This is the first Top 10 list I'm going to do and it's on a subject that I think not many people would do. Many focus on the best and worst matches/shows/gimmicks etc however I don't think people look at wrestlers who evolve and change. Now before I start I'd like to point out that evolution counts in several ways change in look, attitude, gimmick and move set. With that said lets get started.
10: Kane
Now Glen Jacobs has had many gimmicks before Kane including a dentist and Fake Diesel however it's the Kane character that's made the most impact in the business. Now when Kane debuted he wore a outfit that covered his entire body and wore mask that covered his entire face. We were told that Kane was Undertakers brother who was badly burnt in a fire as a child, hence why he covered himself up. Kane also couldn't talk which is why he was put with Paul Bearer. This worked until the Bearer character was put on the back burner and Kane was left by himself which resulted in him doing stuff and us getting no explanation. The first evolution in the character came when teaming with X-Pac, Pac trying to make Kane more human convinced him to talk which he did and then slowly he became more understandable. Soon he was talking normally and he would change his look a bit going with a tank top version of his original outfit and having some see through section which showed no burns whatsoever. The Kane character became more human except for keeping the absorbing pain thing which Taker has as well and the 'special' powers things which is pretty stupid. Soon Kane was just another part of the roster and changed his look a bit more getting a much better mask and ring gear. However this would all change when he was unmasked and was shown to be pretty normal, they explained that this was due to the fact that he imaged the fire. Kane then became crazy and focused on destroying everything and everyone, this was forgotten about when put in rivalries with mid-card guys though. Kane would switch back and forth between crazy maniac and normal guy and that's been the story through out his run, that's the main reason he's at No.10. He's changed his look a bit over the years each seeming drastic however the actual character hasn't changed all that much just back and fourth.
9: AJ Styles
AJ began in TNA as your typical high flying guy who just loved the fans, also had a bit of a generic look however he had an amazing arrange of moves. When he was put with a manager he became the cocky heel which he was really good, it added something to his character. TNA were so impressed that they put him with Vince Russo and made him World champ. This would continue until his lost the title and switched back to a face for no other reason then Jarrett wanted to be a heel champion. AJ would alter his look over the years from short to long tights and his entrance vest with big hood is a trademark. While AJ was a face he was back to his old typical character. Now AJ would grow as a character when he was a heel and put with Christian Cage, AJ would add humour to his character from time to time and would play a great heel. His current look, ripping off the Flair robe but adding a hood was a great addition and because of Flair's craziness on the mic it's forced AJ to step up his game when it comes to mic work. AJ now has a great character and a look of a true champion in this business.
8: Raven
Scott Levy is another guy who had been given a lot of gimmicks many of which have been forgotten. He first made an impression as Johnny Polo as a manager to the Quebecers, wearing odd outfits and being goofy. So image the shock when he made his debut in ECW as Raven, a very serious character who seemed to have serious peoples in his life. Raven would become a cult leader and get many followers to his group, he would also have a bit of a relaxed look as he would wrestle in jeans and a sleeveless t-shirt. The only additions Raven made during his ECW run is showing that he was really smart and cunning as well. Pretty much the exact same character went over to WCW and he was given his own group to get over the cult leader character however they added the twist that he was actually rich and was doing this because he hated having money. Raven would also become a face during his run teaming with Saturn who understood what he was going through. Near the end of his run in WCW he was put with the Dark Carnival and didn't add much to it to be honest. A more relaxed version was put into WWE, he wasn't given a group or much to do to be honest. He would change his look adding a skirt of all things and removing his t-shirt. He was removed off TV for a while and when he returned you hardly recognised him, wrestling in just black trunks, covered with a range of new tattoos and had blond hair. He would go back to the skirt when he appeared in TNA and from there he had many different additions to his look, a variety of ring jacket including a straight jacket, a range of hair colours and styles and he sometimes goes back to his old style. The character has not changed all that much but his look seems to always change these days from one appearance to another.
7: Austin Aries
Aries was just another indy guy when he appeared in ROH for the first time and he would remain just that really even until he would win the World title. There was nothing special about him that much except he was an amazing worker. He would evolve into a wrestler who wanted to prove that he was the best and when him & Roderick Strong won the Tag titles they would start wearing matching trunks when they worked. Aries would become Austin Starr when he was signed to TNA, changing his look in a major way and covering himself in stars on his now full length tights. He would also become completely self absorbed with was a great addition to the character which Austin pulled off perfectly. When he returned to ROH as Austin Aries he went back to a version of his old look, the tights has more on them and looked better, he had ever changing facial hair from a full beard to a goatee and everything in between, he would also change his hair length a lot it seemed that he was always changing his look in a small way. Aries also started adding moves to his arsenal, adding a brianbuster, a solid kick to the head when his opponent is down and the Last Chancery submission hold. Now he's changed to what fans called the 'Pornstar' look with a moustache, really colourful tights and very furry ring jackets. He would also go back to his self absorbed character which was great for him, he just got better and better in all aspects. Will be interesting to see how he changes now he's on the indies.
6: Chris Jericho
When Jericho debuted in ECW he was Lion Heart Chris Jericho, a rather plan look and a vest with a Lion on it however it wasn't about looks then and his work was more important. He would add some character and colour in WCW, he was a great heel a cocky arrogant cry baby who was obsessed with championships. He also had some of the best tights in wrestling, very unique and colourful. Jericho would continue this in WWE he just moved the look and attitude from one company to another. He would go face and add comedy, coming up with some truly hilarious insults and would also be honourable in his attitude which was a major change from his old self. This would continue into 2001 when he would become self obsessed again, it was also this time that he would add to his move set before then he would use the Lionsault and the Walls of Jericho submission but he added the Breakdown a facebuster move which was better although it was rarely used. Jericho would become more constant in ring gear when the highlight reel debuted and he had a logo to put on his tights. He would also switch back from his face self to his heel self. Jericho would also be the master of a 1000 beards have lots of different beards during his runs in WCW and WWE. He would eventually take a break from wrestling and had a whole new look when he came back, having shorter hair and focusing on breaking a code in his gear, although it was same old Jericho as a character. That would change when he would become heel, become more hateful towards the fans and putting himself over he would also wear trunks which would have the phrase save us on the back. Jericho has had many different looks over the years.
5: Undertaker
When the Undertaker debuted he had a very good look, wearing all black and having grey gloves and 'boots' he was very intimidating. He didn't speak much as had Paul Bearer to do that. He looked great however he did very little mostly choke, clothesline, performed his tight walk and Tombstone. The character would remain the same for years until the first rebirth in 94 where he changed from grey to purple and added more tattoos. He also added a chokeslam then (I believe anyways), he would also talk a bit more but it was his typical talk of his opponent being put to rest. Takers 2nd rebirth would happen in 96, going all black and having a more Gothic look in general he also lost Paul Bearer and was his own talker, again it was his usual type of promo each time. However this change had a major effect on his ring work, more wrestling holds we're put in and he could mat wrestle now. He also became a bit more human in character but not by much. The next change would not be that drastic, a slight deference in ring gear and a new robe which included a hood I think he was going with a cult leader look as it was during the Dark Ministry days. He would disappear for a while and when he came back it was a major change, it would be his American Bad Ass look. Riding on a motor bike and looking like a biker he was also a lot more human in general which was a must in my view. He would also add the Last Rites powerbomb finisher which looked devastating. Taker would then just make slight changes in ring gear and hair length, he also added MMA gloves and was a heavy striker this would remain until his final rebirth that being the mix of gimmicks. In 2004 he was the 'dead biker' having a version of his American bad ass look mixed with the dead man gimmick, mainly in his promo type and supernatural powers aspect. Taker would also add more MMA moves including his Hells Gates submission move. Taker has since just changed his ring entrance gear and not much else. Now many would believe he should be number one however his character hasn't changed that much in my view over the years to be number one but he has stayed relevant through his run.
4: Sting
Sting started in the NWA with the 'surfer' look, blond hair face paint and colourful tights matching his face paint. Sting would be the NWA's Hulk Hogan in a way, mostly character wise as he was a beefed up guy who would eventually ignore pain later on in the match. He would also be the cool guy that everyone loved and that would be his character for a long time. His 1st change was just a slight change, growing his hair out and letting it be it's natural colour was just about it. Although it wasn't a major change it was still seen as a big thing change to fans. The big change would be next, he would be away from TV and would take the crow look. Going all black and wearing black & white face paint that cover his entire face, he would also not speak and showed no emotions. This was a huge change from the original Sting we knew. This character would continue until the NWO Wolfpac was formed and he took red & black and then became a cool guy again not much of a transition but hey that was WCW, the look was awful by the way. He went back to white & black after leaving the NWO and he would also have his first true heel run with him only caring about himself and doing whatever he had to do to get and keep the world title. Sting would then be his typical self even when he started in TNA, he would change his look to a hybrid of all his looks when he won the World title for the first time in TNA but the look didn't last long. His run in the main event mafia made gave him a longer heel run where he was out for himself and didn't care about the young guys, he played it well and cut great promos. And his latest run was a bit confusing as he was talking about deception but it was a new aspect of his character, he was a guy who could see something evil was gonna happen but no one would listen. Stings changes have been legendary and he has shown a great scope of characters over the years.
3: Brian Pillman
Pillman would begin his run in the NWA as Flying Brian, a young rookie who loved wrestling and was doing high flying moves before they were popular. This in itself was a great gimmick as hardly any one else in America was doing it. Brian would change when he was put with Steve Austin to form the legendary Hollywood Blondes, he became arrogant and cocky but also was very unique when it came to look it revolved around Hollywood. He would also remove many of his high flying moves and focus more on mat wrestling. This would continue until he would leave the team and then join the 4 Horsemen, this began the transformation to the Loose Cannon. He was off the wall he did things that you really didn't see coming and people still ask if it was a work or not. This would be the character he would portray until his untimely death and boy what a character, no one has come close to copying it and no one will. Pillman was a once in a life time performer and the changes he went through showed that.
2: Jimmy Jacobs
Jacobs started his run in IWA MS with a very unique look for a guy of his size, he wore furry boots trunks that said 'HUSS' and would try to climb over the top rope every time he entered for a match. He would yell out Huss during his matches, would was the guy who thought he was bigger then he was and was also very strange in behaviour. He would have to change in order to be taken seriously and get more bookings elsewhere so he did, becoming more serious removing the huss, furry boots and having more serious ring gear. This would evolve into a cocky heel which would endlessly cheat in his matches to retain the World title, he would also wear a big fur coat to show of how important he was. He would leave IWA after losing the title and his next transformation would happen in ROH, this was his 'I Love Lacey' look which was long tights which were pink and some pink dye in his hair he would also sway back and fourth in his entrance and would show his love for Lacey through out, this would lead to some awesome moments when she started dating Colt Cabana. He then got injured and left to recovered, when he returned he would start his goth Age of the Fall look. Becoming more of a preacher for the misfits of the world and having a very dark look, he would also change his hair and facial hair a lot, he would have bits of red, to a mohawk and everything in between, he would also been clean shaven and then have a full beard. His ring gear was especially good in this stage, some of my favourites including his tights that look like he has several layers (kind of hard to explain). Jacobs also added the End Time submission to go with his back senton and Contra Code. Since the end of the Fall he's kept a similar look in ring gear but has changed physically including going blond and keeping it at one length. Jacobs has had one dramatic change after another in both look and character, we can only image how he may change in the future.
1: Chris Hero
Hero started in IWA as a chubby guy who wore lose jeans and t-shirts for his matches, however the matches were great and he was a great worker. Not much character wise but back then it didn't really matter that much unless you were in one company for a long time. As he got in better shape he would wear actual wrestling gear, proper wrestling tights and a sleeveless shirt. This was his first true character he began using the kravate hold a lot and using it in a variety of ways, this was done in one of 2 ways as a heel the fans would be him as he would use them a lot and as a face the fans would cheer for him locking it on. It was great he also showed 2 different characters as a heel he was cocky and claimed to be the best in the world and as a face he wanted to prove that he was one of the best in the world. When he finished that saga the next character would come out, that being the over confidance show boater. During his matches he would include unnecessary flips to almost everything he did (check out his U Don't Know music video on Youtube) and would waste time in matches just doing training drills instead of wrestling. This would continue for a while but soon we would see his latest and maybe his greatest form, he became that Young Knockout Kid'. He started wearing just normal trunks with a little style on it and started throwing a lot more strikes which all sound nasty and could end a match in a second. Again you got 2 versions of this, as a heel he would throw so many the fans would get annoyed and as a face he would only throw one or two and that would end the match. Hero has added so much to his arsenal that it would take forever to list it, he still wants to prove that he's one of the best in the world and in my view he is. He has also promo skills and is an amazing worker. Now people may stay he over uses the strike and if you think that then check out his work in PWG where he hardly throw them that's how good he is. In my view he is the best evolver in wrestling today.
So there you have it, this may be long but if you've read it then thanks for reading it. And let me know what you think.
Saturday 11 December 2010
Thursday 9 December 2010
Cheer up!
I meant to do this blog last week but decided to have a bit of a break before writing it. You see last week we lost our dog, he was old suffering a lot and it was the best thing for him. Now anyone who has owned a dog or a cat you would know that it's one of the things that hits you hard, you become so attached as you have them around for years and year, they seem like part of the family. So I was feeling down that day, had a lot of memories about him as he was part of my life for well over 15 years. So I spent the day remembering some of my memories about him, I could go on for days and days about the funny stories that he's been involved in. What probably hit me most was the fact he was 'my' dog in a sense, he would do his own little protest when I would leave for University and when I was back he would stay around me including staying up with me when everyone else went to bed.
Now, the reason for this blog is that later on in that day I would turn around in a way and would feel better which made me realise everyone has their own little ways of getting out of a bad mood so I'll share my ones with you readers.
I've noticed that one of the things I do is put on the Batman film 'The Dark Knight' this is one of, if not my favourite film of all time. I've loved this film since I first saw it in a cinema with the back row falling apart, I've loved it since going to my union with people to watch it on a big screen again, I've loved it since I brought it on DVD, I simply love this film. It's gotten to the point where I can say pretty much every line. I don't know what is it about the film, the great storyline, the big twists, the beautiful use of psychology or the amazing acting which includes one of the best performances I've ever seen by Heath Ledger as the Joker. So when I'm down and got plenty of time I'll throw that film on and will love every second of it.
There's also one more thing I do when feeling down and I don't have 2 plus hours to kill. Now this is kinda silly but it means something to me. In my draw I have 2 letters, it doesn't matter if I'm in Sheffield or Leicester I take those letters with me. The first is from my friend Grace who gave me a hand made card for my 21st birthday, in this card she wrote my some truly awesome stuff that I can read over and over again. There's times when you know something went into what you reading and this is one of those times, don't want to go into to much detail but it means a lot to me.
The second letter came from my friend Sarah, she sent me this note when she was sending a birthday card to my friend Chaz. This came during the summer after a pretty hectic time that was our 2nd year at Uni and what she wrote meant a lot. As I said with Grace's letter you sometimes get the feeling that a person but some thought into what they were writing and this was one of them. This is also a letter that I go to when I'm not liking myself (which is not as often as it was years ago) but it makes me feel great about myself.
Those are my main ways I can change my mood from bad to good. Everyone has their own methods, this can be a movie that they love watching, a certain ritual they go through we all know of the stereotype of girls sitting down eating ice cream to cheer themselves up. Mine is simply a film that I love watching and letters that mean a lot to me, I'm sentimental at heart so that may be why the letters help so much. There can be some other things that can cheer me up a bit but when I'm truly down I resort to these methods as it helps me out loads.
This blog was really done to let me express myself a bit after my dog had died, since I pretty much live alone there's not a lot of times I can express myself when something happens. I have plenty of friends who say if you ever need help I'm there but with something like this it's not something you should call up friends over in my view. So this blog has let me express myself and also allowed me to say what helped me got over it in a way, not saying I'm completely it and going home for Christmas will be a try test as he won't be there but for right now I'm looking at the positives. He may be gone but he's not forgotten and he's no longer in any sort of pain.
Once again, if you read this I thank you very much and please let me know what you. Until next time!
Now, the reason for this blog is that later on in that day I would turn around in a way and would feel better which made me realise everyone has their own little ways of getting out of a bad mood so I'll share my ones with you readers.
I've noticed that one of the things I do is put on the Batman film 'The Dark Knight' this is one of, if not my favourite film of all time. I've loved this film since I first saw it in a cinema with the back row falling apart, I've loved it since going to my union with people to watch it on a big screen again, I've loved it since I brought it on DVD, I simply love this film. It's gotten to the point where I can say pretty much every line. I don't know what is it about the film, the great storyline, the big twists, the beautiful use of psychology or the amazing acting which includes one of the best performances I've ever seen by Heath Ledger as the Joker. So when I'm down and got plenty of time I'll throw that film on and will love every second of it.
There's also one more thing I do when feeling down and I don't have 2 plus hours to kill. Now this is kinda silly but it means something to me. In my draw I have 2 letters, it doesn't matter if I'm in Sheffield or Leicester I take those letters with me. The first is from my friend Grace who gave me a hand made card for my 21st birthday, in this card she wrote my some truly awesome stuff that I can read over and over again. There's times when you know something went into what you reading and this is one of those times, don't want to go into to much detail but it means a lot to me.
The second letter came from my friend Sarah, she sent me this note when she was sending a birthday card to my friend Chaz. This came during the summer after a pretty hectic time that was our 2nd year at Uni and what she wrote meant a lot. As I said with Grace's letter you sometimes get the feeling that a person but some thought into what they were writing and this was one of them. This is also a letter that I go to when I'm not liking myself (which is not as often as it was years ago) but it makes me feel great about myself.
Those are my main ways I can change my mood from bad to good. Everyone has their own methods, this can be a movie that they love watching, a certain ritual they go through we all know of the stereotype of girls sitting down eating ice cream to cheer themselves up. Mine is simply a film that I love watching and letters that mean a lot to me, I'm sentimental at heart so that may be why the letters help so much. There can be some other things that can cheer me up a bit but when I'm truly down I resort to these methods as it helps me out loads.
This blog was really done to let me express myself a bit after my dog had died, since I pretty much live alone there's not a lot of times I can express myself when something happens. I have plenty of friends who say if you ever need help I'm there but with something like this it's not something you should call up friends over in my view. So this blog has let me express myself and also allowed me to say what helped me got over it in a way, not saying I'm completely it and going home for Christmas will be a try test as he won't be there but for right now I'm looking at the positives. He may be gone but he's not forgotten and he's no longer in any sort of pain.
Once again, if you read this I thank you very much and please let me know what you. Until next time!
Saturday 4 December 2010
Titles that just caused trouble!
So the title of this blog should suggest where I'm going. A thought came into my head last night about titles that either where over with the people and then went downhill and those titles that just never really got over. So as I was thinking about this subject I came up with 6 championships that had problems.
ROH Pure Wrestling Title
This title wasn't round for all that long really but for the time it was there was some problems. It started with the first champion AJ Styles who was forced out of ROH because of his TNA contract so the title was vacant again within a few months, ROH has sometimes ignored AJ because of it in the title history. It then moved on to Doug Williams who couldn't work all the time as he lived in the UK so they had to move the belt again even though Williams was a good fit for it. The belt than landed on John Walters who never really got over that much and is pretty much forgotten about in ROH history. Jay Lethal would win it next for the only reason being that ROH wanted to push him and it made sense to put some gold around his waist however it didn't for long as the worse choice became champion next that being Samoa Joe (I'll explain in a minute). Finally it went round the waist of Nigel McGuinness who too his credit did a fantastic job and made that belt mean something even if it was just a little bit.
So the problems, first there was the rules. Wrestlers had 3 rope breaks to use once used their opponent could use the rope against them, there was a 20 count on the floor, no closed fists to the face if so you'd get a warning then rope break used and then DQ'd and the title could change hands by DQ & count out. This would kill so much time before the start as the referee would go over them every time. The second problem is that only one champion worked the rules into the story of the match, that being Nigel McGuinness. He would forced guys to punch him in the face and force them to use a rope break so he'd have the advantage, Nigel really did do a great job with the belt. Now like I said I think Joe was the worse for the simple reason he is a striker and this belt was made for mat wrestlers and Joe looked out of place and didn't do the style at all. The final problem is that this matches where very slow and could kill the mood of the crowd if put in the wrong place and at the time high speed big spot matches were the key.
Overall: This title was made for all the right reasons, to get another guy other with a belt however the rules and champion choice was pretty wrong. The main reason why Joe had the belt was to give it the rub from a former World champion however it didn't work, in the long run this title just couldn't work and it's better that it's gone rather then it stay too long and we started hating it.
WCW Television title
So if you look over the long history of this belt you'll see a lot of legendary names and a lot of not so legendary names, you'll also see times when it meant something. However that wouldn't last forever and it soon became a nothing title. So lets look at the problems, well first was champion choice. I'll be fair and say many who held it were great wrestlers who could put on a great match however many where new faces that hadn't really done much in WCW so it would really be a mix one time you'd have a deserving champion and next someone who shouldn't be in the title picture at all. The second problem is connected to the first and that is the time limit rule, the matches were limited to 15 minutes. Now that time is a problem as the great wrestlers who held the title couldn't really warm up in that time for example William Regal would still be chain wrestling by the 7 minute mark. It also lead to a HELL of a lot of time limit draws which could get boring if done to much and it was done too much with this title. The final problem was the number of title already in the company, fans would often go months forgetting this title existed.
Overall: This title was always a 'why is it here?' thought in my head, it was so over looked and with fair reason. With the US title and Crusierweight title matches being some of the best on the card this couldn't of stolen the show. So it's a meaningless title in retrospect, yes there have been some great champions but you never remember their reign as TV champ instead you remember where their career went afterwards whether that was upwards or downwards. The final moments of this title sum it up really Scott Hall threw it in the trash and Jim Duggan found it and declared himself champ!
WWF/E Hardcore Title
Speaking of trash we come to a belt that looked like it was pulled from the bin. Now the original concept of this title was pretty good, the matches would have no rules and falls count anywhere. This would lead to fun matches which would go all over the arena. The time this title was introduced ECW was a big thing and hardcore wrestling was a must for almost every show so this title would give the cards those gimmick matches. The problem came when the late Crash Holly would gain the title and the 24/7 rule was put into force. At the start it would be some comedy as segments would involve Crash being in a weird location wrestlers coming to challenge him and a chase would happen, they were funny for a time. However the problems came when the title got pasted around several times in one night and end up back in the hands of the original champion. This happened to much and even happened on house shows, check out the history and see how many title reigns some guys have hand. The title devolved into a comedy title with weapons and big spots, so guys would be suffering the most and getting nothing in return really. Now the title was slightly revived in 2001 when it went back to actual matches, Raven & Rhyno had a classic at Backlash, and Rob Van Dam's reigns were some of the best things that year and really built RVD in WWE. We still had hope as at the end of the year the Undertaker was champion however that was meaningless and the title went back to passing around like a bottle of vodka at a school party! The title would ultimately get unified with the Intercontinental title in 2002 after it was finally redesigned with little notice what so ever, that was a waste of money.
Overall: Now I didn't list it's problems here but the belt was a problem within itself. No one of meaning wanted that belt and those who held it meant nothing to the fans. It looked ugly, was only involved in comedy segments and I get the feeling that's all WWE had planned for it.
WWF/E European Title
Now this title began well, it was a major part of the company for a while. Guys like the British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Owen Hart put on great matches and were great champions but it then went downhill. Now I think the idea behind the belt was simple, you had the main belt for the main guy, the Intercontinental for the best workers and up and comers and then the European as belts for some good workers who were just hoping to get moved up the card. Now the guys who held the title were pretty good wrestlers but the choice was always pretty random to me, for example if I asked you to name a European champion you'd likely answer the names I've said or D'Lo Brown or William Regal as both held the title several times. Besides that not many are memorable and that's probably because that belt was often just a transition to either bigger things or going into the unseen level of WWE where your stuck on shows which no one watches. Now another problem with this title is that it was created at a time when there were lots of championships and it was easily ignored on the big level. To make things worse the invasion happened in 2001 which added 4 more titles to the company. This title was forgotten about pretty much completely soon after the invasion and by 2002 it was unified with the Intercontinental title bringing a end to it's history.
Overall: This belt started off with so much promise and it could of become something of meaning, maybe on par with the Intercontinental title. However it never happened and it ultimately ended up being a up and down title, sometimes you'd see it and they would make it into a big deal and sometimes it would disappear for months on end. I think it could of had it's place in the company however the 3 title scheme seems to be the best fit for a lot of companies.
TNA Legends/Global/TV title
This title start off bad and has pretty much stayed that way. Introduced for the simple reason that Booker T wanted a belt and they didn't want him to be World champion, and with good reason! So he brings it out and it's called the Legends title, which made no sense and you didn't know who could challenge for it. He said you have to be a legend but then Shane Sewell gets a shot. The matches were nothing and no one took it seriously. The belt got better when AJ Styles held it for the simple reason that TNA put him in awful situations and he shows that TNA shouldn't have put him there, Styles would make it mean a little bit but not to much. Then Kevin Nash and Mick Foley traded it back and fourth to nothing of meaning what so ever. Soon Eric Young would win it and rename it the Global title, however he did nothing with it and everyone forgot about it. And the fact is when it changed hands to Rob Terry it wasn't on TV or a big deal. The title has once again returned to AJ Styles and renamed for a second time, AJ has once again been put in a stupid position which he's trying to make into a good situation however that doesn't seem possible.
Overall: This title was added for no reason and it still has no reason to be there. AJ can try all he wants to make it mean something and if anyone could it is AJ however it has an awful history and most likely an awful future. This title is lost in a land full of titles and very bad booking, TNA hardily look after their main titles so why would they look after a 3rd tier title.
TNA Knockout Tag Team Titles
Now in my view these titles were designed for one reason and one reason only, that is the team of Angelina Love and Velvet Sky aka the Beautiful People. Now the titles originally went to the make shift time of Taylor Wilde & Sarita, I believe this was done for the simple reason that a babyface should be the first champions. In fairness too them they did a good job and could put on good matches. In my view the Beautiful People were gonna dethrone them however the visa problem with Love resulted in her leaving for a time and the team getting new members. So they put a team of Awesome Kong & Hamada together and they won the titles, this looked good as these 2 are two of the best going today however it didn't last long as Kong would kill Bubba the Love Sponge and leave TNA. The titles would be vacate and go to the trio of the Beautiful People (Velvet, Madison Rayne & Lacey Von Erich), I hate the Freebird rule by the way! Anyways they did nothing with them and we just resigned to the fact that they were champions. They would lose the belts to the random team of Hamada & Taylor Wilde who since then have disappeared from TV and not really defended them.
Overall: This titles have been forgotten about and it's for a simple reason there is no Knockouts tag teams to challenge them, hell there's no Knockouts in TNA any more. These titles could fall of the face of the earth and no one would care one bit. Now the team who I think the belts were originally designed for could win the belts however this wouldn't revive the belts.
I've just gone over 6 titles that have had some major problems over their time, now I could pick on every company and a lot more titles however I feel like these are the main ones. Now feel free to tell me if I'm wrong however I think I have good reasons to believe what I do.
ROH Pure Wrestling Title
This title wasn't round for all that long really but for the time it was there was some problems. It started with the first champion AJ Styles who was forced out of ROH because of his TNA contract so the title was vacant again within a few months, ROH has sometimes ignored AJ because of it in the title history. It then moved on to Doug Williams who couldn't work all the time as he lived in the UK so they had to move the belt again even though Williams was a good fit for it. The belt than landed on John Walters who never really got over that much and is pretty much forgotten about in ROH history. Jay Lethal would win it next for the only reason being that ROH wanted to push him and it made sense to put some gold around his waist however it didn't for long as the worse choice became champion next that being Samoa Joe (I'll explain in a minute). Finally it went round the waist of Nigel McGuinness who too his credit did a fantastic job and made that belt mean something even if it was just a little bit.
So the problems, first there was the rules. Wrestlers had 3 rope breaks to use once used their opponent could use the rope against them, there was a 20 count on the floor, no closed fists to the face if so you'd get a warning then rope break used and then DQ'd and the title could change hands by DQ & count out. This would kill so much time before the start as the referee would go over them every time. The second problem is that only one champion worked the rules into the story of the match, that being Nigel McGuinness. He would forced guys to punch him in the face and force them to use a rope break so he'd have the advantage, Nigel really did do a great job with the belt. Now like I said I think Joe was the worse for the simple reason he is a striker and this belt was made for mat wrestlers and Joe looked out of place and didn't do the style at all. The final problem is that this matches where very slow and could kill the mood of the crowd if put in the wrong place and at the time high speed big spot matches were the key.
Overall: This title was made for all the right reasons, to get another guy other with a belt however the rules and champion choice was pretty wrong. The main reason why Joe had the belt was to give it the rub from a former World champion however it didn't work, in the long run this title just couldn't work and it's better that it's gone rather then it stay too long and we started hating it.
WCW Television title
So if you look over the long history of this belt you'll see a lot of legendary names and a lot of not so legendary names, you'll also see times when it meant something. However that wouldn't last forever and it soon became a nothing title. So lets look at the problems, well first was champion choice. I'll be fair and say many who held it were great wrestlers who could put on a great match however many where new faces that hadn't really done much in WCW so it would really be a mix one time you'd have a deserving champion and next someone who shouldn't be in the title picture at all. The second problem is connected to the first and that is the time limit rule, the matches were limited to 15 minutes. Now that time is a problem as the great wrestlers who held the title couldn't really warm up in that time for example William Regal would still be chain wrestling by the 7 minute mark. It also lead to a HELL of a lot of time limit draws which could get boring if done to much and it was done too much with this title. The final problem was the number of title already in the company, fans would often go months forgetting this title existed.
Overall: This title was always a 'why is it here?' thought in my head, it was so over looked and with fair reason. With the US title and Crusierweight title matches being some of the best on the card this couldn't of stolen the show. So it's a meaningless title in retrospect, yes there have been some great champions but you never remember their reign as TV champ instead you remember where their career went afterwards whether that was upwards or downwards. The final moments of this title sum it up really Scott Hall threw it in the trash and Jim Duggan found it and declared himself champ!
WWF/E Hardcore Title
Speaking of trash we come to a belt that looked like it was pulled from the bin. Now the original concept of this title was pretty good, the matches would have no rules and falls count anywhere. This would lead to fun matches which would go all over the arena. The time this title was introduced ECW was a big thing and hardcore wrestling was a must for almost every show so this title would give the cards those gimmick matches. The problem came when the late Crash Holly would gain the title and the 24/7 rule was put into force. At the start it would be some comedy as segments would involve Crash being in a weird location wrestlers coming to challenge him and a chase would happen, they were funny for a time. However the problems came when the title got pasted around several times in one night and end up back in the hands of the original champion. This happened to much and even happened on house shows, check out the history and see how many title reigns some guys have hand. The title devolved into a comedy title with weapons and big spots, so guys would be suffering the most and getting nothing in return really. Now the title was slightly revived in 2001 when it went back to actual matches, Raven & Rhyno had a classic at Backlash, and Rob Van Dam's reigns were some of the best things that year and really built RVD in WWE. We still had hope as at the end of the year the Undertaker was champion however that was meaningless and the title went back to passing around like a bottle of vodka at a school party! The title would ultimately get unified with the Intercontinental title in 2002 after it was finally redesigned with little notice what so ever, that was a waste of money.
Overall: Now I didn't list it's problems here but the belt was a problem within itself. No one of meaning wanted that belt and those who held it meant nothing to the fans. It looked ugly, was only involved in comedy segments and I get the feeling that's all WWE had planned for it.
WWF/E European Title
Now this title began well, it was a major part of the company for a while. Guys like the British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and Owen Hart put on great matches and were great champions but it then went downhill. Now I think the idea behind the belt was simple, you had the main belt for the main guy, the Intercontinental for the best workers and up and comers and then the European as belts for some good workers who were just hoping to get moved up the card. Now the guys who held the title were pretty good wrestlers but the choice was always pretty random to me, for example if I asked you to name a European champion you'd likely answer the names I've said or D'Lo Brown or William Regal as both held the title several times. Besides that not many are memorable and that's probably because that belt was often just a transition to either bigger things or going into the unseen level of WWE where your stuck on shows which no one watches. Now another problem with this title is that it was created at a time when there were lots of championships and it was easily ignored on the big level. To make things worse the invasion happened in 2001 which added 4 more titles to the company. This title was forgotten about pretty much completely soon after the invasion and by 2002 it was unified with the Intercontinental title bringing a end to it's history.
Overall: This belt started off with so much promise and it could of become something of meaning, maybe on par with the Intercontinental title. However it never happened and it ultimately ended up being a up and down title, sometimes you'd see it and they would make it into a big deal and sometimes it would disappear for months on end. I think it could of had it's place in the company however the 3 title scheme seems to be the best fit for a lot of companies.
TNA Legends/Global/TV title
This title start off bad and has pretty much stayed that way. Introduced for the simple reason that Booker T wanted a belt and they didn't want him to be World champion, and with good reason! So he brings it out and it's called the Legends title, which made no sense and you didn't know who could challenge for it. He said you have to be a legend but then Shane Sewell gets a shot. The matches were nothing and no one took it seriously. The belt got better when AJ Styles held it for the simple reason that TNA put him in awful situations and he shows that TNA shouldn't have put him there, Styles would make it mean a little bit but not to much. Then Kevin Nash and Mick Foley traded it back and fourth to nothing of meaning what so ever. Soon Eric Young would win it and rename it the Global title, however he did nothing with it and everyone forgot about it. And the fact is when it changed hands to Rob Terry it wasn't on TV or a big deal. The title has once again returned to AJ Styles and renamed for a second time, AJ has once again been put in a stupid position which he's trying to make into a good situation however that doesn't seem possible.
Overall: This title was added for no reason and it still has no reason to be there. AJ can try all he wants to make it mean something and if anyone could it is AJ however it has an awful history and most likely an awful future. This title is lost in a land full of titles and very bad booking, TNA hardily look after their main titles so why would they look after a 3rd tier title.
TNA Knockout Tag Team Titles
Now in my view these titles were designed for one reason and one reason only, that is the team of Angelina Love and Velvet Sky aka the Beautiful People. Now the titles originally went to the make shift time of Taylor Wilde & Sarita, I believe this was done for the simple reason that a babyface should be the first champions. In fairness too them they did a good job and could put on good matches. In my view the Beautiful People were gonna dethrone them however the visa problem with Love resulted in her leaving for a time and the team getting new members. So they put a team of Awesome Kong & Hamada together and they won the titles, this looked good as these 2 are two of the best going today however it didn't last long as Kong would kill Bubba the Love Sponge and leave TNA. The titles would be vacate and go to the trio of the Beautiful People (Velvet, Madison Rayne & Lacey Von Erich), I hate the Freebird rule by the way! Anyways they did nothing with them and we just resigned to the fact that they were champions. They would lose the belts to the random team of Hamada & Taylor Wilde who since then have disappeared from TV and not really defended them.
Overall: This titles have been forgotten about and it's for a simple reason there is no Knockouts tag teams to challenge them, hell there's no Knockouts in TNA any more. These titles could fall of the face of the earth and no one would care one bit. Now the team who I think the belts were originally designed for could win the belts however this wouldn't revive the belts.
I've just gone over 6 titles that have had some major problems over their time, now I could pick on every company and a lot more titles however I feel like these are the main ones. Now feel free to tell me if I'm wrong however I think I have good reasons to believe what I do.
Friday 26 November 2010
The Indy World
I've decided to look at one of the aspects of wrestling I really love, that being the Indy wrestling scene in America. I probably follow this more than the mainstream (WWE & TNA) and it's mainly because it's pure wrestling, they are some of the best shows you will see and this seems to be a constant. Now this isn't gonna be a shot at WWE or TNA who still put on great shows but I truly love the indy wrestling scene. So in this blog I'm gonna look at the indy companies that I love and will recommend/review a show that would get you following the company itself.
IWA Mid-South
Now recently IWA MS has been going through a rough patch, after returning from closing they have promoted lots of shows however recently many of them have been cancelled/rescheduled. But nonetheless this is a company that got me hooked into the indy scene. IWA MS has been famous for making talent into superstars, guys like CM Punk, Chris Hero, Tyler Black and so many more have had legendary programs in the company. The shows can suffer from low attendance however the in ring quality is amazing.
When it comes to shows which you should watch there's a lot. Any Ted Petty Invitational tournament is worth a watch there are some of the best shows ever. I would also recommend We're No Joke which features Low Ki vs. Necro Butcher and A Rotten Farewell which was Ian Rotten's retirement show and saw Eddie Kingston win the World title in an amazing 4 way featuring Chuck Taylor, Mike Quackenbush and Chris Hero.
Combat Zone Wrestling
This company scared the hell out of me the first time I watched a match from it, mainly because it was my first look at death match wrestling which I am now a fan of. This company is a great mix of violence and great wrestling. Now when it comes to shows there a mixed bag. If you like the hardcore violence then Tournament of deaths and Cage of Deaths are the shows for you, however Cage of Death is also a great wrestling show which makes it a perfect balance. I would also recommend this years Tangled Web 3 which was an amazing show. This years Cage of Deaths is already looking like an awesome show and can't wait to see it. One of the best wrestling shows I've ever seen has come from this company the show When 2 Worlds Collide was amazing top to bottom, it had a crazy 6 man ladder match, an amazing arena wild brawl pitting Justice Pain vs. El Generico and a 'white hot' match which saw BLK Out & Necro Butcher vs. Generation Next, this is a show you have to see.
CHIKARA
What can I say about this company? It is a great mix of comedy, fantastic wrestling and great story line development. This year in particular has been amazing, the BDK storyline has been great to watch and interesting to follow. They do pull in the big names for one of weekend shows, including Manami Toyota this year! When it comes to shows you can pretty much pick any of them and you'll have a great show to watch. The King of Trios tournament is one of the biggest tournaments every year but it's also one of the best. The Young Lions Cup is also a great tournament for different reasons, it allows young rookies to make a impact and they do. This years tournament saw excellent matches from Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reily and the finals Frightmare vs. Lince Dorado. Seriously pick up any Chikara show from this year and you'll be hooked.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
This company has a Ring of Honor feel to it, by which I mean that every show is great from top to bottom. Now they do have a problem when it comes to their world champions as they haven't been able to keep one for long over the last year, they pick the best wrestlers but they are always busy working over seas that they don't have time for the company. Hopefully that's settled now with Claudio Castagnoli as champ. Anyways this company has one of the best rosters you'll find and they always make a impact in their matches. This company never uses talent that doesn't deserve a spot on the show, for example at the recent Seven show a match featured a wrestler called Brian Cage. At the beginning of the match the fans chanted 'Who are you?' at him but at the end they chanted for him to come back and chanted his name. PWG can make stars in just one night if they want. Since I've mentioned Seven I would highly recommend it, it features some amazing matches including Chris Hero vs. Davey Richards and a wild triple threat tag war which saw Paul London & El Generico vs. The Cutler bros vs. The Young Bucks. This is another company that you could pick up any show and fall in love with the company.
Ring of Honor
Finally we come to ROH, the top of the indy world. This is a company that has always put on some of the best shows you will ever see. Some of the greatest talent in the world is in this company and some of the greatest wrestlers ever have pasted through and left their mark. Now when it comes to shows to watch there are a ton, I could literally be here and fill pages of shows you should watch. But my personal favourites are the 100 show which features a wild 6 man tag pitting Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon vs. Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer. Any of there PPV/iPPVs are a great watch as well especially this years Death Before Dishonor iPPV which saw the Kings of Wrestling brawl with the Briscoes and an amazing main event which saw Tyler Black face Davey Richards.
Overall
Now didn't want to go into loads of details here so only hit some of the key points. The indy scene is massive and it can range from good to bad but the companies I've pointed out are some of the best companies in the world in my view, they deliver great shows one after another and they do have some great stories involved in it as well. Some of the greatest talent in the world in and many of them are gonna be the next big break out star and you can see why. I love watching these companies and I don't think that will change any time soon, as much as I like the mainstream companies to me I will pick a indy show over them any day of the week.
IWA Mid-South
Now recently IWA MS has been going through a rough patch, after returning from closing they have promoted lots of shows however recently many of them have been cancelled/rescheduled. But nonetheless this is a company that got me hooked into the indy scene. IWA MS has been famous for making talent into superstars, guys like CM Punk, Chris Hero, Tyler Black and so many more have had legendary programs in the company. The shows can suffer from low attendance however the in ring quality is amazing.
When it comes to shows which you should watch there's a lot. Any Ted Petty Invitational tournament is worth a watch there are some of the best shows ever. I would also recommend We're No Joke which features Low Ki vs. Necro Butcher and A Rotten Farewell which was Ian Rotten's retirement show and saw Eddie Kingston win the World title in an amazing 4 way featuring Chuck Taylor, Mike Quackenbush and Chris Hero.
Combat Zone Wrestling
This company scared the hell out of me the first time I watched a match from it, mainly because it was my first look at death match wrestling which I am now a fan of. This company is a great mix of violence and great wrestling. Now when it comes to shows there a mixed bag. If you like the hardcore violence then Tournament of deaths and Cage of Deaths are the shows for you, however Cage of Death is also a great wrestling show which makes it a perfect balance. I would also recommend this years Tangled Web 3 which was an amazing show. This years Cage of Deaths is already looking like an awesome show and can't wait to see it. One of the best wrestling shows I've ever seen has come from this company the show When 2 Worlds Collide was amazing top to bottom, it had a crazy 6 man ladder match, an amazing arena wild brawl pitting Justice Pain vs. El Generico and a 'white hot' match which saw BLK Out & Necro Butcher vs. Generation Next, this is a show you have to see.
CHIKARA
What can I say about this company? It is a great mix of comedy, fantastic wrestling and great story line development. This year in particular has been amazing, the BDK storyline has been great to watch and interesting to follow. They do pull in the big names for one of weekend shows, including Manami Toyota this year! When it comes to shows you can pretty much pick any of them and you'll have a great show to watch. The King of Trios tournament is one of the biggest tournaments every year but it's also one of the best. The Young Lions Cup is also a great tournament for different reasons, it allows young rookies to make a impact and they do. This years tournament saw excellent matches from Adam Cole vs. Kyle O'Reily and the finals Frightmare vs. Lince Dorado. Seriously pick up any Chikara show from this year and you'll be hooked.
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
This company has a Ring of Honor feel to it, by which I mean that every show is great from top to bottom. Now they do have a problem when it comes to their world champions as they haven't been able to keep one for long over the last year, they pick the best wrestlers but they are always busy working over seas that they don't have time for the company. Hopefully that's settled now with Claudio Castagnoli as champ. Anyways this company has one of the best rosters you'll find and they always make a impact in their matches. This company never uses talent that doesn't deserve a spot on the show, for example at the recent Seven show a match featured a wrestler called Brian Cage. At the beginning of the match the fans chanted 'Who are you?' at him but at the end they chanted for him to come back and chanted his name. PWG can make stars in just one night if they want. Since I've mentioned Seven I would highly recommend it, it features some amazing matches including Chris Hero vs. Davey Richards and a wild triple threat tag war which saw Paul London & El Generico vs. The Cutler bros vs. The Young Bucks. This is another company that you could pick up any show and fall in love with the company.
Ring of Honor
Finally we come to ROH, the top of the indy world. This is a company that has always put on some of the best shows you will ever see. Some of the greatest talent in the world is in this company and some of the greatest wrestlers ever have pasted through and left their mark. Now when it comes to shows to watch there are a ton, I could literally be here and fill pages of shows you should watch. But my personal favourites are the 100 show which features a wild 6 man tag pitting Chris Hero, Necro Butcher & Super Dragon vs. Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer. Any of there PPV/iPPVs are a great watch as well especially this years Death Before Dishonor iPPV which saw the Kings of Wrestling brawl with the Briscoes and an amazing main event which saw Tyler Black face Davey Richards.
Overall
Now didn't want to go into loads of details here so only hit some of the key points. The indy scene is massive and it can range from good to bad but the companies I've pointed out are some of the best companies in the world in my view, they deliver great shows one after another and they do have some great stories involved in it as well. Some of the greatest talent in the world in and many of them are gonna be the next big break out star and you can see why. I love watching these companies and I don't think that will change any time soon, as much as I like the mainstream companies to me I will pick a indy show over them any day of the week.
Monday 8 November 2010
Youshoot DVD series review
Last time I looked at Kayfabe Commentaries Guest Booker series, this time it's the same company but a different series. The idea behind the Youshoot series is that it's basically a shoot interview but all the questions are submitted by the fans. There have been a lot in this series and I haven't watched all of them but will review the ones I've seen and give a overall view of the series. So lets begin with one of the first ones they did.
Sandman
The name alone should let you know that this has the potential to be entertaining and it is. From the very first second you know that Sandman is drunk and through out the shoot he continues drinking. Now this adds to the shoot in the humour department however it effects it in many ways. One thing that happens a lot is that the Sandman forgets what he's talking about and has to ask the host (Sean Oliver), he's also hard to understand from time to time as he's slurring his words. So this does effect the shoot however the Sandman's honesty and outrageous stories more then make up for it. It's not the best and you probably won't watch it over and over again but it's still good.
New Jack
Speaking of outrageous we come to the next volume, New Jack. Jack doesn't hold back one bit and really funny because of it. However like Sandman he's hard to understand from time to time and seems to talk a mile a minute meaning that you can miss out some key facts of some of his stories. Now you do get the feeling that some of what he's saying is rubbish and it's said to make himself look good or in the right. This probably happens when he's asked about his infamous incidents e.g. Mass Transit, Gypsy Joe and the indy wrestler he stabbed several times. Jack goes into details about all of these incidents, not in great detail which is probably a good thing when it comes to how gruesome they've been described in the past. This is a great combination of funny and serious however Jack seems to spend more time insulting the people who have asked the questions to me and you nothing in an answer because of it. Like Sandman's it's worth a view but not repeated viewing.
Kevin Sullivan
One of the biggest names in the business and one of the most controversial superstars is in the next volume. The amount of subjects covered is huge from his in ring career, to his gimmicks, to his booking, to Brian Pillman and lots more. Sullivan shows that he doesn't have a ego at all, which you think he would have considering what he's done, and he shows a great amount of details about the backstage of the wrestling business. This is one of the DVDs where you will likely learn some details which you thought wouldn't be true so it's a great watch. The DVD takes a very serious turn near the end when the subject of Chris Benoit and Nancy is brought up, Sullivan answers every question and is even given a chance to just express himself at the end.
Jim Cornette & his lost Questions
This is 2 separate releases, this was done because after the 4 hour first volume was released many fans apparently emailed and asked where their question was during the shoot so they got Jim back to do another one. Now the first DVD set focuses around wrestling and his career because Jim Cornette has worked so many places this takes about 4 hours as he gets lots of questions from each company. The 2nd DVD is more about random stuff that fans wanted to know, just general questions really. Both are amazing to watch, Jim Cornette is one of the best interviewees in the wrestling business, he's always entertaining and the time flies by because of it. I've watched both shoots several times they are that great, I would easily recommend these to anyone. You could probably watch these everyday and still be entertained. And some of the best bits are him cussing people out, including a classic part at the end of volume 2 where he asks for just 5 minutes to express himself about Vince Russo and 25 minutes later he finishes. This is way I love Jim Cornette.
Dixie Carter LIVE
This is probably one of the worst DVDs in my view and is for a simple reason. Now either Dixie has deluded herself into believing the answers she's giving or she's giving them to make TNA not look like the waste land that it actually is. The fans hold nothing back and the amount of times WCW 2000 is brought up, Hogan & Bischoffs awful running of a company and Vince Russo's booking is great. A video is also shown where Jim Cornette asks about why Vince Russo is still hired there. The answers are awful and not believable, at one point she says that it's not Vince Russo's booking and she was gonna fire everyone except him from the booking committee. You can give it a view, you may learn something about TNA but Dixie not entertaining in my view and the rest of the series easily out shines this volume.
Bob 'Hardcore' Holly
Now I don't like what I've heard about Holly and I only watched this as it showed the fans really giving it to him about how awful he is in the ring and how he's a bully. Now Holly covers the bully issue several times and it sounds believable however my theory is, of course a bully would make up reasons for what he did and not see himself as a bully. So either what he says is true or I'm right and personally I'm shooting with me. But back to the DVD itself. It's not a bad watch, a lot is covered and like many others he holds nothing back, you get to see how badly WWE can treat some of it's wrestlers who are not the their 'main' stars. The shoot gets a little disturbing when during a game he's asked how he'd kick a guys as, they go through several, it starts with a very detailed and long account of how he would KILL Mr. Anderson and he does skip some names but nothings he says "I'd just cut their throats", now Holly that's not beating someone up that's murder and it was not nice to watch. This again is probably worth one watch but not repeated viewing.
Maria Kanellis
This is a great shoot. This really brings Maria out into a new light, many people would of stereotyped her as just another Diva search girl who was in wrestling for no reason but after watching this that view is changed. You get to see her true personality, something WWE never showed and gave her nothing after nothing after he 'stupid girl' gimmick. You also get to see a real knowledge and love of pro wrestling which again WWE never took advantage off, how different things would be if they took up some of her ideas. Now like the others Maria holds nothing back and goes into great detail about anything she's asked about. Some of the best bits are the section focused around CM Punk and a section on weird fans. If you didn't like Maria before this you'll likely end up falling in love with her at the end of it. I love this shoot and this is another one that you can watch over and over.
Overall
Lets start with the bad points, there's not a lot. The biggest downer of this series is actually the video submitted questions, not all of them though. Now you'll see a lot of familiar faces if you watch several DVDs which can be good, the guys from offthemarkshow.com usually submit questions that are good and can be funny, however one of the guys from the show the 'Hez' (I believe) express is really hard to understand and his questions are sometime skipped. Also there videos of guys trying to be funny which is dreadful and guys pretending to be wrestlers and doing promos which are meaningless in the long run and just take away from the shoot.
However that is the only bad point about this series. The fact that the questions come from the fans mean there usually great questions which you'd like to know the answer to. Another good point is the games that Sean Oliver plays with the guests, these range from the Hoe Bag, to name the object to 'F', Marry, Kill and more. This don't take away from the shoot and are really funny, they also show the true feelings of the people playing them. Also the games are rather specific to the interviewee so they do have a purpose and are placed in the shoot very well.
So overall I find the series hit and miss, as much as you have to see the shoots as they are good some don't deserve repeated viewing which makes you question if you should pay out for them. I'm 50/50 on them as 4 are worth repeated viewing while 4 are probably just a one off watch. So it seems that I'm undecided on it. The real test will be the most recent releases in the series which is Sean Waltman, which should be good, and the next one being shot, which I've submitted a question to, including the Iron Sheik. Anyways the series is a great watch, I love many of them and like some of the others. I only dislike 2 really so the series is good in my view.
If you've read this thank you for taking the time, feel free to leave me a comment on the link on Facebook or on here if you have a blogger account.
Sandman
The name alone should let you know that this has the potential to be entertaining and it is. From the very first second you know that Sandman is drunk and through out the shoot he continues drinking. Now this adds to the shoot in the humour department however it effects it in many ways. One thing that happens a lot is that the Sandman forgets what he's talking about and has to ask the host (Sean Oliver), he's also hard to understand from time to time as he's slurring his words. So this does effect the shoot however the Sandman's honesty and outrageous stories more then make up for it. It's not the best and you probably won't watch it over and over again but it's still good.
New Jack
Speaking of outrageous we come to the next volume, New Jack. Jack doesn't hold back one bit and really funny because of it. However like Sandman he's hard to understand from time to time and seems to talk a mile a minute meaning that you can miss out some key facts of some of his stories. Now you do get the feeling that some of what he's saying is rubbish and it's said to make himself look good or in the right. This probably happens when he's asked about his infamous incidents e.g. Mass Transit, Gypsy Joe and the indy wrestler he stabbed several times. Jack goes into details about all of these incidents, not in great detail which is probably a good thing when it comes to how gruesome they've been described in the past. This is a great combination of funny and serious however Jack seems to spend more time insulting the people who have asked the questions to me and you nothing in an answer because of it. Like Sandman's it's worth a view but not repeated viewing.
Kevin Sullivan
One of the biggest names in the business and one of the most controversial superstars is in the next volume. The amount of subjects covered is huge from his in ring career, to his gimmicks, to his booking, to Brian Pillman and lots more. Sullivan shows that he doesn't have a ego at all, which you think he would have considering what he's done, and he shows a great amount of details about the backstage of the wrestling business. This is one of the DVDs where you will likely learn some details which you thought wouldn't be true so it's a great watch. The DVD takes a very serious turn near the end when the subject of Chris Benoit and Nancy is brought up, Sullivan answers every question and is even given a chance to just express himself at the end.
Jim Cornette & his lost Questions
This is 2 separate releases, this was done because after the 4 hour first volume was released many fans apparently emailed and asked where their question was during the shoot so they got Jim back to do another one. Now the first DVD set focuses around wrestling and his career because Jim Cornette has worked so many places this takes about 4 hours as he gets lots of questions from each company. The 2nd DVD is more about random stuff that fans wanted to know, just general questions really. Both are amazing to watch, Jim Cornette is one of the best interviewees in the wrestling business, he's always entertaining and the time flies by because of it. I've watched both shoots several times they are that great, I would easily recommend these to anyone. You could probably watch these everyday and still be entertained. And some of the best bits are him cussing people out, including a classic part at the end of volume 2 where he asks for just 5 minutes to express himself about Vince Russo and 25 minutes later he finishes. This is way I love Jim Cornette.
Dixie Carter LIVE
This is probably one of the worst DVDs in my view and is for a simple reason. Now either Dixie has deluded herself into believing the answers she's giving or she's giving them to make TNA not look like the waste land that it actually is. The fans hold nothing back and the amount of times WCW 2000 is brought up, Hogan & Bischoffs awful running of a company and Vince Russo's booking is great. A video is also shown where Jim Cornette asks about why Vince Russo is still hired there. The answers are awful and not believable, at one point she says that it's not Vince Russo's booking and she was gonna fire everyone except him from the booking committee. You can give it a view, you may learn something about TNA but Dixie not entertaining in my view and the rest of the series easily out shines this volume.
Bob 'Hardcore' Holly
Now I don't like what I've heard about Holly and I only watched this as it showed the fans really giving it to him about how awful he is in the ring and how he's a bully. Now Holly covers the bully issue several times and it sounds believable however my theory is, of course a bully would make up reasons for what he did and not see himself as a bully. So either what he says is true or I'm right and personally I'm shooting with me. But back to the DVD itself. It's not a bad watch, a lot is covered and like many others he holds nothing back, you get to see how badly WWE can treat some of it's wrestlers who are not the their 'main' stars. The shoot gets a little disturbing when during a game he's asked how he'd kick a guys as, they go through several, it starts with a very detailed and long account of how he would KILL Mr. Anderson and he does skip some names but nothings he says "I'd just cut their throats", now Holly that's not beating someone up that's murder and it was not nice to watch. This again is probably worth one watch but not repeated viewing.
Maria Kanellis
This is a great shoot. This really brings Maria out into a new light, many people would of stereotyped her as just another Diva search girl who was in wrestling for no reason but after watching this that view is changed. You get to see her true personality, something WWE never showed and gave her nothing after nothing after he 'stupid girl' gimmick. You also get to see a real knowledge and love of pro wrestling which again WWE never took advantage off, how different things would be if they took up some of her ideas. Now like the others Maria holds nothing back and goes into great detail about anything she's asked about. Some of the best bits are the section focused around CM Punk and a section on weird fans. If you didn't like Maria before this you'll likely end up falling in love with her at the end of it. I love this shoot and this is another one that you can watch over and over.
Overall
Lets start with the bad points, there's not a lot. The biggest downer of this series is actually the video submitted questions, not all of them though. Now you'll see a lot of familiar faces if you watch several DVDs which can be good, the guys from offthemarkshow.com usually submit questions that are good and can be funny, however one of the guys from the show the 'Hez' (I believe) express is really hard to understand and his questions are sometime skipped. Also there videos of guys trying to be funny which is dreadful and guys pretending to be wrestlers and doing promos which are meaningless in the long run and just take away from the shoot.
However that is the only bad point about this series. The fact that the questions come from the fans mean there usually great questions which you'd like to know the answer to. Another good point is the games that Sean Oliver plays with the guests, these range from the Hoe Bag, to name the object to 'F', Marry, Kill and more. This don't take away from the shoot and are really funny, they also show the true feelings of the people playing them. Also the games are rather specific to the interviewee so they do have a purpose and are placed in the shoot very well.
So overall I find the series hit and miss, as much as you have to see the shoots as they are good some don't deserve repeated viewing which makes you question if you should pay out for them. I'm 50/50 on them as 4 are worth repeated viewing while 4 are probably just a one off watch. So it seems that I'm undecided on it. The real test will be the most recent releases in the series which is Sean Waltman, which should be good, and the next one being shot, which I've submitted a question to, including the Iron Sheik. Anyways the series is a great watch, I love many of them and like some of the others. I only dislike 2 really so the series is good in my view.
If you've read this thank you for taking the time, feel free to leave me a comment on the link on Facebook or on here if you have a blogger account.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Forgiving
I've had this idea in my head since Friday morning after my first lecture of the day was focused around the idea of forgiving people. However I didn't write it as I was busy Friday, Saturday and Monday, and to be honest I was in a complete lazy mood on Sunday. So I've got some spare time today and will write it up.
I have to say that the lecture about it was interesting but it lead me to think more about myself then the subject we're meant to be thinking about. You see the lecture started by asking who in the room is a forgiving person and I was one of the people who put there hands up. I believe I'm generally a forgiving person and I can only think of a few people that I just can't forgive and I feel that I have good reason to feel that way. Let me explain with a story about one guy. We were having a night out and a friend of ours brought a friend with them, so we proceeded to have a good night. However as the night went on this guy go drunker and drunker, my buddy who is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet trying to help asks what was up. The guy then went on to threaten him and smash a glass on our table, he then went out found a bridge and threaten to jump up or so I've been told. Now ever one can get drunk I'm not bothered with that but that behaviour is ridiculous to me. When I saw him next I didn't act friendly to him and pretty much try to ignore him as I wanted nothing to do with him however during the night he came to me and asked if I liked him, I was honest and said 'No, frankly you broke a glass that hurt my friend and threatened another one' he then went round the rest of our group and complain about the fact I didn't like him.
The point of this story is really just to demonstrate just how much it takes for me to not forgive a person. Now you can argue if the guy was a actual friend you'd be more forgiving however I don't think I would of been friends with someone like that. Anyways, there's only a few people who I can't forgive and in my view with good reason. Besides that I'm generally forgiving, my friends can do something that really bugs me and gets me cross however after a day or so it'll be old news and everything will be fine.
I also wanted to tell another story that a saw on a DVD documentary I have. The documentary was on Gary Ridgeway the 'Green River Killer'. While he was being sentenced for his crimes the victims relatives gave a impact statement, Ridgeway killed about 40-50 women. Now many were what you expected 'I hate you', 'I hope you get killed' and 'You've got what you deserve' etc. however there was one man who did something different. He came to the stand and said 'You've made it difficult to do what God asks and that's to forgive. However I will try and you are forgiven sir' in response Gary Ridgeway broke down and cried. This to me is amazing as I can't imagine ever being in that mans shoes and not be anything but angry, how can you forgive something so horrible? How can you look at someone who has killed someone you love so much and forgive them? This makes anything I can't forgive people for look petty!
At the end of all this I believe that you can forgive pretty much anyone for pretty much anything however I truly believe that some people don't deserve to be forgiven. Luckily for me the people who I think don't deserve to be forgiven I basically cut out of my life as they don't deserve to be in it.
If you're giving this a read, thanks a lot and let me know what you think by leaving me a comment.
I have to say that the lecture about it was interesting but it lead me to think more about myself then the subject we're meant to be thinking about. You see the lecture started by asking who in the room is a forgiving person and I was one of the people who put there hands up. I believe I'm generally a forgiving person and I can only think of a few people that I just can't forgive and I feel that I have good reason to feel that way. Let me explain with a story about one guy. We were having a night out and a friend of ours brought a friend with them, so we proceeded to have a good night. However as the night went on this guy go drunker and drunker, my buddy who is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet trying to help asks what was up. The guy then went on to threaten him and smash a glass on our table, he then went out found a bridge and threaten to jump up or so I've been told. Now ever one can get drunk I'm not bothered with that but that behaviour is ridiculous to me. When I saw him next I didn't act friendly to him and pretty much try to ignore him as I wanted nothing to do with him however during the night he came to me and asked if I liked him, I was honest and said 'No, frankly you broke a glass that hurt my friend and threatened another one' he then went round the rest of our group and complain about the fact I didn't like him.
The point of this story is really just to demonstrate just how much it takes for me to not forgive a person. Now you can argue if the guy was a actual friend you'd be more forgiving however I don't think I would of been friends with someone like that. Anyways, there's only a few people who I can't forgive and in my view with good reason. Besides that I'm generally forgiving, my friends can do something that really bugs me and gets me cross however after a day or so it'll be old news and everything will be fine.
I also wanted to tell another story that a saw on a DVD documentary I have. The documentary was on Gary Ridgeway the 'Green River Killer'. While he was being sentenced for his crimes the victims relatives gave a impact statement, Ridgeway killed about 40-50 women. Now many were what you expected 'I hate you', 'I hope you get killed' and 'You've got what you deserve' etc. however there was one man who did something different. He came to the stand and said 'You've made it difficult to do what God asks and that's to forgive. However I will try and you are forgiven sir' in response Gary Ridgeway broke down and cried. This to me is amazing as I can't imagine ever being in that mans shoes and not be anything but angry, how can you forgive something so horrible? How can you look at someone who has killed someone you love so much and forgive them? This makes anything I can't forgive people for look petty!
At the end of all this I believe that you can forgive pretty much anyone for pretty much anything however I truly believe that some people don't deserve to be forgiven. Luckily for me the people who I think don't deserve to be forgiven I basically cut out of my life as they don't deserve to be in it.
If you're giving this a read, thanks a lot and let me know what you think by leaving me a comment.
Sunday 17 October 2010
Guest Booker review
This is the first of my wrestling blogs, thought I would do this and share it in State of the Game and Can We Find 1 Million wrestling fans groups on Facebook just to express my views on something I love. So to start this I decided I would review a series of dvd's called the Guest Booker series which you can get from http://www.kayfabecommentaries.com/. The idea of these dvds is that they get a famous wrestling booker and gives them a scenario which they will rebook. I've seen a fair few of these so will keep the reviews brief and will not put many spoilers incase you go to watch them.
Gary Hart-Booking the Dallas Territory
The late great Gary Hart is given the job of rebooking Fritz von Erichs WCCW territory during the year where everything went wrong but in this case non of that happens. The dvd starts of looking into the Texas territory and looks into how Gary books. He does a pretty good job aswell, now it's nothing special but it's still worth a watch. The DVD shines during the 'Behind the Scenes' with some outrageous stories from the past including a truly epic one including the Missing Link. Overall this dvd is worth a watch.
Kevin Sullivan-Rebooking WWF in 1984
Kevin Sullivan is given the job of rebooking the WWF as if Hogan never came and he had his pick of talent from the territories at the time. Kevin picks a great selection of talent for his booking project. He books the entire year leading to a X-mas day Supercard. This dvd shows of the great booking mind of Sullivan and you can see why he has been used in a booking role so much. The only downside is that I find his selections a little odd e.g. he picks Superstar Billy Graham to be the Intercontinental champion. Anyways this is a great dvd.
Gabe Sapolsky-Rebooking the 'New' ECW
One of the best bookers still going today gets the chance to rebook the new ECW. Gabe is given the job of booking from the relaunch to the December to Dismember ppv. Gabe picks a selection of superstars from the old ECW stars, OVW stars and WWE stars at the time most of these would of been attentainable however the odd choices are Randy Orton and Ric Flair however Gabe explains every choice he makes when it comes to the selection. One of the things you'll find is the odd choice of the main event story revolving around Orton vs. Flair for the ECW title when Gabe books the rest of the card to show that it was different from WWE and was like the old ECW. Regardless of that fact Gabe does a great job and you can learn a lot from this DVD.
Jerry Jarrett-Rebooking WCW 2000
The legendary booker gets the job of rebooking WCW in 2000 from the fresh start they had (when WCW vacanted all titles). Jerry cuts down the locker room from 60+ to just about 25/30. He removes many titles and focuses on just 3 belts, he gives out great storylines from for all the titles and some more smaller story lines. He shows that he put alot of effort into it going past the supercard goal they gave him. This dvd really shines in the 'Behind the Scenes' segments as Jerry is very honest about many subjects and it shows that they were actually his idea. One of the things I found funny was that Jerry points out that his son Jeff is a better babyface underdog then a heel and when you think about it thats very true.
Raven-Booking Hall & Nash in ECW
Raven is not a booker but is seen as one of the great minds in wrestling and he's given a truly unique scenario to book. In this world Hall & Nash left WWE and went to ECW instead of WCW. The dvd starts off with Raven's view on booking and he points out one of the things that many of these bookers in the series does that if you're an active wrestler you shouldn't book as you'll either put yourself over or put yourself under because your booking. Thats just one of the many things you'll learn by watching this dvd. Now the title is a little misleading as Raven also adds Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman into his plans. It's a great dvd to watch and you can see how good of a booker Raven could have been if given the chance, this is a must watch.
Mike Graham-CWF/Crockett Merger
This is probably the worst dvd from a booking stand point. This dvd is more a shoot that explains the hostory of the Florida territory, his dad Eddie Graham and his booking style, the closing of CWF and his experiences in WCW including a great story of why Benoit, Guerrero etc. left the company. All Mike does booking wise is selected a roster out of both rosters for this merger, he explains his choice of why he would use the guys and why he would want them removed from the rosters. This is more of a look into how he books and how his dad booked, he doesn't create any storylines or books anything really.
Greg Gagne-Rebooking the Opposition Attempt
This is one of my favourite Guest bookers. Greg is given the job of booking Pro Wrestling USA (the combination of the territories to fight the WWE). Greg picks his roster from each company trying to select talent from each territory and not taking too much from one or another. He books a year of this and does a great job. What I love about this dvd is that he uses Sean Oliver aswell and both end up booking it, very early on in the process Greg points out that one man booking is no good you need more people to bounce ideas off hence why Sean becomes involved in the booking. Greg books a brillant card which would of been great if Pro Wrestling USA actually happened. I highly recommend this one.
Jim Cornette-Rebooking the Invasion
The tag line sums this up 'The most requested booker doing the most requested angle'. Jim Cornette rebooks the invasion angle, he books from just after WWE brought WCW which is around April to Wrestlemania of next year. He starts by doing all the first weeks promos himself and then goes from month to month developing the story. His final card would of been 5 hours long with a huge amount of matches. Just like any shoot involving Jim Cornette it's a must watch, without a doubt he creates an angle that would of lived up to the hype of an invasion angle at the time. Not only do you get to see how Jim books but he also shares some great stories at the start of the dvd. If have to watch this even if you don't like shoots or the idea of guest booker you should still watch this.
Overall
I love this series of dvds, each is unique and a great watch. It really gives you great insights into booking and bookers from the past. Go check them out, none of them would be a waste of time watching and you'll probably learn from them.
Gary Hart-Booking the Dallas Territory
The late great Gary Hart is given the job of rebooking Fritz von Erichs WCCW territory during the year where everything went wrong but in this case non of that happens. The dvd starts of looking into the Texas territory and looks into how Gary books. He does a pretty good job aswell, now it's nothing special but it's still worth a watch. The DVD shines during the 'Behind the Scenes' with some outrageous stories from the past including a truly epic one including the Missing Link. Overall this dvd is worth a watch.
Kevin Sullivan-Rebooking WWF in 1984
Kevin Sullivan is given the job of rebooking the WWF as if Hogan never came and he had his pick of talent from the territories at the time. Kevin picks a great selection of talent for his booking project. He books the entire year leading to a X-mas day Supercard. This dvd shows of the great booking mind of Sullivan and you can see why he has been used in a booking role so much. The only downside is that I find his selections a little odd e.g. he picks Superstar Billy Graham to be the Intercontinental champion. Anyways this is a great dvd.
Gabe Sapolsky-Rebooking the 'New' ECW
One of the best bookers still going today gets the chance to rebook the new ECW. Gabe is given the job of booking from the relaunch to the December to Dismember ppv. Gabe picks a selection of superstars from the old ECW stars, OVW stars and WWE stars at the time most of these would of been attentainable however the odd choices are Randy Orton and Ric Flair however Gabe explains every choice he makes when it comes to the selection. One of the things you'll find is the odd choice of the main event story revolving around Orton vs. Flair for the ECW title when Gabe books the rest of the card to show that it was different from WWE and was like the old ECW. Regardless of that fact Gabe does a great job and you can learn a lot from this DVD.
Jerry Jarrett-Rebooking WCW 2000
The legendary booker gets the job of rebooking WCW in 2000 from the fresh start they had (when WCW vacanted all titles). Jerry cuts down the locker room from 60+ to just about 25/30. He removes many titles and focuses on just 3 belts, he gives out great storylines from for all the titles and some more smaller story lines. He shows that he put alot of effort into it going past the supercard goal they gave him. This dvd really shines in the 'Behind the Scenes' segments as Jerry is very honest about many subjects and it shows that they were actually his idea. One of the things I found funny was that Jerry points out that his son Jeff is a better babyface underdog then a heel and when you think about it thats very true.
Raven-Booking Hall & Nash in ECW
Raven is not a booker but is seen as one of the great minds in wrestling and he's given a truly unique scenario to book. In this world Hall & Nash left WWE and went to ECW instead of WCW. The dvd starts off with Raven's view on booking and he points out one of the things that many of these bookers in the series does that if you're an active wrestler you shouldn't book as you'll either put yourself over or put yourself under because your booking. Thats just one of the many things you'll learn by watching this dvd. Now the title is a little misleading as Raven also adds Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman into his plans. It's a great dvd to watch and you can see how good of a booker Raven could have been if given the chance, this is a must watch.
Mike Graham-CWF/Crockett Merger
This is probably the worst dvd from a booking stand point. This dvd is more a shoot that explains the hostory of the Florida territory, his dad Eddie Graham and his booking style, the closing of CWF and his experiences in WCW including a great story of why Benoit, Guerrero etc. left the company. All Mike does booking wise is selected a roster out of both rosters for this merger, he explains his choice of why he would use the guys and why he would want them removed from the rosters. This is more of a look into how he books and how his dad booked, he doesn't create any storylines or books anything really.
Greg Gagne-Rebooking the Opposition Attempt
This is one of my favourite Guest bookers. Greg is given the job of booking Pro Wrestling USA (the combination of the territories to fight the WWE). Greg picks his roster from each company trying to select talent from each territory and not taking too much from one or another. He books a year of this and does a great job. What I love about this dvd is that he uses Sean Oliver aswell and both end up booking it, very early on in the process Greg points out that one man booking is no good you need more people to bounce ideas off hence why Sean becomes involved in the booking. Greg books a brillant card which would of been great if Pro Wrestling USA actually happened. I highly recommend this one.
Jim Cornette-Rebooking the Invasion
The tag line sums this up 'The most requested booker doing the most requested angle'. Jim Cornette rebooks the invasion angle, he books from just after WWE brought WCW which is around April to Wrestlemania of next year. He starts by doing all the first weeks promos himself and then goes from month to month developing the story. His final card would of been 5 hours long with a huge amount of matches. Just like any shoot involving Jim Cornette it's a must watch, without a doubt he creates an angle that would of lived up to the hype of an invasion angle at the time. Not only do you get to see how Jim books but he also shares some great stories at the start of the dvd. If have to watch this even if you don't like shoots or the idea of guest booker you should still watch this.
Overall
I love this series of dvds, each is unique and a great watch. It really gives you great insights into booking and bookers from the past. Go check them out, none of them would be a waste of time watching and you'll probably learn from them.
Saturday 16 October 2010
Tattoo's
If you know me, or even meet me, you will know that I love the art of tattoos. I currently have 9 tattoos and although I've ran out of ideas will likely add on. Now onto the reason for this blog, all my tattoos have a certain amount of meaning to me and I just want to share what they mean to me as well as a recent addition that I haven't gone through with and unsure if I should just yet.
Lets start with what I got first and that's my heart wrapped in barbed wire on my right forearm which I got less than a week after my 18th birthday. Not that much detail behind the choice, I saw it and loved it. But like any first it has a special meaning to me. I knew ages before getting it that I wanted a heart with barbed wire involved as a tattoo and so that was the first one I got.
Now number 2, my red and blue yin-yang on my upper right arm which has gained meaning with my latest tattoo. Anyways I'm a strong believer in a balanced world, everyone has some good in them and some bad. Now my belief is that some have more good than bad and vice versa but the balance is still there. The tattoo has been called a pepsi symbol as if you turn your head sideways it might look look like pepsi symbol. It's a good thing I love pepsi hey. The addition to the yin-yang was my number 9 a purple rose that curves around it. I found the design online and thought it would fit my yin-yang perfectly plus the yin-yang was a bit plan and in your face. The reason for the choice is that roses are my favourite flower, was told that's weird for a guy by the tattooist at the time, and purple is my favourite colour. But there is another reason, when you combine the 2 the tattoo's tell a little message, if you have the right balance of good and bad then you can get something beautiful. This may be me adding more meaning for the sake of it but what the hell.
Number 3 is 2 vampires fighting over a heart which takes up the whole of my upper left arm. A little story on this one, I found a design that I loved and after my first year at Uni I decided that I should get something to remember it so I took my design and was told it wouldn't work as a tatt. So I told him what I liked and he designed me this and it looked amazing and was even better when tattooed, now he wanted to do a lot more including colour however after the first session cost me so much I decided not to continue. It looks awesome as it is and I think colour would actually ruin it. I can't describe it but its great in my view. On another note one boring day in the house last year I decided to name the vampires so the female is called Ryoko, after my favourite character from Tenchi Muyo, and the male is called Akinobu, a Japanese name that means Autumn wisdom.
We now come to my charm bracelet tattoo that was number 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The first symbol was a Ankh which is the Egyptian symbol meaning life. The next 2 were Japanese symbols meaning love and strenght, 2 very important factors in life in my view. The next symbol was the symbol for Omega which is Greek for the end but I had it for another reason, Omega is the lowest rank in a pack of animals like wolfs or lions. Now I take it as it maybe the lowest rank there but its still dangerous so you may be low in some eyes but your high in others. Now to the final part of it is the letters L.R.K.P which stand for Loose Raven King of Punk, I will explain as it's one of the questions I'm asked a fair bit.
The L.R.K.P. stands for the 4 idols of my life who have influenced a great deal. The 'Loose' is for Brain Pillman who was called the Loose Cannon, Brain spent a time in his life acting completely off the wall however he was a smart, funny and compassionate man he just hid it well. The lesson is taught me was that sometimes you just have to act and you shouldn't over think yourself and be impulsive. The 'Raven' comes from Scott Levy, who has the quintessential drug abuser, rocker look however he's one of the smartest people you'll ever meet. This taught me that you really can't judge a book by it's cover, you have to get to know people before you can judge anything. The 'King' comes from Eddie Moore, he's a very emotional man and wears his heart on his sleeve. This taught me that sometimes it's a good thing to let your emotions get the better of you and to express yourself. The 'Punk' comes from Phil Brooks who is Straight-Edge, as silly as it sounds I learnt that you don't need to use drink to have a great time when your out, this is especially meaningful as I used to always drink when out with my friends back home as everyone was drinking however recently I spent entire nights without touching a drop and loved it just as much. Now they have all taught me more but those are the main reasons behind the tattoo.
Now onto the addition that I haven't got done. I recently wanted to add a JC underneath my letters. The JC comes from a man called JC Bailey who recently passed away, the story was so sad and meaningful in a sense. Let me explain, JC was known as a truly awesome person a truly nice guy who just loved what he did for a living, he was a professional wrestler. He made some mistakes and ended up in jail. He was in jail until December last year and it shows you how much he loved wrestling as he appeared on a show less than 24 hours after getting released. It was truly his year, he was getting the acknowledgement that he deserved as one of the best. I recently watched a interview with him and he explained that he made mistakes and he wanted to move on, settle down and start a family be completely clean and just enjoy life. This makes the fact that he died even sadder in my view. The whole thing meant a lot to me and so thought about getting JC tattooed on my, I'm still undecided at this present time as too whether or not I should get it, money is a issue as well but will make my choice in the near future.
Before I go there's one more thing that's on my mind and that's designing tattoos. I've designed tattoos for 2 people, one was for my friend Annabel. As much as I loved doing it it didn't test my creativity that much because she wanted something that was so simple to do, it didn't take me long to design her about 5 and she now has them. I don't know if she's got it done yet but she has them none the less. Now onto the first designs I did, I had just received a lot of money and decided to treat people who meant a lot to me. Me and my friend Sarah agreed to go the extra mile for x-mas present so as we talked we agreed that I would design and pay for her tattoo as a x-mas present. The design was originally a rose and heart design, after I showed her them she liked them but she changed where she wanted to get it and what she wanted. So after doing about 5 rose/heart designs she changed to a butterfly design. When we next met up which was a couple of months later (we didn't get it done by x-mas it was months later but that was expected) I had about 15 designs to show her. I loved doing them as each butterfly was special in it's own way and when I showed her she couldn't pick just one. She did make her decision and got it done, now I wished I was there when she got it done but we were in 2 different cities and she had to just fit it in when she could. Anyways the reason why I'm explaining this is that this whole thing means so much to me. To have someone trust me enough to design a tattoo that she'll have forever and to have her love it means so much to me, I put a lot of work into the designs because it was her who I was designing for. Not saying that I wouldn't of put that much effort into desiging other peoples tattoos but I consider Sarah one of my closest and best friends I have so I wanted it to be perfect. I'm so proud of it that the picture on my phone will be shown to anyone who will look. It meant a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to her.
If you take the time to read this, thank you and please let me know what you think. I know this is a long one but it was on my mind and wanted to express it. Leave me a comment either on here or on my facebook. Until next time.
Lets start with what I got first and that's my heart wrapped in barbed wire on my right forearm which I got less than a week after my 18th birthday. Not that much detail behind the choice, I saw it and loved it. But like any first it has a special meaning to me. I knew ages before getting it that I wanted a heart with barbed wire involved as a tattoo and so that was the first one I got.
Now number 2, my red and blue yin-yang on my upper right arm which has gained meaning with my latest tattoo. Anyways I'm a strong believer in a balanced world, everyone has some good in them and some bad. Now my belief is that some have more good than bad and vice versa but the balance is still there. The tattoo has been called a pepsi symbol as if you turn your head sideways it might look look like pepsi symbol. It's a good thing I love pepsi hey. The addition to the yin-yang was my number 9 a purple rose that curves around it. I found the design online and thought it would fit my yin-yang perfectly plus the yin-yang was a bit plan and in your face. The reason for the choice is that roses are my favourite flower, was told that's weird for a guy by the tattooist at the time, and purple is my favourite colour. But there is another reason, when you combine the 2 the tattoo's tell a little message, if you have the right balance of good and bad then you can get something beautiful. This may be me adding more meaning for the sake of it but what the hell.
Number 3 is 2 vampires fighting over a heart which takes up the whole of my upper left arm. A little story on this one, I found a design that I loved and after my first year at Uni I decided that I should get something to remember it so I took my design and was told it wouldn't work as a tatt. So I told him what I liked and he designed me this and it looked amazing and was even better when tattooed, now he wanted to do a lot more including colour however after the first session cost me so much I decided not to continue. It looks awesome as it is and I think colour would actually ruin it. I can't describe it but its great in my view. On another note one boring day in the house last year I decided to name the vampires so the female is called Ryoko, after my favourite character from Tenchi Muyo, and the male is called Akinobu, a Japanese name that means Autumn wisdom.
We now come to my charm bracelet tattoo that was number 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. The first symbol was a Ankh which is the Egyptian symbol meaning life. The next 2 were Japanese symbols meaning love and strenght, 2 very important factors in life in my view. The next symbol was the symbol for Omega which is Greek for the end but I had it for another reason, Omega is the lowest rank in a pack of animals like wolfs or lions. Now I take it as it maybe the lowest rank there but its still dangerous so you may be low in some eyes but your high in others. Now to the final part of it is the letters L.R.K.P which stand for Loose Raven King of Punk, I will explain as it's one of the questions I'm asked a fair bit.
The L.R.K.P. stands for the 4 idols of my life who have influenced a great deal. The 'Loose' is for Brain Pillman who was called the Loose Cannon, Brain spent a time in his life acting completely off the wall however he was a smart, funny and compassionate man he just hid it well. The lesson is taught me was that sometimes you just have to act and you shouldn't over think yourself and be impulsive. The 'Raven' comes from Scott Levy, who has the quintessential drug abuser, rocker look however he's one of the smartest people you'll ever meet. This taught me that you really can't judge a book by it's cover, you have to get to know people before you can judge anything. The 'King' comes from Eddie Moore, he's a very emotional man and wears his heart on his sleeve. This taught me that sometimes it's a good thing to let your emotions get the better of you and to express yourself. The 'Punk' comes from Phil Brooks who is Straight-Edge, as silly as it sounds I learnt that you don't need to use drink to have a great time when your out, this is especially meaningful as I used to always drink when out with my friends back home as everyone was drinking however recently I spent entire nights without touching a drop and loved it just as much. Now they have all taught me more but those are the main reasons behind the tattoo.
Now onto the addition that I haven't got done. I recently wanted to add a JC underneath my letters. The JC comes from a man called JC Bailey who recently passed away, the story was so sad and meaningful in a sense. Let me explain, JC was known as a truly awesome person a truly nice guy who just loved what he did for a living, he was a professional wrestler. He made some mistakes and ended up in jail. He was in jail until December last year and it shows you how much he loved wrestling as he appeared on a show less than 24 hours after getting released. It was truly his year, he was getting the acknowledgement that he deserved as one of the best. I recently watched a interview with him and he explained that he made mistakes and he wanted to move on, settle down and start a family be completely clean and just enjoy life. This makes the fact that he died even sadder in my view. The whole thing meant a lot to me and so thought about getting JC tattooed on my, I'm still undecided at this present time as too whether or not I should get it, money is a issue as well but will make my choice in the near future.
Before I go there's one more thing that's on my mind and that's designing tattoos. I've designed tattoos for 2 people, one was for my friend Annabel. As much as I loved doing it it didn't test my creativity that much because she wanted something that was so simple to do, it didn't take me long to design her about 5 and she now has them. I don't know if she's got it done yet but she has them none the less. Now onto the first designs I did, I had just received a lot of money and decided to treat people who meant a lot to me. Me and my friend Sarah agreed to go the extra mile for x-mas present so as we talked we agreed that I would design and pay for her tattoo as a x-mas present. The design was originally a rose and heart design, after I showed her them she liked them but she changed where she wanted to get it and what she wanted. So after doing about 5 rose/heart designs she changed to a butterfly design. When we next met up which was a couple of months later (we didn't get it done by x-mas it was months later but that was expected) I had about 15 designs to show her. I loved doing them as each butterfly was special in it's own way and when I showed her she couldn't pick just one. She did make her decision and got it done, now I wished I was there when she got it done but we were in 2 different cities and she had to just fit it in when she could. Anyways the reason why I'm explaining this is that this whole thing means so much to me. To have someone trust me enough to design a tattoo that she'll have forever and to have her love it means so much to me, I put a lot of work into the designs because it was her who I was designing for. Not saying that I wouldn't of put that much effort into desiging other peoples tattoos but I consider Sarah one of my closest and best friends I have so I wanted it to be perfect. I'm so proud of it that the picture on my phone will be shown to anyone who will look. It meant a lot to me and I hope it means a lot to her.
If you take the time to read this, thank you and please let me know what you think. I know this is a long one but it was on my mind and wanted to express it. Leave me a comment either on here or on my facebook. Until next time.
Saturday 9 October 2010
First Blog!
It's been about 2 years since I've last done a blog and I think it's time for a change. For those of you who never read my MySpace blogs welcome and for those who have welcome back (I realise thats a select few but still).
Anyways theres a reason why I've now decided to start writing blogs again. That reason is my current living arrangement, over the past 3 years while at Uni I lived with friends but this year thats not the case. In my 4th year at Uni I've had to start again in certain terms and I'm living with people I don't know.That situation is neither here nor there but since I'm really living by myself because I don't interact with my flatmates I thought that I'd start this blog to express myself a bit. Now I know that my blogs have caused some friction in the past however that was a long time ago and a lot has changed. Which bring me to the subject of this blog.
Over the past year there has been some major changes in my life. Now these have all been good in my view. I've focused more on getting in shape which I've really needed to do, for example a few years ago I was drinking so much but now I'm hardily touching the stuff even going out with my friends back home, which is at least a once a week deal, I hardly drink. I've also been focused on going to the gym so much so that if I didn't have a gym membership I wouldn't know what to do with my free time. Anyways that has been a major factor in me growing in confidence and coming out of my shell more. The final change I've gone through is my attitude, I used to be focused on the negative factors in my life but now I'm always focused on the good. I haven't been in a truly bad mood in a year plus which I love. To me there's a lot more good in life then bad I find.
That sums up my first blog on bloggers. For those who read this I will update it as often as I can (hopefully once a week) and will cover other subjects that mean a lot to me. If your interested then plus check them out if not then hell just happy you've read this one.
Anyways theres a reason why I've now decided to start writing blogs again. That reason is my current living arrangement, over the past 3 years while at Uni I lived with friends but this year thats not the case. In my 4th year at Uni I've had to start again in certain terms and I'm living with people I don't know.That situation is neither here nor there but since I'm really living by myself because I don't interact with my flatmates I thought that I'd start this blog to express myself a bit. Now I know that my blogs have caused some friction in the past however that was a long time ago and a lot has changed. Which bring me to the subject of this blog.
Over the past year there has been some major changes in my life. Now these have all been good in my view. I've focused more on getting in shape which I've really needed to do, for example a few years ago I was drinking so much but now I'm hardily touching the stuff even going out with my friends back home, which is at least a once a week deal, I hardly drink. I've also been focused on going to the gym so much so that if I didn't have a gym membership I wouldn't know what to do with my free time. Anyways that has been a major factor in me growing in confidence and coming out of my shell more. The final change I've gone through is my attitude, I used to be focused on the negative factors in my life but now I'm always focused on the good. I haven't been in a truly bad mood in a year plus which I love. To me there's a lot more good in life then bad I find.
That sums up my first blog on bloggers. For those who read this I will update it as often as I can (hopefully once a week) and will cover other subjects that mean a lot to me. If your interested then plus check them out if not then hell just happy you've read this one.
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