On Edge

The Divas of Doom, Beth Phoenix (left) & Natalya.

As stated a few writings back, I've been in the process of moving that has spanned about two months now and things are starting to wind down. Where I picked up the thinking that things would simplify as the process nears it's end, I'll never know. Because things haven't gotten any easier!

The difficult part of this has been the actual moving, since it requires cleaning, sorting and all of that. The process has been a pain in the neck and I think we've kept more then we probably should have. I don't really even want to think what things will be like, should we have to move out from where we are moving into now. I mean since we are moving into a bigger space, who knows how much stuff we'll manage to accumulate by then?

Besides this, I have been getting my interest back into wrestling again as there is quite a bit happening lately. A point of interest for me right now is the teaming of Beth Phoenix and Natalya, perfectly dubbed the "Divas of Doom (pictured above)." They've tasked themselves with the mission to destroy the "bimbos" in the company, namely the current WWE Divas Champion, Kelly Kelly.

Why is this interesting? Because I didn't realize just how much Kelly Kelly has improved and she actually held up fairly well in her match against Beth Phoenix recently. Now teaming with Eve, I have to wonder how this duo will fair against the combined might of the Divas of Doom? I do know this: The women's division needs a huge kick in the ass, as does the tag team division, so the sky is the limit. Hopefully this feud sparks some much needed change.

I've also been hooked to a few new TV shows recently, those being the new ThunderCats reboot (didn't I write about that before?) and Hell's Kitchen.

Hell's Kitchen has been an interest watch, mostly because of Chef Gordon Ramsay. The guy looks like the biggest asshole at first, but I've gotten to watch through his U.K. variation of Kitchen Nightmares and if there is one thing that looked obvious about the man, it is this: He is extremely confident and has a furious passion for cooking and food. The people he cracks down on seem to be those who don't take it as seriously as they should and he gives them hell for their lacking ways.

But he doesn't seem like a complete jerk, I mean if he sees talent he does compliment the person and he has given work to some talented folks that he has encountered along the way that he (Ramsay) felt were being wasted by being coupled with incompetent bosses.

So back to cleaning, packing, moving, etc... it has been a long process these past month or two, but the end is near. I can't wait for this all to be done and over with at last!

Undisputed WWE Champion

Interesting situation with the WWE Championship, especially since John Cena defeated the newly crowned champion Rey Mysterio and CM Punk returned to the WWE with his title in the same night as well. Now there is a match in place to crown an undisputed champion, which leads me to wondering...

Will there be a new design for this undisputed WWE Championship? Or will the tired old spinner belt continue on? I am hoping for a redesign personally, but then people expected a new belt when The Miz and Rey Mysterio faced each other to crown a new champion on Raw a few weeks back. And that didn't happen. More important then that though is who will walk out of SummerSlam as the WWE Champion? I think the situation is something to keep an eye on because I was surprised that CM Punk, like Cena, is starting to get as mixed a reaction as John Cena.

I can only imagine the type of atmosphere there will be at SummerSlam, with these two guys facing each other in their rematch from the Money in the Bank PPV. I doubt that night will be relived, but who knows? Maybe the second time will be better then their previous match.

A New Era Dawns?

These past few weeks have been an interesting ride, being a fan of the WWE. For the first time ever (I think), the WWE Championship is apparently NOT with the company as the champion (CM Punk, pictured above) did not resign with the company. I thought CM Punk would distance himself from the company, but he showed up at the presently ongoing Comic Con and confronted Triple H, the new boss of the WWE. I have to wonder where, if any where, this whole story is heading. I am most curious because this has to be one of the most interesting stories going on in the WWE in a long, long time.

Perhaps he'll turn back up in the coming months? And what of this new champion they are planning on crowning? Either The Miz or Rey Mysterio will be crowned as the new champion next Monday night, which could set up another feud with Punk if he should return.

And this story brewing up from Mr. McMahon being relieved of his duties and Triple H taking over is another interesting bit. Will this lead in a new era in the WWE? Perhaps more compelling feuds, rather then trying to be 80's style cartoon wrestling? I think the PG movement would be fine if they had not reduced themselves to stories and characters that are just so bland. It makes me wonder how guys like Randy Orton could function with such limitations set upon them.

CM Punk, WWE Champion

This is old news by now, but it is something I feel like it is worth mentioning here anyway. So this past Sunday was CM Punk's (pictured above) apparent last show/night with the WWE. The story that was being built up with his leaving was the fact that he intended on walking out of their pay-per-view show with the WWE Championship.

And so it goes...

CM Punk did, in fact, defeat John Cena for the title and even Raw's Money in the Bank winner (this being a briefcase that holds a contract for a title match, anywhere and anytime the winner so chooses) Alberto Del Rio ran down to try and cash in. But failed. And so CM Punk escapes the PPV with the title and if that is goodbye for Punk, then what a way to go.

With this tournament to crown a new champ, I wonder if by some chance CM Punk returns to the WWE, if he'd stake his claim as being the WWE Champion that was never defeated for that belt. Hmmm...

CM Punk Shoots?

Now I've been a fan of CM Punk since the moment he appeared on WWE's version of ECW many years back. I thought it was pretty cool to see a guy actually using a submission hold for a finisher, which by then was a rare thing in the WWE. Before that I did hear of him in Ring of Honor and I had an idea of what this man is capable of.

But now years later, I've gotten to watch him evolve into possibly, arguably, one of the best in the WWE today. And the promo that CM Punk cut on Raw last Monday night (old news now) proves that he has a whole lot more to offer. The rumors and questions all point to the same thing: Will CM Punk leave the WWE? Or is this whole thing a work?

I agree that this whole thing is probably one of the best things that has happened in the WWE in a long while. Why? Because it has a lot of people (myself included) wondering if this is real or not? All the news sites that I keep up with can't seem to sort apart if this is real or not and that is pretty rare and pretty cool in these times.

"Macho Man" Randy Savage

"Macho Man" Randy Savage During His Wrestling Career

This is ultimately 3 days after the fact, but I still feel like it is something that I need to mention. Last Friday, legendary pro wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage (real name Randall Mario Poffo) passed away at the age of 58. The cause of death is still under investigation at this point. There are many reports stating that he suffered at heart attack while driving, lost control of the vehicle, jumped over a median and crashed into a tree. His wife suffered some injuries, but is at least physically okay.

It is sad to see another death in pro wrestling, especially a guy that was as entertaining and talented as the "Macho Man." He is one of the few guys in the wrestling business who could truly be as convincing good guy, as he can be a bad guy. And while I was too young to remember his legendary matches from then WWF, I do remember seeing what he could do while he was in WCW and those matches will always stand out in my mind whenever I think of Randy Savage.

One thing that I was always surprised about is how he never made a real comeback to wrestling after leaving WCW many years ago. Most of the other veterans from yesteryear have all generally kept wrestling or are still involved somewhere, such as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. 

But then it had to have been for the best, by this I mean Savage not returning to the ring. I mean the man seemed content (again, most guys almost never can stay away from the ring for very long) and even got married just barely a year ago this month.

Another irreplaceable character gone, another man that will never be forgotten. Macho Madness will live forever!

The "Macho Man" in recent years, I think this photo was released when he was married to his longtime girlfriend last May.

McCool Retires?

Michelle McCool

Such a strange wave hitting through the WWE these days and the retirements are starting to rack up by the day it seems. The rumors have been going none stop that McCool would be taking part in a "Loser Leaves WWE" match against her long time cohort Layla at tonight's Extreme Rules show. But rumors being what they are, I can't say I believed it was happening until it was confirmed on Smackdown! this past Friday night.

A part of the rumors were the reasons behind why McCool was stepping away from the ring. Talk about Undertaker wanting his wife at home with up surfaced, others have speculated that she was leaving to start having kids.

Whatever the case might be, I am a little sad about her sudden "retirement" from the WWE. She is probably the only "diva" the WWE actually help to build up and actually succeeded. Sure there are other divas like Melina and... uh...

Anyway, yes there have been some other women to have some successes in the ring but I don't think any of them actually came close to what McCool did. She is one of the few female wrestlers left that actually started up from nothing and actually got to be pretty good. I suppose it does remain much easier for the WWE to simply pick up women that are already trained, rather then having to start everyone from the ground up. Then again it has been many years since any diva has had any significance to either Raw or Smackdown, so I guess it ultimately doesn't really mean or change all that much.

But at the end of all of this, personally as a fan I am sort of bummed that yet another favorite of mine is set to leave in such a short amount of time. But at least she isn't leaving because of some sort of injury or anything truly serious. And I guess that does leave the door open for a potential return somewhere down the road.

Back In The Mix

I've been kind of operating on auto-pilot this month and the writings from me have few and further between. I guess I have just been focusing on other things lately, more so just trying to not take everything so goddamn personally all the time. I guess that mostly goes towards my job, which was the source of a lot of headaches these past month or two. But I came to the conclusion (again) that there are just certain things in life that just aren't worth stressing over.

Besides, all of this unnecessary stress is producing a couple of white hairs on my head already. I'm too young for that crap!

Aside from that though, I guess being a long time wrestling fan, I am still in shock with the sudden retirement of Edge. Ever since his announcement on Raw a few weeks back, I kept watching and hoping that this was somehow all some sort of bad storyline. This couldn't be for real, right? I mean wrestlers "retire" all of the time, this had to be another one of those times right?

Now that the days have turned into weeks and more and more details have surfaced, it is apparent that this is absolutely real. It is a terrible thing in some ways, I mean I think Edge had only really hit his stride in the past few years. Okay, I suppose that isn't all too true since the man is an 11 time world champion. Most guys are lucky to even get to hold that belt a time or two.

On the flip side onto the gaming side of things, there are a couple of games that have caught my attention over the course of this past few weeks. The top of that is the game Brink, as well as reboot of Mortal Kombat.

Now Brink I am liking because it seems like an updated, fleshed out version of Borderlands. I suppose the thing that draws me a bit more to this is the promise of co-op game play as well as a ton of character customizations, the latter of which Borderlands lacked. I am keeping an eye out on this one, hopefully there will be a demo released for this some time before the game's launch.

As for Mortal Kombat, well... I've never been really that great or even good at fighting games. I don't really know why I want to play this, but I'd like to at least give the game a shot. Maybe I can pick it up and actually get better then I ever did before. Or, as I learned after playing both Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV, I could just get smashed over and over and over again.

One last little bit here, I just got Final Fantasy IV Complete Collection in the mail (gotta love GameFly) and playing that game, again, somehow is still awesome to me. I kind of dig the updated graphics and I like the little details added into the game. It makes the story feel more fleshed out, more detailed I suppose. Hell on top of that, I like the option of picking between the original OST or the arranged version. I know these are all nothing much to be excited about, but having played the game as many times as I have already, the little changes and what not do make a difference.

And before I quit this, I can't believe the announcement that both Final Fantasy VI AND Chrono Trigger are headed to PSN. Well in Japan... Still! Those games better make their way over to the U.S.! Square-Enix wouldn't leave us in the dark on these games would they? Would they?

Edge Retires

Possibly the most shocking news for me, as a fan of pro wrestling, was the sudden announcement of Edge retiring from active competition last Monday night. The videos covers his announcement on Monday night, as well as Edge's final night on Friday Night Smackdown.

Anyway, I have been reading interviews that Edge had been doing over the past many months and I know that retirement was looming on his mind. He has sited his past injuries as the main reason, as a few of them were giving him trouble. And after everything that has happened recently, it was revealed that it was his neck that was affecting him to the point where he needed to retire or face the possibility of injuring himself even more so.

But as even Edge said it, it is better that he can leave with his health and on his own terms rather then having to really be forced out after suffering a lasting and possibly more severe injury. He was set to have another ladder match against his WrestleMania opponent, Alberto Del Rio after all. Who knows what may have happened, had he gone into the match?

As a fan who actually got to see Edge from the beginning of his WWE career, it was awesome to see just how far this guy has come over the years. Not very many guys make it after splitting from a tag team, but he is among the few that survived and thrived. I admit that it is sad to see him go, but I am glad that the guy didn't end up even more messed up then he already physically is. Hell at only 37 years old, he still has time to heal up and enjoy life. And really, who knows? Maybe he will return to the ring someday yet.

And for the record, he did always have the best entrance music of any wrestler I think I've ever seen.

One Last Chance

Trish Stratus returns at WrestleMania.

One last chance means I've only got one more day of my week long vacation before I have to head back to work. Needless to say, yet I'll say it anyway, I am not looking forward to going back in the least.

But that isn't my focus, not with little more then a day left of this much needed break. I am focused instead on enjoying my time of freedom as much as I possibly can. And what better way to cap this whole thing off with WrestleMania tomorrow!

Pictured to the side here is seven time WWE Women's Champion (and future WWE Hall of Famer), Trish Stratus. She is actually coming out of retirement to have a match (John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Snooki vs. LayCool & Dolph Ziggler) at the biggest pro wrestling event of the year. 

The rest of the event should be pretty good too, with John Cena facing The Miz for the WWE Championship. Add into this the fact that The Rock will have to have some sort of involvement in this match. I mean after weeks of verbal crossfire between these three guys, how could there not be some sort of physical altercation between these guys?

Of course the other huge match at 'Mania is The Undertaker puts his undefeated streak up against Triple H. Of course there has been teasing that Shawn Michaels (Triple H's best friend and the guy who failed at the past 2 WrestleMania events to end the streak and ultimately cost him his career) may get involved with the match as well. Do I think The Undertaker will lose? After going undefeated for the past 18 WrestleMania events he has been involved with, how can anyone expect him to lose? I know I don't.

The World Heavyweight Championship match may start a new era, with the defending champ Edge faces Alberto Del Rio. I think I almost have to agree that Del Rio will be walking out of WrestleMania with the title. I mean this guy won the first ever 40-man Royal Rumble match and he has been talking all about how his becoming World Champion is his destiny. Factor in the facts that Edge is talking retirement, though it isn't any time in the near future. But come on... there has been a major push towards the next generation and this could very well be the next step in this movement. Then again, the other factors that can tip the scales is Christian (who is in the corner of Edge) and Brodus Clay (who is cornering Del Rio).

The match that I want to see though is the match between CM Punk and Randy Orton. They've been playing a lot of mind games with one another for a long while now and even while Orton has taken out the New Nexus, things have been built up to where it doesn't seem to make a difference now. The Viper (Orton) is even sporting an injured knee, which has to tip the scales in Punk's favor. I just don't see Punk losing tomorrow night...

Another match that has been built up by a lot of mind games is Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio. I thought the "Dashing" gimmick for Rhodes was a bit cheesy, but this turn about in character is interesting and equally fitting. He has taken a serious turn to a more unstable, almost crazy character and I have to think he has a pretty good chance of winning. As for my official prediction? I can't even call this, I think this could go either way really.

Sheamus, the current WWE United States Champion, will be defending his title against the man he won it from in Daniel Bryan. Now as much as I respect what Bryan Danielson (why couldn't they just use this name?), I don't think he stands much of a chance against the Celtic Warrior. I mean Sheamus was on a heck of a losing streak whilst King Sheamus and now that he has dropped his royal title, he has been winning once again. Maybe this will lead to another WWE Championship?

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole could very well be a one sided smash match, with Lawler finally shutting Cole up!

The Corre vs. Santino Marella, Vladamir Kozlov, The Big Show and Kane seems like a slapped together match. But I think Team Santino could very well pick up the win here. And why not? The Corre already holds the Tag Team and Intercontinental Championships!

Whoops, didn't expect to have thrown out all of those predictions but there they are. On paper the show sounds like it should be a pretty damn good event. I wish I could afford to buy this event, but alas... maybe next year.

On a final note, which is a video game note, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo 3DS a few days ago and it went above my expectations. Now I didn't turn up the 3D to full as it just didn't quite look right to me. But just a little bit and I thought it was pretty awesome. I can't wait to see how other games will do on this new system, but as for the game I played around with (Pilotwings Resort), it was okay at best.

It reminded me way too much of Wii Sports Resort, which I played quite a bit of at home already...

Do I think it is good? Yes, definitely so!

Do I think it is worth the price? As of right now? No, not until there are better choices in games. Maybe once that happens it'll be a much easier purchase to stomach.

The Return Of The People's Champion

What an amazing shocker it was, to read and watch and simply hear The Rock back in the WWE! The last time he even had a match with the company was back at WrestleMania 20 (that means it has been just about 7 years ago) and hearing this guy proves one thing for certain: His mic skills have not dulled at all in those years away from the ring.

Above is simply his new entrance video, but what is truly worth seeing is his return to Monday Night Raw last night. I might have kind of fallen off the wrestling wagon, but seeing the guy come back was just awesome. I hope, at the very least, he does come back for one final run.

Five Years Later

Today marks the 5th anniversary to the day that pro wrestling legend Eddie Guerrero passed away.

Even while there have been a great number of wrestlers who've passed away over the years, Eddie Guerrero's passing is significant to me because he was one of the wrestlers I more or less grew up watching. It was a heck of a journey, to watch as this guy whom was regarded as nothing more then a Cruiserweight (light weight) wrestler, to becoming WWE Champion.

Its a shame in a way, that this man turned his life around from a life of heavy drug and alcohol use, only to succumb to the aftereffects of that lifestyle years later. But then again, I suppose what matters most is that he did find the strength to make the changes in his life.

Even after 5 years, still in memory...

Whoa

I am just waking up and reading a few posts on a wrestling website and what am I seeing? Apparently Daniel Bryan was fired from WWE yesterday. The reasoning behind that is because, during the NXT invasion of Raw *posted the video previously*, Bryan choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie and that was too extreme by WWE standards.

Wait, so I suppose it wasn't too violent to be beating up commentators and ring keepers, not to mention destroying the ringside area. Kick apart the tables, rip apart the ring and just tear shit up! That is okay! But to choke the ring announcer with his tie? OH. MY. GOD. That is violence folks and that man (Daniel Bryan) went too far!

Huh.

This is all a joke right?

So much for all that promise and everything... I think this has to go down as being the single stupidest reason anyone has ever been fired from WWE. I mean because he choked the ring announcer? With his own tie? That was just too violent? I know the WWE has gone all PG on everyone, but this is just too much already. What next? Replace all steel chairs with pillows? No more suplexes, only hugs?

NXT Invades

Finally!

After months of being subjected to trash talking from an announcer, FINALLY Bryan Danielson (a.k.a. Daniel Bryan in WWE) fired back at that worm Michael Cole! I think the promo above does prove that this guy isn't just some guy that rolled in off of the indy wrestling scene. I think what this, at the very least, begins to prove that Bryan Danielson is the real deal and I hope this guy makes it in the WWE. Bryan vs CM Punk?

Yes please!

Eddie "Umaga" Fatu 1973-2009

I would have hoped to be able to write about something positive, but alas that is just not to be. It is a sad way to start out the month of December, hearing about yet another death in the world of Professional Wrestling.

Yesterday Eddie Fatu, also known as "Umaga" in WWE, died apparently due to a pair of massive heart attacks. That is the story I've been reading and so far there has not been any further details. What is so very sad about all of this is the fact that the man was only 36 years old. That is just too young to go...

And to think that he had just wrestled recently and now he is gone. It goes to show you just how quickly life can end.

Rest in peace and thank you for the memories.

Hell In A Cell

Of all the matches going down at tonight's WWE Pay Per View, the one match I thought I had figured out was the CM Punk versus Undertaker match. Surely because it is a Cell match, that fact does give the Undertaker a heck of an advantage.

But I didn't believe they (WWE) would hand CM Punk a lost this quickly. I mean from what I've read (and from what little I've gotten to watch), CM Punk has been a hell of a bad guy since turning during his feud with Jeff Hardy. Why allow Undertaker to get the title victory so quickly after returning?

The other logic behind my thinking is the fact that Undertaker seems to always end up injured after winning the world title. I mean for nearly every instance that I can recall over the past few years, 'Taker has always ended up leaving on a injury after winning the big one. And considering how he just returned after being out since WrestleMania, that would be a bad, bad thing.

John Morrison versus Dolph Ziggler... eh... I like Morrison, I think he could be a hell of a long running Intercontential Champion. It would be kind of cool to see the title stay with one wrestler for a while, rather then switching it all over the place every other month. But that's just me. With that said, this victory he picked up tonight is a step in that direction.

As for Ziggler... I couldn't care less to be honest.

Mickie James defeating Alicia Fox isn't all that awesome, just because of the fact that I don't think Fox has much wrestling experience. Why the WWE even has two divisions is beyond me, especially when they couldn't even muster a decent division when they had only one title out there. Anyway, maybe this will lead towards a rekindling of James's feud with Beth Phoenix, this time for the Divas Championship.

I feel a little bad for Batista. I feel bad for the guy because he jumps back to Smackdown and ends up right back into a tag team with the returning Rey Mysterio. Don't get me wrong, that isn't bad and the fact that they are facing the Unified Tag Team Champs Chris Jericho and Big Show, certainly helps matters. I suppose this will be the start of a new feud, though I can't help but wonder what is wrong with the few other actual tag teams out there right now (Legecy, Cryme Tyme, Hart Dynasty or how about even MVP & Mark Henry?)...

Randy Orton and John Cena are still beating the living hell out of each other? Wow. I would think that these guys would have managed to kill each other by now, considering how long these two guys have been at each other. Like Punk vs. Undertaker, I am surprised to see Orton winning the title back so quickly. I guess they'll continue on and beat the sh*t out of each other further?

I agree with some fans saying they are tired of seeing these two in matches against each other. But really, who else can fight for the title now? Triple H and HBK are doing the DX thing (again) and basically everyone else hasn't quite been built up to step into the big picture yet. Maybe Edge could...?

I like Kofi Kingston as United States Champion. I like the fact that there are actually legit contenders after him in Jack Swagger and The Miz. I think if given enough time, this feud could potentially make all three guys into top level stars. Wow, did I just say that?

R-Truth and that Drew guy... yeah, just like Ziggler, I couldn't care less about this match all together. Maybe they could form a stable together? They could call themselves R-Drew McIn-Ziggles. Classic! Sounds like a law firm... or a new, futuristic McDonalds sandwich.

DX versus Legacy reminds me of DX versus the Spirt Squad. Wow, I just insulted Legacy that time. I mean this feud kind of reminds me DX's battles against the cheerleaders in that they tend to lose a lot to the pair of veterans. Then again, Legacy did beat the crap out of DX last month so...

So I wonder where this is all going?

Overall, I am glad I don't spend money to watch these Pay Per View shows like I used to many, many years ago. I am content with just reading about what happened, rather then spend $30 to be disappointed with a craptacular show. Believe me when I say that I've fallen victim to that many, many times.

Impact? Not quite...

Here is a post of a different kind for me, or at least one based on a subject I just don't write a lot about these days. That's right, wrestling. Pro wrestling to be exact. Tonight was the first time in a while that I've actually gone out of my way to watch a TNA show. Generally speaking, things don't usually make all that much sense and there seems to be a lot of random match ups and what not. Needless to say, tonight was absolutely no different.

Yeah I know not every show in the world will be to everyone's liking, I get that part. But after all of this time, I was hoping that maybe things would have changed by now. You know, maybe their story telling would have gotten better? Well like I said, tonight was absolutely no different I'm afraid.

First off, Kurt Angle vs. Matt Morgan for Bound For Glory? Now I get there is a bit of revenge to be had, since apparently Morgan had "cost" Angle the TNA World title. But from the way Angle played it off, his losing the title didn't seem to bother him all that much. Hell, I thought it was kind of funny when he said the Main Event Mafia continued their dominance by holding onto most of their titles. Oops! That's right, everyone but you!

Speaking of the TNA World title, AJ Styles as Champion is awesome to me. I've been a fan of his for a long while, definitely longer then I have been a TNA fan. What bugged me is how he came across during his first promo as champ. He called Sting out to the ring and exchanged some words of praise and then Sting goes to leave.

But!

Then Styles says he knows what Sting did for him at No Surrender. What did he do exactly? Well he could have pinned Angle and won the title for himself. Instead he dove out and took out Matt Morgan, leaving Styles to win the title. He (Sting) stepped aside for him and handed him the title!

I don't know, to me that whole promo came across as if Styles was actually undermining himself as champion. What I am hoping won't happen is Styles turns (or Sting turns) heel again. Please! Don't. Do. It!

Another point of confusion for me was the street fight between Suicide and D'Angelo Dinero (formerly Eljiah Burke). Who was the heel here? It sure seemed like everyone was more behind Dinero then Suicide, whom I assumed was the good guy in this exchange.

Truthfully, I don't care much for the Suicide character all that much. On the flip side though, it was pretty cool to see Dinero in action. Glad to see the guy getting more TV time then when he was with WWE. Hopefully there will be a title reign in his future somewhere.

The TNA Knockouts Tag Title match between the new champs Sarita & Taylor Wilde against ODB & Tara was an okay match. I guess it could have been a lot better or even great, but for whatever reason Awesome Kong walked down and Tara went on the attack, leaving ODB alone against the newly crowned champions.

What does this accomplish? Heck if I know! Are they trying to set up a possible triple threat between Kong, Tara and ODB? It appears that way to me...

Samoa Joe versus Daniels versus Homicide wasn't all that much better. If TNA was trying to recapture the magic of old, it was a failure in my opinion. I mean Joe and Homicide spent most of the match beating down Daniels and it wasn't until the end when Joe and Homicide turned on each other and Joe destroyed him.

Let me put it this way: The match was pretty dull.

Speaking of which, why the hell is Christopher Daniels just called Daniels now? Being a wrestling fan who reads more recaps then is able to watch the shows, I was a little confused for a while when I kept reading Daniels. I think his trip as Curry Man, then Suicide ruined this guy's career. So sad...

Matt Morgan & Hernandez versus Kurt Angle & Eric Young served a little purpose I suppose, in that the divide between the MEM and World Elite seems to be widening by the week. Truthfully I was surprised when Morgan and Hernandez didn't jump out of the ring and attack both the Mafia and World Elite. They have issues with both sides and these guys are freakin' human towers! But meh, that is just me I guess.

Bobby Lashley kills Jethro Holliday. Need I say more?

I'm actually intrigued by the TNA Tag Team Champions, Scott Steiner and Booker T. These two guys have a lot of history with each other and they've exchanged the WCW World title a few times as well. And I have to agree, they do look pretty good as tag team. I never, ever would have thought I'd see one half of Harlem Heat teaming with one half of the Steiner brothers.

As far as Mick Foley and Abyss is concerned... what the hell is this? Foley is mad over a busted picture and Abyss is still an emotional "monster"? I can't believe they wasted the main event spot for this "match," which seemed to only serve the purpose of allowing Foley to beat the hell out of Abyss over said picture. What is even sadder is the fact that actual teams like Lethal Consequences and the Motor City Machine Guns are used in the stupid backstage crap.

Overall, as I'm sure it is a little obvious by now, I didn't really enjoy the show all that much. It was my hope that the show would have gotten better since the last time I watched and to be fair it has, to a certain degree. What saddens me is I felt like I was still watching a WWE show, with all of these ex-WWE wrestlers running all over the place.

Like others have stated, I would love to see the X-Division returned to its former glory. It was a spot fest some days, sure. But the action was a much faster pace and it was certainly different then having to always watch these slower matches. It is a nice change of pace. And hell, if these tag teams of X-Division guys won't ever be used as teams, then why not break it up and have them return to the X-Division? At least they would be able to have matches more often or so I'd think.

AJ Styles as TNA World Champion is cool.

AJ Styles underselling himself and saying the title was handed to him? Not so much. I had flashbacks to when Eric Bischoff handed Triple H the World Heavyweight title, back in the day when Brock Lesner took the WWE Undisputed Championship to Smackdown.

I'm not wrestling genius, but I don't think that is how you'd want to start to build up a World Champion. My only guess to the reason why this was done is because there is something brewing... and I hope my predictions on what is entirely wrong.

One thing I forgot to mention that I actually liked was Alissa Flash's attack on Hamada. The attack seemed to drag a little too long, but I am liking how TNA is actually building up some heels for their Knockouts Division. From my limited knowledge, it sure seems like they are lacking in that respect.

Speaking of whom, where were the Beautiful People tonight?

Last thing here, I wonder where this rivalry between the Main Event Mafia and World Elite is going? Both are heel groups and I can't see either side being able to flip over to being entirely good guys. Hmm...

Overall, I am a little disappointed with the show just because of the fact that I would love to be a fan of this company. But nine times out of ten, the shows just aren't all that enjoyable for me. I guess all I can do now is back off, keep an eye on the recaps and perhaps try this yet again in the future.

A Little Catching Up To Do

I've been meaning to write sooner, but I have actually been hooked into playing Mass Effect lately. Funny how I didn't really like the game during my first time playing through and now its like a game I can't imagine on passing up.

The story itself seems pretty good, though it is taking quite a while for all of the pieces to come together. Still, I am intrigued to see and find out how this story ends. But then that will leave the question on what happens in the next game? Hmmm...

Now jumping to a different RPG, my favorite one that hasn't even been released yet! Final Fantasy XIII!

So let me get this straight: So maybe they (Square Enix) will announce the US release date and maybe they'll release a demo that might be all new, rather then rehashing the Japanese demo. And now maybe they'll even have DLC?

WOW.

And maybe you could win a brand new car!

And maybe... I really am getting a little sick of all of these maybes. How about some confirmations? A release date would be very nice, I'd think. I'll even throw in a few maybes of my own in here! Maybe I'm falling off of the hype wagon here, because FFXIII is looking less appealing to me by the day.

Maybe I won't even pick up Final Fantasy XIII.

Maybe I'll just wait for Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Hell, maybe I'll just wait for Final Fantasy XIV instead.

Pardon me...maybe I'm just a grouchy old fart who would rather be playing a game, rather then being played like a game. Perhaps I'm just a little annoyed? Maybe!

Now one last little thought here...

This past Friday (Tuesday in reality) was former WWE Champion Jeff Hardy's final match. As it always goes in pro wrestling, however, no one ever really retires and rumor has it that he is just in need of some time off.

I do have to agree with other fans have said: He did have a hell of a run and he didn't half ass anything here. Because of him and his feud with CM Punk, it surely helped get Punk over as the new top bad guy on Smackdown.

Anyhow, below is Jeff Hardy's farewell speech. Here's hoping he'll take a year off like others, then come back and carry on his main eventing ways!

300th Time is the Charm!

There are a lot of random little things that happen that I never thought would happen. For example, having another job at a grocery store. I worked at a store during high school and thereafter swore that I would not do it again. Four years after that, I found myself working at a grocery store.

Speaking of jobs I never thought I'd have (and never wanted to have), one of those happened when I was unhappily employed at McDonalds for some years. Needless to say, that experience reminded me why I didn't want that in the first place and it also served me with motivation to never get that low again.

Ha, but that is another story entirely...

Back to the point at hand. another random thing happens to fall onto this blog of mine. I never would have imagined that I would be writing a long term blog, mostly because my mind and my attention tends to wander away from things before too long. Hell, I wouldn't even have thought that I write up a whopping 300 posts for said blog neither. And yet here it is, plain as day, and I am still writing for it today.

300 posts!

Either that is a little bit of dedication or perhaps a sign that I end up with nothing better to do more often then not? Hmm...

Anyway, I was surprised to have read that my favorite former WWE Diva, Victoria (who claimed to have retired some months ago), has resurfaced recently in TNA Wrestling under her real name (Lisa Marie Varon, pictured above). And my god does she look hot! It looks like her MMA training got her back into top shape!

What? Don't judge! I am only human...

Now as much as I think TNA is a weird paradox of a wrestling company, I have to admit that the former Victoria's appearance there has sparked my interests in that strange place to a certain degree. In my opinion, it is about damn time they got some REAL talent in their so called women's division!

On the subject of wrestling, I just got my first wrestling Blu-Ray disk (WrestleMania 25) and my thoughts? It really isn't worth the extra money in my opinion, I mean the only thing that really seems to stand out is the onscreen graphics. Is that worth shelling out an extra $10? It is a mistake I won't be repeating twice, that's for certain.

But what did make the purchase worth its coin were a few great matches. For starters, the pre-WrestleMania tag match for the Unified Tag Team titles was awesome! I hadn't had the chance to see Carlito and his real life brother Primo tagging before, but they are a pretty solid team. And their opponents, John Morrison and The Miz, were their usual awesome selves. I liked that team! But I suppose the WWE felt their run as a tag team had come to an end, which I hope means they won't fall into the same hole like a lot of broken up teams (meaning failed solo runs).

What was so very sad is the fact that this unified tag title match managed not to make it onto the actual show itself. I agree with what was said by others here on the net, in that those involved must not have been too thrilled not to have made it onto the biggest WWE show of the year.

The Money in the Bank ladder match wasn't as bad as I heard, even though the winner of the match is a repeat of last year (CM Punk). Surprising to me was how Kofi Kingston was absolutely amazing! I think he was rivaling Shelton Benjamin in the insane spots department, though the "Gold Standard" had his share of holy shit moments, too. Personally, I'd love to see both he (Kofi) and Shelton Benjamin mix it up in the future.

But the biggest draw for me was the Shawn Michaels versus Undertaker match. Ever since this event, I've been reading about just how great a match these two guys had. And needless to say, my interest was tickled. And after watching it, I can wholly agree with what people have said!

Everything from the pre-match promo video to the match itself, man the whole thing just gave me goosebumps! There literally wasn't a dull moment in the match from bell to bell! What took me by surprise was actually seeing a great Undertaker match (his matches tend to be a bit on the slow side usually). But both he and HBK stepped up their respective games that night and it easily can join the short list of favorite matches in my book.

Last thing to write about is focusing on Suikoden, which I have picked up on PSN a short time back. Yes I did have the PSP version with both the first and second games. But it was all in Japanese! I can't read it and playing a RPG you can't read just doesn't end up being a fun experience (at least not for me).

What has been a bitch is actually trying to recall things about the game (like where and how to recruit the 108 characters) and I think I've been doing okay so far. One screw up in the road was Pahn's death, which I prevented before, but was very, very ill prepared for this time around.

Regardless, it has been a fun experience to be able to relive this classic RPG. Everything from the full scale wars to the castle itself... oh the memories...

Next up for me is Wild Arms... I still got a bone to pick with the original version!

Oh and a funny story in relation to Wild Arms. I actually bought the original game twice, the reason being was the first time around just pissed me off. You see, I didn't realize you could switch between characters and in doing so, use their abilities (bombs, the little rat, etc). So after just barely starting up into the game, I was terminally stuck! And it didn't take long before I swore (figuratively and literally) that I would not touch such a shit game again!

Imagine how stupid I felt the second time around? It just goes to show, it would be wise to sometimes read the game manual from time to time...