Author thegeekregistry

NXT TakeOver: Respect

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NXT is the hottest thing in professional wrestling right now and with the way things have been going there is no reason to believe that will change anytime soon.

Every NXT special has blown me away with the incredible athleticism and terrific storytelling.

NXT Takeover: Respect was another example of how great talent paired with excellent booking can make wrestling one of the most exciting forms of entertainment around.

On to the matches:

Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe vs. The Mechanics (Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder) – This was a semi-final match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and it was an excellent start to the show. Both teams worked very well together and showed off some classic tag team wrestling along with some excellent spots. The match ended with Samoa Joe performing his devastating Muscle Buster maneuver and Bálor hitting the Coup de Grace for the pinfall to earn a spot in the finals.

Baron Corbin and Rhyno vs. Jason Jordan and Chad Gable – The second semi-final match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament was even better. All four men worked amazingly well together and the match ended with Corbin getting the pin after an insane series of moves and false finishes that have to be seen to be believed.

Asuka vs. Dana Brooke – This was Asuka’s first match in NXT after a great career in Japan and she blew the roof off the arena. The match was fast paced with a lot of stiff moves between these two women. Asuka won by submission and I cannot wait to see more from Asuka.

Apollo Crews vs. Tyler Breeze – These two worked great together and even though Crews got the win, Breeze still came off great and I cannot wait until he makes it to the main roster.

Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe vs. Baron Corbin and Rhyno – This was the final match in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and it was a perfect way to honor the late Dusty Rhodes. All four men put their all into this match and told a great story with Bálor having to fight through an injury (storyline wise) and both teams putting everything in to this match that they possibly could. Bálor and Joe got the much deserved win and it was great to see the Rhodes family come out to present them with the trophy and to hear the heartfelt words from one of Dusty’s sons Cody. Truly a great way to honor a great man and performer.

Bayley vs. Sasha Banks – This was a 30 minute iron man match (the wrestler with the most pinfalls or submissions after 30 minutes wins) for the NXT Women’s Championship and was the first time the women have been the true main event of an NXT special. To see women’s wrestling get to this point of great respect and main eventing is a true joy. This match was simply incredible and despite a show full of great matches this one was by far the best. Not only do these two have an amazing in-ring chemistry, but they are terrific athletes and masters at telling a story inside the ring. Whether you are a wrestling fan or not you need to see this match. It was brutal, exciting, filled with the right amount of high spots and the end with Bayley retaining her title with a 3-2 victory was amazing and the emotion seen was genuine. Both women realized they had made history and everyone in the crowd showed there appreciation with a long standing ovation. If the main roster in the WWE booked the women like this then women’s wrestling would be main eventing much more often and hopefully will.

If you are a long time wrestling fan or are looking to give it a shot, then watch NXT. It will not disappoint.

Spider-Gwen #1

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Today’s comic book review is Spider Gwen.

Title – Spider-Gwen #1

Publisher – Marvel Comics

Writer – Jason Latour

Artist – Robbi Rodriguez

Genre – Action/Superhero

 

 

 

One word to describe this title is fun. Being a first issue we are primarily introduced to the basics, who the character is and her personality, and that worked perfectly. It is very clear that the main thing she shares with the original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) is her powers and nothing more. She is a very unique addition to the Spider-verse and does not feel like just another re-tread.

Robbi Rodriguez’s art is vibrant and eye-catching and holds your attention from the first panel to the last. It has a modern feel, but is not alienating to those of us with ‘older eyes’. The design of her costume is fantastic as well and very unique.

Jason Latour’s writing is top-notch as well. He weaves an interesting tale to set up the rest of the series, but does an excellent job not to overwhelm the readers with too much information.

Fortunately, this title is doing well both critically and with the fans and I look forward to catching up with the series ASAP without the concern that it may suddenly be cancelled which happens from time-to-time in the world of comic books.

No matter your age or gender this is a title you should give a shot since I have a good feeling we will be seeing a lot more of this character in the future.

 

Joe Frankenstein #1

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Today’s comic book review is Joe Frankenstein.

Title – Joe Frankenstein #1

Publisher – IDW Publishing

Co-writer – Chuck Dixon

Co-writer/Artist – Graham Nolan

Genre – Action/Horror

With a cover date of February 2015 I am a bit late to the party, but the above image caught my attention being a big fan of horror with Frankenstein’s Monster being one of my all-time favorite horror icons. I am glad I plunked down my $3.99 for what turned out to be a fun, old-school monster tale.

The story begins with our main character Joe delivering pizza to a home occupied by multiple women who turn out to be vampires looking for a person to snack on. Joe is saved from his untimely death by a hooded figure who thwarts off his attackers with ease. The hooded figure turns out be the Monster from Frankenstein lore and Joe turns out to be an heir to Dr. Frankenstein much to the surprise of the reader and the character of Joe as well.

Much of the first issue focuses on Joe coming to grips with his surprising lineage, trusting the Monster, and the establishment of the villains of the story. For the most part the story is simple and standard but with the art from Graham Nolan really bringing every image to life and showing all the necessary details and the fun writing from both Nolan and Chuck Dixon with the interesting lineage twist, this is a first issue that makes you clamor for more.

I will be hitting the back issue bins at my local comic book store to get the 3 other issues that were released earlier this year. Hopefully, the story wraps nicely and maybe the series will continue in the future.

Fallout

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Recently, I have become absolutely obsessed with the video game series, Fallout. I have been so utterly lucky to have fallen in love with the game just a week before E3, after the Fallout 4 trailer released. My father had been talking about how he pre-ordered the Pip-Boy Edition of the game – not yet knowing that a Pip-Boy was actually included with the special edition version of the game – and on that same night was E3. As soon as they started showing concept art of the game, I knew that this would be the game that would stick with me for a very long time. (I’m an artist myself, and seeing all of that beautiful work, before the gameplay had even started, was very inspiring for me.)

I could talk about the game itself, the feeling I got when I was watching Bethesda’s E3 conference, or how I feel about Fallout 4. Instead, I’m going to start this post with this quote, referencing the DLC for Fallout 3, Mothership Zeta;

“The Great War, in order to fit with the established motif, needs to be purely human conflict to be a morally ambiguous, horrifying event. Adding little green men turns Fallout from a serious setting and hyperbole about the nature of men into a grotesque comedy.” From Michał Tagaziel Filipiak.

I agree with this to an extent. I think Mr. Filipiak definitely falls into the group of people that think the Fallout series is just meant to be some dark, gritty, and mean series about one person going on a dark, gritty, and mean adventure. It isn’t. With the game’s characters and companions making jokes left and right, Easter Eggs being around almost every corner, the Fallout 4 trailer containing the phrase, ‘You ready to f–k some sh-t up?’ and the perk ‘Wild Wasteland’ even existing in Fallout: New Vegas, it’s kind of odd to think that so many people really see this game as something it just isn’t.

A lot of people are just missing the point of Fallout. It’s truly such an uplifting game if you put some thought into it. People are still surviving in this world, they’re making factions and civilizations and complete towns and cities all by themselves. The town of Megaton was built by scratch with the hands of people that cared enough to try and survive. The Strip is still lively and rich and glowing. Vault City became what it is from sheer will power. (From my knowledge, that is.) While the world itself may be mean and cruel, the people themselves are still surviving.

While every faction in Fallout; New Vegas has a gray morality, and Fallout 3 is certainly much more black and white, people, individually, lean more towards being kind if your character is a good person. Look at the companions; Butch Deloria in F3 is constantly acting like a little kid, Charon in F3 and Raul in FNV have, arguably, the most humor in both of their dialogues, and the fact that Rex in FNV can howl at you and tell you that ‘Jimmy’s fallen down the well.’

Now, look at the character that starts the entire game; Benny from FNV uses awful 1920’s slang, calling a female character things like ‘pussycat,’ ‘one crazy broad,’ saying that you and he need to be ‘smooth like smooth little babies,’ and that he calls certain body parts ‘charlies,’ I really don’t see how people can make this game out to be nothing more than a game about a post-apocalyptic world.

When it comes to the topic of ‘little green men’ being added into this universe in canon; The DLC Mothership Zeta was not an amazing DLC. It went on for twenty-forty minutes too long, and had the worst boss fight I have ever had the displeasure of playing through. But, I don’t think it’s that huge of a deal. I really don’t think that aliens being a part of the Fallout universe is some great, huge immersion-busting game-breaker, like so many people seem to think it is.

It’s just a DLC. From my point of view, from my personal memory, there was never some big reveal in this DLC that the aliens caused the great war. Nuclear launch codes were released from a tape that was recorded from a captive that had been a part of the U.S. military.

Did the aliens start the bickering between China, America, Russia, etc.? Did the aliens help these countries start building nuclear weapons? Did the aliens destroy most of humanity? If anybody knows, let me know. In the DLC, you can blow up an entire state though, which is rumored to be Texas, and has absolutely zero effect on the game.

This was an irrelevant DLC. A lot of people just don’t understand that the Mothership Zeta DLC was never going to be an amazing, show-stopping DLC that enhanced the lore by a million. It’s truly one of those few DLCs on Earth, that’s really just a DLC.

I’m always okay with having a Fallout conversation with anybody, but when we’re discussing the topic of DLCs that did something for the lore, talk to me about Lonesome Road, Dead Money, and The Pitt.

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Night of Champions 2015

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Night of Champions was an overall solid show, but could have been a lot more eventful if not for some peculiar booking.

Below are my feelings on each match and always remember, there are spoilers:

The Cosmic Wasteland vs. Neville/The Lucha Dragons – A solid pre-show match with a lot of high spots from the team of Neville and The Lucha Dragons that got the crowd excited. I am really enjoying the combo of Stardust and The Ascension. The Ascension were a great team during their NXT days and have been wasted on the main roster. Forming The Cosmic Wasteland with Stardust has been just the push they need and is a ridiculous gimmick that simply works and is a ton of fun. The Cosmic Wasteland won which was a smart move to keep this rivalry going which should be nothing but fun to watch develop.

Kevin Owens vs. Ryback for the Intercontinental Championship – The good thing about this match is Kevin Owens won the IC Title from Ryback. I loved Ryback as champion, but Owens has been in the middle of a big push and is extremely talented and will do a lot to elevate the importance of the belt as a great heel champ. What I did not like about this match was the basic nature of it. We did not see many of Owens amazing in-ring moves and the ending almost seemed to come of nowhere. The matched seemed oddly paced. I am hoping they have at least 1 re-match and the chance to put on a much better contest since I feel both men are solid performers.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev – First things first. I love Ziggler. He is one of my favorites and his entrance is my ringtone. He always puts on a great show and this match was no different. My issue is this rivalry has gone nowhere. They are both talented performers, but the booking team seems to have no clue what to do to really make this an interesting rivalry. Lana was a major part of it and I am sure her injury threw things off a bit, but the writers should be better skilled at working around obstacles since injuries are a typical part of professional wrestling. Ziggler won and I look forward to both men being put into different angles.

The Dudley Boyz vs. The New Day for the Tag Team Championship – The Dudley Boyz returning to the WWE after several years has been great for the WWE and the tag team division. They can still get a crowd going and put on terrific matches. The New Day are the hottest thing is wrestling right now. Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods are great wrestlers and amazing on the mic. They are talented athletically and funny as hell. This match should have been one of the top matches of the night. It was not. It seemed too short and oddly paced. The New Day held on to their titles which will lead to a re-match or two and hopefully, both teams will be given more time and the chance to put on more memorable contests which we know they are capable of.

Charlotte vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Championship – In a future post I will discuss the Diva’s Revolution and the problems with it and why it may be turning around. In regards to this match, Charlotte winning the title was the smart move. Nikki put on a very traditional mat wrestling type of match which was interesting to see and came off well. My major issue is the WWE’s desire to make Charlotte look weak compared to the other women. She is very athletically gifted and an imposing person and has been involved in some of the best matches in the WWE (men included) while on the NXT roster this year. The booking team has her spend the majority of matches on the main roster selling everyone else. She should not steam roll everyone, but she should be made to look better and more imposing. She spent this match getting in way too little offense until the very end. Better booking and she could become one of the most popular wrestlers on the main roster.

The Wyatt Family vs. Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose/Chris Jericho – Terrific match and great story telling. Jericho was a huge surprise teammate of Reigns and Ambrose and got a huge pop from the crowd (and my household) when he came out. The match was solid with the Wyatt Family getting the big win. The big moment was at the end since Jericho’s surprise tag of Roman cost them the match. Reigns and Ambrose confronted Jericho in the ring after the match and he just gave them a nasty look and did the old ‘shoulder bump’ to Dean when he left the ring. The potential for an Ambrose/Jericho rivalry is very exciting and I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

John Cena vs. Seth Rollins for the United States Championship – Very good match. These two are at the top of their game and they always have a great match. Rollins and Cena are having amazing years and have both become so innovative with their in-ring performances that you never know what they are going to do next. Cena won the US Title and I cannot wait until the Cena Open Challenge starts back up.

Sting vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship – With Sting having only his second match in the WWE I did not know what to expect in terms of the outcome. The majority of the match was solid until Sting got injured towards the end of the match. You could tell something was legitimately wrong with him and it was not part of the storyline when the medical team rushed in. After they cleared him to finish the match it came to a very quick and abrupt end with Rollins getting the pin. Hopefully, this will not be his last match in the WWE and he sounded in good spirits during interviews the past couple of days.

Overall, a solid show with some bizarre booking decisions and an unfortunate injury.

Looking forward to Hell in a Cell in October and what is being hyped as the final match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker! Should be mind blowing!

Airboy #1

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Welcome to my new Monday column where I review/discuss comic books. From the classics to modern marvels to current releases, I will be regularly discussing my opinions of a title in my physical collection or that I have recently read digitally. I will be covering everything from main stream to independent and even obscure titles.

This week I am starting with a recent release titled Airboy.Airboy1

Title – Airboy #1

Publisher – Image Comics

Writer – James Robinson

Artist – Greg Hinkle

Genre – Mature/Semi-autobiographical

 

 

Airboy debuted with a June cover date this year and caught my attention with a great cover that featured super heroic imagery of the title character juxtaposed with imagery based on a depressing reality.

I am listing this title as semi-autobiographical because I do not want to believe that the writer, James Robinson, is that deplorable of a human being and simply falls into the category of artist/creator who spends more time than they should in a state of self-loathing.

It begins with our writer/lead character getting a writing gig from the publisher of Image Comics to resurrect a classic character called Airboy. Mr. Robinson has been in a creative rut and is having a difficult time getting out of it and with coercing decides to take the gig. Soon he gets his artist, the very real Greg Hinkle, and they begin the process of trying to re-launch Airboy. They both find themselves not having a clue what to do with this character so James decides they should have a night out on the town of debauchery to get the creative juices flowing. Drugs, booze , and sex reign supreme and after a crazy night of all of the above, the first issue ends with Airboy suddenly appearing in front of them as a flesh and blood human being.

To say this tile is mature is an understatement. Plenty of nudity, sex, and explicit drug use are starkly presented by the artist Hinkle in a way that is quite graphic, but not offensive. Mind you, I am not easily offended, but I do feel that even if you are, the scenes depicted in this book are done is such a lightly humorous way that it does not feel exploitative and just a way of marketing your title as ‘adults only’. Greg Hinkle’s art is unique and appealing in a way that makes you want to check every detail on every page even when it is not something that is normally appealing to sane eyes.

James Robinson’s writing is so sharp, witty, and self deprecating that you cannot wait to read what happens on the next page and in the next issue. Even if the way he depicts himself in the book is more true than not you still find yourself not being able to hate the guy and sympathizing with where he is in his life. He is human and very flawed which is true of all of us, maybe just without the drugs and random sex.

If you are of an adult persuasion and looking for a break from superheroes and the standard comic book fare then this title is definitely for you. With great, interesting art and smart writing this is a monthly title I do not want to miss and cannot wait for each subsequent issue to hit store shelves.

Back in the Saddle

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Using the title above now has me humming the classic tune from Aerosmith which is not a problem since they are one of my favorite bands.

I have not blogged for a while and I am making no excuses. Life kicks you in the head more often than not, but it is up to the individual to do something positive about it so I am getting back to blogging about the things I enjoy like professional wrestling, comic books, video games, etc… It may offer only a brief break from the stupidity of the world around me, but it is a break nonetheless that is much needed.

I am going to spend the weekend thinking of a new writing schedule, what topics I want to cover, etc… There will still be three blogs a week (2 from myself and 1 from my daughter), but I want to get on a semi-rigid schedule to keep my brain working and doing things I enjoy like writing and giving my opinion plus I work better with a structure/schedule.

I look forward to getting back on schedule and telling everyone about the things I love!

Ghostbusters Get Real

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IDW has done an excellent job over the years with the comic book forms of licensed proprieties such as G.I. Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, etc… One of the properties that I had yet to try under the IDW banner has been Ghostbusters. When I saw the first issue of Ghostbusters Get Real with a simple yet eye catching cover I figured “why not give it a try”. I am glad I did and I plan to obtain some of the back catalog of Ghostbusters comic books.

Written by Erik Burnham with art by Dan Schoening this title really captures the feel of the original movies and the style of the cartoon versions.

The story begins with the old-school animated version of the Ghostbusters battling a ghost only to find themselves transported to an alternate reality where they encounter a more serious and modern version of themselves. It is a very fun and dynamic way to introduce readers to a more modern take on the Ghostbusters without alienating fans of the original style.

The story is fun and interesting with solid artwork that masterfully captures the feel of the original interspersed with a promising modern take on the characters that the reader knows and loves.

A good start to what should be a very fun series.

iPad Air 2

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Hot damn, hot diggity-damn I am on a roll! As you all know I had the pleasure of winning a Surface Pro 3 last month at my place of work and was quite excited and happy with the product (still am). This past Friday I had the pleasure of taking a 4 hour training class with Apple regarding their iPad line and selling techniques through my place of work, which is a re-seller of Apple products (primarily Macs and iPads). Much to my surprise the 9 of us that got the privilege of taking this training were given 64GB iPad Air 2’s. Hot damn, hot diggity-damn! Too say I was excited is an understatement.

I have owned an iPad 2 for the past few years and it was truly a great tablet, but as most technology is wont to do over time, it has slowed down tremendously. It had got to the point where I mostly used it to read magazines and comic books, which it worked fine for except the slow download time, but stopped using it for much more. The iPad Air was a welcome gift and allows me to retire my first iPad and in just a few days has dramatically increased my use of an iPad.

The first thing most people notice when they see any Apple product is the aesthetic. The iPad Air is a great looking tablet. It is much thinner and lighter than the older versions and the space grey backing is sharp. The screen itself (2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 ppi) is sharp and appealing. Everything simply looks better on the iPad Air.

The A8X chip makes the machine work much quicker than previous models and the download times are significantly reduced.

Games, productivity apps, etc… all seem to look and work better on this version of the iPad.

I am only a few days in to ownership of this awesome tablet and so far I am very impressed and strongly suggest getting one if you are currently looking for the latest and greatest tablet on the market.

Eva Marie

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Hey everybody! This is just a little mini-post for Friday since I’m busy this week, but nevertheless i wanted to talk just a bit today.

Eva Marie has just re-debuted this week. I am not only extremely happy that she has been able to actually train this time, (with an amazing wrestler, Brian Kendrick) I am elated that she did so well in the ring.

Honestly, I could sit here and write that I was nervous about her re-debut, that even though we’ve had so many videos that she HAS improved, that there was still doubt inside of me – But really, that just isn’t true. I haven’t for a moment doubted that Eva Marie was going to crash in and make all her haters backpeddle. Even if they won’t say it, they were wrong.

Eva is still a bit nervous and hesitant, but can you really blame her? She was booed by the crowd furiously every time she was in front of them. I know that I’d be in worse shape than she is now – She’s actually been amazing during all of this!

We need more female wrestlers in NXT, because three of them just got pushed up to the main roster – which I will talk about next week. NXT only has Bayley, Emma, Dana Brooke, Alexa Bliss, and Carmella. Of course, they have plenty of women that can debut when they’re ready, but still, Eva Marie is ready now.

I am extremely proud of Eva Marie, and I know that I’ll only become prouder over the following weeks.

Thank you all for listening and have a great weekend!

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