Tag WWE

Jakks Pacific WWF/E

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The action figures I have a very large collection of is the Jakks Pacific’s line of WWF/E toys which lasted from 1996-2009. This was the ‘Attitude Era’ line and had some great figures. No matter the wrestler it seemed they all had at least one figure with the top stars receiving many variations. They also featured past stars as well.

They also came out with the Titantron series with microchips in the figures that when attached to a special playset would play their theme songs. Pretty nifty technology for the time.

There were all kinds of wrestling rings, cages to attach to those rings, and various accessories for your own hardcore matches.

Plain and simple, this is a great line and lasted as long as it did because of that.

Currently, Mattel produces WWE figures and has some great looking collector’s lines of current and former stars that I would love to add to my collection. I stopped collecting wrestling toys a few years back and I think now is a great time to get started again.

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Batista

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Dave Bautista (spelled ‘Batista’ in the WWE) has really elevated his celebrity status in recent years. With the Guardians of the Galaxy having the biggest August opening yet, his name is becoming more well known amongst the general public every day. Then why do pro-wrestling fans hate him so?

Wrestling fans are an interesting bunch. Very loyal to the product and the performers, but if you look at them sideways they will turn on you instantly and wish you death. When Batista made his big WWE return earlier this year the reaction was huge and the fans went wild, but the next day those same fans decided to boo him and turn on him for no apparent reason. He is pretty outspoken in regards to his opinions on a wide variety of topics, but nothing so bad that I feel would make him unlikable.  He may not be the greatest in ring performer of all time, but he performs his role in the ring very well and has been a part of some big WWE story lines and matches.

Perhaps it is the old “he sold out” routine. Those fans are right…how dare he try to be a successful actor and wrestler! He is at the beck and call of the fans and should do what they say *major sarcasm*.

Plain and simple, just like The Rock before him, he will always be a wrestler and now has added film acting to his resume. Good for him and after the Guardians of the Galaxy he is only going to become a bigger star and us wrestling fans will just have to learn to share him with the rest of the world.

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Saturday Night’s Main Event

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Hot damn the WWE Network has started showing the original Saturday Night’s Main Event!

In the late ’80s this was the show to watch for all young wrestling fans. It aired on NBC a handful of times a year in place of Saturday Night Live when it was showing repeats.

They always featured the top wrestlers in the company. Regularly, you got to see the likes of Hogan, Savage, Steamboat, JYD, etc…in some memorable matches and story lines. It was typical ’80s cartoonish wrestling and it was perfect for that time. I still love revisiting these shows and having nothing but good memories.

When the network debuted SNME was possibly the most requested show by fans and now the WWE has delivered.

There are several episodes already on the network with the rest to follow soon.

This is reason number 101 to subscribe to the WWE Network!

WWE Battleground 2014

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WWE Battleground has come and gone and as usual it is sort of a throwaway PPV. This year the thought was that may change leading in to a big Summerslam show next month, but it was more of the same.

A few matches of note:

Bray Wyatt vs. Chris Jericho – Jericho is simply one of the best wrestlers of all time, but this match just seemed a bit off. I am really feeling that Bray Wyatt is a bit overrated. He has an interesting character that is very over with the crowd, he is not too bad of an in ring performer, but of all of his big PPV matches this year the only one that was truly great was his third and final match against John Cena at Payback in a last man standing match. He has not had enough good matches to be as over as he is right now. Hopefully, the two of them wil have a much better rematch at Summerslam and Jericho can make him look good.

Paige vs. AJ Lee – Eh…this was another match that just seemed off. They need to get someone to really work with their women wrestlers on their in-ring work. They also need to book these matches much better. Both women are good performers, but they really seemed lost in the ring on this night.

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose – No actual match, but some fun backstage, and in the parking lot, brawling. Hopefully, we will actually get a match next month.

The highlight of the night was the first match pitting The Usos against The Wyatt Family. Hot damn these four have nothing but great matches against each other. 2 out of three falls with The Usos coming out on top was surprising. I am a big fan of them, but thought they would have the Wyatts come out on top. The match was great from start to finish and it will be interesting to see what’s next from both teams.

Overall, the show was okay, but this is not a must watch show. Watch that tag match at the beginning and you will be good to go.

Next month is Summerslam and I have high hopes it will be a great show!

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Sting (not the singer)

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wwe-2k15

Sting is officially a part of the upcoming WWE 2K15 game which launches October 28 of this year.

This also means he is officially part of the WWE, but in what capacity remains to be seen.

He is the last of the big name WCW wrestlers to make an appearance in the WWE and it has been a long time coming. When Vince McMahon bought WCW Sting made the decision not to join the WWE and once his final WCW contract was up he started a fairly long run with TNA.

There have been rumors year after year of him joining the WWE, but it never came to be until now.

I have always been a fan of Sting from his bleach blonde surfer days to ‘The Crow’ gimmick and always felt he should have joined WWE where he could have had a legendary run. He purportedly stayed away due to his disliking of the WWE’s adult approach, but it seems ever since they went to a more PG product he has decided to end his career with the one organization he had never been a part of.

It is still a mystery as to what else his role will be with the company besides being in a video game, but I sincerely hope we get at least one more match from him at next year’s Wrestlemania so he can say he wrestled in all the major promotions and us long time fans can give him one last goodbye and thank him for an amazing run.

Talk is Jericho

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When driving or trying getting through a long day at work I enjoy listening to podcasts which are essentially radio shows on demand. I currently listen to 10 regularly and several others on occasion. In my top 3 is Talk is Jericho hosted by wrestler/actor/musician/author and now podcast host Chris Jericho.

Some of the things I look for in a podcast is to be entertained, informed, and made to laugh. Jericho’s podcast does all three things very well. I have been listening to his show since the first episode and have never been disappointed. I enjoy the fact that he has a fairly wide variety of guests. He has had his father Ted Irvine who is a former NHL player, William Shatner, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and many others on the show. He seems to enjoy primarily interviewing people who are involved in things he loves himself which works for me since I have the same interests. It also makes his interviews very memorable since he really knows what he is talking about with his guests.

He is naturally a funny, charming, and intelligent person which comes off clearly on his podcast. His show is fairly family friendly so you can listen to it in front of your children or at work and not worry about what might be said.

This is the perfect podcast for wrestling, sports, or music fans and really anyone who just wants to smile while listening to something through their earbuds.

Beyond the Ring

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I say this week after week, but the greatest thing to come out for wrestling fans is the WWE Network (I will not stop until everyone subscribes!). I have been going through the WWE’s Beyond the Ring series which is a collection of the documentaries they include on their DVD/Blu ray releases. They feature topics on individual performers like Steve Austin, Edge, and Big Show (to name a few) and also on other topics like rivalries, WCCW, NWA, etc…They are regularly adding shows so it is safe to say we will eventually have access to all of the doc.’s from past home video releases.

I enjoy learning the behind the scenes stories of these performers who I have watched for years and getting an idea of who they really are outside of their wrestling personas.

Last night I watched the WCCW Beyond the Ring and even though I was aware of the Von Erich families’ tragedies there were some details I was not aware of. It was eye opening to learn about what happened during that time from various points of views from people who were actually there.

The Chris Jericho one was another fun watch since they showed footage from when he very first started and it was great seeing his evolution as a performer.

There are only a few of these specials I have not watched yet and so far I have enjoyed them all.

For wrestling fans this series is yet another reason why the WWE Network is a must buy!

WWE Legends House

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As I have stated in previous posts, the WWE Network is the best $9.99 a month you could possibly spend as a wrestling fan. One of the best examples of this is the WWE Legends House reality show that is exclusive to the network. It was filmed a couple of years back, but the WWE could not find a network to pick it up which is those networks loss since it turned out to be one of the best reality shows out there.

It was a great way to see the real side of these legendary performers who most of us fans only know by their characters. It featured Jimmy ‘the Mouth of the South” Hart, Pat Patterson, Howard Finkel, Hillbilly Jim, Tony Atlas, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

There were personal conflicts between them in the beginning, but it was nice to see those issues fade in to the distance as they all got to know and respect each other over the course of the show. Without giving away the details, the final two episodes were very emotional and it was nice to see these larger than life characters reveal the real pains they have dealt with in their lives and finally try to move past them.

There were some slightly cringe worthy moments like realizing that Okerlund is a grumpy old pervert and seeing more of Finkel than any one cares to see, but overall it was clearly not a show that “staged the reality”.

The majority of today’s reality television shows are more scripted than people realize with the producers creating conflicts that were not there in the beginning between cast members. Despite the fact that pro-wrestling is scripted, the producers for the Legends House did not create conflicts like most reality programming and just let the wrestlers be themselves. It was refreshing.

If you do not have the WWE Network it is safe to say that a DVD set should come out at some point and I would heavily recommend checking it out. It was funny, emotional, and just plain cool to see what these larger than life men are like in the real world.

WWE Payback 2014

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Parback

This was one those PPV’s that did not have a lot of positive expectations going in. Most fans online expected it to be boring, but it was anything but. Overall, it was a very good show with 4 big highlights.

The show started off with Sheamus defeating Cesaro to retain the United States title. A very good opening match between to great talents. A lot of back forth, a good story, and nice high spots. The crowd was into this match and it was a promising start to the night.

Bad News Barrett retaining his title against RVD was another solid title bout. RVD can still outperform a lot of wrestlers on the roster and BNB is very over with the crowd and can really put on a great match. RVD putting over Barrett was the right choice and I cannot wait to see BNB in future story lines. He is definitely a top performer.

John Cena over Bray Wyatt in a Last Man Standing match was the match of the night. I have not enjoyed this feud for the most part. Their match at Wrestlemania this year was slow and boring. Their rematch at last month’s PPV was significantly better, but the possessed child that came out at the end was stupid and ruined the match. This third match made it all worthwhile. A ton of back and forth, great high spots, a suddenly terrific story, and well thought out interference from Wyatt’s crew and the Usos made for an amazing match. The end of the match was also well done. It cracked me up, but did not come off as stupid. It cannot be properly explained and needs to be viewed.

The main event was Evolution losing to The Shield in a no holds barred, elimination match. It looked for a while that Evolution would go over, but suddenly The Shield came on strong in the end and eliminated all three members of Triple H’s team with none of The Shield being eliminated. Triple H made the correct call and put the correct guys over.

This was a solid show and it was clear that the talent all put their best feet forward and provided fans with an entertaining 3 hours that was well worth the money.