WWE Survivor Series 2013

Welcome once again to another Big Boss review for this the 2013 Survivor Series; this is usually one of my favourite PPVs of the year so we will see what this year’s PPV holds for us. You can catch me on Twitter @bigboss010 and you can catch my partners over @siteofshite and my good friend Jim over @KingJimmeh for all your comic type stuff.

We start with HHH and Steph Mac coming out and welcoming the audience to the Survivor Series.

Match # 1 – Survivor Series Match

Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, Goldust & The Usos Vs. The Real Americans & The Shield

Rey Mysterio returned on the “go home” show before this PPV to be added into the mix for this match so has added very little to the build; however the Usos and the Rhodes brothers have certainly been in the mix with regards to the Real Americans and the Shield over the last few weeks.

It’s good that we are seeing more of a focus on tag team wrestling as I myself am a huge fan of tag team wrestling and so is my tag team cohort 12ve Pac.

The Bad guy teams here are really over with the fans and it’s strange that the face teams just don’t get the reaction that the heel teams do. However I am really seeing some good things from the Usos and they are getting over with their entrance and in ring skill so it’s all good. Then the Rhodes brothers are just getting better and better all the time. The Real Americans are just way over with their catchphrases and Cesaros big swing move. The Shield needs no mention with just immense talent split between the 3 of them, with Reigns getting some big spots as of late, maybe he is the one to watch in the team.

1.       Dean Ambrose is eliminated 1^st by Cody Rhodes after arguing with the ref and Cody getting the roll up.

2.       Jay Uso eliminates Jack Swagger after hitting a top rope splash.

3.       Cody Rhodes eliminates Antonio Cesaro by pin fall.

4.       Roman Reigns eliminates Jay Uso after hitting him with the spear

5.       Roman Reigns eliminates Cody Rhodes after hitting him with a spear

6.       Seth Rollins eliminates the other Uso brother to make it 2 on 2

7.       Rey Mysterio Eliminates Seth Rollins

8.       Roman Reigns eliminates Goldust

9.       Roman Reigns eliminates Rey Mysterio

The winners are Team Shield / Real Americans with Roman Reigns as the sole survivor. I mentioned earlier how strong Reigns was being used as of late and this only amplifies that booking, he eliminates 4 of the 5 opposition team, wow now that is epic.

Match # 2 Intercontinental Championship Match

Big E Langston (c) Vs. Curtis Axel

Now I think this match has been booked all wrong, I think it would have made sense for Axel to drop the belt here at the PPV rather than lose it on a Raw TV show. Axel has been booked like crap anyway as of late but they should have at least waited till now to have him lose. Big E Langston is your new Bobby Lashley in my opinion, his initials even match for Christ sake, and I don’t really think he is IC champ material, not yet anyway but I guess I’m not booking the show. If Axel wins this I will eat my hat. I think if they had kept him booked strong Axel would be doing much better than he has been, it’s just a shame they kind of let his Paul Heyman association do all his talking.

Big E Langston wins after hitting Axel with the Big Ending, which I would like to add, is a horrible name for a finishing move but suits the horrible looking finisher it labels. Wasn’t the best match in the world but certainly served to put over Big E Langston. Such a shame about Axel though.

Segment

AJ Lee is in the back addressing her team for the divas tag match. When did Kaitlyn turn heel?!

Match # 3 Survivor Series match

Total Divas vs. The “TRUE” Divas

I have a feeling this is going to be WAY TOO LONG! Shouldn’t be an elimination match, it should just be a normal tag match. When did Kaitlyn turn heel?! The set up for this match is obvious really; it’s the reality TV divas vs. the remaining divas, pretty simple yeah? Now the divas matches as of late haven’t been too bad so this may surprise despite its length. When did Kaitlyn turn heel?! God she is hot, maybe hotter if she is now a heel! Sorry I’m distracted.

1.       Naomi eliminates Alicia Fox

2.       Rosa Mendes eliminates Cameron

3.       Nikki Bella eliminates Rosa Mendes

4.       Nikki Bella eliminates Summer Rae

5.       Kaitlyn eliminates Eva Marie

6.       Kaitlyn eliminates Naomi

7.       Brie Bella eliminates Kaitlyn

8.       Aksana eliminates Brie Bella

9.       Nikki Bella eliminates Aksana (GREAT FINISH)

10.   AJ Lee eliminates JoJo

11.   Natalya eliminates Tamina

12.   Natalya eliminates AJ Lee

Total divas win with Natalya and Nikki Bella left wasn’t brilliant but was certainly quicker than I thought it would be.

Segment

Orton is in the back talking to ref Charles Robinson and he tells him to cal the match down the middle, and how they have been friends a long time etc. Robinson tells him he will do what the Authority says.

Goes to the legends panel with Mick Foley, Booker T and Bret Hart and they go to chat but Ryback comes out and interrupts them, he chats crap about them. He issues an open challenge.

Match # 4

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Boy somebody is going to get their ass kicked!!! Mark Henry is back and looking good with the bald head. Ryback or Goldberg light isn’t going to be able to match the World’s Strongest Man!! Ok the match isn’t going to be a technical masterpiece but will have some good power moves in I imagine. I freaking love Mark Henry!! If Mark Henry is charging you for air then you had better keep your bill paid son!!!!

Mark Henry wins (OBVIOUSLY) after hitting Gold-back with the World’s Strongest Slam!! Fantastic, both guys got some power offence but Henry comes out on top as he should. It’s good that we now have a Monster face again, was Kane for ages but now he gone all corporate there isn’t that real scary monster face.

Segment

Back to the hall of fame people, they chat about the PPV.

Match # 5 – World Heavyweight Championship Match

John Cena (c) Vs. Alberto Del Rio

This match marks the beginning of the end for the world title, if anyone has seen what occurs after this PPV will understand, so really it’s pretty obvious who is going to win this. Is it me or does John Cena seem to be getting a few more cheers as of late compared to this time last year, this could be a good sign that fans have accepted him more despite his limited move set. Del Rio on the other hand is an awesome wrestler but his runs as champ have never been that good, which is a real shame as he is a damn good wrestler and I imagine he will carry most of the offence in this match.

John Cena pins Alberto Del Rio after hitting him with the AA, it was an obvious result but wasn’t that a bad a match, as I suspected with Del Rio getting a lot of offence and Cena hitting a quick fire AA for the win at the end.

Segment

R Truth / Santino are in the back playing with a WWE toy, then Los Matadores turn up, followed by Fandango, followed by Johnny Ace, now thats a turn up!! PEOPLE POWER!!!

Match # 6 – Tag Team Match

The Wyatt Family vs. “The Beard & The Best”

Has been built quite well this match and they have done a great job of keeping these guys away from the main event storyline especially Punk. However you have got two exception talents in this match with Punk & Bryan, even against the relatively new Wyatt family this match should impress. They haven’t revealed much about the Wyatt family’s intentions with regards to attacking these two other than cryptic messages given but to be honest I don’t think they need a motivation really, they are pretty much based on psycho killer family number 1 so their motivation isn’t important but do think they are a cool gimmick.

CM Punk hits Luke Harper with the GTS to get the pin fall victory for his team, was actually a really good match, certainly gave the Wyatt family some exposure and gives the fans a Punk / Bryan victory to go with it. Tease at Bray Wyatt entering at the end but the Wyatt family leaves instead as Punk and Bryan celebrates in the ring.

Match # 7 – WWE Championship Match

The Big Show vs. Randy Orton (c)

The face of the WWE vs. The world’s largest athlete which should be interesting even if the focus has been more on the HHH / Steph regime rather than Big Show vs. The champ. The big show has never been a really big draw but I understand that Orton going over the monster giant will help solidify his title reign. Of course this may not impact next month when he will be defending the belt against Cena in a unification match.

I’m still not sold on Orton’s new heel character, he seems more along the lines of a “chicken” heel and not as a psycho heel like he was in 2008 / 2009 which I thought was so much better personally.

The authority comes out to distract the Big Show, this allows Orton to hit the RKO followed by the punt kick to allow him to pin the Big Show and retain the WWE title.

This was bit of a cluster fuck of a match, there were a few mess ups and also it wasn’t that good a match which was a real shame because the build had been rather good.

Mini Segment

As Orton celebrates with his belt, Cena’s music hits and he makes his way to the ring and holds the world title up at Orton, this obviously setting up for the unification match at TLC.

 Summary

Think until the main event the PPV wasn’t too bad, even the bits I thought would be a bit rubbish weren’t that agonizing and it’s a shame the main event didn’t get that long and was a bit of a mess and the crowd reaction to it reflects that I think. But overall I have definitely seen worse PPVs but I do think they could have had at least 1 more survivor series style match on the card.

On to TLC it will be interesting to see what will happen with the unification match and who they will decide to go with as the unified champion. The usual plugs now, you can catch me on twitter @bigboss010 and my friend Jim @kingjimmeh. Catch you next time for TLC.

 I’m Big Boss and I’m out.... Peace. 

Warhammer 40,000 - Chaos Space Marine & Daemon Allies

This is a little out of topic for me but has gotten me quite excited with regards to another hobby of mine outside of watching wrestling and that being Warhammer 40k (one of many hobbies btw).

                       

It started when I decided to glance through the Chaos Daemons codex, a few of my friends have decided to sell their Daemons off since this codex was released since they no longer like the way they play, their rambling got me interested so I took a look myself. The new Chaos Daemons codex is certainly not for anyone who has a shortage of dice or paper to write down a shed load of random powers that you end up giving your forces during the game, with everything depending on dice rolls and very little certainty on what powers you may end up with I can understand their scepticism over playing them as a primary force in the 6^th edition environment.

However, as an allied detachment I can see some use for them, this slightly (very) lowers the amount of dice rolling you have to do as you no longer have to roll for a warlord for them, you probably won’t be taking so many units you need to roll powers for and you do not have to activate the warp storm table every turn like you do when the Daemons are your primary army.  I hate how much dice rolling is involved with Chaos marines themselves due to the boon table,  so I aim to not add much more to my army list when determining which Daemons will be summoned to aid in my onslaught. Anyone who has played against me knows I like my guns, the bigger the better, lots of shots and plenty of damage that comes with it is my style of play, however I think Daemons offer some very unique close combat units, with this in mind I turned to the only god I could and that was Khorne for his blessings, this lead me to the Blood letters troop choice. Now before we go any further Daemons of Khorne are Daemons with furious charge and hatred (Daemons of Slaanesh).

Bloodletters are a simple Khorne troop selection from the Daemons codex, some general stats that can make for some good close combat with WS 5 and a AP3 power sword as standard you simply cannot fault them and 100 points for 10 is a bargain. You can also upgrade them with some useful little bits including a “instrument of chaos” which will be useful when deep striking in units of Daemons or units with the Daemon special rule (please note this down) and then there is the “Icon of chaos” that allows your deep striking to be a little more precise (keep that noted too). This icon can be upgraded to a “Banner of blood” for Bloodletters and this gives them a guaranteed 6 inches on their charges plus that 2^nd D6, which you can’t complain at really.

Now they need something major to lead them into the fray, something monstrous and something with wings!! Yeah I’m gonna go with the Bloodthirster, this flying monstrous creature is going to be a pain the arse for the opposition WS10, BS10, S6, T6, I9, A6 and a 3+ armour save with a 5+ invulnerable save isn’t anything to moan about and that’s before we get to the weaponry this guy carries. He carries the Axe of Khorne with is a user strength AP2 melee weapon with the decapitating blow special rule, this means that all to wound rolls of a 6 have the instant death special rule, not bad when facing down some of the harder charcters from 40k in close combat. Its other weapon is a cheeky little bit of firepower in the form of the Lash of Khorne, this is a 12 inch ranged assault 1, strength 6 AP1 gun that isn’t too bad considering the speed of a flying creature and its haste to get into 12 inch range, also at AP1 it could knock off a single man or knock a wound off a bigger character before you trounce them in close combat. Also the option to add up to 50 points of daemonic gifts, I have yet to decide how I will go here but the options are pretty cool for greater and exhaulted gifts.

There it is, a highly aggressive close combat allied detachment to go with your Chaos space marine warband, however to provide some synergy you will probably go quite heavy close combat with your primary detachment of traitors. I personally chose a Chaos lord with the Khorne mark allowing me to take Khorne Bezerkers as a troop choice instead of an elite choice, the lord is cheap and cheerful, then with his trusty power sword provides a reasonable foe in close combat. His squad of 13 Khorne Bezerkers on the other hand provide some real close combat power thanks to their increased WS of 5 teaming with the Khorne mark and Furious charge they can go to town on a poor unsuspecting squad of men. You can chose to upgrade them with chain axes to gain an AP4 melee weapon but I haven’t bothered at 3 points per model it’s a little steep when most of my competition will be space marines with a 3+ save the axe won’t bother. The Bezerker champ will also simply be used to sacrifice for the challenges that he will stupidly put himself into, in order to protect my lord from going into too many challenges, thanks to the new rules for “Champions of Chaos”.

Just to aid in swamping smaller squads or helping mop up harder to move squads we have the back up of 20 chaos cultists, the champion in the squad being used in sacrificial challenges, I love cultists as they are cheap and not too bad when in big groups at just swamping smaller squads, especially 5 man terminator squads which I proved recently in a game when a ten man cultist squad managed to take down a 5 man terminator squad in CC. Hey Stu ;-). We keep them as they are with a pistol of close combat weapon to gain extra attacks for having 2 close combat weapons and do not bother with the larger guns.

Onto my favourite topic, the heavy support! We start with a Predator, an unusual choice for me but I do own one so I may as well use it at some point, it’s a cheap tank that comes with an auto cannon as standard and I am also adding some lascannon side sponsons just for some heavy duty firepower, not as many shots as I would usually like but the strength and AP of the weapons make up for that, use it from far away to help whittle down numbers before my close combat forces pile in.

My other choice is a standard pick for me and that is a 3 man Obliterator cult, this for me is the best heavy support choice in the game, it’s sickening how good these can be with a little tactical thinking, choosing the right gun to fire with and where you DEEP STRIKE them, your starting to get a picture building now, they have the DAEMON special rule (you getting it yet). So when you roll a successful reserve roll for your B squad of Khorne Bloodletters you can select 1 unit with the Daemon special rule in reserve also and deep strike them in with your bloodletters and within 6 inches of an Icon of Chaos. This means that squad in front of you’re a squad Bloodletters is going to get one hell of a shock if this happens to them, how would you feel if the bad guys in front of you doubled in number and then threw some pretty sickening array of firepower in your general direction. Sadly they will be brandishing the mark of Nurgle, this giving them toughness 5 halting 90% of instant kill weapons and sadly meaning they still scatter when deep striking even next to the icon holder, however it is only 1 D6 so the heat isn’t off for the opposition.

This brings me to the end of my concept piece here, I hope to do a follow up for this after I have actually playtested this idea and seen what it can do. You can follow me on twitter @bigboss010 and you can follow my good friend over @siteofshite too. 

Im Big Boss and I'm out, peace!

  

WWE HELL IN A CELL 2013 Review

WWE have really tried to make this PPV a big deal, the return of John Cena, the Hell In a Cell matches themselves and the return of HBK to referee the WWE championship match. Hopefully the PPV will deliver to the hype surrounding it. Follow me on twitter @bigboss010 and my close friends @site of shite.

Match # 1 – No DQ Triple Threat Tag Team Championship Match

Cody Rhodes & Goldust (c) vs. The Usos vs. The Shield

Ok I understand the Shield being in here, I understand the tag champs obviously being involved but why are the Usos in this match, the commentators are saying that the Usos are the #1 contenders for the tag straps and I have no clue when that happened. Well got to give props to Goldust since his comeback he has actually had some good matches and he is looking in good shape too, his brother Cody has proved time and time again he is a good performer. The Shield team of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have improved greatly not only as singles perfomers but as a tag team they have come along leaps and bounds, but it was certainly time for them to lose the tag belts, they don’t really need them.

My goodness I don’t think ive ever seen a superplex from the top rope to the outside especially onto the wrestlers on the outside! Fantastic. Cody Rhodes and Goldust win the match after Cody hits Seth Rollins with the Cross Rhodes, which I would like to highlight he sells brilliantly! Good match, very action packed and a good way to start the PPV off, hopefully the rest of the PPV matches that.

Segment

The Miz is in the ring, challenges Bray Wyatt to a fight as he isn’t medically cleared to wrestle because of an attack by the Wyatt Family. Bray Wyatt comes on the titantron and tells Miz his words are meaningless, some crackerjack nonsense. The lights come back on the the Wyatt family are in the ring and attack the Miz again. The Pyro hits and Kane makes his way out to the ring! He clears the ring and stares down the Wyatt family as they leave. Then chokeslams the Miz, hits the pyro and leaves. Looking in good shape though, think he has lost some weight!

Match # 2 – Mixed tag team match

Fandango & Summer Rae vs. The Great Khali & Natalya with Hornswoggle

Fandangos cuts a promo saying he is the master of salsa dancing, him and Summer Rae then do some dancing until they are interrupted. In all honesty I cant seem to care about this match, im really trying as Summer Rae is pretty fit and Fandango is a pretty cool wrestler, so is Natalya but yet I still cant find myself a way to care. Im sorry.

Ok the mini match between Natayla and Summer was actually quite good but then the guys were tagged in and its just gone downhill from there really.

Summer Rae rolls up Natalya to win the match for her team.

Match # 3 – United States Championship Match

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Big E Langston

Ambrose in my opinion has lost a lot of momentum, doesn’t seem to be doing much with the US belt, hopefully this match is the start of a bit of a resurgence for the belt. Big E Langston has made a sudden come back after being dropped from the AJ story, maybe going for a black Ryback??

 Big E Langston wins via Count Out so doesn’t win the belt. Big E then goes puts Ambrose back into the ring and hits him with the Big Ending and then stands over Ambrose holding the belt. Wasn’t a fantastic match but was ok for what it was, I’m sure they could have done better and will see in the return match.  

Match # 4 – Hell in a Cell Match

CM Punk vs. Ryback & Paul Heyman

It’s funny how this angle has nothing to do with the current HHH / Steph power angle, it’s almost as if these guys are on a different show. This should be ok, but this isn’t there first time we have seen Punk vs. Ryback in a HIAC match, so the addition of Paul Heyman is a new twist but I can’t imagine it being a big one in my opinion. The only real problem I have had with this whole angle has been that the Paul Heyman guys have been made to look like total bitches, especially Curtis Axel which is a real shame considering he is the IC champ.

Heyman comes out on a mobile lift which puts him on top of the HIAC and leaves Ryback and Punk to fight it out inside the Cell.

CM Punk beats Ryback inside the cell to win the match, he then proceeds to climb to the top of the cell brandishing a kendo stick to meet Heyman, he beats Heyman senseless with the kendo stick to roaring Yes chants from the crowd. He then signals for the GTS and levels Heyman before standing tall on top of the cell.

Was a pretty good match and certainly gives the fan what they want with Punk finally getting his hands on Heyman, Ryback put on a much better show then I was expecting inside the cell  itself but again came up short.

Match # 5 Tag Team Match

Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans

Its good to see Epico and Primo with a new gimmick and one that seems reasonably over too. However the Real Americans are an odd one, they have an over catchphrase and some really over moves, they seem to be turning face by default despite being obvious bad guys! Its very confusing.

Los Matadores win after hitting a double team on Jack Swagger, quite an entertaining match and the crowd seemed quite into it too. Especially when Cesaro hit the big swing, the crowd were really cheering.

Match # 6 World Heavyweight Championship match

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena

Ok, I’m thinking this match isn’t going to be contested inside a cell, very strange considering you would think this match would certainly have to be a cell match. Well Del Rios world title reign hasn’t been that significant to my knowledge really, he hasn’t really stood out as the world champion, obviously the reason why they felt the need to job him out to Cena. Cena who of course is returning from injury as he had a major tricep infection, he has been out for only about 2 months yet they have made such a big deal out of him coming back.

The commentary team are really bigging this match up and to be honest without then i don’t think this match would be as good as it is. They are selling that Del Rio has been the champ for a while and that he has a had great success defending the belt, they are also commenting on the recovery rate of Cena all builds to a great story. One plus point of this match is that we got to see a German suplex and how often do we see them anymore?!

John Cena hits Del Rio with the Attitude Adjustment to get the pinfall victory and to become the new World Heavyweight champion. Well as I said, the main good points of this match are the because of the commentators and Del Rios talent really.

Match # 7 – Divas Championship Match

AJ Lee (c) with Tamina vs. Brie Bella with Nikki Bella

I’m not going to slate this match as the last few WWE divas title matches have surprised me. I really like AJ anyway, she is pretty cool. With the Total Divas show getting plenty of publicity the Bella sisters have been getting some more air time.

AJ Lee gets the submission victory after using her black widow submission. Not a bad match, short and sweet, was quite shocked at how technical Brie Bella was during that match, maybe the Divas division is becoming something to watch again.

Match # 8 – WWE Championship Hell in a Cell match

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton WITH Shawn Michaels as the Guest Referee

This story has become the focal point of WWE TV over the last few months, the almost rehashing of the Austin / McMahon storyline cannot be denied and it is working even under the PG environment. Daniel Bryan with his “Yes” chant is a parallel to Austin with his “What” chant. Randy Orton on the flip side of that can only be compared to the Rock in a sense of he is the corporate chosen champion, he is playing the character to perfection as well.

HHH comes out to the ring holding the WWE championship that he presents to Shawn Michaels.  

Randy Orton pins Daniel Bryan after HBK super kicked Bryan after he attacked HHH. What a match, even with the screwed finish that was a solid match and was certainly the most entertaining match of the show. It felt like they made more of an effort with this cell match and certainly made up for the fact there were only 2 cell matches on the card. Will be interesting to see where they take it from there though, especially with the Big Show’s potential involvement and how the result will influence Bryan in the upcoming future.

Well thanks for dropping by and reading this little review I hope you enjoyed the show as it was fairly good for a thrown together PPV event. The next major show is the Survivor Series which even though is only 4 weeks away will see some good matches. You can follow me on twitter @bigboss010 and you can follow my cohorts @siteofshite too. Thanks again for reading, I’m Big Boss and I’m out PEACE. 

Batman Year Zero, 1st arc Review

Having just finished reading the first arc of the BATMAN YEAR ZERO storyline in the new DC universe I find myself looking back at the comics that pre-date it but are epilogues to this story. We have seen the return of Bruce Wayne from a long absence from Gotham City and his preparations to become THE BATMAM. The story begins by focusing on the antagonists for this arc, the Red Hood Gang lead by the notorious Red Hood 1, who we all know will go on to become the Joker but warn ourselves away from that conclusion due to changes in the DC continuity and roles of certain characters. We see how he develops his headquarters, his moral choice as to whether reveal he has returned to Gotham or just work from the shadows hidden from everyone and then how he selects the animal that will be his avatar to scare the criminal element of Gotham city. We also get to meet his Uncle Phillip who has been running the massive Wayne Enterprises since Bruce vanished years previously and the struggles he has had to face in Bruce’s absence.

The double sized final issue for this arc really confused me, why did they make it so long and hence the increased retail price (£4.99 on the iPad if you must know). However it does tie the arc up pretty nicely, we finally get to see Batman in action and him fighting his first major criminals. We get to see some ties to the Killing Joke comic with regards to the Red Hood story and how they come to wear the infamous helmet. The apparent “Blackmailing” to force people to wear the red hood mask is used in the Year One arc just the same as it is described in the Killing Joke story and even expands further than just the “Leader” of the gang but expands into a lot of the other members who are blackmailed into signing up such as Bruce Wayne’s uncle who has been running Wayne Enterprises while Bruce has been missing.

They also reveal the name of the “Leader” of the Red Hood gang in this arc; however they certainly don’t give you the satisfaction of letting you think this is the Joker’s real name as they quickly turn it around to leave you still in the dark over the true identity of the clown prince of crime. This mini arc has been fairly entertaining to read and wastes no time after Batman defeats the gang to introduce the next bad guy into the equation for the Dark Knight to contend with, this villain is actually introduced as early as the first issue if I remember correctly but truly reveals himself in the final panels of the double sized conclusion issue and informs Gotham that the Riddler is in town.

For anyone who hasn’t read the new 52 Batman should certainly do so, Scott Synder has written some great stuff and has done a great job so far with the character and I’m looking forward to seeing what else his Year One arc will produce. The Night of Owls arc at the beginning of the run was reasonably good and the Death of the Family arc was absolutely fantastic to read and I’m sure it will appeal to any Batman fan, but be warned it does cross over into almost every other Batman related comic running parallel.

You can follow me on Twitter @bigboss010 and you can also follow the SOS guys @siteofshite, please also check them out on YouTube.com as well.

I’m Big Boss and I’m out… Peace. 

WWE Battleground 2013 PPV Review

Ok, I’ll be honest I have seen NONE... 0.... Zilch of the build up to this PPV, I didn’t even know it was happening until I saw a tweet about it, which of course brings me to my first plug of follow me @bigboss010, the SOS guys @siteofshite and my good pal Jim @KingJimmeh. We have a new PPV event here in the form of WWE BATTLEGROUND, having a small knowledge of what has lead upto this point I hope it is a good PPV.

Match #1 – World Heavyweight Title match – Battleground rules (NO DQ)

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam with Ricardo Rodriguez

Ok, this should be a good match just because of the two guys involved, Del Rio is a really good performer even though he is lacking a little in the promo department. Van Dam is generally entertaining to watch and is still really agile considering how long he has been in the business. I personally don’t see them letting RVD win the belt here as I believe he has only signed a low end contract with limited dates, so a world title run probably isn’t on the cards.

Alberto Del Rio wins after making RVD tap out to the cross armbreaker. Not a bad match, nearly got a Van Terminator but sadly that was missed, also a nice spot where it looked like Ricardo was going to side with Del Rio but ended up attacking Del Rio with a bucket. HA!

A nice match, just what you expected from these guys, both of them got some spots and looked good for the opening match.

Segment 1

The Real Americans are in the back, talking about illegal immigrants from Mexico and Canada. Tell Santino and Khali will be beaten up.... oh boy.

Match #2 Tag Team Match

Santino Marella & Great Khali with Hornswoggle vs. The Real Americans with Zeb Colter

I like Antonio Cesaro, not so big on Swagger or Colter, but I have to admit as a team they are really coming together and both complement each other. On the other scale we have Santino and Khali, neither of which I have ever liked and can’t get behind them I’m sorry.

The Real Americans win after Antonio Cesaro hits the giant swing on the Great Khali.... That’s right folks the giant swing.... On the Great Khali!!! My god Cesaro is just pure power, that’s inhuman levels of strength. Not a 5* match but that finish was fantastic and the crowd were in SHOCK!

Match #3 Intercontinental Championship Match

Curtis Axel (c) with Paul Heyman vs. R-Truth

This shouldn’t be too bad, Axel needs some more victories under his belt, he has been made to look a bit of a joke over the last few months, a win over Truth will help to steer him in the right direction. Does anyone remember when Truth challenged John Cena for the WWE title?? Just saying.

I like Axel, he has a great legacy to live up to but I think he has what it takes and I really like his music too. I’m not so big on R-Truth but I think he is a good talent, I guess he just hasn’t had many chances to really show what he can do outside “What’s up”.

Curtis Axel retains the IC title after hitting R-Truth with a modified neckbreaker and claiming the pinfall. Not a bad match, lasted a lot longer than I thought it would too be honest and had the right result too. I cannot complain about it at all.

Match #4 – Divas Championship match

Brie Bella with Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee with Tamina Snucka

Ok, someone set me straight here, I thought the Bella’s were heel characters??? When did Tamina start being AJ’s manager??? Where is Big E??? Why am I even caring???

AJ lee wins the match via some help from Tamina distracting Brie by attacking Nikki, this allowing AJ to get the roll up.

Next match!!!

Segment 2

The Rhodes family are in the back they are determined to beat the Shield and get their jobs back.

Match #5 – Tag Team Match (If the Rhodes family lose then they are all fired, if they win then they all have jobs)

Cody Rhodes & Goldust vs. The Shield

A good story building up to this match, quite an interesting twist how Goldust may end up with a job here too, after his match with Orton on Raw a while back I think he deserves it, even if it’s just a short run.  Also noticed that Cody & Dustin match! That’s cute!

The Shield have been booked as HHH & Stef’s enforcers and that is really crappy but at the same time it kind of reminds me of the Big Boss Man & Bull Buchannan from the corporation, so I guess it fits in. Even though their role has kind of changed their entrance hasn’t reflected it, they still come in from the crowd. I also forgot that Dean Ambrose has the US title, when did he last defend that?

Cody Rhodes gets the pinfall victory after hitting the Cross Rhodes on Seth Rollins to get his job back and get Goldust a job in WWE. I also think this maybe the first PPV loss for the Shield too?

Fantastic match, the Rhodes family were really over and got a great reaction from the crowd. Never realised quite how well Seth Rollins sells, he is on Ziggler level of selling, he acted like he had just been shot when caught by the Cross Rhodes. The WWE locker room come out to congratulate the Rhodes family on their victory.

Segment 3

The Raw GM Brad Maddox is talking on the phone to HHH & Steph, Vickie G walks in and he begs her to help him get the show running smoothly. She laughs and leaves. Complete waste of time.

Match #6 – Kofi Kingston vs. Bray Wyatt

It’s good to see both members of the New Nexus getting revamps and PPV matches, Bray Wyatt has made a great start in WWE and it will be cool to see where they take the character in the future. Kofi on the other hand is now just a development talent really, like Truth, a good talent but used to put people over but you can’t complain he is getting the PPV payday.

From what I can gather the Wyatt family used to wrestle on NXT while Bray managed them, here in WWE it seems the other way around and that is ok but would be good to see what the other Wyatt family members can do.

Bray Wyatt wins after hitting “Sister Abigail” facebuster on Kofi, the match wasn’t bad but seemed a bit longer than your usual filler match. Onto the next one for the Wyatt family.

 Match # 7 – Ryback with Paul Heyman vs. CM Punk

Well just from watching the video package that previews this match I can say that the build has been interesting. Quite a funny twist on the Ryback being a bully storyline, for him to attack Punk because he doesn’t like Bullies and they say irony is dead. Not a big Ryback fan but will be good to see what him and Punk do in this match.

The crowd are really behind Punk as he gets a great reception from the live crowd and I should also mention the “Goldberg” chants for Ryback.

Honestly, not quite as entertaining for me as the Rhodes / Shield match, Just felt like a lot of Ryback shuffling around and bumbling up.

CM Punk wins after low blowing Ryback, Heyman was being told off by the referee for trying to use a kendo stick and this allowed Punk to hit the low blow. Again this match just wasn’t as good as it could be and the finish showed this too, I think the Rhodes match was a lot more entertaining to me anyway.

Match # 8 – WWE Championship Match

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton

This match is to determine the new WWE champion after the title was vacated after Night of Champions PPV.

I will also now apologise for not doing a Night of Champions review, I simply didn’t watch any of the build up nor did I watch the PPV, so couldn’t really do a review I also wasn’t involved in any of the SOSgames predictions either, but hopefully will get back in for the next lot of PPVs.

Randy Orton needs to go back to his 2009 persona and he will be a winner in my book, he has lost a lot of what made him cool for that period of time so this heel turn is a massive boost to his character but he does need to quit doing the pose on the turnbuckle!

Daniel Bryan has almost appeared out of nowhere to be considered the new Stone Cold; his stand against the corporate powers of HHH & Steph Mac has really been popular with the audience. He is an immensely talented wrestler and is very much over with the crowd but he does need a haircut and a shave. ;-)

Big Show comes out and first knocks out Bryan (which everyone boos), then proceeds to knock out Brad Armstrong when he returns to “ref” the match (which everyone cheers) and then when Orton shouts at him he then knocks out Orton (which everyone cheers). Evidence to show just how fickle the crowd can be, you can’t boo interference and then cheer it after! C’mon man, think about it! Big Show stands tall to end the show...

Wait!.... thats the end of the PPV..... What!!!????

What a crappy ending to a pretty reasonable PPV!! They are really throwing us back into the attitude era aren’t they? But a PG rated attitude era, which is sucks and no wonder PPV buy rates are down.

Well aside from that horrific finish I quite enjoyed that PPV, the Rhodes match was certainly match of the evening for me and was a great main event too with regards to match quality.

The next stop is Hell in a Cell in a few weeks because WWE like to throw a PPV together with 3 weeks build, oh joy. Hopefully we wont get a screwed ending this time. I’ve been Big Boss and I’m out... Peace!! (Follow me on twitter @bigboss010, the SOS guys @siteofsite and Jim @KingKimmeh )

SOS Pain & Gain Review.

“Jesus Christ has bestowed me with many gifts… and one of them is knocking people the f** out"

I have to say I was really looking forward to this as I sat down with my partner in crime Mike "Air" as the main cast was shaping up to be a good one with Mark Walberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson being in some decent films as of late. Then I saw that the director was the same man that killed my childhood Micheal Bay grrrrrr!!

I am a professional after all so I gave my time this film as I would with any other films I have watched. So did Michael Bay manage to kill the careers of the aforementioned actors like he did with Optimus Prime and chums? Or has he finally managed to direct a semi decent film? Read on my friends and find out more....

Plot

Based on the true story of Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) a Miami bodybuilder who wants to live the American dream. He would like to have the money that other people have. So he enlists the help of fellow bodybuilder Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and ex-convict, Christian bodybuilder Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson). Their kidnapping and extortion scheme goes terribly wrong since they have muscles for brains and they're left to haphazardly try to hold onto the elusive American dream.

Review

It's very easy to ridicule Michael Bay's movies... and also great fun. Despite attempting to witness his latest endeavour Pain & Gain with an open mind, it was only a matter of time before a coping strategy was instigated to ensure some modicum of sanity was preserved throughout this painfully (not gainfully) overlong and execrable affair. More on that later...

Based on a true story, a fact which is shoehorned into viewers' minds with "THIS IS A TRUE STORY" captions intermittently flashing up during seemingly contrived sequences, Pain & Gain follows three pumped up bodybuilders as they embark on an evil and greedy quest involving kidnap, extortion and murder.

There's Mark Wahlberg's gym instructor Daniel, the ringleader who often adopts a saucer-eyed expression of derangement; Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Paul, a Jesus-loving bodybuilder who likes to snort cocaine off the skinny derrières of strippers; and Anthony Mackie's trainer Adrian, who has rendered himself impotent through steroid use. They join forces in a bid to nab all of Tony Shalhoub's shady businessman Victor's money - only to have Ed Harris's retired investigator on their trail.

One would hope that the factual basis of the narrative would ensure that the makers steered clear of a hysterically sensationalised approach, or if not, at least the adoption of a satirical slant. But any shred of credence or intelligence is quashed by a plethora of one-dimensional ciphers masquerading as real-life people. This was Michael Bay's chance to show some storytelling prowess away from the mega-budget terrain and twisted metal of the Transformers franchise, but the same problems have materialised courtesy of a crass script that targets the lowest common denominator.

The representation of the central trio seeks to position them as more sympathetic than psychotic, with their despicable deeds played for laughs and their malevolent motivations attributed to a flawed interpretation of the American Dream. It's fair to say that Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is never challenged in that thematic respect. Not that mainstream, multiplex entertainment needs to have such weighty aspirations. It should just steer away from being insulting and patronising on so many levels, epitomised by the presentation of a dangerous brand of masculinity - all rippling biceps, quickfire wisecracks and callous dislike of the unlike - as being iconic and desirable.

That's why the aforementioned 'coping strategy' was spontaneously adopted during the film. This movie is one long orgy of women who are either pouting, flesh-baring sluts or morbidly obese figures of mockery with terrible personal hygiene. A movie where rampant homophobia is deemed funny and laddish, and where crude racial stereotyping is acceptable. Of course this is All presented with plenty of Michael Bay Slo-Mo just to prolong the agony and make us loathe the aesthetic as much as the script. If I had realised that this was Micheal Bay directed I may never have seen it, and honestly I wish I hadn't!

Verdict

Pain and Gain is awful beyond imagining. Awful beyond dictionary definitions of awfulness. Scenes of violence and torture are directed as if violence and torture were audio-visual rock ’n’ roll. The story structure sways like a drunken elephant. The permutating voiceover narrations resemble an idiot’s Citizen Kane. Mark Wahlberg, looking overweight, and Dwayne Johnson, looking dazed, search vainly for that seam of gold that lies somewhere between comedy and tragedy. It is a search that has defeated better actors and much better films.

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KEEP YOUR SHITE TIGHT

ECW Hardcore Heaven 1997

This is my first ECW back catalogue report, this is the Hardcore Heaven 1997 PPV. Not a clue what happens on this PPV. Will be interesting to see what goes down.

Segment 1.

Joey Styles kicks the show off in the ring announcing some of the matches but gets interrupted by Ravishing Rick Rude!!! WTF!!! Joey Styles berates him for turning his back on ECW, gives him the microphone and then leaves. The Ravishing One then berates the crowd and demands they respect Chris Candido, who then makes his way to the ring.

Todd Gordon makes his way to the ring and tells Ravishing that he needs to leave the ringside area as he isn’t a real manager and that he has till the 10 count, so Rick Rude leaves.

The titles roll for ECW HARDCORE HEAVEN 1997.

Match # 1 ECW TV Title match

Chris Candido vs. Taz (c)

Don’t think I’ve seen that many Taz matches from his earlier ECW days so this should be cool, I also hear Candido wasn’t too bad either as a performer.

Match starts off pretty technical, always good to see that on an ECW show. I keep forgetting that ECW didn’t really have any rules within 3 minutes Taz hit a low blow and Candido had raked Taz’s eyes. Ha! Joey Styles reveals that Taz is only 29 at this PPV event, my god this is an old show isn’t it. Candido’s finisher is the “Blonde Bombshell” that according to Joey Styles is a top rope powerbomb, damn that seems like a pretty tough finisher to hit. I am also a huge fan of how every suplex Taz throws is renamed Taz-plex instead, a bit like every move Mike Awesome does gets the prefix “awesome” instead.

Candido puts Taz on the top turnbuckle, turns around like an idiot, Taz locks on the Taz-mission, takes down Candido and then forces the submission to retain the ECW TV title belt. That was actually quite a good match to open the show; I think you can feel from the crowd’s responses to this match that Taz was certainly destined to be the top guy of ECW. Looking forward to seeing Candido in future shows too.

Segment 2

We go to the announcers area and Joey Styles thanks everyone for buying the show (Idiot this is an old show), he then says that pre show the Insane Clown Posse were in the ring and leads to footage of RVD & Sabu kicking the crap out of them, was quite pointless.

Match # 2 - Spike Dudley vs.  Bam Bam Bigelow

I hear Spike was a hell of a worker in ECW, so guess I will see now won’t I. I know they were going for a giant killer kind of gimmick with Spike, they had him tackle all the really big buys like Bam Bam. This match was booked because Spike beat Bam Bam on TV the week before, so obviously Bam Bam wants some payback.

Can imagine Spike is going to take some nasty bumps in this match, a few minutes in and boy has he taken some nasty bumps, he has been thrown, dropped and bombed, it isn’t a pretty site, especially when he body press throws Spike into the crowd.

Bam Bam drags Spike from the crowd into the ring, hits him with a shoulder breaker / pile driver move, then heads to the top rope and flies off squashing poor Spike and gets the pin fall victory.

That was a SQUASH match, my god Bam Bam threw him round like a rag doll, Spike got very little offence in that match but was still quite cool (I know I’m sick). Not much to talk about here so onto the next bit.

Segment 3

We go back to the beat down of the Insane Clown Posse, with Sandman trying to get involved but he gets beaten up too for his troubles. Thank god for Sabu & RVD, I hate the Sandman.

Match # 3 - Rob Van Dam (With Bill Alfonso) vs. Al Snow

Ok, aside from Al Snow this should be good, I’m joking I’m sure it will be good, despite Al Snow doesn’t have HEAD yet. Nobody can decide who they want to cheer and boo in this match, looking about 60/40 to RVD being cheered more than booed.

Always been quite a fan of RVD anyway, really liked his early WWF work with the invasion angle and then again towards the end of his WWE run with the ECW brand. No wonder WWE hired both these guys, this is certainly more of a wrestling match then the 1^st two matches of the show, bit more of a story being told in this encounter. Back & forward offence, false finishes and some good wrestling in between J.

Rob Van Dam wins after hitting the Van Daminator and then pinning Al Snow for the 3 count.

Segment 4

Joey Styles says that they have a helicopter following the ambulance that Sandman has been taken to the hospital in. Lance Wright is in the chopper reporting, how rubbish is his reporting?

Turns out that Sandman has stolen the ambulance and is now driving it back to the arena.

We cut to Jerry Lawler in the back, he cuts a promo on Tommy Dreamer telling him that he is gonna kick his ass.

Segment 5

We cut to the ring, where the Dudley Family, Joel Gertner and Jenna Jameson are in the ring. Joel then introduces the remaining Dudley boyz.

Match # 4 – ECW Tag Team Championship Match

The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D’Von) vs. Pg-13 (No Clue i’m Sorry)

PG-13 cut a promo on the dudleyz, not too bad but I think these guys are going to get their asses whooped.

The Dudley Boyz win after hitting the 3-D on the PG-13 guy wearing red shorts :-? To retain their tag team championships. Good match, lots of back and forth between the two teams, some nice double teams from both sides and plenty of interference from the Dudley family with Jenna Jameson to help the Dudley Boyz in the defence of their titles. Quite fun to see some old school Dudley Boyz, such a good tag team and they didn’t need to pull out the tables to put this one away.

Segment 6

Back to the choppa, where we are still following the commandeered ambulance that the Sandman is driving, I imagine he will get back to the show during the ECW title match.

Back to the ring we have Jerry Lawler in the ring; he cuts a promo on the people watching the show and plugs the upcoming WWF GROUND ZERO PPV event, funny stuff from the King, repeats the same stuff he said on camera earlier in the show.

Match # 5 Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Tommy Dreamer (With Beulah)

This is a unique contest if anything, didn’t realise the WWF involvement with ECW was so soon into their PPV history. Beulah is one fine young lady I may note. This is Tommy Dreamers PPV debut according to Joey Styles too. I imagine this match will be a little bit more violent in comparison to the previous tag team title match, can’t imagine Jerry Lawler doing too well in this match.

I can say that Lawler isn’t liked by the ECW crowd, they are all over him from the second he appeared in the ring, and Dreamer is certainly the crowd favourite for this match.

The lights go out during the match, when they come back on Rick Rude is clobbering Dreamer with a trash can, throws him back into the ring but Lawler only gets a 2 count. The lights go out again shortly after and when they come back on we have Jake “The Snake” Roberts in the ring and he clotheslines Dreamer and then DDTs him before. Jerry Lawler goes to shake the hands of Jake but gets a clothesline for his troubles before Jake leaves. Shortly after the lights go out again!!!! My god! This time its Sunny who sprays Tommy in the face with something but Beulah gets in the ring and they catfight for a bit.

Beulah hits a low blow on the King after he tries to piledrive her, Dreamer then hits the DDT to get the pinfall victory over Jerry Lawler.

Segment 7

Back to Joey Styles, he introduces the main event the ECW world title match.

Then back to the choppa for the ambulance chase. The Sandman seems to have finally found his way back to the arena. What a loser.

Match # 6 ECW World Title Match Three Way Dance

Sabu (c)(With Bill Alfonso) vs. Terry Funk & Shane Douglas (With Francine)

This match is a rematch from 1994, which went to a 1 hour time limit draw. Not really a fan of any of these guys, I guess if I was to be it would be “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, he is more of a wrestler than the other two and isn’t known for his use of weapons or blood soaked matches.

Francine tries to pay Terry Funk to leave but to no avail, rather funny bit as he slaps the cash out of her hands. I keep forgetting the 3 WAY DANCE matches are of course elimination, two men need to be eliminated to end the match. With Funk being the only face in this match I am going to assume that Douglas will be eliminated first leading to a one on one with Sabu & Funk. I also expect to see some of the Sandman in this match, with arriving back at the arena after suffering an assault from Sabu & RVD earlier.

Im surprised no one just smashed Bill Alfonso in the face, his constant blowing of that fucking whistle is just the most god damn annoying thing this show has produced. Todd Gordon comes out and attacks Bill Alfonso, however Shane Douglas interferes and puts him on a table for Sabu to jump onto. However Funk attacks Douglas and puts Alfonso on the same table just as Sabu dives onto it crushing both Gordon and Alfonso.

Sandman hits the ring and attacks Sabu, then security come and drag Sandman out of the building as Funk & Douglas cover Sabu removing him from the match by pinfall elimination. Sabu then gets up, hits the ropes and dives onto the Sandman and security on the outside the ring, they both then get dragged out of the arena. As Francine & Douglas set Funk up to get put through a table Dory Funk Jr enters and attacks Douglas then chases Francine from the ringside area.

After a series of exchanges Shane Douglas hits his Belly to Belly Suplex to pin Terry Funk to win the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.

Francine and Douglas celebrate by whipping Funk with the belt and beating him down. Joel Gertner enters the ring along with the Dudley Boyz, he asks Douglas to join forces with the Dudley Boyz and ditch his current partners “The Triple Threat”, who then of course make their way to the ring and this turns into a brawl as the Dudley Boyz beat up half the ECW roster as the “Triple Threat” leave in the confusion. The Dudleys being the only people left in the ring closes the show.

Oh and incase you don’t know the Triple Threat is Shane Douglas, Chris Candido & Bam Bam Bigelow. I didn’t know so its more relevant to me I guess. Well thats the end of the 2^nd ever ECW PPV event, wasn’t a bad show actually, its a bit shit that these shows were all before my time with regards to watching wrestling as I didn’t start till 2000. Quite looking forward to seeing some more of them as I hope you are excited to read about them.

Follow me on twitter @bigboss010, SOSgames @siteofshite and my good friend Jim @KingJimmeh

I’ve been Big Boss, see you next time and I’m out! PEACE!