With the smell of Wrestlemania in the air, I stumbled upon this on YouTube tonight. There's so many really crappy fan-made videos on the 'net, it always impresses me when I find one that looks like it could have been done professionally.
This is one of those.
Two things about this video that struck me while watching it...
1] Somehow, I was happy the creator chose not to ignore the Benoit/Eddie hug from several years ago. At the time, that was one of my favorite Wrestlemania moments - I can still remember screaming at the TV for HHH to tap to the Crossface. It'd be a shame to let what happened with Benoit to ruin every in-ring memory of him, I think. Just my opinion.
2] The Flair/HBK finish rarely fails to send a shiver up my spine and this time was no exception.
Showing posts with label Ric Flair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ric Flair. Show all posts
2009-03-08
Phil Collins Never Sounded So Good
Labels:
Chris Benoit,
Ric Flair,
Shawn Michaels,
Wrestlemania,
WWE
2008-04-01
March Mixtape + Stuff
Firstly, I want to announce that the March Mixtape is going to be delayed for a few days or so. The songs are selected but I REALLY want to do something different with it and I don't have the equipment to do so at the moment. I'm hoping to have that resolved by the weekend.
Now, with that out of the way... some random randomness to get you through the day...
NEWS: Dennis Quaid wraps on GI Joe
REPLY: Well, the interesting thing about that is that the production moved to the Czech Republic where I presume they will shoot action footage. That makes me curious. Does that mean Hawk isn't in any of the battle scenes? If so, that's a unique creative choice. Not bad nor good... just unique. On a side "NEWS", the actor playing Storm Shadow completed his first scenes on set recently. I'm stoked to see him in costume.
NEWS: DODGERS WIN!
REPLY: 1 down, 161 to go. It was a great Opening Day with a great win over the arch-rival Giants but perhaps more entertaining, a tremendous pre-game ceremony with tons and tons of former Dodgers in the house for it. Even a first pitch from Sandy Koufax. Just awesome.
NEWS: Ric Flair retires
REPLY: The last twenty minutes of Raw were perhaps the greatest 20 minutes of Raw ever. It was so emotional, as stirring, as moving of a segment that professional wrestling is capable of. Old friends, old rivals, people inspired by the man, people who aspired to be "the man" - everyone was present for without a doubt the greatest farewell I've ever seen. Even non-wrestling fans should watch those 20 minutes and I defy you to not at least feel a tug on your heartstrings. Thanks for the memories, Ric... one last time.
NEWS: Dolly Parton Night on AI
REPLY: Oh god. I don't think I've ever looked forward less to American Idol.
NEWS: The Ultimate Fighter starts tomorrow night
REPLY: Could be good, could be bad. Ask me Thursday.
That oughta do it for today. Evenin', folks!
Now, with that out of the way... some random randomness to get you through the day...
NEWS: Dennis Quaid wraps on GI Joe
REPLY: Well, the interesting thing about that is that the production moved to the Czech Republic where I presume they will shoot action footage. That makes me curious. Does that mean Hawk isn't in any of the battle scenes? If so, that's a unique creative choice. Not bad nor good... just unique. On a side "NEWS", the actor playing Storm Shadow completed his first scenes on set recently. I'm stoked to see him in costume.
NEWS: DODGERS WIN!
REPLY: 1 down, 161 to go. It was a great Opening Day with a great win over the arch-rival Giants but perhaps more entertaining, a tremendous pre-game ceremony with tons and tons of former Dodgers in the house for it. Even a first pitch from Sandy Koufax. Just awesome.
NEWS: Ric Flair retires
REPLY: The last twenty minutes of Raw were perhaps the greatest 20 minutes of Raw ever. It was so emotional, as stirring, as moving of a segment that professional wrestling is capable of. Old friends, old rivals, people inspired by the man, people who aspired to be "the man" - everyone was present for without a doubt the greatest farewell I've ever seen. Even non-wrestling fans should watch those 20 minutes and I defy you to not at least feel a tug on your heartstrings. Thanks for the memories, Ric... one last time.
NEWS: Dolly Parton Night on AI
REPLY: Oh god. I don't think I've ever looked forward less to American Idol.
NEWS: The Ultimate Fighter starts tomorrow night
REPLY: Could be good, could be bad. Ask me Thursday.
That oughta do it for today. Evenin', folks!
Labels:
American Idol,
Dodgers,
GI Joe,
Ric Flair,
Sandy Koufax,
UFC
2008-03-30
The Tingle
I said a week or so ago that Wrestlemania this year didn't have the feel yet. It didn't have "the buzz."
Now, with hours to go, I've got the tingle. The feeling of anticipation. The hype going through the roof. The knowledge that we're just hours away from the once a year extravaganza.
It's slowly been building over the past week but sometime in the past two days, I just felt it. I could feel the tingle and knew I was ready for the biggest spectacle in "sports entertainment."
And with the tingle going strong, that leaves only one thing left to do.
PREDICTIONS AND FANTASY BOOKING!
Let 'er rip!
ECW TITLE BATTLE ROYAL
Lots of big bodies in there. Not too many that they'd want to put on PPV. With the outdoor setting, I gotta imagine the effects guys are going crazy with what they could do with Kane's entrance.
SHOULD BE: Kane - someone around that long deserves the big PPV bonus. My runner-up in a "he deserves better than he's gotten" is Stevie Richards.
WILL BE: Kane - gotta imagine they want the fire entrance on PPV and he's really the only guy they can put in with Chavo at Mania and have the crowd care.
ECW TITLE MATCH - Chavo Guerrero vs Kane
This seems like a good time to go away from the pretty bad Chavo push. Kane as the ECW champ doesn't do much for me but it might draw a few more eyeballs to ECW and at minimum, would seem to put the ECW Title on a higher level than it currently is.
SHOULD BE: Kane - not much left to do with Chavo in that spot
WILL BE: Kane - big men = ratings in Vince's mind
BUNNYMANIA - Ashley/Maria vs Beth Phoenix/Melina
I'm not about to go back and look but has the Playboy cover girl ever lost her Mania match? Ideally, this match is used to have someone pin Beth to set her up for a title shot. But Ashley and Maria aren't what I'd have in mind for that. Maybe a Mickie James interference? They kinda went away from that angle though. This match would've been a hundred times better if Lawler was on the face side and Santino was with the heels in the ring.
SHOULD BE: Ashley/Maria with outside help from someone ready to go for the title
WILL BE: Ashley/Maria with lots of bad wrestling and Snoop Dogg getting to lay out Santino.
BELFAST BRAWL - Finlay vs JBL
How do you not have the avenging father win here? Expect a Hornswoggle return to help Finlay... maybe. I saw somewhere online someone suggest the idea that Hornswoggle turn on Finlay because he's mad that Finlay never told him that he was his father... that he used him to embarrass Vince, etc. I'm not opposed to that idea but I just don't know where that goes. Hornswoggle with JBL? Hornswoggle with Vince? Actually, JBL playing Raven to Finlay's Sandman with Hornswoggle as Tyler would be pretty cool. Hornswoggle throwing little Clotheslines From Hell. Hrmm... I like it!
SHOULD BE: JBL wins with Hornswoggle interference to further the feud because I could watch JBL and Finlay face off for months.
WILL BE: Finlay wins with Hornswoggle interference
Batista vs Umaga
I think this match is going to be far cooler than anyone expects. Umaga is amazingly good and gets so little credit for it. I expect this one to be a potential show stealer if given the time and latitude.
SHOULD BE: Umaga wins through some nefarious means. Batista attacks him the next night on Raw. Raw trades Umaga/London/Kendrick to Smackdown for the returning Matt Hardy and a player to be named later.
WILL BE: Batista wins to give Smackdown a cookie
MONEY IN THE BANK
My dream booking of this has Matt Hardy run in right after the bell and start participating in the match. He goes straight for MVP and stays on MVP for most of the match. Security tries to force him out from time to time, but he keeps breaking free and re-joining the fray. Have him do some of the Jeff spots to pop the crowd.
SHOULD BE: A returning Matt Hardy to the push of a lifetime.
WILL BE: MVP [which is my backup "SHOULD BE" if Matt Hardy's not in the cards]
BIG SHOW VS MAYWEATHER
This could be spectacular or it could be a spectacular trainwreck. Basically, this match has become two heels squaring off and I just don't know what you do with that. My gut says they convinced Mayweather to lose to Show. I expect chaos, wild brawling, and a chokeslam. The only thing that sticks in my craw is Mayweather's people hyping a big swerve that no one will see coming. I just can't figure out what that would be.
SHOULD BE: Big Show - you don't pay all that money to bring the Show back and have him lose to someone three times smaller than him
WILL BE: Double DQ - I could see it getting thrown out with Floyd's posse hits the ring and some of the unused WWE guys on the show charge in to brawl with them.
WORLD TITLE MATCH - Edge vs Undertaker
I don't think anyone envisions a scenario where Edge wins this. It's interesting because so many people were picking Orton to beat Taker a few years ago because Orton "Was the future of the WWE." Isn't Edge closer to the future of the WWE than Orton is yet no one is picking Edge at all?
SHOULD BE: Taker
WILL BE: Taker
RIC FLAIR VS SHAWN MICHAELS
I just can't pick against Flair. It just seems wrong that Flair's career is going to end in such a foregone conclusion. Of all the predictions on the Internet, almost no one is picking Flair to win. It's just not right.
SHOULD BE: Ric Flair wins... and then retires in a tearful speech, saying beating Shawn Michaels on the biggest stage of them all is as good as it gets and he wants this night to live forever.
WILL BE: Flair goes out on his back and we all cry
WWE Title Match - Randy Orton vs Triple H vs John Cena
Triple H doesn't need the title and there's really no matches I'm dying to see him in with it. John Cena doesn't need the title and there's really no matches I'm dying to see him in with it. Randy Orton has been treated as an afterthought in this whole angle and deserves to sneak out the victory. So, imagine Orton sneaking in an RKO on Cena and getting the win. The crowd is stunned. Orton's music is playing as the show appears to be over. And here comes Matt Hardy, MITB case in hand. Matt grabs the mic, says this one is for Jeff... short five minutes match... Twist of Fate puts the gold on Matt Hardy and the place goes nutty as the show ends. Now _that's_ a finish.
SHOULD BE: Randy Orton leading to Matt Hardy winning the title
WILL BE: Triple H gets the gold back
And that's that.
See you tomorrow for a special MLB Opening Day post!
Now, with hours to go, I've got the tingle. The feeling of anticipation. The hype going through the roof. The knowledge that we're just hours away from the once a year extravaganza.
It's slowly been building over the past week but sometime in the past two days, I just felt it. I could feel the tingle and knew I was ready for the biggest spectacle in "sports entertainment."
And with the tingle going strong, that leaves only one thing left to do.
PREDICTIONS AND FANTASY BOOKING!
Let 'er rip!
ECW TITLE BATTLE ROYAL
Lots of big bodies in there. Not too many that they'd want to put on PPV. With the outdoor setting, I gotta imagine the effects guys are going crazy with what they could do with Kane's entrance.
SHOULD BE: Kane - someone around that long deserves the big PPV bonus. My runner-up in a "he deserves better than he's gotten" is Stevie Richards.
WILL BE: Kane - gotta imagine they want the fire entrance on PPV and he's really the only guy they can put in with Chavo at Mania and have the crowd care.
ECW TITLE MATCH - Chavo Guerrero vs Kane
This seems like a good time to go away from the pretty bad Chavo push. Kane as the ECW champ doesn't do much for me but it might draw a few more eyeballs to ECW and at minimum, would seem to put the ECW Title on a higher level than it currently is.
SHOULD BE: Kane - not much left to do with Chavo in that spot
WILL BE: Kane - big men = ratings in Vince's mind
BUNNYMANIA - Ashley/Maria vs Beth Phoenix/Melina
I'm not about to go back and look but has the Playboy cover girl ever lost her Mania match? Ideally, this match is used to have someone pin Beth to set her up for a title shot. But Ashley and Maria aren't what I'd have in mind for that. Maybe a Mickie James interference? They kinda went away from that angle though. This match would've been a hundred times better if Lawler was on the face side and Santino was with the heels in the ring.
SHOULD BE: Ashley/Maria with outside help from someone ready to go for the title
WILL BE: Ashley/Maria with lots of bad wrestling and Snoop Dogg getting to lay out Santino.
BELFAST BRAWL - Finlay vs JBL
How do you not have the avenging father win here? Expect a Hornswoggle return to help Finlay... maybe. I saw somewhere online someone suggest the idea that Hornswoggle turn on Finlay because he's mad that Finlay never told him that he was his father... that he used him to embarrass Vince, etc. I'm not opposed to that idea but I just don't know where that goes. Hornswoggle with JBL? Hornswoggle with Vince? Actually, JBL playing Raven to Finlay's Sandman with Hornswoggle as Tyler would be pretty cool. Hornswoggle throwing little Clotheslines From Hell. Hrmm... I like it!
SHOULD BE: JBL wins with Hornswoggle interference to further the feud because I could watch JBL and Finlay face off for months.
WILL BE: Finlay wins with Hornswoggle interference
Batista vs Umaga
I think this match is going to be far cooler than anyone expects. Umaga is amazingly good and gets so little credit for it. I expect this one to be a potential show stealer if given the time and latitude.
SHOULD BE: Umaga wins through some nefarious means. Batista attacks him the next night on Raw. Raw trades Umaga/London/Kendrick to Smackdown for the returning Matt Hardy and a player to be named later.
WILL BE: Batista wins to give Smackdown a cookie
MONEY IN THE BANK
My dream booking of this has Matt Hardy run in right after the bell and start participating in the match. He goes straight for MVP and stays on MVP for most of the match. Security tries to force him out from time to time, but he keeps breaking free and re-joining the fray. Have him do some of the Jeff spots to pop the crowd.
SHOULD BE: A returning Matt Hardy to the push of a lifetime.
WILL BE: MVP [which is my backup "SHOULD BE" if Matt Hardy's not in the cards]
BIG SHOW VS MAYWEATHER
This could be spectacular or it could be a spectacular trainwreck. Basically, this match has become two heels squaring off and I just don't know what you do with that. My gut says they convinced Mayweather to lose to Show. I expect chaos, wild brawling, and a chokeslam. The only thing that sticks in my craw is Mayweather's people hyping a big swerve that no one will see coming. I just can't figure out what that would be.
SHOULD BE: Big Show - you don't pay all that money to bring the Show back and have him lose to someone three times smaller than him
WILL BE: Double DQ - I could see it getting thrown out with Floyd's posse hits the ring and some of the unused WWE guys on the show charge in to brawl with them.
WORLD TITLE MATCH - Edge vs Undertaker
I don't think anyone envisions a scenario where Edge wins this. It's interesting because so many people were picking Orton to beat Taker a few years ago because Orton "Was the future of the WWE." Isn't Edge closer to the future of the WWE than Orton is yet no one is picking Edge at all?
SHOULD BE: Taker
WILL BE: Taker
RIC FLAIR VS SHAWN MICHAELS
I just can't pick against Flair. It just seems wrong that Flair's career is going to end in such a foregone conclusion. Of all the predictions on the Internet, almost no one is picking Flair to win. It's just not right.
SHOULD BE: Ric Flair wins... and then retires in a tearful speech, saying beating Shawn Michaels on the biggest stage of them all is as good as it gets and he wants this night to live forever.
WILL BE: Flair goes out on his back and we all cry
WWE Title Match - Randy Orton vs Triple H vs John Cena
Triple H doesn't need the title and there's really no matches I'm dying to see him in with it. John Cena doesn't need the title and there's really no matches I'm dying to see him in with it. Randy Orton has been treated as an afterthought in this whole angle and deserves to sneak out the victory. So, imagine Orton sneaking in an RKO on Cena and getting the win. The crowd is stunned. Orton's music is playing as the show appears to be over. And here comes Matt Hardy, MITB case in hand. Matt grabs the mic, says this one is for Jeff... short five minutes match... Twist of Fate puts the gold on Matt Hardy and the place goes nutty as the show ends. Now _that's_ a finish.
SHOULD BE: Randy Orton leading to Matt Hardy winning the title
WILL BE: Triple H gets the gold back
And that's that.
See you tomorrow for a special MLB Opening Day post!
Labels:
Ric Flair,
Shawn Michaels,
Wrestlemania,
wrestling
2008-03-23
One Week
As I once again race to beat "the deadline" so I can continue the streak, I'm looking for a nice, simple topic to write about so I don't have to think too much.
With that in mind, we find ourselves approximately seven days from two of my favorite days of the year.
Next Sunday will be Wrestlemania - always a holiday for me. The price has gone up yet again and the show doesn't have a lot of the same flair [no pun intended] that it has in past years but there is still plenty about it that I'm looking forward to. I'll probably do a little more thorough rundown later in the week so I don't want to burn all that up right now but I will say that I almost feel bad for Shawn Michaels heading into next Sunday. He's been put into one of the toughest positions imaginable where he needs to figure out a way to work his Wrestlemania magic and give Ric Flair a final match that no one will ever forget. It won't be easy... Flair hasn't had a truly memorable match in quite some time. But it will be a huge moment one way or the other.
Next Monday will be the Dodgers Opening Day. And with seven days to go til the 2008 season opens at home, the Dodgers _still_ have a lot of questions to be answers for their team. As short-term problems, they need to figure out if Jeff Kent will be ready for Opening Day and if not, who will take his spot [my money is on Abreu although Marcus Giles got cut today and immediately becomes a dark horse candidate for me.] Nomar appears to be missing Opening Day and LaRoche is sidelined for a month or so more after that. My guess is that Hu and Abreu will double up at the hot corner until Nomar is ready to go. We still need a fifth starter which has settled into a battle between Park and Loaiza. My gut still stays Loaiza gets the gig because of his contract but Park has pitched well enough to earn a shot... if not in Dodger Blue, somewhere else in the big leagues. All signs are that Kuo and Young will both make the squad because they're out of minor league options - meaning we either keep them with the big club or risk losing them to another team via waivers. That'll make for quite the roster crunch. Supposedly, we should expect some big cuts tomorrow so it'll be interesting to see who is left standing.
I'm done! Be back tomorrow with something a little more... well... who knows really.
With that in mind, we find ourselves approximately seven days from two of my favorite days of the year.
Next Sunday will be Wrestlemania - always a holiday for me. The price has gone up yet again and the show doesn't have a lot of the same flair [no pun intended] that it has in past years but there is still plenty about it that I'm looking forward to. I'll probably do a little more thorough rundown later in the week so I don't want to burn all that up right now but I will say that I almost feel bad for Shawn Michaels heading into next Sunday. He's been put into one of the toughest positions imaginable where he needs to figure out a way to work his Wrestlemania magic and give Ric Flair a final match that no one will ever forget. It won't be easy... Flair hasn't had a truly memorable match in quite some time. But it will be a huge moment one way or the other.
Next Monday will be the Dodgers Opening Day. And with seven days to go til the 2008 season opens at home, the Dodgers _still_ have a lot of questions to be answers for their team. As short-term problems, they need to figure out if Jeff Kent will be ready for Opening Day and if not, who will take his spot [my money is on Abreu although Marcus Giles got cut today and immediately becomes a dark horse candidate for me.] Nomar appears to be missing Opening Day and LaRoche is sidelined for a month or so more after that. My guess is that Hu and Abreu will double up at the hot corner until Nomar is ready to go. We still need a fifth starter which has settled into a battle between Park and Loaiza. My gut still stays Loaiza gets the gig because of his contract but Park has pitched well enough to earn a shot... if not in Dodger Blue, somewhere else in the big leagues. All signs are that Kuo and Young will both make the squad because they're out of minor league options - meaning we either keep them with the big club or risk losing them to another team via waivers. That'll make for quite the roster crunch. Supposedly, we should expect some big cuts tomorrow so it'll be interesting to see who is left standing.
I'm done! Be back tomorrow with something a little more... well... who knows really.
Labels:
Dodgers,
Nomar Garciaparra,
Ric Flair,
Shawn Michaels,
Wrestlemania
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