NXT Takeover: [R]Evolution took place on December 11, 2014. WWE advertised for Kevin Owens' debut during the event. Corey Graves, who announced on the preshow his retirement from the ring due to concussions, made his debut as a commentator for the event.
Kevin Owens def. CJ Parker in his NXT debut
After watching Kevin Steen, now dubbed Kevin Owens (named after his favorite wrestler, Owen Hart, and a tribute to his own son, Owen), for the past few years in Ring of Honor, I had a lot of faith in his WWE debut. My only concerns are his backstage attitude and keeping his weight down for WWE's preferences. Don't forget what happened to Chris Hero/Kassius Ohno (WWE seems to love these "KO" monikers...) - he got fired because he had a beer gut since he couldn't keep his weight down.
Getting busted open in his debut was that struck of luck that Kevin Owens needed in his debut to get over with the Full Sail University crowd (and everyone else for that matter) to get over as a legitimate roughneck, bad ass. Regardless, the guy manages to finish the match with a busted nose, thanks to a botched Shotei from CJ Parker, causing the blood to pour out like a faucet. I was a little underwhelmed that WWE made one of his old running/diving move counters into his finisher, Pop-Up Powerbomb. I can't be too surprised as I knew going into this that WWE wouldn't allow him to use the Package Piledriver as a finisher here.
Baron Corbin def. random jobber while Bull Dempsey watches from the crowd
This has been going on for weeks now and I hope they get to the point with these encounters. Are they going to team up or are they going to feud against each other and finally end these squash matches as NXT is running out of jobbers for both of them.
Over the last few months, people keep telling me that Baron Corbin has the "it factor" to be a big star, but in all honesty, I'm not seeing it. I'll give it more time into the New Year, but this isn't the 90's anymore and these guys with these "streaks" from defeating waves of nameless jobbers and forgettable opponents don't impress me in the least. I will garner fair judgment of this guy once he has a legitimate threat and wrestles a match that's not a squash.
Lucha Dragons def. The Vaudevillains to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships
As much as I loved the video vignettes to build up to this match, the match itself left me a bit underwhelmed. Maybe I'm spoiled from watching pure lucha libre from Lucha Underground, but I was hoping from a little bit better from this match. All of these guys are talented, don't get me wrong, but this match felt more like a standard bout on a regular episode of NXT than a title match.
I hope The Vaudevillains don't fall to the bottom of the ladder in terms of contenders to the NXT Tag titles as I wouldn't mind them getting a title run in the New Year. That being said, there's a LOT of budding teams in this division, so both the Vaudevillains AND the current reigning champions, the Lucha Dragons, are going to have to stay on their toes or any one of the other teams may take their spots in this division.
Speaking of which, that brings us to the next match on this card...
Hideo Itami & Finn Balor def. The Ascension
I remember watching this event live and my Twitter feed exploded during Finn Balor's entrance. I personally found it to be hilarious to see the WWE marks' reactions as I can clearly tell who has and has not seen Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) work a match prior to his NXT arrival. That being said, I wouldn't get too excited as reports already confirmed that this won't be a regular thing for Devitt wearing his signature body paint. Much like his run on the indies and more notably for NJPW, it's going to be saved for special occasions, such as these live PPV-style events.
This match wasn't bad at all, but after watching the recap special on NXT that same week earlier that day, it's the EXACT same match they wrestled against the Ascension from their first encounter. Sure, the finish is different, but it's pretty much the same match they wrestled before.
To be honest, I was more entertained at how hard NXT was trolling during this match to cater to the marks than the actual contest itself: KENTA (Hideo Itami) teasing the Go To Sleep (an obvious spot out of spite towards CM Punk, despite KENTA being the innovator of the move) before it was countered and Devitt hitting the Reverse Bloody Sunday (rarely WWE allows popular indy talent to use their same finishers on their programming - i.e. Cesaro, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, etc.) were at the top of this list of spots they were doing to get a reaction out of people.
Charlotte def. Sasha Banks to retain the NXT Women's Championship
Before I even talk about this match, I want to rave for the video package that hyped up this match. I swear if more video packages like this were made for the women's division, I think more people would care about the Divas instead of instantly writing them off as the "bathroom break" on every show and PPV event.
As much as I enjoyed this match and was thoroughly entertained to see women's wrestling matter again in WWE's product, I can't discredit Sasha Banks for carrying Charlotte throughout this match. From start to finish, Sasha lived up to her moniker as "The Boss" - carrying the momentum and controlling the pacing of this match.
If you regularly read my live tweets during NXT and WWE programming, you should know that I'm not particularly fond of Charlotte's ring work. I feel that she's improving but she's not that strong of a competitor unless she has someone (namely a veteran) who can control the match from start to finish and hide her flaws. Sasha Banks performed that task flawlessly. I'm skeptical to believe that Charlotte wouldn't be in this position in the NXT Women's division if her daddy wasn't Hall of Famer, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair.
Despite what I think about Charlotte, this match did what it set out to do. It added another accomplishment to Charlotte's resume as another bullet point by establishing her as strong champion in a division without the "Anti-Diva" Paige. We all know that Paige left some rather large shoes to fill in for the NXT Divas in her absence. Sasha Banks turned a lot of heads as well, establishing herself as a future star in the making. If she either doesn't win the NXT Women's Championship by the end of 2015 or show up on the main roster, then I'm going to be surprised. Like I was telling another friend about this match, Sasha has a lot more "character" (the main thing that keeps AJ Lee over while diluting her mediocre ring work) than the bulk of girls on both rosters and she's not afraid to show it.
(Whistles) With or without Paige, the Divas of NXT continue to set the standard and raise the bar higher in terms of women's wrestling in WWE. If the Divas on the main roster don't step their game up in 2015, then the NXT Women's title will end up being more prestigious than the Divas Championship, no matter how long or how many times AJ Lee holds it.
Sami Zayn def. Adrian Neville (c) to become the NEW NXT Champion
This was the moment that we have been waiting for. Every time these two Superstars get into the ring together it has been truly magical. Without a shadow of a doubt, this match is going to be on everyone's Match of the Year lists one way or another. This match had everything - superb storytelling, amazing athleticism, and a powerful payoff that sets the stage for the future of NXT for months to come. This sole match had everything that is missing in a lot of WWE's product on the main roster.
If Sami Zayn didn't win this, I would've cried for him. That shows how much emotion was behind this match. As a wrestling fan, I was proud to see these indy greats make their mark on one of WWE's grand stages. The sky is only the limit here for these guys. If you didn't mark out for Kevin Owens' heel turn post-match then clearly you haven't kept up with their history prior to WWE.
(Whistles) If they can top their crazy on/off wars from Ring of Honor, then NXT fans are truly in for a treat for the years to come.
Final Thoughts:
Without a shadow of a doubt, this was my personal favorite WWE Pay-Per-View of 2014 just from my favorites from the independent scene upstaging the main roster talent. This single event proved that WWE has the tools to be amazing again.
This was the wake-up call that the ENTIRE WWE Universe and all of its employees needed. With all of the alternatives on the horizon for 2015 - Lucha Underground, New Japan, Global Force Wrestling, Impact Wrestling on Destination America, Ring of Honor, etc., WWE can't settle with their mediocre "same ol' shit" regime. If they can continue putting on stellar shows such as this, then there's hope for the future of WWE and Vince McMahon wouldn't have to worry about the subscription numbers for the WWE Network nor fear people walking away from his product to the abundance of alternatives.
NXT, keep up the great work. The future is looking bright.
Sorry to interrupt the usual programming. But I was graciously offered to contribute to this blog and who could pass that kind of opportunity. And of course, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Auguste and I am a 22 year old Political science student from Lithuania. I'm an avid amateur baker who doesn't really eat cakes and pies and also a vain little creature who had a radio podcast and a Youtube show about movies. And that is what I mostly write about, besides ranting about media and popular culture. I can't promise that you'll see me here often, but if you will, you'll know that the movie did grasp my attention, either in a good or bad way.
Now, usually I write about movies that I’ve particularly enjoyed. And usually I do it in my native language. But I just had to jump on the bandwagon of the still scolding hot release of “The Interview” and write an honest opinion. Because I can do anything. I bet you my Christmas presents that almost everybody knows about this comedy and the controversy surrounding it, but just in case, I’ll fill you in.
“The Interview” is a so-called “satirical” political comedy directed and created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, with the screenplay being written by Dan Sterling. Yes, these are the same guys who brought to you “This is the End”. Another lad stemming from the same gang is James Franco, who takes the role of our co-protagonist, sharing the spotlight with the previously mentioned Rogen.
The premise is quite simple. Dave Skylark (Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Rogen), who both work on a celebrity gossip and interview show “Skylark Tonight”, manage to get an interview with one of the most talked about leaders in the world, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Soon before their flight the CIA catches up with our journalists and instructs them to “take out” the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Agreeing to take part in this hostile mission, Skylark and Rapoport arrives at Pyongyang, the nation’s capital, and try to complete their task, of course not avoiding mishaps and other jaw-droppingly ridiculous situations.
After suffering from one of the biggest hacker attacks and information leaks seen in quite a while, “Sony” was more than skeptical about releasing “The Interview”. And the threats made by “The Guardians of Peace”, of attacking movie theaters across the U.S., who would premiere the film on December 25th didn’t make this decision any easier. Cinema chain after cinema chain dropped out of the deal, cancelled premieres as our main stars Franco and Rogen announced that no scheduled press conferences will take place. It seemed like the movie was almost a lost cause. But the big heads of “Sony Entertainment” decided to move along with the scheduled Christmas day release, but in digital format. The movie can be rented or bought on “Youtube”, “Google Play” and also limited, independent theater screenings are currently taking place. Soon after, the movie leaked to torrent websites as well. But the question still lingers in the air like a bad pun - “Is the movie worth it?”.
I can confidently say… No. Today I watched the entire thing and now I think that both Franco and Rogen are annoyingly lucky schmucks. The movie is less than mediocre. It just appeared at the right time and the right place. “The Interview” succumbs to the very popular genre of knock-you-on-the-head-with-a-freakin’-shovel comedy, where most of the jokes circle around human anatomy, bodily fluids and accidents resulting in physical handicaps or death. I don’t know if the humor in me died after watching “Bruno” or I never had it in the first place, but this type of comedy, if you could even call it that, had never made me even giggle. It just makes me want to sob in a corner. But hey, maybe I’m just too mean spirited to understand.
The acting doesn’t help this movie either. Seth Rogen is playing the same character he was playing since his breakthrough in cinema. An exaggerated version of Seth Rogen. At one point during the film just for a second you do start to see a glimpse of brain work, when Rogen’s character questions about the current state of the media and that maybe he should change his career path. But after that he pops in some “Ecstasy” and everything in the movie is back to normal. Franco’s larger than life and also insultingly dumb Dave Skylark seemed like a parody of Taran Killam from “Saturday Night Live” doing a parody of Bravo’s Andy Cohen. And this is the moment where I can say something nice about this movie. “Skylark Tonight” with such guests as Eminem, who “revealed” that he is homosexual or Rob Lowe acting out the revelation of his embarrassing baldness reminded us of something we see every single day. The creators tried to shed light on the current state of media, where the lines between news and entertainment are non-existent. If it doesn’t have shock value - it’s not news. But, I’ll repeat myself, they TRIED. Nobody said that they succeeded to achieve that goal.
Not all acting in the movie was making me cringe. Both Randall Park and Diana Bang, playing Kim Jong-un and his assistant Sook respectively, managed to put out plausible performances with the given quite horrendous source material. The under-developed character of the Supreme Leader seemed like a combination of cliches and stereotypes that the Western society has about North Korea. The movie also played on gender stereotypes, making fun of a male enjoying songs by Katy Perry and drinking Margaritas. Everything seemed rushed, characters were either under-developed or just plain useless. Lizzy Caplan, who played CIA agent Lacey was most definitely used for her looks, because she had around less than 10 minutes of screen time and very little dialogue. This movie wanted to be a social commentary about dictatorship and the fall of modern media. Yet, all we got was “butthole” jokes and a CGI explosion burning up the leader of North Korea.
Seth Rogen, James Franco and the rest of the crew can thank their lucky stars for this hacking scandal. If the circumstances would have been any different nobody would have even noticed this project. But now, thanks to all of this fuss, everybody and their grandmother will download the movie, just to see what was all this hubbub about. And now, “The Interview” will be cemented the history of cinema as the film that almost started a war over a few cheap gags. You couldn’t even imagine better marketing results. I suggest a movie about the international relations between USA and Russia next. With extra shart jokes this time.
Last weekend (November 21, 2014), Nickelodeon aired the highly-anticipated season finale to Power Rangers Super Megaforce that was advertised to act as reunion of sorts for ALL twenty seasons prior as part of Saban's 20th anniversary for Power Rangers.
This "reunion" finale was done similarly to Toei's own 35th anniversary of Super Sentai during its Gokaiger vs. Goseiger crossover special.
Introduction:
I know that I don't talk Power Rangers/Super Sentai much on here (or EVER until now...), but a good friend of mine inspired me to do so after our rather lengthy discussion about the franchise as a whole over the last few weeks.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a closet mark for the show after all of these years. With the news of this highly-anticipated "reunion" for the 20th anniversary, I was even more excited for this season. I know most people (my close friends included) have fallen out of the loop over the years since they've either "grown up" or lost interest, but screw it - I have more than enough embarrassing things on my nerd resume, so liking Power Rangers/Super Sentai isn't going change most people's opinions of me.
(Laughs) Besides, you're the ones reading this blog so who's the nerd now, hmmm?
Please note, that I'm fully aware that there's an "extended cut" of the Legendary Battle that's supposed to air at a later date, but I'm going by this initial standard release for the sake of this discussion. I heard that they used more footage from the finale of Gokaiger and Hero Great Battle 199 and gave more dialogue and scenes to the veteran Rangers as well. I'll do a follow-up/revision to this article when I get a chance to see that in its entirety.
Production Information:
"Power Rangers Megaforce" was trademarked by Saban Brands in 2011 during the run of Power Rangers Samurai. Casting sides released in April 2012 match with the blue and silver rangers of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. On 11th June 2012, it was revealed that the season will be based on Tensou Sentai Goseiger. The official name was then revealed as "Power Rangers Megaforce". The second season, titled Super Megaforce, will incorporate elements from Gokaiger. That makes Megaforce the first hybrid adaptation since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
On June 17th, 2013 the official press release unveiled the plot of Power Rangers Super Megaforce:
"The upcoming season of Power Rangers Super Megaforce focuses on the Rangers' mission to defeat a massive alien army Armada that was sent to conquer Earth. To face this threat, Gosei, a supernatural guardian who has protected Earth for centuries, gives the Rangers special morphers and keys, which allow them to morph into Super Megaforce Rangers. The Rangers also have an added special ability to morph into any team of Power Rangers from the past. These super-sized adventures can only mean one thing: the all-new Power Rangers Super Megaforce has arrived!"
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (translated as Pirate Squadron Gokaiger) is the 35th season of the Super Sentai series and celebrates the 35th Anniversary of the franchise. The season's motif is pirates and follows the story of five young space pirates in search of the "Greatest Treasure in the Universe".
Its footage and anniversary theme is currently being adapted into the second season of the 2013 Power Rangers series, Power Rangers Megaforce, dubbed Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
For the 35th Sentai series, Toei decided to go big with a major series that acknowledged the past while developing a something new and interesting. Following on their success of Kamen Rider which crossed over elements and concepts of the 9 previous Heisei Riders as well as matters throughout franchise history, they devised a series where similar concepts and cameos would emerge, setting up a world where a team of Sentai heroes used the powers of the previous 34 teams, using the idea that they were aliens who had no idea about the Sentai legacy and their powers were "pirated" versions of all the other teams.
The original intent was to have only teams who were going to give a notable power that would help the Gokaiger appear in cameo, most notably the previous four teams and several other notable teams, as well as a film with several others appearing in cameo. However, the tragedy of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011 lead to a major outcry to create a series which helped people cope with the tragedies and inspire hope to all people. After one weird fluke, Sentai alumni appeared in many of the episodes in response, unexpectedly leading to changes of story preventing more character development but ultimately letting one actor from all 34 previous series appear throughout the entire series' run.
If you haven't seen Goseiger vs. Gokaiger Hero Great Battle 199, then you're in for a treat. The FULL special length episode can be found below in its entirety with English subtitles.
The Verdict:
Note: Once again, I am fully aware that there's an extended cut of the Legendary Battle for Super Megaforce, but this is going by my personal gripes with the original standard version of that finale to this season.
Much like a lot of other long-time Power Rangers' fans, I found this "reunion" to be VERY underwhelming. The advertised Rangers of the past were brought back in the last 3-5 minutes of the episode and had VERY little involvement in the final battle. In comparison to the reunion in Gokaiger (shown above), this was a rather weak attempt by Saban. I didn't feel as much love and passion go into this reunion as it did in Gokaiger. I really wish Saban would quit cutting corners when it comes to translating/remaking these series for audiences outside of Japan.
The first 3-5 minutes of the Goseiger/Gokaiger team-up blew that ENTIRE episode for Super Megaforce out of the ballpark. That's a damn shame too as you can tell that's where Saban cut select footage from for that finale from. C'mon, if you're going to use the footage, why not use ALL of it?
Where do I think they went wrong?
(Laughs) Where to begin? I'm no "expert" on all things Power Rangers and Super Sentai by any means, despite what most of my close friends may think, but I'm willing to give this a shot.
I felt that the cast of Megaforce should NOT have been given both the powers of Gokaiger and Goseiger
If Saban were smart, they would have split Megaforce up into two separate seasons, with two distinct casts. As you can see, Goseiger (Megaforce) were "angelic" Rangers on Earth and Gokaiger's Rangers were pirates from another planet who just happened to acquire the Ranger keys, much like the Silver Ranger's origin in Super Megaforce.
Combining Goseiger and Gokaiger into a single entity seemed like a missed opportunity. Now Saban can't do these many team-up specials like the Hero Great Battle 199. After seeing both teams in action, I'm sad that we won't get to see the Gokaiger team in outside of Japan. I don't know any better way to explain it, but that team has so much more swagger (read: stylish) in their mannerisms and fighting styles than Goseiger. From the little I've seen of their individual personalities, I'm sure that I will take the opportunity to watch all of Goseiger and Gokaiger separately just to see how they differ from their English adaptation in Megaforce and Super Megaforce.
The cannon finisher in Hero Great Battle 199 was a missed opportunity as well. Once again, combining both Goseiger and Gokaiger into a single series didn't do Saban any favors. Let's not forget that Robo Knight "died" (despite reappearing during the finale without ANY explanation...) so that's another reason this wasn't possible.
Gokaiger has a team-up "versus" special with Kamen Rider (Masked Rider for those who are as old as me and remember that) and if Saban is serious about trying to renew interest in that series outside of Japan (despite Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight being cancelled during its syndication run in the United States), that would have been another reason to split up Goseiger and Gokaiger as two distinct seasons.
The Legendary Rangers should have had more screen time or contribution to the narrative
The theme of Hero Great Battle 199 is to never lose hope, spanning across generations of people and most importantly the Sentai teams. The Gokaiger and Goseiger teams were ultimately reminded of that in their darkest hour and rewarded for their combined efforts. In this narrative, the Legendary Rangers are used to hit this point home harder periodically throughout the film.
The theme of Megaforce that was carried on from start to the finale in Super Megaforce was "never give up." That was highlighted in the finale of Megaforce and throughout the duration of Super Megaforce. I could see that Saban could have written the narrative in the finale to show the Legendary Rangers doing their part to assist in fighting off the invasion across the globe in different locations. Then again, that's more time and production costs and we are painfully aware how cheap Saban is...
Oh wait. Here's an idea. How about instead of bringing back the Legendary Rangers in a traditional team-up and just use the footage from Hero Great Battle 199 where Goseiger and Gokaiger battle the older Sentai teams as a means to see if they are "worthy" and rise to this final challenge? Afterwards, Gosei can be like this unlocks the ability for them to call the other Rangers (despite canon or not) to heed the call to battle by their side?
Sadly, the only thing that gets in the way here is that Goseiger and Gokaiger are two different teams and wouldn't work with Super Megaforce's finale.
The Lack of Nostalgia in the Megazord Battle against the Armada was Disappointing
I don't know about you guys, but I know I can't name EVERY Megazord in that picture. It looks cool as fuck though.
That being said, having the Megaforce Rangers clear through the bulk of the Armada's forces with only their two main Megazords and the auxiliary Zords did nothing but make me even less impressed with the Armada's show of force. The Armada had overwhelming numbers but their forces were more pathetic than Rita Repulsa's Putty Patrol. I'm pretty sure the Machine Empire from Zeo would have given Megaforce a better fight than this.
Once again, Hero Great Battle 199 did it MUCH better.
The Final Confrontation versus Emperor Mavro was EXTREMELY lame...
There's no other words for it. After all of that hype to him taking over the Armada, he went down easier than Vrak, Prince Vekar, AND all of their underlings/generals. Come on, Saban. You guys really have to stop cutting corners on these finales. You delivered big time on Samurai's finale but half-assed this when it's supposed to be the 20th anniversary season?
Once again, let's compare this to Gokaiger's finale versus Mavro's counterpart in that series, Emperor Ackdos Gill:
What the hell, man? This is like day and night in comparison. It took literally a dozen (or more) of the Legendary Ranger powers to damage Gill and even then they had to resort to "powered up" versions of other Rangers' past, along with Gokai Silver's Gold Mode. Even that wasn't enough and the Gokaigers resorted to a kamikaze blow to end Gill for good.
What did we get with Mavro in Super Megaforce's finale? It only took two Rangers (Red & Silver) to defeat Mavro, who barely put up a fight period to begin with and he died when his flagship went down. If they were going to make both Prince Vekar and Emperor Mavro pushovers, then the resurrected Vrak should have been their final opponent. To be honest, Vrak was portrayed as a much stronger opponent than anything else the Armada's forces threw at the Rangers in both seasons of Megaforce and Super Megaforce combined.
Final Thoughts
All I wanted from this 20th anniversary "reunion" and season finale of Super Megaforce was to feel like a kid again. Unfortunately, Saban let me down - big time - in terms of this reunion special. Sure, I got to see some of the older Rangers come back, such as my some personal favorites, Tommy (MMPR Green Ranger), Wes (Time Force Red Ranger), and Karone (Lost Galaxy Pink Ranger), but as a whole, the entire episode didn't live up to the hype. It's a mediocre finale for Megaforce, but also serves as a subpar homage to the 20 years of history of the Power Rangers franchise. I know that I'm not alone in believing that Saban could have done something so much better than this.
In comparison, you can tell that Toei (creators of Super Sentai) have a lot of love for their product and brand, especially it's history. You can tell that from everything from start to finish after watching Hero Great Battle 199 special. If Saban took the time and energy to commit to something like that, I believe that this 20th anniversary reunion would have been one to remember.
Despite my disappointments with this 20th anniversary reunion, I'm pretty sure I'm going to check out the next season, DinoCharge, regardless. Saban just really let me down after all of this hype behind this season and the history going into it. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to take the time to revisit more seasons of Super Sentai and see exactly how much better those were than their Saban-made counterparts.
The WildC.A.T.s television series was created in 1994 and aired on CBS. The series was produced by WildStorm Productions in association with Nelvana. Although DC Comics owns the rights to the characters (due to DC's 1999 purchase of WildStorm), FUNimation Entertainment distributed the series' run on DVD, which was released on July 19, 2005.
Yeah, I know the theme song is cheesy, but I liked it...
It ran for thirteen episodes with a family-friendly storyline. WildC.A.T.s featured a rock soundtrack, and a theme song performed by Sheree Jeacocke and Gerry Mosby. WildC.A.T.s, along with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Skeleton Warriors, was grouped into the "Action Zone" showcase that used a wraparound animated fly-though pre-credit sequence to bookend the three very different programs.[citation needed] The series was canceled around the same time that the "Action Zone" concept was officially retired (although TMNT retained the "Action Zone" credit sequence until the end of its run two years later).[citation needed]
The group was composed of all the original WildC.A.T.s. The major villain was Helspont, and the Troika and the Coda were featured as supporting characters. Mr. Majestic also made appearances, though not as a member of the group.
Differences between the comics and television series
The main differences of the series and the comic books were:
Jacob Marlowe, the Kherubim Lord Emp, was an ordinary human.
Warblade discovers his powers when he becomes part of the group, in the first episode. Because of this, he is the group's rookie, a position occupied by Voodoo in the comic book.
Void is an android and a Kherubim artificial intelligence.
Majestic is an antagonist, obsessed with finding the Orb and destroying the Daemonites.
Max Cash, Grifter's comic universe younger brother, is the older brother, and the leader of an International Operations special unit called the Black Razors.
Pike, who in the comics is a human/Kherubim hybrid working for the Daemonites, is a Daemonite himself in the TV series.
Voodoo is a telekinetic in addition to being a telepath.
Maul does not have a human form; his Titanthrope form is permanent. In addition, he becomes more enraged as he grows in size, as opposed to losing intelligence.
Zealot and Grifter become a couple by the series' end.
Spartan was a Kherubim rebuilt as a cyborg instead of being an android.
Also, Playmates Toys released a toyline based on the TV series. The characters featured in the toyline were Grifter, Helspont, Maul, Max Cash (as a Black Razor), Mister Majestic, Pike, Slag, Spartan, Void, Voodoo, Warblade, Zealot and a generic Daemonite.
Collection Status
As pictured, I own Spartan, Zealot, Warblade, Helspont, Pike (Stealth variant), Void, Voodoo, and the Grifter vs. Daemonite (2-Pack).
What's left to collect?
Bullet Bike
Daemonite
Grifter
Deluxe Grifter (optional) Helspont
Helspont in ceremonial battle dress (optional)
Maul
Mr. Majestic Black Pike
Pike
Black Razor
Slag
Black Spartan (optional) Spartan Warblade Void Voodoo Zealot
Zealot (variant) Grifter and Daemonite 2 pack
Spartan Vs Helspont 2 pack
10" Grifter (optional)
10" Spartan (optional)
Unfortunately, I'm limited to mostly online outlets to find these figures as most people don't even bother collecting them at all. Fortunately for me, when I have ran across them in stores and local comic book shops, they have been dirt cheap.
If anything, I would be happy to get all of the basic figure if at all. I can live without all of the vehicles (Bullet Bike) and the variant/duplicates that sport only VERY minor differences from the original figures they were based off of.
Why?
- These figures were VERY detailed and living examples of Jim Lee's artistic talents. Playmates toys' were very popular and known for their ridiculous amount of detail at the time
- One of the first non-Marvel based comic book properties I adored growing up. This team opened my eyes to experiment and look into more possibilities outside of Marvel.
- Here's a secret about me: I RARELY like the full roster of ANY superhero team. There's always that one (or many, nowadays) member who irks me so much either character-wise or design-wise that I can't find myself enjoying the group as a whole because of it. With WildCATs I liked everyone - the heroes, the villains, even the minor cameos from other Image Comics' characters.
- Last but not least, WildCATs has had a rough time after the big boom of comics in the late 90s. After that these heroes have popped up in Image and more recently DC Comics off and on to mixed results. Collecting the figures is out of respect to Jim Lee's former grandeur with their original run.
Now that's out of the way, I hope all of my loyal readers have a wonderful and safe holiday.
Don't worry I'm not going to make this a long post.
Last year, I was still friends with someone in particular who I recently stopped wasting my time and breath interacting with. This particular person was negative about everything in life, even belittling and disrespecting the value of our so-called friendship. I got fed up with this individual's attitude and told them to make me a list of things that they were thankful for since everything is so horrible (our so-called friendship included) and worth complaining about all the time. That particular person's list was rather disappointing and lack, but I KNOW that I can do a much better job at the task.
Note: For those of you who are some of my friends from the world of e-federations, then yes, I'm referring two one of the quitters...
Friends & Family
Whether I know you personally for a lifetime or we have never met in person but have shared laughs and unique experiences together in an online environment, I'm thankful to have those individuals in my life.
There are times that we may butt heads and not see eye-to-eye, but I love my family (by blood or my surrogate internet family of friends) nonetheless.
My Means of Escapism
Anime, Video Games, Film, Comic Books, Cartoons, Etc.
Media and it's various forms cannot cease to amaze me. They serve as fuel to my already overly-active imagination.
While we're talking films, I cannot thank Marvel Comics enough for adapting their comic book universe into the Cinematic Universe. They started something that almost every studio in Hollywood is trying to replicate.
Blogging & Social Media Outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging, Etc.)
I do this for two reasons - my sanity and for you guys, my loyal followers and fans. I've met and reacquainted myself with you guys over social media. I wouldn't have it any other way. For the time being, I have quality friends and fans here over quantity. Quantity will come in time - I value the meaningful and intelligent conversations with those of you who take your time to comment on ramblings.
I cannot thank you all enough.
My Life
Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone in this world, but I'm thankful for these roughly 30 years of life on this planet. Not many people can say that they have good health or two feet that they can stand and walk on, but that is something else that I won't take for granted and be thankful for.
My individuality
In a world where I notice that it is becoming a rarity to value this trait as most people are so preoccupied with being like everyone else to the point where they lose what makes them different. I was ridiculed for it when I was in my adolescence but now it's one of my greatest personality traits that draws people to get to know me on a personal level.
My Love of Professional Wrestling
Last but not least... I'm drifting off to sleep here, but I'll wrap this up. Normally I would keep wrestling to just Let's Talk Wrestling, but I have met most of my closest friends through discussions and my love of wrestling over the years. For that, along with the endless amount of entertainment that I have for this sport, I cannot thank the promotions and the wrestlers themselves enough.
Two days ago, Rocksteady released this first gameplay video of the latest footage to come from the upcoming final Batman video game in the Arkham series, Arkham Knight. I don't know about you guys but I can't stop watching this over and over without getting excited.
(Stands up and applauds) After Batman: Arkham Origins (I know that I still owe you guys a review on that game...), I was really starting to worry about the future of this franchise, but this trailer as COMPLETELY restored my faith in these games.
I was a little skeptical on how the Batmobile would be implied from the initial trailers before this. I felt that it would take away from Batman's gliding and swinging around Gotham, but this trailer proves that the transitions between the two will be seamless. I thought the ability to pick up and drop off victims/hostages with the Batmobile was pretty damn cool too.
The ability to link/chain multiple takedowns was something I wanted in since Arkham City, so that was an added bonus to see here. About time they went outside of the box in terms of improvements and upgrades to Predator actions as well. I would love a complete breakdown to exactly how the "Fear Takedowns" differ from the standard normal stealth Takedowns.
One thing I have to wonder is Rocksteady keeping up that bullshit idea about the cannons on the Batmobile firing "non-lethal" rounds when it's clearly exploding on contact like damn grenades. These guys in the Arkham Knight's "army" are clearly wearing body armor, so I'm doubt some bullshit non-lethal rounds are going to keep them down for long.
I'm not dwelling too hard on story/plot details for now, but I'm anxiously awaiting the next part in this gameplay teaser series.
Big Hero 6 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the film tells the story of a young robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada, who forms a superhero team to combat a masked villain.
Big Hero 6 is the first Disney animated feature film to feature Marvel Comics characters, whose parent company was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2009.
In a futuristic metropolis called San Fransokyo (a portmanteau of San Francisco and Tokyo), 14 year-old genius robotics expert, Hiro Hamada, is hustling at bot fighting; one of his opponents is angry at his loss and has his friends prepare to beat Hiro up, but his older brother, Tadashi, rescues him in time. However, the cops show up, getting both brothers into legal trouble and having their aunt Cass pick them up from the station. After this incident, Tadashi is worried that Hiro is wasting his potential and takes Hiro to the robotics lab at his university. There, Hiro meets Tadashi's friends: GoGo Tomago, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Tadashi presents Baymax to Hiro, a personal healthcare robot that Tadashi created. Amazed, Hiro decides to apply to the school. With help from Tadashi and his friends, he designs his own project for the annual exhibition to gain admission: microbots, controlled by a neural-cranial transmitter that can link together in any arrangement imaginable. This impresses Professor Callaghan, the program head, and Alistair Krei, a scientist only motivated by wealth, who offers to buy Hiro's microbots but Hiro refuses. Hiro is admitted to the school and the group leaves to celebrate. Shortly after, a fire breaks out at at the university, and Tadashi rushes in to rescue Callaghan, but the building explodes and both are killed. As a result of losing his brother, Hiro enters a depression, giving up on the university and avoiding his friends.
One day, Hiro accidentally activates Baymax, who discovers a single microbot left in his jacket that is knocking against its class case hapharzardly. Baymax thinks the microbot is trying to go somewhere, but Hiro insists it's broken. Baymax, with Hiro behind him, follows the direction of the microbot to an abandoned warehouse, where he and Hiro discover that someone has stolen Hiro's microbots that everyone believed perished in the fire. They are attacked by a masked man controlling the bots as Hiro did. After Hiro and Baymax escape, Hiro decides to catch the masked man and upgrades Baymax with armor and a battle chip containing various karate moves. When they return to the warehouse, everything is gone. Baymax, Hiro, Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred go to the pier to find the masked man. The masked man attacks the group but they manage to get away. The 6 friends hide out in Fred's family mansion where Hiro decides to make more upgrades for Baymax to find the masked man, and provides his friends with super-hero suits so they can join him in the fight.
I KNOW I can't be the only one who thought about Amon from The Legend of Korra when I first saw Yokai...
Baymax locates the masked man on a quarantined island, where they discover a former Krei Tech lab that was experimenting with teleportation technology. The experiment went awry when Krei sent a human test subject inside one of the unstable portals and the exit portal explodes. Upon meeting the masked man again, the team fights him and he is revealed to be Callaghan, who explains that he survived the fire by using Hiro's microbots to shield himself. Realizing Tadashi died for nothing, Hiro removes Baymax's healthcare chip, leaving him with only the battle chip. In blind fury and heartbreak, Hiro orders Baymax to kill Callaghan. Baymax attempts to do so, fighting off the team while they try to stop him. Baymax attacks Callaghan until Honey Lemon manages to plug the healthcare chip back into him, allowing Callaghan to escape. Angry at his friends, Hiro goes home to try and remove Baymax's healthcare chip again but Baymax prevents him from doing so. Hiro breaks down when Baymax asks him if killing Callaghan will make him feel better. To soften Hiro's loss, Baymax shows several clips of Tadashi running tests on Baymax. Hiro realizes that killing Callaghan is not what Tadashi would have wanted and makes amends with his friends.
The group then discovers that the human test pilot that was killed in Krei's experiment was Callaghan's daughter, Abigail, and that Callaghan is seeking revenge on Krei, whom he blames for her death. The group finds Krei already caught in the grasp of Callaghan and the microbots, and in danger of being sucked into the rebuilt portal which killed Abigail. The team manages to destroy the microbots, but the portal remains active, becoming increasingly unstable. Baymax detects Callaghan's daughter still alive within the portal, and he and Hiro rush in to save her. However, on their way out, Baymax's armor is destroyed by a lone chunk of debris, and he realizes the only way to save Hiro and Abigail is if he stays behind to propel them forward with his rocket fist. Hiro repeatedly refuses to leave him but Baymax insists until Hiro tearfully gives in. Hiro and Abigail make it back, Callaghan is arrested, and Abigail goes to a hospital.
Some time later, Hiro discovers Baymax's healthcare chip (which contains his entire personality) in his rocket fist. Hiro rebuilds Baymax and they happily reunite. The six friends continue their hero exploits through the city, remaining unknown, and helping those in need.
In a post-credits scene, Fred, back at the family mansion is speaking to a picture of his parents and admitting he wishes he and his father would spend more time together. He accidentally opens a secret door and finds weapons and superhero gear. His father arrives and embraces Fred, admitting they both have plenty to talk about.
The Verdict:
Hiro Hamada - kid genius and inventor that could definitely give Tony Stark a run for his money in a few more years.
Right off the bat, the first that I have to praise Disney for is their complete creative freedom with re-imagining Big Hero 6 to separate it from it's comic book equivalent from Marvel Comics. Moviegoers should be relieved that they will not require ANY previous knowledge of the source material to get their head around what's going around this film.
GoGo Tomago doesn't get much screen time, but I dig her attitude and personality.
The film is called Big Hero 6, but for the bulk of the narrative from start to finish, it feels like Big Hero TWO as the story centers around Hiro and Tadashi's (then later Baymax) relationship. That's not necessarily a bad thing in the least, but I wish that the rest of the "team" was given some room to benefit from some character development. I can settle for the whole mutual bond through friendship and the common loss of the dearly departed though. That leaves room for their individual characters to develop more in a possible sequel now that Hiro and Baymax's bond has been established in this film. You cannot help but love the bond between these two as goes beyond words. Hell, I'm not ashamed to admit that I even wanted to give Baymax a hug by the time the credits rolled around.
Tadashi's parting gift is Baymax, who ends up being MUCH more that mere medical assistant to Hiro Hamada.
Speaking of Baymax, he is the star of this film without a shadow of a doubt. Scott Adsit did a brilliant job lending his voice to the character to bring him to life. Baymax will make you laugh, he may make you cry, but by the time the credits roll you will love him nonetheless and understand why he's the perfect companion and guardian to Hiro Hamada.
Wasabi is black in this version of Big Hero 6 and acts as the token black guy (and big brother) to the team.
While we are on the subject of emotions in this film, let's talk about the amount of feels here. From Hiro and Baymax's friendship to the drama that drove Hiro towards a blood-thirsty path of revenge towards Callaghan for Tadashi's demise, I couldn't help admire these themes in a kids' cartoon of all things. Speaking of Tadashi, I saw grown adults with tears streaming down their faces in the movie theater. If you move grown adults with the power of your narrative with a kids cartoon, then you definitely get a thumbs up in my book. You have to give Man of Action (team behind Ben 10 series, Generator Rex, Ultimate Spider-Man) props for bringing a narrative to the table that both kids and adults who are young at heart could both enjoy here.
Honey Lemon - She tends to be a bit overly-excited about EVERYTHING at times but she's one of the few people in the film who pronounces Hiro's name correctly...
I was also impressed that the action sequences in this film were on par with the rest of the action sequences found in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite being an animated feature. The chase throughout the city in Fred's car stood out to me the most, followed by the final encounter against Callaghan.
Fred serves as the only guy who gets how much of a big deal it is that the group are a team of superheroes now.
At the end of the day, Big Hero 6 is a welcome addition to both Disney's growing library of 3D and Marvel's Cinematic Universe. There's no clue if these heroes could show up again in future live-action films, but it would be cool to see this get an animated series later down the road, much like How To Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs. Aliens, or Kung-Fu Panda. If you got some time to kill, go see this movie, you won't be disappointed.
Big Hero 6 gets a 8.5 out of 10.
Also, I suggest staying throughout the credits as Stan Lee's best cameo to date occurs in a post-credits scene...
WWE Survivor Series (2014) took place on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the twenty-eighth annual Survivor Series event. WWE offered the event free to new subscribers of the WWE Network.
It's that moment that you've been waiting for. Post-PPV reactions, results, and afterthoughts on the event where WWE and the man known as Sting broke the Internet. Without further adieu, "It's showtime, folks!"
Pre-Show: Fandango (w/ Rosa Mendes) def. Justin Gabriel
The kick-off show saw the repackaging of Fandango as a salsa dancer with Rosa Mendes as his valet. I can dig this. There's no reason to give up on this guy yet, especially as WWE were mostly to blame for killing his momentum in the past when he got over all on his own. I wish he would cook up a better finisher (John Morrison's Moonlight Drive maybe?) instead of that Diving Leg Drop if he expects to not have hip/back problems when he gets more mileage in the ring.
Even though Fandango came out the winner, I thought Justin Gabriel looked strong in this match. I really wish WWE would have given that guy a serious singles push when they had the opportunity. He truly shines as an enhancement talent on both the main roster and down on NXT.
Pre-Show: Bad News Barrett Returns
Shouldn't they brought him back during the UK tour? That would've made a LOT more damn sense. If they are implying that he could be the future GM or RAW/Smackdown! then I wouldn't mind that in the least.
Pre-Show: Jack Swagger (w/ Jeb Coulter) def. Cesaro
A quick, mat-based match. Once again, Cesaro is reduced to a pre-show filler match. To say that Swagger was allegedly "injured" that took him out from representing Team Cena, he was booked on Main Event earlier this week and now on the night of the actual PPV? Gotta love WWE's booking sometimes, geez...
WWE Tag Team Championship - Four Corners Tag Team Match - The Miz and Damien "Mizdow" Sandow def. Dust Brothers (Goldust & Stardust), The Usos (Jimmy & Jey), and Los Matadores (w/ El Torito)
I personally felt like the live crowd ruined this match for the most part. They were too preoccupied with chanting for Mizdow that they didn't care about the fact that this match was actual not that bad. All four of these teams are capable and legitimate tag teams on their own right, but the crowd was heavily invested into Mizdow's antics. Mizdow didn't do next to anything in this match, but he managed to sneak by with the win regardless while the other three tag teams worked the majority of the match.
This title change brings a bit of new life into the struggling tag team division, but I rather see a solo push for Sandow. The guy deserves much more than this piss-poor comedy relief act. And he definitely doesn't deserve to be playing second fiddle to The Miz.
Classic Survivor Series Match - Team Nattie (Natalya, Alicia Fox, Naomi, and Emma) def. Team Paige (Paige, Summer Rae, Cameron, and Layla) in a FULL sweep
I was thinking that Paige would end up as the final member on her team and pull a Randy Orton Survivor Series moment and floor everyone on the opposing team, but I can live with her losing.
I don't believe that WWE were trying to "bury" her either. Paige needs her jets to be cooled a bit for the time being. If they keep pushing her at the rate they were after her debut, she would run out of things to accomplish and aspire to in WWE - if she hasn't already. She already won the NXT Women's Championship once and won the WWE Divas Championship on multiple occasions. She has plenty of years left in her - she's still very young and very new to the company. They don't have to race to do everything with her right off the bat. She still has many years in her to become an even better wrestler than she already is.
There's a few things between the lines that most fans didn't notice with this match.
Naomi was the one who eliminated both Cameron and Paige, looking the strongest out of everyone in this match.
Emma and Cameron wrestled the longest duration in a high-profile PPV in what seems like forever. For Emma, it's been since NXT ArRIVAL, for Cameron, it has been since her feud with Naomi during the summer.
Despite her few botches, Cameron is actually improving.
Summer Rae and Page are teasing a potential pairing/team-up. They have been encouraging this on social media throughout the evening.
Alicia Fox worked the ENTIRE match as a babyface. I'm still very skeptical on how effective this could be. I rather her just be batshit crazy like Dean Ambrose, Stardust, and Goldust are supposedly are.
Tyson Kidd completely turned off his whole "douchebag husband" act during this match and let Natalya shine on her own.
This was the LONGEST Divas match in a very long time for the WWE Divas. This allowed all of the Divas in this match to showcase their ability and personalities more than they allowed to on a regular basis.
Bray Wyatt def. Dean Ambrose via DQ
Much like the entirety of this feud, this match was very underwhelming for the most part. I will admit that Ambrose mimicking Wyatt's corner taunt and Wyatt's offense near the end of the match did keep me entertained though.
I didn't see what was so "awesome" about Bray Wyatt being buried underneath the wealth of foreign objects and weapons in the ring post-match though. I saw that only as WWE doing cheap and obvious promotion for next month's, Tables, Ladders, and Chairs event. That's one thing I felt like that WWE has bumbled with Bray Wyatt's feuds. This reminds me of his feud with Chris Jericho, where WWE did little to keep you engaged or wanting to care about this feud for the long haul.
Impromptu Tag Team Match: Adam Rose & The Bunny def. Slater Gator (Heath Slater & Titus O'neil)
What the hell, man?
Get this shit off of my TV... I understand that WWE is giving us this PPV for free, but that's no excuse to give us the same bullshit that will be recycled on to WWE programming later this week on a PPV.
WWE Divas Championship - Nikki Bella (w/ Brie Bella) def. AJ Lee
In the words of Jim Ross, this over faster than a hiccup. AJ received the "kiss of death" from Brie Bella (I'm sure BOTH CM Punk and Daniel Bryan enjoyed that moment). Nikki Bella promptly knocked her out from behind and hit the Rack Attack to pick up the win.
I know the AJ Lee marks are pissed that the match ended like this, but that finish and result makes me think that those alleged rumors about AJ leaving by the end of 2014 could be true. I wanted more out of the Divas title match here, but I can live with this result. AJ's steamrolled through the division enough over the past year, it's about time that she got her just desserts for once. Nikki has improved a lot over the last few months and she deserves to be rewarded for her hard work.
I guess this win for Nikki Bella broke that alleged ruling about no one from the cast of Total Divas could not win the Divas Championship.
In all seriousness though, I think that Brie helping Nikki win was either one of three things: 1) merely payback for AJ taking her out on the past week on RAW and Smackdown! 2) The whole Bella sibling rivalry was a huge swerve and the Bella Twins are reunited as heels. 3) Brie is plotting a future swerve to doublecross Nikki later down the road. Remember Renee Young said that Sunday was the last night of Brie's "contract" as Nikki's assistant.
If WWE were smart, I would have Nikki Bella play a part in getting Authority back into play as we head into WrestleMania season. She could be Authority's trump card and curry Cena's favor into bringing Triple H and Stephanie McMahon into power.
Classic Survivor Series Match - Team Cena (John Cena, The Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan, and Ryback) def. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, United States Champion Rusev, Intercontinental Champion Luke Harper, Corporate Kane, and Mark Henry)
Mark Henry jobs within the first minute to the WMD by The Big Show in an impressive show of force for Team Cena in the opening minute of this bout. I can live with this decision for the fact that Mark Henry is a veteran and he can easily bounce back from a loss like this. Plus, let's not forget that it was the exclamation point that Team Cena needed against the terrifying odds of Team Authority. That being said, I loved how Stephanie and Triple H were standing on the ring apron like they were actually going to fight in this match legally.
Ryback was eliminated by the combined efforts of both Seth Rollins and Rusev. I think the thing to take away from this part was how much the crowd popped for the Rusev versus Ryback match-up. It seems like WWE aren't too keen about propelling Ryback to the moon again, but a feud with Rusev would benefit both rising stars' careers. WWE shouldn't have given both Ryback and Rusev THAT much ring-time against each other. I wouldn't have had Ryback get eliminated that early on either. That's a future PPV match I wouldn't mind paying to see.
Rusev eliminated via count-out after putting himself through the announcer's table at ringside after Ziggler rolled out of the way at the last second. I was completely fine with this method to eliminate Rusev. He maintains his undefeated streak without anyone actually pinning him. If I had any complaints, it would be that there weren't enough camera shots of Lana at ringside...
Rusev threw Ziggler out of the ring with a F'N Border Toss...
The Big Show KOs John Cena with the WMD and walks out on Team Cena to aid Team Authority. I found myself facepalming (I'm a faithful Big Show fan) at this development with it being Big Show's millionth heel turn, but eliminating Cena from the equation made the situation bleak. That spoke volumes for this drama as Stephanie taunted Cena while a battered and bruised Dolph Ziggler laid unconscious at ringside.
In the end, it wasn't John Cena who won the big one for Team Cena. It was Dolph Ziggler who pulled out the win when it mattered most, channeling his inner Shawn Michaels, circa Survivor Series 2003. That was an emotional moment for me to see that WWE FINALLY has faith in this guy again - rightfully so.
Sting made his WWE debut (despite this being spoiled via social media more than 24 hrs. ahead of this event) to "save" Team Cena from Team Authority. My Twitter timeline exploded afterwards to the point where I had to walk away from the desktop and just sit on my bed as I watched the end of the PPV without any further distractions.
I think I would have enjoyed this moment more if The Undertaker appeared and stood in-between Triple H and the Stinger, teasing WrestleMania 31. Instead, it seems like WWE is teasing Triple H vs. Sting for either Royal Rumble or Elimination Chamber. I seriously doubt they are going to postpone that until WrestleMania when they have already planned the seeds for Triple H vs. The Rock.
I have to agree with Tommy Dreamer's tweet from last night that said that everyone who is happy about Sting being here automatically loses the ring to complain about the inevitable Triple H vs. Sting match in the near-future.
Closing Thoughts
Unlike most people, I didn't jizz my shorts off the debut of Sting. WWE made it well worth the way. About F'N time, I must say. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the guy or anything, but from the reactions on social media, you would think that people didn't see him in Impact Wrestling prior to this and this was his first wrestling appearance since WCW closed it's doors back in 2001. I'm glad that he finally made his presence known, but I felt his debut took too much away from Dolph Ziggler's big win here tonight as the event came to a close.
Apparently, the guy signed a contract with WWE since post-WrestleMania... Would it have killed WWE to build up to this moment with a full-blown storyline instead of a random appearance like this? Instead, I wanted more from this debut than what was offered here. I'm sure long-time Sting fans were pleased just for him to show up in a WWE ring PERIOD, but I tend to want a LOT more out of my storytelling from WWE.
The closing moments of the PPV should have been about Ziggler celebrating his moment in the spotlight with the members of Team Cena who didn't defect over to Team Authority. Sting's debut seemed to completely overshadow that moment and rob Ziggler of the praise he rightfully deserved.
Triple H struggles to keep Steph under control like a black girl ready to throw down in a fight...
Stephanie McMahon losing her shit after Team Authority lost was an added plus. I'm going to be sad now that we won't have anymore amazing Stephanie McMahon heel promos on RAW every week. In the back of my mind, I think Triple H and Stephanie wrote themselves off TV just to be at home with their kids for the upcoming holidays...
This was the first time in like an eternity (at least since WrestleMania XXX) where one of the "Big Five" PPVs felt truly special. And all that it took was WWE actually listening to its fans for once. Oh that and making a FULL-length PPV FREE on the WWE Network. If I may add, the Network showed little to no hiccups during the event, despite the record of random errors and disconnects throughout the week prior.
While the bulk of the WWE Universe acted like this was the best PPV of 2014, I have to disagree with that statement completely. The first 2 hours of this event were mediocre at best (and I'm being VERY generous there...) with too much unnecessary filler and littered with commercials and video packages, while the final hour was an emotional roller coaster, reminiscent of the emotions that went through fans' minds during WrestleMania XXX. Oh the irony...
If I was to give the entire event a grade, I would go with a solid B rating. The final hour is what we love about wrestling - action, drama, storytelling, and some nostalgia, but everything else just weighed the show down in comparison.
When I read some of the comments on my Twitter timeline and across social media, I really have to wonder if WWE is the ONLY company some of you guys warrant your opinions of professional wrestling's current status on. Go out there and watch some Impact Wrestling, who are doing great things right now. Most of their talent (along with FWE's) worked House of Hardcore VII for Tommy Dreamer's promotion. If you're a fan of WRESTLERS instead of ENTERTAINERS then you need to take the time to watch that event. Do yourself a favor and check out Lucha Underground if you haven't already. Trust me, they are doing things that will blow your mind. Last, but not least, give Ring of Honor a freakin' chance. Most of NXT's top prospects (along with the beloved CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, and Daniel Bryan - along with NXT Trainer, Sara Del Rey) are ROH alumni, with more of their former top stars, such as Kevin Steen (as Kevin Owens), set to debut by the end of the 2014.
WWE Monday Night RAW (November 24, 2014)
The Authority's Farewell Address
RAW opens with Triple H's usual banter of cheap pops and cheap shots to cater to the live crowd while a very emotional Stephanie McMahon continues to play up the "tragedy" of their loss at Survivor Series.
The Authority gets one more shot in the gut as they head out of the arena as Daniel Bryan returns to lead the WWE Universe in a "YES" chant to rub the salt into The Authority's open wounds.
Daniel Bryan named as General Manager for tonight's show
The best thing to come out of this segment was the transformation of Corporate Kane to Concessions Kane. I hope Ringside Collectibles will have that figure in stock for 2015...
All jokes aside, I felt that naming Daniel Bryan the GM for the night screamed the same situation as Shawn Michaels as commissioner back during the Attitude Era. Both men had career threatening injuries when they were assigned these positions. I can't knock WWE for that as it's a good way to keep Daniel Bryan relevant and in eyes of the fans during his recovery process.
Ryback def. Mark Henry
This was over rather quickly. It wasn't as fast as Henry's elimination during the Survivor Series main event, but damn. When Mark Henry loses momentum, he falls HARD.
Intercontinental Championship Match - Luke Harper (c) def. Dean Ambrose via DQ
It was rather strange to see Dean Ambrose receive a title match over Dolph Ziggler, but I'm not the one writing this shit. We all knew in the back of our heads that
Larry The Cable Guy & Santino promote Jingle All The Way 2
Get this shit off of my TV. How can you do a sequel to that movie without Arnold? It's not going to be the same!
I haven't been that happy to see Goldust and Stardust in my life...
WWE Tag Team Championship Match - The Miz & Mizdow (c) def. Dust Brothers (Goldust & Stardust) to retain
Mizdow gets more offense in this match, but it ends up with The Miz stealing Mizdow's thunder for the team to retain. If they have the tag titles by the end of 2014, I'm going to be shocked. It's obvious that they are going to implode from Mizdow being more over with the crowd than The Miz.
Fandango (w/ Rosa Mendes) def. Justin Gabriel
This was merely a rehash of their match from last night's pre-show bout before Survivor Series. I still say they need to consider changing Fandango's finisher before he has back/spinal issues like Hulk Hogan when he starts to have a lot of mileage in the ring.
The Big Show Explains His Actions
The Big Show goes completely bipolar (or rather tri-polar) in this segment until Erick Rowan (who is dubbed "Upside Down Sheamus" by The Big Show) comes out to express his disgust with bullies.
I guess this is how WWE is going to keep both The Big Show and Erick Rowan relevant...
Brie Bella (w/ Divas Champion Nikki Bella) def. AJ Lee
I guess everyone forgot that tonight is the last day that Brie is under "contract" as Nikki's assistant. I won't lie that I enjoyed AJ on the mic tonight though. If they actually take the time to plot this out carefully, WWE could actually have something good here. This is a feud that should have happened when AJ Lee first dropped her "pipebomb" back in 2013 that belittled the cast of Total Divas. We can finally address the elephant in the room about that show, their conflicting fan-bases, and how AJ Lee is the only Diva who seems to segregate (read: alienate) herself from anything to do with that show.
AJ won quote of the night with that line about "talent isn't sexually transmitted."
I love how AJ's fanbase tends to think quite the opposite, when she was trained by her previous boyfriend, Jay Lethal. (Grins) Now who's the hypocrite?
Tyson Kidd & Natalya def. Adam Rose & The Bunny
Ugh... How many times do I have to endure this bullshit? I just want Adam Rose to beat the shit out of the Bunny and revert back to Leo Kruger for my viewing pleasure.
Ryback Checks In With Concession Kane At Work
Ryback: "Hey Kane, you forgot your NUTS!!"
This resulted in the mandatory food fight of the evening at Kane's new job.
I want my Concession Kane action figure with action condiments, dammit.
3-on-2 Handicap Match - John Cena & Dolph Ziggler def. J & J Security (Jamie Noble & Joey Mercury) and Seth Rollins
I wouldn't even call this a "match" by a stretch. Rollins bailed at the first sign of trouble and left Noble and Mercury to fall victim to the Attitude Adjustment and Zig-Zag (after a Super Kick that would make Shawn Michaels blush) from Cena and Ziggler. With the heels laid out, Daniel Bryan came out join them as RAW closed out...
That is until the return of the Anonymous RAW General Manager. (Sighs) Apparently, WWE wants us to forget that Hornswoggle was in control of that gimmick the last time. The Anonymous RAW GM is said to be in control for next week's RAW on Cyber Monday.
Closing Remarks
Going into Monday Night RAW, I was excited on how WWE would follow up the events from Survivor Series. Instead of carrying that momentum and excitement into RAW, WWE dropped the ball (literally and figuratively) and went back to their same ol' shit style of creative direction and booking.
To say that WWE had everyone amped up after Survivor Series, they really dropped the ball here with this post-Survivor Series RAW broadcast.
Much like Survivor Series, I'll give this show a grade rating as well: C- Unlike Survivor Series, this show wasn't a pleasure to watch.
Hey, WWE, when are you going to address the elephant in the room known as Brock Lesnar and the missing WWE World Heavyweight Championship?
