The Triple Threat 11.16.08: The 116th Edition – Christian to WWE, Releases, Kozlov and More!

Welcome back once again to the Triple Threat column. I would like to start off by saying Jeff Hardy was awesome on Smackdown. As some of y’all know, I am not a big Jeff Hardy fan but his promo and his match was greatness. Good Jeff Hardy promos are one in a million. The fact that he actually beat Taker still shocks me. Right now he is giving a much needed boost to the Smackdown brand. Hopefully this continues. Anywho, lets get this started. This week we talk about Christian possibly coming back to the WWE, WWE releases, our dream match Survivor Series match with the current WWE roster, and our Superstar Highlight is Vladimir Kozlov. Plus much more! Please enjoy!

Topic # 1 Christian could possibly go back to the WWE after his contract runs out with TNA next month. How do you feel about this situation?

David Martell: This would be fantastic. Right now it seems that Christian just doesn’t fit in. With the storyline between the TNA originals and the so called “legends,” he just doesn’t seem to fit in with either of those groups. He is definitely not a TNA original and although he is a great talent, he has not yet hit legend status. He is in the middle with several years of his career to go. I think going back to the WWE would be a good fit for him. I really think WWE would use him right this time around. He has had a very successful run in TNA, finally winning a world title. With the WWE currently needing main event talent, I think he would have a nice place in the upper card. He could always feud with Edge again or team with him, that’s always fun. He might have a heavier schedule in the WWE, but I think it would be well worth it as long as he gets some recognition.

Alex Mattis: This would make sense. Why did Christian go to TNA in the first place? Because he was being horribly misused by the E. Now he is being horribly misused in TNA and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to start thinking about work elsewhere. Christian Cage is truly one of the top professional wrestlers in the world, I honestly believe that. TNA has served as a place where Christian has been able to perfect his game and now, in his peak, he should be somewhere that properly utilizes him. I think the E knows that they dropped the ball with him and losing him was a big loss. So I don’t think they would be too hesitant to re-sign him. As a fan of Christian, I just want to see him utilized to his full potential; it doesn’t matter if it’s in TNA or the E.

Zach Brown: If this is true, I just hope Christian is treated like a main event guy as soon as he heads over to WWE. It’s weird that this is happening because I considered Christian to be TNA’s biggest acquisition until Kurt Angle and Sting came on board. I figured he was Mr. TNA for the longest time. I mean in WWE, he never got much farther than the mid-card. And when he made the move to TNA, he was instantly in the main event. When he beat Jeff Jarrett for the NWA Championship, I don’t think it’s altogether inappropriate to say that it was an “Instant Classic.” Also, now that we’ve had Angle, Joe, and now Sting as champ, people tend to forget how great his run with the NWA title was when he was a heel. All around greatness. Now that he’s moving back to WWE, it’s just weird to me. Are WWE fans going to remember him? Granted, he hasn’t been off TV, but I think the new batch of WWE fans have a short memory span because we all know how the crowd didn’t exactly get behind Jericho when he returned to WWE. I just hope people immediately get behind Christian when he comes back. All in all, even though Christian was one of TNA’s poster boys, going back to WWE is the right choice for Christian’s career in the long run.

Topic # 2 Kenny Dykstra and Elijah Burke got released this past week. How do you feel about this?

David Martell: I could care less about Kenny. He was a very bland wrestler. I always liked Mikey the best out of the Spirit Squad anyways. I find it funny that on Bret Hart’s web site he says he is a fan of Kenny Dykstra. Bad taste in wrestlers Bret. Elijah Burke is a big loss in my eyes. He was very talented in ring and on the mic. I though he was going places but for some reason he never got his shot. I don’t think its over for this guy just yet. I would be smart of TNA to pick up this guy because he has a lot of potential. Recently I have been playing the new Smackdown game and Elijah Burke is part of the CM Punk storyline. It just makes me remember how great Burke really is. I would much rather see Burke in the ring then Jack Swagger. What a loss.

Alex Mattis: Kenny didn’t belong to be there in the 1st place, so this release is long over due. Burke, on the other hand, is a great talent. It is a shame that they ditched him so soon. When he was given the opportunity to shine on ECW he really got over, and put out some good work. Dykstra should probably look for another line of work, while I feel that Burke will no problem finding work elsewhere.

Zach Brown: Kenny Dykstra – I don’t care. Elijah Burke – (Cue Darth Vader voice) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I understand why they would release Dykstra. He was terrible. I can just imagine the WWE execs saying something like, “You know how the Spirit Squad is one of the worst teams in WWE history? Yeah, well, let’s take the worst member and give him a singles push!” Yeah, awful. But Elijah Burke!? Really, WWE? I mean I understand that he should have been let go because he hasn’t been used in around 4 months, but they shouldn’t have let that happen in the first place! He has some pretty cool finishers, he’s a great athlete, and he can cut a decent promo when given the chance. Besides, the guy won the Smackdown vs. RAW tournament for two years in a row! That has to count for something, right? Seriously though, it’s a shame that Elijah got cut. Remember how he got a run at the ECW championship? Remember how he was the leader of the New Breed? Way to drop the ball, WWE…I wish Elijah Burke luck in his future career. Kenny Dykstra can fall off a cliff. I just don’t care.

Topic # 3 TNA is trying to get Sarah Palin to show up for a show. What are your thoughts on this?

David Martell: This is all just a cry out for publicity. Although it is working to an extent, it is just pitiful. What is the point? I have never been a fan of celebs being a part of wrestling and this one is just over board. She is obviously not going to show up. Even if she did who would care? Do wrestling fans really want to see her on the show? I doubt it. Just give us some good wrestling and storylines and everyone will be happy.

Alex Mattis: It is official… TNA has no low. I’m not doggin’ Palin or Republicans necessarily, just the fact that they would try to pull a stunt like this shows how starved they are to get some attention. Well they got some attention so I guess they have had success to some extent. So where are they going to go with this is my question. When she doesn’t show up, which she won’t, they’ll probably just do some dumb skit and then never mention it again. Fun.

Zach Brown: Wow, what better way to gain ratings for a unpopular show, than to invite an unpopular politician on the program! And I’m actually a Republican. I have no idea why TNA would want Sarah Palin on their show. Pundits would jump all over her with ridicule. It’s not that I dislike Palin. But I do believe that she is one of the most unpopular conservative politicians today. I hate it whenever politics get involved with wrestling. Am I supposed to jump for joy when I hear Obama say “Can you smell what Barack is cookin?” or “Whatcha gonna do when John McCain and all his McCainiacs run wild on you?” Such eye-rolling goodness. What could Palin possibly do for the TNA product? It would just be one giant mockery of wrestling, and it would deflate any sort of steam left in Palin’s political career. If you thought the Katie Couric interview was bad, wait till she gets on TNA.

Topic # 4 What are your thoughts on wrestling getting into MMA?

David Martell: Since I am writing this a bit late, Brock Lesnar has already won the UFC Heavyweight Title belt. I think this is great for wrestling. To me this proves that wrestlers are just as strong as any athlete. I admire the guys who try out for MMA if they make it or not because it me it’s a chance to prove the strength of professional wrestlers. It might not be a sport but those guys go out there and bust their asses. I also admire MMA fighters trying to get into wrestling. Either way it’s a hard transition and it takes a lot of hard work. Although Brock Lesnar is a freak of nature, to me it shows that you need to take wrestlers seriously and that they are not a joke.

Alex Mattis: With several exceptions, I’ll mention those in a moment, I think it isn’t a wise idea. I give props to pro wrestlers and such for being tough individuals, but mixed martial arts is a completely different ball game. In rasslin’ you train pro wrestling, in MMA you train: wrestling, boxing, muay thai, jiu-jitsu, etc., you have to learn a lot more. Another other side of the issue is that professional wrestlers don’t know the stress of legitimate competition. I hate when people call pro wrestling “fake” but it certainly an industry built upon true competition. They are two different things that require a vast difference in skills. Josh Barnett, Kazushi Sakuraba, and of course Brock Lesnar are exceptions to this. 98% of professional wrestlers would not excel in the sport of mixed martial arts, and it’s not like they want to they love pro wrestling and that is why they chose that path. Just to throw this out there, I don’t see Bobby Lashley doing well in MMA at all and Kurt Angle will compete when the Sun burns out.

Zach Brown: Well even as I’m typing this, I’m jonesing for some Lesnar-Couture action. If you read the column, you might be able to pick up that Alex and I are huge MMA fans. David not so much, but that’s cool too. By the time you read this, either Lesnar will have shown his complete dominance of Randy Couture, or Couture will have demonstrated that even freaks like Lesnar can’t match up to experience and crafty-ness. The thing is, saying that Lesnar belongs in the MMA world is an understatement. Now do I think that Kurt Angle belongs in the Octagon? Not necessarily. Unless Kurt has been specifically training in these areas (something I doubt he’s doing), then he has very limited standup, and limited submissions as well. I’m sure he knows a rear-naked choke, an arm bar, and whatever else. But there’s a big difference between knowing a few submissions, and being a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. For Angle, I don’t know if he’d be as successful as Brock is. When I see Brock Lesnar in the Octagon, I literally get scared for his opponent every time. If Kurt debuts in MMA, it’s completely obvious that he’ll rely on his wrestling skills. But wrestling doesn’t finish fights in MMA. He could gain a dominant position easily, but you have to know how to finish from there. He could do some ground and pound, but who knows if he has enough punching power to finish from that position? All in all, I don’t know if Kurt would be as good of a fit for MMA as Brock Lesnar is. As for pro wrestlers in general making an MMA debut, it always depends on the athlete. Could John Cena make a debut in MMA? Hell no. He would get his ass kicked. Even for a great wrestler like Randy Orton, he would get killed in MMA because he relies on wrestling; not striking, not submissions, just wrestling. Out of everyone in the pro wrestling world, the only person left that has that much discipline and talent to make the jump is Kurt Angle, and as I’ve said I don’t think his chances are very good either. If Kurt Angle decides not to move to MMA, I don’t think we’ll see another crossover into MMA in a long, long time.

Topic # 5 What would be your dream Survivor Series match with the current WWE roster?

David Martell: Like most people, I would obviously go with Team Orton vs. Team Cena. For realistic sake I will make it RAW only. My team Orton would consist of Orton, Jericho, Ted Dibiase Jr., Cody Rhodes, and William Regal. Team Cena would consist of Cena, HBK, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and Even Borne (ok, he is technically part of the ECW roster, but he is also apart of the RAW/ECW talent deal. Yeah, I’m keeping kayfabe here.) I guess if I had to make a Smackdown one it would be team Triple H vs. team Edge. Triple H would have Undertaker, Mr. Kennedy, Jeff Hardy, and Carlito. Edge would have Big Show, Brian Kendrick, MVP and Shelton Benjamin. To bad none of these matches will probably ever happen.

Alex Mattis: Well I guess it depends on what kind of match we’re going for here. If we were going for an “Oh my God this match is going to be insane” type of thing I would probably put together a match between Jeri-Orton-Morrison-Kendrick-Regal Vs. Cena-Punk-Bourne-Shelton-Haas, oh how fun would that be? But in a realistic sense you need to use the classic Survivor Series template to build a great match. You have to have your big star, your slightly-less-big star, your tag team, and then your wild card. So realistically speaking I think the best match the E could set up for a Raw Vs. SmackDown match in terms of marquee names is Cena-HBK-Punk-Kofi-Orton Vs. Trips-Taker-Hardys-Edge (or Show). Boy, I tell you what, that would be a spectacle.

Zach Brown: As easy as it is to say, I would love to see Team Cena vs. Team Orton. The biggest face vs. the biggest heel. Easy as pie! For Team Cena, I would want Cena, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, and Evan Bourne. I know that’s too many high flyers, but those are basically the only good faces on Raw. And I know Cryme Tyme should probably be there, but I just wouldn’t want to see ‘em. For Team Orton, I would want to see Orton, Priceless (Ted Dibiase Jr and Cody Rhodes…WITHOUT Manu…seriously Manu is maybe the worst wrestler on Raw right now. Just downright terrible…), Kane, and JBL. I personally wouldn’t be dying to see Kane or JBL, but I’m just trying to think what would be a great match that I could realistically see. And yeah, with that, I would buy Survivor Series.

Superstar Highlight

Vladimir Kozlov

Our thoughts on Vladimir Kozlov.

David Martell: I am not impressed with this guy at all and he certainly doesn’t deserve his spot. I think he could be good one day but to me he is way to green. He is similar to Umaga but Umaga is actually good. I still think he needs more time on the midcard before they decide to give him such a big push. I guarantee his loss at Survivor Series. Jeff Hardy is currently on a hot streak and Triple H is… well he’s Triple H. This guys has a lot to do before he is anything special. I would like to see him and Umaga face off sometime soon but other then that, keeping at the bottom of the card.

Alex Mattis: I don’t know too much about this dude. He has his little run-ins and squash matches, but he has shown nothing. All I see him as is just another big man that Vince likes, which means his face will be plastered all over television and he will be forced over. Until I see this guy do anything of real note, I can’t give a true opinion on him. All I can say is that what I’ve seen so far is nothing new and less than impressive.

Zach Brown: I think it says worlds about a wrestler when your choices for a Cyber Sunday match are HHH vs. Jeff Hardy, HHH vs. Koslov, or a Triple Threat with all of them, and then the match chosen is HHH vs. Jeff Hardy. Wow Koslov, you suck. And it’s true. I don’t mind if a wrestler squashes everyone in his path, just as long as they do it with talent. And in my opinion, Koslov has none. A headbutt? Really? I thought it looked sick at first, but I got over it fast. I just don’t dig his wrestling ability. I mean are people fans of Koslov getting a run at the title? Is that what people honestly want to see at Survivor Series? I really think that WWE is misreading the fans on this one. If Koslov gets big in a year, then I’ll happily admit that I’m wrong. But I just don’t see him going anywhere. Now granted, I didn’t care much for Umaga when he debuted, but I came around on him in about 2 months. But I rarely looked at Umaga and thought, man that match was terrible. I mean I hated his match with Batista at Wrestlemania 24, but that one wasn’t really his fault. All in all, I’m not a fan of Koslov. I think he’s the latest example of WWE not knowing what the fans want, or not knowing when I guy is bad in the ring. And as for his match with HHH at Survivor Series, I’m calling this one ahead of time as the universal sandwich making opportunity of the night.

Feedback Frenzy

This is our response to your comments and feedback of last week’s column.

David Martell: The one thing I would like to say is this: The reason why we talk about TNA PPV’s even though most of the time we don’t know what going on, is because we have to. HAVE TO! We are a Sunday column and since PPVs happen on Sunday, we have to preview them. I try to watch TNA every once in a while but it is hard because the show is just that bad to me. I do read up on it though so sorry if any of you have problems with out TNA previews but you are just going to have to bare with us.

Alex Mattis: To the whole bandwagon let me just say that I should have been specific with what I was saying. I know Joe-Nash had a shit ton of build and AJ-Sting had some thought put behind it, but from where I was sitting I just felt like a good amount of the card was just thrown together. It’s nothing new for TNA and I’m sure PPV’s to come will have the same deal.

Zach Brown: Wow we got a lot of great feedback last week. As for the theory of giving Batista the title only to let Jericho win it for the 800th episode, yeah I guess it is just as likely as WWE realizing they made a mistake. But either way, it’s kind of shitty for Batista. Give him the title only to take it away? It makes him look a little weak, but hey, I’m not complaining. As for the TNA watching, we don’t always like to write about PPVs we aren’t going to watch or haven’t been keeping up with, but it’s one of our assigned duties as a Sunday column. We don’t regularly watch TNA, but it’s not like we don’t keep up with what’s going on. And we do watch it when we can, but can you really say that TNA is the best it’s ever been right now? Anyway, thanks for writing in, and keep ‘em coming so that we can debate!

Once again thanks for reading and we welcome all comments. Have a great week in wrestling. CYA!