The Triple Threat 08.14.11: The 246th Edition – Summerslam, Kurt Angle, Wade Barrett, More

Topic # 1 WWE‘s Summerslam PPV is this Sunday. What are your thoughts on the card?

David Martell: Once again, the WWE has done a great job of making me spend my money on a PPV. From top to bottom this card is incredibly solid. I know some people are complaining that there aren’t enough matches on the card but honestly I think its great because we know each match will have time and usually time equals better matches. First off we got Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett. I think this is a huge match for both of these guys to really showcase their talents. Both men were brought up together on NXT season one and they are definitely the most successful of all the NXT contestants. I expect this to be the opener of the PPV and I expect this to be a great match. Both men have something to prove and I think this is just the start for them to work their way up to the main event. I am thinking that Daniel Bryan will get the win here. Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly for the Divas title wont be anything special but I expect a title change here. The women’s division is finally getting interesting and I believe that Beth is once again going to be built up as a monster. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry wont be a five star classic but it should be a hard hitting brawl. I think Sheamus will be able to bring out a good match out of Henry but its really hard to say whose going to win here. Both men are currently being pushed at the moment so I think this might end up a double count out, disqualification or maybe they both wont be able to get up after a ten count. Christian vs. Randy Orton in a no holds bard match should be another great match in their feud. Christian obviously has something up his sleeve here and I am kind of thinking that it will be an Edge run in. Its going to be interesting to see Randy Orton’s “anger” which has been built up bigger than the match itself. Christian will win but I expect a beat down once again from Orton. CM Punk vs. John Cena for the undisputed WWE title with special guest ref Triple H is what you should be buying the PPV for. If you havent yet seen the contract signing on RAW from last week, look it up now because that alone should make you want to buy this PPV. CM Punk is still on a hot streak but Cena made a great point by saying that if Punk loses he will just be a one hit wonder. Triple H really add uncertainty to this match. Who will he side with? To me, there is only one good outcome to this match and that is CM Punk winning. Why end something that is working so well right now? Some are expecting Del Rio to cash in but honestly I just don’t think he’s over enough right now to do so. I think it would put a damper on this storyline if Del Rio gets involved. Overall, this match should be another classic with a lot of uncertainty. This is a must buy PPV.

Jacob San Antonio: I’d like to say better late than never when it comes to booking PPVs, but not when it comes to “the Wrestlemania of the summer,” Summerslam. It’s hard to take the PPV serious when the WWE seemingly won’t do the same. Anyway, Sheamus will get his first PPV win as a face when he manages to stop Mark Henry. Should be a fun, brutal little match; I look forward to seeing how the two powerhouse styles match up. Daniel Bryan will probably lose to Wade Barrett. I think this could be a setup for a longer feud, so however he loses it probably won’t be clean. Up until the foul play comes in, I hope for the sleeper match of the night. Bryan knows how to plan a match, and Barrett should be able to keep up to deliver something special. Kelly Kelly will lose her title to Beth Phoenix, in what I’m sure the WWE hopes will be a seriously exciting Divas matchup. Hard to say if I think it’ll happen, but the harder they work at it not being a squash match, the better. Christian will retain in the no holds barred match against Orton, though the finish will probably be a last minute cheap move or rollup. I really expect this feud to last till Hell in the Cell, so hopefully these two haven’t run out of ideas. Finally, Punk will retain against John Cena. Despite all pessimism I feel about this match, I am desperately clinging to the small amount of hope I have that Punk will win. Was his return a little too quick? Sure. Is this feud being handled as well as it could be? Maybe not. But Punk’s the only reason I’m still interested in it anyway, so the WWE should leave the belt on the guy that’s got everybody’s attention. Slapped together at the last second, I’m pretty sure Summerslam is going to suffer a low buyrate. The WWE’s got no one to blame but themselves for that, though.

Zach Brown: I think Summerslam looks great this year. First of all, Daniel Bryan vs. Wade Barrett is a great match. I’m very thrilled that they added this match to Summerslam. It should be a hot opener to the show. Bryan should win here, but Barrett will come out looking great. Mark Henry vs. Sheamus should also be decent and it should push Mark Henry to his limits. I would really like this to be one of the best matches Mark Henry has had in years, and Sheamus is an opponent that can make that happen for him. Even his match against Big Show did what it needed to do, and that impressed me. Mark Henry should win here as well to keep this heel tear going. Sheamus can always bounce back from a loss, no problem. Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix is the most excited I’ve been for a women’s match in quite some time. It’s been far too long since Beth made her last run as champion, and it’s long overdue for it to happen again. Beth Phoenix was a force in the women’s division when she was the Glamazon, and I would love for it to go back to that. The promos that Beth has been cutting have been great, and the stuff they’ve been teasing with her and Natalya is all very interesting. This is the kind of women’s wrestling I want. No more girly girly stuff like Kelly Kelly. I want real wrestling; the kind that Beth and Natalya can deliver. So yeah, I hope Beth wins here. Christian and Orton in a No Holds Barred match should be great as well. But I hope this is the last match of their feud. Even though most of their matches have been excellent, they have been feuding for a good while now. It’s time to get someone new in there. Since Christian just won the title at Money in the Bank, and through a DQ finish at that PPV, he should get a clean win over Randy here. I mean I know that Randy is being built up to be this unstoppable force right now, but for crying out loud, just let Christian do it! He deserves a solid run as champion and he deserves to look legit doing it. And finally, Punk vsCena with Triple H as guest ref. This is the match I’m spending money on to see. Even though the major payoff was last month, this match is still white hot, and worth every penny that you buy Summerslam with. Punk absolutely positively has to become the undisputed champion here. Why should Cena win? To just kill all of Punk’s momentum? To further the Cena dominance for the umpteenth time? To further his Yankees stigma? Punk has sold so much merch in the past few weeks that it’s not even funny. He is single handedly saving pro wrestling. WWE needs to keep that going, and Punk winning at Summerslam is essential in that. And as of this writing, there are only 5 matches announced. I’ve heard rumors that they might add Rey Mysterio vs. Miz to the card, and I would completely welcome that. That match was great a few weeks ago on Raw, and it only makes sense for them to give us this match again and further this feud. All in all, Summerslam is a must buy, plain and simple. I just hope WWE doesn’t rest on their laurels here, and delivers the way they know they should.

Topic # 2 Kurt Angle won back the TNA World Title this past week on PPV. How do you feel about this?

David Martell: I am just glad to see the title off of “Joker” Sting. Kurt Angle is the guy that should be champion in TNA. He is still one of the best wrestlers in the world right now and if anyone can bring out a great match for Bound for Glory, its him. Sting is a joke right now and most fans are already tired of his clown gimmick. I imagine that RVD will probably win the Bound for Glory series and go on to face Angle and that really could be a great match. Yeah, its two of the older guys but when it comes to selling PPVs, this is a match that people will pay to see. Nothing is set in stone of course and it will be interesting to see what Angle does with the title.

Jacob San Antonio: An unexpected turn of events, sure, but I’m okay with it. I am well aware that moving the title from one veteran to another isn’t really a good idea for TNA in the long run, but for now it’s okay. This opens the door to Sting feuding with Hogan, and leaves Angle to feud with whoever earns the number one contender spot. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ken Anderson again, given his recent departure from Immortal. In any case, I’m willing to sit back and let this Angle reign develop into something more.

Zach Brown: I think this was the best possible outcome coming out of Hardcore Justice. The focus of TNA for the past several weeks has been the Bound For Glory series. This is a massive tournament just to determine a number one contender for Bound For Glory. TNA has a massive opportunity to make a hot new star here. So whoever wins the Bound for Glory series tournament is obviously winning the title at Bound For Glory. Anything less would be completely lamebrained on TNA’s part. So who is the strongest possible champion that TNA could give us going into Bound For Glory? Soup to nuts, it is Kurt Angle. I mean I like Sting and all, but his performance depends on the night in my honest opinion, and it will just look much better to have someone go over Kurt Angle. And it’s great that Kurt Angle is champ again anyway. It has been a good while since Kurt was champion, and it’s been kind of too long in my honest opinion since everyone knows he is the best wrestler in TNA. All in all, this was the best possible decision, and I’m excited for Bound for Glory in a few months.

Topic # 3 Cody Rhodes beat Big Zeke to win the Intercontinental Title on last weeks Smackdown. Your thoughts?

David Martell: Thank God the title is finally off of Big Zeke. He is probably one of the worst IC champions of the last several years. WWE needs to get over its fascination with big guys because they don’t always get over. I think Zeke is good in tag team situations but as a singles star, he just cant cut it. He isn’t very good in the ring and he is probably one of the worst on the mic. Cody Rhodes is the complete opposite. I have enjoyed Cody Rhodes gimmick thus far and I think he could be the guy to make the title legitimate again. I see this eventually ending up with Cody and Ted facing off in an attempt to make Ted a face. I don’t know how well it will work but I think its obvious. Cody has been bossing around Ted for the past few months and he is bound to break eventually. The IC title is finally in good hands and hopefully Rhodes can hold onto it for awhile.

Jacob San Antonio: Uh, probably would have been smarter to let this wait until Summerslam, but oh well. Seems like my recent fears have been realized, and the WWE sees that Big Zeke needs a ton of work before he’s ready for something more. While that certainly stings for Ezekiel, it’s time for Cody to finally come into his own. He’s got the gold, he’s got the personality, it’s time for him to really shine. Should Zeke get his rematch, I’d rather they get it out of the way at Summerslam. No need to waste time holding it off till Night of Champions. Ted Dibiase and Rhodes look to be heading to an eventual confrontation, so I’d prefer seeing the feud start building up now. Perhaps we’ll see something develop at Summerslam.

Zach Brown: Thank goodness. Cody Rhodes has needed the Intercontinental Championship since after Wrestlemania. Wade Barrett was a good choice for an IC Champion, but he never defended it often., and they weren’t good matches when he did. And whoever put the IC title on Big Zeke needs to be fired. So finally, the IC Title is on someone that can make it mean something again. Cody Rhodes is proving to be an excellent singles wrestler, and I’m stoked that he is Intercontinental Champion. He can bring it back around to when Jericho was champion last; making each title defense incredible and stealing the show every PPV. I really believe Cody has the ability to do that as well. And even after his reign ends, hopefully Cody is headed for bigger and better things in WWE. I’m very excited about this.

Topic # 4 What are your thoughts on Winter winning the TNA Knockouts Championship?

David Martell: Its good to see Winter accomplish something in women’s wrestling. I always thought she was one of the more underrated divas in the WWE and its good to see her succeeding in TNA. TNA is at least good for women’s wrestling. Although I haven’t really enjoyed her character of being a semi imaginary friend, I think she will make a great champion. Once again this will probably end up a typical break off storyline where she ends up feuding with Angelina Love. Overall, good move by TNA.

Jacob San Antonio: Another surprise title loss, but again it’s an acceptable one. It’s Winter’s first reign as TNA Knockout Champ, so it’ll be nice to see where it leads. Obviously the first order of business is dealing with Mickie James and the inevitable rematch. I think Winter will retain in said rematch, and move on to Angelina Love breaking free of her…uh, “spell.” Gimmicks aside, I think Winter’s got a good month or two ahead of her as champ. Should be interesting to watch.

Zach Brown: Meh. Nothing really to see here honestly. I mean Winter is a decent women’s wrestler, no doubt. But her gimmick is one of the worst gimmicks that TNA has ever given any wrestler. I mean for the longest time, TNA didn’t want you to know if she was in Angelina Love’s mind or not. And now she basically controls Angelina. Wow. I mean it’s pretty dumb to say the least. I was a big fan of hers when she was in WWE as Katie Lea. It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s that I think TNA gave her a gimmick that was not so great, and TNA hasn’t been doing all that great with their women’s division anyway in my honest opinion. That’s why this news doesn’t really blow my socks off.

Topic # 5 Who do you think is the most overrated wrestler in the WWE today?

David Martell: Right now I am kind of thinking that John Morrison is extremely overrated. Yeah, he is flashy and he can have good matches but he has never looked like a main eventer in my eyes. The guy still hasn’t impressed me on the mic and right now R-Truth has been outshining him. He is kind of like a Jeff Hardy to me. He can have fun matches but he is never a selling point for me to buy a PPV. With the recent Melina shenanigans, he seems to be getting depushed and honestly he deserves it for being dumb enough to take Melina with him. Yeah, I am sure it sucks that your girl isn’t in the company anymore, but at least be professional about it.

Jacob San Antonio: Alberto Del Rio, though I don’t think it’s entirely his fault. Weird booking, weirder sudden retirements, and (seemingly) last minute story changes have kinda ruined what should be Del Rio’s greatest moment. Del Rio’s talented, no doubt. That being said, despite his Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank win, he hasn’t been booked as a serious threat in a long time. Regardless of how awesome it was to see at the end of Money in the Bank, Punk laying out Del Rio in one kick during his cash in really hurt Alberto’s heat. Add in a severe lack of relevance due to the Punk/Cena feud, and it’s hard to see why he’s such a big deal. Again, I think Del Rio’s got a lot of talent as a wrestler. The WWE is simply shifting around their plans for him due to other events, and he’s suffering in the process.
If he tried to cash in right now, I’m not sure anybody would take him seriously. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed.

Zach Brown: Who is the most overrated…it’s honestly tough to say at this point. I mean so many people are either underrated or simply…rated at this point in the WWE. I’m not going to say John Cena because everyone already either loves him or hates him. And I’m not saying Orton either because I feel that Orton almost always delivers fantastic matches on Pay Per View. I hate to say it, but the first person that comes to mind is Kofi Kingston. I do like the guy, but he is inserted into so many things simply because he is a decent face with nothing to do and the fans are behind him. And there’s so many times where Kofi has held a midcard title simply because WWE had no one else to put the title on. That’s really not acceptable in my opinion. I mean sure, he does do some impressive athletic stunts. But his moveset is getting to the point of incredible predictability. I mean it’s not John Cena with his 5 moves, but it’s not far from it. Kofi has extremely little personality. The ounce of personality that he actually showed against Randy Orton when he trashed his NASCAR was fantastic, but it never lasted. Now Kofi just runs out and is an easily likeable face for the kiddies. But who really is Kofi Kingston? What does he want? What is he after? Who does he like or dislike? I feel like we don’t get any of that when we see him, and it’s massively disappointing. Maybe if Kofi wasn’t this squeaky clean babyface that never gets on the mic, I wouldn’t feel this way. Maybe if there were some actual shades of gray to his character, I would care more about Kofi. But when he is just constantly presented to us as this good guy who claps his hands and smiles for the kids, I grow tired of it. He doesn’t evolve. He has had some great matches, for sure, but if he is ever to break out from under that glass ceiling, he needs to make some changes.

Our thoughts on Wade Barrett.

David Martell: Wade Barrett to me is a future world champion. He really is a total package. He is good in the ring, he probably has some of the best mic skills in the WWE right now, and he has a great look. We got a taste of him as a top heel when he was feuding against John Cena as the leader of the Nexus and I expect him to get back to the main event in no time at all. I am glad he finally separated himself from the Corre. It was an awful stable with some awful wrestlers attached to it. I do wish his IC title reign would have been handled better because he could have been a modern day William Regal if they let him hold it long enough. Wade Barrett has a bright future ahead of him and I think that starts with his match again Daniel Bryan at Summerslam.

Jacob San Antonio: I’m worried for Wade Barrett. He’s got what looks to be an entertaining match at Summerslam against Daniel Bryan, but beyond that I haven’t the slightest idea what he’ll do. I like Barrett, he’s got the mic skills and in ring ability to go far in the WWE. His winning NXT (for whatever that accomplished) felt completely legit. His only weakness has been the stable he was stuck with for the past year. While I enjoyed the Nexus despite all of its eventual failings, the Corre was a waste of time from the get go. Now that it’s behind him, the door’s completely open to Barrett and I worry that the WWE won’t know what to do with him. Worst case scenario, I see him becoming far less relevant than he has been. Here’s hoping the WWE has something special planned for him in the near future.

Zach Brown: Wade Barrett is a great wrestler, a great talker, and unfortunately has not been used correctly ever since Punk kicked him out of the Nexus. I mean it’s not to say that Punk taking charge of the Nexus was a bad thing, but it definitely did not do any favors for Wade. Wade is a great leader, and one of the best breakout stars on the microphone that WWE has seen in years. He went straight from NXT to cutting incredible promos on John Cena. When has that ever happened in the history of professional wrestling? A man goes through a televised training program for rookies, and goes straight into a feud with the top star of the company? What a great push. And then came the Corre. I cannot put into words how monumentally disappointed I was with the Corre. The Corre could have been a great stable, for sure. But there were several problems. First, the Corre had no definite leader. Everyone looked to Wade to fill that role, but they stated from the get go that everyone in the Corre is an equal. What a massive mistake when you have someone who is so naturally gifted on the mic and in a leadership position as Wade. He should have led the group from the start and made them a big deal, but no, it never happened. And second, The Corre never had a feud with the New Nexus, which was a huge failure and a missed opportunity in every sense. Wade with former Nexus member Heath and Gabriel, with their new bodyguard Ezekiel Jackson, versus CM Punk, Otunga and Mcgillicutty, and Mason Ryan. And I think Husky may have been in there as well but who cares. That is an evenly matched stable feud if you ask me, and one that writes itself. Those two groups had obvious beef, and it boggles my mind why they never had a full blown feud. Ever since The Corre broke up, Wade has been stagnating. His run as Intercontinental Champion was disappointing, especially when you know what Wade Barrett is actually capable of. I mean it’s always good to have a mid card title reign on your resume, but Wade’s run was during a time when WWE could care less about that belt, unfortunately. Hopefully his match with Daniel Bryan at Summerslam this Sunday can turn around Wade’s 2011. Bryan has brought out some fantastic matches out of far worse talent than Wade, so hopefully he can come out of Summerslam looking excellent. If WWE gives Wade Barrett the push he deserves again, he can once again go back to being the future of the WWE, and another great main eventer.

That is all for this week. Fell free to comment at the bottom of the page and have a great week in wrestling. CYA!