For those who are ready to ROCK!! the Return of Jem and Holograms
By Robert Greenwood
Integrity Toys, Inc. in collaboration with Hasbro, Inc. Announce JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS Collectible Fashion Dolls
First of the High-End Collectible Fashion Doll Line Based on the 1980s Animated Series Available at the 2012 Comic-Con International in San Diego
Integrity Toys, Inc., under license from Hasbro, Inc., today announced a brand-new series of high-end collectible fashion dolls based on the 1980’s ground breaking animated series JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS, launching at 2012 Comic-Con International in San Diego.
Inspired by the “truly outrageous” characters created by Hasbro over two decades ago and cherished by fans and collectors alike ever since, this nostalgic retro doll line is designed to pay homage to both the animated series and its original companion doll line, originally marketed from 1985 to 1987. Created for fans by fans of the rock ‘n shock pink haired pop-culture icon and her outrageous world, this classic commemorative line will feature the high-end details, quality accessories and ultra-limited edition sizes that fans of Integrity Toys have come to appreciate through the years.
This first doll in this exciting commemorative collection will be JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS Special Edition Doll: HOLLYWOOD JEM, one of the most requested animated-based looks. This doll will be available for purchase at the HasbroToyShop booth #3329 during Comic-Con International in San Diego at an approximate retail price of $125 and following the convention, at www.HasbroToyShop.com.
The dolls, created by noted collectible manufacturer Integrity Toys, will mark the debut of a newly sculpted fully articulated body and likeness of the rock star wearing a high-end costume, delivered in collector grade packaging. Future additions to the line will be announced in the months following Comic-Con International in San Diego via a dedicated web page located at http://integritytoys.com/jemandtheholograms, which has been created to bring fans all the latest information about the Classic JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS collectible line moving forward.
“As children of the 80’s ourselves, working on this project with the Hasbro team was a dream come true for our entire team. JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS has been a major influence for us,” says Alain Tremblay, marketing director of Integrity Toys, Inc.
“We wanted to remain true to the spirit of the original doll line, while paying homage to the animated series, which is something that we as JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS fans always wanted through the years,” says Vaughn Sawyers, Integrity’s head designer.
JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS made a noted return on television in 2011 airing on The HUB TV Network in the U.S., followed by the much anticipated release of a sleek DVD box set last fall that features all 65 episodes of the original animated series. “We wanted to pay homage to the characters and offer collectible dolls to fans that would showcase the essence of their favorite characters. We admire the high quality dolls produced by Integrity Toys, so this relationship made perfect sense,” says Bryony Bouyer, Senior Vice President, Global Franchise Development for Hasbro.
Get ready for some serious glamor fashion and fame; it’s show time Synergy!
About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for markets around the world. The Hub TV Network is part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), in the U.S. Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.”Learn more at www.hasbro.com.
© 2012 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved
About Integrity Toys, Inc.
Integrity Toys designs and markets a variety of fashion and celebrity dolls and related accessories, with a specialization in high-end fashion dolls. Founded in 1995, Integrity Toys’ extensive experience and capabilities in the field of doll making allows them to create products and programs for many of the world’s best-known retailers, consumer products companies, celebrities and other intellectual property holders.
Integrity currently produces high-end fashion dolls ranging in size from approximately 12 inches to 16 inches tall, under a number of brands, including Fashion Royalty, the Dynamite Girls and Poppy Parker among others. The Company’s products typically retail from $60 to $250 each, with most of the products retailing in the $130-150 range. Their products are known for their superior engineering, high-end aesthetics and of course, fashionable, detailed clothing.
For more information about Integrity Toys, Inc. please visit www.integritytoys.com.
follow Rob on Twitter @AltMindz
WWE: the invasion storyline and what could have happened if it was different
By Julian Cannon
Eleven Years ago, The WWF bought WCW and people thought the dream scenarios and matches would become a reality. But unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Instead WWF crushed the Atlanta groups name, buried most of the stars and moved on with business as usual. I thought a fun column would be me re-booking the Invasion and seeing if it could be more fun. So lets take a fantasy trip back to 2001. On TV, Shane McMahon had bought WCW. Fans all over the world were anxiously awaiting the Invasion they thought they’d never see. So let’s say Vince McMahon had bought out Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Ric Flair, Goldberg, Sting and Scott Steiner’s contracts in addition to the stars they had. Maybe the invasion would have been different and fans would have gotten some of the dream matches they wanted. I’m going to book this from April 2001. Shane McMahon has bought WCW, Austin has turned heel and The Rock has left. So with all those pieces set in place, here’s what could have happened……..
April 23rd 2001 – Monday Night RAW
The show starts with Mr McMahon coming to the ring to talk about this Sunday’s epic main event where the WWF Tag Team Champions Undertaker and Kane take on IC Champ Triple H and WWF Champ Stone Cold. Vince says its winner take all and he has decided to make things fair. He will be in the corner of HHH/Stone Cold at Backlash. Later on that night, there’s a huge brawl in the ring with The Brothers of Destruction and the Two Man Power Trip. Vince gets in the ring with a chair ready to take out the Undertaker when Shane McMahon’s music hits and Shane, Taker and Kane chase Austin, HHH and Vince out of the ring. Shane announces that he spoke with Linda McMahon and she feels the fans would want to see things equal this Sunday so Shane will be in the Brothers of Destruction’s corner at Backlash.
Backlash 2001 – April 29th 2001
The main event match for all the WWF titles went around 20 minutes. Vince tries to get involved in the match when Shane grabs a chair and smacks Vince in the head with the chair knocking him out. Triple H and Kane start brawling into the stands, leaving Stone Cold and Undertaker in the ring. Austin goes for the stunner, when Taker counters it and smashes Austin with a chokeslam. The deadman sets up Stone Cold for the last ride. Taker has the belt won, when Shane McMahon sneaks up behind Taker and cracks a chair over the back of his head while the referee is attending to Vince. Austin stuns Taker and covers him for the three count. Stone Cold and Triple H are the new WWF Tag Team Champions and Shane McMahon has reunited with his father as the pay per view goes off the air.
RAW – May 21st 2001
Over the past few weeks, Shane and Vince have been abusing their power all over WWF TV with Austin and Triple H triumphing every week. The first match on this show is the Hardy Boyz against X-Factor. The Hardyz win and as they celebrate the camera cuts backstage to a limo pulling up and out steps Linda McMahon. Linda comes out to the ring and before she can make her announcement, Shane and Vince come out and cockily tell Linda she should go home and bake cookies and leave business to them. As they leave, Linda says that, as they know, she has just as much power around the WWF as they do. She heard about their plans for WCW, to drive it into the ground and make sure everyone on the WCW payroll is put out of business for good. Linda says she couldn’t let Vince and Shane do this to the people of WCW, so since the company is the property of the WWF, she sold WCW earlier on today. Vince and Shane are going crazy in the ring. Linda assures them that she isn’t going to leave them out of the deal. They will all get a third of the price from the sale. Linda then hands Shane and Vince one dollar each and points out that later that night Austin and HHH must defend their tag title against Jericho and Benoit. As Linda leaves, fans wonder who bought WCW and Vince and Shane are irate that WCW was sold for $3 just to stick it to them.
King of the Ring – June 24th 2001
Triple H tore his quad on the May 21st RAW. The Undertaker’s wife stalker angle never happened. At K.O.T.R, The main event is Jericho one on one with Austin for the WWF title. The match is nearing its end when there is a referee bump and Austin hits the Stunner. As this happens you see Vince laid out cold backstage with a pair of boots standing beside him. But the camera doesn’t pan up to who it is. You hear backstage agents like Michael Hayes and Brisco shouting for security. Austin will look very confused in the ring. Then as Austin turns to attend to Jericho, all you hear is the fans going insane as Goldberg runs into the ring in street clothes. Austin turns round and Goldberg gives him a brutal spear that takes Austin out and Goldberg jumps the guard rail and fleets the arena as all the WWF talent and security run to the ring. In the ring, Jericho puts his arm over Austin and the ref counts to three and Chris Jericho becomes the WWF Champion as the pay per view goes off the air with mayhem!
RAW – June 25th 2001, Madison Square Garden
The show starts with Vince, Austin, Steph and Shane coming out to the ring. Austin rips into Goldberg and says he’s not stupid, it’s obvious Goldberg is part of WCW and he cost Austin his title! Vince takes the mic and says whoever is behind WCW, he’s ordering them to meet him in the ring later on the show, live to deal with this face to face. Jericho defend his belt in a 30 minute classic with Benoit live. Vince is in the ring and he says he wants the man that bought WCW to show his face right now! Eric Bischoff walks out to the stage as the crowd boo the crap out of Easy E. Vince laughs and said he knew it would be Bischoff, it’s so obvious. Bischoff goes from smiling to confused. Bischoff tells McMahon that he isn’t behind WCW. He’s here to tell Vince he’s looking for a job. Vince tells Bischoff that he can think of nothing better than to have RAW announced by Jim Ross, Paul Heyman and ERIC BISCHOFF! He tells Eric to take his seat at the commentary table. JR and Heyman look outraged that they’ll have to work with Bischoff. As Bischoff takes his seat at the announce table, fans in the crowd start going wild as WCW Start walkng down the stands towards ringside led by Ric Flair. He leads down Booker T, Sting,DDP, Goldberg, Buff Bagwell, Chuck Palumbo and Sean O’Haire and Rey Mysterio. Vince looks in shock as Flair starts Woooo’ing and the WWF stars flock to the ring to be with Vince. You have Austin, Jericho, Benoit, Taker, Kane, APA, Edge, Christian. Flair jumps the guardrail at the announce table and grabs a mic. Vince yells “Let him speak” Flair tells Vince, that he should thank his wife for selling WCW back to Flair because now Flair intends to make Vince regret every single time he talked down about WCW and threatened to put them out of business. Security come out and it looks like everyone’s gonna face off as Raw goes off the air. The fans have no clue what’s going to happen.
RAW – July 23rd
After last month’s RAW, Vince promised we wouldn’t see the WCW wrasslers anymore. Over the weeks, WCW wrestlers would attack WWF stars in various ways. DDP, Booker T etc. Sting would turn up in the rafters twice only during the Undertaker’s matches. In July there’s a Fully Loaded pay per view where Austin wins back the WWF Championship from Jericho. The next night on RAW, Vince McMahon comes out to the ring for a celebration of Stone Cold winning back his title. Linda McMahon appears on the titantron saying she has great news. She just came from a Board of Directors meeting and during the WCW invasions and WCW stars being on TV, ratings have skyrocketed and the board want this to be dealt with accordingly. The Board have decided that for one month, WCW stars will be allowed to come to RAW and SmackDown for the fans to see their favourite WCW stars. They will NOT be allowed to wrestle or interfere in matches. In one month at SummerSlam, Vince McMahon will see active competition and on the line will be the SmackDown show. If Vince wins, no WCW star will ever be allowed near a WWF event, however, if Vince’s opponent wins, SmackDown will be no longer and after SummerSlam, every Thursday night on UPN we will see two hours of WCW NITRO! Linda passingly remarks “Oh and Vince, I’d suggest you start training because your opponent is a 16 time World Heavyweight Champion and his name’s Ric Flair!” Flair comes out to his music with Vince going ape in the ring. Flair makes his way down to the ring as Austin’s music hits. Austin and Vince corner Flair when Goldberg’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring. Goldberg and Austin square off face to face before WCW and WWF undercard stars come out and separate the two. Flair promises Vince that at SummerSlam he’ll kick his ass and take his show.
SummerSlam – August 19th 2001
During the end of July, The Rock returned, setting up SummerSlam’s main event as Rock challenged Austin for the WWF title. After the first match on the show, Vince is in the back and promises, no matter what, tomorrow night on RAW he will make an announcement that will shake down the foundation of the WWF to its very core. The Flair and Vince match is brutal with Vince blading and after several interferences from both WWF and WCW competitors, Flair figure four’s Vince and he taps as WCW Nitro is back.
RAW – August 20th 2001
Austin retained the WWF Championship at SummerSlam and starts a feud with Kurt Angle on RAW. Vince comes out at the end of the show and says he never thought he’d have to do what he’s about to do. WCW is a cancer to Titan Sports. For now they run the show on Thursday nights and there’s nothing he can do about it, but if he knows anything about WCW, he knows what killed it and he’s going to inject some poison into WCW. He announces the men he’s about to bring out can appear on WWF and WCW television. He brings out Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The nWo are back as Vince hopes they’ll kill WCW.
WCW Nitro – Thursday 23rd 2001
Ric Flair opens the show and says WCW Is back and for the main event he’s gonna have the WCW Championship be decided as Booker T defends against Diamond Dallas Page. Jeff Jarrett comes out on the show and smashes Goldberg over the head with a guitar after a match. The new World order come out and promise they’re here to make WCW prosper and not here for Vince McMahon.
What we’ve done here is see in a 4 month period of how the WWF could have booked the Invasion to be monumental. The rosters would have been very strong on both shows.
WWF would have Angle, Austin, Jericho, Kane, Rock, Taker, Edge. Christian etc
WCW would have Goldberg, Sting, DDP, Steiners, Jarrett, Rey Mysterio, and others.
Vince and Flair would keep their feud going and you have Hogan, Hall and Nash playing it safe before picking whos side they’re on. This invasion could have brought back past stars who have been in both companies like the Road Warriors, Dustin Rhodes and Lex Luger to play a part in this picture. Mick Foley may have returned if he had felt creatively stimulated. Triple H would have returned at the beginning of 2002 after his quad tear. WrestleMania X-8 could have been headlined by Sting and Undertaker, Rock and Hogan and Goldberg and Austin. The possibilities are endless. You may have booked it differently. If so, I’d love to hear your ideas.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Comics Corner #12 – Heroes Con Wrap-Up
Ryan Porter and Suine Hallock look back on the weekend that was for the 30th Anniversary of HeroesCon! Who did they meet, what panels did they attend and most importantly: what kind of loot did they bring home? Find out inside this special episode of the Comics Corner!
Follow Suine on Twitter @SuineHallock
Disney knocks it out of the park with Villains Designer Collection at Disney Store
Designed and carefully crafted to capture the essence of evil at its best dressed, the Villains Designer Collection re-imagines the stylish wickedness of classic Disney Villains.
If we could pick up one it would most definitely be Maleficent
check it out http://blog.disneystore.com/blog/2012/06/introducing-the-villains-designer-collection-at-disney-store-.html
follow us on Twitter @AltMindz and @DarkMedellia thanks
Masters Comic Cast 04
Welcome to Episode 04 of Masters Comic Cast!
The Monthly podcast about all new Masters of the Universe Comics! In this episode Rob, Jukka and Joe take a look at “Powers of Grayskull” mini-comic Issue #2
with a special guest Danielle “Penny Dreadful” Gelehrter (of He-Man.org’s podcast Roast Gooble Dinner)!
Listen to the episode about He-Man’s adventure in Preternia as the ancient Masters of the Universe face against The Snake Men and many more evil beings!
Blip.tv
YouTube.com
Audio:
[podcast]http://media.alternativemindz.com/mp3/MCC/MCC-004.mp3[/podcast]
Email us at MastersComicCast@alternativeMindz.com
follow on Twitter
@AltMindz
@ToonJukka
@JoeAmato2
Top 5 Tag Teams of all time
Top 5 greatest tag teams of all time
#5 Mr Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka
I would be doing this whole show a disservice if I didn’t add Mr Fuji and Professor Toru Tanaka
one man massive and strong and the other the mental assassin, who all current wrestlers claim to be.
even when they have to fight fat out of shape washed up “white Wrestlers” their facial expression with the
lack of respect for the “rules” made them instant heels and over for many years to come.
what would the world of Managers be without Mr Fuji?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
#4 Beer Money, Inc.
James Storm and Robert Roode are the best tag team in wrestling today. They have all the
elements of what makes superstars. 1 both are fantastic men in ring and have amazing mic skills
which we all know means EVERYTHING! 2: Will go to the limit with a fantastic heel turn and wont
look back. On their own they can stand tall as Solo performers and right now its showing. 3: If
WWE actually cared about tag teams they would get Beer Money back together and give them the
title ASAP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
#3 Legion of Doom LOD road warriors
When they started out in Georgia Championship Wrestling, they were Green and knew nothing about
the business.They were just massive men who worked as bouncers. but one thing is clear LOD
wouldn’t be in this list if it wasn’t for Paul Ellering,with his manager skills LOD soon
delivered.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
#2 Edge and Christian
Not only are you looking at two Icons of Wrestling but they are two best friends and one nasty
combination, together they held the titles alone and together ( I want to say they have held it
together 7 times? maybe more) and more times with other people. They have done it all in
wrestling. Both have had great singles careers and when they were in the ring against the Dudley’s
and The Hardy boys, you not only saw great matches but the true evolution of Tag teams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
They are one of the best EVER!
#1 The Dudley Boys/Team 3d
What LOD, the Midnight express,Harlem Heat and countless others have done. No one tag team has
stood the test of time and come out better than any other than the Dudley boys/Team 3d.
I am a diehard ECW fan, it was my generation who grew out of the Multicolored kayfabe of WWF and
wanted something to still believe in. ECW brought that, and in the world of Tag Teams there is
no one team greater in my mind than Devon and Ray! yes the Dudley Boys. So what the hell are the Dudley Boys? Simply put a huge messed up family but until Devon and Brother Ray came, the family wasn’t complete.
Be it fighting drop dead crowed screaming matches in WWF or pissing off the fans in the halls of the ECW arena. the Dudleys are in a class by themselves. when their music hits you can’t help but go nuts. When they hit the ring
be it to take out MCMG in TNA or dropping someone through a burning table, The Dudley’s have surpass every other tag team by holding every Tag Team title to ever matter! They have won over 20 tag titles from ECW, WCW, WWE,WWF,NWA,TNA, ALL Japan and I hope I have them all listed.
To this very day they are still fantastic on their own. Still can wrestle with the best of the best and still make an IMPACT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Honorable mentions
The Wild Samoans with Capt Lou Albano became the go to heavy’s who could cost many a baby face
a match or even their teeth! classic heels.
WWE:No Way Out 2012 review
By Julian Cannon
World Title: Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler w/Vickie Guerrero
Sheamus entered first to a big pop with Ziggler coming out second. Sheamus used power moves to take him down early while Guerrero cheered on Ziggler. After each guy ran the ropes, Ziggler hit a perfect dropkick to the face of Sheamus. My opinion is that Ziggler has the best dropkick in the business. You can tell early that the crowd is cheering Ziggler, which isn’t a surprise since the NY/NJ area always has smart fans at the show. The early story was how Ziggler kept using his speed, but Sheamus was ready for him and he nailed Ziggler with a sharp elbow to the throat. Ziggler was able to gain control by driving Sheamus’ left arm into the turnbuckle. Ziggler hit a nice DDT for two. There was a nice “Let’s Go Ziggler” chant as Dolph dropped him with a knee to the gut for two. Ziggler did a headstand while having Sheamus in a headlock. Now that’s some showing off. Sheamus put Ziggler on his shoulders and Ziggler ended up countering a power move into a DDT. Ziggler hit him with another dropkick. He followed that up with a body scissors. Ziggler went for a rollup. He held the ropes for leverage, but the ref caught him at two. Sheamus countered him for a two count of his own, which Ziggler kicked out of and then he hit a nice neckbreaker for another nearfall. Sheamus hit Ziggler with his axehandle, but the running knee missed as Ziggler put him in a sleeper. They messed up a spot after Ziggler jumped off the top and that eventually led to Ziggler hitting the Fameasser for another excellent two count. The crowd popped big for that one because they were very supportive of Ziggler. With the crowd clearly chanting “Let’s Go Ziggler” the incompetent Jerry Lawler said “listen to the WWE universe let’s go Sheamus.” WTF? Brutal. Great spot with Ziggler hitting a top rope facebuster for two. The crowd popped big for that one while Booker let out a “you gotta be kidding me” line. Ziggler went for the Zig Zag, but Sheamus countered with the Irish Curse backbreaker. Sheamus hit his ten clubbing blows to the chest of Ziggler. Ziggler tried to come back with a sleeper, but Sheamus powered out and dropped him with the White Noise. Now the crowd was cheering Sheamus. Brogue Kick finished off Ziggler at the 15 minute mark to get the win.
Winner: Sheamus
Post match, Sheamus celebrated his victory with the fans.
Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a very solid wrestling match that had an exciting finish with Sheamus winning over the crowd by the end of it. It wasn’t a case of the crowd only liking Ziggler. They liked both guys a lot, so it led to an interesting atmosphere. There were a few parts in the match where the action was a little too slow for my liking due to Ziggler grabbing headlocks a little too much, but that’s a minor gripe really. I think Ziggler proved again that he needs to be a permanent main eventer rather than somebody that only gets a title shot due to the injury of another performer. Hopefully Ziggler can free himself of Guerrero, who he doesn’t need by his side.
Backstage, Vince McMahon was walking while John Laurinaitis walked up to him wearing a red jacket, blue tie and white shirt. He’s the new Mr. America, brother. He’s still selling the injuries from Over The Limit while McMahon shows no sign of injury despite getting KO’d by Big Show on Monday. Laurinaitis tried sucking up to him while bringing up that Vince had a concussion due to Big Show’s punch on Raw. McMahon didn’t say anything. He just walked into his office. Roving backstage reporter Josh Mathews talked to John Laurinaitis who said he didn’t have a problem dealing with pressure. He was rude to Mathews and blew him off by telling him he had a show to run.
Tuxedo Match: Santino vs. Ricardo Rodriguez
Both guys are dressed in tuxedos. To win the match you have to strip the tuxedo off the other guy. I have a feeling I won’t need to use in-depth play by play for this one. Santino hit an atomic drop followed by an inverted atomic drop. He took off Ricardo’s jacket, which led to him using the jacket leading to him using it like a matador dealing with a bull. Santino took off Ricardo’s shoes. There was a “boring” chant from the crowd. I don’t disagree with that. Santino took off Ricardo’s shirt and then he gave him a hip toss. Santino took out the Cobra, but Ricardo prevented that and threw the Cobra out. He ripped off the pants and shoes on Santino. The comedy continued as we saw that Santino had a Cobra sock on his right foot. He kicked Ricardo with the Cobra sock as Cole yelled about the Cobra striking. Santino ripped off Ricardo’s pants for the win after four minutes.
Winner: Santino
Post match, we found out that Ricardo wears white underwear that has Alberto Del Rio’s face on the back. The announcers laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
Anaysis: No rating for a comedy match. It was fun at times, but also embarrassing at other points. I think this would have been better as a Raw or Smackdown match rather than something that deserved to be on PPV.
Backstage, CM Punk was interviewed by Matt Striker. The camera did a close-up of his brand new “I dig crazy chicks” t-shirt. Punk said he wasn’t thinking about AJ because he was so focused on his opponents. AJ showed up. She wanted to wish Punk luck. She kissed him on the cheek. Punk told her thanks, but luck is for losers. Striker tried to get a comment from AJ. She said nothing.
Intercontinental Title: Christian vs. Cody Rhodes
The story where Christian turned face because he wants to be remembered the way Edge was is a little faulty because Edge got over as a heel way more than he did as a face. That’s WWE revisionist history, though. It’s the same thing they do with Big Show where they act like he’s never been a heel before. Anyway, they worked a fast pace early with Christian getting the advantage. Christian knocked him out of the ring and then hit a nice dropkick between the middle and bottom ropes. Rhodes was able to come back by dropping Christian face first on the ring apron. Christian got the advantage, but Cody came back by driving Christian’s head right into the ring post. Rhodes worked on the left arm of Christian for the majority of the match by putting it in submission holds and attacking it with strikes. Christian was on the top rope, so Rhodes shoved him down, which sent Christian crashing into the apron and then onto the mat below. That looked painful. Christian threw Rhodes into the steps and then he hit a DDT by off of the steel steps. That was a very creative move. They made their way back into the ring where Christian was able to hit a dropkick off the middle rope. Christian also hit a cross body block off the top, which Rhodes rolled through to earn a two count. Rhodes ended up tripping up him up when Christian was on the middle rope. Rhodes went to the middle rope where he took too much time. Christian hit a hurricanrana for a good two count. Rhodes fought out of the Killswitch to hit an Alabama Slam for another count of two. Christian came back with a reverse DDT. The high quality of their counter wrestling is very impressive. Rhodes countered a sunset flip for another nearfall. Christian came back with the Killswitch for just two. I guess since that’s not his finisher anymore that it’s okay to kick out of it. Christian went up top, Rhodes got knocked down again and Christian went up for a Frog Splash. Rhodes got his knees up. Rhodes went for the Disaster Kick, Christian moved and Christian hit him with the Spear for the win after 12 minutes.
Winner: Christian
Analysis: *** I wish the crowd was into it more early on, but the crowd became pretty loud by the end because they realized they were witnessing an exciting matchup. It was what I expected to be. They got about twelve minutes, they told a good story with Cody in control early and then Christian did an awesome job of making a comeback, which led to his win. Like I wrote in the preview of this event, I said that Cody would lose this match so he could move on to bigger things like winning the Money in the Bank match in July. He’s my pick for that. He’s graduated from the IC Title so to speak. It’s time for him to move up the ladder. Christian’s a very good IC Champ because he always has above average matches. That’s what you want to see out of your IC Champ.
Fatal Four Way #1 Contenders Match: Primo & Epico w/Rosa & AW vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs. Darren Young & Titus O’Neil (The Primetime Players) vs. The Usos (Jimmy & Jey)
The winners of this match get a tag team title shot. It’s nice to see WWE building up a tag team division again. The rules are two guys wrestle in the ring while the other six stand on the apron. The first pinfall or submission wins the match. It was a fast paced match from the get go. There were a lot of quick tags. The Usos hit a nice flapjack into a Samoan Drop on Gabriel. O’Neil tagged in for a pinfall attempt for two. O’Neil slammed down Gabriel and then suplexed his own partner DYoung onto Gabriel for two. Gabriel hit a heel kick, but he couldn’t get a hot tag to his partner Tyson Kidd, who is my favorite person in the match. Nice dropkick by Epico on Gabriel followed by three back suplexes in a row. The crowd is dead silent for the match, which is what happens when you barely have tag team matches on your television shows. Primo missed a dive on Gabriel, who finally got the hot tag to Kidd. Kidd hit a nice missile dropkick on Primo followed by a legdrop to the back of the neck. Kidd hit a Blockbuster off the top. Epico broke up the pin, so Gabriel took him out with a dive. Primo countered an elbow drop by getting his knees up. Then Primo hit the Backstabber for a two count after it was broken up. All hell broke loose at this point. The Usos hit a double superkick on O’Neil. Then the Usos hit dives onto the five guys outside the ring. Young tagged the back of Kidd, so he was the legal man along with Primo. Primo went to the top, Kidd followed him up there and Kidd hit a hurricanrana off the top that sent Primo onto the six guys out on the floor. Wow. What a move that was! There was a “holy sh**” chant for that one. Well deserved. Young and Primo went back into the ring although in Primo’s case it was because AW rolled him in. Young hit his Gut Check finisher. Epico went for the save, but AW kept him out of the ring. Young covered for the win after 9 minutes of action.
Winners: Primetime Players Darren Yong & Titus O’Neil
After the match, AW celebrated with Young & O’Neil. Epico was yelling at AW about it. Epico decked AW with a punch. Young & O’Neil easily tossed them out of the ring. Rosa was angry at ringside. I think Epico & Primo will work well as a babyface team especially with Rosa at their side. She’s easy on the eyes.
Analysis: *1/2 I thought the last three minutes were really well done. The first part of the match was your standard tag team action, but the crowd didn’t care because they’ve barely seen any of these teams. Still, it’s a good sign that a tag match made the PPV. Hopefully more attention is given to the tag division going forward because there’s some potential for greatness here. As for AW’s betrayal of his team, I like it. They already have a manager. Putting him with the PTPers is smart especially if they win the tag titles soon, which I expect. I would guess that they win the tag titles as soon as this week especially since R-Truth is out with a foot injury.
There was a commercial for Money in the Bank featuring Alberto Del Rio. The date of that event is July 15th. It’s one of my favorite PPVs of the year.
They aired a recap of the Triple H/Brock Lesnar story.
Hunter Hearst Suit McMahon Helmsley walked out to the ring to a nice ovation. He talked about how he spent half his life in the ring because that’s all he ever wanted to do. By the way, his left arm appears to be fine. He spoke about the lawsuits against him by Lesnar and Paul Heyman. He said he hates them because he’s not really a corporate kind of guy. “I’m a fighter. I’m an ass kicker. It’s what I do.” Hunter said he had a good idea. Hunter brought up how Lesnar said he was a fighter and ass kicker. Hunter said his arm was feeling better and that in a few more weeks he’ll be 100%. He proposed that they put all of the crap behind them. We get rid of the lawsuits. “Brock, this is not about them. This is about me and you and doing what we do. We’re fighters, Brock. And I want to fight you. Brock Lesnar, I want to fight you bad. Brock Lesnar – Triple H one on one…Summerslam.” The crowd was chanting “yes” while Hunter was saying that they should fight. “Brock Lesnar – let’s fight. Or you can be happy being a quitter. Whatever works for you, Brock. I’ll be waiting.”
Analysis: It looks like the rumored Triple H/Lesnar match at Summerslam is a go. It’s fine with me. I wonder who will go over. It should be Lesnar, but with this company you just never know.
Backstage, Daniel Bryan was warming up for his WWE Title match. AJ walked to him. She said there’s still a part of her that hasn’t gotten over Bryan. She was there to wish him luck. She kissed him on the cheek.
Divas Title: Layla vs. Beth Phoenix
Beth used power moves early. Layla came back with a dropkick to the knee. Layla took Beth’s headgear and mocked her. Then they ran around the ring where Layla dropped her with a clothesline followed by a dropkick. Layla missed a springboard attempt as Beth tripped her up and that sent Layla crashing to the floor. Beth threw her into the security wall. Layla countered some power offense with a rollup. Beth gave her a backbreaker. Layla countered a submission with some knees to the head. Beth went for the Glam Slam, but Layla pushed herself off the top rope and ended up getting a nearfall for two. Layla hit a cross body off the middle ropes for two. Beth was able to catch her after that with a powerslam for two. The crowd is totally silent at this point. They’re making no noise at all. It’s not like they’re a bad crowd. They just don’t care. Phoenix pressed Layla over her heard, which led to Layla countering into a very nice DDT for two. That was the best spot of the match so far. Beth drove her into the corner. She missed a charge. Layla hit her with her neckbreaker known as the Lay Out (Cole just called it a neckbreaker) and that was enough for the pin at the 7 minute mark.
Winner: Layla
Analysis: * They got seven minutes, so that was good to see. The problem is they get such little TV time these days that the crowd had no emotional investment in the match. You can keep putting Layla over Beth, but unless you devote time to getting the Layla character over it’s going to be difficult for her to gain much crowd support.
Backstage, AJ caught up to Kane. She wished him good luck. She kissed him on the cheek. He didn’t let her leave. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips while the crowd chanted “yes” at that visual. That was a funny chant from the crowd. He left while she reacted to it with a surprised look on her face. No smile. She wished all three guys in the WWE Title match luck, so there’s no sign of who she is leaning towards for the win.
Sin Cara vs. Hunico w/Camacho
This is not a new match at all. I was at the Smackdown in Toronto last September when the two Sin Cara’s went face to face and obviously the second one was revealed to be Hunico. Since then, Sin Cara has beat him about 49 times. That may be overstating it, but we’ve seen it before. The mood lighting was present as it always is during Sin Cara matches. He went for a dive, but Hunico countered with his knees into the ribs. Hunico’s offense continued with a rear chin lock. He hit a tilt a whirl backbreaker to counter the high flying offense from Sin Cara. Another headlock from Hunico. You don’t see too many headlocks in Sin Cara matches, so they’re working more of the traditional American wrestling style. Hunico got another slam for a two count. Sin Cara tried to get the momentum with a rollup, but Hunico came back with a hard kick to the face. Then he gabbed another headlock. Powerbomb for Hunico. Cara took him down with a headscissors followed by a kick to the head and a hurricanrana off the top. He hit a couple of nice dropkicks. Sin Cara hit his finisher where he gives his opponent a headscissors and then drives him face first into the mat. The match went about 6 minutes.
Winner: Sin Cara
Analysis: *1/4 Like I wrote in the beginning, we’ve seen this match a few times. They worked a different style than we’re used to, though, so it wasn’t the typical match we’ve seen from them. The crowd wasn’t into the match that much. If they want to get the most out of Sin Cara they need to put him in a real feud with an opponent that gives him a test. These formulaic five minute matches aren’t going to help him long term. He needs to be doing more for the crowd to become emotionally invested in his matches.
We got the long video package reminding us of everything involved in the WWE Title feud with the main focus being on AJ Lee’s actions involving all three men.
Kane made his entrance first. Not a huge reaction to him either way, really. In Daniel Bryan’s case, the crowd exploded for him. Lots of “yes” chants for him. He’s even rocking a jacket that says “yes” on it. Cole called Punk the controversial WWE Champion. Is he even controversial anymore? Don’t think so. That’s a bit of an issue. Cole did a good job of putting over Punk beating a lot of big names during his reign of over 200 days at this point.
WWE Title: CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
Kane tried to overpower Bryan and Punk early, but they countered his power by kicking him repeatedly. Lots of “yes” chants for every kick delivered. This crowd is hot for this match right from the beginning. After a couple of dull matches before this you could tell they were ready to let loose here. Punk dumped Bryan out to the floor with a back drop and then Kane gave Punk a hard clothesline. Bryan knocked Kane out of the ring and he followed it up with his dive in between the middle and bottom rope. Punk hit a crossbody off the top rope onto both guys on the floor. Kane picked up Punk and drove him back first into the steel steps a couple of times. There are no disqualifications or countouts in triple threat matches although it’s rare that anybody ever uses weapons in these kinds of matches. Kane gave Punk a hard whip into the corner turnbuckle. Back in the ring, Kane hit a low dropkick on Punk followed up by a leg scissors on the ribs of Punk. Bryan was knocked out to the floor earlier, so the action slowed down at this point. Punk fought out of it. Bryan hit a running dropkick on Punk, but his attack on Kane failed because Kane dropped Bryan with a side slam. Bryan used a drop toe hold that sent Kane into the middle turnbuckle followed by a kick to the face that sent Kane to the floor. Bryan focused on Punk, who he dropped with a knee.
They did a nice three way spot with Bryan perched on the top rope and Kane & Punk fighting to see which one of them would take him off the top rope. When Kane and Punk ended up fighting eachother, Bryan hit a double dropkick on each guy. Each guy sat up on their knees, so Bryan destroyed them with hard “Yes” kicks to the chest. He drilled Kane in the head with one of them. Punk ducked a kick and got a rollup for two. Punk hit his running knee into the corner on Bryan and then one on Kane. No bulldog by Punk on Kane, but he hit a neckbreaker on Kane for two. Punk hit a quick powerslam on Bryan. They did a nice spot where Bryan was on Kane’s shoulders and Punk dropped Bryan with a clothesline. Nice to hear Cole mention Legion of Doom there. That earned Punk a two count. Punk hit the top rope Flying Elbow on Bryan. He was slow to cover, so Bryan kicked out at two. Punk wanted the GTS, but Kane kicked Punk in the head to break that up. Punk fought back against Kane, hit a roundhouse kick to the head and missed his Flying Elbow attempt on Kane. Bryan went to the top and he hit a Flying Headbutt to the chest of Punk. Bryan knocked Kane off the apron with a hard forearm to the face. Bryan kicked Punk hard in the face and put him in the Yes Lock. They were right in the center of the ring. Punk was able to fight him off. Punk put Bryan on his shoulders and he hit a GTS. They were near the ropes, though, so Kane pulled Bryan out of the ring. Kane hit his clothesline off the top onto Punk. I wonder how many of those he’s hit in his 15 year run as the Kane character? Kane went for the Chokeslam, but Punk countered with a DDT for two. Punk hit a Flying Elbow on Kane for two. Kane fought out of a GTS to hit a boot to the face of Punk. Kane gave Punk a Chokeslam, but Punk kicked out at two as Booker let out a “what da hayell” in shock. That was the best nearfall of the match so far. Kane went for the Tombstone. All of a sudden AJ showed up. Punk shoved Kane into the ropes and that knocked AJ off the apron. Kane showed concern over AJ falling down, so Punk took advantage with a roundhouse kick and then a GTS to Kane. He covered for the victory after 19 minutes.
Winner: CM Punk
Analysis: **** There’s the match of the night. That’s not a shock considering Punk and Bryan always seem to have the match of the night. Kane worked very well with them too. That’s why Kane has been able to hang around for as long as he has because when he’s in there with the best workers his spots work very well. In my preview of the event, I had Bryan winning the match by pinning Kane. I’m not upset that Punk was able to retain because I’m a huge fan of his as well. I just thought this would have been a good time to take the belt off Punk without hurting his credibility too bad. The finish worked very well too. I thought it was smart to involve AJ in the finish because the story is obviously connecting very well with the fans and it’s a story that should continue going forward. I’m hoping we get another Punk vs. Bryan singles match on PPV, but perhaps they’ve moved on from that. At least Bryan can say he wasn’t pinned, so you never know if they’ll use that as a way to do rematches.
Post match, Kane looked over the fallen AJ. They replayed the finish with her running out at the end of the match when Punk threw Kane into her. Kane picked her up and took her backstage. She smiled without him seeing it while the crowd cheered that. Meanwhile, Punk celebrated with his WWE Title. They showed the AJ replay again. The last time they did it they focused on how she was smiling back on CM Punk.
There was a commercial for the July 23rd Raw being the start of three hour editions of Raw. They hyped that some stars from the past will be there on July 23 including DX (Triple H & Shawn Michaels) and no other advertised names at this point. I wouldn’t be shocked if we see Bret Hart, Steve Austin and Undertaker as well. That’s just an educated guess on my part.
Ryback vs. Dan Delaney & Rob Grymes
Delaney & Grymes talked about how after they beat Ryback they would main event WrestleMania 29 in Jersey. Then the classic “WrestleMania” song started as they sang along to it. That was annoyingly funny. Ryback entered to a good pop. Loud “Goldberg” chants from the beginning of the match. He dropped Grymes with a huge back body drop while Delaney received a hard clothesline. He knocked down both guys with hard slams. Ryback hit a splash off the middle rope. That’s an awkward move to have in his arsenal. Ryback picked up both guys and gave them the Muscle Buster (still needs a name) at the same time for the win after about two minutes.
Winner: Ryback
Analysis: He continues to impress, but when will he face some bigger name opponents? The “Goldberg” chants aren’t very encouraging. It’s been a few months and nobody is chanting “Ryback” so that’s likely disappointing to the creative team. It should be noted that he said “feed me three” before the finish so I guess he wants to beat three jobbers from now on.
A video hyped up Summerslam in August. The announcers wondered if Brock Lesnar will answer Triple H’s Summerslam challenge.
The steel cage lowered, which led to the video package highlighting Monday’s Raw when Vince McMahon gave John Laurinaitis a job evaluation without actually doing anything.
John Laurinaitis made his way to ringside for the main event. He was using a crutch to assist him and the injury to his left leg sustained at Over The Limit. Big Show was next to enter. He’s so serious that he forgot his toque. Vince McMahon was next to enter. He got a really big pop, which isn’t a surprise since he hasn’t been on TV much of late and the NY/NJ crowd is always appreciative of him. He sat next to Laurinaitis with each man in black leather chairs. John Cena was the last to enter. He told the camera that somebody is getting fired.
Steel Cage Match: John Cena vs. Big Show
You can win via pinfall, submission or escape the cage over the top or through the door. I’d prefer it if you could only win by going over the top of the cage, but that’s just me. Show dominated early. He threw Cena into the cage a few times. Show missed a KO punch after Cena moved, so Show hit the cage with his fist. The dueling Cena chants started up. Cena hit a dropkick, but his run didn’t last long as Show gave him a headbutt to knock him down again. Show decked him with a clothesline. Show threw him off the cage. Basically the first five minutes is Show’s really slow offense on Cena. He hit a running back splash on Cena in the turnbuckle. Cena tried to crawl out, but Show prevented that from happing by stepping on Cena’s neck. That works. Cena came back with a bulldog off the middle rope for a count of two. Cena tried to climb out, Show stopped him and then Show ended up being crotched on the top rope. Cena tried to climb out, but Show prevented that by driving his back into the cage and then threw him back to the mat with a suplex that earned him a two count.
Show moved Cena to the corner and gave him a Vader Bomb off the middle rope. Thanks to Vader for inspiring that move from Monday night. Cena kicked out at two. Show grabbed Cena by the throat. He pulled Cena all the way to the top rope. Cena fought of a chokeslam, but Show knocked him down. Show was on the top rope, but he went to the middle part where he was pushing the ropes down so much that it was as if he was on the middle rope. Cena rolled out of the way of the big elbow drop. Show tried to crawl out. Cena was strong enough to pull him back into the ring. They went back into the center of the ring where Cena was able to knock Show down with a shoulderblock. Cena tried to escape the cage. Laurinaitis threw the ref down, so then McMahon threw Laurinaitis down. McMahon held the cage door open and that allowed Laurinaitis to shove McMahon, which caused the cage door to hit Cena in the head. Show hit a Chokeslam for two. That was a very good nearfall. Show loaded up the fist, Cena ducked and Show KNOCKED OUT~! ref Scott Armstrong, who took a nice bump into the mat. Best ref in the business right there. Cena went for the Attitude Adjustment. He couldn’t lift Show. Show KNOCKED OUT~! John Cena. There was no ref in the ring to count the pinfall. Why doesn’t he just walk out the door? Eventually he realizes he can do that, so Brodus Clay showed up with a steel chair in his hands. Is this storyline continuity? That’s just crazy!
Lawler felt proud to say that there was “no way out” for Big Show. I’m sure Jerry thought that was clever. All of a sudden, Santino & Alex Riley ran out to go after Show. They clibed the cage and Show shoved them off like a couple of jobbers. Keep in mind that Santino is current US Champ. Zack Ryder came running out to a big pop. He climbed the cage. Show punched him while he was climbing, so he bumped to the floor like a jobber too. These are all the guys that Show beat up in the weeks leading up to this match. Tag champ Kofi Kingston ran out there too. He climbed the top of the cage. Show was on the top rope trying to climb out, but Kofi ended up kicking him enough times that Show got knocked down to the mat. Cena tried to climb out. Show was able to grab him by the foot. Super Cena recovered and gave Show an Attitude Adjustment in the center of the ring. Cena covered. There’s no referee available to count the pinfall while Clay still stood by the door with a steel chair in hand. Cena decided to climb the cage. Laurinaitis was there with his crutch, so Clay walked over there to prevent the attack by holding his arms back. Cena dropped the floor. Show was close to getting out, but Cena definitely touched first while Show’s upper body was close to getting out. The crowd popped big for the Cena win after 20 minutes of action.
Winner: John Cena
Analysis: *1/2 It was boring early, but it got better. The finish was a lot of fun with all of the people that were attacked by Show getting their revenge on him. It was a smart way to protect Show as a monster because Cena didn’t win clean. It’s rare to see a match where a Cena opponent was actually made to look stronger than Cena was. It’s not like the win made Cena look bad by any means, but it felt different than the normal Cena match. You know how I like to say “it was more of a story than match” sometimes? That’s the best way to describe this one.
After the match was over, Cena asked Clay to hand over Laurinaitis. Cena put him on his shoulders. Vince McMahon went on the microphone to deliver this message to John Laurinaitis: “You’re Fired!” The crowd loved that. Cena gave Laurinaitis the Attitude Adjustment through the Spanish Announce Table.
They replayed the key moments from the match as well as the post match with Laurinaitis getting fired. The show ended with Cena celebrating with the crowd. The big cliffhanger is who will run Raw Monday night?
Five Stars of the Show
1. CM Punk
2. Daniel Bryan
3. Dolph Ziggler
4. Kane
5. Christian
Final Thoughts
I give this show a rating of 6 out of 10. If you’re being a nitpicker, it’s tied with the lowest rating I’ve given the six WWE PPVs this year although three of them have the same rating. That’s not to say I hated it or anything like that. It’s just that it felt like a very average PPV featuring three good matches and the rest of the show feeling like filler in a lot of ways.
The two major title matches were entertaining to me. I didn’t think Ziggler had a shot to win, but he’s such a good performer that I can just enjoy his work. Hopefully by the end of the year he does win one of the major titles because there’s nobody in the company that deserves it more. I just think WWE is really behind Sheamus right now as a long term babyface top guy and to establish him in that role he’s going to have a lengthy title reign.
The interesting thing about Punk’s WWE Title reign is that he’s successfully defended his WWE Title on six PPVs in a row this year. None of those matches were the main event, though. He did main event TLC in December where he retained his WWE Title, but that’s because there was no John Cena match on that show. That’s obviously never happened before. It’s an odd stat.
I wasn’t shocked by the Cena win. What they did made a lot of sense aside from the fact that Vince McMahon technically shouldn’t be able to fire Laurinaitis since he was stripped of his CEO title last year. Other than that giant logic hole it was fine by me.
Lastly, the New Jersey crowd was very good. Like I always say whenever WWE is in the NY/NJ area the fans are going to respond well to the action in the ring. I don’t blame them for being dead during the divas match or the Sin Cara match because they’re formulaic matches without much of a story, but for everything else they responded quite well.
Anime Matrix Podcast #1: Air Master
Welcome to the first ever Anime-Matrix podcast all about Anime, Rob Base talks with Suine Hallock, Net Lex, and Crystal Base about the
hit Anime series Air Master!
Blip.tv
YouTube.com
Audio:
[podcast]http://media.alternativemindz.com/mp3/AnimeMatrix/001_AnimeMatrix_AirMaster.mp3[/podcast]
Comics Corner #11
Welcome to the Comics Corner! There’s a long list of comics to get through this week and the debut of a new segment: ‘Good, but not good enough’! What comics are on the chopping block this week and what comics continue to impress? The world didn’t end with new Watchmen material last week but can it survive the collision of the Traditional and Ultimate Marvel Universes? And what is the deep, dark secret of the Wayne family? Find the answers to these burning questions, as well as the reveal of the comic at the Top of the Stack, in this week’s Comics Corner!
Audio:
[podcast]http://3.141592653589793238462643383279.com/media/mp3/ComicsCorner/011_ComicsCorner.mp3[/podcast]