Batista: I Walk Alone DVD
Released: October 20, 2009
The Matches

Disc two:

OVW Heavyweight Title: The Machine (w/Queen Victoria) vs. Leviathan (Batista)

Machine works over the shoulder, but throws dust in the face of the referee. Leviathan hits a choke-slam, but the ref, from the back, is late in getting there. Revolution runs down. Leviathan recuperates and goes for the Demon-bomb, but Victoria gets in the ring in and hits a low-blow. The ref was late in, so it is a two. Leviathan then hits the spear for the win in 7:53.

Thoughts: This was a decent showing from Batista. The match was a bit straight forward at times, but was okay for what it was. I love Cornette’s commentating; if ROH was smart they would put him on the announce team. He really has an ability of knowing how to make the wrestlers look good. **

Kane vs. Batista

This was the first PPV match Batista had Kane starts it up, and  clotheslines him over, In the ring, Batista spears Kane and then hits a powerslam for 2. Batista hits a botchbomb and nearly breaks Kane’s neck. Kane hits a flying clothesline. Then, Batista gives Kane a spine-buster, but it only gets two. Kane tosses Flair in, allowing Batista to sneak up, boot Kane in the gut, and hit the Batista bomb to win in 6:38.

Thoughts: This is as bad as you expect. The fans were really getting angry at Batista, because how green he was; Kane was no better, either, and looked very sloppy. In a nut-shell, this was a complete utter mess. If I saw this match live, I would have thought Batista would have became World Heavy Weight unemployed, rather than Champion. DUD

Batista (w/Ric Flair) vs. Shawn Michaels

Batista catches up with Shawn’s speed, while HBK tried to use it to his advantage. Batista then waits for get up and nails him with a clothesline. Shawn goes for his comeback; then hits a flying forearm and does his kick up thing, but Batista grabs him for the double choke-slam. Shawn fights out of the move and hits the top rope elbow. Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Batista catches him and delivers a spine-buster. Batista calls for the Batista Bomb, but Shawn slips out of it and hits SCM for the win at 12:21.

Thoughts: No HBK match is bad, but this is as bad as one could get. Batista looked misplaced for the whole match. His timing and pacing were awful. He just did moves for the sake of doing them, with no meaning behind him. Terrible match wrestled by Batista. *¾

World Tag Team Titles: Table Match: Batista & Ric Flair vs. The Dudley Boyz

The Dudleyz attack them.  Batista misses a punch and hurts his own shoulder. Bubba gets a table and slides it into Batista. The Dudleys set up the table and snatch Flair. They’re about to suplex him through it, but Batista throws the table. The table gets set up in the corner. Flair chops Bubba. Bubba comes back with the Elbow. Batista chokes D-Von with his foot. D-Von hits Flair with an airborne clothesline. Batista hits Bubba with a charge. Flair goes up, but Bubba slams him off. Coach comes in, and saves Flair from going through the table. Batista hits a Batistabomb through the table at 4:20.

Thoughts: Short, sloppy, and botched. The only structure in the match was because of Flair. Bad match. ½*

Disc Three:

Royal Rumble (01/30/05).

Batista is #28, and comes in and eliminates off the bat. Jericho jumps at Batista, but Batista catches him and tosses him over. Christian is #29 and he goes after Cena. Rey hits Kane with the 619. Cena tosses Kane over with the Fireman’s carry. Ric Flair is #30. Batista spinebusters Coach and Flair eliminates him. Flair throws Christian into a Batista spinebuster. Flair and Batista team up to throw that guy who won in 2004. Flair tries to be the dirtiest player in the game, but Batista catches him, but Flair denies it. Edge hits a spear on Dave. Edge goes for a spear on Rey, but Rey counters. Edge tosses Rey to the apron and Edge spears him to the floor. Cena tosses Edge out. Cena picks Batista up in the FU, but can’t get him over the top rope. Batista counters into the Batista bomb. Cena holds on. They fall over the top, landing at the same time. Each brand ref thinks their wrestler won. Vince McMahon restarts the match. Batista blocks the FU and then hits the spinebuster on Cena.Batista throws Cena over the top, and is heading to Wrestlemania.

Thoughts: Not the best Rumbles, but easily up there. I liked everything up to the end. I found it very rushed, and asinine. They should have just made it seem like it was an epic showdown of two evenly match contenders, rather than the ridiculous ending (which caused Vince to tear both his quads.). This was the start of the Batista era. ***½

World Heavyweight Title: Triple H (w/Ric Flair) vs. Batista (04/03/05).

A stiff tie-up; no one gets the advantage. They do it again, and Batista pushes him backwards. Triple H tries a shoulder-block but runs into Batista. HHH goes for it again, and Batista knocks him down. HHH goes for the Pedigree, but Batista shoves him and then press slams him. Batista gives him a backdrop. Triple H ducks a clothesline and delivers a knee that sends Dave to the floor. Hunter hits Batista with an elbow as Batista trying to get back in the ring. Later on, H goes for a Pedigree, but Batista backdrops HHH. Batista catches HHH with a sideslam for only a two. Batista catches up with HHH and slams his face into the ringsteps. In the ring, Batista starts pounding on HHH. Batista delivers clothesline. Flair distracts Batista while Hunter attempts to hit him with a chair, but the Ref blocks it. Flair runs into a spinebuster with the title in his hand. Hunter nails Batista with the title behind the ref for only a two. Hunter charges but its right into a spinebuster. Batista goes for the Dave Bomb, but Hunter counters and hits a low blow. HHH goes for the Pedigree, but Batista powers out and drops him with a Misawa’s finisher. Batista hits the Dave Bomb and gets the pinfall.

Thoughts: Very boring in the start, but picked up slowly throughout the match. They tried adding drama by using the bag-of-tricks booking, but it just felt substandard for a WM main event match. Batista was very charismatic in this match, which helped hide his flaws. Better days for Batista still to come. ** ½

World Title, Hell in the Cell: Batista vs. Triple H (w/Ric Flair — 06/26/05)

Batista was mega over at this point. In the ring, Batista clotheslines him and whips HHH to the cell wall. Hunter counters the whip and sends Batista into the ringsteps. Batista attempts to get back in the ring, but HHH knocks him down. HHH gets a chain and hits Batista in the mid-section. HHH chokes Batista. Batista snaps and counters it. Batista starts hitting HHH with the chain with great vengeance and furious anger. Batista goes for the Dave Bomb, but Hunter counters with a backdrop. Hunter nails Batista with his friend, but it only gets two. He attempts again, but this time Batista goes low on HHH. Batista picks up the sledgehammer and charges, but clever HHH finds the chain and drills Batista before Batista hits him. Batista throws Hunter over the top.  In the ring, Batista throws HHH into the ring steps he set up Batista goes for the Dave Bomb, but HHH goes low and then hits the Pedigree, but only gets a two. HHH goes for another one, but this time on the steps. Batista counters the move, and hits a spinebuster. Batista goes for a Dave bomb, but HHH grabs the Sledgehammer on the way up. HHH goes to hit him, but runs out of time as Batista hits the Batista bomb and gets the three.

Thoughts: Started off very similar to their WM match because of it being methodically paced, but rapidly enhanced as the match went on. The finish gave HHH an “out” but also made it seem like he deserved a rematch clause. In my opinion, Hell in the Cell is supposed to end the feud by giving one of the wrestlers a clean victory to conclude the feud. Despite its flaws, it still was a very good match with good amounts of realism and hostility. Nice work.  ***½

World Heavyweight Title: No Holds Barred: Batista vs. John Bradshaw Layfield (08/21/05)

JBL meets Batista and they start brawling. JBL grabs the chair, but Batista spears him through the crowd blockade. JBL recovers and comes back with a clothesline and starts pounding him with the belt. Batista takes the belt away from him and drills JBL with it. JBL blocks a charge and hits the lariat for a two count. JBL brings the ringsteps into the match and goes for a powerbomb on them, but Batista backdrops him and gives him the Batista Bomb. He picks JBL up and gives him a powerbomb on the steps for the pinfall.

Thoughts: Much better than there Great American Bash match. WWE obviously knew that they needed to keep this one short and sweet in order for it to be watch-able. While it only lasted 9 minutes and was short they did tell a good enough story of Batista getting his revenge on JBL. Not as bad as you would think. **

World Heavyweight Title: Batista vs. Eddie Guerrero (No Mercy – 10/09/05).

Eddie takes Batista down, but Batista pops up and powers him. Eddie throws the chair down, but Batista grabs him and yells at him. Eddie whiplashes Dave’s throat on the top rope and hits the frogsplash for only a two. Later on, Eddie rolls through the Dave Bomb, but Batista blocks his sunset flip and pulls him up by the neck. Batista hits his vintage spinebuster, but only gets two. Batista tries an elbowdrop, but the ultimate opportunist gets his knees up. Eddie goes for the traditional frogsplash, but Batista gets out of the way. Eddie runs into the spinebuster, which gets the pin.

Thoughts: The more experience Eddie Gurrero helped carry Batista throughout the match Even though this wasn’t the high-flying/athletic side of Eddie, he told a believable story that served the purpose of the story behind this match.

The problems with the match were that; it was way too slow at times and never really picked up at any stages of the match; Batista was becoming very stale and all his matches virtually felt the same; and the finish was very anticlimactic because of Batista not having to use a finishing move to defeat Eddie and beating him with his “set up” move. Sadly, this was Eddie’s last “big” match. **½

World Heavyweight Title: King Booker (w/Queen Sharmell) vs. Batista (11/26/06)

Batista attacks Booker T before he takes his robe off (real babyface). Batista goes for the Dave bomb early, but Booker rolls to the floor.. Batista counters a neck-snap on the ropes and delivers one of his one. Booker then works on Dave’s ribs. Batista comes back with a Jackhammer; then a Bossman slam for a two count. They brawl some more. Batista boots Booker to the floor and nails a flying shoulderblock (that Cole never saw before) for two. Booker hits him with a Bookend, but it only gets a two count. Batista counters the Scissors Kick and hits the Dave Bomb, but Booker T gets his right hand on the bottom rope. Sharmell slides the title belt to Booker and gets on the apron. Booker T goes to hit Dave with the belt, but misses. Dave kicks Booker in the gut and steals the title from Booker. Wham! Batista hits Booker T with the title and gets enough for the pin.

Thoughts: Meh. These two wrestling styles never clicked together. This had some poor timing and a couple slightly blown spots. Everything just felt like it was delayed. The finish came weird to me, also. A babyface such as Batista (a big man face) shouldn’t have to cheat against someone as Booker T. Maybe it happened that way because Batista was scared to get messed up by Booker T, again. Bad match. *

World Heavyweight Title: Batista vs. King Booker (w/Queen Sharmell) vs. Fit Finlay (12/01/06).

Big Dave beats on both the heels. Back from commercial, Booker is firmly in control of Batista. Finlay pulls Batista to the apron and boots him right in the head. Finlay slowly takes apart Dave. Batista sets him on top and delivers a muscle buster. Batista and Booker slug it out as Hornswoggle runs through the ring to distract the ref. Finlay uses the disruption to slip in and destroy Batista’s knee with the shillelagh for only two. Booker charges right into the spinebuster. Batista goes for a Dave Bomb on Finlay, but he counters by drilling the bad knee. Dave no sells the knee, and then hits the Big David Bomb on Finlay for the three.

Thoughts: Finlay added some well missing structure in the previous Booker-Batista matches. The match itself was a typical WWE style heels vs. face match. Heel dominates most of the match and attempts to get some heat; then the face does there comeback and overcomes the odds (usually by no selling the offense from the heel, which would make most of the match filler). Thanks for Finlay, though, this was a decent TV match. **1/2

World Heavyweight Title: Batista vs. The Undertaker (04/01/07).

This match had bad news written all over it. Batista was dogging most of his matches up to this point, and people didn’t think Undertaker would have been able to carry Dave to a decent WM match. Batista goes for a Dave Bomb, but Taker smashes him into the turnbuckle. Batista hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Taker. Batista is smashing Taker’s head in with the punches on top of the turnbuckle, but Taker counters to the Last Ride for a two. Taker goes for another Last Ride, but Batista counters and hits a spear. Batista goes for the Dave bomb and hits hit, but only get another two count. Dave is pissed. Batista goes for another Lametista bomb, but Taker shoves him into the turnbuckle, and then hits the tombstone piledriver for the win.

Thoughts: Just a tad overrated, but still very good. It was really surprising where this match got put on the card, because of all the build it had. Plenty of sources and dirtsheets were hearing rumors of Batista breaking the streak, and sadly I believe that the card placement ruined the unpredictability. Batista seemed very motivated for once in his career and it finally seemed like he cared about something other than a paycheck. What people predicted to be one of the worst WM main events all time, turned into a very good midcard match. ***½

World Heavyweight Title, Steel Cage: Edge vs. Batista (06/03/07).

Edge tries to dash out early. Batista drags him back in. Edge hits the edge-o-matic. Batista delivers a superplex, but instead of trying to escape, he goes up and dives off the top rope. Batista gets fired after Edge beat on him. Batista goes for the Dave bomb, but Edge grabs the cage and tries to escape. Edge hits a low blow. Batista goes the other way and tries to escape, but Edge drops to the floor and wins.

Thoughts: The psychology was present in the match. Batista played the all mighty face who does everything by the book, while Edge was the complete opposite. I do like proper characterization in my matches, but there characters, in the match, really restricted them from doing what they are capable of. **¼

World Heavyweight Title, Undertaker vs. Batista (10/03/2007)

There was a ref scandal before the match. The ref nominations for the match were: Jbl, Foley, and AUSTIN. While JBL was the only person who was on the show before this, everyone still voted for Austin.  What they should have done was to make JBL pull a George Bush and some how “change” the voting. Instead, they just had Austin be the ref and let him beat up Foley and JBL. Batista hits him with punches on the top, but Undertaker counters into the last ride for only 2 .Batista gets up and hits the spinebuster. Batista is puzzled and sells it well. Batisa hits the Batista bomb, but only gets another two. Batista is now furious. Undertaker staggers himself back up. Batista hits another Batista bomb and gets the three count.

Thoughts: They went all out in this match. Very good wrestling match, with both workers not holding back. I do believe JBL would have made a better ref than Austin, because JBL would have added in some heat and drama into it. Batista, as a shocker, gets the clean win over the Deadman. Great match from the big guys. ***¾

Triple H, Batista & Ric Flair vs. Randy Orton, Edge & Umaga (12/10/07).

This was the 15 anniversary show of Raw. On the show, Evolution was supposed to have a reunion. Everyone joined the reunion except Randy Orton (since he was the only heel). Orton then names another stable he was apart of and that is Rated-RKO. Edge comes out, and so does Umaga for no reason, and then they have a match. They do some basic tag stuff. Batista gets a hot tag from Flair, but Umaga  hits the ref and causes the DQ. Rated-RKO runs away. Evolution beats up Umaga just for the sake.

Thoughts: Nothing to rate. Everything in this segment/match was pointless. I don’t even know why this is on the DVD. Batista wasn’t even the main center of attention in any of this. N/R

John Cena vs. Batista (08/17/08).

They are dead even in the feeling out process. Crowd is either booing Cena or Batista(because there “cool).Batista gets a figure-four leglock and the woo chants occur. Cena goes for a FU but Batista elbows out and then Cena in the STFU. Batista makes it to the ropes. Cena goes for the FU, but Batista gets out and applies a weird looking choke. He lets go and then hits the spear but only gets two Cena counters a powerslam and hits the FU and sells the injuries by making a delayed cover. They dish out some blows. Cena wins and comes off for a top rope leg drop, but Batista catches him in the air and hits the Dave Bomb, but only get a two! Batista can’t believe it. Batista hits another Batista bomb and ends the match.

Thoughts: They added in the epic feeling they were looking for by using good power moves, counters, and near-falls. I would give this a great rating, if it wasn’t for the center of the match. The center had bunch of filler. It felt like they ran out of ideas and moves to do. Still a good match. *** ¼

Batista vs. Randy Orton (w/Manu & Cody Rhodes — 12/14/08).
Orton controls most of the match with his sluggish offense. Batista and gives him a DDT. Batista counters the RKO to an unprettier for two. Batista nails him in the corner for punches, and when Randy tries to counter, he accidentally finds himself getting Powerbombed.

Thoughts: Orton’s heat on Batista was so slow and went no where fast. The only thing that could have saved it was, either, good selling or a good comeback, but neither took place because Batista did his average comeback to win the match. Nothing was really that bad from a wrestling standpoint. No botches or anything, but how hard is it to botch when the match is slower than Nick Dinsmore’s character? *3/4

Going Home: This DVD takes through Dave’s life as a punk kid growing up-raised by a single mother, then becoming a bodybuilder and “saving his life” Then, getting into the wresting business from his debuting name: Leviathan; then all the way to becoming one of the most talked about wrestlers today.

This DVD isn’t just about Batista. The DVD also has a good moral behind it, and that is never to give up at what you believe in.  DON’T STOP BELIEVING!

The only match I could say that belongs on there was his Last Man Standing match with Undertaker, but every other important or good match of Batista’s is on there. I actually enjoyed most of the matches on here. Batista is one of those wrestlers who can be on his game sometimes, and completely stink  up the place another night.  On this DVD, you will mostly see Batista on his game; therefor, I recommend this DVD.

Thumbs up for “I walk alone”

WWE Friday Night Smackdown – November 27, 2009

Alright, this is strange but I can’t find Superstars or Impact, yet I found tonight’s Smackdown. Guess I’m going to do Smackdown first and the other two on the weekend. After three great shows in a row, can WWE keep the momentum going or will Smackdown be the speed bump of the week? Let’s watch and find out.

We start with a recap of Sunday night’s Survivor Series followed by one of my least favorites opening theme songs ever. I miss when they had good opening themes, of course they also had the same music for pay-per-view every year and that was better. Let’s not even get me started on ring music. Nowadays everyone has the same sounding generic ‘alternative’ rock theme and it sucks. The old theme songs were so much better, all you needed to hear was the first couple notes and you knew who was coming.

1. Anyway, back to the show, we open with one half of the tag champions, and your wrestler of the year, Chris Jericho out for his weekly insult the crowd-a-thon. Chris starts with the hype for the TLC pay-per-view, stupid name for a PPV, but whatever. I can’t believe another PPV only three weeks after the last one, this is why there is so little buildup for these matches, and they have no time to build up storylines. I wish they’d cut back to 6 or even 8 PPV’s a year, 12+ is too many. Chris says there has only been 8 TLC matches in history, really? I thought there was less than that actually. There must’ve been some lame ones only on RAW. Crowd chanting “you suck” and Jericho saying no, that’s hilarious. I love his interaction with the crowd, like Sunday at PPV when someone in the crowd told him go back to Toronto and he yelled back I’m from Winnipeg you idiot. This man puts on some of the best promos in this company and never seems to get any respect. Jericho demanding to be the number one contender to the world title, and I have to agree with him. Here comes Theodore Long to rebut what Jericho said. Teddy says he’ll give Jericho what he wants, and Jericho gets all smug, a little too soon for that Chris. Teddy continues by saying tonight Chris Jericho will face Undertaker in a non-title match. Nice, they’ve never faced before and now they’ve faced each other twice in less than a month, why the first meeting between them was not on PPV is beyond me.
2. Cryme Tyme v. Hart Dynasty. Well nice to see the only two real tag teams get some TV time. Does Natalya get better looking every week or what? Good thing she didn’t get her looks from her dad! Someone tell me why Hart Dynasty is not the champs, makes no sense to me. These two are so talented. We start with JTG and Tyson Kidd, and JTG gets the early lead. Kidd with a low dropkick and a tag to the power man. I just don’t see why Cryme Tyme got rehired, they have Mark Henry syndrome, and they stick around but never improve. WWE really needs more real tag times, maybe the Briscoes? Briscoes versus Hart Dynasty would kick seven layers of ass. JTG has unable to make the tag, thus keeping the match watchable. JTG is the better of the two, but that’s like saying I’d rather drink gasoline over urine, know what I mean? Well, so much for that here comes Shad and the quality plummets. Shad gets distracted and DH hits what looked like Kurt Angle’s Olympic Slam for the win. Not a bad match, nice to see Natalya of course, and at least Shad was kept out of the ring for the majority. 3.25/5
3. We go backstage to Teddy Long who’s with John Morrison, John requests a match with Miz, Sheamus or Drew. Vickie sticks her nose in the conversation and says she wants Eric Escobar to face John Morrison for tonight. Teddy says Eric has not earned it; I have to agree as the man has been lame so far. Vickie threatens to call Vince, so Teddy gives in. Crap, I hate to say but I have a feeling JoMo is going to lose the belt to this scrub.
4. CM Punk v. Matt Hardy. CM Punk comes out with a paper bag and some big guy. Recap of last week with Punk and Truth, can’t believe they want Truth to be a main event guy. I don’t think that’s going to work very well, Truth just doesn’t strike me as the guy to main event PPVs. CM Punk has the microphone and once again does a great promo of preaching the evils to people. I’d love to see Punk bring out Brother Love one time for his preaching, that would be great. CM Punk introduces his friend Luke Gallows? Holy crap! That’s freaking Festus, OK this is good, now we’re finding out Festus was a druggie who has been saved by Punk, awesome. What’s Punk going to do next, bring out Jake Roberts! Punk says a new drug will be available on December 1^st; he reaches in the bag and pulls out the Jeff Hardy DVD, legend….wait for it…dary! Punk buries Jeff Hardy as the crowd chants Hardy. Matt has had enough of Punk’s insults and comes out to defend his brother’s honor. Matt has a microphone too and calls Punk a cult leader. Festus gets out the ring as the bell rings, and Festus stays normal! As the match starts, we get a commercial break, nicely timed WWE. Come back from commercial and Punk has the advantage working over Matt’s arm. Punk goes for a springboard move and gets hit with the Side Effect, cool counter from Matt as Matt takes the advantage. Luke “Festus” Gallows grabs Matt from behind for the disqualification, Gallows with a hot shot and the starts pounding on Matt. Gallows holds Matt up and Punk with a vicious spin kick, Gallows holds him in the corner for Punk to hit the knee to the face. Punk says it’s not over till I say it’s over. Gallows locks an odd looking submission hold then drops Hardy down. Why is no one coming out to save Hardy? I was waiting for Truth to save, that never makes sense to me. 1.5/5 match was too quick but the pre and post match stuff was gold.
5. We get a recap of the disgusting humiliation of Mickie James from last week. That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen, there was no reason for that at all. I wish she’d just leave and go to TNA where she would be used properly. We get a Mickie interview and she looks amazing as always. Mickie says she’s not going anywhere and she worked hard to get where she is. She should’ve never been moved from Raw to Smackdown, Mickie’s the most talented diva in WWE.
6. Batista v. Kane. Well this is going to be a bad match looking at who’s in it, and this is for number one contender. Seems like a lose-lose situation for the fans ordering the PPV. Undertaker vs. Kane for the millionth time or Undertaker vs. Batista again. Neither match seems appealing to me, no matter what they do. The match starts as expected, a brawl, Kane has the advantage in the start. Batista rakes the eyes to get the advantage and powers Kane into the corner with a series of shoulder blocks.  Batista uses a rest hold, happens when you have such little stamina. Crowd pretty much dead for this match up, what’s that tell you Vince? I’m sure Kane would be the one to get blamed for that, it can’t be Batista, who does a couple moves and back to the chin lock, yawn.  All we need now is special guest referee Great Khali, and the match will officially enter a new level of suck. Kane goes for the choke slam and Dave grabs the ropes, kick to knee and attempted Batista Bomb fails. Kane goes for the bomb and Batista counters, Batista works over Kane’s knee. Batista with the advantage as we go to commercial, we come back to Batista with a single leg crab. Kane makes the comeback with a series of clotheslines in the corner while limping, hits a big boot for a two count. Kane misses the clothesline from the top rope, Batista with a spear, for a two count. Crowd finally wakes up as Kane hits a backbreaker and gets yet another two count. Kane climbs up top and hits the clothesline this time, Kane readies for the choke slam. Batista blocks and does his Ultimate Warrior impersonation, followed by an attempt at Batista Bomb, Kane reversed and hits the choke slam, Batista lucky to get a foot on the rope. Batista rolls out of the ring; Kane goes after him and gets caught. Kane reverses an Irish whip over the barrier. Batista hits Kane with a chair behind the barricade, ref didn’t see it and Batista wins by count out. 2.5/5 Match picked up at the end but the stuff at the beginning was abysmal. Smart finish with Batista getting away with cheating to win. Batista vs. Undertaker at TLC sounds like a crappy match to me. Thank God for Christian vs. Shelton, that’s going to save the show.
7. Eric Escobar v. John Morrison. Vickie Guerrero comes out to do her catch phrase, who knew “Excuse Me” would become a catch phrase? Vickie introduces Eric Escobar, I think Drew should’ve got this match instead, Eric has not impressed me so far, and at least Drew has been impressive. Cue the music and wind machine as the IC champ, John Morrison, is introduced. This man is the future of the business, but a DVD set is just way too soon. Eric starts with his power advantage pushing John to the corner; Morrison pushes Eric to the ropes and hits a perfect dropkick. Morrison hits an amazing Asai Moonsault to the floor and lands on his feet, is there anything this man can’t do. Vickie grabs John’s arm to distract him, Eric with a baseball slide and then works over John’s back. Eric goes for the pin and John kicks out, OK, I admit it, I’m impressed so far. Escobar continues to work over the back; John hits a high kick to get the advantage back. Morrison caught in the corner and Eric goes for the charge, Morrison moves, hits the kick followed by Starship Pain, Morrison wins and keeps the belt. Whew, glad for that, way too soon for Morrison to drop the title, especially to Escobar. 3.75/5 A very good match, John carried Eric to a very impressive outing. After the match Vickie is in the ring and she doesn’t look happy. Eric tries to explain, and Vickie starts screaming at him, we can hear her loud and clear with no microphone, what a set of lungs! She then slaps Eric in the face and leaves, guess the honeymoon is over! Maybe that’ll be the last we see of both of them, but I doubt it.  We come back from commercial and Vickie is still yelling at Eric, Eric starts insulting Vickie now. Eric says we are done and walks away as Vickie is still seething.
8. Chris Jericho v. Undertaker. Before either man is introduced out comes Batista, still in his gear. He takes a seat and refuses to talk. The match starts with Undertaker powering down Jericho and throws him into the turnbuckle. Jericho taking an early beating, as Undertaker goes for Old School, Jericho kicks Undertaker and Jericho gets clotheslined over the top rope. Commercial break, we come back and Undertaker still has the advantage, is this just going to be a squash match or what? Undertaker drops the leg from the ring apron and glares at Batista, who has yet to say anything. Batista gets up and Undertaker turns to look at him, neither man makes a move. Undertaker comes back in the ring and gets hit with the triangle dropkick. Jericho finally getting some offense on Undertaker, and gets him back in the ring. Jericho hits a missile dropkick from the second rope for a two count. Jericho locks in a rest hold, as silent Batista continues to look on. Undertaker starts to make a comeback and Jericho hits a dropkick for another attempted pin. Jericho locks in a sleeper hold, like anyone submits to that anymore, what does Jericho think he is Brutus Beefcake? Undertaker counters out with a belly to back Suplex. Undertaker with a series of punches to the head, followed by a splash in the corner, snake eyes, big boot, leg drop. Great now Undertaker thinks he’s Hulk Hogan? Undertaker gets Jericho in the shoulders, Jericho slides down, hits a bulldog and lionsault. Undertaker no sells, hits a choke slam then goes for the tombstone. Batista slides in with a chop block, knocking the dead man down. Batista goes outside for a chair as Jericho hits the code breaker. Batista back in with the chair and lays a beating on Undertaker. Undertaker pummeled down by The Animal who stands over Undertaker’s fallen body. 4/5 Very impressive match, would’ve been higher had we had a finish. At least Jericho got some offense in and didn’t look all Barry Horowitz like as it started to look like.

Match Recap:

1. Hart Dynasty over Cryme Tyme 3.25/5
2. Matt Hardy over CM Punk 1.5/5
3. Batista over Kane 2.5/5
4. John Morrison over Eric Escobar 3.75/5
5. Undertaker over Chris Jericho 4/5

Overall not a bad show could’ve been a little better had Matt and Punk had more time and scrap the Batista v. Kane match.  I’ll be back once I find Impact and Superstars, thanks for reading.

Vanaf vandaag ligt het album No Surrender in de (digitale) schappen van de muziekwinkels. Kane is weer volkomen terug bij af. Dat klinkt misschien negatief maar dat is het absoluut niet. Ze zijn gestopt met alle onzin. Geen toeters en bellen meer, maar gewoon lekkere muziek. Bevatte voorganger Everything you want veelal uitgearrangeerde, op beats en samples gestoelde songs, op No Surrender besloot Kane het dit keer kleiner en eenvoudig te houden en de muziek te laten spreken.

De sound van vroeger is terug. En dat is goed nieuws! De commerciële geest is echter gebleven. De plaat is te commercieel neergezet, maar ligt goed in het gehoor. Het mist soms hier en daar wet wat originaliteit. Zo is Love over healing, de titeltrack van de film “Komt een vrouw bij de dokter”, een typisch voorbeeld van soundtrackmuziek, niets speciaals dus.

Maar dit wordt wel weer ruimschoots gecompenseerd met nummers zoals Here comes the end. Het nummer heeft een perfecte dynamiek. Een sterk nummer. Het album sluit af met een herkenbare Kane-song, het ingetogen High places. Al met al een redelijk goede plaat.

Waarom vind je het zo erg als je doornat bent?
Die zalige gedachte aan een heerlijk warme douche of bad nadien, maakt toch zo hard alles goed?

En als je dan in de regen staat, fietst, ligt… en je denkt aan die douche,
begin dan gewoonweg luidop het volgende nummer te zingen:

In the spirit of beginning a break from my coursework, I debut a new feature of the blog.  ”Around the League” will be an approximately weekly feature which will take an in depth look at another NHL team and examine how their season is progressing.  It’s good to stay informed about the opposition folks, so enjoy reading a bit about the rest of the NHL…

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Atlanta Thrashers 2009-2010

Thrashers Blog to Read: Bird Watchers Anonymous

Relative Predicted Finish: 14th in the West.  Last in the Southeast division.

Current Standings: 20GP. 10-7-3.  23pts.  3rd in the Southeast.

Top Performers:

1. Ilya Kovalchuk – 14GP.  13G-8A-21Pts
2. Rich Peverley – 20GP.  8G-16A-24Pts
3. Maxim Afinogenov – 20GP.  9G-11A-20Pts

Calder Candidate? (Top Rookie on the Team…):

Evander Kane – 20GP.  7G-5A-12Pts  18 years old.

Surprise Player:

Ondrej Pavelec (Goaltender)  14GS.  6-5-3.  2.96 GAA.  .917 SV%.

Disappointment:

Colby Armstrong (D) – 40Pts in 2008-2009.  6Pts so far this season.  On pace for 25Pts.

Biggest Trade or Contract Rumor:

Ilya Kovalchuk is so itsy-bitsy close to signing a contract extension.  Rumor has it that the length could be 10+ years at around $9 million a year.  He’s good, but better than Malkin good?  I guess that is what you pay for a guy when you want him to stay in Hotlanta and not be lured to a bigger hockey market.

Outlook for the Rest of the Season:

If Pavelec keeps up steady play in net and the defense plays consistently, the Thrashers have a definite shot at a playoff spot.  Beyond that they need more time and more development of their youth.  This is a young team with a lot of building blocks and an absolute world-class talent, thus they can be dangerous at any time.  There are still too many holes and inconsistencies due to inexperience and lack of depth to be a serious playoff threat.

My Predicted Finish:

The Thrashers are likely to fade over the season due to their streaky play.  I just don’t see them being able to ride Pavelec the whole time to an above .500 record.  Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian are going to hit a bit of a wall as well as the season progresses.  They’ve had a heavy workload, and if that keeps up, production will drop.  Therefore,

I predict the Atlanta Thrashers will finish 39-34-9  87Pts.  10th in the East.

Tras su aparición, allá por 2007, Kane & Lynch ha sabido hacerse notar en este mundillo que tanto nos interesa. De hecho, se supo ganar seguidores en varios puntos del planeta. En el transcurso de las últimas horas, salió a la luz un informe elaborado por la gente de Square Enix y los chicos de IO Interactive. En él se dan a conocer algunos detalles de una nueva entrega, o sea una secuela que se denomina Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.

Por supuesto que cuando le echemos mano a este juego, nos volveremos a topara con el dúo de inescrupulosos criminales. Pero en esta oportunidad, toda la acción se llevará a cabo en la ciudad oriental de Shangai. Justamente hacia ese sitio se había dirigido el par de malvivientes norteamericanos, creyendo que encontrarían algo de paz. De acuerdo a los muchachos de IO Interactive, los principales contrastes de esa región son marcados por la seducción y la corrupción. En ella se amalgama lo nuevo con lo antiguo y está abierto un mercado negro en el que, obviamente, Kane & Lynch se sumergen para intentar sacar algún beneficio.

En tanto, sobre su jugabilidad, desarrolladores de la firma antes mencionada adelantaron que uno de sus puntos fuertes volverá a estar puesto en el modo cooperativo, ya sea vía Internet o bien en su vertiente local a pantalla dividida. Por supuesto que no faltarán los asaltos a las joyerías ni a bancos, como así tampoco los enfrentamientos armados contra distintas bandas mafiosas. Por otra parte, su salida al mercado no está aún definida, aunque se prevé que aparecerá durante el 2010 y se podrá disfrutar a través de las plataformas PC, Xbox 360 y PlayStation 3.

ManschesrL

Fuente: GuiaMania.

Ik ken niemand die het boek niet heeft gelezen en iedereen zit ook met smacht te wachten op de verfilming.

Voor ons gaat hij morgen in premiere, maar de sterren van Nederland mochten de film

vorige week al aanschouwen. Lovende reacties waren het toen ze er weer uit kwamen. Ik hoop het.

Ik hoop dat de film net zo mooi is als het boek en dat is een hele moeilijke taak, omdat je in boeken

veel meer gevoel kan leggen. Daarom wou ook geen enkele regisseur de taak op zich nemen. Petje af voor Reinout

dat hij het wel durfde, maar dat vind ik geen reden dat hij ook zowat de ster van de film is.

Als een andere regisseur de taak op zich had genomen, een iets minder bekend persoon, dat werd er ook

niet zo heisa over gemaakt. Maar misschien heeft hij wel fantastich werk afgeleverd en hoor je mij naar

de film niet meer klagen. In ieder geval was heel Nederland zowat uitgelopen om de film te komen bekijken!

wwe.com

WWE presenta SmackDown!, desde Bridgeport, Conn.

RESULTADOS de las grabaciones que tuvieron lugar el 24 de noviembre

• Inicia Smackdown!
• Jericho está en el ring, hablando del match que Jerishow tendrá en TLC 2009 ante DX
• Luego habla sobre el encuentro de esta noche, Batista vs Undertaker, y dice que él debería estar en ese match, en respuesta Teddy Long aparece, y señala que esta noche Jericho enfrentará al Undertaker en un non-title match
• 1) The Hart Dynasty (DH Smith y Tyson Kidd) vencieron a Cryme Tyme – La rivalidad entre estas dos parejas continúa (Posiblemente porque NO HAY más parejas formales en Smackdown)
• Backstage: Vickie Guerrero y Eric Escobar exígen a Teddy Long, que le permitan a Escobar, una oportunidad ante Morrison por el Intercontinental Championship. Long acepta

• CM Punk aparece con Festus y una bolsa de papel, Punk presenta a Festus, dice que sus amigos le dieron pastillas en el pasado, y esa es la razón por la cuál Festus está en ese estado, pero eso acabó. Punk señala que  que lo que tiene en la bolsa es similar, y que es espantoso que esté disponible para el público. Punk saca de la bolsa en nuevo DVD de Jeff Hardy
• Matt aparece para defender a su hermano

• 2) Matt Hardy venció a CM Punk vía DQ gracias a una interferencia de Festus, al final ambos atacan a Matt
• Backstage: Mickie James habla sobre el video de Michelle McCool de la semana pasada, donde la llama “vieja”, Mickie dice que no le importa, que ha trabajado duro para llegar aquí, y que no dejará Smackdown
• 3) Encuentro por el contendiente No.1: Batista venció a Kane por cuenta fuera, todo señala que Batista enfrentará al Undertaker en el PPV TLC 2009
• 4) Intercontinental Title match: John Morrison venció a Eric Escobar via Starship Pain
• Vickie regañó a gritos a Eric luego del match, y le dijo que estaba acabado
• Backstage: Eric encuentra a Vickie, le dice que es desagradable y termina su relación con ella, la cara de Vickie lo dice todo
• 5) Non-title match: Undertaker venció a Chris Jericho por DQ
• Batista estuvo en la mesa de los comentaristas y atacó al Undertaker, provocando la descalificación
• Jericho, Batista y CM Punk atacan en conjunto al Taker
• Pero Kane aparece para salvarlo y aplicar chokeslams combinados
• Fin del show
  
  

ANTECEDENTES

Ahora que Batista ha eliminado a Rey Mysterio, va por su sueño de ser campeón de peso Completo, pero primero tendrá que pasar sobre el hermano del Undertaker, Kane.

De vraag die velen bezighoudt: wanneer wordt Dinand Woesthoff (althans, zijn stembanden) nou eens onschadelijk gemaakt? Voorlopig niet, moet ik helaas vaststellen. Hij gaat immers aankomende vrijdag (27 november) weer een nieuwe plaat de wereld in slingeren met zijn band Kane. No surrender voorlopig, voor deze teroorist. Want zo heet zijn nieuwe album heel toepasselijk. De tracklist is al bekend natuurlijk.

1. No surrender
2. A little something
3. Point black
4. Devil in me
5. In over my head
6. Heartbeat
7. Dogma 2.0
8. Scream
9. Love over healing
10. Here comes the end
11. High places

Levensgevaarlijk trouwens om die tracklist zomaar op je Hyves te zetten. Voor je het weet heb je een woeste Dinand achter je aan en word je uit z’n vriendenlijst gekickt! Want heel leuk al die fans, maar ze hebben zich wel te schikken naar de Grote Dinand natuurlijk. En alleen al daarom moet je dit album gewoon niet kopen.

Ik moet nu helaas afkappen. Ik ga de AIVD bellen…

Wij denken ook aan de doven:

Drama’s Smackdown Report 11/20/09

Friday Night Smackdown!
November 20, 2009
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Todd Grisham and Matt Striker

OPENING ANIMATION

Todd welcomes us to Philadelphia, and tonight the Brothers of Destruction reunite as Kane & the World Heavyweight Champion Undertaker faces the Unified Tag Team Champions, Jeri-Show. However right now we UNLEASH…THE ANIMAL.

Batista vs. Matt Hardy

Batista comes out with his new entrance…no pyro…no smiles…no nothing. Matt Hardy’s a pretty good guy to have in the ring with Batista, as he has credibility and takes a pretty good beating. Although honestly Batista should go on a real big time jobber squash, ala Sid in 1992. Just show up on the other shows and start creaming guys. He drops Hardy with 3 straight spinebusters, then the Demon Bomb for the win. WINNER: Batista (Grade: 1.5)

-We go back to last week and the contract signing between Rey and Batista, where Rey flipped the table onto Batista, then Batista flipped out. We go backstage and Josh Matthews tries to talk to Batista, but he cuts him off and says Rey made 3 major mistakes. 1) He cost Batista the World Title, 2) He signed the Hold Harmless agreement, and 3) He embarrassed him last week. Well at Survivor Series, Batista says he will take care of Rey Mysterio, with no remorse and no holding back.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

-We return with a video montage of the Brothers of Destruction. It’s amazing how much they pump this up considering their matches are always a workrate-starved trainwreck. We then go backstage with Teddy Long, who’s interrupted by Vicky Guerrero and Eric Escobar. Vicky gives him crap about teaming the Brothers of Destruction tonight, that it will wreck the main event at Survivor Series. She’s also mad that her boyfriend Eric Escobar hasn’t been on the show. Vicky says there’s no wonder Teddy’s on probation. Teddy’s about to throw them out when Mr. McMahon comes into the office. He’s also perturbed that the Brothers of Destruction are teaming tonight and can ruin the main event of Survivor Series. So having said that, Vince decides to have Vicky Guerrero as Smackdown’s consultant to help Teddy with the show. Vince leaves and Vicky dances and screams in celebration. Ok, this idea completely sucks. No offense to the great Eddie Guerrero, but without Edge she is so damn annoying.

Drew McIntyre vs. Finlay

We go back the last few weeks and Drew’s beatdowns of Finlay. Drew takes the mike and says Finlay’s more like a crying old lady than a fighter. Pretty stiff match as Finlay’s really throwing potatoes out there. It’s a pretty short, as McIntyre takes control and hits the big DDT for the win. Not much more to say. WINNER: Drew McIntyre (Grade: 1.5)

COMMERCIAL BREAK

Out comes CM Punk our straight edge superstar. In the ring is a table with 3 upside down buckets with X’s on them. Punk says tonight he’s going to do for the WWE Universe what should have been done a long time ago. Punk says everyone must recover, and the first step is a confession. He says everyone must admit that they have a problem. He says everyone must stand or touch the TV at home and admit that they’re all addicts. Everyone is in denial and can’t admit their problems to anyone. Punk says he’s here to teach everyone how to survive. He lifts the first bucket and it’s a carton of cigarettes. Punk says no one cares that inhaling cigarette smoke is poisonous and they might as well throw their lungs in the garbage. Tonight Punk will throw the cigarettes in the garbage because that’s how they survive. That’s how straight edge lives. Under the second bucket is a bottle of pills. Punk says this helps weak people hide pain, suffering and cowardess. So these are going in the garbage too. Next is a bottle of whiskey. Punk says this is the worst of them all. Alcoholics are nothing more than weaklings who live in a cloud because they don’t want to admit reality or their own lives. He pours the whiskey in the garbage can. Suddenly R-Truth comes out. He goes “WHAT’S UP” to the crowd, then tells Punk that this is wrong and he doesn’t like him. Truth kicks Punk in the gut, then drops him with a DDT and pours all the crap in the garbage can all over Punk. Then Truth nails Punk in the gut with the garbage can. This is a good feud as its pushing R-Truth to the forefront and CM Punk is staying warm till his next Title feud.

Intercontinental Championship
Two out of Three Falls match
John Morrison © vs. Dolph Ziggler

This is Ziggler’s chance to show he’s a legit in-ring guy and not some 5 minute hump with blonde hair. Morrison gets the first fall with Starship Pain. A few minutes later Ziggler gets the second fall with his “Zig-Zag” finisher. See this is what sucks about TV matches. This should have been paced much better and really let these two guys wrestle for 20 minutes, eat up the middle of the show. The third fall is pretty good, but 2 out of 3 falls matches can’t be rushed. Some really good action during the last fall, and Morrison hits Starship Pain to finish it. Great match, but rushed. Let these guys go 20 minutes and show that Ziggler is the real thing. WINNER: John Morrison (Grade 2.5)

COMMERCIAL BREAK (Including a promo for the new Hulk Hogan DVD)

Mickie James vs. Layla

The match is nothing, as Mickie takes her out in about a minute. WINNER: Mickie James (Grade: 0)

-After the match Michelle McCool does a skit where she calls Mickie a pig. Actually pretty rough stuff and Mickie cries as she walks down the aisle.

Rey Mysterio vs. Tyson Kidd

Batista is at the broadcast table and he’s not said a word to anybody. The match is pretty good and Tyson Kidd needs more singles matches to give himself an identity. It ends quick as Kidd is thrown to the floor, then Batista gets up and throws Kidd to the barricade. WINNER: Tyson Kidd by disqualification (Grade: 1.5)

-Rey then hits a West Coast Pop on Batista through the broadcast table. Batista chases him around but can’t catch him. We go backstage and Jeri-show is talking. Jericho says they must work as a team. Big Show says he’s looking ahead to Survivor Series and becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. Jericho says that selfishness will lead to their downfall tonight. Big Show says tonight will be fine, as Show has tagged with both guys and knows how they tick. Show asks Jericho if he’s scared. Jericho says he’s not scared of Big Show nor is he intimidated by the Undertaker. Show leaves…then the lights go out. Jericho starts freaking out, then the lights come back on and its Show with the light switch. He says…point proven. Jericho’s scared. We then go back to Monday night to the awesome Raw at WWE’s Home Office…Madison Square Garden. That video montage was awesome…and they should make a DVD honoring….”The Garden.”

Unified Tag Team Champions Jeri-Show vs. Brothers of Destruction

Cool intro for Taker & Kane with the symbols on fire. Jericho will likely eat up most of the action here, as he’s getting pounded by both brothers. Kane becomes face in peril for a while but eventually Taker & Kane lay Big Show on the broadcast table and try a double chokeslam but Jericho breaks it up. Jericho is chokeslammed by Kane, but Big Show stops Taker from Tombstoning Jericho and Show chokeslams him. Big Show helps Jericho up and Jericho hits the Codebreaker. Jericho then takes the World Title belt and leaves. With that we’re out. This go home episode was ok, but with Vicky back on and no Edge, the future is bleak. WINNER: No Contest (Grade: 2)

Smackdown was very entertaining this week with the highlights of it been the 2 out of 3 falls match between John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler, another great promo from CM Punk and the Main Event which was The Brother Of Destruction vs Jerishow, setting up the Triple Threat Match at Survivor Series very well.

The first match of the night was Batista vs Matt Hardy in a good little match making The Animal look dominating, and was pretty much a squash with very little offence from Hardy.

The match following was Finlay vs Drew McIntyre, with Finlay beating on McIntyre from the get go, but gets poked in the eye. McIntyre eventually gets a Double Arm Underhook DDT for the win. Poor Finlay!!

Then we saw a very good match from 2 up and comers Ziggler and Morrison. Lots of back and forth action with Ziggler going after the injured ribs of Morrison for most of the match. Morrison Got the 1st pinfall with a roll up early on. Ziggler would eventually get the 2nd fall after going after the ribs and delivering the Zig Zag. Despite this Morrison fought through the pain and went on to successfully defend the title after taking Ziggler out with Starship Pain.

(Morrison with Intercontinental Title)

Divas match kept the storyline between Micke and Mccool and Layla going, but other than that, didn’t interest me.

CM Punk did another great promo about being straight edge by pretty much throwing everything that can poison you (Cigarettes, Pain killers, Alcohol) in to a trash can in the ring. R-Truth would eventually come to the ring and talk Punk down and take him out with a DDT and empty the trash can of drugs and smokes all over Punk. This was an amusing promo.

Rey took on Tyson Kidd in a decent match with Batista at the announcer’s table to watch the match (he didn’t speak throughout the match). Batista would interfere causing Rey Rey to lose by disqualification, which would cause Rey to take Batista down with a seated senton, embarrassing The Animal a 2nd time.

The main event which seemed to go to a non finish was a fun match with plenty of action setting up the triple threat match very well. The end kind of came when Jericho is in the ring been doubled teamed by The BoD, but Big Show would help Jericho by Choke-Slamming Taker. But when Show went to help Chris up, Chris would deliver the Code Breaker to Show and runaway with Takers World Championship. Will this be the scene at Survivor Series?

]]> http://lateralpress.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/the-beginning-of-jerishows-end-on-smackdown/ Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:43:18 +0000 dgettel http://lateralpress.wordpress.com/2009/11/21/the-beginning-of-jerishows-end-on-smackdown/

Dissension ruled the Unified Tag Team Champions Chris Jericho and the Big Show on Friday’s Smackdown.  The prospect of competing against each other for the World Heavyweight Title, in the triple threat match at Sunday’s Survivor Series, has predictably driven a wedge between the team and rendered its future (beyond Survivor Series) unclear.  

Members of a tag team finding themselves in direct competition for a singles title, throwing solidarity out the window for a shot at personal glory, is one of the oldest stories in pro wrestling.  It’s a testament to Show’s and Jericho’s talents that they’ve been able to make the ancient angle compelling.  The segment they performed backstage, before their main event tag match against the Undertaker and Kane took place, was quite entertaining.  As Jericho insisted that he was not intimidated by his seven-foot tall partner and was not afraid of the Undertaker, a smirking Big Show nodded and crept off screen.  Jericho lingered behind, a war of worry and resolve on his face, when suddenly the lights blinked off, and the locker room fell into a moment of darkness.  Jericho cried out with obvious panic in his voice, and when the moment passed, the camera revealed that it was Big Show who’d killed the lights, to expose Jericho’s fear of the Dead Man and gain a psychological edge over his partner/opponent.  The look on Big Show’s face was one of pure, smug enjoyment.

The match Jerishow had with Undertaker and Kane was very good.  Undertaker looks better in the ring each week since his return (maybe his match at Survivor Series will actually break the eight minute mark).  He, Kane, Show, and Y2J all worked well together, and each got in a few of his signature moves.  Toward the match’s end Taker and Kane set up Big Show for a chokeslam through the announce table, but Jericho interupted before they could lift the giant off his feet.  The Dead Man and Y2J then dashed back into the ring, where the former laid out the latter with a chokeslam.  Then Big Show rolled in and brought down the Taker with a slam of his own.  He then helped Jericho to his feet and received a code-breaker for his trouble.  Jericho deliberately left it unclear as to his motivation for hitting his finisher on Show.  Was he deliriously striking at the nearest big man, or was he intentionally taking down his partner, as a means of sending a message and building up a psychological advantage of his own?  I guess it will become clear at Survivor Series.  Personally I don’t expect Jerishow to break up just yet.

Elsewhere on the card:  With his grudge match against Rey Mysterio only days away, Batista needed to win his match against Matt Hardy and he did.  Fortunately the bout was not a squash.  Hardy didn’t come away looking too bad, even though he endured a hefty pummeling at match’s end and lost decisively.

After the match Batista gave a good backstage interview.  His introverted nature really works for him, when he projects the composed but frustrated heel, with monstrous anger smoldering just under his surface.  Much later in the show, he sat at ringside for Mysterio’s bout against Tyson Kidd.  He was technically there to do color commentary, but only breathed wordlessly into his headset, apparently too focused on the prospect of avenging Mysterio’s betrayal to say anything.  It was obvious that he would get involved in the match, and he did.  However, Mysterio unexpectedly got the better of their exchange, as he did on the previous Smackdown.  He toppled Batista over his announcer’s chair and then easily evaded the Animal’s attempts at retaliation.  It was an effective segment, evidencing how Mysterio quite easily makes up for in speed and savvy, what he gives up to Batista in size and strength.  I’m anticipating their Survivor Series match much more than I was a few weeks ago.

 Another very effective and entertaining segment featured CM Punk and R Truth.  Hitting the refresh button on his heel heat, Punk hosted a “straightedge intervention” for the entire WWE Universe.  He displayed a carton of cigarettes, a bottle of prescription meds, and a jug of whiskey, and explaining how each was merely a vile crutch used by the weak and will-less average WWE viewer, dumped them out one-by-one into a trash can at ring’s center.

Punk was (not surprisingly) terrific in this segment.  Amping up his righteous condescension, he came off as an amalgamation of a self-help guru and an evangelical TV preacher, at one point even inviting viewers to place their hands against their television screens, so they might better feel his healing message.  He drew some epic heat, which efficiently set up Truth to come out and interrupt the intervention.  Truth’s rebuttal was relatively weak.  It basically added up to “I don’t like you.”  Still, the crowd was solidly behind him, and they popped when he nailed the former world champ with a DDT.  Truth then picked up the trash can and emptied its contents onto Punk.  The torrent of medicine/whiskey/cigarette soup cascading over the straightedge superstar was a memorable visual.  Of course, Punk sold it beautifully, writhing in disgust as if contact with the substances would infect him with the addictions he so loathes.

(NOTE: This has been an often used device throughout WWE history: the offending  glutinous muck traditionally [and not too subtly] symbolizes that which he or she being doused with it most fears.  For Punk the muck symbolized addiction and impurity.  When Henry Godwin “slopped” the vain and beautiful Sunny, he was in effect dousing her with ugliness.  When DX dumped excrement onto the McMahons, they were afflicting the megalomaniacal family with poverty and a peasant’s anonymity.  When Davey Boy Smith slathered dog food all over Ken Shamrock he…. well… I actually have no idea what that was all about.)

I think that R Truth should have left the ring after pouring the muck onto Punk, but he didn’t.  Instead he struck the fallen preacher with the trash can, in a move that again the crowd loved but I thought was a little too vicious a punctuation to his essentially unprovoked attack.  I guess he couldn’t resist adding injury to insult.

 The two out of three falls contest for the Intercontinental Championship was the best match of the night.  John Morrison’s offense was particularly smooth and fearless, and Dolph Ziggler had no trouble keeping up.  Increasingly Ziggler demonstrates a unique presence in the ring.  He carries himself like an old-school heel (along the lines of Mr. Perfect or Ravishing Rick Rude) but displays a more modern tenacity.  He’s good at making moves look like they really hurt.  Maybe that’s because they do; that baseball slide to Morrison’s back, for instance, while the latter was wrapped around the ring post looked devastating.

In the end Morrison retained the IC title with two falls to Ziggler’s one.  The format of the match was a good choice.  It benefited both wrestlers.  Ziggler got to score a clean pin on the champion in a big match, and Morrison got to continue his impressive title run.

 Both Mickie James and Layla did well in the short match they had.  After being pinned by James, Layla introduced a pre-produced (and over-produced) taunt from Michelle McCool.  The video featured a green-screened (and clearly tone deaf) McCool singing a version of “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” amidst a cartoon barnyard.  It was a long way to go, for the ultimate purpose of simply calling Mickie James a pig (and superimposing her face on an animated, porcine body).  At first I thought James was laughing it off as she watched, but then I realized she was actually crying.  Seconds later I joined her.  Male or female, I just can’t stand to see wrestlers cry.

 One certainly can’t accuse Smackdown’s production team of liberal editing.  I think Vicki Guerrero screamed for three full minutes, after McMahon told her she would be Teddy Long’s official consultant from now on.  It was insufferable.  Her voice actually gave up before the camera did, and she had to switch from squealing to cabbage-patching.

 The video package Todd Grisham introduced as a look at the history of the “Brothers of Destruction” the Undertaker and Kane was a letdown.  How can you have such a retrospective, no matter how brief, without featuring a few shots of Paul Bearer, in his late 90s glory, screaming about the Dead Man’s past sins, through the many soiled bandages on his face?  It’s just not right.

On the official Lateral Press ratings scale, this episode of Smackdown (Paul Bearer’s absence aside) gets:

Four out of Five Stars

Gelezen via de website van het Haags Pop Podium:
De Haagse band Kane is volgende week dagelijks te gast in het ochtendprogramma van Giel Beelen op Radio 3FM. Ter promotie van de nieuwe CD ‘No Surrender’ zal de band elke dag live een nummer van het album spelen. De CD is vanaf vandaag te beluisteren op de website van 3FM. Het album ligt vanaf 27 november in de winkels.
Op 30 november geeft Kane een exclusieve showcase voor 3FM. Komende week worden daarvoor kaarten weggegeven aan luisteraars van de zender. Het miniconcert zal worden uitgezonden in het radioprogramma ‘That’s Live’.
Medio december geeft Kane een eenmalig concert in de Franse wintersportplaats Val Thorens. Op de website van televisiezender RTL5 kunnen belangstellenden een reis boeken waarbij het concert is inbegrepen. RTL5 gaat ook een prijsvraag organiseren waarbij kijkers de reis kunnen winnen.

Citizen Kane 1942 Directed by Orson Welles

We spent about 4 days and we finally finished!Hooray no more Kane! Well almost just one more quiz. Remember Kane is a classic. Think about the time period it was produced and the AESTHETICS of the film.

Click on One of the pictures above to start your quiz. Good Luck!

How relevant is it really to know who is the greatest if you don’t care about their inspirations???  Is it Wayne?  3000?  Em?  Esco?  Or is it still Hov?  We can argue for days and probably add a few other choice names, huh!

***Before I go to far, let me be sure to say Mr Shakur and Mr Wallace (RIP)….LOL

Is it me or does it seem that hip hop fans have become more of a casual fan and not so much a lover of it?  Do we only care about the gossip and who’s “going at who”?  Or better yet, do we only care about today??  Meaning, do we only care about what’s on the radio or in the club this weekend??

I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone if you really love hip hop and music as a whole for that matter.  If you love Drake and Wayne, go buy UGK.  And after you get that UGK, go purchase the first Geto Boys.  If you love Em, you need to get Eazy Does It and the Power album.  Not to leave anyone out, but if you love Jay or 50, you really should have Kane and BDP in your collection.

So on and so on fans!!!

YFTM

I decided I would sell one more of the repainted Kane souviner masks on Ebay. Please take a look and tell your friends!

En signant Marian Hossa, les dirigeants des Blackhawks de Chicago étaient clairs : leur objectif était fixé, et c’était de remporter la Coupe Stanley, ni plus ni moins.

Des jeunes qui arrivent à maturité (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane…), une attaque explosive, juste assez de robustesse, une défense solide et équilibrée (Brian Campbell, Brent Sopel, Duncan Keith…), l’ajout de Hossa et d’un joueur d’expérience en John Madden, tous les éléments ici sont.

Tous ? Non… il y a une position qui semblait avoir été oubliée. En effet, avec le départ de Khabibulin vers d’autres cieux, c’était à Cristobal Huet qu’on donnait la tâche la plus importante de l’équipe. Évidemment, cela a fait douter les experts et les fans : Huet, malgré ses performances impressionnantes à Montréal, avait été chancelant à sa première année dans l’Illinois et n’avait joué que 41 parties. De plus, il n’avait rien prouvé lors de ses trois présences en séries éliminatoires. En fait, “Bulin” lui avait volé le poste lors des séries de 2009.

Et voilà que le début de saison de Huet est venu confondre même ceux qui croyaient le plus en lui. Il n’a eu qu’une seule victoire à ses quatre premiers départs, incluant une performance affreuse durant laquelle il a accordé 3 buts sur… 5 tirs avant d’être sorti du match. Antti Niemi, son suppléant, qui l’a remplacé dans ce match-là, a réussi à l’emporter dans une remontée spectaculaire de 5 buts de son équipe. Huet perdait des points, le jeune Niemi en gagnait.

Mais Joel Quenneville, le coach, n’est pas idiot, et il sait que son Français a du talent. Il lui a mis un peu de pression en donnant des matchs à la recrue Niemi, avant de re-tester Huet. Et ça a eu l’effet escompté : après avoir été “plus ou moins” bon, avec quatre victoires en sept matchs, il s’est repris et est sur une séquence de quatre victoires et de huit gains en onze possibilités.

Évidemment, on pourra toujours dire que sa défense ne l’abandonne pas et limite les tirs adverses ; en effet, Huet n’a pas reçu plus de 29 tirs en un match à date, ce qui est assez impressionnant ! Ce à quoi je vous dirai qu’il maintient quand même une moyenne en haut de ,900, qu’il est solide au bon moment (en prolongation et en tirs de barrage, entre autres) et qu’il s’est bien implanté et semble apprécié des joueurs.

Avec tout ça, qui peut arrêter les Hawks maintenant, eux qui dominent la section Centrale et ce, sans avoir compté sur les services de Hossa pour un seul match, lui qui est blessé depuis le début de la saison ? Difficile à dire. Une saison, c’est long, mais pour moi, les Blackhawks sont d’ores et déjà de sérieux prétendants à la victoire finale.

Modern Warfare 2 Takes it to the bank!

According to Activision Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 has set its place firmly in history by becoming the highest grossing entertainment launch of all time.

Taking a whopping $550 million in its first week MW2 eclipsed the previous record holder, the film Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince which  grossed $394 million in its first five days.

Modern Warfare 2 also set records on Xbox Live with Microsoft claiming that  more than 5.2 million multiplayer hours were logged playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day alone. And more than 2.2 million unique gamers played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in one day on November 10th. A new one-day record for Xbox LIVE. And Also more than 11 million achievements were unlocked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day.

Needless to say Activision are feeling pretty happy with themselves, CEO Robert Kotick stated, “The title’s success redefines entertainment as millions of consumers have chosen to play Modern Warfare 2 at unprecedented levels rather than engage in other forms of media.”

So tell me the chances that Infinity Ward will live up to their promise that MW2 is their last in the series?

Kayne’d again!

Eidos has announced the long-awaited return of everybody’s favourite criminals Kayne & Lynch.

Kayne & Lynch 2: Dog Days promises to deliver a new visual experience inspired by documentary filmmakers. Every aspect of the game has been designed to deliver a fresh perspective to the words ‘intensity’ and ‘realism’ in video games.

“Gamers are always looking for something new and that is exactly what they are going to get with Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days,” Claimed Niels Jørgensen, general manager of IO Interactive. “A special thanks to gamers worldwide for their feedback. They are certainly in for a shock as we, with immense pride, welcome back our two dear, violent and somewhat unfortunate friends.”

It remains to be seen if the game lives up to these massive and bold claims.

Well, my first try at molded leather mask making was great. I created the black “Bash” mask that I currently wear to wrestle in. The second attempt was at a Kane one. Close, but it was way off. It was more of a learning experience. So was this one, but I went ahead and completed the basic mask. The dye and paint turned out REALLY well. I need to work on the eyes and the rolled edges, and then I think I’ll have myself a nice display piece with try number 3!

In a game of musical chairs, Hershey Bears defenseman Karl Alzner has been recalled by the Washington Capitals, while fellow first round pick John Carlson will be sent down. (CSN Washington)

Thomas Hickey, selected one pick before Alzner in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft (fourth overall for those scoring at home), is out of commission for the next four months. Hickey suffered a shoulder injury that will require surgery, keeping the current Manchester Monarch out of the lineup until Mid-March. (LA Kings Insider)

Like John Tavares, Evander Kane and Ryan Ellis before him and Steven Stamkos before them, Taylor Hall will attempt to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Championships as an underager. Hall seems like a lock, while Tyler Seguin and Brandon Gormley have a shot as well. So who does that leave on the outside looking in for this year’s draft class? (Coming Down The Pipe)

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward James Livingston has been held out of the lineup with what doctors are describing as an increased heart rate. Livingston, who has 18 points in 21 games this season, is evidently being monitored closely. (Andy Strickland – Hockey Buzz)