The Triple Threat 1.27.08: The 79th Edition – The Royal Rumble, Lashley, Punk and More

Topic # 1 What are your thoughts on this year’s Royal Rumble card?

David Martell: The card looks great. I like how there are only four matches besides the rumble which means that the rumble will be a long one. JBL vs. Jericho could be great. I think that they both have unique styles of wrestling and it would be interesting to see them clash. I think Jericho will get the victory in this one to make him look strong on the road to Wrestlemania. Ric Flair is going to beat MVP because it would be stupid for him to lose a match outside of Wrestlemania with this storyline that hes going though. Edge should put away Rey with no problem. It could be a good match but it the only match on the card I don’t care too much for. I think that Jeff Hardy vs. Orton will be awesome. They did a great job of building this feud and they make it seem that Jeff actually has a chance of winning. Orton will win but I think it will be a close one with a hell of a lot of action. The Rumble is always fun and entertaining. This year is the first year in a long time that I have no idea who is going to win.

Alex Mattis: A decent looking under card for one of the biggest shows of the year. Flair looks to continue his career with a win over MVP. I see no way Flair loses this match. Edge will retain his title over Rey via HEEL SHENANIGANS!!! JBL returns to the ring against Chris Jericho in a match that will have bad ramifications in almost any way it’s booked. Only two ending make sense, Jeri going over clean or JBL getting DQ’d. And Randy Orton will defend his title against Jeff Hardy. With how good Orton is, and with how much Hardy has been stepping it up lately this has the makings to be an excellent match. I’m calling for Orton to retain his title clean. Looks to be a decent under card, let’s see how it is pulled off.

Zach Brown: The card for this year’s Royal Rumble is very impressive. The title defenses don’t make a lot of sense in my opinion, but it should still be a great night of wrestling. Chris Jericho vs. JBL should be a great match, but I can’t help thinking that JBL belongs at the commentator’s table, and not in the ring. MVP vs. Flair could be good because I’m constantly impressed by MVP’s wrestling ability. But is anyone genuinely concerned about Flair losing this match? I didn’t think so. Rey Mysterio vs. Edge could be somewhat entertaining, but I’m not too crazy about either wrestler. Plus, I hate when Rey gets anywhere near the Heavyweight Title because he’s just not a believable champ in my eyes. Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy will deliver. I’m not a big fan of Hardy, but if their stunt on RAW was any indication, there will probably be lots of entertaining high spots in this match. But like all of Randy’s title defenses in recent months, Orton will probably beat him and just move on to the next willing competitor. I don’t know if I like what they’re doing with his title reign because I like seeing champs having slightly longer feuds. But it makes Randy look dominant, and it’s still entertaining television. And of course, the Royal Rumble match needs no introduction. It’ll easily be match of the night.

Topic # 2 Which superstar do you think will win the Royal Rumble?

David Martell: This is a tough one because I honestly have no idea who is going to win this one. I will make a guess though. Triple H seems to have a good chance of winning but I think hes going to lose and go on to the Elimination Chamber match at No Way Out. The reason I say this is because in the new WWE magazine, the cover has Jeff Hardy swimming in what looks like an elimination chamber. This makes me believe that the chamber will be a RAW match. I am going to go out on a huge, HUGE limb here and say CM Punk will get the win with him challenging Edge for the title at Wrestlemania. I am probably wrong but it was a fun guess.

Alex Mattis: Now with HHHitler back in the mix, this Rumble’s winner seems to be set. I’m all up for a surprise though. And if Triple H doesn’t win this match I will be in a legit state of shock. Other top runners are Batista, Taker, HBK, or Punk. We’ll see.

Zach Brown: This was a hard pick because I think it’s a good chance for either Triple H or Batista to win. But since they’ve tried to make Triple H’s road to the Royal Rumble look like a Cinderella story, I predict Triple H as this year’s winner. I thought Hunter was out of the running this year, but oh well. Even though I’m not crazy about Triple H, he does deserve a second Rumble win in my opinion, and 2008 is a good year to do it.

Topic # 3 What is your favorite Royal Rumble moment?

David Martell: I have way to many favorite Rumble moments so I will name a few of them. I enjoyed when Maven eliminated the Undertaker because that was not only hilarious but it put over Maven for a little while. I always enjoyed Nunzio in the rumble when he stayed outside the ring for almost the entire match. I enjoyed the end of last years rumble with the Undertaker and HBK because it brought back old memories and it was just plain awesome. I always enjoy when everyone teams upon the Big Show to eliminate him but somehow he always seems to throw them all off. That’s just a few of them but there are several more.

Alex Mattis: The 2001 Royal Rumble. There it is. The whole Rumble was so awesome. All the hardcore guys mixing it up with weapons, The Big Show’s surprise return, Kane’s dominance, Drew Carey! Everything worked in the match. The face off between The Rock and Austin that everyone had been waiting for was epic. And the ending of the match was spectacular, a bloody Stone Cold beating the hell out of Kane with a chair and finally knocking him over the top rope. Possibly the best Rumble match ever, and my favorite Rumble moment(s).

Zach Brown: Chris Benoit winning the 2004 Royal Rumble easily tops my list. Not only was he one of only 2 wrestlers to ever win the Rumble and be the first entrant, but he also set the record for the longest time in the match. It was an epic win for Benoit, and a great moment in wrestling. Of course, it’s a bittersweet memory now, and WWE has pretty much erased it from the books. But hopefully, wrestling fans continue to remember it for years to come.

Topic # 4 For the past two years we have had a competition to see who can guess the last four people standing in the ring in the Royal Rumble. The last two years I (David) have guessed it right. Who do you think will be the last four standing in this years Royal Rumble?

David Martell: I am going to go with CM Punk, Triple H, Big Show, and Batista. I have no idea if the Big Show is coming back or not but it seems likely since Regal had to hold someone back last Monday on RAW. I think Big Show will get the number thirty slot and end up eliminating HHH. If the Big Show doesn’t come back then the Undertaker will take his spot.

Alex Mattis: Ah, this has been a competition between David for the past few years and dammit David has kicked my ass so hopefully this year I can redeem myself. My picks for the final four are… Triple H, Batista, The UnderTaker, and CM Punk. Punk being the most unlikely of the four but hey I can dream, and with his current angle it may not be too far fetched.

Zach Brown: I think that the final four guys in the Rumble will be Umaga, Triple H, Batista, and Shawn Michaels. Out of all the Rumble participants, I think this match-up makes the most sense. It’s a little hard to determine because The Undertaker has a pretty good chance of also ending up in the final four, but that’s the way I see it going down.

In other news…

Topic # 5 It seems that Bobby Lashley may be departing from the WWE. What are your thoughts on this?

David Martell: This is kind of a big shock since WWE was high on Lashley. Something is obviously not working out between the two and that sucks for both sides. It going to be sad not being able to make fun of Lashley’s voice every time he speaks. I hope the best for the guy where ever he may go. It might be a good idea for TNA to pick him up.

Alex Mattis: Eh not too much of a loss in my book. He’s just a big dude who had a decent look, but no real wrestling ability and next to NO personality. There are some rumors about him wanting to transition to MMA, I think that would a horrendous idea for him due his lack of speed and questionable cardio.

Zach Brown: Wow I was really starting to wonder when Lashley was coming back off of the injured list. It figures I guess. I can’t say that I’ll miss him all too much. He was just a shadow of Brock Lesnar, and WWE was pretty much shoving him down our throats. I never thought he was anything special, but I wish him well in all his future endeavors. There is some talk of him entering MMA or TNA, but I don’t really care what he does.

Topic # 6 CM Punk lost the ECW Title this past week. How do you feel about this?

David Martell: I am kind of happy about this because I see this as a sign the CM Punk is moving on to bigger and better things. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him become a main contender on Smackdown. This gives him the chance to go to the Royal Rumble and win a title shot. This is a possibility and I hope that it happens.

Alex Mattis: DAMN HEEL SHENANIGANS!!! I thought this was a pretty silly move for the fact that Chavo wasn’t a part of ECW until he started feuding with Punk. He comes in, gets an immediate title shot and beats the best from the ECW brand. Makes perfect sense right? Hopefully this is the E’s way of getting Punk off of ECW and moving him to a bigger show.

Zach Brown: I’m pissed. I hate Chavo, and him being on ECW after this many years in WWE just highlights how much he sucks. I don’t think he’s going to do anything special with the title, and he definitely won’t draw viewers. CM Punk was the perfect choice in my opinion. If they’re doing this in order to move Punk over to Smackdown or RAW, then I understand completely. But it’s still a bad decision all around because there are so many better choices for the ECW title in my opinion. Plus, CM Punk really did a great job of embodying the new feel of ECW. I just don’t have faith in Chavo, and I really hope this is only a temporary thing.

Topic # 7 What are your thoughts on the WWE’s new HD set?

David Martell: I really like the new set. It almost seems like a PPV set. WWE must of dished out a lot of money for it and it was well worth it. I just wish I had an HD TV so I could enjoy it just as much as everyone else.

Alex Mattis: Didn’t catch any of the E this week so I can’t really comment. The pictures I saw were pretty rockin’ though. I don’t really understand the purpose of a big stage, but in terms of looks… it’s good.

Zach Brown: Well I’m glad that WWE finally rolled this out. I don’t think that fans were necessarily demanding to watch WWE in HD, but it’s still a good development for WWE. I personally don’t have an HDTV, and I probably won’t get one for another 5 years or so. But I really don’t see this being used by a majority of the WWE fans anyway. Besides, I’m not too crazy about seeing how many wrinkles Shawn Michaels actually has.

That is it for this week. I posted a few Rumble videos at the bottom of this to get everyone into the Royal Rumble mood. Can you believe there’s less than three months away until Wrestlemania? Well have a great week everyone and enjoy the videos.