The Triple Threat 4.10.11: The 231st Edition – WrestleMania 27, Rock vs. Cena, Sin Cara, More

David Martell: Well Wrestlemania wasn’t the the great show I was hoping for to lead in the new era but we did get some good stuff. I am very happy at the fact that Cody Rhodes got to go over Rey. This is probably the biggest win of his career and its just one more step for the young guys who will be taking over. CM Punk vs. Orton was surprisingly good. I have always been a fan of Punk but it is really hard to tell if Orton will have a good match or not. This was a perfect pairing and probably one of Orton’s best matches in a long time. Undertaker vs. Triple H stole the show and it was a lot better than I imagined. Triple H pulling off the tombstone on Taker was just fantastic. That was probably my favorite moment of Wrestlemania because it definitely wasn’t expected. The promo videos for Miz and John Cena were great. I think that Miz video package was one of the best that the WWE has ever produced. To bad the video packages were better than the match itself. Unfortunately, that was basically everything good about the show. Well we did get a Zack Ryder appearance. I still cant believe they cut Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus off the card. That really could have been the best match and for sure it would have been better than half the matches on the card. I didn’t really care for the Rock intro at the beginning of the show. It took up 15 minutes and that could have easily been the US Title match. It was a shock to see the World Heavyweight Title match open the show. I don’t think that was a great idea and the fact that we didn’t see the title change hands and we really didn’t get a lot of Christian in the match just hurt it overall. The Corre match was a complete waste and should have been cut from the card. Although Snooki was surprising, the match itself was nothing special. To bad because a Ziggler vs. Morrison match could have been great. This was really a middle of the road Wrestlemania. It had the potential to be something era defining but instead I was only a few good steps in the right direction.

Jacob San Antonio: A mediocre affair that relied heavily on the Rock and three good matches, but greatly disappointed fans in other ways. To start, the lack of an actual US Title defense was a crime, and finding out soured me on WM27 right out of the gate. Edge/Del Rio was a solid match, but it suffered from a completely useless Christian cameo. Christian’s presence didn’t hurt the match, but his inaction during the majority of it made his presence kinda pointless. If he turned on Edge after the match, or interfered with anybody in any way, I could justify adding him to the matchup. As it stands, he got bigger pops than the match itself and did absolutely nothing of value. This isn’t Christian’s fault; this is the WWE’s. I know they’re starting some kind of angle with Edge/Christian/the Heavyweight Title on Smackdown, but why couldn’t they start that angle at Mania? Moving on, the Corre match was absolutely worthless. It was a bigger squash than I thought it would be, nothing of value was gained. Ugh. Next up we have Cole/King, which despite my utmost hopes turned into McMahon/Hart Family II. Nobody was paying to see Cole get in any offense. Cole dragged the match out way too long, King’s comeback came way too late, and even Stone Cold could barely salvage the match. Mania’s celebrity trash match was as bad as you’d expect, but at least Snooki successfully performed a move. The Miz/Cena match was ruined by John Cena of all people. I’m not saying that as a smark, I’m saying that as someone who was seriously confused with Cena’s work in the match. If you go back and watch the match again, John “Superman” Cena gets dizzy and slows down the pace of the match after a couple of punches from The Miz. I realize the WWE was trying to build up The Miz at the last minute, but there’s no reason why a guy Miz’s size should be disorienting John Cena with the title on the line. The double countout sucked, too, but I really hold by my claim that Cena ruined the pace of the match and just made it boring to watch. With those out of the way, let’s talk about the good. Orton/Punk was a great match, mostly since Punk got to set the pace of the match and speed things up. Orton likes to play it slow, usually, so seeing an Orton match at a faster pace really changed my opinion of his moveset. Punk made a great showing in the match, and honestly should have won to continue the feud, but I was satisfied by the performance of both wrestlers. Rhodes/Mysterio made me rethink what I say about Mysterio. I don’t like the guy, I feel he buries more people than he pushes, but I’m lying if I said he and Cody Rhodes didn’t put on one of the best matches of the night. A great standout performance for Rhodes, and I hope we see more big matches sent his way. Finally, HHH/Taker. A fantastic match, one that I hate admitting as a longtime critic of HHH. Perhaps it was just the experience of the two veterans showing, but it’s rare that you see a match tell a story so clearly. As soon as HHH went for the piledriver I did a quadruple take, shocked and angry that HHH’s ego would dare to end the streak. Well, HHH pulled a fast one on everybody, marks and smarks alike. The match belongs in the company of the HBK/Taker matches, as it may not have matched them in quality it was still one of the best matches the WWE has done in a long while. Wrestlemania was not a great PPV. I feel I paid far too much for the show. With the writing/booking as it currently stands, I question whether or not we’ll ever see a truly amazing Wrestlemania again.

Zach Brown: Wrestlemania was really hit and miss in my honest opinion. First of all, bumping Daniel Bryan and Sheamus was a huge mistake. That was a match that could have absolutely torn the house down if done right and given enough time. Especially with the ridiculous joke that was the Corre 8 man tag team, the dumb Snoop Dogg segment, as well as Rock’s overly long promo in the beginning, it really makes you wonder what WWE’s priorities were for Mania. Many things felt like they were put together just to give everyone in the company a paycheck. So the night started off pretty disappointing with the exclusion of that match, and the World Heavyweight Title match starting the show was no exception to the disappointment. The match that Del Rio and Edge had was good no doubt, but the two things that would have made it interesting never happened. First of all, I thought it was a complete no-brainer to have Del Rio win the title at Wrestlemania. What does Edge retaining do for anyone? Second, the post-match beatdown on Alberto’s car would have been the absolute perfect time for Christian to turn on Edge, but that didn’t happen either. He could have at least had some sort of Batista style staring at Edge holding the title. The whole match just felt like loads of missed opportunities. Moving on, Cody Rhodes beating Captain Mexico was definitely a highlight of the show. Cody really looked like a future main event player out there, and I loved his stalled superplex. Orton vs. Punk was a great match as well, and was definitely a highlight. The finish was awesome, and even though I wish Punk could have won the match, I was still thoroughly entertained. Cole vs. Lawler was whatever. We got stunners, and that’s really all that’s important. The Raw GM reversing the decision was flat out dumb, but it’s not like it was overly offensive since the match didn’t matter. Then came the one savior of the entire show: HHH vs. Taker. Did it live up to HBK vs. Taker for the last two years? No, but it was a damn good match, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was interesting how Taker really had a role reversal, and was playing it much like HBK was last year towards the end. They did a great job of playing déjà vu and making HHH look like the more dominant wrestler. When Triple H hit that Tombstone and did Taker’s signature pin, my heart skipped a beat because it truly seemed in that moment that the streak was over.The match was another solid entry in the Streak legacy. The Snooki match was mostly a bathroom break, but I have to say that I was mildly impressed with Snooki’s little diva flips that she did. I mean that’s light years above what Jenna Morasca and Sharmell were capable of doing. Hell, it was even much better than what Mickey Rourke was able to do at WM 25. I wish Morrison and Ziggler got a chance to shine, but whatever, I knew the focus was going to be on the divas anyway. And finally, Miz and Cena. I have to say, Miz’s video package is one of the finest video packages that WWE has done in several years. For lack of a better word, it was awesome. But how sad is it that Cena has to dip into religion and patriotism to make you think he’s the good guy? The match itself left something to be desired too. I mean they hit most of the right strides, but the crowd was kind of dead after HHH vs. Taker, even after the Snooki match. The double count out was dumb, and Rock restarting the match was predictable. When all was said and done, I was very happy that Miz retained the title at Wrestlemania. He really has made it and he is here to stay in the main event. The Rock getting revenge on Cena and standing tall at the end was to be expected, and a decent way to close the show. But it wasn’t enough to save it. At the end of the day, it wasn’t a stellar show by any means, and it was really only worthwhile at all because of the great bout between HHH and Taker, as well as the decent matches of Rhodes-Mysterio, Edge-Del Rio, and Orton-Punk. It just had too much useless crap and it’s like they stop;ped caring about the other matches on the show. It had the Wrestlemania glitz and glam, but people will remember this as one of the more lackluster shows. I give it a 6 out of 10.

Topic # 2 John Cena vs. The Rock was announced for Wrestlemania 28 this past Monday on RAW. How do you feel about them announcing this match a year in advanced?

David Martell: This is a genius move by the WWE. They just sold Wrestlemania 28 with one match a year in advanced. This is a dream match that most people have been wanting to see for a long time. it’s the new era vs. the attitude era. This is two of the biggest wrestlers in WWE history facing off on the grandest stage of them all. Yeah, a lot can happen in a year but as far as we know it, we are getting something special. The anticipation will be phenomenal. This also give us the idea that there will be two huge matches to look forward to. With John Cena vs. Taker out of the question, we get a Taker match that will also be phenomenal. Two main events, and the card isn’t even filled out yet. There is a lot riding on this Wrestlemania and both the Rock and Cena are going to have to deliver. WWE should be expecting a huge pay day next year.

Jacob San Antonio: This is an amibitious move by the WWE, but it’s a pretty good one. This match alone has probably sold most people on WM28. This gives every WWE fan an entire year to save up and see if they can get themselves to Miami. I won’t lie; seeing the Rock lay out Cena with a Rock Bottom was a fantastic moment at Wrestlemania. I’m looking forward to seeing what build, if any, we’ll see throughout the year. I know it won’t be much, probably just a satellite promo here and there, but I think this match could be bigger than Rock/Hogan. Say what you want about the Rock leaving the WWE, he at least doesn’t have a horrid reputation in the business. It’s a match that brings the older fans and younger fans together, and I’m very interested in seeing who, if anyone, turns heel. With Mania in Miami, the obvious answer is that we’ll see Cena be a little more aggressive than normal. Who knows, though, if that will be true? The Rock could just as easily turn. It’s not like the people would stop cheering for him.

Zach Brown: Well in my heart, I have to be somewhat skeptical because they did this sort of thing with Kennedy’s Money in the Bank title shot way back when, and we all know how that turned out. With the possibility of people getting injured, and all other sorts of extenuating circumstances that could happen, it could be difficult to stay the course for an entire year. Watching Rock and Cena announce the match was thoroughly entertaining, but I couldn’t help but think that it would have been nice to do that match…like…you know…THE DAY BEFORE. Announcing the match a full year in advance is both awesome and groan inducing. It makes Wrestlemania 28 seem like a complete supershow already. But how can you keep this storyline going? Are we going to have video packages reminding us that it’s coming every few months? Are Cen’s feuds in the meantime going to still feel worthwhile? We’ll just have to wait and see. For now, I’m excited, because we are getting the match that pretty much everyone wants to see.

Topic # 3 What are your thoughts on Sin Cara‘s debut?

David Martell: We really only got a taste of what Sin Cara can do and I am already sold. I like the fact that he is going straight for the big guys. I really don’t know who he will end up feuding with, but I would be happy seeing him wrestler Sheamus or Swagger. At least there is still mystery on what show he might end up on. It is good to see that the WWE is finally letting someone really be high flying. They are letting him do whatever he wants and with that he is going to get hugely over. Everyone is already talking about a probably feud with Sin Cara and Del Rio and I have to say that I am intrigued by this. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Sin Cara go toe to toe with Mysterio one of these days. Maybe in a passing the torch type way. Sin Cara has a lot of potential and it will be interesting to see who he feuds with first.

Jacob San Antonio: I withhold any opinion until I see a full match. His run-ins were cool, but you’re not seeing what he’s fully capable of until he wrestles a full match. I’ve got a lot of confidence that this guy will wow the crowds, and it is a dream of mine to see someone like him take on the likes of Evan Bourne. Bourne’s been doing a whole lot of nothing lately, and if the WWE wants to really show off what they’ve got, they’ll throw these two at each other. With a little more experience under his belt, I could see Justin Gabriel working an awesome match with Sin Cara as well. Either way, as far as I’m concerned Sin Cara’s best matches will be seen when he faces other cruiserweights. He can feud with Sheamus or Swagger all he wants right now, if that gets him over. I just hope we’ll see a completely crazy aerial showdown later on during the year. I know it’s my fantasy booking, but I just can’t wait.

Zach Brown: Seeing Sin Cara was definitely great, but it felt like we only got a taste of what he can do. An immediate feud with Sheamus for the US Title is definitely the right way to start off. Hopefully Daniel Bryan can stay involved in that feud and we can have some incredible three way bouts that will steal every show that it’s on. But even if it just turns out to beSheamus and Sin Cara going it alone, it will be supremely entertaining. The few moves that Sin Cara hit were very impressive. That was one of the highest crossbodies off the turnbuckle that I had ever seen, and the dude made it look incredibly effortless. Needless to say, I’m stoked to see what tricks Sin Cara can pull out of his sleeve on Raw in the next few months. Signing Mistico was a very smart move on WWE’s part.

Topic # 4 What are your thoughts on the first episode of Tough Enough?

David Martell: I loved Tough Enough. Stone Cold is bringing everything you want to see from him on this show. He is just being straight honest with everyone and its hilarious. He shit his pants in a match with Yokozuna and continued to wrestle! How can you not respect this man. I have to say that the production on this show is fantastic and they really busted their ass to put out a quality product. I like how they highlight who has experience and who is just getting their start. Booker T, Demont and Trish are all great trainers. I think they did a great job of getting a cast that is compelling and unique. Everyone is different and in a way they all have their own characters. Stone Cold really just makes everything fit perfectly together. If this show doesn’t do well I will be ashamed because I am already hoping that there will be a next season.

Jacob San Antonio: Melina/Alicia Fox. Wow. I say this as someone who never got the opportunity to see the original Tough Enough, but this show looks awesome. Beyond the hilarity of Steve Austin driving a motorcycle into the gym and just verbally destroying every contestant he sees, the show’s got a lot of potential. The first episode did a good job of highlighting most of the cast, as well as pointing out potential losers later on down the road. If Michelle makes it past the third or fourth elimination I’ll be shocked. I’m looking forward to seeing how well some of those Ric Flair wannabes hold up. If they can survive Tough Enough despite all of their partying, I’ll be pretty impressed. I’m also looking forward to Eric’s development, if only due to an interest in seeing the big guy come into his own. He’s had a rough start, but I’m sure he can get himself in shape. I’ll be watching Tough Enough every Monday night. I seriously hope we see another Miz or Morrison come out of this season.

Zach Brown: Tough Enough seems vastly more entertaining than its past versions. It just feels more important all around. Better production values, an interesting crop of contestants, and freakin Stone Cold. What is not to love? Stone Cold had so many memorable things to say, it’s not even funny. He tore down all the contestants, and seems to be really putting them through Hell, all for our entertainment. It really cracked me up when Stone Cold asked Ariane what her favorite match was and she said Melina vs. Alicia Fox. That goes right up there with Titus O’ Neil’s “make it a win” line. Classic. I’m in shock that WWE offered her a developmental contract though. It’s difficult to predict who will win the whole show. Rima Fakih winning would be disappointing because I don’t want a diva to win, but it’s a no-brainer for WWE to sign her since she is Miss USA. I really think M-Dogg 20 has a decent shot to win, and I like Jeremiah Riggs a lot as well. I’m also kind of pulling for Eric since he has arguably the most touching backstory of the bunch. Either way, I can’t wait to see the whole season pan out.

Topic # 5 Kurt Angle recently tweeted his displeasure about people using his moves, specifically talking about Randy Orton and Jack Swagger. What are your thoughts on this twitter tirade?

David Martell: Kurt Angle is an idiot. It is not like he invented the moves he is using. Hell, he isn’t even in the WWE anymore so who cares. I think it is funny that Kurt pointed out just now that Swagger is using the ankle lock since he has been using it for quite some time now. Kurt is now just acting like another old disgruntled ex WWE wrestler. It is sad really. I cant believe he tried to act like his account got hacked and then continued to agree that he didn’t like people using his moves. Man up Kurt, you are not as big as you use to be. CM Punk really said it best.

Jacob San Antonio: I’m torn in between two opinions. On the one hand, he needs to get over himself. While there’s something to be said about trying to be original, every wrestler in the big leagues has more than likely used another wrestler’s signature move at some point in time. There’s too long a history of wrestling and too many wrestlers involved in said history for moves to stay unique. I realize it’s a different story when the moves you’re taking are from a wrestler still active in the business, but Angle needs to just brush it off. I don’t really mark out when Orton does the Angle Slam, because Orton is not Kurt Angle. Likewise, Jack Swagger’s ankle lock will never really compare to Kurt Angle’s. Honestly, in Swagger’s case I’d blame the WWE more than Swagger himself, since they seemed really keen on transforming Swagger into Angle 2.0. In any case, while I see why Angle could be offended, it’s such a minor issue when you actually see the stolen moves in action.

Zach Brown: Now this was hilarious. Oh Kurt. You really are one of the best wrestlers in the world, but where do you get off talking about people trying to steal your moves? So Orton does the Angle Slam. So Swagger does the Ankle Lock. What is the big deal? Did you ever think that Jack Swagger, a former NCAA amateur wrestler, looks up to you and wants to pay homage to you? I mean I’m only hypothesizing here. But I don’t think Orton, Swagger, Michael Cole, or the WWE in general are looking to adopt Kurt Angle’s moves to take a shot at the guy. And now he is saying that his Twitter was hacked, and now that a family member accessed the account and posted those comments. What bullcrap. So we are really supposed to believe that someone got on Kurt’s twitter coincidentally after Wrestlemania, posted those comments, and then believe that still after you are pretty much defending those comments and then apologizing for them? Get real. It’s almost like he doesn’t even understand how Twitter works. You can’t just claim that your Twitter was hacked or that someone else was on it when you say things that are generally received as controversial. You have access to your own Twitter, the comments were completely believable, and your comments afterwards were sketchy, so the odds are overwhelming that you wrote it yourself, Kurt. I love watching what Kurt Angle can do in the ring, and he is still one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. But just behave and don’t become the Charlie Sheen of wrestling, please. And lastly, Cm Punk’s and Joey Styles’ comments were gold…pure gold.

Our thoughts on Cody Rhodes.

David Martell: It is crazy to think about how Cody Rhodes has evolved over the years. Tag teaming with Hardcore Holly, being apart of Legacy, being Dashing and now being psychotic. Cody Rhodes is meant to be big and I have always enjoyed his work. I like his old school style of wrestling and I love that he pays homage to Holly with the Alabama Slam. I loved Dashing Cody Rhodes but to be honest, it wasn’t a gimmick to get him in the main event. His new serious gimmick is perfect for catapulting him up the roster. The use of his mask every time he head butts someone is fantastic. His mannerisms are perfect. He has engulfed this character. I just hope he continues on the path to the main event. A win at Wrestlemania was a great start but he needs to continue to get pushed. He is the total package, lets just hope the WWE continues to use him right.

Jacob San Antonio: Oh Cody, it looks like things are officially going your way. After an awesome win against Rey Mysterio at WM27, Cody’s making some progress up the card. Looking back, it’s still surprising to see Rhodes do as well as he has, since most critics seemed to think Ted Dibiase had far more potential during their Legacy days. While that may still be true, the WWE pulled the trigger on Rhodes first and has benefitted from it. Listening to the cheers and chants for Cody at Mania, it was a little bizarre. While Cody may be a heel, he’s played it so well many seem to look at him as a likeable one. Never a face, but a heel you enjoy watching. He’s similar to CM Punk in that regard. There’s no telling where Cody’s going to go from here. The feud with Mysterio is far from over, but after that there’s no clue what he’ll do. Even so, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him main event quite a few Smackdowns in the near future.

Zach Brown: Cody is one of the best younger guys to watch these days. Who would have thought that he would be the much more interesting guy to come out of the Priceless/Legacy pairing? Cody is very entertaining in the ring, and the characters that he has been giving us for the past several months have been even more entertaining. I really enjoyed all of the Dashing Cody Rhodes grooming tip segments. Those videos were absolutely hilarious, and really helped evolve that character. Now his character has taken an interesting dark turn, and it makes me wonder if this was the plan all along with this character. I really enjoyed the DCR mirror entrance, the grooming tips, the cocky attitude, all of it. Now his face is injured, and we get an entirely different character altogether. He’s much darker, hates being looked at, and wears that awesome protective mask. Even the warped start to his old music is very well done and helps add to the darker tone of his new character. I wonder if Cody will even go back to the old DCR gimmick when this is all said and done. Can you imagine if this guy was given a spot like one that The Miz has? The main complaint about The Miz is that he often needs to be protected because he isn’t the most versatile guy in the ring. If Cody had that spot, none of that would be brought into question because the guy is a phenomenal wrestler. It would take an awesome stroke of luck and certain top guys to step out of the spotlight, but I would really like to see Cody Rhodes do awesome things in the main event. If given the right push, he can prove to everyone why he belongs there. His win over Mysterio at Wrestlemania was an awesome sign of good faith, and I only hope it continues for a while.

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