wrestlemania 31

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

RoadBlock Ahead?!

03/08/2016 03:31:06 PM

http://wrestlingnews.co/

The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is on the verge of staging their build-ups for WrestleMania. This past Royal Rumble, we had the second edition of WWE Fast Lane. In six weeks time, the question: is it really a quicker route for the Show of Shows?

And just when we thought we will never have a special event before Mania, there goes WWE waging their offering called March to WrestleMania: Live from Toronto. But then it was changed, and instead got a RoadBlock as their title.

Really? So are we on an expressway? On a freeway bridging the major pay-per-views Rumble and Mania?

Funny. Looks like tons of constructing infrastructure's ahead of us; with three confirmed matches on April—and tons to twists and turns in between.

I mean, let's face it: Roman Reigns was supposed to be an all-out groomed as the WWE's present top guy. But he wasn't showing the exact portrayal of one. Or in the other side, he was hampered by poor booking and illogical storywriting by the creatives. Wait, was it really creatives fault? Or is Vince kinda stubborn enough to not letting his pool experiment on what should happen at the ir product?

Ridiculous, right?

Heck, just when I thought there will a Daniel Bryan-esque Mania moment for Dean Ambrose, I was wrong. I even thought it will be a fatal-four-way match. But fuck this shit; those ain't gonna happen. It will be a tune-up game like for Hunter when he faced the Lunatic Fringe this Saturday.

However, if there will bew an upset in favor of DA, let's see how things will fare up. I wish Roman shows up and screws everyone like more than how he did to everyone at TLC.

And because there will be carnage at Dallas, Texas, it's quite unfortunate for us to witness a clash of the forces. Instead of having a physique-versus-mentality clash of the beasts, we end up having a street fight between Ambrose and Brock Lesnar.

And that leaves Bray Wyatt and his cult of buzzards lying somewhere else. Their loss at Fastlane made them literlaly lost their way back; as they were supposedly a faction of destructors in the E right now, something that unfortunately, got derailed by Chris Jericho, and the creatives en route to Survivor Series last year.

Now, he's back to face Paul Heyman's advocate, this should hype the event enough. Imagine if they were thinking twice of subscribing to the WWE NETWORK, they may not have a five-star championship match, but definitely numerous of present bigwigs: one's a super-athletic guy whose heelish tactics weren't able to overthrow the crowd appreciation for “Suplex City,” one of the best talkers in the scene, and a bunch of creepy phenomenal who not just had a mind-encrypting ideas, but physiques that could even intimidate fellow giants. Wow.

One problem, though: Braun Strowman and Erick Rowan was booked for another WWE Live Event during the same evening at Atlantic City. This seems confusing with Luke Harper as Bray's confidante.

This should better be well. They had a chance to steal the spotlight and tagged as “match of the night.”

Other than these two scuffles, there will be a tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship, something I hope will not end on a disqualification. But it would still be possible; thus setting up for another battle at NXT Takeover: Dallas. Or perhaps the same result but a different one come April Fools Day.

If speculations will be true that Sami Zayn will be around RoadBlock—and will set a feud with Kevin Owens for WrestleMania—how will that happen? The current IC champ was also advertised for NJ event.

And if there will be Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus during the evening, I don't think it will make sense the most. These two has been slugging each other that their story was nothing but a pointless, futile one, thanks to the League of Nations and their supposedly alliance to the Authority. And things aren't connecting well, to be exact.

Besides, these two are reportedly at sick bay. If that's the case, better keep them at bay.

Perhaps the planning for WWE RoadBlock will not be final yet. But we hope that in five days time, things will go as planned. And hope this road block ain't really a road block for WWE's development as they head on to their biggest spectacle at Texas.

Author: slickmaster | (c) 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Monday, 7 March 2016

Upside Down

03/08/2016 09:28:13 AM

Imagine a lopsided result of a heaven-and-hell game. And I mean “heaven and hell” because one team is currently sitting atop of the league standings; while one was on the verge of rebuilding for the next season.

Well, we hope they could get back on their winning track, even if Kobe Bryant will not be around by then.

Turns out, it was a blowout win by the Los Angeles Lakers against the top-seeing Golden State Warriors, 112-95. And does it get any better than this? At least you did not lose big time at your own turf—Staples Center. That deprived you from tallying loss #52 on your standing, and instead list win #13.

All that despite an ailing Bryant. The league's current star veteran only played 24 minutes and finished 12 points on a bit woeful 4-for-14 field goals. But his younger stalwarts stepped up for him. Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell teamed up for 46 points. With Brandon Bass and Marcelo Huetas checking their opponents on defense and beat them on their own rampaging game. These two had 13 and 10 markers, respectively. Julius Randle also had a 12-point, 14-rebound game.

Shucks.

Imagine the Lakers pulling off a biggest upset against the Warriors, the defending champions whose on the verge of seeking their first back-to-back titles in the NBA—and fifth since winning them in 1947, 1956, 1975, and 2015. Though honestly? Is this consdiered the biggest upset in the league history?

I don't think so yet. Maybe this season, it definitely is.

But hey, even winners are losing at some point in their lives. It definitely happens, even if you argue that it's a rare occurrence. Heck, they even lost to the Portland Trail Blazers by 32 points (105-137); thanks to a career-high 51 points by Damian Lillard. Quite a humiliating moment on their part.

When you think about it, it's a bad night. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had a combined 33-point effort; but perhaps their defense made their shooting performance atrocious—a combined 13-for-40 field goal output. Draymond Green had a good news-bad news on his stats sheet: a near triple double on one end (nine points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists), and a team-high seven turnovers at the other. As a team, they shot 4-for-30 from 3-point range, something that Clarkson and Russell's effort fare better (7-for-13).

Was an absence by Andre Iguodala became a factor on this one? That can be considered. But a second quarter surge? I mostly think so.

While they are a dominating road team in the NBA for the past 23 years, they wound up winless after five games when trailing after three quarters. All of their defeats were set outside the Oracle Arena; with five of them were decided by at least 10 points.

But we all know they will bounce back. Give them a break. Heck, they might even toppled the Chicago Bulls and their all-time high record of 72 wins.

REFERENCE:

https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/lakers-hand-ice-cold-warriors-6th-loss-of-season-in-gigantic-upset-234106514.html

Sunday, 6 March 2016

Choking from the Upset Victories

3/6/2016 10:13:07 PM

Just a few months ago, we have witnessed a sudden turn of events inside the octagon. It was at the land down under when the woman of top was knocked down -- and off from her throne. And while we have witnessed the first downfall of the Golden State Warriors, we have seen an instant knock-out punch that suddenly changed the landscape for the UFC welterweight division.

And on Saturday evening, we have seen a duo of rear-naked chokes which depicted upset victories.

Nearly four months after pulling off an improbable win against Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm was stunned by a late submission move by another tough female competitor Miesha Tate. The loss also made her unable to successfully defend her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion.

Say, while Holm negated what has been a super-athlete Ronda, Tate has just neutralized everything. Pulling off an upset victory, taking away the title, and in the process alleviating her status in her division. It’s interesting to see how their rematch clauses take place soon. Imagine: Rousey will be obviously chasing Holm to even up the series; though we all know that’s she’s coming up for the title either.

But now Miesha has the coveted prize, it’s most likely Rowdy will gun for her either. And what’s not impossible for that plan? The former champ defeated the newly-crowned one in their two duels at the octagon before.

But of course, you can’t take away Holly out of the picture, as well ass the other woman bantamweight fighters.

One thing is for sure: it will be a rocky road for the championship again. But definitely a very unbiased one.

Just when Conor McGregor walked his talk, too bad his mouth could not able to handle Nate Diaz. After those trash-talking sessions in front of the press (and worldwide television), the featherweight champion loss to a non-title fight last Saturday on a rear-naked choke.

And just like that, he’s humble in defeat. All that despite owning Diaz a bloody face. Looks like he got his sports science wrong this time. Well, it happens. Give this guy a break. Looks lkke switching divisions for a while made him less efficient performer; losing his intensity in the process. Well you can argue that he still whipped Diaz face at the start. But it all boils down to the end. How you start might have just get you a heads-up; but definitely ot guaranteeing you a sure-slot at the end of the race. After all, mixed martial arts -- just like any combat sport -- had a similar dictation of result; time pressure forces you to perform -- that is simply to win over your opponent by all possible (and legal) means. And when the allotted time has all been consumed, this is where the numbers and technicalities enter to spell the jury.

Chokes and upsets might have been the name of the game soon; with the UFC bannering two huge cards as their main event, it’s no surprise this MMA firm was definitely rolling.

Thursday, 3 March 2016

Playback: MilesExperience – Down

03/03/2016 04:08:41 PM

Hearing MilesExperience as a novice-leveled listener and only having music channels and radio stations as your only resorts would only give you an impression of these: the bunch of gwapitos who can woo every kolehiyala with their music; and the band who made two melodramatic jazz-soul-alternative tracks whom sounded either sultry, taboo-defying, or sexy at will (Love Supreme and Silakbo).

But their newly-published Down is a different story. Though not as perfectly poetic as it gets, their words seemingly conveying a bunch of tornado-like twist and turns. Like a rocky-road manner of storytelling in a concrete planned emotional plot.

However, the execution in musical form is somewhat another thing. It's like a bold defiant to their previously-released singles: not exactly the sad lyrical work, but close to the exact “happy” song one can think about.

Though not as upbeat as Home, Down executes a different vibrancy that could hype up the crowd once you heard it... well, especially the live version; Imagine hearing shades of Beatles or those choir-like tunes for a stretch, thanks to the keyboard work of Guido Hizon; while Justin Teano's riff goes on another signature ride, yet retaining the sexy gestures he made from Love Supreme and Silakbo.

It looked like more of a classy mixture of jazz and funk, that sometimes I would even think of a gradual rising tension of climax somewhere out there and down by the later on.

And that being said, will suit better with a bottle of beer on one hand, while you're about cap the evening on a high note. Who knows? You might end up doing a little bit of head dance on its near-ending.

Monday, 29 February 2016

Quick Fix?

03/01/2016 12:01:28 PM

Twist and turns for over the past few episodes of Monday Night RAW since WWE Fastlane.

We get it. Roman Reigns won, but the crowd could not hold their displeasure of their own. And perhaps, that shows the audience have this kind of power, especially at the height of the Yes! Movement.

Last year's buildup perhaps gave the worst storyttelling prior to the show of shows. As far as even Daniel Bryan shared the ring with Reigns and was defeated along the way, seems members of the universe were turning away from the main event. And in case they are watching the contest itself, people would have thought Brock Lesnar would just whip Roman's ass, but not for long until Roman got what, at least, some of the crowd's expectations.

Well, that until Seth Rollins cashed in and snatch the title away.

Perhaps, Triple H held its beatdown on Roman Reigns served as a challenge not just for RR himself, but to everyone – and that includes Hunter's father-in-law Vincent Kennedy McMahon. We both knew what reaction did they got at the ending of RAW episode last week; and we also know that this is something they shouldn't been getting. I mean, HHH brutalized Roman to the extent where things go bloody as fuck (something VKM would think barbaric). Heck, maybe even he himself who raised his arms with the title, would deep inside think, something's wrong with our product right now.

And that's the hardest part. He's the EVP of Talents and Events alone; and while on his off-the-office setup, he is the top bad guy; the corrupted one-slash-a bit of under de saya to Stephanie (and why not? He's just a son-in-law for that matter). But other than that, he can sense something's wrong, and bringing up his prized NXT talents to WWE's biggest stages would not be enough to compliment what Vinny Mac wants.

Going back, how do you fix this shit, aside from having strong bookings and more interesting storylines for Mania? I honestly don't know. We even get Shane O Mac vs. Taker in a Hell In A cell match, wherein if the former loses, then he can't have the control of RAW.

And we all wanted Taker getting a win. Why? He's not The Undertaker for nothing! He's not a prized WrestleMania figure for nothing. His loss on 2014 may have tarnished his legacy for a bit; but heck, with a potential upset – plus the turnout of the segment this week – things might go different, but uninteresting. Well, at least, for now.

But with barely six weeks, after a brutal assault—and perhaps a twist-making Dean Ambrose —how do WWE need to groom Roman Reigns and appease everyone? Make him act like the aftermath of TLC? Maybe. But could we get something more vicious than that? I get it: Royal Rumble was supposed to make him bigger even if he lost at the end. But if that means one versus all, then why do the locker room peeps—except his best friend and cousins—are not doing anything to conspire him? Oh, the last four buildups made up for it? Wasn't even close.

I think he needs to be Roman Reigns. Simple as that, like the way he rocked and rolled WWE from 2012, and made his series of breakout performances from Survivor Series 2013 'til Royal Rumble 2014; during the buildup for Money In The Bank and Battleground of that year.

If that can't help, how about a confronting segment between Roman and The Rock? As similar to Edge on Cena during the buildup of the latter's short rivalry with Brock Lesnar. Maybe that can help either,

Heck, if not for Daniel Bryan, Reigns would have been the top guy for that stretch despite Batista's return. And, that, by the way, is affecting Roman. Yes, the same treatment the audience have been shitting on The Animal. As far as the tales are concerned, it seems the Ambrose Asylum has been getting that Yes! Treatment already, which may be good for business.

Perhaps, on the other side, could we blame the Internet Wrestling Community for that matter? They might have been covering the majority (if not entire) members of the WWE universe, but some of them tended to be a bunch of self-righteous wannabe geeks whose fandom inside has been eaten already by a zombies of the WWE?

As far as some of the wrestling podcasts who ranted their displeasure, maybe. Maybe we forget to notice the bigger picture. Maybe we are being spoonfed by instant gratification theory. And even if we barked about VKM shoving his alpha males on our throats, we might not have been fully comprehending them at all.

Author: slickmaster | (c) 2016 september twenty-eight productions

Just My Opinion: WWE Fastlane 2016

2/29/2016 7:35:15 PM

dailyddt.com

It;s the last pay-per-view event before WrestleMania. A pit stop bridging the Royal Rumble and the Show of Shows. However, this are speeding up as stories went full-throttle as we approach the first Sunday of April.

The stage is set on downtown Cleveland, but this ain’t the LeBron James show where he will take flight on the fastbreak.

What a way to kick off this pay-per-view with a divas match. At least, they are now getting a chance (pertaining to the hashtag which ignited the Divas Revolution last year)? Perhaps, more than that. It’s more than just a typical card where everyone will hype up the crowd. While Tamina and Naomi proved you can’t mess with the bad-ass chicks, Sahsa Banks and Becky Lynch had made it clear that they had the “unity.”

Yes, All that despite having indifference on their egos prior to this match.

Will this culminate already? Perhaps. We all know where the Boss is heading for in the first place... WrestleMania, with a Divas Championship match against Charlotte!

Verdict: 8.4

Dolph Ziggler has this kind of rep that kicks off a PPV as a performer. He’s really as awesome as fuck, win or lose.

Now he moved a rank higher, his IC title match with Kevin Owens was as exceptionally-fucking good as it gets. Mind you, if not for AJ vs. Y2J, it would have been the match of the evening.

However, as much as this technical brawl is concerned, DZ was not introduced properly. He’s a hometown kid in the first place. Why, Lilian Garcia, for damn sakes, did you forgot he hailed from Cleveland, Ohio? And heck, why is the champion introduced first? This is my problem with title matches that aren’t intended for either Divas or WWE World Heavyweight. They appeared secondary or a class inferior.

Give KO a deserving credit. He improvised his finisher, proving that he doesn’t need to push his opponent to the top rope for a very emphatic ending.

Verdict: 8.7

Six man tag team match showed how the old schoolers can school the new grads like The Wyatt Family. Certainly, Ryback seemed to regain his old sheer self when he was a power (not just big) guy against John Cena.

But quite far to notice, how’s Luke harper after that shell-shocked? Looks like he’s legitimately hurt.

However, I have to agree with Stan Sy for this. Where they will go? We thought they are gunning after Brock Lesnar? This faction, previously feared sans Brawn Strowman, turned out worse as if they hit the proverbial wall. They even looked much powerful than the 2014 Authority when they vent their frustrations on the Beast Incarnate.

Well, we could only hope they could get a win on WrestleMania; but don’t tell me they will act like jobbers when they faced off the Social Outcast (oh, no!). Please, let them have a shoving contest against the League of Nations!

Verdict: 6.7

Brie Bella had a Cinderella-like story only have an abrupt ending out of nowhere. Perhaps, a very emotional fight as she might retire soon. That way, she might have been stepping down for contention on the Divas championship.

As much as I liked how she gave tribute to Daniel Bryan and Nikki Bella on her moves and apparrel, this has been one of the best and toughest fights she had executed with. But injury really killed two things: her chances of snatching the title, and her overall performance (specifically, on how she would tell the story of being the ‘yes’ woman of DB).

As for Charlotte, her gimmick is getting stale. I get it: she’s a Flair, which means she dispatches dirty tactics along the way. But isn’t it time to send the elder Ric backstage? There isnt’ really much significant on his presence right there. Well, unless he leveled himself to the likes of Paul Heyman or Tamina Snuka.

Verdict: 7.5

AJ vs Y2J is definitely one for the books. This should fall as one of the best matches in the E for 2016 Their rubber match appeared like what has been a typical old school feud for wrestling. All that despite having no total-clear distinction of roles. At some point, both people acted like those athletes displaying their “sportsmanship”; and somewhere along the way, they exhibited heelish tactics.

Though, it was quite obvious that for a certain time, Chris Jericho displayed villainous actions while AJ Styles made it clear that he was a babyface who never backs (and cries) down like a drama actor.

With the Styles Clash losing its effectiveness, I think AJ shouldn’t had pin Jericho. The next question: is the international superstar/former hottest free agent about to unleash another curtain-caller? Something that fans from the other leagues might not even noticed closely.

We can only find out soon. He looks like he was groomed to be a submission player than a typical wrestler.

Verdict: 9.1

The Cutting Edge Peep show turned out to be a heck nostalgic act at all. Right, they had a good start, but the finish seemed flat. We knew for a moment, The New Day acted like faces. But then, it really appeared like remained to be seen as these two did not even crossed paths with each other again after that segment. Well, I wonder.

Verdict: 6.1

R-Truth vs. Curtis Axel was like a hype-killer for the main event. Something that tells you like, “Chill. We got you covered.”

But fuck this shit, that looked like a more of a bathroom break either. You barely wish this match happened earlier, right? It’s not kinda fair to put earlier in place of the US title because that’s actually a strategy for people to patronize the program itself. Imagine if all title matches were putted out there. That might make the pre-show nothing but garbage.

And, that, by the way served as a prelude to a minor story soon!

Verdict: 3.9

The main event proved something, like how Roman Reigns, though poised to win the game and take away the title from Triple H, was not the same Roman Reigns we knew from early 2014 and late 2015. Heck, even Dean Ambrose showed how things should be done against Brock Lesnar. That looked like a higher and honorable prize than clashing with Hunter for Mania.

Quite funny how Ambrose wanted to hit Lesnar with a German suplex. A comical twist on how their feud unfolds during the match.

But puns aside, this should have been Roman’s first breakout game, but with the two scuffling their shits on each other, it’s like he was literally taken out of equation.

Oh, I get it. He and Ambrose displayed shades of The SHIELD when they double powerbombed Lesnar to announce tables. Not one, but two announce tables! But that’s teamwork. Aside from that, the juggernaut was neturalized by Dean most of the time.

And as for the finish, I would understand if he chased off Lesnar and pin him at the end. That will prove hos Roman can beat -- and had beaten Brock Lesnar. Maybe because the Beast Incarnate was totally tamed by those chair shots by Dean; thus, a complimenting account on setting up a chapter for Mania.

Verdict: 6.5

Roman might have won the game. And that exhibited what Fastlane was all about. The problem, for the next six weeks (or shorter, as of writing time), he has to be likened to that kind of image when he and HHH squared off come WrestleMania time.

Somehow, the event ran well, especially at the first two hours. Maybe, the imbalance of the cards have screwed the evening. But on a bigger picture, WWE Fastlane was on its second installment. Give them a break.

And also, Roman.

The Verdict: 7.3

The Scene Around: Racc!oon

2/27/2016 7:39:47 PM

After a successful charity nightout four months ago, Mika Ordonez and her friends is back for another gig; with a bigger venue, heavier lineup, and a legitimate identity.

They are now called Raccoon Productions, and they debuted with formality and emphasis as they called their first gig RACC!OON!: A Charity Gig for Kythe Foundation.

Held on a Friday night (22 January 2016) at Route 196 in Quezon City, Racc!oon drew a typical soldout outing as they were able to raise funds enough to cover the expenses for their sponsored child named Ariana Soriano.

The four-year old beneficiary, whom hailed from Tarlac, is suffering from Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia; but already had been undergoing her main chemotherapy cycles and will be on the verge of having two maintenance cycles which will run for two years.

Eight bands graced the evening: M.I.C., Indigo Sweep, Ang Bandang Shirley, Lions and Acrobats, Odayo, Jensen and The Flips, Tom’s Story and Flying Ipis.

In all the acts I have heard before, a debuting M.I.C. actually sounded new to me; as well as Odayo and Indigo Sweep. While the rest were instant crowd-drawers, specifically the math rock band whose then-about to launch their album in three years of existence.

Yes, Tom’s Story literally rocked the house down. Who am I not to remember that after seeing almost all spaces of the indoor Route being occupied? Damn good!

The night turned out so well for the debuting production firm as they had 300 paying customers and collated a total of Php 83,000 on donation, enough to cover the needed expenditures on Ariana’s way to recovery.

To read more about the Racc!oon Productions, check out the article by Radio Republic. Also the ways to donate will be also seen there.