The Triple Threat Column 2.07.10: The 175th Edition – Edge, ECW, WWE NXT, The Elimination Chamber, More

Topic # 1 What are your thoughts on Edge winning the Royal Rumble?

David Martell: Well it isn’t exactly what I wanted to happen but I can live with it. I just hate when it becomes too obvious who is going to win the Rumble. I like it to be a complete surprise but that rarely happens anyways. The good thing about this is that it means that Jericho could win the World Title at Elimination Chamber. If Jericho wins that means Edge will definitely pick him to face at Wrestlemania. I really think WWE is trying to put together the best super card they can for Wrestlemania this year and Jericho vs. Edge would be a great addition to Wrestlemania. The best part about this possible feud would be the verbal warfare that would go one. Both of these guys are great talkers and I cant imagine the great promos that would be going on. I look forward to this but only if this is what happens.

Jacob San Antonio: I don’t think anyone was surprised with Edge’s return, at least no one I knew was shocked, but I admit I was just a bit surprised with him winning the Rumble. I figured he was in just good enough shape to do a tiny bit of ring work, and not much else. Granted, what he did wasn’t really that much, but he lasted a lot longer than I expected him to. I figured they’d start the beginnings of a Jericho/Edge feud and someone else would win the Rumble, but it looks like the WWE decided to give Edge his cake and let him eat it, too. There is a lot of mystery surrounding what we’ll see in Wrestlemania 26, but with Edge winning the Rumble and cementing his name in one of the title matches, I have a better idea of what to expect on both Raw and Smackdown in the coming weeks. Edge winning the Rumble is interesting, not only due to the possible feuds on the horizon, but also due to just how decorated his time with the WWE has been. It leaves me to wonder just what’s left for him to accomplish, having conquered just about everything there is available to him.

Zach Brown: I loved that Edge won the Royal Rumble. Maybe some people thought it was predictable, and yeah, I wasn’t as shocked as when Cena won it two years ago. But it really freshened up the Royal Rumble because someone new won the whole thing, and it wasn’t the usual suspects winning the Rumble. I was so sure that HHH was winning this year. I was hoping for an Edge return, but I thought that there was no way to predict if Edge was healthy enough or not. So yeah, overall, I’m very happy that Edge won. That being said, Edge didn’t look like he was in the best shape when he came back. I’m sure that will go away in time, but it was pretty noticeable.

Topic # 2 How do you feel about WWECW ending?

David Martell: Well personally, I havent really cared for ECW since Jack Swagger left. It just didn’t seem as important without him. They haven’t built up anyone that seems like they could actually take the belt off of Christian. ECW does give us good wrestling from time to time but the storylines that have been going on have been incredibly bland. I think it is time to put the ECW brand name away anyways. I know there are a ton of ECW fans of the past that have hated WWE using the ECW name so they should now be happy. Hopefully all of the older guys like Christian, Regal and Golddust all get moved to RAW or Smackdown. Overall, WWECW had a decent run and it helped build a lot of young stars so it definitely had its purpose.

Jacob San Antonio: I realize a lot of people have given ECW a hard time due to its name and its complete lack of Extreme in the past year. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the last Extreme Rules match that ECW Title defense between Christian and Tommy Dreamer? That’s a pretty depressing thought. I’ve always like the Hardcore/Extreme Rules/No DQ style of match ups, and it’s depressing to think that the WWE has just about given up on them. Maybe it’s due to the lack of their interest in Extreme matches, maybe it’s the company’s way of distancing itself from the past, or maybe their replacement of the brand with something new is just a desperate attempt to snag more ratings on SyFy. Either way, I’m pretty bummed out about it. Even if ECW wasn’t the ECW of times past, it was still nice to have a little reminder of that brand so many years ago filled with fearless wrestlers crazy enough to consider working barb wire into their match at a professional level. If the WWE were kind to its fans, they might give ECW’s last show a video package of some of the moments that made old ECW what it was back in the day, and what made the current ECW a fun program at its peak.

Zach Brown: Well, I’m kind of torn on what to think of the end of ECW. On one hand, I feel that WWE never gave ECW enough of a spotlight. For a couple of PPVs in 2009, there would be no ECW title defenses on the PPV. That was inexcusable, especially when they were putting on much worse matches that seemed like they had no place on the card either. For example, the ECW title was nowhere to be seen at Hell in a Cell, yet we had to sit through Drew McIntyre vs. R-Truth. And Bragging Rights completely emphasized to the audience that the only shows that matter are Raw and Smackdown. I also think that if they truly wanted ECW to succeed, they could have just effectively ended FCW, brought up that whole roster of guys, and made ECW a two hour show. That is obviously a drastic change, but it would have shown that WWE is taking ECW seriously, when I often felt that they simply weren’t. And just little things like showing the Raw Rebound on ECW just sort of makes the ECW storylines feel completely unimportant compared to Raw. Now on the other hand, I feel like WWE’s version of ECW should not have been called ECW in the first place. It’s just not ECW, plain and simple. All in all, I am disappointed that WWE is ending ECW. The title looked great, and it had some good stuff going for it, but WWE never gave ECW the ball in my opinion.

Topic # 3 What are your thoughts on WWE newest television venture, NXT?

David Martell: I am actually excited about this. I think they should of took this route a long time ago when the ratings started to drop on ECW. I mean this is was ECW has become anyways, just a place for younger stars to get a feel for the company and to see if they can get over. I look forward to seeing they young guys take over their own brand and it will be a great way to see who will become the stars of the future. I really don’t know if this will give the WWE better ratings but it is definitely a great idea. I kind of wonder what their title will be called. The NXT Title? Zack Ryder is your NXT champion? Just doesn’t sound right. The only problem with this change from ECW to NXT, is that it seems like its less of a brand and more of a developmental league. Are they going to have PPV matches? Who knows. Either way, I am excited for this new venture and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Jacob San Antonio: With any luck, we’ll see Christian finally move on to Smackdown or Raw, Regal and Goldust take on roles as mentors rather than wrestlers, and we can see more new talent coming in. If they leave the title situation as is, if Regal sticks around as cartoon super villain, and Goldust continues to just hang out with Yoshi Tatsu, it’s going to be one of the weakest starts a new show has seen in a while. Seriously, they felt the need to completely change the brand, so they better really change things up in order to get people excited about it. The only way I can see this working is if they really try to live up to this name and throw some more work towards the up and coming stars. Say what you want about many of them not being perfect, since they’re not, but you can’t change the focus and name of the show to “Next Generation” and then have tons of matches with your oldest talent. I get the worst feeling that the WWE just wanted a face change, and they’re not going to deliver on what they’re promising. For the record, WWE NXT/Next Generation is just a bland name. It reeks to me of an older demographic trying to stay hip and cool with the young kids, with their internets, texting, LOLs, WTFs and BBLs. And that’s just embarrassing.

Zach Brown: So…NXT? Well, I’d first like to say that I do like that WWE is embracing the idea of making the show all about younger talent. NXT sort of standing for next generation is an alright idea. But I just do not like the name at all. For some reason, I do not like the letter X being involved in any wrestling related entities. For example, Wrestling Society X…and the XFL. I think it’s safe to say that those were not successful ventures for MTV or Vince McMahon. And for the love of God, have you seen the logo? How did this get approved by the ad wizards at WWE? A vertical logo? This logo does not look like a wrestling logo at all. It looks like it is going down the side of a new Mountain Dew bottle. Awful logo design. As for the show itself, we’ll have to wait and see whether or not it becomes the new thing to watch, or an instant laughing stock among wrestling fans.

Topic # 4 What do you think will happen to the ECW Title?

David Martell: Well the only think I can think of is that it will be dissolved into one of the other WWE World Title belts. Yeah, it is not as important as the World or WWE titles but this would be a good way to put Christian on a new brand and it will also make him look strong if he has a good match with one of the WWE’s top champions. I really don’t want Christian to just become the NXT champion, I rather him just go to another brand. He is an established star and doesn’t need to be on a brand that will be full of young and new talent. I just hope this new title will look a lot better than some of the other WWE title belts.

Jacob San Antonio: Man, I really like the Big Silver Belt. Yeah, it has that cheesy bird on it, but I thought it looked like timeless art when compared to say…the WWE Title. I don’t care if they simply change the title’s name to NXT Title, and leave it as is. But I seem to recall rumors a couple months ago about some belts getting their looks changed, and this might be what they were talking about. If it turns out to be a completely new belt, I won’t get my hopes up for something nice looking. With a name as bad as NXT, I can’t help but imagine something terribly gaudy in the worst possible way. Here’s my desperate hoping for the ECW title’s design to stick through the new brand.

Zach Brown: Lately, I’ve been jokingly saying, “And your first NXT champion…Christian!” Realistically, I don’t think that will happen. I think that NXT will start, Christian will assume he is NXT champion, and Tiffany or whoever else will effectively strip him of the title/declare that he is simply not champion of this new brand, and then start a tournament to declare the new NXT champion. As for the ECW title itself, it’s really too bad that we’re losing it because that belt had really started to grow on me. For all you replica belt enthusiasts, better get it while the going is good.

Topic # 5 Who do you think/want to win the Unified Tag Title bout on RAW this coming week between DX, Miz and Big Show and The Straight Edge Society?

David Martell: As long as DX loses it I will be happy. They haven’t been the best tag champs and they kind of make the tag belts look useless. They don’t even come out with them all the time. I want real tag champions. I hope that the Straight Edge Society wins the tag belts on RAW this Monday. They would be the best bet I think. I have a feeling that Big Show is going to end up facing Miz for the US Title at Elimination Chamber plus I really don’t want to see someone holding multiple belts at this time. Another thing is that I want to see CM Punk on RAW. CM Punk’s gimmick is still evolving and he is only getting better and better. I love the Straight Edge Society and I am intrigued to see where their faction is going. CM Punk is just good television.

Jacob San Antonio: If anyone was curious about those reports about Shawn Michaels not really digging the Straight Edge storyline, here’s your evidence to those reports being true. I’m expecting the S.E.S. to win the titles through pinning The Miz. Most likely, we’ll see Big Show beating up on DX outside the ring, and they won’t get their chance to keep CM Punk and Gallows from winning their titles. This leaves HHH and HBK to pursue their Wrestlemania matches, and ensures that HBK doesn’t have to take the pin for a group he believes is misusing some rather religious imagery. It’s upsetting to think that HBK would be offended by how the Straight Edge Society’s promos have been done, considering the HBK/God vs the McMahons angle he did a few years back, but it is what it is. Of course, now that I say this watch DX or even the Miz and Big Show to walk away with the titles just to spite me. But I’m pulling for the Straight Edge Society. CM Punk is red hot after the Rumble, and to keep fanning the flames the best thing would be to solidify the S.E.S.’s legitimacy with the Undisputed Titles.

Zach Brown: I think it’s pretty obvious that DX are losing the titles, and Miz and Big Show were just added to the match to take the pinfall. If DX doesn’t lose the titles going into Wrestlemania, it makes no damn sense. CM Punk has been on a roll lately, and I’m thinking that even though Luke Gallows is always somewhat lacking, CM Punk’s pure awesomeness will be able to cover that up somewhat. In the off chance that Miz and Big Show win, it would be interesting to see Big Show as a tag champ again, and Miz holding two belts would be a huge feather in his cap. But all in all, CM Punk and Luke Gallows are an obvious choice so that they can go to any brand they want and spout the Straight Edge rhetoric to every audience in WWE. Plus, it would give CM Punk some much needed spotlight again.

The Elimination Chamber

Our thoughts on The Elimination Chamber Match.

David Martell: The Elimination Chamber is one of my favorite gimmick matches. I have always enjoyed the elimination gimmick in any type of match really. I just like the idea that you have to go though all of your opponents to win the title. Everyone has to get pinned or submit. Just makes things fun really. I also like the fact that you don’t know who will get out of their pod first. There is no escaping, no weapons, and no excuses. You survive and you win and that’s that. This year’s Elimination Chamber matches are actually pretty stacked. I have to say that I am looking more forward to the Smackdown Elimination Chamber match. When you have Chris Jericho, CM Punk, The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio and Morrison in the same match, it has to be good. The match itself is a great idea and it definitely sells the PPV for me.

Jacob San Antonio: I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the Elimination Chamber, as a majority of its matches coincide with the worst possible outcomes in my eyes: victories for HHH. However, it’s a pretty fun concept, and its had its share of awesome matches. Thinking about it, it’s pretty much a mixture of the tournament style of King of the Ring, mixed with a steel cage and a battle royale to boot. The matches do a decent job of getting legitimate contenders each year, with just about anybody getting a good chance of walking out victorious. Last year had that excellent Elimination Chamber match with Rey Mysterio, Jericho, Cena, Edge, Mike Knox and Kane. When it came down to the end, you had that triple finisher combo on John Cena to eliminate him, and then there was that awkward moment between Edge, Jericho and Mysterio where they each realized the title was nearly in their grasp. The Elimination Chamber lends itself really well to allowing a champion to lose and still look strong, and I think it’s no coincidence you have a main event like that only a month or so before Wrestlemania.

Zach Brown: The Elimination Chamber is probably the most gimmicky match that WWE has in their collection. Is it the most gimmick filled match that exists? No. Fortunately for WWE, the King of the Mountain match exists. Just kidding, TNA fans. But the whole thing with chambers and all that business…yeah it does make it seem a little goofy. But the Elimination Chamber does capitalize on a feeling that always adds to a match: unpredictability. It is a rush to not know who is coming out of their chamber next. Not knowing the order of the match is something that draws people in. The same thing goes for not knowing who will be eliminated next. And all of that taking place inside what is essentially the most extreme version of a cage match? How could you not be down for that? In the end, I solidly enjoy every Elimination Chamber, gimmicky-ness and all.

Check us out on facebook on the Triple Threat Column fan page.That is all for this week. Please feel free to comment at the bottom of the page and have a great week in wrestling. CYA!