The Triple Threat

This Sunday, the 29th, will be just two weeks away from the biggest show of the year, Wrestlemania 20. Wrestlemania has always been my favourite show of the year. Long-time readers of my column will know this. It's the show that, way back in 1989, kick-started my love affair with the wrestling business again. The rest, as they say, is history.

And while I'm looking forward to the WWE title match between Kurt Angle and champion Eddie Guerrero, I'm not really looking forward to the other big title match.

When Chris Benoit won the Royal Rumble almost two months ago, I cheered. I've been a Benoit-mark for years, ever since I first saw him competing for WCW. His match against Dean Malenko at Road Wild a few years back is a perfect example of excellent technical wrestling.

At last, I thought. The WWE are finally going to elevate Angle. When he jumped ship to Raw, and announced that he wanted to face Triple H for his title, I cheered even more. Triple H and Benoit have had rip-roaring contests in the past, and at a time when the champ has seemingly obliterated every other wrestler on the Raw roster, it seemed that the addition of Benoit to the mix would liven things up a little. But then, the creative team had other plans.

Wrestlemania is special. It should be headlined by one-on-one encounters for the big prize. After Smackdown headlined last year's show, it was obvious that Raw should be given the chance to shine this year. Benoit v Triple H would have been the perfect way to headline the granddaddy of them all. But then the creative bods had to go and change things, turning this potential match of the year candidate into a triple threat match.

I've got nothing against Shawn Michaels. The guy is a great wrestler, a legend. He's done it all. But am I the only one who thinks that the addition of Shawn Michaels to the World title match is harming it a great deal?

Firstly, it's harming Benoit. It's like the creatives are slapping Benoit in the face and telling him that he doesn't deserve to be alone in the same ring with the great champion that is Triple H, and that he doesn't deserve to be in the ring alone with the champion on the biggest show of the year.

Secondly, it's harming the show itself. With the exception of Wrestlemania I and Wrestlemania 2000, the main title(s) have been defended on each show, in one-on-one matches. Wrestlemania I was different because it was all about the glitz and glamour, the setting up of the tradition. And, of course, Wrestlemania 2000 must be rated as the worst Wrestlemania ever. The main event pitting champion Triple H against the Rock, Big Show & Mick Foley was one of the worst in recorded history. Mind you, the only singles match on the show was a match pitting Terri Runnels against The Kat, and enough said about that the better.

So while Angle v Guerrero promises much, even considering Kurt's long-standing injury worries, the other main event seems something of a letdown. However, with the WWE's penchant for rehashing old storylines, and it's desire to once again push Michaels into the main-event picture, couldn't we have had something of a repeat from Wrestlemania X?


If you're old enough to do this, cast your minds back to Madison Square Garden in 1994. Two months before, Bret Hart & Lex Luger had been declared joint winners of the Royal Rumble. As the winner of the match would be getting a title shot against champion Yokozuna at the big one, there was a great deal of speculation about who should get the title shot. Some said that Luger & Hart should have a number one contender's match before Wrestlemania, but then-president Jack Tunney announced that there would be two title matches at the Garden. A random drawing would determine who would be the first man to face Yoko for the title, with the loser having to face an opponent as well, so he would not have an unfair disadvantage.

So after Bret faced his brother Owen in a losing battle in the opening match of the show, Yoko faced Luger, as the psuedo-sumo star defeated the All-American boy with a little help from special referee Curt Hennig. Then, to finish off the show, Yoko lost the belt to Hart in a contest which was far superior to their battle in Vegas a year previously.

Going off on a tangent a little here, but ages ago I heard a story that Luger was originally booked to take the title from Yoko in the first bout. However, Luger's big mouth proved to be his downfall, as he blabbed about how he was going to win the title in a bar somewhere a few weeks before the show. The bigwigs got wind of this story and subsequently changed their plans. But that's another story for another time.

But back to the present day, instead of putting on a triple threat match for the World title, couldn't the same scenario have been played out for Wrestlemania 20?

Think about it - Shawn Michaels hijacks the contract signing between Triple H & Benoit, and puts his John Hancock on the dotted line. Not knowing what to do, Raw GM Eric Bischoff decides that both Michaels and Benoit should get a title shot at Wrestlemania, but in separate matches. A coin-toss could be held the Raw before Wrestlemania to determine who gets the first title shot and who has to compete in a warm-up match.

And who would be the warm-up opponent? Rumour has it that the Nature Boy, Ric Flair, is once again considering retirement. Wouldn't a Flair/Benoit or Flair/Michaels match be a perfect way of opening the show? Although this is going off on a tangent once again, at the time of writing there are no plans to use Flair in a wrestling capacity at Wrestlemania. If Flair is calling it a day, surely someone of his stature deserves one last big match? Flair and Benoit had one hell of a match on Raw a few weeks back, and I still have fond memories of Flair's match with Michaels a while ago. Hell, I still have fond memories of Flair's match with Michaels from a few years ago.

So while I'm looking forward to this triple threat match, I still have this nagging feeling that this just ain't right.