Category: WWE

Raymond’s Random Rants

– Last night’s fight between Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman was fantastic…until the decision was announced. While Guzman boxed excellently for two and a half rounds, Funeka pretty much dominated the rest of the fight. Inexplicably, two of the judges scored the fight a draw. This was the worst decision I’ve seen in 2009, by far. It’s sad that Funeka traveled all the way from South Africa to America to get jobbed. Whether the judges were inept or corrupt, bad decisions are way too common in boxing and one of the big reasons the sport is no longer as popular as it was.

Blackest Night

– I picked up the two Sinestro Corps War trade paperbacks for my first September Tokyo trip. They totally got me back into Green Lantern. While they weren’t quite as good as the Sinestro Corps Wars, I enjoyed Rage of the Red Lanterns and Agent Orange too. My expectations were low for Sins of the Star Sapphire, but I picked it up anyway so that I could get all the info leading up to Blackest Night. I was shocked (in a good way) by how graphic it was. There’s some really messed up sh*t in there! [Spoilers ahead!]

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Raymond’s Random Rants

– I watched my Star Trek Blu-ray last night. It’s such a great movie. Unfortunately, I missed it when it was still showing in theaters and only saw it in September on my way to Tokyo. I guess it doesn’t matter though, since I enjoyed the characterization and dialogue more than the special effects. It’s definitely one of my favorite movies of 2009, but I have to wonder how it plays to younger people that haven’t seen the old shows and movies.

Dolph Ziggler

– It’s such an interesting time in the WWE right now. Established headliners like Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Triple H only have a few years left. This leaves the younger main-event players like Edge and Randy Orton waiting for some new dance partners. The WWE has been pushing The Miz, John Morrison, Dolph Ziggler, and Kofi Kingston successfully. Seamus and Drew McIntyre have been getting decent pushes as well. I’m especially high on Ziggler and Morrison. Do any of these guys stand out to you? Do you see any of them headlining WrestleMania in 2015?

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Mick Foley on The Daily Show

The artist formerly known as Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love recently appeared on The Daily Show. I’m talking about best-selling author, former WWE Superstar, and current TNA wrestler Mick Foley, of course. Check out this clip of the hardcore legend busting out his comedic chops with Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Gaywatch – Peter Vadala & William Phillips
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan “Confrontation”

If you haven’t seen Ric Flair’s first promo for Hulk Hogan’s Australian Hulkamania tour, go check it out. If you have seen it, prepare for part II. The Nature Boy and The Hulkster meet to try to drum up interest in the tour.

This promo made me a little sad. Although Flair can still put on a good match with a solid partner like Shawn Michaels or Kurt Angle, he can’t do much with an old, broken down, and extremely limited wrestler like Hogan. I found it amusing that Flair mentioned “the big boot”, but didn’t mention Hogan’s leg drop, which he can’t do anymore because of his hip problems. At least neither of them are as pathetic as “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs, who was never that good and is only on the tour because he kisses Hogan’s ass.

Ric Flair Cuts a Promo for the Hulkamania Tour

To promote the Australian Hulkamania Tour, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair cut a promo on YouTube. While Flair is still money on the microphone, I’m sad that he’s getting back in the ring. Don’t get me wrong, he was the best in-ring performer of all time and it’s up to him if he wants to make money getting in the squared circle…but his send-off from the WWE and his WWE WrestleMania 24 match against Shawn Michaels were perfect. Hopefully ‘Naitch does well in Australia, but I’d hate to see him tarnish his legacy.

Raymond’s Random Rants

– I received the Wrestlemania 24and Wrestlemania 25 Blu-ray discs. Between videogames and the World Series, I won’t have time to watch the entire cards, but I sure as hell am going to watch the Shawn Michaels matches from each event. HBK/Flair was a brilliant, emotional match that excelled in the storytelling department. HBK/Undertaker was one of the best matches I’ve seen in the last decade.

WrestleMania 24

– Speaking of HBK, what a remarkable career he’s had — especially the second half. I never bought into the “boyhood dream” and I only started really enjoying his matches just before his first hiatus. Since his comeback from back surgery, it’s crazy how good he has been. While he can’t do some of things he used to in his younger days, his storytelling and psychology are the best they’ve ever been. Plus, nobody sells moves as good as Shawn does these days.

– I’m still wondering why the hell R-Truth is on the cover of the WrestleMania 25 box. What’s up?

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Hulk Hogan Signs with TNA Wrestling

Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling has announced that it has signed Hulk Hogan (brother), marking the return of Hulkamania. Hogan will perform on its TNA Impact shows and pay-per-view events (brother). In today’s press release (brother), Hogan said:

I’m thrilled to be jumping back into the world of professional wrestling. My fans have been asking me to return to the business for many years on a full time basis, but the timing or the opportunity has never been right until now. TNA Wrestling is a great company with an already excellent fan base, business and broadcast partner. I firmly believe now is the time for some change at TNA as they are positioned to jump to the next level in their development and I’m here to work with Dixie to help make that a reality.

Hulk Hogan TNA signing

This is a huge move for TNA (brother). Even though Hogan isn’t 10 percent of what he used to be (and let’s face it, he was never that good in the ring), there’s no denying that fans still go nuts for The Hulkster (brother). Despite his extremely limited abilities due to various hip ailments (dude can’t even do his famous leg drop), Hogan will sell tickets and PPVs (brother).

It will be interesting to see how Hogan impacts the ratings of…er…Impact (brother). It will also be interesting to see how well he works with Vince Russo. The two had some pretty huge conflicts in WCW and Hogan has been known to hold grudges (brother).

Hit the break for a TNA teaser video and let me know what you think of Hogan working for the company (brother).

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Raymond’s Rant on WWE Monday Night Raw 10/16/09

Chris JerichoAfter a mixed PPV in Bragging Rights, WWE Monday Night Raw followed up with a show in Buffalo, NY hosted by two NASCAR studs — Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. These two were, by far, the least interesting guest hosts to me, but I completely understand that NASCAR has a huge following. Anyway, here are some random thoughts on tonight’s Raw.

– Chris Jericho is just amazing. Like Hammer, he’s magic on the mic. I loved how he smiled proudly, holding up the Bragging Rights trophy, and I love how he cleared out when the cards were stacked against Big Show. One of the most impressive things about Jericho’s current run is that he can lose and still remain strong. Tonight was another example of that. He lost, still maintained his spot on the totem poll, and was able to give Kofi Kingston the rub.

– Speaking of Kofi, it’s awesome that he finally dropped the goofy Jamaican accent. His promo on Orton was very good — way better than I thought he was capable of at this stage. It’s funny, I didn’t know that Kofi’s accent was a work until I was eating with him at Summer Slam ’09. He just started speaking in a neutral American accent and it totally froze me.

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