with the WWE.

TJ Hawke: FACT – I’ve never seen the need to take sides in this issue as I genuinely do not consider it to be any of my business. However, I’ll say Fact for the purposes of this column since I absolutely support CM Punk’s right to cease working for a company he no longer wants to work for. I don’t think professional wrestlers owe me anything, and they certainly don’t need to explain to me that working conditions can reach a point where you’re better off quitting.

Tony Acero: FACT -This is a tough one that I don’t think I could answer fully in the allotted space given, but I’ll try to condense it. Simply put, if the working relationship wasn’t working out on either side, then either the company or the employee were going to be disgruntled. We’ve seen this in all workplaces, so regardless of whether or not I agree with HOW Punk did what he did, there is the reality that this split almost seemingly needed to happen. It was, essentially, a bad break up that was created due to miscommunication on both sides, and lack of clarity created by stubbornness, manipulation, pride, and arrogance – and the interesting thing is that those four labels can be on both the WWE on Punk depending on the argument. So, yes, I’ll side with Punk on the split solely because the split itself was only a matter of time, he seems happier because of it, and the WWE truly isn’t hurting without him.

2. With the launch of the New Japan World (for only 999 yen!) streaming service, you are more likely than ever to check out the New Japan product.

TJ Hawke: FACT – Well, I already watch NJPW regularly, but now I’m more likely to check out future shows that I would have normally passed on and take the time to go back and watch their older stuff. I’ve never been fond of the idea of financially supporting bootlegging. So, I’m honestly happy that there’s an affordable way to support NJPW while watching a ton of content that I’ve wanted to get to for a while now. If anyone reading this has the slightest interest in checking out NJPW, I strongly recommend that you subscribe to their service for one month. I say that as someone who is considered to be “too negative” on the company.

Tony Acero: FACT – If you’ve read me anywhere on this site, you know that my wrestling fandom has a bit of tunnel vision. Anyone that sends me a match, I’ll watch, but I rarely go out of my way to watch wrestling other than what I watch on a weekly basis and the occasional PWG show. This isn’t to say I hate outside wrestling or indies, on the contrary, but I will readily admit that I don’t jump at the chance to watch anything aside from the almost obligatory RAW (due to the report). With that being said, if there’s a streaming service, then there is most likely someone I know who will be getting it, and I’ll most likely be checking it out because of this, thus FACT.

3. You have no interest in a Ryback vs. Triple H match.

TJ Hawke: FICTION – : Oh, I have ALL the interest in this match. I have no idea how the crowd would respond to something like this, especially if it happened in front of a “smart” PPV crowd. If it happens at the Rumble, the idea of the Philly crowd’s response to this match is more exciting than any storyline in the WWE all year. I love pro wrestling trainwrecks, and this has the makings of a big one.

Tony Acero: FACT – Triple H has altered his ring style to that of “brawling.” The issue is that “Brawling” in the WWE typically means you’ll hear Cole say “slow and methodical” a whole lot, which in turn means that this match would be a lumbering mess. Ryback is improving, and I’m very happy that he is improving because for the better part of a year, he was so damned boring and one-note. Triple H can still put on a match, but it hinges more on emotion than it does on actual skill within the confines of the ring. Every good match Triple H has had in the past five years or so has depended on the story going into it more than the technicality of the match itself. Because of this, I see no story interesting enough to build upon that would make Triple H vs Ryback worth watching or even worth my interest. At this point, you have to ask yourself what would piss Triple H off so much to bring him out of the office and into the ring. Sting is a great answer. Ryback, however, is not.

SWITCH!

4. CM Punk will never return to the WWE.

Tony Acero: FICTION – This is actually harder to answer considering just how adamant CM Punk was on the podcast in regards to his happiness. However, if there’s one carrot to be dangled in front of CM Punk that would almost assuredly bring him back to the WWE in some form, it would be a Wrestlemania Main Event. This isn’t to say that it will happen – it’s actually highly unlikely the more you think about it, but it’s still possible and because of that, the possibility of CM Punk coming back to the WWE is still very apparent. If we are to believe the podcast at face value, CM Punk simply wanted to see his worth to the WWE, and his litmus test was the main event of Mania. If – even after much deliberation – Punk was given that top of the mountain feel, then I think he would for sure come back to make it right even if for his own “legacy” that he was attempting to build in the wrestling world.

TJ Hawke: FICTION – I will preface my reasoning by saying that I’m not confident at all in my choice. In the end though, it seems like everyone who was a big star comes back unless they die before they have a chance. Bret came back. Hogan came back. Bruno came back. Warrior came back. Austin came back. Rock came back. (I also genuinely believe that Randy Savage would have come back at some point, but the breakdown in their relationship clearly hurt both of them to the point where it was possible that they would never work together again). Other than that basic rule of thumb, I have no other reason to believe that Punk is coming back. It would certainly not shock me if we never saw him in a wrestling ring ever again.

5. A Sting vs. Triple H match will be a better match than a Sting vs. Undertaker match.

Tony Acero: FACT – I hate saying that this is true because I’ve looked forward to every Undertaker match on the grand stage since I was a young buck, XXX has any bearing on my decision then it’s really not that hard to make. We saw The Undertaker lose a bulk of his mystique at Wrestlemania XXX, but we also saw him lose a lot of himself as a performer. He simply looked old, and it’s a damned shame because he’s one of the greats. I won’t go so far as to say he was a broken man holding onto the last strings of a history of great matches, but he had a lengthy reign as the MUST SEE match at Mania, and Brock kind of took that away from him. Unless he’s taken the year to really get into shape internally (heart, mind, soul), then I don’t see him pulling a good match out of Sting – who is already nearing Taker levels of bad in the ring on his own. So yeah, Triple H vs Sting would be the better match. Still, I see a greater build in Taker vs Sting.

TJ Hawke: FACT – I think Triple H is the easy/safe answer here, as he’s clearly in better shape than Taker. Thus, it stands to reason that Triple H would have a far easier time dragging a good match out of Sting (who should be game effort-wise, but he hasn’t had good matches in years).

That being said, HHH has had his fair share of clunkers at Wrestlemania and in general so it’s not like HHH is a lock to have a good match with Sting or even close to being the best guy possible to book against him. I certainly have no interest in seeing another HHH match being built around metaphorical fellatio regarding how important both wrestlers are (my biggest gripe with the HHH/Taker builds). That’s all a long-winded way of saying HHH vs. Sting does not excite me much either, but I would absolutely fear for how bad Sting vs. The Undertaker could be.

6. Vince McMahon came off as a clueless old man during his appearance on the Steve Austin Podcast.

Tony Acero: FICTION – I wouldn’t say clueless, but very close to. He still has that savvy business man approach, and still has a firm grasp on what HE wants HIS company to be. He had a few solid points and didn’t seem senile in the least. I will admit to him simply not knowing what we want and using the idea that he knows what’s best as a lever of success, but that’s not to say he’s clueless – just not perfect. I think that he had a few great points, and also liked that he apologized to Punk because he simply did not have to. Will it result to anything? Probably not. Still, if we are to focus on his mindset, it’s not so much clueless as it is antiquated.

TJ Hawke: FACT – Everything we’ve seen, heard, read, felt, and tasted about Vince McMahon from the past fifteen years has told us he’s out of touch and doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore. Now, the whole…universe…**winks at the camera**…knows it.

Things I Learned or Things Confirmed That Had Been Suspected:
– “John Cena was the last one to reach for the Brass Ring”
– Vince likes Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt as future stars.
– Vince doesn’t think the locker room is ambitious overall
– Vince doesn’t like Millenials
– Vince thinks the roster needs more depth.
– Vince thinks Cesaro is not connecting yet (excellent moment to link to the pop he got for winning a battle royal of all things at Wrestlemania) and that he doesn’t have charisma or verbal skills. Vince still doesn’t like the European style.
– Vince gets off on the idea of his father not giving an employee a raise.
– Vince thinks no one on the roster was left who could conceivably beat the streak besides Brock. Vince has a high opinion of his own roster clearly.
– Vince doesn’t think the WWE title is a draw anymore and that it only occasionally contributes.
– Vince thinks he was the Stone Cold character (lol).
– Vince also thinks he’s the common man.
– Vince thinks the audience and critics are two distinct groups of people

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The scariest part of all of that is that Vince McMahon came across as genuinely believing everything he said. Vince McMahon long ago should have become to the WWE what Stan Lee means to Marvel now. He should be a figurehead. He should promote the brand. And he should be stepping aside to yet younger people run the company that he brought to new heights in the eighties and nineties. It’s time to give someone else a chance.