I apologize for the lack of updates and new articles, ladies and gentlemen.
If you have been keeping up with my notifications on Facebook, you would know that I have had my laptop die on me. The motherboard's fried and as much it would cost me to replace it, I could buy a new laptop - something I had my eye on doing anyway. I got a "loaner" from my dad, but I should have known that would have been just as bad as my parents aren't as "technical savvy" as myself. It did good for exactly ONE day, until it gave me the infamous "blue screen of death." Fortunately, it's the unmountable boot volume error and I'm hoping that I could replace that laptop's hard drive with the one salvaged from my old laptop since repairing the files (with the Windows XP installation disk) isn't working.
If that doesn't work, then I have already started looking around for a decent replacement. Plus, I have desktop to do the basic Internet browsing and checking email and such, but for the time being, recording and edit gameplay captures isn't going to be an option anytime soon. Going from 200+GB memory to less than 40GB is going to hurt me for the time being, but I'll bounce back like I always do.
Enough with the bad news, how about some good news?
I believe Bou has already started working on her video walkthrough for Assassin's Creed II and I have already spoken with another friend who will be more than happy to provide an in-depth review on both the current generation and next-gen (namely PlayStation 4) versions of Battlefield 4 when it launches. Why don't I write that review you ask? I'm not a FPS person, so I would prefer someone who is more knowledgeable on that franchise and genre to do the review. Also, if you loved Bou's walkthrough on the original Assassin's Creed, show her some love and subscribe to her channel.
Other articles in the works:
- Allow Me to (Re)Introduce Myself -- A little bio on myself as the humble writer of this blog as my thanks from many of you guys' kind messages and comments about how much you enjoy my work over the last few years.
- REVIEW -- Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
- REVIEW -- The Grandmaster (2013)
- REVIEW -- Hulk & The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. - Series Premiere: "Doorway to Destruction" Pt. 1 & 2
- REVIEW -- Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season One Finale: "Showdown"
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, MY Way -- Rewriting The Plot -- For a LONG time, I have wanted to rewrite this game's narrative using Marvel and Capcom's lore and history to tell a proper narrative on why both of these universes have clashed. Don't expect this write-up to come anytime soon as it's going to take a while for me to get this right.
- REVIEW -- Legend of Korra - Season Two Premiere - What's New In The Arena -- I know that I haven't updated The Arena in some time now and I'm going to get on that in the coming months.
"You are never entirely safe" - bold words that served as the theme for this past week's episode of Beware the Batman. For those of you following me on Facebook should already know that I was pretty hyped to see this episode after the preview clips online teased the debut of the League of Assassins.
Let's get down to business and see if this episode was worth the hype.
Episode Synopsis: (Spoilers Ahead)
Introducing the prototype of his newest product to the entire world – the Ion Cortex, a powerful device capable of solving the world’s energy crisis – Bruce Wayne hires brilliant scientist Dr. Jason Burr to work on the project. The announcement also draws the attention of one of the most dangerous groups in the world – the League of Assassins. When one of the League’s deadly assassins called Silver Monkey attacks Wayne Manor to kidnap Dr. Burr while Batman’s in Gotham, it’s up to Alfred and Tatsu to keep the assassin at bay until Batman’s return. But Tatsu is armed and ready for the task with her legendary weapon the Soultaker Sword (a sacred weapon she stole from the infamous League of Assassins back when she used to work for them). Though Jason Burr did grow attached to her to the point where he tended to her wounds after Batman repelled Silver Monkey. After Silver Monkey's mission was a failure, Lady Shiva told Silver Monkey not to go after him for they will obtain the Ion Cortex another way.
The Verdict:
This episode is easily my favorite to come out of this season so far, mainly for the mere fact that we have been treated to the introduction of the League of Assassins. Savvy comic book fans will be quick to inform you that they are tied to one of Batman's most infamous adversaries, Ra's Al Ghul, but others will be quick to forget that group is more than just him and his daughter, Talia. The League of Assassins consists of the world's deadliest assassins. I still say that WB Montreal will be VERY stupid not to include their members among the assassins out for the bounty that was placed on Batman's head in the Batman: Arkham Origins video game.
Back on topic though... it was interesting to see that Lady Shiva is calling out the shots for the League of Assassins instead of Ra's Al Ghul. Lady Shiva is the ultimate martial artists master of DC Universe. She is known for killing her opponents with her bare hands with deadly efficiency. Hell, she would make Iron Fist look like Spongebob practicing karate in comparison. Even more interesting enough, Lady Shiva has constantly bounced back and forth from being one of Batman's allies to one of his most dangerous opponents.
Silver Monkey proved to be a worthy adversary for this episode as he continued this series' tradition of establishing more lesser known Batman rogues. What was more intriguing was the tied history between him and Tatsu Yamashiro in this episode. We found out that Tatsu used to be a former member of the League of Assassins and departed their ranks after faking her demise. I have to wonder why Silver Monkey withheld the information about the Soultaker Sword from Lady Shiva in his report. Does he have his own motive concerning it? In the comics, he was known as a mercenary for hire so his allegiance was to the highest bidder. Only time will tell if that's the case here.
Another thing I found interesting on this episode was the introduction of Dr. Jason Burr. In DC Comics, he is the second individual to don the costume of the Kobra. At this time, it doesn't seem like he is going to be villain, but only time will tell if he is going to be a bigger player in this series in the future.
Last but not least, I would like to applaud this series for not racing Tatsu's in-costume debut. She had her first taste of action in this episode, but they didn't just sped up her tests with Bruce and went ahead and allowed her to don her inevitable transformation into a costumed heroine as Katana. Their decision to not rush Bruce's tests shows that this series is willing to sacrifice to tell a bigger, broader story over the course of this season. I had to laugh at the outlandish looking guns on this episode, but then I remembered that Cartoon Network promised that they would go out of their way to replace traditional firearms for a fantasy replacement in wake of the numerous school shootings over the last year.
From the action-packed nature of this episode from top to bottom to the new revelations about Tatsu Yamashiro's background and the impressive debut of the League of Assassins, Safe definitely delivered this past week for Beware The Batman fans. I'm definitely anxious to see where they go from here.
To be perfectly honest, I wasn't going to do a write-up on this second episode and just do a write-up on this show as a whole at the end of the season, but I was literally in tears laughing by the end of this episode, so let's do this, folks.
Episode Synopsis:
Eva Marie plans to achieve a winning rank by creating a scheming plan. The Bella Twins take some time off and enjoy a vacation with Daniel Bryan and John Cena. Cameron and Naomi are horrified when they experience a wardrobe malfunction.
The Verdict:
Things don't go for Eva Marie as she originally planned with Fandango as she lied through her teeth to everyone in WWE, starting from creative to Fandango (Johnny Curtis) about her dancing ability. To say that her boyfriend took the time to come all the way out there to visit her and propose to her, I felt that it was really disrespectful that she took off her engagement ring, hoping to score more brownie points with Fandango. She didn't have to put on the sluttiest outfit that she owned either... She should have known that she was in over her head after Fandango asked her out to the club that night and he was really into her. C'mon, now girl. You can't be that stupid. Fandango wanted to hear you scream his name that night. I have to be honest, it's a bit weird hearing Johnny Curtis talking normal, despite seeing him back on NXT a few years ago. I'm sure Maxine (Karlee Perez) is stilling at home, watching this episode literally beside herself laughing... I fell out laughing when the girls were giving Eva Marie tips on how to dance properly and Cameron goes, "Can't go out there and shit the bed!" Then Eva Marie actually goes on stage for the audition and literally makes an ass out of herself. My issue with this part is much like the so-called "cancelled" Divas Match at WrestleMania, you know this was all manufactured drama. The spacing gave it the entire "made-for-TV" impression and like they were making this as a storyline for RAW or Smackdown! to be on TV next week. Let's be realistic for a second. If any other rookie Diva pulled this stunt they would have been fired on the spot. The icing on the cake during the entire ordeal of Eva Marie getting caught in the middle of her huge and outrageous lie was the Queen of the WWE Divas, Stephanie McMahon laying down the law. I like the nice little cliffhanger for this episode that Stephanie left with Eva.
On a side note, JoJo is still stuck being Eva Marie's personal secretary...
Breakout star of this episode was Sandra the Seamstress. Cameron deserved that treatment after going behind her back and special ordering her own outfits without even consulting Naomi about this ordeal. Line of the week is definitely Naomi's complaint about the outfit, "All my cookie is hanging out!" I swear I love Naomi even more after I started watching this show. Jimmy Uso is my dude too as I literally had the same expression on my face as he did when Naomi had Cameron on speakerphone and heard how nasty ghetto this girl is. I cringe every time that Cameron opens her mouth. I'm black and it bothers me on how bad she sounds on TV.
Another side note, there's more bad editing on this episode. Look at the start of Tons of Funk entrance, NO ONE is that hyped during their entrance. I refuse to believe that.
Did anyone else catch that Naomi wearing AJ Lee's new shirt? (In Gregory Helms' voice) What's up with dat?
The whole ordeal between John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Nikki Bella, and Brie Bella was borderline softcore porn for the ladies watching at home when Bryan and Cena were chopping wood with their shirts off at Bryan's house. From the way the Bellas were dressed to chop wood, I thought it was beginning of how one of those uncut GoDaddy.com commercials start. During this entire segment, I wanted to tell Nikki to shut the fuck up. She claims that they are nothing like their in-ring personalities but she comes off as a materialistic prima donna. Nikki and Cena's relationship seems to be built off fancy gifts and materialistic things, while Bryan and Brie's relationship is a lot different. They appreciate the smaller things in life and Nikki has no place in telling Brie how to approach her own relationship. I think the best advice one of my elderly co-workers gave me was that a relationship only works when your significant other brings to the table just as much as you're willing to sacrifice. Nikki trying to control Brie's relationship really left a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of this entire episode.
At least Cena showed more emotion in this episode, but I think being around Mr. Down-to-Earth aka Daniel Bryan helped in that regard. I have to wonder how this is going to carry over into their storyline going into Summerslam. I had to laugh at how this episode pretty much made Cena and Bryan's contrasting lifestyles like being Aladdin before and after getting the magic lamp. Sure, Cena's career is better than Bryan's at the moment, but c'mon it can't be THAT bad to be Bryan. To Bryan's credit, I can buy his and Brie's relationship to be more genuine than Nikki and Cena's. Nikki and Cena's relationship seems to be all smoke and mirrors from the way it's portrayed on this show.
Once again, I had to feel bad for Natalya. She had little to no involvement on this episode, unlike the other Divas who each all had a storyline going for them. Let's hope Natalya gets the ball rolling next week.
All in all, this was a good follow-up to the premiere episode. Eva Marie did nothing but make herself into WWE's new resident skank, knocking Eve Torres out of the rankings, despite of how manufactured that storyline with Fandango was in this episode. The Bella Twins gave us more insight onto each of their individual relationships with John Cena and Daniel Bryan while showing off their homes. The Funkadactyls proved to be the stars of this week's episode with their hilarious dilemma with their wardrobes. WWE, if you guys are reading this blog, listen closely. This show needs more Stephanie McMahon and Sandra the Seamstress on a regular basis. I don't care how, just make it happen.
Beware the Batman got off to questionable start, but the next two episodes really picked up. This series is looking to be rather promising, despite this unorthodox style of computer animation. I guess we all can't judge a book by it's cover, eh? It's the same mistake most nerds made with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and look how popular that became after people stopped being so jaded about it's animation style and gave it a fair chance.
I won't deny that this show looked absolutely stupid at first glance in the trailers, but I'm glad that I sat down and gave it a fair chance.
Episode Synopsis:
Episode 2: Secrets
Batman is hot on the heels of an extremely clever and dangerous thief named Magpie, who not only sports razor sharp talons laced with poison and an invulnerability to pain, but she also steals the memories of her victims. But Batman is not the only one on her trail. Lt. James Gordon is after her as well....and the two will ultimately go head-to-head to catch that thief.
Episode 3: Tests
A new criminal mastermind has arrived to challenge Batman, for control of the Streets of Gotham City: Anarky. Resembling a ghost image of Batman, Anarky prides himself on his brilliance – and intends to prove it to Batman by manipulating a pair of unsuspecting street pawns named Daedalus and Junkyard Dog to do his bidding. But Anarky’s real plan is far more devastating....seeking to create a disaster seen by all of Gotham and proving once and for all that even the great Batman is powerless to protect his fair city from the clutches of Anarky.
The Verdict:
Secrets
This episode saw the debut of Magpie as we were treated to Batman's unique detective skills in this series. The way Batman puts the pieces of a puzzle together is similar to Sherlock Holmes himself as he systematically uses the smallest clue to figure out the bigger picture. I loved the scene where Tatsu and Alfred were having breakfast and Bruce instantly deduces their history from Tatsu's body mannerisms and conversational tone with him.
I'm glad that they went with a revamped look to Magpie as her retro look had like three mohawks. Still, I wasn't too fond that they gave her too much of a Catwoman vibe for my taste. I think the best part of this episode was brief exchange between Batman and a much younger James Gordon, who is still pretty skeptical on the vigilante. I wish more of this episode could have dealt with more information on Magpie's damaged psyche instead of revealing it at the end, when I know most people already guessed her identity already. She's an interesting, yet relatively unknown Batman rogue and much like Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad in the premiere episode, I'm glad that this series is focusing on Batman's lesser known rogues. Save the common villains for later seasons if this show picks up more viewers.
This episode made me appreciate that this show is using a much younger and greener Batman than the seasoned veteran of crime-fighting that most fans of the character are accustomed to. This Batman is vulnerable and makes mistakes - a lot more human than his previous iterations. While I'm still not too fond of Alfred looking like a bulked up former street thug, I think I can learn to like Tatsu Yamashiro's character, even though it's a pretty big stretch to her backstory and origins.
Secrets earns a solid 3 out of 5 from me.
Tests
From the way how Anarky was introduced in this episode as contrast to the Caped Crusader, I can tell he is going to be a major player in this series. You can quote me on that now. He gave me that same vibe that I got from Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight that you can't just ignore. Anarky is going to do everything in his power to push this amateur Batman to his limits and beyond. While I don't see Anarky being his Joker for this series nor this series' Kira to Batman's L (Death Note reference), I can see that Anarky will help to iron out the mystery on what Batman represents to people of Gotham on both sides of justice.
Sadly, in this episode, Anarky is pretty far from being Batman's intellectual equal. In a sort of mock twist on the catch-22 found The Dark Knight, Batman easily conquers the dilemma set up by Anarky. With Anarky's narrow escape while Batman dealt with the bombs, you just know this game between them is far from over.
Tatsu seems to be enjoying the hoops that Bruce Wayne has her jumping through as he had her on a wild goose chase throughout the entire episode. I really hope she's not as naive and dumb as she's putting on. He's been sprinkling the clues around for a reason. Maybe there's hope that she put the pieces of the puzzle together as the episode ends with her watching Batman leaving.
This won't be the first time that you guys will see me use this format as I was stretched on free time last week to write up the reviews on both this and last new episode of Beware the Batman.
Unlike my last few write-ups, this isn't going to be particularly long.
Episode Synopsis: (Some Spoilers)
Episode 5: Blood Feud
The Avengers face-off with Dracula and his vampire army after Dracula had partially converted Black Widow into a vampire.
Episode 6: Super-Adaptoid
The Avengers are out-gunned by the high-tech, power-mimicking Super-Adaptoid, and Captain America is the last man standing against the ultimate artificial intelligence, created by Justin Hammer.
The Verdict:
Blood Feud
This episode gets props from me for actually re-introducing the Marvel Universe version of Dracula to the masses. He is lesser known Marvel villain but definitely up there on par with Red Skull and Doctor Doom in terms of sheer dominance and presence in battle. This episode manages to explain the absence of Black Widow during the attack of the Midgard Serpent as SHIELD sent her on a special assignment, which had her trailing the activities of Dracula's forces. Somehow, things went sour and she winds up becoming one of Dracula's pawns.
One thing that is starting to annoy me is that they always have Hulk fighting with other members over food. The first few episodes it was over the cookies that The Falcon's mom had baked, now it's over who ate the last of the peanut butter. Apparently, Hawkeye was the one who did that and isn't brave enough to own up to it and I don't blame him on that one.
Another thing that annoyed on this episode was that Iron Man pretty much ignored all of Captain America's warnings concerning Dracula and his minions. He brushed it off as it were some child's fairy tale when they already have an Asgardian as an ally so this stuff can't be mere fiction. Of course, Stark cooks up the "cure" to vampirism that I honestly can't agree with. I have read too many Anne Rice novels and read up on nosferatu mythology for too many years to count to even buy that, but whatever, it's a kids' show and it's supposed to be stupid anyway. For the record, I wasn't too fond of The Batman vs. Dracula animated movie either but that's a story for another day. Dracula's teeth should have broken off the second he tried to bite Hulk in the first place, but that's just my opinion.
The battle against Dracula and his minions isn't really exciting compared to the epic battle against the Midgard Serpent and Doctor Doom in Episode 4. While I enjoyed this trek into Dracula's domain, the action and plot for this episode really didn't deliver as well as I hoped. As a result, I'm giving this episode a 2.75 out of 5.
Super-Adaptoid
This episode exists as Captain America's chance to shine, just like Episode 3 was The Falcon's moment to prove his worth on this team. This was the first time where I felt that this iteration of Captain America was on par to the high standard that Earth's Mightiest Heroes left on his character. It says a lot as I'm not even remotely a fan of Captain America in the slightest, but I appreciate what he represents on this team - unparalleled determination and courage. While the other Avengers are recycling their tired and true tactics against the Super-Adaptoid, Captain America is the only member looking at this situation from outside the box. Stark's ego gets the better of him in this episode more than the Super-Adaptoid does he cannot fathom that Justin Hammer's technology could possibly compete with his own Stark Tech.
I know I'm not the only one who had flashbacks to this moment in Earth's Mightiest Heroes when Stark and Rogers were challenging each other at the start of the episode:
We should all know that Stark hates when Cap is right. There's more to a fight than who has the better or most fancy gadgets or super powers. And much like this blog, there's always a method to one's madness. Sadly, the egotistical Justin Hammer couldn't see that. I found it interesting that Red Skull would allow him to audition for a spot within the Cabal.
Also for those who don't know, the Super-Adaptoid is on par with Amazo from DC Comics that appeared recently in both Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice, which has come very close to defeating these popular superhero teams with it's array of stolen and replicated superpowers and abilities. To see that the Red Skull has decided to welcome it into The Cabal already has me excited to see who join their ranks during the duration of these 'auditions'.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this has been their best episode to date in my eyes. Finally, Man of Action is digging deep and actually listening to the fans about what made EMH great. I give this episode a 4 out of 5.
Hey guys, and welcome to this new feature I'm hoping to pull off successfully each month. Instead of me racing to write about the bombardment of WWE and TNA programming on a weekly basis, I hope to condense that information to a much smaller helping but more satisfying as a result as I offer my opinions on wrestling over the course of an entire month.
Just a few notes to keep in mind while reading this article:
- Don't expect FULL results/spoilers here. I'm just talking about notable events and matches that caught my interest over the course of the month. - I'm not covering EVERY show and event over the course of the month. Seriously, I would go insane over trying doing that. I can barely keep up with everything WWE puts out in one week. - I apologize that I can't post FULL matches here, but I'll provide videos to notable matches from throughout the month with and where I can in these articles.
Monday Night RAW (7/1/13) started the month off with nothing really new to bring to the table for WWE fans, but Impact Wrestling on the 4th of July really pulled out all of the stops as the X-Division stars graced the main event as Chris Sabin, Manik (TJ Perkins' new name after regaining the guise of Suicide), and Austin Aries fought for the X-Division Championship, where the winner could trade in the gold for a shot at TNA World Heavyweight Champion at Destination X later this month.
If you haven't had a chance to see this match, do yourself a favor and check it out. It saddens me that there's not many luchadors and high flyers get as much exposure as they used to in mainstream wrestling, but TNA manages to give them a platform to shine in their company. Out of all of the blunders that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff have introduced into this company since joining, their decision to make the X-Division matter again really means a lot to me as a fan of this style of wrestling. I would not be doing this article justice if I didn't mention how Mickie James has pretty much brought in her heel attitude in full blossom. You can even sense the vibes of vintage heel Trish Stratus as she taunts both Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell for their pending ladder match.
We love you as Knockouts Champion, Mickie. I personally hope she doesn't lose it back to Velvet Sky anytime soon.
TNA One Night Only - Hardcore Justice 2 (7/5/13)
Superb show from start to finish. If you can find a replay of the show online or hold out for the DVD release, I highly recommend giving this a look. This isn't the full card, but the three matches that stood out the most for me.
Hardcore Match - Jacqueline Moore vs. ODB - Jacqueline may be old but she can still work like the best of 'em. Definitely one of the best Knockouts to never win the Knockouts Championship in my book. ODB and Jacqueline prove that the Knockouts can play rough too.
Generation Me vs. Bad Influence - Ladder Match for $20,000 - This match literally stole the show. I still say that one of TNA's biggest blows to their once great tag team division was not keeping the Young Bucks (Generation Me) on the roster. Their feud with the Motor City Machineguns was a great start to what could have propelled those guys into even bigger stars in TNA. Fortunately, they agreed to compete on this PPV as guest stars on the card.
Joseph Park vs. Judias Mesias (w/ Father James Mitchell) - Monsters' Ball - Park does the usual mind-mannered gimmick until getting busted open when he goes into full "Abyss" mode. Good to see El Mesias and James Mitchell had the time to spare to come out for this event.
Monday Night RAW (7/8/13)
This episode of RAW started what I am going to dub the "Rise of the American Dragon" for Daniel Bryan this summer. Daniel Bryan worked what looked like the best match I have seen come out of Sheamus in agesperiod. I remember reading an interview with Kevin Nash this month saying that "I wish Daniel Bryan could carry me through a match and make me look that good..."
When Daniel Bryan first joined WWE after ending his long-time career as part of the Ring of Honor roster, I feared he would get lost in their political bullshit and never aspire to be anything - much like many stellar talents from the independent scene that find themselves black balled by mainstream wrestling, but fortunately for him, WWE is constantly changing as Vince McMahon is slowly grooming both Stephanie McMahon and Triple H to take over when he finally steps down. Fortunately, HHH and Steph see money in this man.
The Wyatt Family finally debuts on RAW attacking Kane. For weeks, we have seen these video packages that ranged from bizarre and freaky to borderline laughable. I have heard people compare them to the cast of Duck Dynasty, but I don't watch that show. So to me, this group looks like a bunch of outcasts inspired by the likes of the murderous family found in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If these guys want to roll with the "Redneck America" gimmick, then more power to them. Their spin on it is unique and with Bray Wyatt as their mouthpiece, the sky is the limit for this stable. People tend to forget that you need more strange and weird stuff in wrestling. That's how you get noticed and how people remember your character, especially in a sea of generic and cookie-cutter Superstars and Divas which makes up the bulk of the current WWE roster.
My only concern is that this addition to the WWE Tag Team division continues to own up to the "race war" archetype that they are portraying.
Curtis Axel (w/ Paul Heyman) vs. Chris Jericho gets an honorable mention on this episode as well. After taking the time to read Jericho's autobiography earlier this year, I can understand why he came back to WWE. It's not about garnering attention to himself, but it's more about helping put some of these newer talents over (Fandango really deserved and needed it, but CM Punk, not so much...). I don't mind the veterans returning if it's put over the next generation, but when you start hogging the spotlight, that's when I can't stand the veterans coming back. Jericho is literally giving these younger Superstars the best matches of their careers, while managing not to tarnish his own legacy in the process. While I'm not totally behind Curtis Axel like everyone else who seems to be all over his nuts since he won the Intercontinental Championship and being tied to Paul Heyman, I can give credit to this young Superstar when and where it's due though. The guy has talent, but I feel like he could have gotten over better on his own without being tied to Paul Heyman.
The funniest thing to come out of this episode of RAW was that Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Vince McMahon all called out Vickie Guerrero to the ring for an on-air job evaluation that ended with her getting fired, thanks to the votes from the WWE app. (Rolls eyes) Then Vince McMahon names Brad Maddox as the new RAW General Manager, which just seemed like a knee-jerk reaction.
NXT (7/10/13)
Emma vs. Summer Rae - A very heated bout here. You can definitely see the difference in these Diva matches on NXT compared to those on the main roster, thanks to Sara Del Rey's input and direction. Summer Rae has definitely come into her own instead of her initial impression as a carbon copy of Maryse. She is deceptively creative and deadly with the use of her advantageous long legs. I don't want to sell Emma (Tenille Tayla) short either as she definitely has taken this funky gimmick and made it her own. The post-match encounter between Paige and Summer Rae was a nice touch as well, as their feud was better than anything the Divas on the main roster have done in months.
Leo Kruger vs. Sami Zayn - Gotta love the "OLE!" chants from this crowd for the former El Generico while the commentary team acts ignorant to it. I know the WWE officials are hating those chants. Kruger's not bad, but his ring gear looks like he failed the auditions for The Shield and settled for playing as one of the Bushwhackers... Great pacing and psychology in this match.
The Wyatt Family vs. Adrian Neville (PAC), Corey Graves, and William Regal as the main event. I personally consider William Regal as the oldest veteran on the WWE roster to never capture main event gold. While I will admit that I don't watch NXT as consistently as I should, but these individuals really brought it together in this match and impressed me.
Impact Wrestling (7/11/13)
This week's show used the Joker's Wild Tournament format that is unique to one of their previous One Night Only PPVs. I'm not really too fond of that concept as it makes for a lot of boring and lackluster matches. TNA's roster isn't as diverse as it was a few years ago and not everyone on their current roster meshes well together in tag teams. If it wasn't for my pending anticipation for the Ladder Match I would have not even watched this episode from start to finish.
Gail Kim vs. Taryn Terrell - Ladder Matchfor #1 Contender Spot to the TNA Knockouts Championship is a match that fans of women's wrestling are going to be talking about for a long-time. Despite that Gail Kim was obviously carrying Taryn through this match, Taryn has shown a lot of grown in her craft since leaving WWE. There were lots of creative spots and an unique finish that deserves a standing ovation from both women in this match. If you don't watch any other women's wrestling match this month, watch this. TNA is definitely setting the bar high in terms of standards for women's wrestling in the mainstream product.
Rampage Jackson joins the Main Event Mafia... Seriously, WTF? I guess they are completely ignoring that requirement that you had to be a former champion to get in. Oh well, at least it gives the guy something to do unlike King Mo, who we have only seen on TNA programming ONCE since "signing" onto the roster. Still, both of these guys are better than Pacman Jones...
Yeah... I went there.
WWE Money In The Bank PPV (7/14/13)
If you ask me, this was a mediocre PPV from top to bottom.
The RAW MITB was won by Randy Orton after this beautiful RKO on RVD, but was catered as an all-star affair. This match marked the return of Rob Van Dam to WWE and he lived up to the hype. There were a lot of sick spots in this match and I'm surprised there weren't more injuries in this main event than the ones reported. CM Punk required stitches after getting smacked in the head with a ladder after Paul Heyman cost him the win. Sheamus got a pretty nasty bruise on his leg after falling onto a stack of ladders. Before that, Punk rode the ladder over the his back and spine, where I was personally surprised that Sheamus didn't lose a tooth or two from that impact. Christian chipped a tooth after a nasty bump involving himself and RVD.
The Smackdown! MITB won by Damien Sandow after screwing his partner, Cody Rhodes, out of the win. Most of this match is pretty forgettable but I did appreciate that WWE managed to squeeze in involvement from the Tag Team division (mainly The Shield and the Usos) to come out and add in a bit more excitement. I felt sorry for Fandango as he was literally a punching bag in this match. Mad props to Cody Rhodes pulling out the Muscle Buster out of his ass in this match too.
AJ Lee retains Divas Championship successfully against Kaitlyn. If you have seen their other million bouts over the last month or two, then you have seen the same thing here. I still don't see how people are acting like these matches are the best the WWE Divas have done in a while. Obviously, not enough people aren't watching NXT...
AJ Lee manages to cost Dolph Ziggler the match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Albert Del Rio when she snapped and randomly attacked ADR with the Divas Championship. It's a damn shame that Ziggler had to lose like that. ADR bores me a lot in terms of his ring work, but him and Ziggler managed to hold my interest throughout this encounter with solid ring psychology and dynamics in this match from start to finish.
John Cena retains the WWE Championship after forcing Mark Henry to tap out to the STF-U. Again, no surprise there. I personally would not have minded seeing Super Cena lose to Mark Henry, but at the same time, I didn't get my hopes up.
Monday Night RAW (7/15/13)
After CM Punk confronts Paul Heyman concerning his actions at Money In The Bank, Brock Lesnar destroys CM Punk. I was literally in tears laughing when Heyman shouted "It's Clobberin' Time!!" and Lesnar literally did that - clobbered Punk. As a comic book fan, I can see that they are literally modeling this storyline almost page for page as Wolverine versus the Weapon X program. I guess Vince is allowing CM Punk to play out his comic book geekdom on WWE programming while The Wolverine is fresh in theaters. I wonder how long it's going to take 20th Century Fox and Marvel Comics to realize what they are doing here?
I would not be doing this article justice if I don't mention the match of Chris Jericho vs. Rob Van Dam. This match was literally one of Jericho's last hurrah's before taking time off to tour with his band until his eventual return around WrestleMania season. This is regarded as a stellar match between these two Superstars and I don't argue that point at all. My issue with this match is that just because it is done underneath WWE's roof it is instantly regarded as golden. For example, if two veterans went head to head on Impact, every mark under the sun would say it's nothing but two washed-up has-beens trying to relive their glory days. If you are a true fan of professional wrestling, you would appreciate good wrestling no matter where it comes from, whether it from WWE, TNA, Ring of Honor, international promotions or the indies.
AJ Lee snaps and turns on Dolph Ziggler. Can't say we didn't all see this coming. I'm sad to see AJ and Ziggy break up though, but we knew this relationship would not last as long as AJ Lee is still heel and Ziggler is blooming into a babyface now since returning from that concussion that sidelined him for a few weeks. AJ comes out wearing black like she just came from a funeral while Big E watches AJ having sex with Ziggy's corpse. Talk about awkward...
I found it to be rather fucked up that WWE took the time to have a black man, namely R-Truth, being attacked and mauled by The Wyatt Family -- in Brooklyn, New York of all places. For those who are not aware, over the course of the last week in the United States, there is a lot of controversy and drama concerning the Zimmerman case and I'm sure WWE booked this as some sort of sick indirect symbolism. Before people open their mouth in the comments defending WWE on this matter, think about this - how many times has WWE made fun of or made parodies of real world events? Yeah, it's not much of a stretch if you think about it. Am I the only one who thinks that Kane is going to give up the ghost and end up joining the Wyatt Family as their mock version of Leatherface? It's not that much of a stretch given that he's played a similar role in See No Evil...
This RAW ends with Daniel Bryan being selected as John Cena's next opponent to challenge him at Summerslam. I feel like this decision will - without a shadow of a doubt - lead into the Bella Twins being involved somehow in the match at Summerslam or in the wake of the match's aftermath, especially with their ties to both Superstars that was revealed in the premiere of Total Divas. To be honest, I really hope Daniel Bryan ends up ending the reign of John Cena. I just don't want Randy Orton to steal this moment of glory prematurely like how Sheamus beat him in mere seconds at WrestleMania. WWE, if you give this man the gold, let him hold it long enough for everyone to enjoy it.
NXT (7/17/13)
Charlotte (Ric Flair's daughter) debuts vs. Bailey - Pretty standard match, but Charlotte's gymnastics background could benefit her in the long run as her flexibility gave her some pretty unique pins. Boy, Ric Flair is looking more and more like Skeletor from He-Man. He looks like he has one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel. I hope the old boy is still in good health because he was not looking too hot at ringside.
Neville and Graves win NXT Tag Team Championships from The Wyatt Family - With The Wyatt Family looking to make short work of the WWE Tag Team division they have drop the NXT Tag titles before they move onto bigger and better things. This win makes Neville a two-time NXT champion, and I hope these boys will continue to have success. That goes double for both Neville and Graves and the Wyatt Family.
Impact Wrestling (7/18/13)
SpikeTV broadcasts Destination X for FREE as the replacement to Impact Wrestling this week.
Stellar performances by X-Division and special guests, including Homicide, Petey Williams, Sonjay Dutt, and Rubix. I was surprised Rockstar Spud was even in the matches for this. We haven't seen that guy since back when TNA was touring the UK earlier this year. I think the biggest surprise out of these X-Division bouts was the TNA debut of Greg Marasciulo, otherwise known as Trent Beretta!
Gail Kim and Mickie James' heated head-to-head encounter. You have to love how Gail Kim went hood-rich and threw her high heels into the crowd as she got ready for this brawl. I swear, I'm loving heel Mickie James the more I see of her like this.
Chris Sabin becomes the NEW World Heavyweight Champion! I was legatimately shocked that TNA didn't pull a bullshit ending or weird ass swerve from out of left field to finish this. Thanks to some support from MEM, Sabin turned Aces & Eights usual tactics against them and pulled off the biggest win of his career. The sky is the limit, Sabin, and I'm not talking about your hot ass girlfriend either.
Jim Ross' blog (7/21/13)
A fan brought up the topic of Paige and whether or not she's ready for being on the main roster. His answer is literally that anyone under the age of 21 should not be on the main roster yet. So... why is Jo-Jo Offerman on the main roster with the Funkadactyls on Main Event? And why did Kelly Kelly work on ECW when she was barely 19 when she debuted? Hell, she didn't even have training yet! While I have already dealt with the fact that Paige will not be on the main roster anytime soon after she was crowned the first NXT Women's Champion, I really can't forgive JR's comment here. To put it bluntly, it sounds like JR is talking out of his ass.
Misc. TNA News
Several talent releases across the board, including Doc (Luke Gallows), Joey Ryan, Matt Morgan, Madison Rayne, D'Lo Brown, Tara, Taeler Hendrix, Bruce Prichard, Jesse Sorenson, and more to come.
While I was personally pissed off that Tara was let go, I can understand that they are cutting corners now that they are on the road and facing some financial issues. For those who don't know, Tara's set to appear as a regular in an upcoming soap opera, so I'm sure she left to get ready for that. Madison Rayne was lucky that she was still getting paid period for all of her time off while pregnant, but at the same time, her boyfriend is in the military and I would guess that she asked for her release to figure out how she is going to juggle being a full-time mom and his schedule. I have seen both Taeler Hendrix and Jesse Sorenson make sob stories about getting released in various interviews and I'm going to say this. Taeler Hendrix still has a job on OVW so she shouldn't be complaining at all. I feel sorry about Sorenson's injury - I really do. TNA went the extra mile and did give him a desk job at the salary of if he was an active wrestler when they really didn't have to when he got injured. But here's the reality check, folks. Getting hurt is always a risk in this business, you should know that the second you make up your mind about becoming a wrestler.
TNA unveils new X-Division belt. Yes, it looks like both the WWE Intercontinental Championship and X-Division title did the DBZ Fusion dance, but in all honesty, it makes sense. This is a title about no limits - despite weight limits nor nationality. So it should have an "intercontinental" appeal to it. If I'm honest, the old X-Division belt always rubbed me as one of those belts some random backyard wrestling mark would cook up in one of the creation modes of the older WWE games...
The sad truth that most wrestling fans don't realize is that the reigning champions RARELY carry around the actual championship. While I have seen people bitch, moan, and joke about how dumb it is to make a new belt when they are cutting talent to save money, here's the reality of the matter. It's a LOT cheaper for most wrestling promotions to commission and make copies of those replica championship belts that you can buy online for about $300-500 a pop, rather than forcing their talent to carry the real deal around to each and every city that they travel to. I'm sure everyone has heard at least one horror story or another where wrestlers go through all of this drama at airports carrying the championships around. On television, it looks real enough to fool all of us watching at home and it explains why they rarely show close up shots of the name plates on the championships. As much as we know, they possibly had this thing made like months ago and just now getting the finished product.
TNA drops Television Championship, claiming to focus on just the three main titles (World Heavyweight, X-Division, and Knockouts). I can respect this decision as TNA only has 2 hours to work with on SpikeTV. They could really benefit having an additional hour or another show (preferably over the weekend if you ask me...) that would help flesh out their mid-carders, but with them condensing the size of their roster, it's better for the company to just focus on the titles that are drawing them the most interest. Talent could not perform at 7/20/13 House Show. Bruce Prichard used to handle all of that before he got fired, so the paperwork never got done. Sucks for the fans who showed up at that event since Miss Tessmacher rarely wrestles nowadays to begin with.
The last thing I'm going to comment on is all of these comments that I have seen so-called fans of wrestling make concerning TNA's financial status. I have seen people openly state that they cannot wait until TNA dies for WWE can be the only wrestling company again. I only have one thing to say to those people with this mindset - FUCK YOU. If WWE becomes the solo dominant promotion in mainstream wrestling, it's going to go back to how things where after the WCW and ECW buyouts - STALE. Mainstream wrestling will be stale and boring as WWE will not do anything to change or alter their product because they know you don't have any alternatives to their product. The average WWE mark is too jaded and too lazy to look for alternatives, yet call themselves fans of professional wrestling. If those individuals would take 10 minutes from their time and do a bit of research, they will realize that 85% of the rising stars or main draws currently in WWE (that aren't John Cena and Randy Orton) were homegrown from independent promotions.
Monday Night RAW (7/22/13)
Total Divas "Preview" on MizTV - This was a rather pointless segment to garner interest in the premiere of the Total Divas reality show. While Eva Marie slapping Jerry "The King" Lawler to got no reaction from the live crowd - everyone knew King liked it anyway, people are still buzzing over the nip slip wardrobe malfunction from Brie Bella. I honestly think that she did that on purpose since Nikki's freshly-installed (read: implants) boobs were drawing the most attention from everyone else during this segment.
Dolph Ziggler vs. Darren Young - I was shocked that Cena's resident stunt double could work this good, but it shouldn't be that much of a surprise coming from who he was working with in this match. Still this was the best performance for Young. Afterwards, Ziggler narrowly escapes ambush from AJ and Big E while eats another spear from Kaitlyn. Someone needs to check and see if AJ has a "Spear Me Please!" sign on her back. CM Punk and Paul Heyman agree to Punk vs. Lesnar at Summerslam. I see this ending like Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine in the comics. For those who don't know, Hulk ripped Logan in half and threw his torso down to the bottom of a mountain while he threw Logan's upper half to the top. If I were CM Punk, I would come to that match with a gun. Triple H and John Cena got roughed up pretty bad by this bruiser, CM Punk must have a death wish challenging this guy after coming back from injury. RVD vs Wade Barrett - WWE really wants to dig Wade Barrett so far down the hole into midcard hell that he won't ever see sunlight much like Kofi Kingston. RVD is doing exactly the opposite of Chris Jericho at this stage. He's not putting anyone over, he's just regaining his so-called lost popularity that he bitched about on shoots after leaving TNA.
This episode of RAW continues the "Rise of the American Dragon" story arc for Daniel Bryan as everything else on this show pales in comparison to the Gauntlet Match that Bryan ran through in the main event. While all of these bouts were phenomenal, it was Antonio Cesaro vs. Daniel Bryan that stole the show. I think any fan of Ring of Honor or independent promotions would have appreciated this impromptu rematch between Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson on WWE programming. Of course, after this stellar performance from Bryan, Super Cena has to come out and steal his thunder at the end of the show. Typical...
NXT (7/24/13)
Paige vs. Emma for NXT Women's Championship - This was a great back and forth match between both of these women that forces the fans to be split on who did they want to win this most. As much as I loved what both of these girls brought to the table here, I really didn't care for the finish. It was like the referee told them to wrap it up for time constraints and they just half-assed the ending.
Impact Wrestling (7/25/13)
Ultimate X Match for X-Division Championship - Manik vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Greg Marasciulo (Trent Beretta) - Who would have thought that Trent Beretta would be highlighting in an Ultimate X Match. I really hope WWE watched this match and were going, "Wow, we REALLY dropped the ball with this guy..." Lots of great spots in this match, but when they finally got around to climbing the wires you knew who was going to win this. While I personally mark for Sonjay Dutt, I cannot hate on Manik getting the win. TJ Perkins is a very talented wrestler and I hope he hangs onto this title for a while.
One thing you have to love about this episode of Impact. There were several subtle messages throughout the show that Dixie Carter has to make the tough decisions on a regular basis. My guess is that they are trying to cover their asses in a sense, concerning the recent talent releases and financial cuts across the board.
Mickie James defeats Gail Kim to retain Knockouts Championship - Knowing Gail Kim and Mickie James' history of mediocre botch-filled encounters, I didn't have my hopes up on this being good to begin with. That being said, this match was a lot better than their previous bouts in both TNA and WWE, but I wish they could have gone with a more creative finish than Gail Kim getting on the bad side of yet another referee. This does sets up a pending ODB/Gail feud that could be just as good, if not better than the Gail Kim/Taryn feud. Velvet Sky vows revenge on Mickie James, but I hope she's not automatically plugged back at the top of the division again. I get that Velvet Sky is their hottest property - in more ways than one - but let her climb back up the ranks like how Gail Kim did to properly get a title shot.
Hulk Hogan named Bully Ray's rematch at Hardcore Justice in 3 weeks. Hold up, wait a second. Didn't we JUST have Hardcore Justice on One Night Only earlier this month?? Got to love that TNA logic.
Monday Night RAW (7/29/13)
The Shield vs. Mark Henry & The Usos - I know I'm in the minority but Jesus H. Christ, I'm starting to get bored with The Shield. Sure, they still do that gang mentality assault on everyone, while the Wyatt Family is starting to do the same thing, making it look even less impressive as a result. You can't have to two factions that function nearly the same way and hope for them to both succeed. It's going to boil down to survival of the fittest. I know the Wyatt Family aren't going anywhere with Bray Wyatt leading the victory charge and The Shield's days could be numbered with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns showing little to no improvement from the day they stepped onto the main roster.
Can someone go outside and teach that Magikarp known as Reigns more than one move? His spear would be more impressive when we were not in an age in wrestling where roughly every other guy in mainstream wrestling uses it. Off the top of my head... Taryn Terrell, Devon, Christian, Roman Reigns, Kaitlyn, The Big Show... the list goes on. Their feud with Usos is even worse with Reigns in the mix as he looks like he's on the wrong team.
It's good to see that WWE is capitalizing on Mark Henry being over after his retirement swerve back in June and even more so after he owned the live crowd after his loss at MITB by stating, "All of y'all would have tapped to John Cena too!"
AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn - Non-Title Match - Decent back and forth match, but ends the same way, with Kaitlyn spearing the fuck out of AJ and she sells it like Jerry Lynn. I was more entertained at the segment before this match than the actual match itself. AJ seems to be losing it about those spears always hitting her and Big E does nothing. Hell, I don't blame Big E. I'm not taking that shit for AJ. She was the one who said she was the best woman in this company so that's her problem if she can't put Kaitlyn down once and for all.
This episode of RAW was hot off the buzz from the premiere of Total Divas and managed to sneak in two Diva matches on the card. The second one featured Brie Bella defeating Natalya after a distraction from Nikki. Yeah... that shit was weak.
The Tables Match between Ryback and John Cena that ended the show had a lot of interesting spots, but at the end of the day, we all knew Cena was going to win that one. I'm still not too fond of Ryback's heel turn as it would have made more sense to just keep him face, but after feuding and losing against Cena, you are predestined to become heel to get your "street cred" back. The aftermath between Daniel Bryan and John Cena was interesting though. It seemed like that WWE is teasing a possible heel turn for Cena, but I don't know. They have been trolling us with this for the last year, so forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical to get my hopes up. At this stage, it doesn't make much sense to turn Vince's cash cow into a heel. He's already being booed out of the building by most fans, save for the fangirls and the kids. What are they going to do to make them boo him? Make him cheat on Nikki Bella? Again, most people will cheer for that, especially the fangirls as they will think they will have a better chance at taking Super Cena home with them.
I'm going to end this article with the #August1Warning mystery on TNA's website and YouTube channel. I honestly have no idea who this is, but I have seen people guess far and wide on who this possibly could be, starting with Batista (who is currently filming Guardians of the Galaxy overseas) to Adam Pearce to Low Ki (Senshi/Kaval who is supposedly retired from wrestling) to Tito Ortiz (rumored to have signed a similar Bellator/Impact contract like King Mo and Rampage Jackson). I honestly don't care who it is, but if it's someone worthy of this media attention, then cool. Otherwise, if this attention is wasted on someone who doesn't amount to anything then this is a complete waste of time and resources for TNA.
Whew... that's a wrap folks. I hope you guys enjoyed the write-up for the month of July. Feel free to leave comments below or respond on Facebook.
