D1 - The Undertaker & Triple H versus El Santo & Edge

[Dave]

Day 1 of the inaugral WrestleZone International Cup begins with tag team matches that pit Team U.S.A against Team R.O.W in randomly assigned matches. Who will gain the early advantage in the Cup and who will let their team down? Let the debate begin!

Boards are open for 1 day for discussion and then polling will begin in 24 hours. Polling lasts for 48 hours afterwards. The winning team gets the point. In the event of a draw, teams will half a point each.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

This will seem crazy, but I am for El Santo & Edge here.

Triple H is a horrible partner. When the opportunity arises, he turns on everybody. Shawn Michaels, Seth Rollins, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, X-Pac, etc. Sometimes without rhyme or reason other than shock value. I see no reason why he wouldn't give up this contest for a shocker. He has extensive history with his partner Undertaker here, so it wouldn't even be all that random. Both character's egos are massive and it could very well happen. Even though Triple H has belonged to several groups, in the end he has proven he's just not a team player.

El Santo and Edge on the other hand could pan out. Sure, Edge is all about being opportunistic himself, but he only is when gold is on the line. He talked Kennedy into putting his MITB briefcase on the line for the chance to be WWE Champion again. He's wiggled and even slept his way to title matches. But there's nothing on the line here - except pride in defeating a group that has John Cena, Kurt Angle, and his childhood hero Hulk Hogan on their team. Edge would surely work with El Santo, Mexican legend that he is, in finding HHH/Taker's weakspot and pulling the upset.

H is too seedy, and Undertaker usually doesn't get along with his tag team partners either. El Santo & Edge for the win.

 

[Dave]

I really think that you've hit the nail on the head there Spidey. Anyone around here will tell you about my affinity for Triple H but he's never been a great tag team partner. Actually he's never really been part of a proper tag team. Yes, he's been part of Evolution and of DX and took part in tag team matches. But I don't think there's anyway that The Undertaker and Triple H can be a useful team. It's a pretty bad draw for them both.

Conversely, Edge is one of the best tag team players to ever play the game. He maybe doesn't have Christian by his side this time but he knows his way around a tag team match. El Santo is a decent tag team partner for him and I think that makes the difference.

 

[Bernkastel]

From an individual standpoint, Edge is the odd man out. HHH and Undy are two of the most accomplished wrestlers in history, and El Santo is the Mexican equivalent of Superman. He's probably top 5 in the history of Mexican folk icons.

I think Hunter and Taker probably would work better as a cohesive unit, but that shouldn't matter. Edge can neutralize Trips using whatever nefarious means necessary. He's done so before. One on one Taker can't beat Santo. Unlike in the WZT, these matches are on true neutral ground. And Taker might be a zombie with superpowers, but he's not anything that Santo hasn't fought before. The Saint has fought zombies, vampires, werewolves, and aliens and beaten them all. He's fought Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. In the comics he choked out the Loch Ness Monster. Undy can use all the satanic power that he wants, but with Trips neutralized he'd be no match for Santo.

Edge and Santo for the win.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

This is about all you need to know. When El Santo passed away in the 80s, his funeral was the most attended funeral in Mexican history. This guy was more popular in Mexico than Hogan was in the US. That star outshines Trips and Taker.