Author: Julian Cannon

WWE:retro feud:Bret Hart vs Jerry Lawler

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There can only be one king in the WWF. Back on June 13th, 1993 the World Wrestling Federation crowned a King of the Ring. One man in particular took offense to such a title being given. After all, he had been calling himself “king” for several years.

So, when Bret Hart won the 1993 King of the Ring tournament, Jerry “the King” Lawler ended up viciously attacking Bret when he was cutting a promo shortly after the victory. During the confrontation, Bret referred to Lawler as being a Burger King. Lawler responded by attacking Bret with a scepter. The attack would be the beginning of a feud that would go on for nearly three years, off and on.

 

During the July 7th taping of Wrestling Challenge, Jerry Lawler would beat Bret’s younger brother Owen Hart to send a message to the Hart Family that he would do the same to Bret at SummerSlam in August. Lawler would continue to get underneath Bret’s skin by taunting his parents during the July 26th edition of RAW. Bret was wrestling against Bam-Bam Bigelow before he left to get his hands on Lawler, who had been in the crowd taunting Stu and Helen.

Meanwhile, Lawler and Bret were also feuding in Jerry’s promotion USWA based in Memphis. The roles were switched as Lawler was the babyface and Bret played the heel. In that promotion, they would have a steel cage match the night before SummerSlam. A stipulation was if Lawler were to lose he would refund the money he earned from the show to the fans. Of course, Lawler was able to win after the Giant Gonzales botched his interference and cost Bret the match. I thought that was an interesting tidbit.

At SummerSlam on August 30th, Lawler tried to get out of the match with Bret Hart by saying he had suffered an injury. It worked at first and he was able to get Doink the Clown to take his place. Bret won the match over Doink and was attacked by Lawler afterward. Lawler whacked Bret with his crutch and that led to them having a match shortly there after. Bret originally won by submission, but he refused to let go of the hold. So, as a result, Lawler won the match by a reverse decision. The victory allowed Lawler to have the title of being the real king of the WWF.

Bret and Lawler were supposed to continue their feud at Survivor Series in November, but Lawler had legal issues he needed to attend to and left the company. He would return in early 1994 but his feud with Bret wouldn’t be a focus that year.

Their feud continued in early 1995. William Shatner made an appearance on the January 9th edition of RAW and along with Bret Hart, he got the better of Jerry Lawler on King’s Court. A month later, Bret Hart cost Jerry Lawler a battle royal by forcing Lawler to have both feet touch the ground.

Lawler began to drag Bret Hart’s name in the mud during the February 20th edition of RAW. Lawler called Bret a racist after Bret won the Wrestle of the Year award. Jerry believed Bret won the award because the Japanese vote wasn’t counted. This would lead to a feud with Hakushi, which will be noted later on in this column.

It seemed like Bret wasn’t able to beat Lawler on a national stage as they wrestled again on the March 13th edition of RAW. Lawler won by count-out after Bull Nakano prevented Bret from returning to the ring. They would finally have another match at the first In Your House on May 14th, 1995. At the event, Bret Hart had two matches. He first beat Hakushi but was unable to beat Lawler. Instead, Bret was pinned by Lawler after Hakushi interfered and splashed Bret several times from the top rope.

They would meet again at the King of the Ring but it wouldn’t be a normal match. No, instead they competed in a Kiss My Foot match where the loser would be forced to kiss the winner’s foot. Lawler was embarrassed and would end up going to a dentist to fix his mouth. This wasn’t any normal dentist, though. The dentist was evil and known as Dr. Isaac Yankeem. Lawler wouldn’t be seeking revenge personally, but rather by recruiting Yankeem to do it for him.

At SummerSlam, Bret Hart was able to beat Yankeem but only be disqualification thanks to Jerry Lawler getting involved and attacking Bret. On the October 2nd edition of RAW, Bret attacked Lawler following a match but Yankeem saved his friend. Two weeks later, Bret competed against Yankeem inside a steel cage, which saw Lawler inside a smaller cage above the ring. Bret won the match by escaping over the cage essentially winning the feud and putting an end to his issues with Lawler.

 

retro video game review : Zelda II:the adventure of Link

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Zelda II- THE ADVENTURE IF LINK REVIEW

Julian cannon back again for a Retro video game review ..this time it is back to the NES era. Zelda II THE ADVENTURE OF LINK.

According to the Zelda timeline released in late 2011.. this game followes the first branch (there are 3 branches) after ocarina of time and it is the final game in the first branch and the sequel to the original legend of Zelda for the NES.. the first timeline is what could happen if link does not defeat ganon in the final battle of ocarina of time.

The first thing you’ll realize when you start an actual game is that your main character, Link, can’t move up or down as he can in the prequel — instead he’s been blessed with the action-game duet of Crouching and Jumping. If you’d played the original Zelda first, you might be wondering, What’s going on here? Then you’d read the instruction booklet… and still wonder, what’s going on here? That’s right kiddies. Zelda II has shifted gameplay focus from the previous overhead view style to a more common side-scrolling style. There’s still the old overhead view, but there is little to no action involved during this view — instead, it acts as your map-traversing view, which I’ll elaborate on later. But for all of your battle needs, you’ll be spending time in the side-scrolling world. While some may be disappointed in the sudden shift of gameplay, I found it to be an added challenge, and got a kick out of it. In the original Zelda, Link could “throw his sword” the entire length of the screen when his life was at full. This time around, however, the sword blast (a) has shrunk to a puny size and (b) travels a much shorter distance, dissipating within two or three of Link’s body lengths horizontally. In addition to the shortened range, you must now learn to be adept with Link’s shield. The shift from overhead to sidescrolling action has left Link’s legs vulnerable to crouching attacks, and you must crouch to prevent Link from having his knees cut up. Of course, crouching leaves his head open, so you can imagine what would happen when you get into an intense sword fight. But that’s part of the fun in Zelda II — the immense tension that builds up when battling dreaded IronKnuckles with shields, capable of fighting at your skill level, hitting high and low in random patterns. While stabbing in the air, trying to hit your mark and get past its shield, you also must keep the warrior from penetrating your defenses, and you end up playing a hectic game of Stand-Crouch-n-Stab. The intensity level of Zelda II’s battles is the source of this game’s addictive fun factor.

However, missing from Zelda II is the vast usable inventory that Link carried in the prequel. In its stead are automatically used items, magic spells and fighting techniques for Link to search and find during his travels. Items such as the Candle and the Power Glove make their returns, but are used in different fashions. The Candle automatically lights up a dimmed area, for example, and obtaining the Power Glove turns Link’s attacks into block-crushing blows. The interesting spells and techniques, however, make the sacrifice of the large usable inventory perhaps justifiable. In addition to stabbing and poking left and right, Link eventually gains the ability to jump and stab both downwards and upwards ( a move that was eventually carried over to the super smash bros. Series)

The graphics are decent, less colorful than the original Zelda but more detailed and larger in general. Link and his enemies now stand taller, at more realistic proportions, as opposed to the old squishy deformed status of old. Enemies sport certain color schemes, indicating their strength, much like the original Zelda. The palaces also have different color schemes, and tend to appear a bit on the monocrhomatic side. However, you’ll see different columns, bricks (for the walls), headpieces portruding from walls, and statues of ironknuckles scattered about. Enemies stand out from backgrounds well enough for you to battle effectively (at least, enemies that aren’t meant to be camoflauged). The overhead map shows very simplistic yet clear definitions of mountains, plains, forests, desert, and roads.

As a result of the high difficulty, the game can take up to 14 hours to beat. Consider: you have seven palaces to conquer. Four life containers to find. Four Magic containers to find. 8 levels to build, in each stat. Tasks to complete, techniques and spells to learn. Unless you’re really good, you’ll find yourself spending somewhere around half an hour to an hour on each palace, an hour or so on Death Mountain, a couple of hours level building, etc. Either that, or this game reviewer is pretty bad with his ninja-gaming skills. It’s a tough game, and if you love a challenge, dust off that NES and get to work on this cartridge

Also new to this game is the debut of dark/shadow link. He is not that hard as he was in ocarina of time,but the battle is worth it considering that he is the final boss of this game

n the end, the completely different system of Zelda II’s gameplay didn’t bother me. I found it a refreshing change and a challenging experience. I did not know that this game existed until the Zelda collection came out in 2003 for the Nintendo gamecube. The ability to jump and defend with more precision is welcome, and all the while the game manages to retain the heavy adventure aspect that we’ve come to expect from any Zelda game released. Zelda II: The Adventures of Link, is a sometimes frustrating but overall very fun experience.

Gameplay :7

Graphics: 7.5

Difficulty : 9

Sound : 8

Replay value :8

Final score : 8.5/10

How has TNA wrestling has improved

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Julian Cannon back again for another post.and I would like to thank everyone for the feedback I have received on my last post. This time is a follow up to my post last year titled “10 ways to save tna wrestling “..

Within the last year,tna wrestling has changed a lot. Some are good and some are bad.I for one want tna to succeed and oneday compete with wwe THE RIGHT WAY NEXT TIME!. TNA wrestling has been around since 2002 and from that year until 2009, that was their best years. Within the last few years,tna has been compared to Wcw in many ways. Now let me get to the changes that they have made since June 2012..

1.going live

Tna needed to go live for a long time now. Fans who read the results online can hurt the show(this happens sometimes in wwe also). Since they have been live,the show feels different than it did when they were taped. Outside the many botches in the matches they do,the show has been entertaining for the most part. But for some reason, they cannot go higher than a 1.7 rating..the fans wanted them to go live,they got it but they still choose not to watch it..that’s the “internet wrestling community ” for you who cannot decide what they want.
Believe me it has been like that since 1997.

2.world champions

Bobby Roode is now the longest reiging world champion in tna,beating stings record he set in 2009. Bobby has made the belt important again from Jeff Hardy’s tarnished reign in 2011. He then lost it to Austin Aries in July and when Aries had the belt,he was not booked right at all..he held the xdivision title for the longest since Daniels back in 2005 and has had very solid matches and feuds..him with the world title just didn’t seem to click with the fans at all..I was for it but then he made face and heel Turns that didn’t make sense at all..then Aries lost the belt to Jeff Hardy and many believe that Hardy did not deserve it..Hardy has been through a lot before the win and he sells the most merchandise in the company so strapping the belt in my point of view makes sense although I would like to see bully ray or James storm or an styles become champ again.

3.aj styles vs Daniels feud put to rest…or is it?

Styles and Daniels has had over 900 matches (estimated) in total between tna,roh,pwg and new Japan pro wrestling. In bound for glory 2011, their match was tag lined “one last match “..now who think that was going to be their last match..they then wrestled throughout 2012 and at November of that year,they had another “one last match” but this time if an lost, he would not get a shot for the world title until October 2013.. I didn’t believe that would happen but it did. How can tna do this to styles when he has been there from the beginning. For them to do that,that was a slasp in the face to his legacy and his fans..but who knows,these two wrestled a lot of times so we could see it again at bfg 2013 with the championship on the line

4.slashing away ppvs

In December 2012,Dixie Carter announced that tna will only have 4 ppvs a year..this brought confusion to the fans to why she would do this..this may be a good move but a risky one, this worked in wwe when they had 5 ppvs a year back from the “golden age era” to the early stages of the “new generation era”..this also worked for ecw when they had ppvs once every 2 months ..the big question is that can it work for tna..on order to do this,the feuds leading to the ppvs has to be very strong from the start..the problem with feuds is that they are bevy not memorable at all..why, is because after the ppv and then on the next TV show, 9 times out of 10,the payoff match will not get mentioned at all unless it is at the opening segment or music video. So if they want to put a risk for this, they can try.

5.aces and 8’s

The first time this group started in tna I thought that it was a good move.but a few weeks later, I realized that this group can’t be taken seriously at all. They run away from most people knowing that they outnumber those 2-3 people in the ring,they have not won one match until a February 2013 edition of impact, and the members anybody can care less about them. Now taz is the mouth piece of that group but yet he returns to commentary the following week which is ridiculous ..other then Mr Anderson and Devon who were established stars and wrestlers, the other members are ex wwe jobbers and just Eric bischoff son. Fans want to compare it to the nexus but they can’t because they were all new people and rising stars that wanted to get noticed and most of them are very good now in the main event/midcard scene right now..for me I want aces and 8’s to end already.

6. Tna on the road

Also announced from Carter is that tna will no longer tape their show at the impact zone..this is a great move because they have been there since 2004 and every wrestling fan wanted them to get away from Florida for a long time and at March they will start doing that..I am for this 100% but the question is that how long can they do this before the wrestlers get burned out..the one primary reason why ex wwe employees go there because they don’t have a brutal travel schedule..but after March they will hit the road week after week..I’m also for this because not a lot of places know what tna wrestling is so it is good to get your name out there..this year’s bound for glory will take place at the Alamo dome in San Antonio ,Texas..the last wrestling event to have ever sold out that arena was the 1997 royal rumble which would headline Shawn Michaels vs Sid for the wwf championship ..to me this match is the most underrated match of the career of Shawn Michaels and I would watch it over and over again if I had to.

7. The x division

Nobody cannot deny this because the x division is not the same since Hogan and bischoff came along..these were also the matches the fans look forward too and the first thought that comes to mind when you hear the letter “tna”. Rvd is the current x division champion..he was xdivision before the name was even coined. But honestly he does not need to be champion in the xdivision.. Kenny king and a few others are looking good right now..but the wrestlers in this division has been cut down..Alex Shelly is no longer there,Jay lethal is back in roh, Jerry Lynn has retired and few others has moved up to the main event scene..the last person to have made the division important was Austin Aries and since then, it became an after thought. What can improve from the xdivision, the world will never know.

8.the roster /brook Hogan

I can say that the roster of TNA has had a drastic change within the last 7 months..the gut check segments are quite innovative as well..the best they have picked up is Christian York..he has wrestled in ecw with Joey mercury and in ring of honor for several years so for him to make it to either wwe or tna is a great move..also we seen the most dickhead move that tna has ever done which was bringing in brook Hogan..every time she is on tv, I change the channel because she is very awful as a character..not only that, she is the head of the knockouts division..lets give them a round of an applause because that absolutely sucks.

I really want tna to succeed but there is very little that has to be done to do that..we know it does not happen over night but a change does though..my idea is to get Hogan out there as soon as possible because he has not done anything for them other than making the ring four sides again..

Send your feedback. At juliancannon70@yahoo.com

retro video game review: Metal Gear (MSX2 version)

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Julian cannon back with another retro video game review. this time it is the very first metal gear for the msx2, although I did not play this until the hd collection.

in the metal gear timeline, this takes place after the upcoming metal gear solid: ground zeros and before metal gear 2 solid snake

Most gamers were introduced to Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation back in 1998. In addition to stealth gameplay that was unrivaled at the time, Metal Gear Solid also incorporated brilliant voice acting, off-beat humor, political satire and lengthy cut-scenes that drove a semi-truck worth of backstory and character development. Many of these cut-scenes, however, mentioned incidents and characters that were not included in Metal Gear Solid, leaving some gamers confused if this was an original game concept or a sequel to something nobody had heard of.

The answer is yes. To both.

The original Metal Gear was originally released for the MSX2 home computer in Japan, then later ported (albeit terribly) to the NES here in America. Metal Gear served as the game that would later set the stage for future Metal Gear Solid titles with what unfolded. Now keep in mind, Metal Gear for the MSX2 and for the NES are almost two different experiences, so I will do my best to differentiate between the two. The story line is nearly identical in both versions with some minor differences, but the main changes are in how the game plays and the overall layout of the game.

The plot is this game takes place in 1995 (in the timeline the name of the storyline is the outer heaven uprising). You are Solid Snake, a military operative working for FOXHOUND sent into a mercenary base in order to infiltrate and destroy Metal Gear, a nuclear tank that can walk. later in the game, you will find out that big boss is working as a double agent, revealing to snake that he is the commander of both outer heaven and FOXHOUND. When playing the MSX2 version, you start at the unmanned front door of the mercenary base, getting occasional messages from Big Boss (your leader) about current objectives. On the NES, you start in the middle of nowhere and must traverse through oddly placed guard dogs, mazes that make no sense and terrible ‘engrish.’

On the MSX2, you start at the front door of Outer Heaven.

The controls are responsive and actually fairly tight for its time. What confused me were the action buttons. On the NES, the B-button will punch enemies, and the A-button will use whatever weapon you have equipped (or do nothing if not equipped). The response time feels a little more reactive on the NES than the MSX2 version, but that might be the only positive aspect of the NES version. The NES port really gets plagued by level design and layout, which makes the game more frustrating and difficult than it needs to be. There are many situations where there is just enough of a gap in between a car and a bush that makes you think you can traverse through it, but you end up hitting an invisible wall and rethinking your strategy.

There are some poor logistics that exist in both versions of Metal Gear that can work in your favor and against you at the same time. Metal Gear is one of those games that reset the contents of a room once you leave it, the only exception being key items. This works great if you find an empty location that has rations (in-game health) or ammo that will infinitely respawn every time you re-enter a room, but the same tactic also applies to enemies. To make matters worse, in some rooms the enemies start their walking path right in front of the door you just exited, meaning you will enter the alert phase where waves of enemies come pouring into your screen in order to eliminate you.

On the NES, you start with this guy and his poor english. Also notice the more ‘cartoony’ color scheme.

Both games have their share of random occurrences that will either make you scratch your head in confusion or make you question what you just saw (much like everything in Metal Gear Solid 2). Starting with the NES, there are a few instances where the floor you are walking on just vanishes, killing you instantly. There is no warning, rhyme or reason for it. At first glance it looks like a logical path then the floor just goes away. In both games, there is a gas chamber that you need to progress through, but the only warning you get is once you actually have entered the room and are beginning to lose life. Big Boss actually calls you to tell you, “I nearly forgot, you need a gas mask to get through the gas chamber.”

Yeah, thanks a lot, buddy.

The inventory can be a problem in certain situations. You are allowed to carry one weapon and one accessory active at a time, so lets say you have a handgun and a card-key active. Using the gas mask example I just mentioned, you have to use the card-key to open the door leading to the gas chamber, meaning you don’t have the gas mask active, losing health in the process. You then switch to the gas mask (as unnecessarily reminded by Big Boss) and make your way through the room to the other door only to find out you need to switch out your gas mask for your card-key in order to escape the room of impending death. To summarize, you lose either way, friend-o.

Speaking of card-keys, there are nearly a dozen different cards that you need, with no distinct way to distinguish between them all. You constantly will be going through all your card-keys trying to figure out which one you need to open the door and escape the small militia shooting at you. I did some research on this, and actually found out that series creator Hideo Kojima wanted to create a sense of anxiety and panic when trying to open a door. Makes sense, but when you have a dozen different card-keys and every door looks exactly the same it’s hard to make sense of it.

Here’s my final gripe with the NES version, and I apologize now but this might be a spoiler to some, despite the fact this game has been out for a long time. The title of the game is Metal Gear, the bipedal nuclear tank you are trying to destroy. In the MSX2 version, you finally face-off against Metal Gear, then have the final confrontation against Big Boss (this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody). In the NES version, you fight a super computer that controls Metal Gear and its movements, then the confrontation against Big Boss. A game titled Metal Gear that doesn’t physically include Metal Gear is like a Legend of Zelda game without Zelda or an Uncharted game without Nathan Drake. For me, this was a huge let down.

One of the final bosses, Metal Gear isn’t as big of a threat as advertised, but it still freaked me out when I got this far.

I should keep in mind as sort of geek humor; the super computer in the NES version is constantly showing a blue screen. I never guessed mercenaries were using Windows 2.0 back in the day to control Metal Gear.

Even more frightening than the nuclear bipedal tank Metal gear is the blue screen of death.

Metal Gear is, despite the problems and plagues, a fun experience and worth playing. I highly recommend avoiding the NES version and going for the MSX2 adaption. The MSX2 version is included in the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, as part of Metal Gear Solid 3. One thing I failed to mention earlier was that the NES port was not overseen by Hideo Kojima but rather a different team from within Konami, thus the varying differences. Kojima has stated that he does not like the NES version and finds it “too difficult for all the wrong reasons.” I highly recommend, if you’re a Metal Gear (Solid) fan, go buy the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and check out the original Metal Gear and its sequel, Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake.

Retro Review: 4/5

the 2012 wrestling observer newsletter awards

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here are the awards, those who are listed number 1 are the winners

 

LOU THESZ/RIC FLAIR AWARD (WRESTLER OF THE YEAR)

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (419) 3,328

2. C.M. Punk (294) 2,325
3. Kazuchika Okada (75) 1,221
4. John Cena (31) 857
5. Daniel Bryan (5) 204
6. Austin Aries (2) 157
7. Bobby Roode (10) 130
8. Cima (3) 101
9. Sheamus (4) 69
10. The Rock (2) 37

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI (394) 2,695

2. Kazuchika Okada (114) 1,326
3. Daniel Bryan (153) 1,273
4. El Generico (55) 515
5. C.M. Punk (34) 469
6. Austin Aries (20) 358
7. Davey Richards (18) 317
8. Dolph Ziggler (2) 244
9. Daisuke Sekimoto (5) 197
10. Tetsuya Naito (1) 161

BEST BOX OFFICE DRAW

1. THE ROCK (422) 2,620

2. John Cena (92) 1,564
3. Brock Lesnar (123) 1,309
4. Anderson Silva (55) 733
5. Georges St-Pierre (26) 565
6. Chael Sonnen (9) 317
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi (22) 245
8. Jon Jones (2) 212
9. C.M. Punk (4) 121

FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (275) 1,753

2. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen (238) 1,689
3. The Rock vs. John Cena (121) 1,136
4. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan (49) 512
5. Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (15) 371
6. John Cena vs. C.M. Punk (16) 291
7. Blue Panther vs. ***** Casas (25) 271
8. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (7) 235
9. Yuji Nagata vs. Stack of Arms (8) 214
10. Bobby Roode vs. James Storm (22) 203

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR

1. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS & KAZARIAN (373) 2,248

2. Kane & Daniel Bryan (124) 1,219
3. Young Bucks (78) 1,071
4. Mark & Jay Briscoe (43) 805
5. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya (73) 612
6. Super Smash Brother (61) 579
7. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (51) 539
8. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8) 347
9. Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba (2) 184
10. Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow (3) 161

MOST IMPROVED

1. KAZUCHIKA OKADA (517) 2,948

2. Michael Elgin (52) 887
3. Rush (64) 576
4. Damien Sandow (33) 552
5. Bully Ray (25) 344
6. Adam Cole (14) 322
7. Karl Anderson (1) 253
8. Titus O’Neil (9) 194
9. Dolph Ziggler (20) 178
10. Frankie Kazarian (18) 173

BEST ON INTERVIEWS

1. C.M. PUNK (365) 2,668

2. Chael Sonnen (145) 1,557
3. The Rock (129) 1,131
4. Paul Heyman (37) 608
5. Christopher Daniels (12) 299
6. Kevin Steen (14) 291
7. Bully Ray (22) 284
8. Daniel Bryan (14) 272
9. Big Show (2) 176
10. Austin Aries (8) 167

MOST CHARISMATIC

1. THE ROCK (298) 2,077

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi (74) 1,275
3. John Cena (69) 1,067
4. C.M. Punk (107) 1,032
5. Daniel Bryan (67) 539
6. Chael Sonnen (28) 378
7. Brock Lesnar (6) 281
8. Georges St-Pierre (3) 199
9. Shinsuke Nakamura (2) 124
10. Austin Aries (1) 117

BEST TECHNICAL WRESTLER

1. DANIEL BRYAN (391) 2,513

2. Prince Devitt (122) 1,030
3. Davey Richards (43) 969
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi (77) 774
5. Zack Sabre Jr. (52) 536
6. Yuji Nagata (41) 369
7. Austin Aries (13) 273
8. Daisuke Sekimoto (2) 144
9. ***** Casas (5) 134
10. Eddie Edwards (3) 119

BRUISER BRODY MEMORIAL AWARD (BEST BRAWLER)

1. KEVIN STEEN (368) 2,457

2. Togi Makabe (49) 755
3. Bully Ray (71) 726
4. Sheamus (31) 716
5. Brock Lesnar (69) 466
6. Sami Callihan (27) 404
7. Michael Elgin (3) 231
8. Big Show (26) 221
9. Minoru Suzuki (29) 203
10. L.A. Park (11) 176

BEST FLYING WRESTLER

1. KOTA IBUSHI (285) 1,857

2. Ricochet (111) 1,229
3. Pac (88) 1,108
4. El Generico (87) 722
5. A.R. Fox (46) 540
6. La Sombra (17) 415
7. Samuray del Sol (46) 412
8. Prince Devitt (9) 300
9. Mascara Dorada (26) 271
10. Kenny Omega (22) 241

MOST OVERRATED

1. RYBACK (148) 1,028

2. The Miz (88) 825
3. Garett Bischoff (55) 405
4. Randy Orton (21) 299
5. Ken Anderson (9) 295
6. Sheamus (13) 286
7. Matt Morgan (21) 240
8. Big Show (2) 195`
9. Rob Van Dam (14) 142
10. Brodus Clay (1) 134

MOST UNDERRATED

1. TYSON KIDD (286) 1,629

2. Dolph Ziggler (85) 718
3. Daniel Bryan (56) 357
4. Kassius Ohno (32) 293
5. Jack Swagger (9) 260
6. Drew McIntyre (19) 251
7. Sin Cara (18) 209
8. Satoshi Ishii (15) 183
9. Hunico (6) 172
10. Justin Gabriel 139

PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING (497) 3,452

2. Ultimate Fighting Championships (91) 1,388
3. World Wrestling Entertainment (85) 1,357
4. Dragon Gate (33) 477
5. CHIKARA Pro (19) 344
6. Total Nonstop Action (18) 324
7. Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (3) 308
8. IWRG (5) 255
9. AAA (12) 253
10. ROH 133

BEST WEEKLY TV SHOW

1. TNA IMPACT (122) 1,043

2. Ring of Honor (73) 926
3. WWE NXT (61) 869
4. WWE Monday Night Raw (76) 828
5. WWE Main Event (85) 819
6. Dragon Gate Infinity (65) 781
7. WWE Smackdown (28) 591
8. Bellator (60) 433
9. New Japan World Pro Wrestling (62) 401
10. Fight Factory (36) 289

PRO WRESTLING MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. MINORU SUZUKI 10/8 TOKYO (277) 2,014

2. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar 4/29 Chicago(87) 1,202
3. Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin 3/31 Ft. Lauderdale (146) 1,185
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada 6/16 Osaka (121) 1,057
5. Undertaker vs. HHH 4/1 Miami (77) 859
6. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito 3/4 Tokyo (68) 661
7. Kenny Omega vs. Kota Ibushi 8/18 Tokyo (35) 204
8. C.M. Punk vs. Daniel Bryan 5/20 Raleigh (4) 180
9. The Rock vs. John Cena 4/1 Miami (18) 135
10. Blue Panther vs. ***** Casas 3/2 Mexico City (2) 121

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

1. DINASTIA (199) 1,530

2. Mr. Touchdown (214) 1,496
3. Eita Kobayashi (106) 755
4. ACH (5) 519
5. Saturyne (31) 341
6. Tadarius Thomas (40) 291
7. Ross & Marshall Von Erich (1) 110

BEST NON-WRESTLER

1. PAUL HEYMAN (479) 2,747

2. Ricardo Rodriguez (97) 1,291
3. Vickie Guerrero (24) 722
4. A.J. (22) 464
5. Gedo (25) 404
6. John Laurinaitis (3) 172
7. Truth Martini (4) 157
8. Vince McMahon (2) 153
9. Nigel McGuinness (8) 129
10. Jim Cornette 99

BEST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. JIM ROSS (234) 1,902

2. Nigel McGuinness (205) 1,647
3. William Regal (64) 967
4. Joe Rogan (130) 965
5. JBL (47) 777
6. Kevin Kelly (29) 364
7. Mike Tenay (10) 192
8. Michael Schiavello (24) 181
9. Jesse Manuel Guillen (12) 175
10. Mike Goldberg (6) 115

WORST TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

1. MICHAEL COLE (166) 1,723

2. Taz (117) 1,242
3. Booker T (151) 1,023
4. Jerry Lawler (109) 920
5. Josh Matthews (23) 412
6. The Miz (28) 214
7. Todd Keneley (17) 184
8. Mike Goldberg (10) 135
9. Jesus Zuniga (12) 95
10. Mike Tenay (8) 90

BEST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. NEW JAPAN KINGS OF PRO WRESTLING 10/8 TOKYO (425)2,618

2. WWE Extreme Rules 4/29 Chicago (118) 1,348
3. WWE WrestleMania 4/1 Miami (13) 1,033
4. New Japan Dominion 6/16 Osaka (23) 479
5. ROH Glory by Honor 10/13 Mississauga (38) 364
6. All Japan 3/20 Tokyo (2) 323
7. CMLL Anniversary show 9/14 Arena Mexico (29) 257
8. UFC 146 All Heavyweight show 5/26 Las Vegas (13) 213
9. WWE TLC 2011 12/18 Baltimore (17) 185
10. TNA Destination X 7/8 Orlando (2) 184

— End of “A” Category Awards; Start of “B” Category Awards —

WORST MAJOR WRESTLING SHOW

1. UFC 149 7/21 CALGARY 214

2. Extreme Reunion 4/28 Philadelphia 113
3. WWE No Way Out 5/20 East Rutherford, NJ 94
4. TNA Against All Odds 2/12 Orlando 74
5. TNA Genesis 1/8 Orlando 39
6. WWE Royal Rumble 1/29 St. Louis 32
7. TNA Lockdown 4/15 Nashville 28
8. WWE Hell in a Cell 10/28 Atlanta 27
9. TNA No Surrender 9/9 Orlando 23
10. UFC on FX Maynard vs. Guida 6/22 Atlantic City 19

BEST WRESTLING MANEUVER

1. KAZUCHIKA OKADA RAINMAKER 201

2. Antonio Cesaro Neutralizer 92
3. Daniel Bryan Yes/No/LeBell lock 82
4. Antonio Cesaro versions of bolo forearm 64
5. Ricochet 630 30
6. Sonjay Dutt moonsault double foot stomp 29
7. Dragon Kid dragon rana 18

MOST DISGUSTING PROMOTIONAL TACTIC

1. WWE’S PRESENTATION OF PAUL HEYMAN AND C.M. PUNK COMING IN DURING JERRY LAWLER’S RETURN, AIRING CLIPS OF HIM WHILE HE WAS DEAD AND BEING REVIVED, AND THE FAKE HEART ATTACK PROMO 493

2. Extreme Rising using Sabu’s overdose/passing out while advertising his return to the promotion 44
3. UFC’s handling of Jeremy Stephens’ arrest, trying to bail him out and still have him fight on the show while he was stuck in jail that afternoon 27

4. Linda McMahon’s senatorial campaign and how WWE handled it 19

WORST TELEVISION SHOW

1. WWE RAW 319

2. TNA Impact 199
3. Ultimate Fighter: Nelson vs. Carwin 81
4. WWE Smackdown 71
5. Ring of Honor 41
6. CMLL 17
7. Championship Wrestling from Hollywood 16

WORST MATCH OF THE YEAR

1. JOHN CENA VS. JOHN LAURINAITIS 5/20 RALEIGH 151

2. Santino Marella vs. Ricardo Rodriguez 6/17 E Rutherford 78
3. Clay Guida vs. Gray Maynard 6/22 Atlantic City 48
4. John Cena vs. Kane 1/29 St. Louis 38
5. Gunner vs. Kris Lewis 8/23 Orlando 38
6. Divas Battle Royal 8/20 Fresno 29
7. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan 4/1 Miami 28
8. Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga 6/17 East Rutherford 25
9. Gunner vs. Garett Bischoff 2/12 Orlando 21

WORST FEUD OF THE YEAR

1. JOHN CENA VS. KANE 253

2. TNA vs. Aces and 8s 192
3. John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis 65
4. Kane vs. Zack Ryder 43
5. Vickie Guerrero vs. A.J. Lee 41
6. A.J. Styles vs. Claire Lynch 19

WORST PROMOTION OF THE YEAR

1. TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION 269

2. Ring of Honor 202
3. World Wrestling Entertainment 80
4. Pro Wrestling NOAH 72
5. Extreme Rising 65
6. Strikeforce 56
7. Bellator 44
8. Inoki Genome Federation 32
9. Championship Wrestling from Hollywood 18

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

1. DANA WHITE 379

2. Takaaki Kidani 289
3. Vince McMahon 171
4. Mike Quackenbush 59

BEST GIMMICK

1. JOSEPH PARK 154

2. Damien Sandow Savior of the Masses 147
3. Daniel Bryan Yes/No 111
4. Kazuchika Okada Rainmaker 97
5. C.M. Punk all year as champion 58
6. Ryback 53
7. Team Hell No 26
8. Antonio Cesaro 21
9. Bray Wyatt 19
10. Bully Ray 17

WORST GIMMICK

1. ACES AND 8S 163

2. Tensai 148
3. Natalya farting 92
4. Claire Lynch 90
5. Brodus Clay 48
6. The Miz 27
7. A.J. as General Manager 21
8. Joseph Park 18

BEST PRO WRESTLING BOOK

1. SHOOTERS BY JONATHAN SNOWDEN 137

2. Heroes and Icons by Oliver/Johnson/Mooneyham 72
3. From Prison to Promise by Booker T 49
4. Storm Front by Lance Storm 23

BEST PRO WRESTLING DVD

1. C.M. PUNK BEST IN THE WORLD 548
2. Last of McGuinness 21
3. Such Great Heights: The Jon Fitch Story 19                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      4.nwo the revolution 15

Wrestling:Breaking kayfabe:terrorist angle on the day of the 2005 London bombings

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian Cannon back once again for an unscripted,unedited topic, this week is a very well known one during the ruthless aggression era in 2005. it involves muhammad hassan and the undertakerI discuss a foreign Superstar whose future looked bright before hitting controversy beyond his control. If you blinked, you missed him. I’m talking about none other than Muhammad Hassan.

Hassan’s career in WWE was quick yet effective, setting a whole new standard of shock value in professional wrestling. Yet another example of how WWE Management dropped the ball on a rising wrestler.

Starting in late 2004, Muhmmad Hassan made his debut on RAW alongside Daivari, where he made a name for himself by interrupting other Superstars. Ironically enough, the term “Hassan” is now used as a slang term “to interrupt.”

His technique of “cutting a promo” at various times is what succeeded in getting him over with the crowd, gaining more and more heat with each promo. Not to mention his Middle Eastern race was due to the reason of his heat, as his debut followed the devastating 9/11 attacks and George Bush Re-Election in 2004.

Hassan made his in-ring debut at New Years Revolution 2005 successfully defeating Jerry Lawler. In nearly a month, Muhammad Hassan became the most hated heel on RAW, even being ganged up on in the 2005 Royal Rumble Match by nearly every present participant.

Muhammad Hassan Attacks the Undertaker
Muhammad Hassan experienced his first (and only) WrestleMania moment at WrestleMania 21 attacking former trainer Eugene before Hulk Hogan made his triumphant return to make the save. This would soon lead to Hassan tagging with Daivari to lose against Hogan and his partner Shawn Michaels the following month at Backlash.

His exposure only began to grow, picking up the biggest win of his career against then-World Heavyweight Champion Batista by disqualification on RAW in May. In addition, Hassan even received a WWE Championship match against John Cena, even if it was a two-minute squash.

Both Hassan and Daivari would soon be drafted to the SmackDown brand in June, however, marking the beginning of the end of Muhammad Hassan.

Upon his arrival, Muhammad Hassan would challenge the Undertaker to a match at The Great American Bash upon General Manager Teddy Long’s consent. On the July 4th tapings of SmackDown, Muhammad Hassan would summon five men with ski masks(see segment on this video) and camouflage pants to attack Taker following his match with Daivari.

 

Ironically enough, the London bombings took place hours before SmackDown aired and it could have not been edited.However, there was a warning message that popped up before the smackdown intro of that night.This segment has been gaining much media coverage and criticism world-wide over the month. The incident made the New York Post,TIME,Daily News and FOX news, a fact that was reiterated during Hassan’s promo the following week that would air on WWE.com.

Due to this, the network SmackDown aired on at the time, UPN, decided to remove Muhammad Hassan from television immediately. He made his last appearance in his match against Undertaker at the Great American Bash, where he took a Last Ride through the stage, effectively costing him his career.
The End of Muhammad Hassan
Creatively, Muhammad Hassan was booked to become WWE’s next breakout star by defeating the Undertaker at the Great American Bash before challenging and defeating Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at SummerSlam. Due to the network’s racial discrimination, these plans went up in flames.

Let me get this straight: a second class television network that isn’t even in commission anymore ended a Superstar’s career for their own abuse of power over his race? Yeah, that’s not racist at all.

I blame this fault more on the network than WWE Management, but WWE rubbed it off like nothing happened, barely without an explanation. Not only did it cost Hassan his career, it cost WWE an huge money-maker main eventer who could have been the equivalent to today’s Sheamus, or The iron sheik.

Well folks, you know the drill; make sure to leave comments to voice your opinions on the outrageous issue of dropping the ball on a Superstar with much potential. Thanks for reading, and be sure to reply on how I did on the article, it’s much appreciated.

@julianexcalibur

juliancannon70@yahoo.com

12 days of christmas: hardest items to find in the Final Fantasy series

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

hello everybody, Julian cannon has returned for a new post. I am sorry that I have not been posting, I was busy with Christmas shopping and family and etc, but anyways, Christmas is here and I love it because you have your gift there and you wonder what it is. on this case, you would want to know where it is, here is my new top 10 and it is the 10 hardest items to find in the final fantasy series

10. final fantasy X-world champion

I played final fantasy 10 at least 5 times and I never wanted to do the blitz ball minigame because I hated it. but then I did it again just to get waka waka’s ultimate weapon, the world champion..without it, you will not be able to use him properly, especially during the 3rd battle against Seymour. to get this item, you literally have to play that minigame and win about 10-15 times without loosing at all. this can take a full day or week depending on how often you play. if you have the time, do something I should have done the first time and do it

9.final fantasy X- venus sigil

another one from this game but this one is extremely hard. for the venus sigil(lulu’s ultimate weapon) you will have to go to the thunder plains and doge 200 lightning bolts WITHOUT getting hit. once you get hit, it starts over and you are stuck doing it again after 199 times. that is a killer is it. I was so mad everytime I got close and I never wanted to do it again.The best way is to stay at the south part of the Thunder Plains and dodge the lightning bolts at where there is a white path near at the right side. Reach to the white path, and stand still until the lightning bolt comes down, this way is alot more faster then any other way of dodging lightning bolts. I managed to dodge the lightning bolts 200 times in about 35 minutes.

8.final fantasy  XII-2- clock master skill

this skill, or in this case item, is the most useful ability in the game period. Final fantasy XII-2 was released in January 2012 and it has got positive feedback. but I have never got this until I saw a youtube video. and that is the clock master skill. to do this you have to collect all 160 fragments in the game. that is very tough because that is very impossible without the dlc features. also some of them you will have to find the 7 paradox endings in the game after you beat the main story. what does this skill do? it speeds the ENTIRE game, including cutscenes so that is very usefiul for traveling to do more stuff and to finish battles very quick, even at the hard setting. Try to get this if you can because it will take over 100 hours to do so

7. final fantasy VIII- triple triad cards

it can be debated that the card game in final fantasy VIII is the most annoying part of the game. when you first play the minigame, you get worthless cards(umm remember the yu-gi-oh games too) but you will get stronger ones on the way. That is the keyword, “on the way”. the rules are basic but on the way, the rules change too often that you cannot get the cards. for example, the “elemental”,”plus” and “combo” rule makes you want to turn of your playstation because u will loose your strongest card. now when you win, you can get to choose what card you want to win, however, there will be new winning situations, such as whatever card you take you win. that can be the easiest and hardest task of the minigame. now the cards are used to turn into items, you can easily get everybody’s strongest weapons from these but if you keep loosing cards, then you also will loose the parts of the weapon.

6. Final fantasy V- ragnarok sword

final fantasy 5 to me is the hardest game in the series and the most broken also. I loved the job system and the very hard bosses but this stands out for all of them. somewhere in the last dungeon, there will be a treasure chest, you will not know what it is until it shows “monster in a box”. that monster is no other than shinryu. you will think of nothing until his first or second attack which is tidal wave, which will do about 7000-8500 damage to your party. you can go back there many times but he will still be there until you beat him. when you do, you will get the strongest sword in the game, which is the ragnarok. that sword doubles the damage done to an enemy, and if you have that equipped while you have the “rapid fire-spellblade-one handed” abilities, not only its the most deadly combo in the game, but you will attack for a total of 8 attacks.

5. Final fantasy XII- zodiac spear

final fantasy XII is on my top 3 of the final fantasy series. the battle system is arguably the best in the entire system, and the environments were well done. the story is pretty much law and order mix with star wars. but the only downside to XII is getting the weapons. the zodiac spear is the strongest weapon in the game and all characters can equip the spear. it also gives the user 150+ attack, 20% chance of attacking more than once, and evasion 40%. but to get this spear, you would have realized it when you were looking it up online to find out that you cannot open all the treasure chests in the game. that left so many players confused into why square enix would do that. I will not post on what chests that cannot be open because it is a long chart. but after you find out which ones it is,  the Zodiac Spear will appear in the Necrohol of Nabus.

4. final fantasy IX- Excalibur 2

Excalibur II is one of the hardest weapons to obtain in the entire Final Fantasy series, as it cannot be bought from a shop or dropped or stolen from any monster. The only way the player can obtain the Excalibur II is to make it to the game’s final dungeon, Memoria, into the room Gate to Space (where the party fights Lich) without exceeding 12 hours of playtime. Once Lich is defeated, the player must search the pillar on the right of the room to receive the sword.Passing three discs in 12 hours is a challenge, but if one is going after a “perfect” game save, there is much more that needs to be considered, such as many items, key items, and such cannot be obtained after their respective disc. This is made harder by the fact that to get one key item later on, one will need to have not missed any treasure. Another issue is achieving “perfect stats”; if one is to make the most of a character’s stat potential one must play a “level 1 game” until disc 4, when the best stat-boosting equipment becomes available. However, there are four battles in which EXP must be gained: the three battles fought in Pandemonium, and Tantarian. So players have to choose what players absorb what EXP. So “perfect stats” and the issues mentioned above make the challenge probably the hardest challenge available in Final Fantasy. For years, this challenge was thought impossible on the PAL version of the game due to the 50/60Hz conflict, but recent runs have shown that a PAL play-through is possible, but extremely difficult. Similarly, the challenge is possible in the PS-one “classics” downloaded version of the game but difficult due to the inability to skip FMVs (which adds about 2 hours to game time).

3. final fantasy XII-omega weapon

final fantasy XII is a game known in the series for being way too linear. but the after game missions kept me interested. but the one thing didn’t was getting the omega weapon. this is lightning’s strongest gunblade in the game. to get it, you would have to upgrade all of your weapons until the ultima weapon stage, then you would have to find  51x Chobham Armor, 45x Electrode, 28x Crystal Oscillator, 6x Particle Accelerator, 2x Trapezohedron. all in which will take hours and hours of battles or 5 star missions. you can buy these things but one item each is over 900,00 gil and you would have to transfer from different locations to get the rest of them for the same price. but anyways, this blade has a quick stagger ability, which means after the stagger bar goes up to 50%, it will auto stagger after that poiny, leaving you to do some pretty impressive damage every hit.

2. final fantasy VII-omnislash

this game is widely considered the most overrated video game of all time..and at some points I do agree. final fantasy VII is not on my favorite list but it is still a great game. but getting cloud’s level 4 and final limit break omnislash is a real pain in the ass. you would have to go to the battle square at that carnival and try to get 32000 points in total. that seems easy but you would have to go through stage fights( just like the 100 floors in paper Mario-the thousand year door) and it gets tough every time. if you do not want to get the move, then you will have to wait for the final battle( after safer sephiroth) to use the move. recently, the pc version that was re-released this year gave you an achievement for learning the move for 200 game points, that means you would have to go to the battle square to actually learn the move

1. final fantasy IV- pink tail

final fantasy IV was released in 1991, and since that release and remakes on various systems, I have never ever got the pink tail. and I bet nobody else got it either. to get this you will have to defeat a flan princess. seems ok at first but you will have to wait for the flan to drop the item. but it does not!!!. I have read that it has a 1/64 chance of dropping the item, which means it can take you hours or even months to get this item. which also meand that you will have to battle them in groups again and again until you get it which can be a real pain in the ass. while you are doing this, you will realize the pattern after every battle but the ratio starts over again for some reason. this issue was never fixed until the psp release of final fantasy IV-the complete collection. with this item, you will trade it to a blacksmith for adamant armor. not only that it is the strongest armor in the game, it can be equipped to any party member despite their character class. also the longer your character does not do an action, the more the defense will rise during battle

breaking kayfabe/retro match review: Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon at summerslam 1995

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

This was supposed to be Shawn/Sid, but was changed so the WWF could have the biggest rematch of the year. As many times as I’ve watched the WrestleMania 10 ladder match, I’ve probably seen this one only once or twice before recapping this show. Dok Hendrix replaces Lawler for the rest of the night since he’s busy hanging out with his dentist. Although I cringe sometimes when he tries to be funny and I don’t think he has any chemistry with someone like Vince, I do think I like Hendrix on color commentary a little bit more than Lawler since he likes to talk more about strategies than merely cheer for the bad guy. They tease their finishers to start and the crowd eats it up. Shawn takes the nastier and much quicker Harley Race corner bump to the floor. Razor goes for the ladder and gets pounced on from behind by Michaels. Back to the ring, Shawn tries to suplex Razor into the ring from the apron and takes a CRAZY suplex to the floor instead. He even whacks his ankle on the guardrail on the way down! Back in, they trade finisher attempts once more and end up taking each other down with a clothesline. Once they’re to their feet, they whip each other from corner to corner until Shawn gets caught up on the top turnbuckle so that Razor can bring him down with a Super Fallaway Slam! Now Ramon brings the ladder to ringside as the Psycho Sid watches the match on a monitor in the back since he gets the winner of this match on the 9/11 Raw. Razor sidesteps the baseball slide into the ladder in a nice bit of continuity and blasts Shawn with a right hand. In the ring, Razor makes the first climb for the belt and gets the ladder turned over on him thanks to Shawn. Shawn spins the ladder around into Razor, shrugs his shoulders, and sets the ladder up. Just like at WM10, Razor pulls down HBK’s tights. Instead of dropping the belt like in the previous match, Shawn pulls his pants up and keeps climbing. With Razor back on his feet, he turns the ladder over while Shawn’s leg gets stuck in between the rungs to wrench his knee. Razor decides to capitalize by closing the ladder on Shawn’s knee and stomping at it. He continues to punish Shawn by dropping his knee on the ladder and taking Shawn to school the Ric Flair way. With the ladder closed, Razor sets the ladder on the middle turnbuckle. He wants to whip Shawn into it, but his knee gives out. Shawn kicks off a figure-four attempt, so Razor grabs Shawn and gives him a shinbreaker on the ladder! Razor keeps on with the leg and even posts it pretty good. When he seems to run out of things to do to Shawn’s knee, he ends up taking the ladder and tossing it down on his knee just for fun. Shawn stops a ladder climb with a flying double ax handle. He stops another climb with a back suplex off the ladder! Shawn leans the ladder in the corner and after a triple whip reversal, Razor goes flying over the ladder and onto the apron! Shawn whips Razor into the ladder again and then nails him with a flying forearm. From there, Shawn sets the ladder up and gives Ramon a MOONSAULT PRESS OFF THE LADDER! They botch it a little, but it’s forgivable. Now Shawn tries a flying splash, but this time it misses unlike at WM10. Once they both make it to their feet, they both climb the ladder and start slugging each other at the top until the ladder teeters over. Shawn gets crotched and Razor falls off the apron and to the floor. Shawn charges at Razor with the ladder in hand to knock him off the apron, but Ramon hits the mat and Shawn falls out to the floor. Razor pulls out another ladder from under the ring and now we’ve got two ladders. Shawn climbs his ladder, but Razor stops him and delivers the RAZORS EDGE to Shawn off the ladder! Now we’ve got two ladders set up in the ring and each man is climbing their own ladder. Shawn kicks Razor off his ladder and looks to grab the belt, but he’s too far away. He dives after the belt and retrieves nothing as he crashes on the canvas. Shawn backdrops Razor out to the floor so he’ll have another chance at grabbing the belt. He reaches the belt again and tries to pull it down with all his weight, but he can’t bring it down. One more try. Yes, Shawn finally brings the belt down off the hook to retain the IC championship. (25:06) For what it’s worth, Shawn Michaels is still the only man to ever retain the Intercontinental belt for a second time at any SummerSlam show. Afterwards, Razor takes the belt away from Shawn and hands it back to him as they embrace to show the world that everything is okay between them. Except for the messed up finish, this was the perfect sequel to their original ladder match. They learned from their past mistakes and turned it into a psychological masterpiece. ****¾

Also to note out, Shawn Michaels twice fumbled in his attempt to retrieve the belt, the second time very obviously, forcing his opponent Razor Ramon to lie down for a lengthy period of time, far greater than what is normally associated with the bump that he took. It is generally believed, however, that this mistake actually made the match better than what it would have been with the scripted ending. It is often ranked as one of the best WWE matches of all time. Only one other match i have known that has not ended in its scripted finish was The rock vs Kurt Angle in no way out 2001. I will explain that in a future post

 

Follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur

sorry fans but “PG” is here to stay

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian Cannon is back for another post, this time is to reflect on the WWE current PG era product, and the response of Linda McMahon’s failed senate campaign from 2009-2012. Good thing that she lost both times because she wasted about 100 million dollars (can we have Tidus o’ neal and Darren Young say “millions of dollars” please)

I thought I’d write about something that almost blew up Twitter last night among wrestling fans as soon as it was announced that Linda McMahon had failed in her attempt to get elected to the US Senate. Almost as one, wrestling fan asked the question: “Is the PG Era over?” Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but no. Like it or not, “PG” wrestling is here to stay.

I’d be lying if I said that I’d always been happy with “PG” wrestling, because it wasn’t what I loved to watch in the late 90’s. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that today’s wrestlers have to be more talented in order to work in the business. They can’t just haul out a steel chair and smack someone in the head repeatedly to get the crowd involved in their match. They have to use more of their character and wrestling ability. I’m not saying that some of the guys in the Attitude Era weren’t talented, because they were, but they had other ways to get that “shock factor”. The current WWE superstars rarely, if at all, have that opportunity, so they have to use other things.

WWE’s product isn’t suffering because of the PG rating: it’s suffering from a lack of fresh, creative ideas. The rating of your show is no excuse for producing mediocre storylines and expecting fans to react in the same way they did a decade ago. It simply won’t happen. Society isn’t the same as it was during the Attitude Era and the 93-97 era. Many People don’t watch wrestling (or TV in general) the way they used to 10-15 years ago. DVR, TiVo and Sky+ all let us choose when we sit down to watch Raw/Smackdown. In fact, that technology is a godsend sometimes, especially since Raw has gone to 3 hours. But for me, I still watch Raw and Smackdown because I’m still a dedicated fan to professional wrestling no matter what’s going on backstage.

The other reason why “PG” is here to stay is down to one simple fact: money. WWE makes a boat load of cash from merchandising deals with various companies and as a publicly traded entity; they have a responsibility to their shareholders to make as much money as they can. Put yourself in the shoes of a shareholder. Would you care if the product was crap, but you were making money? Of course you wouldn’t. At the end of the day, it’s about making money. As long as WWE are doing that with a “PG” product, nothing will change.

I reckon that WWE needs to start building more “superstars” who are at the level that John Cena and CM Punk is at. Those of you who have read my posts in the past know that I’m not a fan of Cena’s character, but the problem is that as soon as someone says “PG Era” they think “John Cena”, so all the frustration gets fired his way, which isn’t fair. It’s not his fault that he’s seen as the poster boy and the biggest star in the business today; it’s WWE’s fault for not building up enough stars at his level to share the load. Granted, they’ve started to do that in the last 18 months or so with the likes of Sheamus and CM Punk and Randy Orton, but those guys aren’t “there” yet.

I’m not a businessman or wrestling promoter. I’m just a fan and I know what I’d like to see, but the fact is that for everyone on the internet who bitches that WWE aren’t “doing things the way they should”, there’s another 10/20 people who are quite happy with what they’re watching. The people who hate “PG” wrestling are in the minority. Fact. Until that changes, WWE’s product will continue to be family-friendly and the rest of us will just have to deal with it

And also, the only reason whyWWE went to the attitude era is because of a few things:

1.WCW was kicking their ass in ratings every week.

2.ECW’s involvement

3. Im sorry to say it but if there was not for vince russo, the feuds of the attitude era from 97-99 would have not existed

So in my conclusion, there is no need for the attitude era to come back because that era had great feuds, but it did not have 10/10 match quality that it did before, plus after the attitude era, we got to see match of the year quality matches on PPV.

I rest my case for now

Did the WWE went to far with the heart attack angle?

Julian Cannon Leave a Comment

Julian Cannon back again for another post. Sorry everyone for the slowdown i have been very busy lately. This one is a look back on the heart attack angle by Paul Heyman and CM Punk. Also follow me on twitter @julianexcalibur

The most talked-about event on this week’s edition of Monday Night Raw was not related to the build to Sunday’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. Instead, what most wrestling fans are talking about was the way that the heel WWE Champion CM Punk and Paul Heyman mocked Jerry Lawler for the heart attack he suffered on September 10.

Did I expect it to happen? Yes.

Did I expect it to happen as quickly as it did? Yes.

Did I expect it to happen in the manner it was done? Yes.

It’s all about the expectations. If you didn’t think WWE was going to use the heart attack in an angle, then you are underestimating what WWE does. If you expected it to do it, then you’re like me and you realized it was just a wrestling angle used as a device to get more heat on the current WWE Champion.

History Repeats Itself

There are many things that WWE has done over the years to push the envelope in terms of the health of somebody on the show. If you’ll recall they had Eddie Guerrero’s mom suffer a heart attack in 2004 due to the heel tactics of John Bradshaw Layfield. JBL has since said he had to get a police escort to the next town because they were worried about his safety. Look here at this clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgRpMgE5q8

Remember the angle in 2006 when heel Randy Orton was feuding with Rey Mysterio? It was a few months after the death of Eddie Guerrero, who was a close friend of Mysterio. As a way to get heat for Orton they had him say that: “Eddie Guerrero’s not in heaven. Eddie’s in hell.” That angered a lot of people. While I’m sure that somebody probably thought Eddie would be OK with it, there’s no way of knowing if that’s true.

If you’ll recall in 2011 while Lawler was feuding with Michael Cole, Lawler’s mother passed away. Once Lawler returned, Cole used the death of Lawler’s mother as a way to get heel heat as well. Watch this clip and listen to the crowd reaction at the 4:30 mark. You can hear how angry the crowd is just by their reaction. I’m sure that Lawler was OK with it because as a heel he said some very nasty things about Bret Hart’s family among others over the years.

The WWE Champion Is a Jerk? Heels Are Supposed to Be!

This week on Raw, Punk basically took credit for Lawler’s heart attack saying that the beatings that Punk gave him are the reason Lawler nearly died. It’s not true, but heels lie and that’s just part of the wrestling business. We know that.

Where things might have went too far was when Paul Heyman faked a heart attack in the ring. Then he, along with Punk, laughed at Lawler. I think that’s what probably pissed off people the most because they were making a mockery of a very serious situation. Don’t get mad at Punk or Heyman. They are just doing their jobs as wrestling heels who are being booked to act that way.

Later on Raw, CM Punk got beat by John Cena. He tried to run away from him, but Ryback prevented him from running away. That is WWE’s way of saying “he paid for what he did” because he got his ass kicked. On Sunday if you want to see Punk get his ass kicked, buy the Survivor Series pay-per-view and see if it happens. I’ll save the predictions for another column.

There Are No Limits

Wrestling fans complain about a lot of things. In this case if somebody complains about WWE using a very real heart attack for the purposes of a storyline, I think he or she is justified for having that opinion. It was pushing the envelope.

The question shouldn’t be: “Did WWE go too far?” The question is does WWE really think it’s necessary to use a real life serious situation like a heart attack as a way to add heel heat to its top heel?

The answer to that question, in the eyes of Vince McMahon and the WWE creative team, is obviously yes. They did it on Monday. They’ve done it many other times over the years.

There’s no exact way to measure if doing angles like these hurt or help the product. You can’t look at television ratings because while they are used for accuracy, who is to say that somebody turned the show off because of a previous segment or because they had no interest in watching Tensai get squashed?

If you look at the pay-per-view buys for Survivor Series, we won’t be able to tell if people were put off by the Lawler angle. If the buyrate number is perceived as low you can blame it as the main event switching two weeks before the show aired or the lack of depth on the card. Maybe there’s some big NFL game that night—there usually is on Sunday nights. There will be no exact way of knowing why a number is down.

 

Is Jerry Lawler OK With It?

The best thing to do is to look at this storyline from Lawler’s perspective. He’s been a part of the wrestling business for 40 years. He’s been an announcer and part-time wrestler in WWE for nearly 20 years (he started in 1993).

Think about it. If Lawler suffered his heart attack alone in his hotel room or while driving a car, the chances are very high that he would be dead right now. Because of where suffered his heart attack—live on Raw—he was able to receive medical attention right away. The WWE doctors saved his life. The EMTs in Montreal saved his life.

Remember this. He was given a second chance on life. He was dead for a few minutes on September 10. Medical personnel had to revive him. Think about what the last nine weeks have been for that man. He went literally from his deathbed back to work in two months. It’s amazing. Nobody was happier on Monday than him, and that’s what I most enjoyed about Raw this week.

If you’re Lawler and WWE says: “We want to use your heart attack in an angle to get CM Punk heel heat” what do you think he’s going to say? Chances are if he said no, then they wouldn’t have done it. He probably said it was fine. McMahon was there for Lawler when he suffered his heart attack. They are very close friends. If it was an issue on Monday, I really doubt it would have made it onto Raw.

What I’m trying to say is that if Jerry Lawler is OK with WWE making fun of him for having a heart attack on their television show two months ago, then we, as wrestling fans, should be OK with it too.

I’m not saying you should love it. I just think it’s acceptable because everybody involved with it knows it’s part of the story for the greater good of the company (in the minds of WWE Creative), so it’s important to realize it and get past it.

Heels are mean. Babyfaces are nice. That’s wrestling. That was what we got on Monday just like we get every single week and will continue to get for the rest of our lives as wrestling fans.

Monday Night Raw, Friday Night Smackdown and any other WWE show is no different than any television show with a script. They are Wrestlers on a television. Just because they used a real life situation to further a storyline doesn’t make them wrong. It just means they know what they are: a scripted television show that is trying to gain viewers. More than anything WWE is a business.

What did the WWE prove by using Jerry Lawler’s near-death experience to further a storyline? That nothing is off limits.

Business as usual.