It's been a little over a week and my thoughts still drift to Eddie Guerrero. For those who don't follow pro-wrestling, Eddie Guerrero, one of the best in the business, died last Sunday from heart failure. In his past, Eddie had struggled with drugs and drinking. He had come back from it to become the WWE Champ two years ago and to cement his place in wrestling history. Sadly, Eddie's demons caught up with him. A lot has been said about Eddie in the past week. I never met the man, but I saw him compete, both in person and on TV, many times. It's amazing how someone can become attached to your life without ever having spoken a word to them. I will miss Eddie. I'll miss the entertainer and the showman. I'll miss how he made me laugh, made me sit up in my chair when he would hit an amazing move, and how I would look forward to his segments every week.
Still, I can't help but feel selfish in this. Eddie's family and friends are going to miss a lot more than I will. They are going to miss him in the simple, day to day ways that I was never aware of. For that reason, I feel selfish. We, as fans, demand so much from these men and women who give up their time, families, health, and sometimes sadly their lives, just to entertain us for a few hours each week. Someday, I hope to meet one or more of them and thank them in person. Eddie was one of those people I would have loved to thank. I have to hope, somehow, he knows, even more so now, what he meant to us, the fans.
Thank you Eddie. Thank you. I hope, someday, I get to meet you still...
Viva La Raza.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Long Time
It's been a long time...yet again...since I added to this blog. Every time I come back, I say "I'll stick with it" and something comes along. Well, here goes another try.
The big buzz this week is the release of the X-Box 360. Anyone who knows me would expect that I would be excited. I have to admit, I am...but I have some trepidation with this new system. First and foremost has to be the backwards compatibility. With both Nintendo and Sony already being upfront about backwards compatibility (the Playstation 3 will play all old games and the Nintendo Revolution will accept all Gamecube discs along with the ability to play any 8, 16, or 64 bit Nintendo game via the web) Microsoft had a lot of ground to cover. I realize that the new system has a different architecture and that it would be hard to do it, but the lack of backwards compatibility would hurt them. They kept silent for a while on it, then released this:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm
A list of the games that, at release, will be compatible with 360. While it is a large list (200+), there are many glaring omissions from the list:
- No EA games to be found...this includes all EA Sports & EA Sports Big titles, Burnout Revenge, X-Men Nemesis, and many others. There is a 360 port of Madden 06, but from the reviews I've read on Gamespot and the like, it's Madden 2001 with pretty graphics.
- No Splinter Cell games. The latest Splinter Cell games have a LARGE following on X-Box Live (and the original line was that X-Box Live games would be the first brought over to 360...Barbie Horse Adventure?).
- Lack of backwards compatibility for recently released games. How many parents are going to buy a 360 and an original X-Box game, not knowing the difference, and come Christmas the game won’t work at all. As of today, the top ten searched for games on Gamespot for the X-Box (bolded games are on the 360's list):
The big buzz this week is the release of the X-Box 360. Anyone who knows me would expect that I would be excited. I have to admit, I am...but I have some trepidation with this new system. First and foremost has to be the backwards compatibility. With both Nintendo and Sony already being upfront about backwards compatibility (the Playstation 3 will play all old games and the Nintendo Revolution will accept all Gamecube discs along with the ability to play any 8, 16, or 64 bit Nintendo game via the web) Microsoft had a lot of ground to cover. I realize that the new system has a different architecture and that it would be hard to do it, but the lack of backwards compatibility would hurt them. They kept silent for a while on it, then released this:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/backwardcompatibilitygameslist.htm
A list of the games that, at release, will be compatible with 360. While it is a large list (200+), there are many glaring omissions from the list:
- No EA games to be found...this includes all EA Sports & EA Sports Big titles, Burnout Revenge, X-Men Nemesis, and many others. There is a 360 port of Madden 06, but from the reviews I've read on Gamespot and the like, it's Madden 2001 with pretty graphics.
- No Splinter Cell games. The latest Splinter Cell games have a LARGE following on X-Box Live (and the original line was that X-Box Live games would be the first brought over to 360...Barbie Horse Adventure?).
- Lack of backwards compatibility for recently released games. How many parents are going to buy a 360 and an original X-Box game, not knowing the difference, and come Christmas the game won’t work at all. As of today, the top ten searched for games on Gamespot for the X-Box (bolded games are on the 360's list):
- Half Life 2 - Supported
- Need For Speed Most Wanted - Not Supported
- Halo 2 - Supported
- Star Wars Battlefront 2 - Not Supported
- 50 Cent : Bulletproof - Not Supported
- The Matrix : Path of Neo - Not Supported
- Gun - Not Supported
- True Crime : Streets of New York - Not Supported
- King Kong - Not Supported
- America's Army : Rise of a Soldier - Not Supported
So, of the ten games, two of them work on 360. One of them is a Microsoft release and the other is a PC port which worked on most PC hardware. You would THINK any Microsoft game would work on 360 at launch. MechAssault 2 on the list? I think not.
In the end, Microsoft has their work cut out for them. They have to provide a full online community and try and build the list of legacy titles that will work on the new system. I can say for sure that I will be hesitant to buy into the new system unless I can play some of my favorite, and more popular, titles on 360.
I'm sure that the five people who bought Barbie Horse Adventure got their 360s at midnight...sigh.
Friday, July 15, 2005
WWE - ELH (Edge, Lita, Hardy)
This is going to be a short post since I don't want to go on and on about this. I wouldn't have covered this at all, as I don't like digging into the real lives of actors, wrestlers, etc. I always look at it this way...I work on networks and computers and it's not a very glamorous job. What, if in a backwards universe, it was? Would I want someone watching where I went, who I dated, what I did, etc, etc? Not at all. So, I try to separate the "superstar" from the person. I can tell you all about a "superstar". When it comes to the real person, I can maybe tell you their name and maybe a few small things (interests, etc). Things like that you find out in interview and whatnot. I don't like hearing about the dirty laundry. It's their laundry, let it be their problem. That's my opinion.
So, the WWE has made the dirty laundry 100% public with the fact that Matt Hardy is now on Raw again. Even if this is a one shot deal to close this up, they have opened Pandora's Box and now they have to deal with it. For those who don't know, long story short:
Matt and Lita we're a couple, both on and off screen, for six years or so. This past spring, rumors started about Lita cheating on Matt with Edge (or Adam, his real name, as Matt referred to him on Raw). It turned out, some of this was true (I have no idea how much since I don't know any of the parties involved and care not to speculate). So, Matt goes onto the Internet and tells the world all about it. The WWE, trying to protect itself (they like to keep things like this quiet, like ANY company does...) released Matt Hardy back in April. For the past few months, Hardy has continued to rant on this. Also, the fans, who wouldn't have thrown water on Matt Hardy if he was on fire back in the fall and winter, started chanting "we want Matt" and "you screwed Matt" and many other more vulgar things. The WWE, seeing an opportunity and being a BUSINESS that likes to make MONEY (like any other business on the planet) gets Hardy back and starts this storyline.
Ok, now that we have the history, my opinion. I don't like it. I intentionally tried to keep the real world out of the story. While I knew in reality that Lita and Edge were together and what had happened, I tried to suspend reality and enjoy the storyline with Kane and the wrestling therein. Now, with Matt back, who’s to say what parts of the things the net was spewing are true or not...was this WHOLE THING a fake? Was part of it a fake? Was none of it fake and they are just using this to make some money (which I cannot knock them for)? We'll never know...at least not till Matt, Edge, or Lita write a book or sit down for an interview in 30 years.
So, again, my take? Let's make wrestling what it is...a story. Leave the real world where it belongs; in the real.
Take care of yourselves, and each other...we're all we've got.
So much for this being a short post...
So, the WWE has made the dirty laundry 100% public with the fact that Matt Hardy is now on Raw again. Even if this is a one shot deal to close this up, they have opened Pandora's Box and now they have to deal with it. For those who don't know, long story short:
Matt and Lita we're a couple, both on and off screen, for six years or so. This past spring, rumors started about Lita cheating on Matt with Edge (or Adam, his real name, as Matt referred to him on Raw). It turned out, some of this was true (I have no idea how much since I don't know any of the parties involved and care not to speculate). So, Matt goes onto the Internet and tells the world all about it. The WWE, trying to protect itself (they like to keep things like this quiet, like ANY company does...) released Matt Hardy back in April. For the past few months, Hardy has continued to rant on this. Also, the fans, who wouldn't have thrown water on Matt Hardy if he was on fire back in the fall and winter, started chanting "we want Matt" and "you screwed Matt" and many other more vulgar things. The WWE, seeing an opportunity and being a BUSINESS that likes to make MONEY (like any other business on the planet) gets Hardy back and starts this storyline.
Ok, now that we have the history, my opinion. I don't like it. I intentionally tried to keep the real world out of the story. While I knew in reality that Lita and Edge were together and what had happened, I tried to suspend reality and enjoy the storyline with Kane and the wrestling therein. Now, with Matt back, who’s to say what parts of the things the net was spewing are true or not...was this WHOLE THING a fake? Was part of it a fake? Was none of it fake and they are just using this to make some money (which I cannot knock them for)? We'll never know...at least not till Matt, Edge, or Lita write a book or sit down for an interview in 30 years.
So, again, my take? Let's make wrestling what it is...a story. Leave the real world where it belongs; in the real.
Take care of yourselves, and each other...we're all we've got.
So much for this being a short post...
Thursday, July 07, 2005
WWE - 18 Superstarts Released In 24 Hours
I have to say that my faith (what little I had still) in the WWE is starting to shatter and I have to truly wonder if, in a year or two, there will even be a WWE as we know it. 18 (yes 1-8) have been released, bought out, or have had negotiations fail. The list so far (there are more cuts coming supposedly...)
Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley - This is one of the biggest shocks to me. After they were in the ECW stuff, I was sure they were coming back. It shows how even with a good reaction from the fans, if the powers that be don't think of something for you, you're "useless". I will miss the 3D, the Dudleys, and the fire that they could bring to any match.
Joy Giovanni - While this cut surprises me, it doesn't surprise me at the same time. For those of you with G4 (the video game channel), she was just on a show there as "WWE SmackDown Rookie Diva of 2005". The show she was on was brand new and just started airing a few weeks ago. Again, it shows that, just like the draft, "No one is safe". If I recall, Joy has a kid in real life maybe that had something to do with the decision. Again, I find this cut odd since Joy was one of the few Diva Search ladies that got an actual story on TV...she feuded with the one that was with JBL's group and was Big Show's "girlfriend".
Kenzo Suzuki & Hiroko - Another cut that doesn't surprise me. WWE tried everything with Kenzo...evil guy, silly guy, crazy guy, nothing stuck. He was one of the folks involved in the trade between Raw and SmackDown. It's amazing that the draft stuff is GONE from the WWE website, so it's as if the trade never took place. I had heard good things about Kenzo when he was coming to the WWE, but when he got there, he seemed very slow. It's possible he had a hard time adjusting to a WWE style, but we'll never know.
Matt Morgan - Another shame here...I was hoping since Carlito and Christian switched shows, they would switch bodyguards. Morgan and Christian could have had some great interviews and such. He was also starting to get better in the ring.
Charlie Haas - Yet ANOTHER one of the drops where you have to read it twice to be sure you saw it right. This is a GIANT mistake by the WWE. Haas is an A+ talent, yet was given crap to work with storyline wise. I would hope, if business picks up again in a few years that they bring him back. A true loss for the fans and for the future.
Jackie Gayda - Not a surprise to see her gone is Charlie Haas is being release. I hope they both like this as a wedding present from the WWE. Jackie was one of the co-winners of the 2nd Tough Enough. She did some good valet work with Rico and also with Charlie for a while. Again, not surprising.
Marty Jannetty - Marty didn't surprise me here either. They brought him in for the Angle / HBK build for WrestleMania and I was shocked when they kept him on contract. There is also news that he was arrested for some domestic incident, which the WWE does not take very well. It was nice to see the Rockers together one last(?) time.
Dawn Marie - Another shock to me here...anyone who talks to me about wrestling know that I felt that Dawn Marie, given time to shine, could become the Sherri Martel valet of this generation. She was the senior (experience wise) Diva on SmackDown and was always on the mark, be it in the ring or on the mic. I would hope that she wasn't let go due to being pregnant...if so, WWE better get their checkbook ready when the lawyers start calling...yet another big loss to SmackDown and the WWE as a whole.
Mark Jindrak - Just like Matt Morgan, I think he could have been something, but never got the chance to shine.
Maven - And with the release of Maven, the Tough Enough experiment is complete...leaving only Josh Matthews (the announcer) as the remaining TE person on WWE TV. It'll be interesting to see if Al Snow is released soon since he and TE went hand in hand.
Shannon Moore - I'm honestly surprised Shannon lasted as long as he did. After Matt Hardy was off TV, I was surprised they kept him around...nothing against him, but WWE has very littler patience for the mid card.
James Yun (Akio) - See Mark Jindrak, Matt Morgan. Another good mid-card talent that could have been something.
David Heath (Gangrel) - Gangrel was signed for the stuff with Undertaker and Randy Orton for WrestleMania. I chalk this up to the same level as the release of Marty Jannetty but without all the arrest stuff.
Billy Kidman - Another BIG surprise here....I always thought Kidman had a lock since his real life wife, Torrie Wilson, has been a staple of SmackDown for a while now. Again, this shows that no one is safe...it'll be interesting to see if they keep Torrie around much longer. They've had her in Playboy twice and they have made their money. AGAIN, I am not trying to be vicious towards these people, but with the Diva search and such, it is VERY obvious they are intent on bringing in more and more girls they can parade around half naked.
Spike Dudley - Another loss for the fans. Spike had been hurt for a while but was on the mend...obviously not fast enough for the WWE...
Kevin Fertig - Most people will know him as Mordecai, the character that was in the white cloak for a few weeks on SmackDown a while back when Eddie was the WWE Champ...happy days....sorry, I'm back now. I had heard good things about him from OVW, but I don't think we got to see that on TV...another missed opportunity.
So, after all that was announced, the front page of WWE.Com has freaking BROCK "THE CROCK" LESNAR on there that he wants to come back. You have GOT to be KIDDING me! Mr. "I'm too big for the WWE" and "I want to play football" is now coming back with his tail between his legs after getting a nice dose of reality. I tell you right now, if he comes back, he will be the champ on either show in a second. There is some history between him and Cena (recall the reason Cena's finisher is the FU is a knock and Lesnar's version of the F5) and WWE loves to have their big man vs. big man matches even though the crowd falls asleep. Sorry, had to get that out of my system.
I have to imagine it's bad enough to be cut, especially some of these folks that have been with the WWE for a while, but then to see that they are cutting you, a loyal employee, to bring back Mr. "I carry logs cause that's what my head is made out of...har har har". I'm going to finish this post off...I could sit here all day but then it would never get posted.
Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley - This is one of the biggest shocks to me. After they were in the ECW stuff, I was sure they were coming back. It shows how even with a good reaction from the fans, if the powers that be don't think of something for you, you're "useless". I will miss the 3D, the Dudleys, and the fire that they could bring to any match.
Joy Giovanni - While this cut surprises me, it doesn't surprise me at the same time. For those of you with G4 (the video game channel), she was just on a show there as "WWE SmackDown Rookie Diva of 2005". The show she was on was brand new and just started airing a few weeks ago. Again, it shows that, just like the draft, "No one is safe". If I recall, Joy has a kid in real life maybe that had something to do with the decision. Again, I find this cut odd since Joy was one of the few Diva Search ladies that got an actual story on TV...she feuded with the one that was with JBL's group and was Big Show's "girlfriend".
Kenzo Suzuki & Hiroko - Another cut that doesn't surprise me. WWE tried everything with Kenzo...evil guy, silly guy, crazy guy, nothing stuck. He was one of the folks involved in the trade between Raw and SmackDown. It's amazing that the draft stuff is GONE from the WWE website, so it's as if the trade never took place. I had heard good things about Kenzo when he was coming to the WWE, but when he got there, he seemed very slow. It's possible he had a hard time adjusting to a WWE style, but we'll never know.
Matt Morgan - Another shame here...I was hoping since Carlito and Christian switched shows, they would switch bodyguards. Morgan and Christian could have had some great interviews and such. He was also starting to get better in the ring.
Charlie Haas - Yet ANOTHER one of the drops where you have to read it twice to be sure you saw it right. This is a GIANT mistake by the WWE. Haas is an A+ talent, yet was given crap to work with storyline wise. I would hope, if business picks up again in a few years that they bring him back. A true loss for the fans and for the future.
Jackie Gayda - Not a surprise to see her gone is Charlie Haas is being release. I hope they both like this as a wedding present from the WWE. Jackie was one of the co-winners of the 2nd Tough Enough. She did some good valet work with Rico and also with Charlie for a while. Again, not surprising.
Marty Jannetty - Marty didn't surprise me here either. They brought him in for the Angle / HBK build for WrestleMania and I was shocked when they kept him on contract. There is also news that he was arrested for some domestic incident, which the WWE does not take very well. It was nice to see the Rockers together one last(?) time.
Dawn Marie - Another shock to me here...anyone who talks to me about wrestling know that I felt that Dawn Marie, given time to shine, could become the Sherri Martel valet of this generation. She was the senior (experience wise) Diva on SmackDown and was always on the mark, be it in the ring or on the mic. I would hope that she wasn't let go due to being pregnant...if so, WWE better get their checkbook ready when the lawyers start calling...yet another big loss to SmackDown and the WWE as a whole.
Mark Jindrak - Just like Matt Morgan, I think he could have been something, but never got the chance to shine.
Maven - And with the release of Maven, the Tough Enough experiment is complete...leaving only Josh Matthews (the announcer) as the remaining TE person on WWE TV. It'll be interesting to see if Al Snow is released soon since he and TE went hand in hand.
Shannon Moore - I'm honestly surprised Shannon lasted as long as he did. After Matt Hardy was off TV, I was surprised they kept him around...nothing against him, but WWE has very littler patience for the mid card.
James Yun (Akio) - See Mark Jindrak, Matt Morgan. Another good mid-card talent that could have been something.
David Heath (Gangrel) - Gangrel was signed for the stuff with Undertaker and Randy Orton for WrestleMania. I chalk this up to the same level as the release of Marty Jannetty but without all the arrest stuff.
Billy Kidman - Another BIG surprise here....I always thought Kidman had a lock since his real life wife, Torrie Wilson, has been a staple of SmackDown for a while now. Again, this shows that no one is safe...it'll be interesting to see if they keep Torrie around much longer. They've had her in Playboy twice and they have made their money. AGAIN, I am not trying to be vicious towards these people, but with the Diva search and such, it is VERY obvious they are intent on bringing in more and more girls they can parade around half naked.
Spike Dudley - Another loss for the fans. Spike had been hurt for a while but was on the mend...obviously not fast enough for the WWE...
Kevin Fertig - Most people will know him as Mordecai, the character that was in the white cloak for a few weeks on SmackDown a while back when Eddie was the WWE Champ...happy days....sorry, I'm back now. I had heard good things about him from OVW, but I don't think we got to see that on TV...another missed opportunity.
So, after all that was announced, the front page of WWE.Com has freaking BROCK "THE CROCK" LESNAR on there that he wants to come back. You have GOT to be KIDDING me! Mr. "I'm too big for the WWE" and "I want to play football" is now coming back with his tail between his legs after getting a nice dose of reality. I tell you right now, if he comes back, he will be the champ on either show in a second. There is some history between him and Cena (recall the reason Cena's finisher is the FU is a knock and Lesnar's version of the F5) and WWE loves to have their big man vs. big man matches even though the crowd falls asleep. Sorry, had to get that out of my system.
I have to imagine it's bad enough to be cut, especially some of these folks that have been with the WWE for a while, but then to see that they are cutting you, a loyal employee, to bring back Mr. "I carry logs cause that's what my head is made out of...har har har". I'm going to finish this post off...I could sit here all day but then it would never get posted.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
WWE Draft Results, Trades, 7/4 Raw
A lot to cover in this post, so I'm getting right to it. My draft picks last week were:
Raw gets Eddie Guerrero & Rob Van Dam - Raw got The Big Show and Rob Van Dam. I got one! RVD was the guest on the Cabana last week and seems to be setting up for a feud with Carlito. The Big Show was a surprise since he was in the SmackDown title hunt. More on that next...
SmackDown gets Chris Jericho & Triple H - SmackDown got Christian & Batista. A double surprise here, Christian takes the place of The Big Show in the six man match. He had to be TIRED since he was in the match at the end of Raw (they taped both Raw and SmackDown at the same place on the same night back to back last week). After JBL won the six man match we found out Batista is on SmackDown with the Heavyweight Title. I found it interesting that this was not mentioned at all this week on Raw.
With that, the draft is over. With the trade that took place last week, the moves look like this:
Key -
1-5 = Draft Picks
T = Via Trade
Raw
1 - John Cena (WWE Champion)
2 - Kurt Angle
3 - Carlito
4 - The Big Show
5 - Rob Van Dam
T - Mark Jindrak
T - Rene Dupree
T - Danny Basham
T - Kenzo Suzuki (with Hiroko)
T - Chavo Guerrero
SmackDown
1 - Chris Benoit
2 - Randy Orton
3 - Muhammed Hassan
4 - Christian
5 - Batista (World Heavyweight Champion)
T - William Regal
T - Candice Michelle
T - Sylvain Grenier
T - Simon Dean
T - Steven Richards
The big thing this week on Raw, in my opinion, was Shawn Michaels turning on Hulk Hogan at the end of the show. I didn't see this one coming at all. Michaels was dancing around the ring as he usually does right up to the kick. Amazing stuff...the crowd went dead silent for a second or two and then the boos started. Nice job by Shawn, Hogan, and WWE to make that work perfectly.
Have a great, short week everyone.
Raw gets Eddie Guerrero & Rob Van Dam - Raw got The Big Show and Rob Van Dam. I got one! RVD was the guest on the Cabana last week and seems to be setting up for a feud with Carlito. The Big Show was a surprise since he was in the SmackDown title hunt. More on that next...
SmackDown gets Chris Jericho & Triple H - SmackDown got Christian & Batista. A double surprise here, Christian takes the place of The Big Show in the six man match. He had to be TIRED since he was in the match at the end of Raw (they taped both Raw and SmackDown at the same place on the same night back to back last week). After JBL won the six man match we found out Batista is on SmackDown with the Heavyweight Title. I found it interesting that this was not mentioned at all this week on Raw.
With that, the draft is over. With the trade that took place last week, the moves look like this:
Key -
1-5 = Draft Picks
T = Via Trade
Raw
1 - John Cena (WWE Champion)
2 - Kurt Angle
3 - Carlito
4 - The Big Show
5 - Rob Van Dam
T - Mark Jindrak
T - Rene Dupree
T - Danny Basham
T - Kenzo Suzuki (with Hiroko)
T - Chavo Guerrero
SmackDown
1 - Chris Benoit
2 - Randy Orton
3 - Muhammed Hassan
4 - Christian
5 - Batista (World Heavyweight Champion)
T - William Regal
T - Candice Michelle
T - Sylvain Grenier
T - Simon Dean
T - Steven Richards
The big thing this week on Raw, in my opinion, was Shawn Michaels turning on Hulk Hogan at the end of the show. I didn't see this one coming at all. Michaels was dancing around the ring as he usually does right up to the kick. Amazing stuff...the crowd went dead silent for a second or two and then the boos started. Nice job by Shawn, Hogan, and WWE to make that work perfectly.
Have a great, short week everyone.
Monday, June 27, 2005
WWE Vengeance Results & Draft Picks
Time to see how my Vengeance picks turned out:
Match 1 - Intercontinental Championship - Carlito(c) vs. Shelton Benjamin - I picked the opener, the same as I did WrestleMania, which is something. I also got the winner right. Carlito took advantage of Shelton still suffering from the fall he took on Monday and when Shelton went for the Stinger Splash in the corner, Carlito moved and he hit the exposed turnbuckle. Carlito then went for the pin. 1/1
Backstage - Triple H and Ric Flair arrive for the title match tonight. Triple H looks like he raided Brother Love's closet with the white suit and red shirt...
Match 2 - Victoria vs. Christy Hemme - Not the match I would have put next, but here it is. As always, I think Christy, while a pretty girl, should NOT be wrestling. She was not hired to wrestle. Look at Stacy; she is very pretty, but she knows she is not a wrestler. Christy is not a wrestler and should be a valet or manager or something like that, not wrestling a multi-time champ in Victoria and giving her enough trouble that Victoria had to use the ropes for the pin. No sign of Trish, sadly. 2/2
Backstage - An interview with John Cena regarding his match tonight. Nothing special, but good buildup for the match and some extra WWE Fantasy League points for me.
Match 3 - Kane vs. Edge - A pretty decent bout with some back and forth action. Kane surprisingly gets the win after overcoming interference from Snitsky and Lita. Good to see Kane come out on top finally. 2/3
Backstage - Shawn Michaels says vengeance will be his tonight and I agree...
Match 4 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - I'm surprised this is so low on the card, nice to see the WWE and World title both get the highest spots. Another excellent bout from these two, but I give the edge to their WrestleMania bout. Michaels wins with TWO superkicks, one of these being from when Kurt comes off the top rope (what aerial offense does Kurt have again?). I would wager we see the rubber match to break the tie and SummerSlam. 3/4
Backstage - Batista is being interviewed by the Coach. Coach says that Batista was lucky to be champ due to the bad officiating at Backlash. Batista does the same speech they did at the contract signing (going to hell...etc...etc). Triple H shows up and they have a stare down and have to be separated by security.
In Ring - Lilian Garcia comes to the ring looking beautiful as always. She has to be one, if not the, most elegant diva on WWE TV right now. She calls Viscera down to the ring and sings for him. She then gets down on one knee and proposes to him. GODFATHER’S music hits (you read that right) and comes down with some ho's. Godfather asks Vis if he is going to be happy with just one woman or if he wants to ride the "HOOOO TRAIN!". Vis looks over the ladies and lets us know his decision by saying "All aboard the HOOOO TRAIN!". He leaves with the Godfather and the ho's. Lilian is left in the ring crying. I have to again give her credit, she was really crying. Interesting end to this angle. This could be setting up for Lilian and Trish to get together and get revenge on Vis maybe...
Match 5 - WWE Championship - Triple Threat Match - John Cena(c) vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho - In a great match, John Cena retained the WWE Championship via a FU on Christian. This was a great match and showed that Cena can work with faster guys. A lot of his matches with JBL were a bit slower based on JBL's style. It was nice to see him hang with Jericho and Christian. It's also always great to see two high caliber stars like Jericho and Christian go at it. Also, so much for my draft theory that had Christian showing up on SmackDown with the WWE Title... 3/5
Match 6 - World Heavyweight Championship- Hell in a Cell - Batista(c) vs. Triple H - To everyone's surprise that I was watching with, Batista defeated Triple H to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. This match was ok. Triple H had to carry Batista through most of it. It's sad when it seems Batista is out of steam 5-10 minutes into a match. Some decent spots in the match, but nothing special with the cell. This match could have been without the cell and have done as well. One nice spot was the spinbuster by Batista to Triple H on the lower part of the stairs. The end saw Batista go for a Batista-bomb and Triple H had the sledgehammer to hit him in the head, but Batista hit the bomb faster than Triple H could swing. A surprise ending for sure. 3/6
Final score - 3/6 or 50% - Not too bad, a little lower than my WrestleMania score, but with fewer matches, it's to be expected.
Now, for my draft picks:
Raw gets Charlie Haas - Raw got Carlito and he won the Intercontinental Title. Not a bad addition to Raw, as they needed a decent mid-card heel.
SmackDown gets The Rock - I knew I would be WAY off on this. SmackDown got Muhammad Hassan & Daivari. I assume they come as a package deal. He didn't make too many friends right away on SmackDown. He verbally ran down JBL, Booker T, Chris Benoit, and the Big Show. He did pick up a win over Big Show, but with the help of Matt Morgan.
This week, each show gets two picks, which makes for a lot of possibilities.
Raw gets Eddie Guerrero & Rob Van Dam - After losing to Rey again last week, I don't think there is anything left for Eddie to do on SmackDown and he can go after Batista. RVD is a pick from a few weeks ago that I still expect to happen, even if it's after the draft.
SmackDown gets Chris Jericho & Triple H - People will most likely think I am nuts for saying that Triple H will go to SmackDown and I doubt it myself, BUT he did say that the Hell in a Cell match would end the feud between him and Batista...so now what does Triple H do? Jericho is more of a sure bet since now Raw has both his Highlight Reel and Carlito's Cabana. The Highlight Reel and the extremely expensive Jeritron 5000 will find a good home on SmackDown.
This week will bring us a lot; including a new champ on SmackDown...my pick is either JBL or Booker T.
Take care all.
Match 1 - Intercontinental Championship - Carlito(c) vs. Shelton Benjamin - I picked the opener, the same as I did WrestleMania, which is something. I also got the winner right. Carlito took advantage of Shelton still suffering from the fall he took on Monday and when Shelton went for the Stinger Splash in the corner, Carlito moved and he hit the exposed turnbuckle. Carlito then went for the pin. 1/1
Backstage - Triple H and Ric Flair arrive for the title match tonight. Triple H looks like he raided Brother Love's closet with the white suit and red shirt...
Match 2 - Victoria vs. Christy Hemme - Not the match I would have put next, but here it is. As always, I think Christy, while a pretty girl, should NOT be wrestling. She was not hired to wrestle. Look at Stacy; she is very pretty, but she knows she is not a wrestler. Christy is not a wrestler and should be a valet or manager or something like that, not wrestling a multi-time champ in Victoria and giving her enough trouble that Victoria had to use the ropes for the pin. No sign of Trish, sadly. 2/2
Backstage - An interview with John Cena regarding his match tonight. Nothing special, but good buildup for the match and some extra WWE Fantasy League points for me.
Match 3 - Kane vs. Edge - A pretty decent bout with some back and forth action. Kane surprisingly gets the win after overcoming interference from Snitsky and Lita. Good to see Kane come out on top finally. 2/3
Backstage - Shawn Michaels says vengeance will be his tonight and I agree...
Match 4 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - I'm surprised this is so low on the card, nice to see the WWE and World title both get the highest spots. Another excellent bout from these two, but I give the edge to their WrestleMania bout. Michaels wins with TWO superkicks, one of these being from when Kurt comes off the top rope (what aerial offense does Kurt have again?). I would wager we see the rubber match to break the tie and SummerSlam. 3/4
Backstage - Batista is being interviewed by the Coach. Coach says that Batista was lucky to be champ due to the bad officiating at Backlash. Batista does the same speech they did at the contract signing (going to hell...etc...etc). Triple H shows up and they have a stare down and have to be separated by security.
In Ring - Lilian Garcia comes to the ring looking beautiful as always. She has to be one, if not the, most elegant diva on WWE TV right now. She calls Viscera down to the ring and sings for him. She then gets down on one knee and proposes to him. GODFATHER’S music hits (you read that right) and comes down with some ho's. Godfather asks Vis if he is going to be happy with just one woman or if he wants to ride the "HOOOO TRAIN!". Vis looks over the ladies and lets us know his decision by saying "All aboard the HOOOO TRAIN!". He leaves with the Godfather and the ho's. Lilian is left in the ring crying. I have to again give her credit, she was really crying. Interesting end to this angle. This could be setting up for Lilian and Trish to get together and get revenge on Vis maybe...
Match 5 - WWE Championship - Triple Threat Match - John Cena(c) vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho - In a great match, John Cena retained the WWE Championship via a FU on Christian. This was a great match and showed that Cena can work with faster guys. A lot of his matches with JBL were a bit slower based on JBL's style. It was nice to see him hang with Jericho and Christian. It's also always great to see two high caliber stars like Jericho and Christian go at it. Also, so much for my draft theory that had Christian showing up on SmackDown with the WWE Title... 3/5
Match 6 - World Heavyweight Championship- Hell in a Cell - Batista(c) vs. Triple H - To everyone's surprise that I was watching with, Batista defeated Triple H to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. This match was ok. Triple H had to carry Batista through most of it. It's sad when it seems Batista is out of steam 5-10 minutes into a match. Some decent spots in the match, but nothing special with the cell. This match could have been without the cell and have done as well. One nice spot was the spinbuster by Batista to Triple H on the lower part of the stairs. The end saw Batista go for a Batista-bomb and Triple H had the sledgehammer to hit him in the head, but Batista hit the bomb faster than Triple H could swing. A surprise ending for sure. 3/6
Final score - 3/6 or 50% - Not too bad, a little lower than my WrestleMania score, but with fewer matches, it's to be expected.
Now, for my draft picks:
Raw gets Charlie Haas - Raw got Carlito and he won the Intercontinental Title. Not a bad addition to Raw, as they needed a decent mid-card heel.
SmackDown gets The Rock - I knew I would be WAY off on this. SmackDown got Muhammad Hassan & Daivari. I assume they come as a package deal. He didn't make too many friends right away on SmackDown. He verbally ran down JBL, Booker T, Chris Benoit, and the Big Show. He did pick up a win over Big Show, but with the help of Matt Morgan.
This week, each show gets two picks, which makes for a lot of possibilities.
Raw gets Eddie Guerrero & Rob Van Dam - After losing to Rey again last week, I don't think there is anything left for Eddie to do on SmackDown and he can go after Batista. RVD is a pick from a few weeks ago that I still expect to happen, even if it's after the draft.
SmackDown gets Chris Jericho & Triple H - People will most likely think I am nuts for saying that Triple H will go to SmackDown and I doubt it myself, BUT he did say that the Hell in a Cell match would end the feud between him and Batista...so now what does Triple H do? Jericho is more of a sure bet since now Raw has both his Highlight Reel and Carlito's Cabana. The Highlight Reel and the extremely expensive Jeritron 5000 will find a good home on SmackDown.
This week will bring us a lot; including a new champ on SmackDown...my pick is either JBL or Booker T.
Take care all.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
GrzeTim Books... - WWE Vengeance
I'm cutting it a bit close here with this one seeing as Vengeance is about five or so hours away, but here I am. I'm reserving making my draft picks until after the PPV. When the WWE announced the draft, they said the last week would have two picks per show. They haven't mentioned that since, so I want to wait and see if they are still going with that or if they are staying with one each. Then, I will make my picks.
To the PPV:
Intercontinental Championship - Carlito(c) vs. Shelton Benjamin - I could see them opening with this one. Carlito has really gotten to be a great heel so he can get the crowd fired up. I don't see Shelton getting the title back here. There are way too many guys Carlito can feud with.
Winner - Carlito wins with a handful of tights or the ropes as he did on Monday.
Kane vs. Edge - This one is a hard call. There have been so many rumors and whispers about all the Matt Hardy / Lita / Edge stuff being a script to get the fans into it, but I doubt it.
Winner - Edge with some help from Lita.
Victoria vs. Christy Hemme - In my opinion, the only reason for this match is the return of Trish Stratus. She's going to interfere to cost Christy the match.
Winner - Victoria via the Widow's Peak after Trish attacks or distracts Christy.
WWE Championship - Triple Threat Match - John Cena(c) vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho - This should be a good one. It's always good to see Jericho and Christian mix it up and adding Cena will keep the crowd live and into it.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion - Christian. This ties into my draft theories, which I will post tomorrow if this comes true...
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - This is, again, going to be a classic and match of the year candidate. I see Michaels taking this one to make it all tied at 1-1 and we'll have the rubber match at SummerSlam.
Winner - Shawn Michaels via a superkick out of a reversed Angle Slam or Ankle Lock.
World Heavyweight Championship- Hell in a Cell - Batista(c) vs. Triple H - This will be a mess in the sense that they will both be bloody and beaten to a pulp. I see Triple H coming out on top of this since he has not lost a Cell match before. With the draft, there are some new challengers for him to face.
Winner - Triple H via Pedigree on the Cell or on the floor.
Check back tomorrow to see how I did and enjoy the PPV.
To the PPV:
Intercontinental Championship - Carlito(c) vs. Shelton Benjamin - I could see them opening with this one. Carlito has really gotten to be a great heel so he can get the crowd fired up. I don't see Shelton getting the title back here. There are way too many guys Carlito can feud with.
Winner - Carlito wins with a handful of tights or the ropes as he did on Monday.
Kane vs. Edge - This one is a hard call. There have been so many rumors and whispers about all the Matt Hardy / Lita / Edge stuff being a script to get the fans into it, but I doubt it.
Winner - Edge with some help from Lita.
Victoria vs. Christy Hemme - In my opinion, the only reason for this match is the return of Trish Stratus. She's going to interfere to cost Christy the match.
Winner - Victoria via the Widow's Peak after Trish attacks or distracts Christy.
WWE Championship - Triple Threat Match - John Cena(c) vs. Christian vs. Chris Jericho - This should be a good one. It's always good to see Jericho and Christian mix it up and adding Cena will keep the crowd live and into it.
Winner and NEW WWE Champion - Christian. This ties into my draft theories, which I will post tomorrow if this comes true...
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - This is, again, going to be a classic and match of the year candidate. I see Michaels taking this one to make it all tied at 1-1 and we'll have the rubber match at SummerSlam.
Winner - Shawn Michaels via a superkick out of a reversed Angle Slam or Ankle Lock.
World Heavyweight Championship- Hell in a Cell - Batista(c) vs. Triple H - This will be a mess in the sense that they will both be bloody and beaten to a pulp. I see Triple H coming out on top of this since he has not lost a Cell match before. With the draft, there are some new challengers for him to face.
Winner - Triple H via Pedigree on the Cell or on the floor.
Check back tomorrow to see how I did and enjoy the PPV.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Batman Begins, WWE Draft, and more...
Greetings True Believers,
We'll get started with the draft results from this past week in the WWE:
Raw gets Rob Van Dam - Turns out I was right but a week too soon. This past week, Kurt Angle made the jump to Raw. In the last 10 minutes of Raw, two matches for Kurt's first week on Raw were made. Tonight, he fights Batista in what I assume will be a non-title match and a nice opportunity for Triple H to beat down Batista before the PPV this Sunday.
SmackDown gets Shawn Michaels - In a surprise and not a surprise at the same time, SmackDown gets Randy Orton. If I had seen that Undertaker was back on the roster, I would have picked Orton in a second. Thus continues the feud from Wrestlemania.
This week is tough, I have to get at least one right, don't I?
Raw gets Charlie Haas - I'm having a hard time making a pick for SmackDown this week. I don't know what they'll do since Raw has a PPV this weekend and they won’t want the draft pick to overshadow that. I think moving Haas would be a great thing. Beyond all the people for him to work with, it puts all three members of Team Angle back on the same show and makes for the opportunity for feuds or reunions.
SmackDown gets The Rock - I am most likely 110% off on this, but Rock is still listed on the Raw roster, and I think this would be a big boon to SmackDown. Also, that's the Rock's show remember?
I saw Batman Begins over the weekend. All I have to say is see this movie NOW. This is how Batman should be. I did like the first two original Batman flicks, but this is nice and dark and part of it was filmed here in Chicago, so you can't beat it.
Well, since I'm at work, I better get back to...you know...work.
Be excellent to each other (what is with me and the 80s refs today?).
We'll get started with the draft results from this past week in the WWE:
Raw gets Rob Van Dam - Turns out I was right but a week too soon. This past week, Kurt Angle made the jump to Raw. In the last 10 minutes of Raw, two matches for Kurt's first week on Raw were made. Tonight, he fights Batista in what I assume will be a non-title match and a nice opportunity for Triple H to beat down Batista before the PPV this Sunday.
SmackDown gets Shawn Michaels - In a surprise and not a surprise at the same time, SmackDown gets Randy Orton. If I had seen that Undertaker was back on the roster, I would have picked Orton in a second. Thus continues the feud from Wrestlemania.
This week is tough, I have to get at least one right, don't I?
Raw gets Charlie Haas - I'm having a hard time making a pick for SmackDown this week. I don't know what they'll do since Raw has a PPV this weekend and they won’t want the draft pick to overshadow that. I think moving Haas would be a great thing. Beyond all the people for him to work with, it puts all three members of Team Angle back on the same show and makes for the opportunity for feuds or reunions.
SmackDown gets The Rock - I am most likely 110% off on this, but Rock is still listed on the Raw roster, and I think this would be a big boon to SmackDown. Also, that's the Rock's show remember?
I saw Batman Begins over the weekend. All I have to say is see this movie NOW. This is how Batman should be. I did like the first two original Batman flicks, but this is nice and dark and part of it was filmed here in Chicago, so you can't beat it.
Well, since I'm at work, I better get back to...you know...work.
Be excellent to each other (what is with me and the 80s refs today?).
Monday, June 13, 2005
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, ECW, WWE Draft Pics...
A busy week here, so let's get to it.
I saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith on Friday. This is classic summer cinema...fun and just long enough. The beginning is a bit slow, but once it gets rolling, it's a fun little ride. This week, Batman Begins opens and I can't wait.
Now to WWE business, my draft predictions from last week were way off:
Raw gets Kurt Angle - In a shocker Raw gets John Cena and the WWE Title. This is an interesting choice since it leaves SmackDown without a heavyweight champ. Tonight, Cena has his first match ever on Raw.
SmackDown gets Tajiri or Christy Hemme - After being off the show for over a year, Chris Benoit was back on SmackDown. Part of this was to get Benoit on both shows to play into the ECW angle. Benoit left SmackDown after winning the Royal Rumble in 2004 to face Triple H at Wrestlemania 20.
For this week, I'm going with:
Raw gets Rob Van Dam - I see this as a good move. Get RVD on the show where he can continue his "no storyline" storyline.
SmackDown gets Shawn Michaels - I think this is a good move; there are a lot of folks on SmackDown who could use a good feud with a face like Michaels.
I saw the ECW PPV last night, and while it wasn't the worst thing I have ever seen by far, it wasn't the "A+ - Best PPV Ever - Cure For Cancer" that people are saying it was. IN most reviews, it seems that the "best match of the night" was the Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka match. I honestly don't think two men almost killing each other is a classic match when Benoit and Eddie have a match and it gets boring chants. "ECW fans aren't bloodthirsty and love mat wrestling"...right.
I think a lot of this comes from who I watched the PPV with. My family is VERY pro-WWF/E. They have watch WWE, and only WWE. They only saw one WCW PPV that we taped for an uncle and they never saw a lick of ECW beyond the little bit we've gotten on WWE TV. As fans of WWE, they order the ECW show only for the WWE stars they knew, who were then beaten down in a rather lame brawl at the end. While the ECW PPV made a lot of the Internet loyal happy, I don't know what it did for the majority of the fans that are not "Internet marks".
I realize that these are harsh words, but I hope that this was ECW's "blaze of glory" because it burned a great deal of WWE loyal fans.
Have a good week.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Back From The Dead...Again
At least I am consistent in my inconsistency to update this blog. I do for a month or so, then disappear for a few, then come back, etc, etc, etc. I hope that this time (yes THIS time) to stick with it more.
I saw Star Wars on opening weekend and all I have to say is if you ever liked Star Wars or ever saw a Star Wars film, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. It's good for even the casual Star Wars fan. This film sparks a whole new set of Star Wars debates and answers some questions that fans never thought would be answered:
1. Why is the Emperor all disfigured?
2. Why do the Jedi fight like they're in the Matrix in the prequels but Luke and Vader duel like old men?
3. What did happen to Luke and Leia's mother (Padme)?
4. Why is Yoda seem to have a hard time moving in Empire Strikes Back but kicked the hell out of Count Dooku in AOTC?
5. What happened to Darth Vader that he is confined to his suit and chamber?
This and more is answered in Revenge of the Sith...an interesting title that friends of mine know I called long before they announced it. The original title of Return of the Jedi was Revenge of the Jedi, but Lucas changed it late in production since revenge is not a Jedi trait. There is actually a teaser out there for the film with the name Revenge of the Jedi. It's hard to find, but cool to watch.
Also tonight starts the draft lottery in the WWE. For those not into the storyline, each week for the whole month of June, each show will get one random pick off the others with the last week offering two picks to each show. NO ONE is immune. I will try and post my picks for each week. For this week:
Raw gets Kurt Angle - It'll sting Booker when he can't get his hands on Kurt anymore since he is on Raw. I would expect to see Booker POSSIBLE come to Raw at the end of the month either via a trade or the last pick on the last week.
SmackDown gets Tajiri or Christy Hemme - If it's Tajiri, it'll add more to the Cruiserweight division, which has been hurting. With a new Diva Search starting, unless they are going to do the obvious old winner vs new winner storyline, Christy has done all she can on Raw and moving her to SmackDown would allow her to feud with one of the most consistent non-wrestling Divas - Dawn Marie. I call it here, in 10-15 years, Dawn Marie's will be spoken of in the same light as Sheri Martel. Just you watch...
Well, since I'm at work, I should get back to work...enjoy Raw or whatever else you do on Monday Night.
I saw Star Wars on opening weekend and all I have to say is if you ever liked Star Wars or ever saw a Star Wars film, you owe it to yourself to see this movie. It's good for even the casual Star Wars fan. This film sparks a whole new set of Star Wars debates and answers some questions that fans never thought would be answered:
1. Why is the Emperor all disfigured?
2. Why do the Jedi fight like they're in the Matrix in the prequels but Luke and Vader duel like old men?
3. What did happen to Luke and Leia's mother (Padme)?
4. Why is Yoda seem to have a hard time moving in Empire Strikes Back but kicked the hell out of Count Dooku in AOTC?
5. What happened to Darth Vader that he is confined to his suit and chamber?
This and more is answered in Revenge of the Sith...an interesting title that friends of mine know I called long before they announced it. The original title of Return of the Jedi was Revenge of the Jedi, but Lucas changed it late in production since revenge is not a Jedi trait. There is actually a teaser out there for the film with the name Revenge of the Jedi. It's hard to find, but cool to watch.
Also tonight starts the draft lottery in the WWE. For those not into the storyline, each week for the whole month of June, each show will get one random pick off the others with the last week offering two picks to each show. NO ONE is immune. I will try and post my picks for each week. For this week:
Raw gets Kurt Angle - It'll sting Booker when he can't get his hands on Kurt anymore since he is on Raw. I would expect to see Booker POSSIBLE come to Raw at the end of the month either via a trade or the last pick on the last week.
SmackDown gets Tajiri or Christy Hemme - If it's Tajiri, it'll add more to the Cruiserweight division, which has been hurting. With a new Diva Search starting, unless they are going to do the obvious old winner vs new winner storyline, Christy has done all she can on Raw and moving her to SmackDown would allow her to feud with one of the most consistent non-wrestling Divas - Dawn Marie. I call it here, in 10-15 years, Dawn Marie's will be spoken of in the same light as Sheri Martel. Just you watch...
Well, since I'm at work, I should get back to work...enjoy Raw or whatever else you do on Monday Night.
Monday, April 11, 2005
WWE - Rhyno and Matt Hardy Released
This is truly a shame. I had read a bit about Rhyno and something having gone down over WrestleMania weekend, but I try not to read about or get into the wrestler's personal lives. It's their business and they should have their lives. My best wishes to Rhyno.
HOWEVER, the Matt situation is a different ball of wax. Again, I don't like discussing personal lives, but it plays into this. If you follow any wrestling news, you know it came out recently that Lita was cheating on Matt with Edge. I guess we see who the WWE has sided with on this one. Edge is a great worker and I like watching him on TV, but it was like sticking a knife in Matt's back with this. I assume when you travel with folks for years and years you at least get to be acquaintances, if not friends. While Lita should have had the guts to tell Matt to his face if things were not working and they should both move on, Edge didn't help the situation. Matt was most likely let go so there wouldn't be "an issue" in the back. I hope she's happy. I also hope that fans of the Hardy Boys will turn on her now. Last word on this; (open sarcasm) it's nice to see that the WWE has their priorities straight: they let two good workers go and keep on the semi-talented female wrestler. Lita is just lucky she didn't do Playboy yet...cause I bet she would have been dumped too if they still couldn't make a mint on her posing nude. (close sarcasm).
I'll be attending the SmackDown taping here in Chicago on the 12th. We already know two matches for it:
- Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle in the WWE Championship Number One Contender's Tournament
- John Cena & The Big Show vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan (I assume this the "house crowd" match)
For those out of the wrestling loop, a "house crowd" match is the match they do after the live show or taping for the live crowd so they have something special for coming to the show. I'll try to have a non-spoiler match list up on Wednesday. If not, have a good week.
HOWEVER, the Matt situation is a different ball of wax. Again, I don't like discussing personal lives, but it plays into this. If you follow any wrestling news, you know it came out recently that Lita was cheating on Matt with Edge. I guess we see who the WWE has sided with on this one. Edge is a great worker and I like watching him on TV, but it was like sticking a knife in Matt's back with this. I assume when you travel with folks for years and years you at least get to be acquaintances, if not friends. While Lita should have had the guts to tell Matt to his face if things were not working and they should both move on, Edge didn't help the situation. Matt was most likely let go so there wouldn't be "an issue" in the back. I hope she's happy. I also hope that fans of the Hardy Boys will turn on her now. Last word on this; (open sarcasm) it's nice to see that the WWE has their priorities straight: they let two good workers go and keep on the semi-talented female wrestler. Lita is just lucky she didn't do Playboy yet...cause I bet she would have been dumped too if they still couldn't make a mint on her posing nude. (close sarcasm).
I'll be attending the SmackDown taping here in Chicago on the 12th. We already know two matches for it:
- Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle in the WWE Championship Number One Contender's Tournament
- John Cena & The Big Show vs. JBL & Orlando Jordan (I assume this the "house crowd" match)
For those out of the wrestling loop, a "house crowd" match is the match they do after the live show or taping for the live crowd so they have something special for coming to the show. I'll try to have a non-spoiler match list up on Wednesday. If not, have a good week.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
GrzeTim Books... - Wrestlemaina XXI
Well, time to see how I did:
Match 1 - Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - I called the opener, so that's something...Rey won with a quick huricanrana rollup for the win. A good match, but not a good way to start my booking career - 0 / 1
Match 2 - Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Again, still in my order. Edge wins after knocking Chris Benoit off the ladder with a chair shot. An excellent match and it gets be back on track - 1 /2
In Ring - Eugene comes down and is talking about WrestleMaina. Hassan and Daivari come down and beat him down. Out comes HULK HOGAN for the save. Hulk is one of those guys I never thought I'd see wrestle live twice here in Chicago once I was old enough to go to the live shows. Hulk clears the ring and poses for the crowd. Good times.
Match 3 - Randy Orton vs. Undertaker - I blew the order on this one. Undertaker wins after reversing Orton out of an attempted Tombstone into one of his own - 2/3
Match 4 - Women's Title - Trish Stratus(c) vs. Christy Hemme - This match, in my opinion, was too close with Trish selling too much for Christy. Trish gets the win after a Chick Kick. Trish gets even more heat back the next night on Raw by dropping Christy and Lita again. More good times - 3/4
Match 5 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - Kurt wins via tap out with the Ankle Lock? WOW. An excellent match and most likely a shoe-in for Match of the Year - 4/5
Piper's Pit - The normal stuff from Piper and Austin. I LOVED Piper ribbing the crowd for the "WHAT?" chats. Carlito makes the mistake of coming down and gets a thumb to the eye and a stunner for his trouble. Austin and Piper then break out the beer. Piper gets a stunner as well.
Match 5 - Sumo Match - Big Show vs. Akebono - They took the ropes off for this one. Akebono wins with a ring out. Show did rather well and even lifted Akebono of his feet at a point. Sadly, the image of Big Show in that outfit will be burned into my eyes for all time. 4/6 (Marked as a loss for me, I made no prediction)
Match 6 - WWE Championship - JBL(c) vs. John Cena - Cena wins CLEAN with an FU after ducking JBL's Clothesline From Hell. Not the best match, but gets the job done. New champ on SmackDown and they come here to Chicago in a few weeks, woo hoo! - 5/7
In Ring - Hall of Fame Class of 2005
Match 7 - World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H(c) vs. Batista - Batista wins with a spine buster and a Batista-bomb. Triple H was in control till he hit the post after a Batista slingshot on the outside. For the 2nd year in a row, both show's champs are faces leaving WM (Benoit on Raw and Eddie on SmackDown). - 5/8
Final score - 5/8 or 63% - Not bad for my first attempt at booking. Check back later in the month for my Backlash predictions and in a few weeks for my review of the SmackDown taping here from Chicago.
I also hope to have some more movie reviews and general posts. Keep your eyes open.
Take care.
Match 1 - Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - I called the opener, so that's something...Rey won with a quick huricanrana rollup for the win. A good match, but not a good way to start my booking career - 0 / 1
Match 2 - Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Again, still in my order. Edge wins after knocking Chris Benoit off the ladder with a chair shot. An excellent match and it gets be back on track - 1 /2
In Ring - Eugene comes down and is talking about WrestleMaina. Hassan and Daivari come down and beat him down. Out comes HULK HOGAN for the save. Hulk is one of those guys I never thought I'd see wrestle live twice here in Chicago once I was old enough to go to the live shows. Hulk clears the ring and poses for the crowd. Good times.
Match 3 - Randy Orton vs. Undertaker - I blew the order on this one. Undertaker wins after reversing Orton out of an attempted Tombstone into one of his own - 2/3
Match 4 - Women's Title - Trish Stratus(c) vs. Christy Hemme - This match, in my opinion, was too close with Trish selling too much for Christy. Trish gets the win after a Chick Kick. Trish gets even more heat back the next night on Raw by dropping Christy and Lita again. More good times - 3/4
Match 5 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - Kurt wins via tap out with the Ankle Lock? WOW. An excellent match and most likely a shoe-in for Match of the Year - 4/5
Piper's Pit - The normal stuff from Piper and Austin. I LOVED Piper ribbing the crowd for the "WHAT?" chats. Carlito makes the mistake of coming down and gets a thumb to the eye and a stunner for his trouble. Austin and Piper then break out the beer. Piper gets a stunner as well.
Match 5 - Sumo Match - Big Show vs. Akebono - They took the ropes off for this one. Akebono wins with a ring out. Show did rather well and even lifted Akebono of his feet at a point. Sadly, the image of Big Show in that outfit will be burned into my eyes for all time. 4/6 (Marked as a loss for me, I made no prediction)
Match 6 - WWE Championship - JBL(c) vs. John Cena - Cena wins CLEAN with an FU after ducking JBL's Clothesline From Hell. Not the best match, but gets the job done. New champ on SmackDown and they come here to Chicago in a few weeks, woo hoo! - 5/7
In Ring - Hall of Fame Class of 2005
Match 7 - World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H(c) vs. Batista - Batista wins with a spine buster and a Batista-bomb. Triple H was in control till he hit the post after a Batista slingshot on the outside. For the 2nd year in a row, both show's champs are faces leaving WM (Benoit on Raw and Eddie on SmackDown). - 5/8
Final score - 5/8 or 63% - Not bad for my first attempt at booking. Check back later in the month for my Backlash predictions and in a few weeks for my review of the SmackDown taping here from Chicago.
I also hope to have some more movie reviews and general posts. Keep your eyes open.
Take care.
Friday, April 01, 2005
WrestleMaina Weekend
Yes, it's that time of year again...WrestleMania! The card is actually shaping up to be good. So, I'll start my new item with "the grand-daddy of em all" WrestleMaina. GrzeTim Books...WrestleMania 21 - WrestleMaina Goes Hollywood - Sunday, April 3, 2005
- Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - There are a few matches on the card that can fit the "1st Match". I would guess it will either be this or the Women's Title...but I would hope they save the titles for higher in the card. Eddie and Rey have had a few good matches on SmackDown over the past few weeks...and I expect the same here. If given 15-25 minutes, these two could be one of the many matches to steal the show. This is also one of the matches that can have a nasty swerve in it...either man could turn heel and throw the crowd for a loop. Winner - Eddie Guerrero via a rollup with a handful of tights out of a reversed Rey move.
- Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Again, I would like this to be higher in the card, but the titles SHOULD be the top billing. This match can go a lot of different ways and can be a sign of how the Raw title match is going to go. The piece of this that makes it hard to call is the fact that the contract is valid for a year, which means they could have a heel win and keep the belt on Triple H and have a machine 6 months down the line based off this contract. Just DO NOT use the title match within the next two weeks...that will destroy the whole thing. This is a tough call...Winner - Edge
- Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - This is one of the many matches on the card that the WWE has done a WONDERFUL job to promote. It's like an old-school feud that was going for months and months and is going to be settled at the PPV. I know, regardless of how this comes out, one or the other will move shows and continue the feud, but just to see these two rip it up for 25+ minutes (I hope) will be worth it. So many hard picks in this...Winner - Kurt Angle via a rollup reversal and some help from the ropes.
- Sumo Match - Big Show vs. Akebono - I wasn't sure what they were going for with this till I saw Akebono "wrestle" on Thursday's SmackDown. I don't know if they are going to have them really sumo or if they are going to have a planned ending. This match scares me and reminds me of when they had Butterbean fight Bart Gunn in a boxing match. After Bart Gunn had beat the tar out of many WWE stars in boxing matches, Butterbean knocked him out with a few punches. Not surprising, Bart Gunn disappeared soon after. Big Show is toted by WWE as "the biggest athlete in the world". If Akebono defeats him, it could take a lot of air out of Big Show's sails. Winner - Depends on if it's a real sumo match
- Piper's Pit - This should get interesting...both Steve Austin and Roddy Piper are "colorful" characters to say the least and neither wants to be made a fool of. What I see happening here is that Austin and Piper will go back and forth on the mics and when it's about to come to blows, Hassan will come out and jabber on about how he isn't on the card, but these two "has beens" are. For his efforts, he'll get smacked by Piper and a Stunner from Austin. Austin and Piper will then partake in the beer and the fans will be cheering. What a wonderful world...
- Women's Title - Trish Stratus(c) vs. Christy Hemme - Now, I have no problem with the WWE hiring women who are, for lack of a better term, eye candy. After all these years, we still get a "we want puppies" chat during a women's match. I recall when they did the Diva Search, they turned women away cause while they were nice looking, they and a more developed wrestling background and "we aren't looking for wrestlers in this contest". Then, six months later, they turn around and put Christy, a minimally trained wrestler who had her first "match" just a few weeks ago in a six-person tag, against the Women's Champ at the biggest show of the year. I have to cry foul. They had a decent Women's Division a while ago with Trish, Victoria, Lita, Jazz, Molly, Gail Kim, and Ivory. It seems that Ivory is going to do commentary now, which is a shame since she was a great wrestler. They let Jazz and Gail go. Lita is hurt AGAIN. So, we're down to Trish, Molly, and Victoria. So, what do we do? We squash Victoria and have a NON-wrestler dodge her finisher and pin her CLEAN. To quote a famous movie "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here!". As I said before, I have no issue with the non-wrestling ladies of the WWE. They have a place in the show, but it is NOT this high on the WrestleMania card facing the Women's Champ. If they put that belt on Christy, not only is it a slap in the face to all the other women wrestlers in the company, it's a slap in the face to the fans. Trish has busted her butt to make the Women's Division mean something again; it would be a shame to have this happen. Winner - Trish Stratus via royal beatdown of Christy (I hope)
- Randy Orton vs. Undertaker - Another match that has been built up rather well. The most interesting part of this feud was how the crowd reaction has changed for Orton. From the moment he challenged Undertaker, the crowd has turned on him a little more and a little more. The straw that broke the camel's back was when he gave Stacy the RKO. Instant heel, just add water. I have also loved how he (not the character, the man) has reacted to the fans turning on him. You can see he expected the fans to at least split as they did with Hogan vs. Rock. I had said to a few people on Tuesday that if Orton showed up and laid Taker out with an RKO and Taker did not sit up right out of it, that Orton didn't have a shot in hell. Well, that's what happened. I see a decent match with some type of setup for Orton to go out for the shoulder work he needs done. Winner - Undertaker (13-0) via the Tombstone
- WWE Championship - JBL(c) vs. John Cena - Yet another match with good buildup. The fact that they couldn't touch each other over the past few weeks will make seeing them lock up even more exciting. They had some great steam going after last week, but the lame, recycled arrest angle took some of the fire out of this one. I'd look to see the Bashams and/or Orlando Jordan get involved and maybe even be the reason JBL loses the title. Winner - John Cena via FU
- World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H(c) vs. Batista - This feud has been building for a while and while most people would expect it to hit its peak here, I don't think it will. First off, the events of the contract signing were many weeks ago and after that, this got slow. I think they ran out of things to do over the past few weeks. Also, the placement of this match is one I question. While I feel that the title match with the winner of the Rumble SHOULD be the top match (thus the Main Event) my prediction contradicts the "send them home happy" idea. Winner - Triple H via Pedigree - My logic on this is that I expect Batista to somehow get a rematch for Backlash, where he will win the title.
I didn't pick an easy PPV to start with, but hopefully I'll set the tone here. Come back Monday for my breakdown of the events of the PPV and to see how I did.
- Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - There are a few matches on the card that can fit the "1st Match". I would guess it will either be this or the Women's Title...but I would hope they save the titles for higher in the card. Eddie and Rey have had a few good matches on SmackDown over the past few weeks...and I expect the same here. If given 15-25 minutes, these two could be one of the many matches to steal the show. This is also one of the matches that can have a nasty swerve in it...either man could turn heel and throw the crowd for a loop. Winner - Eddie Guerrero via a rollup with a handful of tights out of a reversed Rey move.
- Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Again, I would like this to be higher in the card, but the titles SHOULD be the top billing. This match can go a lot of different ways and can be a sign of how the Raw title match is going to go. The piece of this that makes it hard to call is the fact that the contract is valid for a year, which means they could have a heel win and keep the belt on Triple H and have a machine 6 months down the line based off this contract. Just DO NOT use the title match within the next two weeks...that will destroy the whole thing. This is a tough call...Winner - Edge
- Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels - This is one of the many matches on the card that the WWE has done a WONDERFUL job to promote. It's like an old-school feud that was going for months and months and is going to be settled at the PPV. I know, regardless of how this comes out, one or the other will move shows and continue the feud, but just to see these two rip it up for 25+ minutes (I hope) will be worth it. So many hard picks in this...Winner - Kurt Angle via a rollup reversal and some help from the ropes.
- Sumo Match - Big Show vs. Akebono - I wasn't sure what they were going for with this till I saw Akebono "wrestle" on Thursday's SmackDown. I don't know if they are going to have them really sumo or if they are going to have a planned ending. This match scares me and reminds me of when they had Butterbean fight Bart Gunn in a boxing match. After Bart Gunn had beat the tar out of many WWE stars in boxing matches, Butterbean knocked him out with a few punches. Not surprising, Bart Gunn disappeared soon after. Big Show is toted by WWE as "the biggest athlete in the world". If Akebono defeats him, it could take a lot of air out of Big Show's sails. Winner - Depends on if it's a real sumo match
- Piper's Pit - This should get interesting...both Steve Austin and Roddy Piper are "colorful" characters to say the least and neither wants to be made a fool of. What I see happening here is that Austin and Piper will go back and forth on the mics and when it's about to come to blows, Hassan will come out and jabber on about how he isn't on the card, but these two "has beens" are. For his efforts, he'll get smacked by Piper and a Stunner from Austin. Austin and Piper will then partake in the beer and the fans will be cheering. What a wonderful world...
- Women's Title - Trish Stratus(c) vs. Christy Hemme - Now, I have no problem with the WWE hiring women who are, for lack of a better term, eye candy. After all these years, we still get a "we want puppies" chat during a women's match. I recall when they did the Diva Search, they turned women away cause while they were nice looking, they and a more developed wrestling background and "we aren't looking for wrestlers in this contest". Then, six months later, they turn around and put Christy, a minimally trained wrestler who had her first "match" just a few weeks ago in a six-person tag, against the Women's Champ at the biggest show of the year. I have to cry foul. They had a decent Women's Division a while ago with Trish, Victoria, Lita, Jazz, Molly, Gail Kim, and Ivory. It seems that Ivory is going to do commentary now, which is a shame since she was a great wrestler. They let Jazz and Gail go. Lita is hurt AGAIN. So, we're down to Trish, Molly, and Victoria. So, what do we do? We squash Victoria and have a NON-wrestler dodge her finisher and pin her CLEAN. To quote a famous movie "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here!". As I said before, I have no issue with the non-wrestling ladies of the WWE. They have a place in the show, but it is NOT this high on the WrestleMania card facing the Women's Champ. If they put that belt on Christy, not only is it a slap in the face to all the other women wrestlers in the company, it's a slap in the face to the fans. Trish has busted her butt to make the Women's Division mean something again; it would be a shame to have this happen. Winner - Trish Stratus via royal beatdown of Christy (I hope)
- Randy Orton vs. Undertaker - Another match that has been built up rather well. The most interesting part of this feud was how the crowd reaction has changed for Orton. From the moment he challenged Undertaker, the crowd has turned on him a little more and a little more. The straw that broke the camel's back was when he gave Stacy the RKO. Instant heel, just add water. I have also loved how he (not the character, the man) has reacted to the fans turning on him. You can see he expected the fans to at least split as they did with Hogan vs. Rock. I had said to a few people on Tuesday that if Orton showed up and laid Taker out with an RKO and Taker did not sit up right out of it, that Orton didn't have a shot in hell. Well, that's what happened. I see a decent match with some type of setup for Orton to go out for the shoulder work he needs done. Winner - Undertaker (13-0) via the Tombstone
- WWE Championship - JBL(c) vs. John Cena - Yet another match with good buildup. The fact that they couldn't touch each other over the past few weeks will make seeing them lock up even more exciting. They had some great steam going after last week, but the lame, recycled arrest angle took some of the fire out of this one. I'd look to see the Bashams and/or Orlando Jordan get involved and maybe even be the reason JBL loses the title. Winner - John Cena via FU
- World Heavyweight Championship - Triple H(c) vs. Batista - This feud has been building for a while and while most people would expect it to hit its peak here, I don't think it will. First off, the events of the contract signing were many weeks ago and after that, this got slow. I think they ran out of things to do over the past few weeks. Also, the placement of this match is one I question. While I feel that the title match with the winner of the Rumble SHOULD be the top match (thus the Main Event) my prediction contradicts the "send them home happy" idea. Winner - Triple H via Pedigree - My logic on this is that I expect Batista to somehow get a rematch for Backlash, where he will win the title.
I didn't pick an easy PPV to start with, but hopefully I'll set the tone here. Come back Monday for my breakdown of the events of the PPV and to see how I did.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
So Much Time - So Few Posts
Well,
Once again I lack in the posting department...such is the "busy" life.
I've been playing MechAssault 2 a bit lately. It's a lot of fun...I just wish I had started playing the 1st one a bit before I got this one. Going from the run and gun in Halo 2 to the slower pace in Mech 2 is a bit hard at first...for people who try it once and get wasted, don't give up. Also, I don't mind people kicking my butt...at least it's other gamers who might be better than I am versus a computer who can tell what I'm doing and where I'm going.
If you play MechAssault, or anything on X-Box Live for that matter, give me a buddy request. My name on there is "GrzeTim" (big shock, huh?). I'm not the best gamer in the world, but I wont run from a fight and I'm pretty decent with the VTOL in Mech 2. (What's a VTOL you say? Read up on it here: http://www.mechassault2.com/ma2/tactics/vehicles/ and scroll to the bottom).
It's about time for the spring and summer movies to come out. Many goodies coming soon, including (I know I'll miss something...):
February 18th -
Constantine
March 4th -
Be Cool
March 18th -
The Ring Two
April 1st -
Sin City
The Weather Man
May 19th (Happy Birthday Kathy) -
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
June 17th -
Batman Begins
June 29th -
War of the Worlds
July 8th -
Fantastic Four
August 5th -
Doom
What can I say? I'm a nerd :)
Once again I lack in the posting department...such is the "busy" life.
I've been playing MechAssault 2 a bit lately. It's a lot of fun...I just wish I had started playing the 1st one a bit before I got this one. Going from the run and gun in Halo 2 to the slower pace in Mech 2 is a bit hard at first...for people who try it once and get wasted, don't give up. Also, I don't mind people kicking my butt...at least it's other gamers who might be better than I am versus a computer who can tell what I'm doing and where I'm going.
If you play MechAssault, or anything on X-Box Live for that matter, give me a buddy request. My name on there is "GrzeTim" (big shock, huh?). I'm not the best gamer in the world, but I wont run from a fight and I'm pretty decent with the VTOL in Mech 2. (What's a VTOL you say? Read up on it here: http://www.mechassault2.com/ma2/tactics/vehicles/ and scroll to the bottom).
It's about time for the spring and summer movies to come out. Many goodies coming soon, including (I know I'll miss something...):
February 18th -
Constantine
March 4th -
Be Cool
March 18th -
The Ring Two
April 1st -
Sin City
The Weather Man
May 19th (Happy Birthday Kathy) -
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
June 17th -
Batman Begins
June 29th -
War of the Worlds
July 8th -
Fantastic Four
August 5th -
Doom
What can I say? I'm a nerd :)
Monday, January 31, 2005
Trillian
Ok,
Does anyone know anything about this program Trillian? I've started using it this weekend and I like it. I only have one question...how do you turn off your away message? I figured out how to set myself back as available using the little lights on the menu, but at the top it still says GrzeTim with my away message below it...so I think it still assumes I'm away and my notifications don't show up and my sounds won’t play. I ended up changing the setting on it that makes the sound mute when I'm away, but I don't want that to be the final solution. Any help would be great.
Also, does anyone know if putting the %n for name and the %t for time in an away message in there actually works? When I was messing with it, no one I knew was online (yes, I lead a sad online life).
Still, a very cool program that eliminated the mess my screen was with AIM and MSN Messenger both running at the same time.
Does anyone know anything about this program Trillian? I've started using it this weekend and I like it. I only have one question...how do you turn off your away message? I figured out how to set myself back as available using the little lights on the menu, but at the top it still says GrzeTim with my away message below it...so I think it still assumes I'm away and my notifications don't show up and my sounds won’t play. I ended up changing the setting on it that makes the sound mute when I'm away, but I don't want that to be the final solution. Any help would be great.
Also, does anyone know if putting the %n for name and the %t for time in an away message in there actually works? When I was messing with it, no one I knew was online (yes, I lead a sad online life).
Still, a very cool program that eliminated the mess my screen was with AIM and MSN Messenger both running at the same time.
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