A Day for Dave (Not Kwon)

The Blogaversary post is a work in progress (it's pretty chunky), so in the meantime, I thought I would be remiss if I didn't honor the accomplishments of one "Big" Dave Bautista, the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble, and as it sits, one half of the Wrestlemania 21 main event.


Batista as 'Leviathan' in Ohio Valley Wrestling

I didn't really see much in Batista early on. I remember hearing Jim Cornette say back in 2001 (when Batista was still cutting his teeth in Kentucky based Ohio Valley Wrestling) that he was a can't miss future Wrestlemania main eventer. He actually said "Wrestlemania main eventer". That's a lot of stock to put in someone who at that point had had maybe fifty professional matches. But after a shaky start on the main WWE roster (who else remembers Reverend D-Von's whipping boy, Deacon Batista?) and a couple of stints on the injured reserve, Batista joined up with Evolution (I may hate Triple H, but he's the right guy to get the rub from) and started working with better wrestlers on a consistent basis.


Deacon Batista guards the poor box

I think it must have been Wrestlemania 20 when things started clicking for me where Batista is concerned. He's not a great wrestler, by any means. But he only does the things that he can do well, the mark of a smart wrestler. He has an intensity unmatched by any wrestler in WWE today (and not seen in major league wrestling since the initial appearance of Bill Goldberg in WCW) and it makes everything he does seem urgent, like it means something. Add to that the fact that his character is developing layers, and he himself is becoming quite a gifted, nuanced actor (by professional wrestling standards). He's not in the league of a Mick Foley or William Regal, but he more than holds his own in backstage confabs with Ric Flair and Triple H on a weekly basis.


Big Dave triumphant in the Royal Rumble match

The main thing about Batista that will make him an enormous superstar in 2005 is his believability. I think it was on this very blog many months ago that I stated, "Kane plays a monster on TV. Batista IS a monster." After years of big men like Nathan Jones, Matt Morgan, John Heidenreich and the lamentable Gene Snitsky, it's a wonderful change of pace to have a big man like Batista fucking up people's entire week each and every Monday. I declare this, January 31st, to be "Big Dave Day". You earned it, pal. You truly are the man.


Even if I didn't like him, this picture would strike enough fear in me to declare a day for him anyway

WHERE'S HIS SECOND HEAD!?

So, I got to see the toy lineup for the upcoming Hitchhiker's Guide Movie. Notice anything about Zaphod? Anything at all? What have they done!?



I'm still hopeful, sort of. Apparently his head rolls back like a wheel to reveal the other. I don't know why they'd screw with something so familiar though.

HYPE!!!!!

Don't forget to tune in this weekend for my first annual BLOGAVERSARY post. It was January 22nd, 2004 when I got this bitch started, and 159 posts later, it's still sputtering along. Remember along with me the good and bad of the first year. The triumph, the tragedy, the ill fated "What Do These Three Things Have In Common?". It'll all be here. Keep your eyes peeled.



See? Krypto totally has the right idea.

One short note about RAW last night

RATIO FOR TIMES THREATENED TO TAKE AN INANIMATE OBJECT AND STICK IT WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE

Rock: 0 for infinity
Big Dave: 1 for 1

Batista is king sized.

I Don't Want No Scrubs?

You know, if I wasn't already sold on the show in a major way, the box art for Scrubs Season One probably would have caused me to never even consider the show as a potential buy.



What the Hell is on that spoon?

Also, I'm never missing a Tough and Lovely show again, if I can help it. Wow that was a lot of rock squeezed into forty minutes.

Man About Town

Here's my official theory on what happened tonight with the Jean Grae/Diverse show at Little Brothers. Ready?

THIS Jean Grey



recently became aware of THIS Jean Grae



and decided to use her mastery of psychokinesis to keep her far, far away from Columbus. And poor Diverse was just collateral damage. Somehow, I feel that this nefarious plot was aided by THESE shady characters



AHA! So we meet at last, Lone Samoan! Who's your faggot Indian friend?

(I actually just wanted to post that picture of CM Punk and Samoa Joe, because Joe is wearing a Lone Ranger mask, and that works on so many levels)

Anyway, what we got to see was pretty tasty. One of Spitball's better sets (for my money, at least), although rowdy white kids sacrificed a hard plastic chair to appease their hip hop messiahs in the process. Blueprint broke the fourth wall and transformed from audience member to performer in an effort to kill time waiting for the main event. We got to hear some new jams from his upcoming record too, so I can't hate that. All in all, I don't feel like I wasted my money, but I really would have liked to see Diverse again. I'm sure I'll have another chance. Anyhow, it's late right now, and this guy's gotta be up at 5 in the morn.' Holla back.

Monday musings (why?)

As far as yesterday's agenda went, I DID watch the Colts-Pats game. Well, three quarters of it. ASS. I mean, damn. What a terrible game. I hate you, Tom Brady. On the sorta good side of the docket, I spent entirely too much money at Media Play and Best Buy, taking advantage of coupons and an exchange on a DVD I already owned. So I ended up with; the first two Hellboy trade paperbacks, the Shins, "Oh, Inverted World" CD, the new "Leon the Professional" two discer, and yes... the daddy, FARSCAPE SEASON FOUR.



High pimp of everythang, Ben Browder sez: "Alien bitches like the Apollo Rocket... OF LOVE."

TNA got a big ol' pass from me, and according to reports I read, that was an okay thing. RAW's got Benoit versus Jericho out of the "spirit of competition", which I guess means they just want to put on a hot match for the sake of putting on a hot match. Fine by me. Also, Snitsky versus Kane: THE BLOWOFF!

Didn't make it to Bernie's, and thank God. I barely got any sleep as it was. This is a big week for shows, though. Heroes of History and Mors Ontologica on Wednesday, Jean Grae Thursday, um... something Friday (I'm sure Andrew will remind me) and Tough and Lovely and You're So Bossy on Saturday night.

So, that's the deal, Shaquille. I'm off to enjoy my one night of doing absolutely nothing this week. Peace see ya later.

You know who rocks? My UNCLE.

Ritchey Brothers Band/Sens - Little Brothers, January 15th, 2005

Yes. YES! I finally got to see the Ritchey Brothers Band last night, and they RULED. Sens was kind of "eh". I felt bad because it was their farewell show, but I just wasn't feelin' it and it didn't seem like the other twelve people in attendance were either. Actually, it wasn't that bad, attendance-wise. Young, drunken hippie slores were abundant, most of them dating members of the middle aged bands though, seemingly. But none of that mattered once the lights came on (and the lights seriously came on. I felt like I was at a show at least twice the size of the one I was actually at; light dude went NUTZ), because the Ritchey Brothers, and their band, know how to sling some guns. Despite a couple of iffy lyrics like, "You're in St. Louis, but I'm in MISERY", it was a jammin' good time. I even got to use a Cowboy Bebop joke in reference to it that nobody got, making me feel foolish. Thanks, jerks. Thanks a lot.

Aside from that, I got to see my T1 favorite cousin, Annie! (My other T1 favorite cousin was left at his crib with the plague or something. "Freaks and Geeks" were had by all, though.) Annie is always a delight to hang out with, and I really don't take advantage of it enough. Anyway, the Ritchey's are playing Lil' Bros again on Saturday, February 26th, so it'd be cool if people could check them out. I don't know if I'll be too tired from RING OF HONOR IN DAYTON the night before, but I'll give it a shot. Speaking of which, I'm gonna get organized on that Ring of Honor show soon. I'll send an E-mail to all the potentially interested parties about ticket prices and shiz.

Tonight I've got a full docket, between watching the Colts and the Patriots, buying Farscape Season 4 (LEE YOU READ THAT RIGHT! IT'S ON, BITCH!), going back and forth on whether or not to reward NWA TNA for their shoddy booking by ordering their ppv, and finally, heading to Bernie's for a Racist Joe/Spitball doubleheader. Yes. Work will be a blast tomorrow. Peace, homeys.

Much a post about nothing. (Wow. What a horrible title)

If CM Punk wasn't around to post livejournal entries containing drunken Harley Race stories, who would be?

In other news, um... yeah. I've got nothing, so here's Elisha Cuthbert and Mila Kunis. Cue Andrew with the Paul Barman ref.

For those who watched New Year's Revolution last night...

From Dave Meltzer at WrestlingObserver.com:

"Here is a weekend WWE injury update. Lita suffered what looks like a knee sprain last night, so it is believed she won't be requiring surgery. We'll try and get an update on that for tomorrow after she gets checked today by her doctor. Eugene suffered a dislocated kneecap and may have torn his patella. Rob Van Dam also has a knee injury and may need surgery depending on the MRI results."

So, the Eugene thing... officially NOT a work. Didn't know about the Van Dam thing. If he needs surgery, it would be only his second injury requiring time off in his entire career, which is pretty impressive considering the style he works. Anyway, thought the grossed out contingent might be interested in that stuff.

Also, Keith, the VCD works, very unfortunately.

Oh, and this, gleaned from the Ring of Honor website in regards to the February 25th Dayton show, just cracked me up:

"Prince Nana has stated that he is not impressed that AJ Styles is returning to ROH in Dayton on 2/25 to take on Jimmy Rave. Nana said he will raise taxes in Ghana, West Africa to sign the top free agent in the wrestling business and this man will debut as part of The Embassy in Dayton."

Yes, TAX those Ghanans!