411 Fact or Fiction 01.13.11: HBK’s Hall of Fame Spot, Matt Hardy at Genesis, CM Punk’s Raw Promo, More!

1. Shawn Michaels was the best possible first choice for this year’s Hall of Fame class.

Michael Uphoff: FACT. Who else could you really headline this year’s class with for the Hall of Fame? Possibly the Macho Man, but I don’t think Vince is quite ready to let Randy Savage into the Hall of Fame. Maybe next year, but I don’t see it happening this year. Shawn Michaels has provided us with unique moments throughout his career that are unrivaled and unparalleled, and I’m hoping he provides us with one more when he gives his speech. There is absolutely no one else that WWE could have chosen (except maybe the Deadman, but that would make no sense at all) to be a better first choice inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. Also, it was nice to see him on RAW once more, and even better to see him deliver Sweet Chin Music to Alberto del Rio for old times’ sake.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT, on the basis that he’s the biggest name that they could put in who they can rely on. The two biggest names not in it right now, Warrior and Savage, are not being held up by WWE, but by them, so they can’t be first, and Sting’s still in negotiation. And you can’t rely on them. So Shawn’s your main draw card, if you can get others great, but if not, he’s the focal point. He’s there to shore it up. Then put in Arn and, hopefully, Tully…

Score: 1 for 1

2. Genesis delivered as a good start to the year for TNA.

Michael Uphoff: FACT. I almost said FICTION here, but this is a new year for TNA to hopefully not make the same atrocious mistakes it made in 2010. I almost said Fiction because I don’t believe Genesis was a good PPV. I do however believe that it was a solid PPV that was a good start to the new year. Since that answers the question I gave it a Fact. However, I’m really hoping that TNA steps it up this year and becomes the federation that we know it can become. 2010 was atrocious for TNA. Anyone who says differently is either high or drunk.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION, on the basis that that many title changes at once without some overriding storyline does not fill me with confidence. Chaotic can work for you, but chaotic without some overriding arc is just chaos for chaos’ sake. And it’s still the same problem TNA has, doing far too much far too quickly. I do hope I’m wrong, but I’m not seeing good things in their future. But then, when I did they screwed it up, so maybe starting badly will lead to good things…

Score: 1 for 2

3. Wade Barrett will benefit from his move to SmackDown in the long run.

Michael Uphoff: FICTION. I am really torn on this one, but in the end I have to say Fiction. They are already pushing a monster heel on SmackDown in Alberto del Rio, and I don’t see Barrett doing as well on SmackDown as he would have if he had stayed on RAW. Plus, you have McIntyre and Rhodes as good heels on SmackDown as well, and an even greater heel in Ziggler. He could feud with Kingston for the IC title, but I think he’ll get lost in the shuffle. It would have been better to keep him on RAW, where so many questions would have been raised. Does he get members of the new Nexus to join him? Does he ally himself with John Cena to take down Nexus? It would have made for better TV than him attacking the Big Show.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT, but only in the LONG term. Short term it’s not going to go well, but in several months, if he’s not totally out of steam, then he’ll have more room to get to the top. It’ll be a long path to take, but he should end up higher than he was on Raw. Just. If he’s lucky.

Score: 1 for 3

4. Dolph Ziggler is a good choice for Edge’s opponent at the Royal Rumble.

Michael Uphoff: FACT. Hell yes he’s a good choice to be Edge’s opponent at the Rumble. This freshening up of the main event scene on SmackDown is good for everyone involved. Ziggler has proven consistently again and again that he can put on great matches with people and also consistently draw good heel heat from the people. Do I think he’ll win? Probably not, but I wouldn’t rule out a one-month reign where he wins at the Rumble and loses it in the Chamber. Edge and Ziggler is a fresh matchup that will provide a good match, at the very least. These two match up very well and I am excited for another time in a long while to see the SmackDown main event at a PPV (the other was the TLC Fatal 4-Way). I haven’t enjoyed the main event scene on SmackDown for months, but this is a good opportunity for both men, especially Ziggler.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT, since it’s a Royal Rumble World Title match. It doesn’t count, it’s a test run for Dolph for a serious run, so why not go there? The Rumble World Title shot doesn’t really mean anything, the Rumble is the important thing…

Score: 2 for 4

SWITCH!

5. Matt Hardy’s TNA debut against Rob Van Dam was a disappointment.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT. I’m sure TNA are already rubbing their hands at Hardy Boy merch sales, but that was hardly a ‘New Matt Hardy’ we saw. Unless New means Supersized.

And yes, I know that he’s in peak physical form compared to me, so don’t bother pointing that out, the point is valid no matter what size I am since he’s meant to be in good shape.

Michael Uphoff: FACT. Oh my god, a million times fact. Hardy was completely awful, and everyone with half a brain knew it was going to be him. TNA fans didn’t know it was him, however, because they don’t have brains. Hardy looked awful. He looked like hadn’t wrestled in years, and RVD certainly didn’t help matters at all as you could clearly see his heart wasn’t in it and he wasn’t trying at all. Anything that Matt Hardy has done in the last year has been a disappointment, and this was certainly nothing different.

Score: 3 for 5

6. WrestleMania being broadcast in movie theaters via Fathom Events would be something worth going to.

Mathew Sforcina: FACT. I’ve been to Theatre PPV events, it’s better than just sitting at home alone watching it. True, you don’t get to record it if you’re a dirty dirty thief, but still, it’s a good atmosphere, almost as good as seeing it live.

Michael Uphoff: FICTION. I don’t really know much about what this would entail, but showing WrestleMania in movie theaters doesn’t sound like it would be very smart. Then again, I freely admit I don’t know much about how this would work, so I could very well be wrong. I just don’t think this is a good idea from the WWE. Ladies and gentlemen, from the mind that brought you the XFL! I certainly wouldn’t go see a WrestleMania in movie theaters when I can go to the same sports bar I go to for every WWE PPV and see it for free.

Score: 3 for 6

7. Bringing Karen Angle back for this week’s Impact is a poor decision.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION, barely. Karen Angle isn’t Vickie Guerrero, but she’s not horrible on the mic. The angle is stupid, but it could be worse. They could be bringing in some reality TV star from Jersey for it…

Michael Uphoff: FACT. Yet another poor decision by TNA. No one cares about this anymore. TNA has booked themselves into a corner with Angle due to their poor thinking, and this only proves my point. No one has cared about Karen Angle since she left Kurt. Matter of fact, why the hell is she still called Karen Angle? Didn’t they divorce? Shouldn’t she have some other name? I occasionally flip to TNA on Thursday nights to see what’s going on, but now I can’t watch it anymore. 2010 killed any interest in TNA for me, and this stupid inane booking decision by TNA only proves how awful TNA is as a wrestling promotion.

Score: 3 for 7

8. CM Punk’s segment from the top of the TitanTron was a tasteless and poorly-executed one.

Mathew Sforcina: FICTION, only due to how the question was worded. It’s in horrible taste, no matter how long it’s been, there’s enough bad blood with people falling for WWE to do stuff like that, but it was, from an objective stand point, done very well. Stupid, but well executed. So, technically, I gotta go Fiction.

Michael Uphoff: FACT. Very much so. Was it poorly executed? Honestly, I think so. I was cringing when I saw Punk up there talking about jumping off the TitanTron. It was poorly written and Punk certainly tried to do the best that he could with what he had, but you can’t really disguise shit. However, I wasn’t cringing because it was poorly executed. I was cringing because it brought back memories of Owen Hart in 1999, and THAT is why it was tasteless. WWE certainly didn’t intend it to be that way, but Vince should have known that most of his fan base is young adult males aged 18-30, and most of them are old enough to remember what happened with Owen Hart. He should have seen that we would remember Owen when Punk did the segment, and pulled the plug on it for something else. That is why it was tasteless, and that is why it is Fact.

Final Score: 3 for 8

And there you have it…Mathew and Michael disagree more than they agree and go 3 for 8! I’d like to thank both of them for their answers, and you the readers for seeing what they had to say! For Mathew Sforcina and Michael Uphoff, this is Jeremy Thomas saying join us next week for more Wrestling Fact or Fiction!