Julian Cannon – Alternative Mindz

2016 Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival Short Recap

March 2, 2016Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Last week i had the chance to cover the 2016 Winter Film Awards Indie Film Festival and i had a great time attending it. The Winter Film Awards focuses on diversity in Independent Film, with a special emphasis on highlighting women and minority filmmakers. There was a large selection of over 60 films that were shown to us ranging from horror, drama, romance, animation and documentaries and i have seen them all. My favorite ones were “Dad and Mum” (comedy), “Strings” (animated), “Oblivion Season” (drama), and “Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball”(documentary). There were also music videos and Q and A panels as well

There was also the Award show on the final day of the event and here are the results

Best Picture: Ben & Ara, Directed by Nnegest Likké

Best Actress: Constance Ejuma, Ben & Ara

Best Actor: Kevin Baggott, Why Do You Smell Like the Ocean

Best Director: Isaac Ezban, The Similars

Best Animated Film: Strings, Directed by Pedro Solís

Best Documentary Film: The Real Miyagi, Directed by Kevin Derek

Best Horror Featured Film: Tuyul: Part 1, Directed by Billy Christian

Best Horror Short Film: The Bridge Partner, Directed by Gabriel Olson

Best Short Film: Letter to God, Directed by Tamas Yvan Topolanszky

Best Student Film: Fulfilament, Directed by Rhiannon Evans

Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone! #WFA2016 #WFASoDiverse

I will do a followup article later this week

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Quick Card Game Review: Never Have I Ever: The Game Of Poor Life Decisions

February 26, 2016Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

I have always heard the name of this game during drinking games on television and movies, but now everyone can play this game. And not only that it is fun, it also can reveal many embarrassing or hilarious secrets from other people, including yourself. I am Julian Cannon and I am doing an review of a card game called “Never Have I Ever: The Game Of Poor Life Decisions.”

Me and five other people played the game on our first try and we ended up playing for up to two and a half hours. Everyone had a blast. The concept and rules are very simple: a rule card is played and you do exactly what it says. Each player has 10 cards in their hand of poor life choices. You have the option to answer them or not, but it strongly depends on the rule card (Rule Cards establish how each round of play will unfold).

While the players respond to the Rule Cards, the players who are Guilty for the act keep their cards, but the Not Guilty players (along with people who are lying) discard them. Whoever aquires 10 cards wins. But winner or loser, you will find out some things that you have never knew about the other players.

My final thoughts about this game is that this is a great party game and anybody in your circle will enjoy this game. I will also write that make sure you do not play with too many family members or else they will find something out about you that they never knew. I recommend this game for anybody who is 18 years of age or older.

It is available on Amazon for $25.00 and the box has 485 play cards and 65 rule cards along with the instructions card. If you cannot handle the truth, then you should not be on the table playing with the rest but overall, I love it.

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The Secret Life Of Pets Product Showcase

February 13, 2016Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Today i had the opportunity of covering this event as the merchandise line of Universal Studios upcoming film “The Secret Life Of Pets” and it was an blast. Here are the photos i have taken. Check them out.

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Lets Talk- Truth:The Man Who Sold the World (MGSV)

December 28, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Despite the knee-jerk reaction of many across the internet, I love it. I think the last few seconds are a little hard to understand, and I think it’s hard to build a complete picture without a little conjecture or some assumptions, but I really enjoy what is going on here. I think this game fits well into the greater thematic arc of Metal Gear and in itself finishes off Big Boss’s story satisfactorily. A lot of people say the ending raises too many questions, but if you grasp from around Metal Gear, I think you can put together a coherent narrative even if the pieces are kind of a mess. Luckily, I spent too much time thinking about this series and am a human Metal Gear encyclopedia.

So at the end of the game, you get a tape explaining that you are not Big Boss, but an exact duplicate created by Zero to protect the real Big Boss from his own organization. This scene is really really good, and I love Kiefer’s mocap work when Venom Snake smirks and looks at himself in the mirror with this look of power.

But the last few seconds of this scene are extremely important. When he flips the tape over, there’s a time jump to 1995.

Be perceptive: in the reflection of the mirror, there is a Diamond Dogs emblem on the bathroom door. However, when Venom flips the tape over, that emblem becomes an Outer Heaven logo. What’s the other side of that tape labeled? Operation N313 aka the operation Solid Snake goes on in Metal Gear 1.

Venom puts the tape into an MSX and it reads data on a screen, data Venom can see, but we can’t. He then walks over to the mirror again, and in anger punches it. On the other side stands his reflection, which then turns away from us and walks away into darkness. Given that we’re in Outer Heaven in 1995, and you can hear the chaos of gunfire outside, it can be safely assumed that this scene happens immediately before Solid Snake arrives to shoot some rockets at him. He breaks the mirror in rebellion against the mission given to him on that tape, but he accepts it anyways, stoically walking to what will become his death. It’s also important how this is depicted visually; Venom walks away in black, silhouetted against smoke. As he walks, the space around him becomes darker, until finally he disappears completely.

I think this scene is important not just for characterizing Venom Snake as he strolls off, but also ties into the game thematically. In a lot of ways, MGSV is about the forgotten people that operate in the background to support the big players. Skullface, XOF, us as the players of these games, and Venom Snake; all of them were used to create the Metal Gear world as we know it, and all of them were lost to time. If the original games are about the titans of the universe, this game is about their shadows. Venom Snake disappears at the end of this game; he is washed away from history. Everyone thinks he was Big Boss, and that is all that is ever known of him. He quite literally disappears.

Many people upon seeing the ending assume Venom Snake built Outer Heaven, but this isn’t true. At the hospital in Cyprus, Ocelot gives Big Boss a new passport with a new name on it. This is Big Boss’s new identity while Venom Snake is Big Boss; the name on that passport is whatever you make it during the character creator, but for the sake of simplicity here, let’s just say the name is Steve. Venom Snake, aka the medic, unwittingly gets Big Boss’s identity and makes Diamond Dogs and the events of MGSV happen as we see them. During this time, Big Boss is under the name Steve and is building Outer Heaven in South Africa.

But wait, it says that Solid Snake kills Venom Snake in Outer Heaven!?

Yes, but the credits also say Big Boss built Outer Heaven. Notice how the credits refer to real Big Boss as Big Boss exclusively; they refer to Venom Snake as Big Boss’s Phantom, never just Big Boss. There’s also a discussion after the credits between Kaz and Ocelot about this.

But then what the heck is Venom Snake doing there in Metal Gear 1?

Venom Snake was originally created to be a decoy for Big Boss so that he may live when the whole world wants him dead. Sometime during the events of MGSV, Big Boss realizes another purpose Venom can be used for: he and Big Boss can work together to build Big Boss’s legend and achieve his ideological goals.

Many people thought that Big Boss’s turn was going to happen in this game, that we would finally see what made him turn to villainy. But Metal Gear is never so black and white, and in reality, Big Boss’s turn was more subtle, and actually happened in Peace Walker.

It further details Big Boss’s fall and shows us everything we ever needed to know about him. While in a coma, Zero comissions a memetic clone of Big Boss. The parallels between Les Enfants Terribles and the creation of Venom Snake are obvious. When Zero did this the first time, Big Boss was disgusted and rejected it. But what did Big Boss do this time? He embraced it, he embraced the cult of personality, he embraced the legend. After MSF was obliterated in Ground Zeroes, Big Boss realized that in order to achieve his sweeping dreams, he had to work from the shadows, even if that meant tying the noose around someone else’s neck.

Venom Snake builds Diamond Dogs and eliminates XOF as a threat. It is now that Big Boss lets him in on the whole ruse and opens up an avenue of partnership.

This is the point where conjecture begins

So what we know is that Big Boss is again under the Big Boss identity by the time of MG1; everyone knows him as Big Boss, leader of FOXHOUND, while no one knows who is commanding Outer Heaven. As I said before, Big Boss is building Outer Heaven during MGSV, and as such, Diamond Dogs cannot be Outer Heaven. Everyone in Diamond Dogs (Kaz, Ocelot, Big Boss) eventually ends up in FOXHOUND. What this tells me is that at some point shortly after MGSV ends, Big Boss and Venom Snake switch identities again; Big Boss resumes the title of Big Boss while Venom Snake resumes the Steve alias and takes over as head of Outer Heaven. That’s how everyone knows Big Boss is the CO of FOXHOUND, but nobody knows who is leading Outer Heaven in MG1.

It is known that to Zero, and ultimately the Patriots, having Big Boss return to them is favorable to having him killed. So then it makes sense that Big Boss returns to them with Diamond Dogs, Kaz, and Ocelot. He again becomes leader of FOXHOUND, finds Sniper Wolf and Gray Fox, and trains Solid Snake.

But why? Why would Big Boss go back to the US/Cipher/the Patriots?

So that he and Venom can play the field from both sides. He communicates to Venom Snake through cassette tape, and later through MSX tape.

Ok, so what happened in MG1? Why would Big Boss have Solid Snake kill Venom Snake?

This isn’t, and never will be, clear to a concrete extent. Because Kojima is gone, all we can ever do is try to build a complete picture from what is, at best, ambiguous information. I’m basically trying to explain character motivations and such using nothing but the last 10 minutes of Phantom Pain, the paper thin plot of a 30 year old MSX game, and the thematic undercurrents of the MGS saga.

But this is my theory, and I’m sticking to it.

It can be safely assumed that whatever is on that N313 tape, Venom doesn’t like it. He reads the info and immediately destroys a mirror in rage because he has lost everything (his sanity, love interest, comrades, and identity) and he saw what he became. That does not sound to me like the reaction of a happy man. Given the info we have, it can be reasonably assumed that Big Boss and Venom communicate through those cassette tapes; it can also be reasonably assumed that towards the end of Metal Gear 1, Venom Snake becomes aware of the fact that Solid Snake is coming to kill him and tries to sabotage that operation. During the game, your CO is Big Boss. He’s basically the Campbell of Metal Gear 1; he gives you hints and suggestions on what to do. But suddenly, towards the end of the game, Big Boss contacts you on a new frequency and begins giving you bogus advice to try and sabotage your mission.

Real Big Boss’s frequency: 120.85

Venom Snake’s frequency: 120.13

This second Big Boss on the new frequency is Venom Snake trying to stall Solid Snake’s mission. Now, what we see in MG1 is that the entire time, Big Boss is helpful in assisting Solid Snake in his mission to destroy the Metal Gear TX-55 and Outer Heaven. We also know that Venom Snake contacts Solid and tries to stop the mission. If Big Boss didn’t want Solid to kill Venom, he would have also worked to stop the mission, not assisted the whole time.

It isn’t clear, and it will never be clear, what Big Boss’s grand plan was for Operation Intrude N313 (AKA the Outer Heaven Uprising). As it stands in canon now, he expected Solid Snake to fail. Given the new information about Venom Snake, his motivations become even more nebulous. It was established in early canon that Big Boss sent Solid Snake to Outer Heaven to die. We will continue accepting that this is true since there is nothing that directly contradicts it.

What we also know is that around the time of the mission, Venom Snake gets a tape labeled N313 from Big Boss. This tape likely contains information from Big Boss about this mission, and maybe some orders for Venom Snake as well. After seeing the tape, Venom punches the mirror. Then we have that shot that immediately follows it: he stoically walks into oblivion, accepting his fate.

It is also unclear if the Outer Heaven uprising was Big Boss’s or Venom Snake’s plan. Again, in canon it is Big Boss’s, and at this time nothing directly contradicts that information. The Uprising was the end goal of Big Boss’s dream, the final result of Outer Heaven. It was an outright war against the Patriots, and Venom Snake goes along with Big Boss’s orders to start it.

The Patriots react to this by sending Solid Snake into Outer Heaven to kill its mysterious leader. Big Boss commands him throughout that mission because he is under cover and doesn’t want his cover blown. He hopes that his Uprising will be successful in not just killing Solid Snake, but also in challenging the grip of the Patriots.

However, there is one other favorable outcome. If all goes wrong, Venom Snake can still fulfill his duty as Big Boss’s doppleganger. If Venom is able to convince Solid Snake that he is the real Big Boss, and gets killed by Solid Snake, then the real Big Boss can use this to fake his own death and go underground to establish Zanzibar Land, aka Outer Heaven 2.0.

I believe that tape contained a general outline of Solid Snake’s mission, which is how Venom was able to mislead him on the radio. I also believe it contained instructions from Big Boss for Venom to convince everyone that he is actually the real Big Boss so that if he dies in Outer Heaven, Big Boss can still work in secret to achieve his true dream. This order is what makes Venom furious, what makes him punch that mirror: he was in many ways given the same mission as the Boss. If he cannot defeat Solid Snake, he must die. He must sacrifice himself so that Big Boss can carry on with his plans. He has to give up his identity, his face, his emotions, his ideology, his life; all of it to Big Boss. No one will ever know who he was, no one will ever know what he did. He will go down in history as a criminal, as a monster who instigated an armed uprising and almost brought the world to nuclear disaster.

And Venom accepts his mission. He convinces Solid Snake that he is the real Big Boss by feeding that information to Gray Fox and then by telling Snake himself. He gives killing Solid Snake an honest shot, but he also makes sure that if he goes down, everyone thinks it is Big Boss who went down.

The Man Who Sold The World Meaning

The song ‘Man Who Sold the world’ was a single by David Bowie way back in November 1970, and it was covered by nirvana and released in 1994.

around that time of releasing the song, Bowie was a closet heterosexual but he was a bisexual ( wife once told he had an affair with mick jagger), it is this inner conflict – he created an alter ego called ziggy stardust an androgynous rock star who spoke with aliens.

So the song is something David Bowie used to be (Ziggy stardust) and he seeing himself as people do ( Bowie) and convincing himself he has changed. The conversation with his alter ego is clear when Bowie Says in the lyrics that I thought you died alone and oh no not me we never lost control ( we never is the bisexual in him) ziggy talking back oh not me I never lost control.

The man who sold the world is the image that is Bowie has sold to the world, and his search foreign land and years to roam is his inner journey to find his identity.

So for this case, Big Boss is the man who sold the world and Venom Snake is nothing more than an phantom/body double of big boss no matter how legendary “he” is, he is not the real “legend”.

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Lets Talk:Metal Gears (the weapons)

December 24, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Metal Gear is the designation to various models of bipedal tanks. Metal Gear are behemoth machines capable of decimating lesser machines. Metal Gear have the distinction of being nuclear capable, firing warheads from their rail gun, eliminating the need for a missile, or launchpad allowing them to attack targets from anywhere in the world, on any kind of terrain. This peaked with Metal Gear REX which was sophisticated enough to launch a nuke from anywhere on earth and hit a target anywhere in the world, REX also had the distinction of being completely untraceable.

Generally speaking, the climax of a Metal Gear game is where the player must battle against the specific Metal Gear threat of that era.

Definition

The general definition of a Metal Gear prior to the collapse of the war economy is a mobile nuclear launch platform similar in purpose to ballistic missile submarines. However, its precise definition is debatable, as many other weapons have been designed to fill a similar role, or have used the same technology. The individual units have varied greatly in appearance and size, but their purpose has always been the same—to destabilize the global balance of power via the threat of covert long-range nuclear attack.

The term “Metal Gear” was coined by Soviet weapons scientist Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin to describe to Naked Snake in 1964 the “missing link” between infantry and artillery: infantry could roam the battlefield at will, but were both vulnerable and lacking in firepower; artillery could inflict immense damage upon an opponent while resisting similar damage, but was at the mercy of the terrain. Granin envisioned a tank with legs, enabling it to quickly traverse the battlefield, inflicting and repelling damage on a scale never before seen.

Following an encounter with a Gekko in 2014, Otacon explained to Solid Snake that what makes a “Metal Gear” is specifically its nuclear launch capability. Considering Granin’s original coinage of the term, it can be therefore assumed that a Metal Gear can be defined as a bipedal nuclear weapon. Not only does this negate the Gekkos and the Mk. II/Mk. III from being true Metal Gears, but it also discounts Metal Gear RAY. Otacon notes that RAY was an exception to the definition, as it was overall created under the premise of nuclear strategy (it targeting nuclear warhead-equipped Metal Gears).

After the end of the war economy era, the classification was redefined to simply mean any mech that exceeded the size of unmanned gear walkers such as Gekko. Furthermore, possessing nuclear weaponry was no longer required to being labelled as such due to the concept of deterrence being outdated by the rise in cyborg technology

Metal Gear RAXA (1970)

Appears in: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

The Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear (ICBMG) was developed for the Central Intelligence Agency by Nikolai Stepanovich Sokolov in the 1970s. Sokolov was heavily influenced by Granin’s designs when creating this Metal Gear. The idea for this version of Metal Gear was to use a large rocket to launch the actual Metal Gear unit itself into near-orbit before releasing it, allowing it to parachute back down to the target location where it would then launch its payload of nuclear weapons.

Metal Gear RAXA (pronounced “rasha”), was a prototype of the ICBMG created in 1970. Although considered to be the first Metal Gear, neither RAXA nor the ICBMG truly lived up to Granin’s original vision of a bipedal walking tank.

Metal Gear ZEKE (1974-1975)

Appears in: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker,Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Metal Gear ZEKE was the first fully bipedal tank. It was designed by the Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF) at the Mother Base by Huey Emmerich and Strangelove in 1974. It is equipped with a railgun, a radome, and a jetpack to increase mobility. Originally an unmanned weapon, Paz Ortega Andrade hijacked and modified it as manned weapon, and planned to launch a nuke at the United States’s Eastern Coast if Big Boss (Naked Snake) didn’t rejoin Cipher; however, it was heavily damaged in the ensuing fight. Strangelove noted afterward that it could at least regain the ability to walk, as she had made a backup copy of the AI, but whether it would be used again was up to Big Boss. During the Trojan Horse Operation in 1975 carried out by Skullface and XOF, they succeeded to destroy Mother Base along with ZEKE.

Metal Gear ST-84/Sahelanthropus (1984)

Appears in: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

In the 1980s, XOF stored and later deployed Metal Gear Sahelanthropus in Soviet territory. It had been developed by Huey Emmerich in 1981 after his capture by the Soviets. It featured a head similar to that of Metal Gear REX, although with only one eye on each side as opposed to REX’s three, a circular plate and legs similar to that of Metal Gear ZEKE. While normally taking on a hunched-over stance similar to REX, it also possessed the ability to stand completely upright and take on a disturbingly humanoid shape, being the only Metal Gear with fully functionally arms and hands. It was to be used as a marketing tool that would intimidate the world, forcing them to purchase nuclear weaponry from Skull Face, but its appearance was never made public. Unlike other Metal Gear, Sahelanthropus was piloted remotely by Skull Face and later Eli by using Tretij Rebenok’s psychokinetic powers as a conduit, a very unique method of control. It was stolen from XOF by Diamond Dogs after its defeat and eventually was completely destroyed after being hijacked by Eli. On the other hand, it takes its name from the first animals thought to stand up straight, “Sahelanthropus Tchadensis”, in the same vein that Metal Gear Sahelanthropus/ST-84 is the first Metal Gear to stand up straight.

Metal Gear TX-55 (1995)

Appears in: Metal Gear

The Metal Gear TX-55 was the first globally documented bipedal tank designed (at force by Venom Snake as he wanted to battle against cipher/the patriots) at Outer Heaven by the Eastern scientist Drago Pettrovich Madnar in 1995. TX-55 proved Granin’s vision to be a potent weapon — a mobile nuclear launch system that made stationary missile silos obsolete. It was used to threaten and blackmail the rest of the world, but never launched any nukes. In fact, this Metal Gear was never actually deployed, as it was destroyed by Solid Snake before its development could be completed.

Metal Gear D (1999)

Appears in: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Metal Gear D was a re-designed version of TX-55 (the TX-55 being a prototype for Metal Gear D) that was very similar in appearance. It was also developed by Dr. Madnar within Zanzibar Land in 1999. This Metal Gear also featured additional weapons for close quarters combat. Metal Gear D’s standard arsenal was comprised of a 60mm rotary cannon, a 5.56mm machinegun and a six-missile pod that could be armed with several different types of warhead. While its main purpose was to serve as a mobile launch platform for short-to-medium range nuclear warheads, it could also function as a weapon of conventional warfare.

It also carried a sensor system that consisted of the main camera, laser sights, an image sensor, and an infrared sensor.

Metal Gear REX (2005;2014)

Appears in: Metal Gear Solid 1: The Twin Snakes, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear REX was a Metal Gear developed for the United States Army. It was developed by Dr. Hal Emmerich, in a joint venture between ArmsTech and DARPA, at the nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island in 2005. It was considered to be a revolutionary weapon – unlike all previous iterations of Metal Gear, not only could REX deliver a nuclear weapon both to and from any point on the globe, it was undetectable and untraceable. All previous Metal Gears were merely mobile ground-based launch systems for nuclear missiles, little more than the land-based equivalent of ballistic missile submarines. REX utilized a railgun, which fired much smaller projectiles without chemical propellants – factors which made them virtually invisible to radar. It thus completely negated the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction – whoever controlled it could launch a nuclear attack at any target at any time without fear of reprisal. Additionally, unlike all the previous Metal Gears, REX’s legs were heavily armoured rendering grenades useless.

Metal Gear RAY (2007-2009;2014-2018)

Appears in: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the patriots, Metal Gear Rising:Revengeance

Metal Gear RAY was a Metal Gear originally developed for the United States Marine Corps. It is, however, a Metal Gear by Granin’s initial definition – although RAY is a bipedal weapon, it lacks any form of nuclear armament. Nevertheless, it was originally created under the premise of nuclear strategy. In addition, it did serve as part of a true Metal Gear’s “conventional” armament – Arsenal Gear. RAY was designed and developed by the Pentagon and the Marines in 2007 as a countermeasure to the abundance of Metal Gear REX derivatives being developed due to REX’s plans being leaked onto the black market after 2005. For this reason, it was, until the creation of the Gekko, the only Metal Gear designed for close-range battle.

RAY is notable for being the first attempt at Metal Gear mass-production. The Patriots (via the U.S. Navy) produced twenty-five mass-produced Metal Gear RAY units to serve as guards for Arsenal Gear in 2009. They differed from the original RAY in that they were unmanned (the original intention of the Marine Corps), had no tail and were slightly smaller.

Metal Gear EXCELSUS (2018)

Appears in: Metal Gear Rising:Revengeance

When SOP and the Patriots fell following Liquid Ocelot’s Insurrection, PMCs acted on the development of cyborg technology as the information had been previously suppressed. The result was an abundance of cyborgs in the armies of PMCs. Due to the advantage of cyborgs capable of making decisions like other humans, the small unmanned gears such as the Gekko units were generating less favor in regards to urban combat. In response, AT Corp did a 180-degree turn and returned to develop a larger Unmanned Gear (UG) capable of overpowering cyborgs and tearing a path through urban terrain using its sheer size and power. The result was a new Metal Gear codenamed “Excelsus”. The vehicle was not armed with a nuclear weapon, instead being designed for the purpose of asymmetrical warfare in light of cyborg development. Although initially designed to be a UG, the final design required a pilot. Due to the term being redefined to mean a mech that far outclasses UG-walkers in size with nuclear deterrence becoming obsolete, it was also given the name “Metal Gear” despite lacking nuclear armaments.

WWE 2K16 review

October 29, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

WWE’s highly anticipated annual game, WWE 2K16 released today, and I’ve had an opportunity to play through this year’s edition. It’s refreshing to say that 2K and WWE didn’t eliminate much, if anything from last year’s title, something 2K15 couldn’t say. The additions, however, are noticeable. Although it isn’t without flaws, WWE 2K16 is a major leap forward for wrestling fans everywhere.

Before The Match
Right out of the gate, there were some unfortunate things that caught my attention. The audio on this game left plenty to be desired. In-ring commentary has never been good on a pro wrestling game, so that was no surprise. However, the ring announcing by Lillian Garcia was chopped up, and didn’t go together well as it should have been. That, coupled with the fact that the audience pops aren’t where they should be for entrances, it takes away from the experience before your character even gets in the ring.

Inside the ring
Once inside the ring, there were improvements and setbacks. I’m all for a simulation, based game, but the pace in which 2K has set for WWE 2K16 is incredibly slow, maybe the slowest of any pro wrestling game ever. I was glad to see that they seemed to increase the size of the ring, after reducing it last year.

Some of the movements are a little weird, and simple things like stomps can sometimes take too long, but an addition I really liked was that of the usage of the ropes. Wrestlers back one another into the ropes out of headlocks, lock ups, and things of that nature. You can choose whether or not you want to make a clean break, as well. Also, characters pull their opponents back towards the ropes before using an Irish whip, which was something I never knew I’d wanted in a game until WWE 2K16.

The referees are slow in this game. Really, really slow. Frustratingly slow. It sometimes takes three seconds for the ref to get on the ground to make the three count. It’s also pretty hard upon first play, for me at least, but I don’t consider that a negative in any way, shape or form, even though it did take me five tries to beat Sami Zayn with Seth Rollins, and he kicked out of three Pedigrees. I digress. The reversal system is a welcome change, as you now have a set number of reversals (you can earn more), and matches aren’t just an endless chain of reversal, reversal, reversal. There are also small things, like characters remaining in a seated position to sell after a kickout that really helps and adds a realistic nature to the game. Top rope moves also land with more fluidity than past incarnations.

The roster speaks for itself, the largest ever. This was something that had to be done after 2K peeved a lot of fans last year with the lackluster roster. Still, the exclusion of Bayley, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch is inexcusable. Regardless of the weak reasons 2K offered fans for this, they have tons of NXT talent in the game. Fortunately there are 100 created wrestler slots, so I’m sure someone will make spot-on versions of these women to download.

I’m a big fan of having as many moves as possible in a video game (Fire Pro Wrestling Returns, y’all), and WWE 2K16 did an excellent job of adding that. Although moves like the piledriver have been banned from WWE TV, they remain in the games, and the Curb Stomp got the same treatment, which was nice. Many of the missing match types from last year have returned as well, giving the game a much more complete feel.

Customization and Career

Customization is a really cool part of WWE 2K16. If you want to throw a mask on Sami Zayn and make him relive his indy days, go for it. If you’d like to create your own supershow, have at it. Create-a-title is also back in the game, as well as create-a-diva. Create-a-finisher has not returned, but that mode had so many issues with it, there probably wasn’t much worth saving. You can also build your own arenas that compliment your custom shows, and use logos that fit them. The creation suite is worth checking this game out in itself.
The Steve Austin mode is fun. I won’t spoil anything, but you play through the story of Stone Cold Steve Austin all the way from his WCW days right up until today. Nothing has matched WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain’s story mode (which had infinite flexibility due to it being text based, without commentary holding it back), but this is a pretty cool mode and worth playing through.

WWE Universe mode doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere, and a not a whole lot has changed with it. Fans have clamored for the return of GM mode, as well as the aforementioned Here Comes The Pain career mode, but it appears that WWE Universe mode will have to do for now. There’s nothing wrong with it, it just turns into an endless cycle fairly quickly.

My Career mode is a giant improvement, but that isn’t saying a lot, as last year’s edition (and the game as a whole) was one of the worst ever put forth by WWE. This year, you won’t work and work and work, only to have your game abruptly ended after reaching your goal. There’s plenty of improvements to be made, but it’s a way better experience this year.

One of the most infuriating things about WWE 2K16 is microtransactions. After you pay 63 bucks for the game, 2K asks you to spend upwards of 30 dollars more for additional characters, moves, features and things of the like. That’s just the way things are these days, but $100 for a complete game is a little too much to ask.

Closing Thoughts
All in all, there were significant improvements and fixes to this game. Last year’s edition was an all-time bad pro wrestling game, and WWE 2K16 is more than solid choice. I enjoy the realism of the game, but sometimes the gameplay gets too slow due to selling, which may end up being a good thing, since you can’t spam German Suplexes anymore. I’d recommend this purchase, even if you were jaded by last year’s terrible output.

Graphics- 8.5

Replayability- 7.5

Audio- 7

In-Ring- 8.5

Online- 8.5
OVERALL- 8/10

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METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN REVIEW

September 2, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

After spending fourteen days straight with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I can safely say it’s Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus. It’s quite simply the best game he’s ever done, plus the amount of freedom given to you throughout its entirety is absurd. If you’re a die hard fan of Metal Gear and are up to date with its timeline, Phantom Pain takes place during 1984 after the events of Metal Gear Solid V:Ground Zeroes (1975) and before the first Metal Gear (1995) on MSX. It has been 9 years since the tragic events in Ground Zeroes and Snake is a little worse for wear, having just woken up from his coma that nearly spanned a decade.

After a prologue that sets up the rest of the game Snake is rescued by his comrade and friend, Revolver Ocelot, before continuing his war path for vengeance and freeing his former partner Kazuhira Miller from the clutches of Soviet forces in Afghanistan. I’m not going to spoil the story or talk about the plot points (I agree with Kojima Productions’ wish to keep it a surprise), but I will say that there are twists and turns, and it ranks as one of the best tales in the series yet.

There’s no doubt that this is the largest and most accessible Metal Gear to date, full to the brim with content. But it’s not just a case of quantity over quality, every inch of the game is meticulously detailed, and has a vast amount of replay ability. It’s also incredibly fun, which always helps! The tone is vastly different to any other MGS game, as there are no more overly-long cut scenes and most of the detailed narration is dealt through cassette tapes, which you can listen to at your own pleasure. If you’ve played Ground Zeroes and think you know what to expect, I suggest you put that taster behind you and get ready to embark on a journey with no half-measures.

Unlike the confined spaces found during other entries in the series, MGS V consists of two enormous maps, Afghanistan and Africa, each of which house a plethora of side-ops and main missions; enabling you to explore and complete objectives in a dynamic and natural way. Each mission is structured like an episode from a TV show, operating in bite-sized chunks like if you were watching hit TV shows such as Breaking Bad and Sons Of Anarchy. Even if you’re in the middle of a mission that leads into the next with a tense cut scene, a small “to be continued” caption will appear, sending you back to your base of operations to prepare. It was a bit awkward for me, because 5 seconds later I’d simply continue, but if people need a break and want to gear up/upgrade sufficiently, it’s actually a very smart move.

Characters that will appear in this game:

Big Boss/Punished “Venom” Snake

Kazuhira Miller

Ocelot

Quiet

Skullface

Eli

Tretij Rebenok

Code Talker

Huey Emmerich

“Man on Fire”

There are more Characters and Groups that are in the game but I will not spoil the rest.

The variety of missions at hand will see you take out specific targets, gather Intel and garner more help. Funnily enough there isn’t a difficulty mode present, despite other titles encompassing tons of different options. Though I did find the gameplay pretty tough at certain points, it only made me want to upgrade further and try a different approach. Some people might get tired of a handful of repetitive missions, but I always had fun replaying them with a different tactic in mind. Being able to choose whether I operated during the night or day gave me a lot of flexibility, since enemy locations would alter depending on the time I chose.

Before setting off to fight it’s vital that you prep accordingly. Your Air Command Centre (ACC), gives you full control over all your upgrades and missions, tasking you to select which one you’d like to conduct first. As previously seen in Peace Walker, managing your Mother Base remains an integral part in Phantom Pain, allowing you to recruit staff and utilize resources for upgrades.

Acquiring items from the battlefield such as biological material and fuel canisters is incredibly important. These will allow you to develop extra platforms designed to boost your stats, including combat, R&D, support and medical. If you choose to focus on leveling up your R&D level and get the best Fulton, for example, you’ll then be able to extract entire containers of resources at a much earlier stage; reaping rewards much quicker and progressing more comfortably. You’ll also be able to extract vehicles as well, such as tanks or cars to take on missions.

Staff management is also key, and you can automatically or manually assign your comrades to the best departments. Despite being able to systematically place staff in their most skilled department, I decided to fully focus on R&D first, which let me take advantage of more advanced upgrades a lot sooner. It’s not always the best option, but just like any part of MGS V, it’s up to you to decide on how to proceed. Furthermore, you can send staff on their own missions to obtain more resources or extra recruits. Whilst I did get into the habit of sourcing soldiers with higher skill ratings (via upgrading my scope), I often attempted to extract anyone and everyone, in order to beef up my units and unlock upgrades at a quicker pace.

No matter what you try and accomplish, having the support of your army is always the heart of your experience. For instance, buddies can join you and aid your quest for vengeance in a multitude of ways. Bringing in a horse or bi-pedal Walker will allow you to traverse the environment more quickly – along with the other vehicles you’ve acquired as well. A dog can help distract your enemies or make you aware of their presence, and your comrade Quiet (who you can choose to kill or recruit) will aid you in combat, scout out maps and coordinate while dispatching enemies. Each aspect of a buddy’s armor and equipment can also be upgraded, such as changing Quiet’s cleavage with a little gold or silver paint. Lovely.

Your ACC can be used for mission briefs or organizing your army, but it also provides some vital support. As well as taking you in and out of missions, once on the ground you can also strategically place air strikes or smoke for cover, which can often be the life line you need in the midst of a firefight. There’s simply so much available to the player, no one will have the same experience. I constantly tested different ways to enter a mission, often resorting to complete stealth and learning from my many mistakes along the way.

After initially hearing about the absence of the veteran voice actor David Hayter in this game, it took me a while to move past the change in vocal chords. However, much like the constant change of actors playing Bond, I embraced the change and am now more than happy with Kiefer Sutherland’s portrayal. I have been an fan of him since the 24 TV show so I am used to hearing his voice and delivery of dialog. In fact, I believe Sutherland sounded more like an soldier than Hayter ever did. Exploring the beautiful vistas of Afghanistan is amazing, and the added jungle as you progress to Africa enhances the experience. The persistent image of a dusty wasteland is sometimes hard to muster. Having said that, the rest of the game’s extremely high quality means it doesn’t bother me. Now, where’s that remake of MGS 1 in Fox Engine?

With Kojima Productions’ impressive Fox Engine powering the entire experience, everything looks suitably crisp and clean, packaging in a tone of detail. Despite this being released on older hardware as well, I’m impressed with the core experience and I don’t think it has been hindered on more powerful consoles as a result. Then again, the fact that its design and graphical fidelity has had to cater to equipment with less power, it does make me wonder what could have been should Phantom Pain have released exclusively to PS4 and Xbox One, and not their older siblings.

To me, Robin Atkin Downes as Kaz Miller was more enjoyable in this game than he was in Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes. His anger really shows during the cut scenes. I would be mad at the world if I lost my leg and arm so I understand why. Troy Baker as Ocelot to me, was his best voice acting in any video game since Snow from Final Fantasy XIII. And James Horan as Skullface not only delivered an great and believable performance as an villain, but also made the player wanted to take him down for good. I can call him the Joker of the Metal Gear series since his and Big Boss’ upbringings kind of parallel each other.

Conclusion

Phantom Pain presents the most flexible gameplay in the series to date, and fills in unseen moments from the Metal Gear saga with style. I strongly suggest you pick this up and experiment with your own strategies, as you’re presented with endless possibilities. Grab your cardboard box, the world needs saving!

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the “Divas Revolution” is dead

August 27, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

What an incredible last few days to be a wrestling fan. NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn made history by becoming the biggest sell-out for an NXT-exclusive show and gave us a serious Match of the Year Contender between Bayley and Sasha Banks – the highlight of an overall great card. The next night at SummerSlam, WWE took full advantage of the media coverage offered by Jonathan Coachman and ESPN by booking two very screwy – but buzzworthy – finishes for both their co-main-events. Last night on Raw, the surprises kept coming as The Dudley Boyz (!!!) returned to the company to take out The New Day, a new member of The Wyatt Family was revealed and even Sting made his television return to close the show. This past weekend felt like WrestleMania weekend, and for $9.99 (plus whatever amount my mom pays for cable), I couldn’t be more satisfied.

Unless, of course, you’re one of the divas involved in the #DivaRevolution on the main roster. If your name is Paige, Charlotte, Nikki Bella, Alicia Fox, Naomi, etc., the past three nights probably didn’t go off without a hitch. First they had to sit back and watch two NXT talents in Bayley and Sasha Banks go out and have arguably the best women’s match of ALL-TIME (sorry, Trish vs. Mickie). That’s right; eight out of the nine women involved in the “Divas Revolution” were upstaged by two ladies who have spent the majority of their wrestling career on NXT. If you haven’t seen Sasha vs. Bayley from TakeOver: Brooklyn yet, then what the hell are you waiting for?

Going into SummerSlam, there was quite a fair amount of hype for the triple-threat divas elimination match which was nearly two months in the making. Team PCB vs. Team Bella vs. Team B.A.D. had the potential to steal the show, or at the very least, prove to the critics that women wrestling had finally turned the corner. Instead, thanks to what I may call “sabotaged booking” (which I’ll explain in a second), the triple threat was a huge letdown and felt like the divas portion of the Pay-Per-View had resumed its status as the ‘piss-break’ moment of the show.

The straw that broke the camel’s back, I believe, took place on Raw twenty-four hours after SummerSlam went off the air. After a MizTv segment featuring Team PCB and Team Bella – which I looked forward to seeing the ladies finally get some decent promo time – we got another multi-diva match which the Brooklyn crowd took a MASSIVE dump on. The audience was so bored and disinterested with the six-woman tag match they resorted to Orton vs. Sheamus post-WM 29 levels of trolling (loud “CM Punk” and “We Want Sasha” chants; they even started doing the wave). At least one member of the two teams was clearly ticked off at the crowd’s reaction to her match, as Paige took to Twitter afterwards and issued the following:

”You helped us create change and then did your best to disrespect. Niceeeee jobbbbbbbb!”

While I certainly understand the lovely Paige’s frustration, I’m not too sure the Brooklyn crowd is really to blame here. Yes, chanting “We Are Awesome” is extremely lame and egotistical, but I feel they have good reason for turning on the match the way they did. As evidenced the past three nights at The Barclay Center, Brooklyn is otherwise known as ‘Smark City’, which can be a bad thing when the crowd decides to make the show about themselves with the aforementioned “We Are Awesome” chants. HOWEVER, the good thing about these crowds is they are never afraid to let the company know what they really think about the show. How many times have we seen crowds in other cities sit on their hands during boring matches (i.e. anything involving The Big Show)? WWE can’t get away with that in cities such as Brooklyn. The fans are going to let management know that, to respond to Sheamus, they are NOT entertained.

At TakeOver: Brooklyn, they were VERY entertained. The NXT crew pulled out all the stops to give those fans their money’s worth by bringing in Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger, having Blue Pants side with The VaudeVillains, and booking an incredible double-main-event. The fans, in turn, responded with countless “This Is Awesome’ and “This Is Wrestling” chants. At TakeOver, the fans got to see one of the best matches of the year – and an all-time best divas match – when Bayley defeated Sasha Banks to finally achieve her dream of becoming NXT Women’s Champion. It was simple, too: in the weeks leading to up to TakeOver, have Bayley earn her title shot by over-coming her rivals and divas who got in her way in the past, such as Emma, Charlotte and Becky. All of a sudden, the audience has someone to root for. At the actual event, make the match feel important by giving both women plenty of time to work with, a flashy entrance, and bill the match as important, must-see. NXT knows it’s not that complicated.

Unfortunately, the ones in charge of booking NXT are not spear-heading the #DivaRevolution on the main roster. On the SummerSlam pe-show, JoJo interviewed Stephanie McMahon backstage and asked her what was at stake for the winner of the triple threat elimination match. Steph simply replied, “To the victor goes the spoils,” or a future divas title shot (one would assume). Fair enough. The problem was, whoever was calling the shots at SummerSlam decided to place the women’s match immediately after the ‘Winner Takes All’ match between Seth Rollins and John Cena. No way can that be a coincidence. Love him or hate him, every John Cena match drains the crowd, and offers a tough act to follow. The divas had the near-impossible task of following the fantastic title match which concluded with a Jon Stewart heel turn, and predictably, they failed to impress. It didn’t help that the rules of the match were confusing from the get-go (I thought Lilian announced that every member of each team had to be eliminated?). In any case, the highly-anticipated divas warfare went down with a whimper, especially with Bayley vs. Sasha immense shadow’s still being cast in the arena.

Last night on Raw, the fans had enough. Despite Steph more or less promising a title shot to the winner of last night’s match, Becky’s victory over Team Bella was basically swept under the rug and we had a rehash of the same match we’d been getting since the Diva Revolution started – two teams going at it with nothing on the line. The fans aren’t stupid (which I suppose is why we’re referred to as ‘smart marks’); they know WWE wants Nikki to break Aj’s record. Nikki used to defend her title multiple times per month. It has now been two months since Nikki last defended her belt on TV. Last month, Ryback was forced out of action due to a staph infection, and he’s already defended his Intercontinental Title before Nikki has defended her championship. The fans are well aware of this and they decided to let WWE have it on Raw last night.

To be clear, the six divas who were in the ring on Monday did not deserve the reaction they received. It’s not their fault WWE has no clue how to properly book the divas division. It’s not their fault Sasha Banks wasn’t booked to appear on the show that night. They’re not the ones lobbying for the same matches week in and week out. And, really, that’s what it all comes down to: repetitiveness and laziness. As we saw down in NXT, throughout Bayley’s rise to the top, the only way Bayley received a shot at Sasha at TakeOver was if she could beat the opponents GM William Regal put in front of her. Therefore, Bayley’s matches had something along the line. Meanwhile, on the main roster, as the commentators even admitted themselves, even though Team PCB got the win at SummerSlam, big deal – Team Bella got their win back on Raw, so Team PCB’s victory is moot. In other words, why should fans invest into matches with nothing on the line, no connection with the competitors, and no story being told?

You know why Brooklyn booed Sheamus and Orton out of the building two years ago? Because they were wrestling each other (again), wrestling the same match they had wrestled before, had nothing on the line, and there was zero investment in either guy’s character at the time. So I understand why Paige and her co-workers must be fuming mad right now, but don’t be mad at the fans: direct your anger towards the people booking your matches every week, since they clearly don’t care (which has a rippling effect on the fans).

Maybe I’m being a bit premature in saying this, but I honestly feel that the #DivaRevolution died in Brooklyn this week on Raw…at least on the main roster. As Triple H said in an interview over the weekend to promote TakeOver, “We don’t put the girls in the main-event; they ARE the main-event!” Translation: “The girls deserve to be in the main-event, but the higher powers [Vince McMahon & Kevin Dunn] disagree.” If there is going to be a true Divas Revolution in the WWE, it’s going to have to happen from within, and not in the storylines. In this case, kayfabe must become reality if Sasha and Charlotte’s dreams of one day main-eventing a PPV (let alone WrestleMania) are to ever come true.

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Julian’s Thoughts: Where are the tag teams?

August 7, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Remember when the Dudleys were tag team champions in the WWE and were putting their opponents through tables each week?

Remember when the Hardys were jumping off of turnbuckles, ladders, stages, cages and probably other things to keep their tag titles? Remember when Edge and Christian were mocking their opponents and somehow found a way to keep the tag belts around their waists? Remember the Hart Foundation? The Outlaws? DX? Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection? (Many other great tag teams?) Don’t you miss when tag team matches/feuds used to be meaningful and entertaining? The tag team division has been in shambles for a while. There have been some decent teams lately but it seems like they don’t last.

I bring this up because it seems like they are setting up for a fatal four way tag match for the titles at Summerslam. They always seem to do this at Summerslam and Wrestlemania now. They do this so everyone can be on the show. Some of those teams definitely shouldn’t be on the show though. Los Matadores haven’t been relevant in a while. The Lucha Dragons are promising but they haven’t been used that much in stories or on PPV’s. The Prime Time Players are champs and are decent. I like Titus. They haven’t been overly impressive since taking the belts, but they haven’t been bad either. The New Day is hot. They have made a major turnaround since their debut as a team. Really though, the match at Summerslam should be the Prime Time Players vs. New Day. Less is more sometimes. Let those two teams finish this feud. Adding more teams doesn’t make it more exciting at all, especially since two of the teams haven’t been pushed in a while. If the Usos were in the match instead of the Matadores, then that would be better…but who knows when they will be back…

Wrestlemania 29 was the last time the tag belts weren’t defended in a fatal four way tag match at either Summerslam or Wrestlemania. (Or not defended at all) Now really, that’s only four PPV’s, but still that’s four PPV’s where WWE is just adding teams to try and make it more meaningful or to let people be on the show. If the crowd doesn’t react to them on a Monday Night Raw then why would they react to them at Summerslam or Wrestlemania? I didn’t really care about any of those matches. The teams in them are not teams that anyone cares about.

There have been decent teams since WM 29, but it seems like they never quite get a chance. Plus, once a team loses the titles it seems like they just get tossed aside. Team Hell No successfully defended their titles at Wrestlemania 29. They held the belts for 245 days. The Usos first reign was 202 days. Since the Usos had the belts, Goldust & Stardust had the titles for 63 days, Miz and Mizdow for 36 days, the Usos again, Kidd and Cesaro for 63 days, New Day for 49 days, and now the PTP. There’s no stability or dominant team at the moment. The Usos when healthy are the top team they have in the company. New Day is #2. PTP are currently third. As much as I like those three teams, it’s kind of sad that these are the top teams. They don’t stack up to top teams of the past and the depth of tag teams definitely doesn’t stack up to teams from previous years.

When I watch old segments on the network, sometimes a tag team faces top guys in the company. The Hardys had segments with Triple H and Stone Cold (Who were also a team for a while). Sure, New Day beat Orton and Reigns a few months ago but that was a one night thing. The Hardys/ HHH & Stone Cold thing lasted more than a week. Sure, the tag titles used to change hands frequently in the past. (Specifically the Attitude Era) But look at the teams from that era who won them. The Outlaws, Hardys, APA, Under taker had the titles with different partners, so did Kane, The Rock and Mankind, Edge & Christian, The Dudleys…that’s only part of them. Some of these teams won multiple times too, the teams now seem to be one and done.

So I guess it’s not official that there will be a fatal four way tag match at Summerslam, and hopefully there won’t be one. There’s not enough depth in the division to have one….plus…it has been done a lot lately. Don’t put teams on the show just because. If someone doesn’t get a reaction, then they probably shouldn’t be on the 2nd biggest show of the year. Tag team wrestling used to be a big deal but now it’s an afterthought. I almost wish WWE would bring back the Dudleys. It would be cool to see them again. It’s an upgrade from many teams that we’ve seen lately. New Day is the best on the show at the moment. The PTP are the champs so they should be at Summerslam, but those are the only two teams that should be on the card at Summerslam.

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Julian’s Thoughts: WWE’s Rusev

June 18, 2015Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Rusev was at Wrestlemania this year wrestling the company’s top star. He had Lana by his side and was seemingly unstoppable. His character was built up all year. Rusev seemed like a super power. He was a Russian super power. Though he didn’t really have a victory/feud that overly impressed me, the WWE was persistent in trying to prove that he is something.

He was built up all year. Before Wrestlemania, you knew Rusev wasn’t going to lose. It just wasn’t going to happen. He beat Zack Ryder a lot. He beat Big E. He beat Swagger. He almost won the Rumble. He won the U.S. Title. The point is, he was on quite a roll. Now here we are. The poor guy was treated as a big deal, and now seems less than that. Three losses to Cena? That seems like bullying. You have a younger guy who is on a big run and you make him lose three times in a row to Cena? Couldn’t have made it two losses? Sure Rusev won at Fastlane but that PPV is weak. We knew that Cena was going to win the feud, but by Payback it seemed like overkill. It didn’t help that the first three matches were boring. The last match probably shouldn’t have happened. I guess it added to the tension with Lana, but the losses may have taken away something as well.

His girl even was taken from him. Now we all are sort of jealous of Rusev because he is actually in a relationship with Lana, but we all know of stories where this has happened to other wrestlers. There are reports that they(Vince) are actually trying to break the couple up outside of the ring. Now I don’t know how true that is. If that is true, then that’s messed up. On-screen, it could work out. Lana with Dolph makes no sense for Dolph’s character. It makes sense for Rusev to want to destroy Dolph for being with Lana. I really don’t have a problem with it. Rusev probably has a problem with the split…the poor guy.

When he started he was the Bulgarian Brute. Then he became the Russian super athlete. He became the “Hero of the Russian Federation.” That added heat for sure, but after losing to Cena three times he showed up on Raw with a Bulgarian flag? Why all of a sudden just turn back to the Bulgarian Brute gimmick or stop with the Russian angle? Then on Smackdown he hurt his foot and is out of action.

He came back this Monday on crutches which seemingly keeps his “feud” with Dolph alive, but when he returns what will Rusev be? His career seemingly nosedived. All these things happened in a short amount of time. It seems like bad luck, and maybe even poor booking. The Lana stuff seems sketchy because I don’t want to believe that Vince would want to intentionally break up an actual couple, but I guess you never know.

This guy is still young and can be one of the most hated people in the business. Hopefully he’ll bounce back after this injury. I like his theme song too, so I hope they don’t change that. Right now in the WWE there are so many heels that get cheered. (Which they probably should because they’re awesome). Seth Rollins usually gets booed, but there are also some cheers. He’s so good that sometimes it’s difficult to boo him. I cheer him. I went to a Live event a month ago and was one of the few people not booing Seth. Kevin Owens is another guy. His character has done some awful things but because of his history and how good he is, he often gets cheered. Rusev is supposed to be booed, and always does. I’m not saying he sucks. I’m just saying that it’s nice sometimes having the bad guy get booed. His character can’t really be cheered. It’s sort of refreshing.

Rusev is a big guy who can draw heat. After having a good run he’s had a rough couple of months. Injuries are unfortunate, but losing to Cena three times and losing your girl may be worse. (Okay losing Lana is definitely worse). When he comes back I would expect to see him become dominant again, even at the expense of Dolph Ziggler or whoever else he faces. It really is amazing how far he seems to have fallen since Wrestlemania though.

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