Sleepover + Why MMA is better than Pro Wrestling

Anybody want to stay in my guest room for a couple of days for the benefit of my health?

Onto the other topic...

The first individual wrestling match I was ever excited for was Macho Man versus Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania V. There was a focused, year-long storyline building up to this match and some of my earliest childhood memories are watching segments from this feud. Over the years, there have been many great builds to matches. Shawn Michaels versus Undertaker Hell in a Cell at Bad Blood '97, Steve Austin versus Undertaker at Summer Slam '98, Rock versus Austin at Wrestlemania 17, Rock versus Brock Lesnar at Summer Slam '02, etc. Recently, however? Undertaker versus Michaels and Flair versus Michaels from the past two Wrestlemania shows come to mind. Beyond that, the focus in professional wrestling, which for the purposes of this entry is basically just WWE, has never been less on individual matches. They have so many pay per views, so many hours of free TV every week, and so few new stars to cycle in and out of the mix that there is literally no combination of wrestlers I can think of that I would really care about headlining a pay per view more than any other. WWE's only saving grace is that they're loaded pretty much from top to bottom with good wrestlers, so while I very rarely greatly look forward to the pay per views, they're usually pretty solid.

On the other hand, MMA, and UFC in particular, is promoted in such a manner that I know the top fights off the top of my head, from now until the end of the summer. And pretty much without exception, I'm looking forward to ALL of them.

July's got Brock Lesnar versus Frank Mir, Georges St. Pierre versus Thiago Alves, and Dan Henderson versus Michael Bisping.

In August it's BJ Penn versus Kenny Florian and Anderson Silva versus Forrest Griffin. Then later in the month, Randy Couture versus Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

I actually don't know anything in September off the top of my head, but that's because they haven't announced the main event.

October however, brings us the return of MACHIDA KARATE as Lyota Machida faces Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

Now, I'm not saying that WWE should announce their cards months in advance or anything like that. But making titles seem important, trying to work more guys into the main event mix, and even not worrying so much about people figuring out their booking just because they want to "surprise" the fans could lead to a much steadier, easier to follow product and would likely produce matches with longer build ups and thus more interest.

I'm not breaking any new ground here, but it's just something that's been on my mind.

Are You Out There, Can You Hear This?

There is no joy in Columbus, Mighty Lucas is on his honeymoon.

Come back soon, buddy! But not too soon, KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING!?

Lucas and Amanda are also better than Ross and Rachel

I'd just like to say to my good friends Amanda and Lucas, congratulations on your nuptials. I'm extremely happy for you both, especially now that you won't be LIVING IN SIN. Love you guys, and I'll see you tomorrow!


Now, be as happy as these two. Do it, you guys!

Bow to Your Superior British Overlords

The Ultimate Fighter season is over, and Team U.K. is represented by three of the four fighters going to Saturday night's live finale. Michael Bisping for Prime Minister! On to July 11th where he will vanquish the decrepit Dan Henderson and bring honor to the Wolf's Lair!

Overheard Whilst Trying to Sleep

Sometimes late at night, when there's no traffic outside, I can hear conversations as people walk past my house. But it's always really weird because it's never in context, and I only get a snippet. Here's a recent example:

"My mom almost shot me one time. We were living in a trailer park then, and my dad-"

I really wanted to hear the rest of that story, but he was gone, out of my earshot.

I had one of those days today where I didn't actually open my mouth to speak one time. I'll have one of those every now and then, but I never seem to notice until it's very late. It's a weird kind of feeling.

I'll put those pictures you found up soon, Lucas. I was particularly glad to see the Orton one.

MI-SA-WA, MI-SA-WA

I don't know what else to actually say about Mitsuharu Misawa, especially in the wake of discovering that his cause of death was the suplex he took in his final match. Instead, I give you pictures.





That's pretty much all I have. :(

You ever notice how much better the Sam and Diane dynamic was than the Ross and Rachel dynamic?



Shelley Long, underrated hottie.

Rest in Peace, Mitsuharu Misawa

Hard to put into words right now, but one of my all-time favorite professional wrestlers has died, the result of a heart attack after a fairly routine suplex. In short, Misawa was great, and deserving of a much better tribute than this, which he will receive in my next post and on Wrestling Night this coming Tuesday.

Hype!

Hey, if anyone wants to catch the live showing of UFC 99 for FREE tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 pm, give me a call. Keith, Dave and I are going to be heading to the Buffalo Wild Wings at Lane and High for the event. We will drink beer, possibly eat some wings, and have a grand time. Come join us!

Agent of the Bat!

I'm re-reading Azrael. Or at least issues 1-42. It's probably been five or six years since I've looked at any of it, and it completely rules. There's a Judge Dredd MOVIE ad in the issue I'm reading right now. Awesome. And Sister Lilhy? That chick is HAHHHHHHHHHHHT. I need to find the rest of the run somewhere. I'm only FIFTY-EIGHT issues shy. This will be even more fun than my Dreamcast quest!

This was odd

I just nailed my Poetry final to the wall. TO THE WALL. GET SOME, POETRY FINAL.

So, nobody ended up coming for EXTREME RULES last night. That's okay. I actually needed the rest. Haters.

I'm over at Young Adam's. He's playing NHL '09. I'm doing a better job following his fake hockey career than I am at following the Reds this season. Sad.

Broin' Down tonight, and it's a big one. Our second anniversary. Happy Slammiversary, baby... I've got you on my... mind.

Adam just scored a goal with his short handed unit. WOOOOOOO! All right, I'm off!

This is Hardcore (Is It Not?)

Head over to my place tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock for WWE pay per view action. It seems like just three weeks ago I was putting up something very similar. Oh, it actually WAS just three weeks ago? Christ, WWE, you're killing me.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Batista Steel Cage match for the WWE Championship

Good final angle on RAW with Orton punting Flair actually made me want to see this one.

John Cena vs. The Big Show Submission match

WHY?

Edge (c) vs. Jeff Hardy Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship

There is no way on earth that this will be anything less than very good. It's Edge and Jeff Hardy with a ladder involved. That's like 1+1 or something.

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Chris Jericho No Holds Barred match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

Last month's match was awesome, and I'm curious to see what they do to change things up.

CM Punk vs. Umaga Samoan Strap match

Take two guys who can have a good match, as they did last month, and handicap them by tethering them to one another. Great idea.

Vickie Guerrero vs. Santina Marella Hog Pen match for the title of "Miss WrestleMania"

Moving right along...

Christian (c) vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Jack Swagger

Triple Threat Hardcore match for the ECW Championship

This ought to be good, but I think Dreamer's presence will actually bring it down a notch. I kind of hope he wins the title though.

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy[20]

Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE United States Championship

I actually forgot this match was happening, though it really should be pretty good.

All in all, this is largely a retread of Backlash, but hey, that was a great show. I can handle one more night slightly tweaked rematches.

A Tale of Two Paragraphs

I'd like to just take a moment here at the top of this entry to congratulate Katie on finishing her undergraduate degree. I got a message from her yesterday that was very sweet, and I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am for her. Katie, despite a lot (a LOT) of water under the bridge, I'm just so proud of you. Great job.

With that sappy prelude out of the way, let me just say that I hate any establishment that doesn't make its home on either the number two or number four bus line. What is wrong with you? Don't you know that I want to visit you? Why doesn't Target, a conveniently located vendor, sell the Galaxy Quest Tenth Anniversary DVD? IT'S HARD FOR ME TO REACH YOU, BEST BUY. But I will never give up, and I will never surrender.

Bruce Campbell must have gotten too old

Drag Me To Hell is a wacky film. I expected this, as it is a horror movie directed by Sam Raimi. In tone, it was actually fairly similar to the first two Evil Dead films, but not quite as off the rails as Army of Darkness. Regardless, strong recommendation from me.

More importantly, today is the fifteenth anniversary of one of the greatest wrestling matches of all time, Mitsuharu Misawa versus Toshiaki Kawada. This match is the reason I love 1990s All Japan Pro Wrestling, and although I've since seen matches that I like better, it will always have a special place in my heart for that very reason. Might have to throw that on for Wrestling Night this month, whenever that ends up being.