Time to do the WCW Invasion justice...
- 7/23/2017
- Obsessed with Film
Time to do the WCW Invasion justice...
- 7/23/2017
- Obsessed with Film
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs The Rock- Wrestlemania 17
“Shaking hands with Satan himself.”
Wrestlemania 17, hands down, is the best Wrestlemania booked to date. Apart from a horribly short Women’s Championship match with Chyna facing off against Ivory, from the opening match to the main event, every match was great.
The main event of the show was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs The Rock. The previous year, Austin had been recovering from long needed neck surgery sustained at the hands of Owen Hart at Summerslam 1997. During his time away, superstars like The Rock and Triple H stepped up their game and became main event players in their own right. When you are out of action for close to a year, there is a very real fear that by the time you get back in the ring you would have lost a step or two. Or worse, that the fans would...
“Shaking hands with Satan himself.”
Wrestlemania 17, hands down, is the best Wrestlemania booked to date. Apart from a horribly short Women’s Championship match with Chyna facing off against Ivory, from the opening match to the main event, every match was great.
The main event of the show was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs The Rock. The previous year, Austin had been recovering from long needed neck surgery sustained at the hands of Owen Hart at Summerslam 1997. During his time away, superstars like The Rock and Triple H stepped up their game and became main event players in their own right. When you are out of action for close to a year, there is a very real fear that by the time you get back in the ring you would have lost a step or two. Or worse, that the fans would...
- 3/31/2017
- by Tim Jousma
- LRMonline.com
Jim Dandy Jan 26, 2017
Oliver attempts to maintain his optimism in the face of real world loss in Arrow's midseason premiere...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Spectre: one year on, where's it left the James Bond series?
5.10 Who Are You?
It’s weird for a show to feel like it’s in a huge transition five seasons in, but that’s where we’re at with Arrow. I have been happier with this season than any other, but for some reason it struck me early in tonight’s episode how incredibly gloomy this show is. Even when it’s trying not to be (and it was working hard at that tonight), it’s still grim and pitch black compared to the rest of the CW DC shows. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a little jarring when you go from watching a gaggle of people...
Oliver attempts to maintain his optimism in the face of real world loss in Arrow's midseason premiere...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Spectre: one year on, where's it left the James Bond series?
5.10 Who Are You?
It’s weird for a show to feel like it’s in a huge transition five seasons in, but that’s where we’re at with Arrow. I have been happier with this season than any other, but for some reason it struck me early in tonight’s episode how incredibly gloomy this show is. Even when it’s trying not to be (and it was working hard at that tonight), it’s still grim and pitch black compared to the rest of the CW DC shows. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a little jarring when you go from watching a gaggle of people...
- 1/26/2017
- Den of Geek
WWE.com
Verbally tearing right through men like Ted Turner, Buff Bagwell and Jeff Jarrett, Vince McMahon appeared to be having an absolute blast on the March 26, 2001 edition of Raw Is War. Complete with a wholly smug grin, the WWF’s head honcho opened up a simulcast between Raw and WCW’s Monday Nitro, declaring that he was appearing on the rival show because he had, in fact, purchased World Championship Wrestling.
Whilst news didn’t travel quite as fast back then in 2001 as it does now, many in the wrestling community were already aware that McMahon had purchased 24 talent contracts, the WCW tape library and numerous WCW trademarks for around $2.5 million by the time Nitro and Raw hit the air. Still, it was quite the shock to see Vince callously declare that the fate of WCW was now in his hands.
Later, WCW would sadly become a mere pawn...
Verbally tearing right through men like Ted Turner, Buff Bagwell and Jeff Jarrett, Vince McMahon appeared to be having an absolute blast on the March 26, 2001 edition of Raw Is War. Complete with a wholly smug grin, the WWF’s head honcho opened up a simulcast between Raw and WCW’s Monday Nitro, declaring that he was appearing on the rival show because he had, in fact, purchased World Championship Wrestling.
Whilst news didn’t travel quite as fast back then in 2001 as it does now, many in the wrestling community were already aware that McMahon had purchased 24 talent contracts, the WCW tape library and numerous WCW trademarks for around $2.5 million by the time Nitro and Raw hit the air. Still, it was quite the shock to see Vince callously declare that the fate of WCW was now in his hands.
Later, WCW would sadly become a mere pawn...
- 3/29/2016
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
The author H.P Lovecraft once said, “From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent”. In a stunning case of predicting one’s own future, the writer would ironically gain greater fame posthumously rather than during his life. Irony is also something the world of pro wrestling knows a little something about, too.
Without running the risk of being too hyperbolic, professional wrestlers put literally hundreds of hours into their craft. It’s not only the in-ring work that counts, and these men and women dedicate so much time to travel, sitting around arenas across the globe and earnestly honing their skills. When everything comes together, the rewards are plentiful, and can lead to serious wealth for those lucky enough to live out their dreams.
Unfortunately, there’s also a flip side to proceedings, and it’s decidedly harsh. One of the stories on this list...
The author H.P Lovecraft once said, “From even the greatest of horrors, irony is seldom absent”. In a stunning case of predicting one’s own future, the writer would ironically gain greater fame posthumously rather than during his life. Irony is also something the world of pro wrestling knows a little something about, too.
Without running the risk of being too hyperbolic, professional wrestlers put literally hundreds of hours into their craft. It’s not only the in-ring work that counts, and these men and women dedicate so much time to travel, sitting around arenas across the globe and earnestly honing their skills. When everything comes together, the rewards are plentiful, and can lead to serious wealth for those lucky enough to live out their dreams.
Unfortunately, there’s also a flip side to proceedings, and it’s decidedly harsh. One of the stories on this list...
- 3/28/2016
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Following Shane McMahon’s carefully-worded demand for control of “Monday Night Raw,” rumors have surfaced that WWE is once again considering implementing a brand extension.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson is reporting that WWE has been hosting internal discussions regarding the reinstitution of the extension over the past few weeks. If Shane were to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania and win control of Raw, that would leave Smackdown! open to being run by The Authority. The next logical step might be a division of talent.
There’s little concrete evidence to support the plan, save for a notice on Ticketmaster.com that the May 23 Raw in Baltimore, MD is being billed as “Monday Night Raw vs. WWE.” This could be indicative of an upcoming storyline, though not necessarily – for years after the WCW/Ecw Invasion angle ended, similar information would pop up advertising “WCW” tapings, only to change in time.
Following Shane McMahon’s carefully-worded demand for control of “Monday Night Raw,” rumors have surfaced that WWE is once again considering implementing a brand extension.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson is reporting that WWE has been hosting internal discussions regarding the reinstitution of the extension over the past few weeks. If Shane were to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania and win control of Raw, that would leave Smackdown! open to being run by The Authority. The next logical step might be a division of talent.
There’s little concrete evidence to support the plan, save for a notice on Ticketmaster.com that the May 23 Raw in Baltimore, MD is being billed as “Monday Night Raw vs. WWE.” This could be indicative of an upcoming storyline, though not necessarily – for years after the WCW/Ecw Invasion angle ended, similar information would pop up advertising “WCW” tapings, only to change in time.
- 2/24/2016
- by Scott Fried
- Obsessed with Film
Cinema Tropical, the acclaimed New York-based organization dedicated to promoting Latin American cinema in the United States, is celebrating its 15th Anniversary with the 2016 edition of the Cinema Tropical Festival presented with the Museum of the Moving Image. Presenting six feature films from Argentina, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico, the festival will feature select winners and nominees from the 6th Annual Cinema Tropical Awards, which were announced at a special ceremony at the New York Times Company headquarters last month.
Founded in 2001 by Carlos A. Gutiérrez and Monika Wagenberg with the mission of distributing, programming and promoting what was to become the biggest boom of Latin American cinema in decades, Cinema Tropical has become the leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the United States. In its 15 years of existence, it has theatrically released 25 Latin American feature films, more than any other U.S. distributor, and has produced numerous film series with multiple cultural organizations. Through a diversity of programs and initiatives, Cinema Tropical is thriving as a dynamic and groundbreaking 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization experimenting in the creation of better and more effective strategies for the distribution and exhibition of foreign cinema in this country.
The Cinema Tropical Festival brings the best of contemporary Latin American cinema to New York City audiences, offering a chance to experience the dynamic and inventive film productions from the region. The opening night screening of "Mala Mala," winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latino Film, will be followed a Q&A with filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, and a 15th Anniversary celebration reception.
The festival will feature the U.S. premiere of the Tiger Award winner "Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes") by Juan Daniel F. Molero, which became the first Peruvian film ever to receive the top prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival, with the filmmaker in attendance. The lineup also includes the New York premieres of Juan Schnitman’s debut feature "The Fire," winner of the Best Film Award at the Transylvania Film Festival, and Abner Benaim’s "Invasión," Panama’s first film to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
From Guatemala, Best First Film winner and recipient of the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2015 Berlinale, Jayro Bustamante’s "Ixcanul" will screen on Saturday. The Argentine film "Jauja" by Lisandro Alonso starring Viggo Mortensen, and winner of the Cinema Tropical for Best Latin American Film of the Year, will close out the Festival on Sunday evening.
Other winners at the Cinema Tropical included "Invasion" (Panama) for Best Documentary Film, "Ixcanul" (Guatemala) for Best First Film "Mala Mala" for Best U.S. Latino Film, Pablo Larraín ("The Club," Chile) for Best Director, Feature Film, and Betzabé García ("Kings of Nowhere," Mexico) for Best Director, Documentary.
Schedule:
"Mala Mala"
(Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, USA/Puerto Rico, color, 87 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Winner Best U.S. Latino Film – Cinema Tropical Awards The critically acclaimed Mala Mala explores the intimate moments, performances, friendships and activism of trans identifying people, drag queens and others who defy typical gender identities in Puerto Rico. The film features Ivana, an activist; Soraya, an older sex-change pioneer; Sandy, a prostitute looking to make a change; and Samantha and Paxx, both of whom struggle with the quality of medical resources available to assist in their transition. Hailed as “Sensitive and thoughtful” by the New York Times and winner of the audience award for documentary film at the Tribeca Film Festival, Mala Mala affirms that the quest to find oneself can be both difficult and beautiful. A Strand Releasing release. Q&A with filmmakers, reception to follow.
Friday, February 26, 7:00pm
"Invasion"
(Invasión, Abner Benaim, Panama/Argentina, 2014, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) New York Premiere Winner, Best Documentary – Cinema Tropical Awards Using reenactments and interviews, filmmaker Abner Benaim documents the collective memory -as well as the selective amnesia- of his fellow Panamanians around the 1989 U.S. invasion to overthrow General Manuel Noriega. The lives of the people of the Central American nation were deeply shaken by the American military incursion. Invasion–Panama’s first film to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar– is a witty and engaging documentary that talks about the perils of sovereignty, democracy and endangered virtues of today’s ultra-capitalist world. The film not only explores the mechanisms in which memory is turned into history, but holds a mirror to the present to show how the recent past shapes the current Panama.
Saturday, February 27, 12:30pm
"Ixcanul"
(Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France, 2015, 93 min. In Kaqchikel and Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards
Winner of the Berlinale’s Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize–the top honor ever won by a Central American film– Ixcanul marks the auspicious debut of Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante. The film follows María (played by María Mercedes Coroy), a 17-year-old Mayan girl who lives and works in a coffee plantation that sits at the base of an active volcano in Guatemala. Although Maria dreams of going to the 'big city,' her condition as an indigenous woman does not permit her to change her destiny, and an arranged wedding is waiting for her. A snake bite forces her to go out into the modern world where her life is saved, but at a steep price. Ixcanul is a beautiful and poignant meditation on the clash between tradition and modernity. A Kino Lorber release.
Saturday, February 27, 3:00pm
"The Fire"
(El incendio, Juan Schnitman, Argentina, 2015, 95 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) New York Premiere Nominated, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards On the way to closing the contract on their first home, Lucía and Marcelo withdraw a hundred thousand dollars in cash from their bank. The seller can’t make it to the signing and it gets postponed to the next day. Frustrated, they head back to their old place and put the money away. The next 24 hours will unveil the true nature of their love, the crisis they are in, and the violence within themselves. “A riveting chamber piece of subtle shifts and evenhanded power struggles (Variety), Schnitman’s debut feature film was the winner of the Best Film Award at the Transylvania Film Festival.
Saturday, February 27, 5:00pm
"Videophilia (And Other Viral Syndromes)"
(Videofilia (y otros síndromes virales), Juan Daniel F. Molero, Peru/USA, 2015, color, 102 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) U.S. Premiere Nominated, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards The first Peruvian film to ever win the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) follows Luz, a teenage misfit from Lima who meets online Junior, a weird slacker who is obsessed with conspiracy theories, Mayan prophecies of the end of the world, and underground porn. They try to hook up in the real life but supernatural events start to unfold to guide their destinies. Set in Lima, Juan Daniel F. Molero’s exhilarating debut fiction film is a playful mashup of internet cafes, slackers, not-so-innocent schoolgirls, amateur porn, Google Glass, acid trips and guinea pigs as extras in an exorcism.
Q&A with filmmaker
Saturday, February 27, 7:00pm
"Jauja"
(Lisandro Alonso, Argentina/Denmark/France/Mexico, 2014, color, 108 min. In Danish and Spanish with English subtitles) Winner Best Fiction Film – Cinema Tropical Awards An astonishingly beautiful and gripping Western starring Viggo Mortensen, Jauja begins in a remote outpost in Patagonia during the late 1800s. Captain Gunnar Dinesen has come from abroad with his fifteen year-old daughter to take an engineering job with the Argentine army. Being the only female in the area, Ingeborg creates quite a stir among the men. She falls in love with a young soldier, and one night they run away together. When Dinesen realizes what has happened, he decides to venture into enemy territory, against his men’s wishes, to find the young couple. Featuring a superb performance from Mortensen, Jauja (the name suggests a fabled city of riches sought by European explorers) is the story of a man’s desperate search for his daughter, a solitary quest that takes him to a place beyond time, where the past vanishes and the future has no meaning. A Cinema Guild release.
Sunday, February 28, 4:30pm...
Founded in 2001 by Carlos A. Gutiérrez and Monika Wagenberg with the mission of distributing, programming and promoting what was to become the biggest boom of Latin American cinema in decades, Cinema Tropical has become the leading presenter of Latin American cinema in the United States. In its 15 years of existence, it has theatrically released 25 Latin American feature films, more than any other U.S. distributor, and has produced numerous film series with multiple cultural organizations. Through a diversity of programs and initiatives, Cinema Tropical is thriving as a dynamic and groundbreaking 501(c)(3) non-profit media arts organization experimenting in the creation of better and more effective strategies for the distribution and exhibition of foreign cinema in this country.
The Cinema Tropical Festival brings the best of contemporary Latin American cinema to New York City audiences, offering a chance to experience the dynamic and inventive film productions from the region. The opening night screening of "Mala Mala," winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latino Film, will be followed a Q&A with filmmakers Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, and a 15th Anniversary celebration reception.
The festival will feature the U.S. premiere of the Tiger Award winner "Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes") by Juan Daniel F. Molero, which became the first Peruvian film ever to receive the top prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival, with the filmmaker in attendance. The lineup also includes the New York premieres of Juan Schnitman’s debut feature "The Fire," winner of the Best Film Award at the Transylvania Film Festival, and Abner Benaim’s "Invasión," Panama’s first film to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
From Guatemala, Best First Film winner and recipient of the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2015 Berlinale, Jayro Bustamante’s "Ixcanul" will screen on Saturday. The Argentine film "Jauja" by Lisandro Alonso starring Viggo Mortensen, and winner of the Cinema Tropical for Best Latin American Film of the Year, will close out the Festival on Sunday evening.
Other winners at the Cinema Tropical included "Invasion" (Panama) for Best Documentary Film, "Ixcanul" (Guatemala) for Best First Film "Mala Mala" for Best U.S. Latino Film, Pablo Larraín ("The Club," Chile) for Best Director, Feature Film, and Betzabé García ("Kings of Nowhere," Mexico) for Best Director, Documentary.
Schedule:
"Mala Mala"
(Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini, USA/Puerto Rico, color, 87 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles)
Winner Best U.S. Latino Film – Cinema Tropical Awards The critically acclaimed Mala Mala explores the intimate moments, performances, friendships and activism of trans identifying people, drag queens and others who defy typical gender identities in Puerto Rico. The film features Ivana, an activist; Soraya, an older sex-change pioneer; Sandy, a prostitute looking to make a change; and Samantha and Paxx, both of whom struggle with the quality of medical resources available to assist in their transition. Hailed as “Sensitive and thoughtful” by the New York Times and winner of the audience award for documentary film at the Tribeca Film Festival, Mala Mala affirms that the quest to find oneself can be both difficult and beautiful. A Strand Releasing release. Q&A with filmmakers, reception to follow.
Friday, February 26, 7:00pm
"Invasion"
(Invasión, Abner Benaim, Panama/Argentina, 2014, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) New York Premiere Winner, Best Documentary – Cinema Tropical Awards Using reenactments and interviews, filmmaker Abner Benaim documents the collective memory -as well as the selective amnesia- of his fellow Panamanians around the 1989 U.S. invasion to overthrow General Manuel Noriega. The lives of the people of the Central American nation were deeply shaken by the American military incursion. Invasion–Panama’s first film to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar– is a witty and engaging documentary that talks about the perils of sovereignty, democracy and endangered virtues of today’s ultra-capitalist world. The film not only explores the mechanisms in which memory is turned into history, but holds a mirror to the present to show how the recent past shapes the current Panama.
Saturday, February 27, 12:30pm
"Ixcanul"
(Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France, 2015, 93 min. In Kaqchikel and Spanish with English subtitles)
Winner, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards
Winner of the Berlinale’s Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize–the top honor ever won by a Central American film– Ixcanul marks the auspicious debut of Guatemalan filmmaker Jayro Bustamante. The film follows María (played by María Mercedes Coroy), a 17-year-old Mayan girl who lives and works in a coffee plantation that sits at the base of an active volcano in Guatemala. Although Maria dreams of going to the 'big city,' her condition as an indigenous woman does not permit her to change her destiny, and an arranged wedding is waiting for her. A snake bite forces her to go out into the modern world where her life is saved, but at a steep price. Ixcanul is a beautiful and poignant meditation on the clash between tradition and modernity. A Kino Lorber release.
Saturday, February 27, 3:00pm
"The Fire"
(El incendio, Juan Schnitman, Argentina, 2015, 95 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) New York Premiere Nominated, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards On the way to closing the contract on their first home, Lucía and Marcelo withdraw a hundred thousand dollars in cash from their bank. The seller can’t make it to the signing and it gets postponed to the next day. Frustrated, they head back to their old place and put the money away. The next 24 hours will unveil the true nature of their love, the crisis they are in, and the violence within themselves. “A riveting chamber piece of subtle shifts and evenhanded power struggles (Variety), Schnitman’s debut feature film was the winner of the Best Film Award at the Transylvania Film Festival.
Saturday, February 27, 5:00pm
"Videophilia (And Other Viral Syndromes)"
(Videofilia (y otros síndromes virales), Juan Daniel F. Molero, Peru/USA, 2015, color, 102 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) U.S. Premiere Nominated, Best First Film – Cinema Tropical Awards The first Peruvian film to ever win the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) follows Luz, a teenage misfit from Lima who meets online Junior, a weird slacker who is obsessed with conspiracy theories, Mayan prophecies of the end of the world, and underground porn. They try to hook up in the real life but supernatural events start to unfold to guide their destinies. Set in Lima, Juan Daniel F. Molero’s exhilarating debut fiction film is a playful mashup of internet cafes, slackers, not-so-innocent schoolgirls, amateur porn, Google Glass, acid trips and guinea pigs as extras in an exorcism.
Q&A with filmmaker
Saturday, February 27, 7:00pm
"Jauja"
(Lisandro Alonso, Argentina/Denmark/France/Mexico, 2014, color, 108 min. In Danish and Spanish with English subtitles) Winner Best Fiction Film – Cinema Tropical Awards An astonishingly beautiful and gripping Western starring Viggo Mortensen, Jauja begins in a remote outpost in Patagonia during the late 1800s. Captain Gunnar Dinesen has come from abroad with his fifteen year-old daughter to take an engineering job with the Argentine army. Being the only female in the area, Ingeborg creates quite a stir among the men. She falls in love with a young soldier, and one night they run away together. When Dinesen realizes what has happened, he decides to venture into enemy territory, against his men’s wishes, to find the young couple. Featuring a superb performance from Mortensen, Jauja (the name suggests a fabled city of riches sought by European explorers) is the story of a man’s desperate search for his daughter, a solitary quest that takes him to a place beyond time, where the past vanishes and the future has no meaning. A Cinema Guild release.
Sunday, February 28, 4:30pm...
- 2/22/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
2K
Where would be without Community Creations in WWE 2K16? I’ll tell you, a very frustrated place…
This is the part of the game that allows you to create your favourite Superstars who have been left out of the roster and share them with the world. Or if you’re lazy like me, it allows you to download other gamer’s fine work in a matter of seconds and use it till you’re blue in the face.
It is an integral part of the game that softens the blow of your favourite Superstar not making the cut. This year’s had a heightened importance after the debacle involving the Four Horsewomen: Sahsa Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley.
Arguably the four top female performers in the company right now were inexplicably left out of 2K16, despite making their respective marks on the wrestling world before it came out.
Where would be without Community Creations in WWE 2K16? I’ll tell you, a very frustrated place…
This is the part of the game that allows you to create your favourite Superstars who have been left out of the roster and share them with the world. Or if you’re lazy like me, it allows you to download other gamer’s fine work in a matter of seconds and use it till you’re blue in the face.
It is an integral part of the game that softens the blow of your favourite Superstar not making the cut. This year’s had a heightened importance after the debacle involving the Four Horsewomen: Sahsa Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Bayley.
Arguably the four top female performers in the company right now were inexplicably left out of 2K16, despite making their respective marks on the wrestling world before it came out.
- 1/18/2016
- by Ross Tweddell
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
One of the most-talked about storylines in WWF/WWE history is the ‘Invasion’ angle that dominated 2001. In March of that year, the entire pro wrestling landscape in North America changed in just a few weeks. World Championship Wrestling had been in the doldrums for a while, but people were shocked when Vince McMahon swooped in and purchased the company for a paltry $2.5 million on March 26. Around the same time, the original Extreme Championship Wrestling folded.
This meant that McMahon had what he had always craved, a wrestling monopoly. Better yet, the patriarch of the WWF had the means to create something wrestling fans had always wanted to see. That WWF vs. WCW rivalry was his to play with, and would surely pocket him millions of dollars. There was just one problem, the WWF had trouble signing many top WCW names, who were more than content to sit at...
One of the most-talked about storylines in WWF/WWE history is the ‘Invasion’ angle that dominated 2001. In March of that year, the entire pro wrestling landscape in North America changed in just a few weeks. World Championship Wrestling had been in the doldrums for a while, but people were shocked when Vince McMahon swooped in and purchased the company for a paltry $2.5 million on March 26. Around the same time, the original Extreme Championship Wrestling folded.
This meant that McMahon had what he had always craved, a wrestling monopoly. Better yet, the patriarch of the WWF had the means to create something wrestling fans had always wanted to see. That WWF vs. WCW rivalry was his to play with, and would surely pocket him millions of dollars. There was just one problem, the WWF had trouble signing many top WCW names, who were more than content to sit at...
- 1/9/2016
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
It’s been a very long time since Nxt have hosted a main event as overbooked as Eva Marie Vs Bayley. Interference, two separate referee bumps, a post-match attack; things got very ‘main roster’ at Nxt last night, in more ways than one.
It almost seemed like an Invasion angle was being played. Michael Cole and Charles Robinson arrived to upend the status quo, Total Divas got a big shout out, it was all incredibly disconcerting, and quite compelling.
Elsewhere on the card, the feud between Asuka and Demma Brooke (as they shall henceforth be known) chugged inevitably onwards, with Emma setting herself up for a surely astonishing beating at Nxt TakeOver London, Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews was set in stone, and a contract signing went so typically awry.
Full card (with finishes):
The Vaudevillains vs Dawson & Wilder – Nxt Tag Team Championship Match
Dash Wilder pins...
It’s been a very long time since Nxt have hosted a main event as overbooked as Eva Marie Vs Bayley. Interference, two separate referee bumps, a post-match attack; things got very ‘main roster’ at Nxt last night, in more ways than one.
It almost seemed like an Invasion angle was being played. Michael Cole and Charles Robinson arrived to upend the status quo, Total Divas got a big shout out, it was all incredibly disconcerting, and quite compelling.
Elsewhere on the card, the feud between Asuka and Demma Brooke (as they shall henceforth be known) chugged inevitably onwards, with Emma setting herself up for a surely astonishing beating at Nxt TakeOver London, Baron Corbin vs Apollo Crews was set in stone, and a contract signing went so typically awry.
Full card (with finishes):
The Vaudevillains vs Dawson & Wilder – Nxt Tag Team Championship Match
Dash Wilder pins...
- 11/26/2015
- by Adam Blampied
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Vince McMahon generally doesn’t like other people doing his work for him. Over the years, WWE may have opened up more to the rest of the pro wrestling world, but there was a time when they point blank refused to push anyone that they themselves didn’t ‘create’. Going as far back as the WCW ‘Invasion’, genuine stars such as Diamond Dallas Page were treated shoddily upon joining the company, simply because McMahon and his team weren’t the brains behind their characters.
This has long been a problem for WWE, and in the past the issue has extended to a truly archaic view of the independent wrestling scene. In the mind of the McMahon family, those who had been a success on the indies were not there to be heralded, they were to be ridiculed. That mindset made have irked some, but it was the prerogative...
Vince McMahon generally doesn’t like other people doing his work for him. Over the years, WWE may have opened up more to the rest of the pro wrestling world, but there was a time when they point blank refused to push anyone that they themselves didn’t ‘create’. Going as far back as the WCW ‘Invasion’, genuine stars such as Diamond Dallas Page were treated shoddily upon joining the company, simply because McMahon and his team weren’t the brains behind their characters.
This has long been a problem for WWE, and in the past the issue has extended to a truly archaic view of the independent wrestling scene. In the mind of the McMahon family, those who had been a success on the indies were not there to be heralded, they were to be ridiculed. That mindset made have irked some, but it was the prerogative...
- 11/24/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE/Showtime
Can you believe it’s been nearly fifteen years since the Invasion angle? Fifteen years since Lance Storm showed up on Raw and blasted Perry Saturn with a superkick. Fifteen years since Ecw and WCW joined forces to try and take down Vince McMahon and the WWE. Fifteen years since WWE screwed up the biggest money angle in wrestling history…
How time flies, huh? A lot has happened in WWE in that time, obviously, and the wrestling landscape looks a lot different today. A lot had also happened to those that made up the WCW and Ecw Alliance. Made up of guys and gals from the recently closed companies (although a lot of them had been under WWE contract for some time), the invaders had very different fortunes when it came time for the angle to end – some didn’t even make it that far.
So what exactly...
Can you believe it’s been nearly fifteen years since the Invasion angle? Fifteen years since Lance Storm showed up on Raw and blasted Perry Saturn with a superkick. Fifteen years since Ecw and WCW joined forces to try and take down Vince McMahon and the WWE. Fifteen years since WWE screwed up the biggest money angle in wrestling history…
How time flies, huh? A lot has happened in WWE in that time, obviously, and the wrestling landscape looks a lot different today. A lot had also happened to those that made up the WCW and Ecw Alliance. Made up of guys and gals from the recently closed companies (although a lot of them had been under WWE contract for some time), the invaders had very different fortunes when it came time for the angle to end – some didn’t even make it that far.
So what exactly...
- 10/21/2015
- by Lewis Howse
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
The company itself hasn’t exactly been making a huge deal out of it, but episodes of Monday Night Raw and Smackdown from 2002 are slowly being added to the WWE Network. This is great news for anybody who fondly remembers that year, as well as those who missed out on it entirely.
In truth, 2002 was a tough year for the World Wrestling Federation. Not only did the overall branding entirely change in May, the year was also coming hot on the heels of the aborted ‘Invasion’ debacle which did nothing for anyone involved. It really seemed as though Vince McMahon and his promotion didn’t really know where to take things next, which led to a lot of strange moments.
Regardless, even though 2002 wasn’t the best year in WWF/WWE history, it did have some excellent moments. Those moments are documented here, as this article aims to...
The company itself hasn’t exactly been making a huge deal out of it, but episodes of Monday Night Raw and Smackdown from 2002 are slowly being added to the WWE Network. This is great news for anybody who fondly remembers that year, as well as those who missed out on it entirely.
In truth, 2002 was a tough year for the World Wrestling Federation. Not only did the overall branding entirely change in May, the year was also coming hot on the heels of the aborted ‘Invasion’ debacle which did nothing for anyone involved. It really seemed as though Vince McMahon and his promotion didn’t really know where to take things next, which led to a lot of strange moments.
Regardless, even though 2002 wasn’t the best year in WWF/WWE history, it did have some excellent moments. Those moments are documented here, as this article aims to...
- 10/14/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
When you think of Stone Cold Steve Austin, what comes to mind first? The signature sound of breaking glass as he’d march down the entrance ramp? The time he doused Shane and Vince McMahon with a beer truck? His record as a six-time WWF Champion? “What?”
There’s a lot of reasons why many people still consider the toughest S.O.B. to be the greatest wrestling talent of all time. Austin himself will be the first to admit that he wasn’t the world’s best wrestler, but his endless charisma and strong character made him utterly compelling. He very well could have just been another pre-Attitude Era wrestler long since forgotten, but once he uttered the famous “Austin 3:16” speech, he appealed to charged-up young men the world over who also wanted to drink beer and slap their boss around.
However, Stone Cold’s...
When you think of Stone Cold Steve Austin, what comes to mind first? The signature sound of breaking glass as he’d march down the entrance ramp? The time he doused Shane and Vince McMahon with a beer truck? His record as a six-time WWF Champion? “What?”
There’s a lot of reasons why many people still consider the toughest S.O.B. to be the greatest wrestling talent of all time. Austin himself will be the first to admit that he wasn’t the world’s best wrestler, but his endless charisma and strong character made him utterly compelling. He very well could have just been another pre-Attitude Era wrestler long since forgotten, but once he uttered the famous “Austin 3:16” speech, he appealed to charged-up young men the world over who also wanted to drink beer and slap their boss around.
However, Stone Cold’s...
- 9/16/2015
- by Nicole Malczan
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
It’s been said before that the very nature of the professional wrestling industry allows for ego. There’s so much bravado prevalent in the business itself, that it’s only natural the men and women involved will be looking out for number one. That’s exactly what Vince McMahon did when he purchased his main competition in March, 2001. Self-preservation and rubbing the collective nose of World Championship Wrestling in the dirt was what it was all about for Vince.
That attitude was incredibly short-sighted however, because McMahon now owned the brand he’d been competing with for years. There was no ‘war’ to speak of in sight, the WWF had won it. Now, by controlling what happened with WCW, Vince could create something special, but his lust for power simply wouldn’t let it happen. In essence, such an approach directly hurt what McMahon was trying to achieve,...
It’s been said before that the very nature of the professional wrestling industry allows for ego. There’s so much bravado prevalent in the business itself, that it’s only natural the men and women involved will be looking out for number one. That’s exactly what Vince McMahon did when he purchased his main competition in March, 2001. Self-preservation and rubbing the collective nose of World Championship Wrestling in the dirt was what it was all about for Vince.
That attitude was incredibly short-sighted however, because McMahon now owned the brand he’d been competing with for years. There was no ‘war’ to speak of in sight, the WWF had won it. Now, by controlling what happened with WCW, Vince could create something special, but his lust for power simply wouldn’t let it happen. In essence, such an approach directly hurt what McMahon was trying to achieve,...
- 9/15/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Tna Wrestling will induct referee Earl Hebner into their Hall of Fame on October 3 in his home state of Virginia.
The 66-year-old will join the likes of Sting, Kurt Angle, Team 3D (Bully Ray & Brother Devon) and Jeff Jarrett in the elite talent of wrestling so far picked for Tna’s Hall. There’s little doubting that Earl is up there with the most famous referees of the ‘modern era’ in wrestling thanks to his work in both WWE and Tna, so much so that fans are asking the question as to whether he deserves a spot in Vince McMahon’s version…
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
As well as being one of the most recognisable faces to don the black and white shirt, Earl is one of the most controversial thanks to his role in the Montreal Screwjob.
Tna Wrestling will induct referee Earl Hebner into their Hall of Fame on October 3 in his home state of Virginia.
The 66-year-old will join the likes of Sting, Kurt Angle, Team 3D (Bully Ray & Brother Devon) and Jeff Jarrett in the elite talent of wrestling so far picked for Tna’s Hall. There’s little doubting that Earl is up there with the most famous referees of the ‘modern era’ in wrestling thanks to his work in both WWE and Tna, so much so that fans are asking the question as to whether he deserves a spot in Vince McMahon’s version…
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
As well as being one of the most recognisable faces to don the black and white shirt, Earl is one of the most controversial thanks to his role in the Montreal Screwjob.
- 9/15/2015
- by Ross Tweddell
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
When World Championship Wrestling went to the wire in March, 2001, a lot of performers had some big decisions to make. For some, the choice to sit at home and collect on million dollar deals with AOL/Time Warner was simple. For others, such as Diamond Dallas Page, the lure of working for Vince McMahon and the then-wwf was too great. Cutting short his WCW contract voluntarily, Page would walk into a horrendous run as part of the botched ‘Invasion’ angle.
Ddp wasn’t the only one who was contemplating the switch. In this week’s article, find out exactly which top WCW star was prompted by a legendary peer to give working for the McMahon family a shot. In addition to that, other facts are included. For example, what is one of the only on screen positions in WWE that – up until recently – didn’t allow contact with officials situated behind the curtain?...
When World Championship Wrestling went to the wire in March, 2001, a lot of performers had some big decisions to make. For some, the choice to sit at home and collect on million dollar deals with AOL/Time Warner was simple. For others, such as Diamond Dallas Page, the lure of working for Vince McMahon and the then-wwf was too great. Cutting short his WCW contract voluntarily, Page would walk into a horrendous run as part of the botched ‘Invasion’ angle.
Ddp wasn’t the only one who was contemplating the switch. In this week’s article, find out exactly which top WCW star was prompted by a legendary peer to give working for the McMahon family a shot. In addition to that, other facts are included. For example, what is one of the only on screen positions in WWE that – up until recently – didn’t allow contact with officials situated behind the curtain?...
- 9/11/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Bubba Ray’s return at the 2015 Royal Rumble – and the raucous reaction he received – must have told the WWE everything they needed to know about the possibility of a Dudley Boyz comeback. The pair were one of the most unique components of the late Attitude Era, components of a legendary tag division, and bonafide Ecw legends. There was no chance of a return falling flat, as proven when the entire Barclays Centre screamed at D-Von to get a table.
The history of the Dudley Boyz is fairly well documented. They originated as part of the ‘Dudleys’ stable in Ecw and ruled the tag division there, before jumping ship to the WWF and cementing their legacy in a pair of innovative TLC matches with Edge, Christian and the Hardys. After fighting on the side of the Alliance during the Invasion angle, they went their separate ways due to the...
Bubba Ray’s return at the 2015 Royal Rumble – and the raucous reaction he received – must have told the WWE everything they needed to know about the possibility of a Dudley Boyz comeback. The pair were one of the most unique components of the late Attitude Era, components of a legendary tag division, and bonafide Ecw legends. There was no chance of a return falling flat, as proven when the entire Barclays Centre screamed at D-Von to get a table.
The history of the Dudley Boyz is fairly well documented. They originated as part of the ‘Dudleys’ stable in Ecw and ruled the tag division there, before jumping ship to the WWF and cementing their legacy in a pair of innovative TLC matches with Edge, Christian and the Hardys. After fighting on the side of the Alliance during the Invasion angle, they went their separate ways due to the...
- 9/2/2015
- by Jack G King
- Obsessed with Film
twitter
The WWE Divas Revolution is one of 2015’s biggest screw ups. It is almost a bit like the old WCW Invasion of the WWF, something which sounded great on paper but ended up being absolutely atrocious in practice.
The reasons for the failure are numerous, and you could see just how bad things have got when watching the post-SummerSlam Raw. Viewers were forced to digest a Miz Tv segment with Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch. As promos go, this was as bad as anything this year. All three girls were awful on the mic, and the script writers were just as much to blame.
What followed was a match, and this was also simply atrocious. Team Pcb versus Team Bella descended into farce, with the audience caring more about chanting for “Jbl” and doing Mexican waves. Paige and The Bellas later went to social media and complained about the “disrespectful” fans.
The WWE Divas Revolution is one of 2015’s biggest screw ups. It is almost a bit like the old WCW Invasion of the WWF, something which sounded great on paper but ended up being absolutely atrocious in practice.
The reasons for the failure are numerous, and you could see just how bad things have got when watching the post-SummerSlam Raw. Viewers were forced to digest a Miz Tv segment with Paige, Charlotte and Becky Lynch. As promos go, this was as bad as anything this year. All three girls were awful on the mic, and the script writers were just as much to blame.
What followed was a match, and this was also simply atrocious. Team Pcb versus Team Bella descended into farce, with the audience caring more about chanting for “Jbl” and doing Mexican waves. Paige and The Bellas later went to social media and complained about the “disrespectful” fans.
- 8/28/2015
- by Grahame Herbert
- Obsessed with Film
WWE
Seemingly since the dawn of time, WWF/WWE has used posters to effectively market upcoming Pay-Per-View events. On occasion, these promotional images are stellar, and effective in getting fans excited for the shows. For example, who will ever forget the poster used to promote the 2001 PPV, ‘Invasion’? The image featured a face split right down the middle, mixing both Shane and Vince McMahon.
In one fell swoop, the company were able to let people know exactly what the event was all about. The ongoing WCW vs. WWF angle may have ended up failing, but at least the poster did a fine job. There are countless other examples, but what about those posters that mislead or outright confuse the fan base?
That’s what this article explores, those Pay-Per-View posters that pretty much lied to fans. It’s understandable that WWE would want to organise the photoshoots for the poster ahead of time,...
Seemingly since the dawn of time, WWF/WWE has used posters to effectively market upcoming Pay-Per-View events. On occasion, these promotional images are stellar, and effective in getting fans excited for the shows. For example, who will ever forget the poster used to promote the 2001 PPV, ‘Invasion’? The image featured a face split right down the middle, mixing both Shane and Vince McMahon.
In one fell swoop, the company were able to let people know exactly what the event was all about. The ongoing WCW vs. WWF angle may have ended up failing, but at least the poster did a fine job. There are countless other examples, but what about those posters that mislead or outright confuse the fan base?
That’s what this article explores, those Pay-Per-View posters that pretty much lied to fans. It’s understandable that WWE would want to organise the photoshoots for the poster ahead of time,...
- 8/20/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Most pro wrestling fans generally don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. In many ways, that’s what makes the industry such a compelling form of entertainment. There’s always something new to debate. However, even those usually at odds over other things seem to agree that the whole ‘Invasion’ angle of 2001 sucked.
The reasons are varied, but they usually boil down to one main criticism. When the then-World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW’s tape library for around $2.5 million in March, ’01, they also acquired 24 talent contracts into the bargain. Amongst those who agreed to come over were the likes of Booker T, Buff Bagwell and Diamond Dallas Page. All of these men played a big role in WCW at one point or another.
Sadly, that was about as deep as the main event pot would get during the whole angle. So thin on the ground was...
Most pro wrestling fans generally don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. In many ways, that’s what makes the industry such a compelling form of entertainment. There’s always something new to debate. However, even those usually at odds over other things seem to agree that the whole ‘Invasion’ angle of 2001 sucked.
The reasons are varied, but they usually boil down to one main criticism. When the then-World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW’s tape library for around $2.5 million in March, ’01, they also acquired 24 talent contracts into the bargain. Amongst those who agreed to come over were the likes of Booker T, Buff Bagwell and Diamond Dallas Page. All of these men played a big role in WCW at one point or another.
Sadly, that was about as deep as the main event pot would get during the whole angle. So thin on the ground was...
- 8/19/2015
- by Jamie Kennedy
- Obsessed with Film
Between concludes its six-episode Netflix run with yet more silliness and illogical plot developments...
This review contains spoilers.
1.6 War
Somewhere in my review notes I wrote down a series of tropes that get rolled out when writers have either lost all interest or run out of actual ideas. To get one of them in a show isn’t good, two is really bad, but War managed to deliver no fewer than four of them!
Those would be:
The hidden tunnel The parental revelation The selfless, but pointless death A person who is dead, who isn’t
On top of that I’d also throw a bad TV bonus score for a character that is only useful in one highly implausible situation being available.
But before we get to that, War starts where End Of The Rope ended, with Adam and his father. I’d give Adam’s father a name,...
This review contains spoilers.
1.6 War
Somewhere in my review notes I wrote down a series of tropes that get rolled out when writers have either lost all interest or run out of actual ideas. To get one of them in a show isn’t good, two is really bad, but War managed to deliver no fewer than four of them!
Those would be:
The hidden tunnel The parental revelation The selfless, but pointless death A person who is dead, who isn’t
On top of that I’d also throw a bad TV bonus score for a character that is only useful in one highly implausible situation being available.
But before we get to that, War starts where End Of The Rope ended, with Adam and his father. I’d give Adam’s father a name,...
- 6/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Two's company and three's a crowd--but four can soar! At least that's what the good folks at haRFMFul Productions, Sick Puppy Pictures, MOnsterworks66 and Lion Arch Productions believe as they prep a three-feature slate to shoot in Louisiana later this year or early in 2016!
Rycke Foreman (haRMFul), Phil Condit (Sick Puppy), Maria Olsen (MO66) and Lionel Archuleta (Lion Arch) are developing a slate of three horror-comedies for production in Louisiana and are presently attaching cast and finalizing budgets before approaching La. investors. The three films, Happy Ending, Hacked Off and Grizzled! (#Hehog) are all zany romps through HorCom Land featuring lovely ladies, buckets of blood, hunky heroes and terrifyingly funny Big Bads.
The films may all live in the same genre, but they each have their own special stamp of entertaining insanity:
Happy Ending is no stranger to MoreHorror fans who will remember that, at Madam Wang's House of Happy Ending...
Rycke Foreman (haRMFul), Phil Condit (Sick Puppy), Maria Olsen (MO66) and Lionel Archuleta (Lion Arch) are developing a slate of three horror-comedies for production in Louisiana and are presently attaching cast and finalizing budgets before approaching La. investors. The three films, Happy Ending, Hacked Off and Grizzled! (#Hehog) are all zany romps through HorCom Land featuring lovely ladies, buckets of blood, hunky heroes and terrifyingly funny Big Bads.
The films may all live in the same genre, but they each have their own special stamp of entertaining insanity:
Happy Ending is no stranger to MoreHorror fans who will remember that, at Madam Wang's House of Happy Ending...
- 5/28/2015
- by admin
- MoreHorror
From ampersands to The Apprentice, from dinner ladies to Dirty Den, here's a selection of nerdy in-jokes from Doctor Who series 2...
Last month we took a look at Doctor Who Series One as it celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Specifically, we delved deep into the murky world of in-jokes and sweet nerdy references.
Let’s take another trip back in time and have a look at the more notable and interesting references and in-jokes from Doctor Who Series Two, starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, where the credit of “Doctor Who” had been changed back to “The Doctor”. Pfft, party poopers.
New Earth
Old-skool fans would have been forgiven for being excited at the prospect, given that “New Earth” was a planet mentioned in the 1974 classic Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (though it didn’t actually exist in that story, it was a fake world). But all fans could get excited at...
Last month we took a look at Doctor Who Series One as it celebrated its 10th Anniversary. Specifically, we delved deep into the murky world of in-jokes and sweet nerdy references.
Let’s take another trip back in time and have a look at the more notable and interesting references and in-jokes from Doctor Who Series Two, starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, where the credit of “Doctor Who” had been changed back to “The Doctor”. Pfft, party poopers.
New Earth
Old-skool fans would have been forgiven for being excited at the prospect, given that “New Earth” was a planet mentioned in the 1974 classic Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (though it didn’t actually exist in that story, it was a fake world). But all fans could get excited at...
- 4/29/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
WWE.com
Even though WCW went out of business in 2001, its legacy still lives on in WWE today. Through the direction of Eric Bischoff, Monday Nitro forever revolutionized the way professional wrestling is presented on television. Because of WCW’s flagship show, Raw started airing live every week. They also stopped airing regular squash matches and gave away pay-per-view quality ones instead, and they were forced to greatly improve their production values to compete with Bischoff’s vision.
Besides the presentation, we’ve seen one former WCW talent after the next appear in WWE and influence top storylines. The original Invasion of 2001 initially brought over 20 wrestlers into Vince McMahon’s organization, but many of the biggest names didn’t come along for the ride. Due to the top talent having contracts with AOL/Time Warner, and not WCW, they were paid to sit at home. Once those contracts ended, though,...
Even though WCW went out of business in 2001, its legacy still lives on in WWE today. Through the direction of Eric Bischoff, Monday Nitro forever revolutionized the way professional wrestling is presented on television. Because of WCW’s flagship show, Raw started airing live every week. They also stopped airing regular squash matches and gave away pay-per-view quality ones instead, and they were forced to greatly improve their production values to compete with Bischoff’s vision.
Besides the presentation, we’ve seen one former WCW talent after the next appear in WWE and influence top storylines. The original Invasion of 2001 initially brought over 20 wrestlers into Vince McMahon’s organization, but many of the biggest names didn’t come along for the ride. Due to the top talent having contracts with AOL/Time Warner, and not WCW, they were paid to sit at home. Once those contracts ended, though,...
- 4/22/2015
- by Andrew Soucek
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Watching Nxt has become an equally satisfying and frustrating experience. Despite being a WWE product, it’s miles ahead of Raw and SmackDown, and so while it’s great to see the likes of Finn Balor and Sasha Banks tearing the house down in Orlando, it would be even better if they were doing that on the main roster. Of course, with that comes the fear that Vince McMahon and company will completely botch their introduction and misuse them.
Regardless of what might happen in that respect though, seeing the stars of Nxt facing off with any number of WWE Superstars is something fans can only dream of until they’re eventually called up. When that does happens though, the WWE Universe is in for a treat!
On the one hand, it’s interesting to ponder what might happen if more WWE Superstars were to make appearances down...
Watching Nxt has become an equally satisfying and frustrating experience. Despite being a WWE product, it’s miles ahead of Raw and SmackDown, and so while it’s great to see the likes of Finn Balor and Sasha Banks tearing the house down in Orlando, it would be even better if they were doing that on the main roster. Of course, with that comes the fear that Vince McMahon and company will completely botch their introduction and misuse them.
Regardless of what might happen in that respect though, seeing the stars of Nxt facing off with any number of WWE Superstars is something fans can only dream of until they’re eventually called up. When that does happens though, the WWE Universe is in for a treat!
On the one hand, it’s interesting to ponder what might happen if more WWE Superstars were to make appearances down...
- 3/15/2015
- by Josh Wilding
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
The wrestling business changed forever on March 26th 2001. Vince McMahon bought WCW, officially ending the Monday Night Wars. ‘Officially’ because, let’s face it, the war had been over for a long time before that. The WWF had been riding high while WCW self-destructed in 1999.
Vince winning the war was a formality at that point. But the acquisition of the WCW name and the potential arrival of major WCW superstars was great news for wrestling fans. Now they would finally be able to see those dream matches and feuds that they had imagined for years as WCW and the WWF were firing shots at each other.
Or would that be the case? The initial plan was for WCW to reboot and continue as its own independent touring company complete with TV tapings, house shows and possibly even pay-per-views. When the WWF realised the cost involved in this venture...
The wrestling business changed forever on March 26th 2001. Vince McMahon bought WCW, officially ending the Monday Night Wars. ‘Officially’ because, let’s face it, the war had been over for a long time before that. The WWF had been riding high while WCW self-destructed in 1999.
Vince winning the war was a formality at that point. But the acquisition of the WCW name and the potential arrival of major WCW superstars was great news for wrestling fans. Now they would finally be able to see those dream matches and feuds that they had imagined for years as WCW and the WWF were firing shots at each other.
Or would that be the case? The initial plan was for WCW to reboot and continue as its own independent touring company complete with TV tapings, house shows and possibly even pay-per-views. When the WWF realised the cost involved in this venture...
- 3/13/2015
- by Lewis Howse
- Obsessed with Film
Netflix is expiring a slew of movies and TV shows in February -- but don't panic! As we previously reported, several BBC series including "Doctor Who" and the original British "The Office" that were once set to leave Netflix on Feb. 1 are staying put. However, several other BBC titles will be disappearing Feb 1. According to Variety, bid a sad toodle-doo to "Fawlty Towers," "Blackadder" and "Mi:5." (Don't worry, "Sherlock" isn't due to expire anytime soon.)
As for movies, the clock is ticking on "Zodiac," "Batman Returns," "Apocalypse Now," and "Mad Max," which will also be pulled in the monthly purge.
Here's the complete list of titles that will vanish from your streaming list (pending any sort of meddling time-travelers):
Netflix Titles Expiring February 1, 2015
"A Bit Of Fry And Laurie" (1987-1995)
"Airheads" (1994)
"Allosaurus: Walking With Dinosaurs Special" (2001)
"Apocalypse Now" (1979)
"Apocalypse Now Redux" (2001)
"Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State" (2005)
"Batman Returns" (1989)
"Blackadder...
As for movies, the clock is ticking on "Zodiac," "Batman Returns," "Apocalypse Now," and "Mad Max," which will also be pulled in the monthly purge.
Here's the complete list of titles that will vanish from your streaming list (pending any sort of meddling time-travelers):
Netflix Titles Expiring February 1, 2015
"A Bit Of Fry And Laurie" (1987-1995)
"Airheads" (1994)
"Allosaurus: Walking With Dinosaurs Special" (2001)
"Apocalypse Now" (1979)
"Apocalypse Now Redux" (2001)
"Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State" (2005)
"Batman Returns" (1989)
"Blackadder...
- 1/27/2015
- by Sharon Knolle
- Moviefone
WWE.com
The 2002 Royal Rumble took place at a time when WWE had a really big roster due to all of the talent they acquired when they bought WWE in 2001. While they didn’t choose to bring in all of their talent and a number of big names came in down the road, there were still several WCW stars that were playing major roles in WWE.
With the Invasion storyline finished after settling things at Survivor Series 2001, WWE had to move forward with a new direction. That led to the WWE return of Ric Flair, who left the company for WCW eight years old. He was put in the role of an owner that was battling with Vince McMahon. It got so heated that they ended up having a match at this show.
A few months after this show, the company changed their name from the World Wrestling Federation to...
The 2002 Royal Rumble took place at a time when WWE had a really big roster due to all of the talent they acquired when they bought WWE in 2001. While they didn’t choose to bring in all of their talent and a number of big names came in down the road, there were still several WCW stars that were playing major roles in WWE.
With the Invasion storyline finished after settling things at Survivor Series 2001, WWE had to move forward with a new direction. That led to the WWE return of Ric Flair, who left the company for WCW eight years old. He was put in the role of an owner that was battling with Vince McMahon. It got so heated that they ended up having a match at this show.
A few months after this show, the company changed their name from the World Wrestling Federation to...
- 1/21/2015
- by John Canton
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
Vince McMahon has been running the WWE since 1983. Since then, he has made a lot of ground-breaking decisions that have completely re-shaped the professional wrestling industry in the United States. He created WrestleMania, he brought the sport into the mainstream with Hulk Hogan, and through clever (or deceitful, depending on who you ask) business practices, he nationalized his product, ending the Territory Era for good.
However, even someone with such a sharp mind as Vince makes mistakes from time to time. The Xfl, the Invasion storyline, and WWE going public (which also has its positives and negatives), have all been met with negative reception.
But it has been in the last two years that the problems with Vince McMahon have really started to show. There are rumors of him arguing with Triple H over the product’s direction, of the TV scripts being re-written numerous times, and worst of all,...
Vince McMahon has been running the WWE since 1983. Since then, he has made a lot of ground-breaking decisions that have completely re-shaped the professional wrestling industry in the United States. He created WrestleMania, he brought the sport into the mainstream with Hulk Hogan, and through clever (or deceitful, depending on who you ask) business practices, he nationalized his product, ending the Territory Era for good.
However, even someone with such a sharp mind as Vince makes mistakes from time to time. The Xfl, the Invasion storyline, and WWE going public (which also has its positives and negatives), have all been met with negative reception.
But it has been in the last two years that the problems with Vince McMahon have really started to show. There are rumors of him arguing with Triple H over the product’s direction, of the TV scripts being re-written numerous times, and worst of all,...
- 1/15/2015
- by Alexander Podgorski
- Obsessed with Film
It finally happened. After months of speculation, years of rumours and decades of fan dream matches, Sting stepped foot in a WWE ring.
The Stinger laid down an early marker, invading the Team Cena vs Team Authority Survivor Series main event to deliver a Scorpion Death Drop on Triple H, and if any younger fans were in any doubt about what the deal with Sting is, they're surely not anymore.
Aged 55, Sting looks to be in good shape, but it's unlikely he'll have more than a handful of big pay-per-view matches left in him. So who should he grapple with in WWE? We've picked out 6 stars we'd love to see squaring up to the former WCW icon.
1. The Undertaker
It's the dream match to end all dream matches. Mr WWF/WWE vs Mr WCW. Two dark forces colliding.
For several years, an Undertaker vs Sting head-to-head at Wrestlemania seemed like...
The Stinger laid down an early marker, invading the Team Cena vs Team Authority Survivor Series main event to deliver a Scorpion Death Drop on Triple H, and if any younger fans were in any doubt about what the deal with Sting is, they're surely not anymore.
Aged 55, Sting looks to be in good shape, but it's unlikely he'll have more than a handful of big pay-per-view matches left in him. So who should he grapple with in WWE? We've picked out 6 stars we'd love to see squaring up to the former WCW icon.
1. The Undertaker
It's the dream match to end all dream matches. Mr WWF/WWE vs Mr WCW. Two dark forces colliding.
For several years, an Undertaker vs Sting head-to-head at Wrestlemania seemed like...
- 11/24/2014
- Digital Spy
wwe.com
Ecw invading WWE wasn’t exclusive to 2001. Paul Heyman brought his band of hardcore merry men to the WWE first in 1997 for a series of epic Raw shows. This article will run down everything you need to know about that original Invasion.
The original Ecw had a die-hard fan base that couldn’t, and perhaps will never be, matched as far as undying loyalty goes. Vince McMahon saw this and revived the promotion in 2006 after it went out of business five years earlier. He thought it would translate into big business. However, to say that it was a colossal failure would be an understatement. A corporate spin on a grass roots, anti-establishment wrestling promotion was a glaring reminder to fans that this wasn’t the land of hardcore that they used to know. However, in the mid-90’s, the professional wrestling landscape was a much different place.
WWE,...
Ecw invading WWE wasn’t exclusive to 2001. Paul Heyman brought his band of hardcore merry men to the WWE first in 1997 for a series of epic Raw shows. This article will run down everything you need to know about that original Invasion.
The original Ecw had a die-hard fan base that couldn’t, and perhaps will never be, matched as far as undying loyalty goes. Vince McMahon saw this and revived the promotion in 2006 after it went out of business five years earlier. He thought it would translate into big business. However, to say that it was a colossal failure would be an understatement. A corporate spin on a grass roots, anti-establishment wrestling promotion was a glaring reminder to fans that this wasn’t the land of hardcore that they used to know. However, in the mid-90’s, the professional wrestling landscape was a much different place.
WWE,...
- 10/30/2014
- by Atlee Greene
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
The Invasion should have been the biggest angle in wrestling history. Fans at the time dreamed of seeing their favourite WWF stars clash with the incoming names from WCW. People couldn’t wait to see Austin vs Goldberg and Undertaker vs Sting – the feuds almost wrote themselves. Unfortunately this didn’t quite go to plan. The storyline (which spanned from mid to late 2001) is now widely regarded as a huge anti-climax, with Vince McMahon and co. failing to hit the easiest of home runs, held back by the WWF’s need to prove itself superior to the competition.
Admittedly, Vince’s ego wasn’t the only reason the angle was prevented from reaching its full potential – some of WCW’s biggest names weren’t willing to take a pay cut to wrestle for the WWF, instead sitting out the rest of their inflated contracts at home. These names...
The Invasion should have been the biggest angle in wrestling history. Fans at the time dreamed of seeing their favourite WWF stars clash with the incoming names from WCW. People couldn’t wait to see Austin vs Goldberg and Undertaker vs Sting – the feuds almost wrote themselves. Unfortunately this didn’t quite go to plan. The storyline (which spanned from mid to late 2001) is now widely regarded as a huge anti-climax, with Vince McMahon and co. failing to hit the easiest of home runs, held back by the WWF’s need to prove itself superior to the competition.
Admittedly, Vince’s ego wasn’t the only reason the angle was prevented from reaching its full potential – some of WCW’s biggest names weren’t willing to take a pay cut to wrestle for the WWF, instead sitting out the rest of their inflated contracts at home. These names...
- 10/21/2014
- by Jack G King
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
As we have seen from previous installments, sometimes the biggest stories in WWF/E happen off screen rather than on screen. Last time, in 1997, we learned that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were supposed to face off at Wrestlemania 13, the Road Dogg ended the Ecw Invasion, and Vince McMahon tried to re-sign the Ultimate Warrior…again.
In 1998, the WWF gained momentum in the Monday Night War against WCW. Stone Cold Steve Austin won the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania, the second incarnation of D-Generation X became fan favorites, and The Rock rose to prominence.
With so much happening on- and off-screen, you’d think you would know everything that went on backstage in the WWF, but you’d be wrong. There are plenty of little nuggets of trivia that came from this year. Some of these you may have also known about, but simply forgot.
10. The Quebecers Reunited...
As we have seen from previous installments, sometimes the biggest stories in WWF/E happen off screen rather than on screen. Last time, in 1997, we learned that Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were supposed to face off at Wrestlemania 13, the Road Dogg ended the Ecw Invasion, and Vince McMahon tried to re-sign the Ultimate Warrior…again.
In 1998, the WWF gained momentum in the Monday Night War against WCW. Stone Cold Steve Austin won the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania, the second incarnation of D-Generation X became fan favorites, and The Rock rose to prominence.
With so much happening on- and off-screen, you’d think you would know everything that went on backstage in the WWF, but you’d be wrong. There are plenty of little nuggets of trivia that came from this year. Some of these you may have also known about, but simply forgot.
10. The Quebecers Reunited...
- 9/30/2014
- by Justin Seagull
- Obsessed with Film
The 2001 WWE Invasion PPV was held on July 22, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the only time that WWE used the Invasion title for a PPV because it was the only occasion where it would have fit. That’s because the main story at the time was about the WCW brand led by Shane McMahon and the Ecw brand led by Stephanie McMahon & Paul Heyman were trying to take over Vince McMahon’s WWE. It was a dream storyline that fans had wanted to see for years.
While it wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons, they did a fantastic job of building up the event, which did great business for WWE with a reported 775,000 PPV buys. From a financial standpoint it was one of the most successful WWE PPVs ever.
This show was unique because there wasn’t a WWE Title match in the main event slot. That’s...
While it wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons, they did a fantastic job of building up the event, which did great business for WWE with a reported 775,000 PPV buys. From a financial standpoint it was one of the most successful WWE PPVs ever.
This show was unique because there wasn’t a WWE Title match in the main event slot. That’s...
- 7/16/2014
- by John Canton
- Obsessed with Film
Let us play the “Name Game”, shall we? Since we all are part of the experience here at the entertainment website known as Sound on Sight maybe we should pay homage to our online destination by celebrating it in an unconventional manner? Specifically, we can recognize Sound on Sight by acknowledging movie names that contain the words “sound” and “sight” in their titles.
However you may perceive this experimentation as being rather gimmicky and silly please realize that this movie column is also a means to recognize a few movie titles that are unfamiliar or perhaps a first-time discovery to some of you out there that never heard some of these cinematic selections. There may be a couple of well-known films in the bunch but collectively the features being mentioned in Sound on Sight: Top 10 Random “Sound” and “Sight” Movie Titles are aptly presented based on the theme at hand.
However you may perceive this experimentation as being rather gimmicky and silly please realize that this movie column is also a means to recognize a few movie titles that are unfamiliar or perhaps a first-time discovery to some of you out there that never heard some of these cinematic selections. There may be a couple of well-known films in the bunch but collectively the features being mentioned in Sound on Sight: Top 10 Random “Sound” and “Sight” Movie Titles are aptly presented based on the theme at hand.
- 7/14/2014
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
After thirty years, WWE has signed their own death warrant – at least when it comes to their Pay-Per-View business.
It wasn’t an easy business to kill. I’m sure it’s especially vexing for WWE that others, particularly in Boxing and Mma, continue experience a vibrant (and rewarding) Pay-Per-View life. And despite the regular proclamation that PPV is dead (or dying), the PPV business continues to generate hundreds of million of dollars annually. And this was true for WWE.
Since 2006, WWE has grossed between $70M and $94M in PPV revenue. And that only represents the split which WWE retains. Multichannel Video Programming Distributors took home a similar amount. Simply put: PPV was profitable business. The Pay-Per-View margin (Oibda/Revenue) has averaged over 50% in the past five years.
WWE PPV Business
2006: $93.6M (16 events, 5.74M buys)
2007: $94.3M (15 events, 5.22M buys)
2008: $91.4M (14 events, 5.03M buys)
2009: $80.M (14 events, 4.49M buys)
2010: $70.2M (13 events,...
It wasn’t an easy business to kill. I’m sure it’s especially vexing for WWE that others, particularly in Boxing and Mma, continue experience a vibrant (and rewarding) Pay-Per-View life. And despite the regular proclamation that PPV is dead (or dying), the PPV business continues to generate hundreds of million of dollars annually. And this was true for WWE.
Since 2006, WWE has grossed between $70M and $94M in PPV revenue. And that only represents the split which WWE retains. Multichannel Video Programming Distributors took home a similar amount. Simply put: PPV was profitable business. The Pay-Per-View margin (Oibda/Revenue) has averaged over 50% in the past five years.
WWE PPV Business
2006: $93.6M (16 events, 5.74M buys)
2007: $94.3M (15 events, 5.22M buys)
2008: $91.4M (14 events, 5.03M buys)
2009: $80.M (14 events, 4.49M buys)
2010: $70.2M (13 events,...
- 6/17/2014
- by Chris Harrington
- Obsessed with Film
Alex's series looking back at the film careers of actors who've played the Doctor finishes with Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi...
Feature
Read the previous part in this series: the film careers of Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, here.
By 2009, the new version of Doctor Who had become not only an integral part of Saturday night television and a huge Christmas ratings winner but also an international success all over again. David Tennant, who had played the Time Lord since 2005 and was, arguably, more popular than any Doctor since the mighty Tom Baker hung up his scarf in 1981, had announced his resignation from the part he loved in October 2008. Many wondered how the incoming showrunner, Steven Moffat, would follow Tennant and what kind of show would emerge.
Tennant spent much of 2009 on stage in Hamlet and was only able to devote small amounts of time to Doctor Who. Occasional specials...
Feature
Read the previous part in this series: the film careers of Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant, here.
By 2009, the new version of Doctor Who had become not only an integral part of Saturday night television and a huge Christmas ratings winner but also an international success all over again. David Tennant, who had played the Time Lord since 2005 and was, arguably, more popular than any Doctor since the mighty Tom Baker hung up his scarf in 1981, had announced his resignation from the part he loved in October 2008. Many wondered how the incoming showrunner, Steven Moffat, would follow Tennant and what kind of show would emerge.
Tennant spent much of 2009 on stage in Hamlet and was only able to devote small amounts of time to Doctor Who. Occasional specials...
- 6/4/2014
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
The new Godzilla remake has finally arrived in theaters. The rebooted king of monsters stars in his 30th film in 60 years but he continues to vacillate between good guy monster and bad guy monster. Which way does Godzilla work better? Should he be the sheriff or the outlaw?
(Spoilers ahead)
60 years ago, Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted on screen; with a towering reptilian protagonist who was basically a rampaging beast. He was really a metaphor for the destructive power of the A-bomb. In the following three sequels, Gojira’s Counter Attack (Aka Gigantus the Fire Monster/ Godzilla Raids Again); Gojira vs. King Kong (Aka King Kong vs. Godzilla), and Mothra vs. Gojira (Aka Godzilla vs. the Thing); the radioactive monster continued his destructive, city-flattening ways, earning the enmity of the citizens of Japan. He was the ultimate threat.
By his fifth and sixth films, however, The Three...
(Spoilers ahead)
60 years ago, Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted on screen; with a towering reptilian protagonist who was basically a rampaging beast. He was really a metaphor for the destructive power of the A-bomb. In the following three sequels, Gojira’s Counter Attack (Aka Gigantus the Fire Monster/ Godzilla Raids Again); Gojira vs. King Kong (Aka King Kong vs. Godzilla), and Mothra vs. Gojira (Aka Godzilla vs. the Thing); the radioactive monster continued his destructive, city-flattening ways, earning the enmity of the citizens of Japan. He was the ultimate threat.
By his fifth and sixth films, however, The Three...
- 5/19/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
The new Godzilla remake has finally arrived in theaters. The rebooted king of monsters stars in his 30th film in 60 years but he continues to vacillate between good guy monster and bad guy monster. Which way does Godzilla work better? Should he be the sheriff or the outlaw?
(Spoilers ahead)
60 years ago, Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted on screen; with a towering reptilian protagonist who was basically a rampaging beast. He was really a metaphor for the destructive power of the A-bomb. In the following three sequels, Gojira’s Counter Attack (Aka Gigantus the Fire Monster/ Godzilla Raids Again); Gojira vs. King Kong (Aka King Kong vs. Godzilla), and Mothra vs. Gojira (Aka Godzilla vs. the Thing); the radioactive monster continued his destructive, city-flattening ways, earning the enmity of the citizens of Japan. He was the ultimate threat.
By his fifth and sixth films, however, The Three...
(Spoilers ahead)
60 years ago, Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters debuted on screen; with a towering reptilian protagonist who was basically a rampaging beast. He was really a metaphor for the destructive power of the A-bomb. In the following three sequels, Gojira’s Counter Attack (Aka Gigantus the Fire Monster/ Godzilla Raids Again); Gojira vs. King Kong (Aka King Kong vs. Godzilla), and Mothra vs. Gojira (Aka Godzilla vs. the Thing); the radioactive monster continued his destructive, city-flattening ways, earning the enmity of the citizens of Japan. He was the ultimate threat.
By his fifth and sixth films, however, The Three...
- 5/19/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
The 2001 calendar year for WWE was one of the most interesting in company history. They were coming off a fantastic 2000 that was arguably the best year ever and did a tremendous job of building up to WrestleMania 17 in 2001, which most fans consider to be the greatest WWE event of all time. Everything seemed to be rosy.
The biggest news item of the year was clearly WWE’s purchase of rival promotion World Championship Wrestling. If WWE tried to buy WCW in 1998 it would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There was no way it was going to happen then. Once the AOL Time Warner merger happened, it made WCW available for purchase because they were no longer considered a major asset. In 2001, due to WCW’s inept booking that cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, McMahon spent $4.2 million for the entire company. The figure shocked a lot of...
The biggest news item of the year was clearly WWE’s purchase of rival promotion World Championship Wrestling. If WWE tried to buy WCW in 1998 it would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. There was no way it was going to happen then. Once the AOL Time Warner merger happened, it made WCW available for purchase because they were no longer considered a major asset. In 2001, due to WCW’s inept booking that cost them hundreds of millions of dollars, McMahon spent $4.2 million for the entire company. The figure shocked a lot of...
- 5/2/2014
- by John Canton
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
When you talk about WCW wrestlers who rose to even greater prominence in WWE, the list reads like a Who’s Who of professional wrestling: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Eddie Guerrero, the Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Hhh, just to name a few. All had varying levels of success in WCW before jumping to WWE and becoming world champions and some of the biggest stars of our generation.
However, that does not mean that WWE had the magic touch when it came to taking a WCW star and turning him or her into a household name. In fact, in several cases, WWE dropped the ball and turned what should have been easy money into a dud. These are wrestlers who either were well established or were poised for a breakout and for whatever reason, superstardom never materialized.
For purposes of making it too easy to...
When you talk about WCW wrestlers who rose to even greater prominence in WWE, the list reads like a Who’s Who of professional wrestling: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Kevin Nash, Eddie Guerrero, the Undertaker, Chris Jericho and Hhh, just to name a few. All had varying levels of success in WCW before jumping to WWE and becoming world champions and some of the biggest stars of our generation.
However, that does not mean that WWE had the magic touch when it came to taking a WCW star and turning him or her into a household name. In fact, in several cases, WWE dropped the ball and turned what should have been easy money into a dud. These are wrestlers who either were well established or were poised for a breakout and for whatever reason, superstardom never materialized.
For purposes of making it too easy to...
- 3/26/2014
- by Scott Carlson
- Obsessed with Film
After about a month of taking in what the WWE Network has to offer I thought we could take a look at some of the things that are worth your time on there, and even just to pick up on DVD. Every PPV event from WWE(F), WCW and Ecw is included on the on-demand section of the network, which means there is hundreds of shows and thousands of hours worth of wrestling to dig through, so I wanted to whittle it down to ten shows that I feel are worth watching, and the reasons will be highlighted too.
Let’s begin with an obvious one shall we?
WWE: WrestleMania 1
Held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, the very first WWF pay-per-view ever presented and a show that lit the fuse on the rocket that became sports entertainment and the concept of pay-per-view. The show isn’t...
Let’s begin with an obvious one shall we?
WWE: WrestleMania 1
Held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, the very first WWF pay-per-view ever presented and a show that lit the fuse on the rocket that became sports entertainment and the concept of pay-per-view. The show isn’t...
- 3/24/2014
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
The name Vincent Kennedy McMahon will surely go down in history as the man who changed professional wrestling forever. Undoubtedly, the man will be remembered as one of the greatest promoters of all time, not just within the wrestling industry, but in all of combat sports and show business as a whole, with his modern counterpart/rival Dana White picking him as one of the best.
McMahon has always been a divisive figure, with some hardcore aficionados claiming what he promotes is no longer truly wrestling, but now sports entertainment, a term which the WWE themselves coined. It cannot be argued however, the great success that McMahon has achieved within this field. Since the acquisition of his Father’s business in 1982, Vince has built stars and created moments that will last forever, he’s staved off competition and prospered through boom periods.
However, that isn’t to say he has...
McMahon has always been a divisive figure, with some hardcore aficionados claiming what he promotes is no longer truly wrestling, but now sports entertainment, a term which the WWE themselves coined. It cannot be argued however, the great success that McMahon has achieved within this field. Since the acquisition of his Father’s business in 1982, Vince has built stars and created moments that will last forever, he’s staved off competition and prospered through boom periods.
However, that isn’t to say he has...
- 3/16/2014
- by Alex Gordon
- Obsessed with Film
WWE.com
WWE might well be based in Stamford, Connecticut, but every fan knows their real home is Madison Square Garden in NYC, the world’s most famous arena. It’s so important to them that during the 2001 Invasion angle, WWE performers manned the barricades against the WCW forces, because The Garden was “their” turf. The New York Knicks might have something to say about that, but basketball is just a load of skinny giants playing catch and taking it in turns to score, so if they have a problem, they can play a less dumb sport (yeah, alright, people in glass houses and all that….)
This Friday’s showing of Smackdown was filmed on the WWE’s spiritual stomping ground. Which makes it an appropriate time as any to take a look back at ten of the most iconic moments to take place in the hallowed grounds of The Garden.
WWE might well be based in Stamford, Connecticut, but every fan knows their real home is Madison Square Garden in NYC, the world’s most famous arena. It’s so important to them that during the 2001 Invasion angle, WWE performers manned the barricades against the WCW forces, because The Garden was “their” turf. The New York Knicks might have something to say about that, but basketball is just a load of skinny giants playing catch and taking it in turns to score, so if they have a problem, they can play a less dumb sport (yeah, alright, people in glass houses and all that….)
This Friday’s showing of Smackdown was filmed on the WWE’s spiritual stomping ground. Which makes it an appropriate time as any to take a look back at ten of the most iconic moments to take place in the hallowed grounds of The Garden.
- 3/7/2014
- by Marzi
- Obsessed with Film
World Championship Wrestling became the number one wrestling company in North America in the late 1990s. The rise of WCW was brought on by the cruiserweights, realistic storylines and, of course, the New World Order. WCW rose faster than anyone could have ever predicted but it also fell quicker and harder than anyone could have imagined.
Once the World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW in 2001, fans were almost begging for the WWF to put on dream matches that they had envisioned for years. Imagine: Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin, The Rock vs. Ric Flair, The Outsiders vs. The New Age Outlaws, the nWo vs. Degeneration X…the possibilities were endless.
Instead, we got an Invasion angle that lacked any drama and showcased none of wrestlers that WCW was most known for. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting we got Lance Storm, Booker T, and Mike Awesome. Eventually, there were...
Once the World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW in 2001, fans were almost begging for the WWF to put on dream matches that they had envisioned for years. Imagine: Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin, The Rock vs. Ric Flair, The Outsiders vs. The New Age Outlaws, the nWo vs. Degeneration X…the possibilities were endless.
Instead, we got an Invasion angle that lacked any drama and showcased none of wrestlers that WCW was most known for. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting we got Lance Storm, Booker T, and Mike Awesome. Eventually, there were...
- 2/26/2014
- by Mike Shannon
- Obsessed with Film
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/WWE_Champion_The_Miz_2010_Tribute_to_the_Troops.jpg
When the WWE bought WCW in 2001, they were left with a large roster of superstars, so when the Invasion angle had finished, they decided to split said roster into two separate rosters after WrestleMania X8 in April 2002. Half of the roster would be drafted to the Raw brand, the other half going into the Smackdown brand.
There was initially only one world title, the WWE Undisputed Championship, but when this was made exclusive to Smackdown in September 2002 (becoming simply the WWE Championship), the Raw brand brought back the World Heavyweight Championship as their world title belt.
The following list refers to the worst WWE or World Heavyweight champions from this time until the two belts were again unified at the TLC pay-per-view in December 2013.
Having separate brands and world titles allowed some superstars, who might otherwise have had the opportunity,...
When the WWE bought WCW in 2001, they were left with a large roster of superstars, so when the Invasion angle had finished, they decided to split said roster into two separate rosters after WrestleMania X8 in April 2002. Half of the roster would be drafted to the Raw brand, the other half going into the Smackdown brand.
There was initially only one world title, the WWE Undisputed Championship, but when this was made exclusive to Smackdown in September 2002 (becoming simply the WWE Championship), the Raw brand brought back the World Heavyweight Championship as their world title belt.
The following list refers to the worst WWE or World Heavyweight champions from this time until the two belts were again unified at the TLC pay-per-view in December 2013.
Having separate brands and world titles allowed some superstars, who might otherwise have had the opportunity,...
- 2/12/2014
- by Martin Perry
- Obsessed with Film
In recent times, the WWE has been rejuvenating a tag team division that had been largely ignored or poorly booked for many years.
But the ‘Attitude Era’ was somewhat of a golden age for tag team wrestling, and I’m here to run down the Top 10 teams of that period. Teams were stars of the show just as much as some of the main event wrestlers, in all sorts of shapes, sizes and gimmicks.
The exact start and ending times of the Attitude Era are largely undefined and often the matter of opinion, but for the purposes of list, I will be looking at teams from WrestleMania Xiv in 1998 to the beginning of the Invasion angle in mid 2001.
The list will have more emphasis on actual duos of tag team “specialists” rather than teams of main event stars put together, although teams of the latter do feature. The various teams...
But the ‘Attitude Era’ was somewhat of a golden age for tag team wrestling, and I’m here to run down the Top 10 teams of that period. Teams were stars of the show just as much as some of the main event wrestlers, in all sorts of shapes, sizes and gimmicks.
The exact start and ending times of the Attitude Era are largely undefined and often the matter of opinion, but for the purposes of list, I will be looking at teams from WrestleMania Xiv in 1998 to the beginning of the Invasion angle in mid 2001.
The list will have more emphasis on actual duos of tag team “specialists” rather than teams of main event stars put together, although teams of the latter do feature. The various teams...
- 2/11/2014
- by Martin Perry
- Obsessed with Film
The Warner Animation series of direct-to-disc features has apparently said farewell to the past as this week’s release of Justice League: War and May’s Son of Batman are both from the New 52 era. A pity given how many cool stories remain unadapted. Readers who picked up Justice League #1 in August 2011 were treated to a brand new take on the tried and true characters from DC Comics, but it was clearly early in their collective careers. It was the first time many were meeting one another and dealing with the threat of Darkseid from Apokolips.
A fresh start but far from a clean one but discussions of that title and the entire New 52 belong elsewhere. Right now, we’re examining the latest feature from director Jay Oliva to see how well it stands up on its own. He’s working from a script by Heath Corson, making his DC...
A fresh start but far from a clean one but discussions of that title and the entire New 52 belong elsewhere. Right now, we’re examining the latest feature from director Jay Oliva to see how well it stands up on its own. He’s working from a script by Heath Corson, making his DC...
- 2/4/2014
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
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