Wednesday, March 30, 2011
The Ogre's Den: The Problem I have with Wrestlemania 27
The Ogre's Den: The Problem I have with Wrestlemania 27: "Hey, readerland. How we doing, my friends? Well, I hope. So, I have a problem with Wrestlemania 27. It's not that there's..."
The Problem I have with Wrestlemania 27
Hey, readerland. How we doing, my friends? Well, I hope.
So, I have a problem with Wrestlemania 27. It's not that there's no Money in the Bank or that Undertaker probably isn't going to retire after his match (which he should). No, my problem is The Rock.
A few days ago, I wrote a blog about nostalgia and what an awesome thing it is and I'm not taking that back. If nothing else, seeing The Rock back in a WWE ring is pretty sweet. However...
One problem that I've read over and over about The Miz is that he's being booked like crap, because he's being booked as a weak, cowardly champion who can't win a match without cheating or interference. Okay, I can see why people have that opinion, although I'm not one of them. My opinion is that The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated an already wounded Randy Orton, but it wasn't a 30-second match. From bell-to-bell, the match lasted approximately two minutes and forty seconds with Orton actually getting in a decent amount of offense, considering the circumstances. In my opinion, he won the WWE Title in as strong a fashion as everyone else who has won Money in the Bank, with the exception of Rob Van Dam.
With The Miz retaining the WWE Title and going to Wrestlemania, this was WWE's chance to book Miz strongly against John Cena and have the Miz win cleanly, thereby making him look stronger as the champion and go on to Extreme Rules (or whatever else pay-per-view) as the champion and continue being booked as a strong champion.
But now, with the introduction of The Rock into the feud, due to comments by John Cena about The Rock when Rock said he was done wrestling to make movies, The Miz has been overshadowed and try as he might, The Miz is the third fiddle to The Rock and John Cena now. In fact, the whole feud has been overshadowed because "everyone" wants to see Cena/Rock instead of Miz/Cena. I put "everyone" in quotes because I've seen a LOT of writers say that everyone wants to see Cena/Rock at Wrestlemania. I am not part of that "everyone." I want to see The Miz win cleanly over John Cena.
See, as great as seeing The Rock and everything is, they should have brought him him back on the night of Wrestlemania (and maybe the HOF induction) and not two months before. Announce him as the host maybe a couple of weeks before to boost the buyrates. He comes out as the host and right before the WWE Title match, John Cena runs into Rocky backstage. They have a small verbal confrontation, with The Rock saying that read what Cena said about him when he left and that after the title match, The Rock might have a few things to say to Cena. Cena goes out and loses cleanly. That way, you can still have your Cena/Rock feud, but you let the Miz get the win and THEN go into that feud, instead of bringing Rock in early, because now "nobody" (again with the generalization) cares that The Miz is defending the title, except for Miz's fans. "Everybody" want to see Rock/Cena. And you know what? I get it. Old school vs. new school. Great mic worker vs. great mic worker. Attitude era vs. Ruthless Aggression. It makes sense. Bringing back The Rock for Wrestlemania makes sense. But I think the timing is all wrong.
I've seen a fair number of predictions that say that, because of John Cena giving The Rock an Attitude Adjustment on RAW, that The Rock will interfere in the title match, costing Cena the title and thus igniting their feud. And I get it. Ratings are up for RAW and now there's an excitement about Wrestlemania, because The Rock is probably going to get involved in the Miz/Cena match. I get it. What I DON'T get is how this helps the title match or how The Miz, assuming he wins due to Rock interference, looks any better.
Miz has looked like a weak champ due to bad booking and only in the last couple of weeks has he started to look like a champion. If the WWE has faith in The Miz and want him to be the next "face" of the company, they HAVE to let him start winning on his own or no one will believe he's a credible champion. And right now, we need all of the credible champions we can get.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, take care.
So, I have a problem with Wrestlemania 27. It's not that there's no Money in the Bank or that Undertaker probably isn't going to retire after his match (which he should). No, my problem is The Rock.
A few days ago, I wrote a blog about nostalgia and what an awesome thing it is and I'm not taking that back. If nothing else, seeing The Rock back in a WWE ring is pretty sweet. However...
One problem that I've read over and over about The Miz is that he's being booked like crap, because he's being booked as a weak, cowardly champion who can't win a match without cheating or interference. Okay, I can see why people have that opinion, although I'm not one of them. My opinion is that The Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated an already wounded Randy Orton, but it wasn't a 30-second match. From bell-to-bell, the match lasted approximately two minutes and forty seconds with Orton actually getting in a decent amount of offense, considering the circumstances. In my opinion, he won the WWE Title in as strong a fashion as everyone else who has won Money in the Bank, with the exception of Rob Van Dam.
With The Miz retaining the WWE Title and going to Wrestlemania, this was WWE's chance to book Miz strongly against John Cena and have the Miz win cleanly, thereby making him look stronger as the champion and go on to Extreme Rules (or whatever else pay-per-view) as the champion and continue being booked as a strong champion.
But now, with the introduction of The Rock into the feud, due to comments by John Cena about The Rock when Rock said he was done wrestling to make movies, The Miz has been overshadowed and try as he might, The Miz is the third fiddle to The Rock and John Cena now. In fact, the whole feud has been overshadowed because "everyone" wants to see Cena/Rock instead of Miz/Cena. I put "everyone" in quotes because I've seen a LOT of writers say that everyone wants to see Cena/Rock at Wrestlemania. I am not part of that "everyone." I want to see The Miz win cleanly over John Cena.
See, as great as seeing The Rock and everything is, they should have brought him him back on the night of Wrestlemania (and maybe the HOF induction) and not two months before. Announce him as the host maybe a couple of weeks before to boost the buyrates. He comes out as the host and right before the WWE Title match, John Cena runs into Rocky backstage. They have a small verbal confrontation, with The Rock saying that read what Cena said about him when he left and that after the title match, The Rock might have a few things to say to Cena. Cena goes out and loses cleanly. That way, you can still have your Cena/Rock feud, but you let the Miz get the win and THEN go into that feud, instead of bringing Rock in early, because now "nobody" (again with the generalization) cares that The Miz is defending the title, except for Miz's fans. "Everybody" want to see Rock/Cena. And you know what? I get it. Old school vs. new school. Great mic worker vs. great mic worker. Attitude era vs. Ruthless Aggression. It makes sense. Bringing back The Rock for Wrestlemania makes sense. But I think the timing is all wrong.
I've seen a fair number of predictions that say that, because of John Cena giving The Rock an Attitude Adjustment on RAW, that The Rock will interfere in the title match, costing Cena the title and thus igniting their feud. And I get it. Ratings are up for RAW and now there's an excitement about Wrestlemania, because The Rock is probably going to get involved in the Miz/Cena match. I get it. What I DON'T get is how this helps the title match or how The Miz, assuming he wins due to Rock interference, looks any better.
Miz has looked like a weak champ due to bad booking and only in the last couple of weeks has he started to look like a champion. If the WWE has faith in The Miz and want him to be the next "face" of the company, they HAVE to let him start winning on his own or no one will believe he's a credible champion. And right now, we need all of the credible champions we can get.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, take care.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Ogre's Den: A trip down memory lane
The Ogre's Den: A trip down memory lane: "Hey, readerland! How we doin, my friends? Doing well, I hope. Without further ado, let's get this started. First off, let..."
A trip down memory lane
Hey, readerland! How we doin, my friends? Doing well, I hope. Without further ado, let's get this started.
First off, let me say thanks to those people who contacted The Watcher about his blog. I know he appreciates it and so do I. Anything to help a fellow blogger and wrestling fan out. Speaking of which, The Watcher has a new blog up called the 5-Five-5, where he looks at the top 5 wrestlers, moments, and matches of the week. The first part is up at The Watcher's 5-Five-5 Part 1. The other two parts should be up between now and Sunday, so go check 'em out. And now, on to the good stuff.
So, it's Wrestlemania season and Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Trish Stratus, Diesel, and Booker T have all made returns to the WWE since the Royal Rumble. A lot of people are enjoying it because of the nostalgia factor. My own personal opinions aside, this whole nostalgic feeling got me thinking about what my first memories were or wrestling, gaming and music.
As far as wrestling goes, I can remember Verne Gagne taking on someone who may or may not have been Nick Bockwinkel in what may or may not have been the AWA, but I remember Verne specifically. I was around four or five at the time and I remember wrestling a stuffed panda bear (a doll, not a REAL stuffed panda) in our family room. I was a veritable Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, jumping off of that yellow chair and deliver a splash.
I can remember watching Andre the Giant bodyslam Big John Studd and watching Hulk Hogan bodyslam Andre the Giant. Andre was always one of my favorites, even if (in retrospect) he wasn't a great wrestler, he was an attraction and he always had my attention.
As far as gaming goes, my first recollection was going with my brother-in-law (my sister's husband...I THINK they were married then) to his game and hating it because I had no idea what was going on. However, I had the bug. Since then, I've been in seven gaming groups and played 2nd Edition AD&D, D&D 3rd/3.5 Edtion, GURPS, Shadowrun and now Pathfinder.
One thing I remember is from playing in college with my friends Chad and Steve. Chad was the DM and Steve and I were making our way through...something Chad had put together and Chad said that my character had to answer a riddle in order for us to keep going. Just joking around, as Chad was looking for his paper with the riddle on it, I answered with the answer to the Sphinx's Riddle. I was right and Chad was SO upset. It was hilarious. Chad and Steve kicked me out of the room so that they could come up with another riddle. I guess I was awesome before I knew it. Heh.
Music is something that I remember listening to when I was little, but I didn't really "get into" it until I was a teenager. My earliest memory of listening to the radio was listening to the Dr. Demento show with my sister. Since I was probably 6 or 7, I didn't get a lot of the songs, but they were fun to listen to. It was awesome when I worked overnight and we found a local station playing Dr. Demento. That was THE Saturday night thing.
I've never been a big concert goer. The last concert I went to was in 2001 (I think) and it was The Brian Setzer Orchestra and the show was opened by the Brethren Fast Racing Team. The show was awesome, no doubt, but the funniest thing about the show was that the BFRT was sponsored by Budweiser and the whole show was sponsored by some other beer brand that I can't remember off the top of my head. The BFRT get up on stage and one of the songs they perform is called "Budweiser." So, they're singing this song about Budweiser while the other beer's logo is being projected on the dance floor and the curtain behind the band.
While I'm on this nostalgic kick, there are a few things I miss, as well I things I remember.
The first one is the USA Network's Kung Fu Theater. I remember trying to get my mum to stop for McDonald's drive-through or something similar so that we could race home after church Sunday afternoons so that I could watch bad kung fu movies. The only time of year when there was a break from Kung Fu Theater was during Wimbeldon.
Check out the commercial for the show here: USA Network's Kung Fu Theater
I also miss the TV show Roller Games. I seem to be one of the few people who actually remember this show. It was sort of like roller derby's answer to pro wrestling. Everything was scripted and highly dramatized, but it was still good fun.
Honestly, there are lots of things that I miss and I realize more of them the older I get. Ah, well. At least there's always nostalgia.
Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone. Until next time, take care.
First off, let me say thanks to those people who contacted The Watcher about his blog. I know he appreciates it and so do I. Anything to help a fellow blogger and wrestling fan out. Speaking of which, The Watcher has a new blog up called the 5-Five-5, where he looks at the top 5 wrestlers, moments, and matches of the week. The first part is up at The Watcher's 5-Five-5 Part 1. The other two parts should be up between now and Sunday, so go check 'em out. And now, on to the good stuff.
So, it's Wrestlemania season and Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Trish Stratus, Diesel, and Booker T have all made returns to the WWE since the Royal Rumble. A lot of people are enjoying it because of the nostalgia factor. My own personal opinions aside, this whole nostalgic feeling got me thinking about what my first memories were or wrestling, gaming and music.
As far as wrestling goes, I can remember Verne Gagne taking on someone who may or may not have been Nick Bockwinkel in what may or may not have been the AWA, but I remember Verne specifically. I was around four or five at the time and I remember wrestling a stuffed panda bear (a doll, not a REAL stuffed panda) in our family room. I was a veritable Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, jumping off of that yellow chair and deliver a splash.
I can remember watching Andre the Giant bodyslam Big John Studd and watching Hulk Hogan bodyslam Andre the Giant. Andre was always one of my favorites, even if (in retrospect) he wasn't a great wrestler, he was an attraction and he always had my attention.
As far as gaming goes, my first recollection was going with my brother-in-law (my sister's husband...I THINK they were married then) to his game and hating it because I had no idea what was going on. However, I had the bug. Since then, I've been in seven gaming groups and played 2nd Edition AD&D, D&D 3rd/3.5 Edtion, GURPS, Shadowrun and now Pathfinder.
One thing I remember is from playing in college with my friends Chad and Steve. Chad was the DM and Steve and I were making our way through...something Chad had put together and Chad said that my character had to answer a riddle in order for us to keep going. Just joking around, as Chad was looking for his paper with the riddle on it, I answered with the answer to the Sphinx's Riddle. I was right and Chad was SO upset. It was hilarious. Chad and Steve kicked me out of the room so that they could come up with another riddle. I guess I was awesome before I knew it. Heh.
Music is something that I remember listening to when I was little, but I didn't really "get into" it until I was a teenager. My earliest memory of listening to the radio was listening to the Dr. Demento show with my sister. Since I was probably 6 or 7, I didn't get a lot of the songs, but they were fun to listen to. It was awesome when I worked overnight and we found a local station playing Dr. Demento. That was THE Saturday night thing.
I've never been a big concert goer. The last concert I went to was in 2001 (I think) and it was The Brian Setzer Orchestra and the show was opened by the Brethren Fast Racing Team. The show was awesome, no doubt, but the funniest thing about the show was that the BFRT was sponsored by Budweiser and the whole show was sponsored by some other beer brand that I can't remember off the top of my head. The BFRT get up on stage and one of the songs they perform is called "Budweiser." So, they're singing this song about Budweiser while the other beer's logo is being projected on the dance floor and the curtain behind the band.
While I'm on this nostalgic kick, there are a few things I miss, as well I things I remember.
The first one is the USA Network's Kung Fu Theater. I remember trying to get my mum to stop for McDonald's drive-through or something similar so that we could race home after church Sunday afternoons so that I could watch bad kung fu movies. The only time of year when there was a break from Kung Fu Theater was during Wimbeldon.
Check out the commercial for the show here: USA Network's Kung Fu Theater
I also miss the TV show Roller Games. I seem to be one of the few people who actually remember this show. It was sort of like roller derby's answer to pro wrestling. Everything was scripted and highly dramatized, but it was still good fun.
Honestly, there are lots of things that I miss and I realize more of them the older I get. Ah, well. At least there's always nostalgia.
Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone. Until next time, take care.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Ogre's Den: Pink slips: who REALLY needs to leave the WWE aft...
The Ogre's Den: Pink slips: who REALLY needs to leave the WWE aft...: "Hey, readerland. How we doin, my friends? Well, I hope. Thanks for joining me in another edition of the Ogre's Den. ..."
Pink slips: who REALLY needs to leave the WWE after Wrestlemania
Hey, readerland. How we doin, my friends? Well, I hope. Thanks for joining me in another edition of the Ogre's Den. Today, we're going to be looking at an annual tradition this time of year: the WWE's post-Wrestlemania firing spree.
Now, when you read other blogs about this topic, I'm sure you'll see a lot of people talking about various midcard talent who need to be fired because they're boring or can't connect with the audience or something like that. I'm taking a slightly different approach. My approach isn't from a business standpoint (as you'll see why shortly) or an IWC (internet wrestling community) standpoint. No, this is the standpoint of me, a fan.
Now, I may catch a lot of heat for this, but hey...my opinions are as good as anyone else's. If you don't agree with me, leave a comment or write a blog of your own.
Slightly off topic, but kinda on: Here's another guy's thoughts on who to fire. He writes good stuff: http://www.lopforums.com/entry.php/596-Blog-Watch-43-%28-Let-s-Play-the-Firing-Game-%29 There ya go, Watcher. A plug.
Anyway, back on topic. Who would The Ogre fire if he were the one paying the bills? I'll tell you who: The Undertaker and Triple H. Okay, maybe "firing" isn't the right word, but if were up to me, I would say to them, "Look. You guys are legends and you just had an incredible match at Wrestlemania. However, I'm asking you guys to step away from your in-ring career so that we can make some more room at the top."
Let's look at why. The Man from/Demon of Death Valley. The Phenom. The Deadman. The Last Outlaw. The Undertaker. One of the most revered wrestlers of all time and a 7-time heavyweight champion. Every year at Wrestlemania time, the main question floating around the wrestling world is: who is going to challenge the Undertaker's undefeated streak. Let's set aside for a moment the fact that the "streak" is in a sport (yes, it's still a sport) that has predetermined finishes. At Wrestlemania, whether he's 100% or not, the Undertaker always puts on one Hell of a match. His last two with Shawn Michaels were simply amazing. If you can, I suggest you find them and watch them if you haven't already. One of the most impressive men in the ring and great on the mic, most of the time. But.
The Undertaker is forty-five years old and has JUST come back off of the injured reserve, if you will, and rumors are going around that the injury to his shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, is SO bad and he waited SO long to take care of it that there's most likely going to be permanent damage to his shoulder. Rumors also say that he's not even 100% on what he can do with a damaged shoulder, so what kind of shape is he going to be in after he throws himself into his Wrestlemania match, especially since it's a No Holds Barred match? Mostly likely, really bad shape. This, if for no other reason, the Undertaker should hang up his boots after Wrestlemania.
It's not that difficult to put together, either. Taker comes out on the Smackdown after Mania and says, "I have beaten immortals and I have beaten icons. I have beaten everyone they've put in front of me for 19 years at Wrestlemania. There are no more challenges left for me, so The Last Outlaw is riding off into the sunset." That's it. Nobody comes out to say, "No, wait. I can beat you" or something similar. Taker simply walks out of the ring and heads to the back, stopping one more time to acknowledge the fans and then goes through the curtain. Now, obviously, you'd still keep him around, maybe as a road agent or a booker, or even special appearances, but after Wrestlemania, in my opinion, the Undertaker's in-ring career should end.
The Cerebral Assassin. The Game. The King of Kings. Triple H.
Part of one of the most beloved groups of all time, Degeneration X, and a 13-time heavyweight champion. Triple H has more intensity than any other wrestler I've ever seen. While he's not a personal favorite of mine, I will never argue that he is one of the best brawlers in the ring and one of the best on the mic. But.
Triple H is forty-one years old and is also coming back from an injury, a torn bicep. As far as I know, this is his third major muscle tear, the other two being his quads. Is he 100% from the bicep tear? I don't know. He has wrestled a few times since the end of October, so he's probably good to go for Wrestlemania, which is good, considering he'll probably have to do most of the carrying to get the Undertaker through the match. One good thing about Triple H is that it's been announced that he has accepted a role as Executive Senior Advisor to Vince McMahon, which means H knows his time in the ring is coming to an end and is working on the business part of the WWE. I wouldn't be surprised if the No Holds Barred match becomes Streak vs. Career.
Here's the thing. Regardless of whether they are the Main Event at Wrestlemania, they are being considered 'the main event.' The main problem *I* see is that here are two men, both past their wrestling primes, both coming off of serious injuries. I see this as a problem because those are two spots on the Mania card that could be used for an Intercontinental title, a Diva's title or a tag team title match, among other matches you could do. Granted, you could toss out the 6-person mixed tag team match and just make it John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler (my pick for stealing the show) and more people would be happy, I think. I know I would. And don't get me started on The Rock.
Am I saying that Taker and Triple H are lame horses that need to be put down? No. Well, mostly no. What I'm saying is that I personally don't want to watch another Wrestlemania match by the Undertaker and then have him gone for the next ten months due to injuries. Taker, I know you're not reading this, but I want to say, as a fan...please. Make this the Last Wrestlemania for the Last Outlaw.
Now, when you read other blogs about this topic, I'm sure you'll see a lot of people talking about various midcard talent who need to be fired because they're boring or can't connect with the audience or something like that. I'm taking a slightly different approach. My approach isn't from a business standpoint (as you'll see why shortly) or an IWC (internet wrestling community) standpoint. No, this is the standpoint of me, a fan.
Now, I may catch a lot of heat for this, but hey...my opinions are as good as anyone else's. If you don't agree with me, leave a comment or write a blog of your own.
Slightly off topic, but kinda on: Here's another guy's thoughts on who to fire. He writes good stuff: http://www.lopforums.com/entry.php/596-Blog-Watch-43-%28-Let-s-Play-the-Firing-Game-%29 There ya go, Watcher. A plug.
Anyway, back on topic. Who would The Ogre fire if he were the one paying the bills? I'll tell you who: The Undertaker and Triple H. Okay, maybe "firing" isn't the right word, but if were up to me, I would say to them, "Look. You guys are legends and you just had an incredible match at Wrestlemania. However, I'm asking you guys to step away from your in-ring career so that we can make some more room at the top."
Let's look at why. The Man from/Demon of Death Valley. The Phenom. The Deadman. The Last Outlaw. The Undertaker. One of the most revered wrestlers of all time and a 7-time heavyweight champion. Every year at Wrestlemania time, the main question floating around the wrestling world is: who is going to challenge the Undertaker's undefeated streak. Let's set aside for a moment the fact that the "streak" is in a sport (yes, it's still a sport) that has predetermined finishes. At Wrestlemania, whether he's 100% or not, the Undertaker always puts on one Hell of a match. His last two with Shawn Michaels were simply amazing. If you can, I suggest you find them and watch them if you haven't already. One of the most impressive men in the ring and great on the mic, most of the time. But.
The Undertaker is forty-five years old and has JUST come back off of the injured reserve, if you will, and rumors are going around that the injury to his shoulder, a torn rotator cuff, is SO bad and he waited SO long to take care of it that there's most likely going to be permanent damage to his shoulder. Rumors also say that he's not even 100% on what he can do with a damaged shoulder, so what kind of shape is he going to be in after he throws himself into his Wrestlemania match, especially since it's a No Holds Barred match? Mostly likely, really bad shape. This, if for no other reason, the Undertaker should hang up his boots after Wrestlemania.
It's not that difficult to put together, either. Taker comes out on the Smackdown after Mania and says, "I have beaten immortals and I have beaten icons. I have beaten everyone they've put in front of me for 19 years at Wrestlemania. There are no more challenges left for me, so The Last Outlaw is riding off into the sunset." That's it. Nobody comes out to say, "No, wait. I can beat you" or something similar. Taker simply walks out of the ring and heads to the back, stopping one more time to acknowledge the fans and then goes through the curtain. Now, obviously, you'd still keep him around, maybe as a road agent or a booker, or even special appearances, but after Wrestlemania, in my opinion, the Undertaker's in-ring career should end.
The Cerebral Assassin. The Game. The King of Kings. Triple H.
Part of one of the most beloved groups of all time, Degeneration X, and a 13-time heavyweight champion. Triple H has more intensity than any other wrestler I've ever seen. While he's not a personal favorite of mine, I will never argue that he is one of the best brawlers in the ring and one of the best on the mic. But.
Triple H is forty-one years old and is also coming back from an injury, a torn bicep. As far as I know, this is his third major muscle tear, the other two being his quads. Is he 100% from the bicep tear? I don't know. He has wrestled a few times since the end of October, so he's probably good to go for Wrestlemania, which is good, considering he'll probably have to do most of the carrying to get the Undertaker through the match. One good thing about Triple H is that it's been announced that he has accepted a role as Executive Senior Advisor to Vince McMahon, which means H knows his time in the ring is coming to an end and is working on the business part of the WWE. I wouldn't be surprised if the No Holds Barred match becomes Streak vs. Career.
Here's the thing. Regardless of whether they are the Main Event at Wrestlemania, they are being considered 'the main event.' The main problem *I* see is that here are two men, both past their wrestling primes, both coming off of serious injuries. I see this as a problem because those are two spots on the Mania card that could be used for an Intercontinental title, a Diva's title or a tag team title match, among other matches you could do. Granted, you could toss out the 6-person mixed tag team match and just make it John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler (my pick for stealing the show) and more people would be happy, I think. I know I would. And don't get me started on The Rock.
Am I saying that Taker and Triple H are lame horses that need to be put down? No. Well, mostly no. What I'm saying is that I personally don't want to watch another Wrestlemania match by the Undertaker and then have him gone for the next ten months due to injuries. Taker, I know you're not reading this, but I want to say, as a fan...please. Make this the Last Wrestlemania for the Last Outlaw.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Ogre's Den: Crowd noise
The Ogre's Den: Crowd noise: "Hey again, readerland. I hope things are going well, or as least as well as can be expected. I've heard from my friend in Japan ..."
Crowd noise
Hey again, readerland. I hope things are going well, or as least as well as can be expected. I've heard from my friend in Japan and as of this morning Mountain time, he was ding okay, but I haven't heard from him since. Stiff upper lip, though. He'll be fine.
So, I was watching some wrestling earlier and this is something I've noticed before, but I find truly fascinating. One of the huge differences between American wrestling and puroresu is the crowd.
In American wrestling, the crowd is extremely vocal, cheering and jeering as the match goes on. There have been relatively rare occasions where fans have jumped the barricade and entered the wrestling ring, only to get a beatdown from the wrestlers and officials.
In Japan, for the most part, the crowd will cheer at the beginning and end of the match, but stay quiet for large portions of the action. The exceptions to this are:
A) a wrestler plays to the crowd; or
B) when, during a tag team match, the first exchange is over and both wrestlers tag their partners, the crowd will cheer for one of the wrestlers being tagged in; or
C) a strong technical exchange occurs between two wrestlers, at which point the crowd will applaud; or
D) the action spills out to ringside.
As far as I can tell, that's it. Sometimes you'll hear a single voice cheer for a particular wrestler, but that's unusual.
Chants are extremely popular in American wrestling, especially the "This is awe-some...clap clap clapclapclap" chant or chanting the letters of the organization, such as "R O H...R O H" for Ring of Honor or "E C DUB...E C DUB" for ECW. The chants you hear in Japanese wrestling are more for wrestlers names, such as "Let's go, (wrestler's name if two syllables)" or the wrestler's last name if it has three syllables.
Because puroresu is considered more of a sport than American wrestler, where it's nominally considered "sports entertainment" thanks to Vince McMahon, it seems like the fans in Japan are giving the wrestlers more respect by being quieter than American fans.
As a fan of wrestling, it makes a difference because there's so much silence. It can be quite refreshing, actually.
So, I was watching some wrestling earlier and this is something I've noticed before, but I find truly fascinating. One of the huge differences between American wrestling and puroresu is the crowd.
In American wrestling, the crowd is extremely vocal, cheering and jeering as the match goes on. There have been relatively rare occasions where fans have jumped the barricade and entered the wrestling ring, only to get a beatdown from the wrestlers and officials.
In Japan, for the most part, the crowd will cheer at the beginning and end of the match, but stay quiet for large portions of the action. The exceptions to this are:
A) a wrestler plays to the crowd; or
B) when, during a tag team match, the first exchange is over and both wrestlers tag their partners, the crowd will cheer for one of the wrestlers being tagged in; or
C) a strong technical exchange occurs between two wrestlers, at which point the crowd will applaud; or
D) the action spills out to ringside.
As far as I can tell, that's it. Sometimes you'll hear a single voice cheer for a particular wrestler, but that's unusual.
Chants are extremely popular in American wrestling, especially the "This is awe-some...clap clap clapclapclap" chant or chanting the letters of the organization, such as "R O H...R O H" for Ring of Honor or "E C DUB...E C DUB" for ECW. The chants you hear in Japanese wrestling are more for wrestlers names, such as "Let's go, (wrestler's name if two syllables)" or the wrestler's last name if it has three syllables.
Because puroresu is considered more of a sport than American wrestler, where it's nominally considered "sports entertainment" thanks to Vince McMahon, it seems like the fans in Japan are giving the wrestlers more respect by being quieter than American fans.
As a fan of wrestling, it makes a difference because there's so much silence. It can be quite refreshing, actually.
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Ogre's Den: A wise man once said...
The Ogre's Den: A wise man once said...: "Hey, readerland. A thought crossed my mind today and this seemed to be the best place to explore it, so here goes. This isn't re..."
A wise man once said...
Hey, readerland. A thought crossed my mind today and this seemed to be the best place to explore it, so here goes. This isn't really related to any of my usual topics (gaming, music, wrestling), but they might be included. Depends on how well this train stays on the tracks.
P.S. My thoughts go out to the people of Japan and, honestly, the whole world at this point. There's some bad mojo going down and we all need it. Hang in there, Louis.
I'm not sure where I heard it, but I once heard this saying: someone that's interested in only one thing isn't very interesting.
Personally, I find this to be true, especially when it comes to things like music. One of my fellow DJs has a show on Sunday (schedule.partyfmradio.net) that's called the Metal Massacre, where he plays (mostly) heavy metal. That's all well and good and everything, but from conversations I've had with him, if it isn't metal, it's crap. Unless it's Nickleback or the Insane Clown Posse. He plays both on a metal show. *shrug* For me, if you look over my library, I have a lot of genres in my almost 24,000 songs. I rarely can listen to the same genre or band for more than a couple of songs. The only exception I can think of is the Hilltop Hoods, a rap group out of Adelaide, Australia. However, they tend to mix up their sound enough for it to not be the "same" across an entire album and their DJ, Debris, does a great job with the samples. Here's an example. I've started my iPod on the playlist I usually listen to and I'm going to list off the first ten songs that come up:
1) (randomly selected with the "Close my eyes and spin the click wheel" method): Run Runaway by Slade.
2) Land of Confusion by Genesis
3) Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train
4) Darth Vader's Imperial March composed by John Williams
5) Miss Murder by AFI
6) Blue on Black by The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
7) I'm a Ramblin' Man by Waylon Jennings
8) Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd (often miscredited to Wilson Pickett)
9) Let's Get Retarded by the Black Eyed Peas
10) Kiss Me Deadly by Lita Ford
Okay, depending on definitions of genre, it's kinda Rock heavy (does Train count as rock?) but I think it's a moderately decent representation of the types of music I listen to. Of course, it doesn't cover the Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Industrial, Goth, Darkwave, Classical, stuff from the 40's/50's/60's and 70's, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Metal, and probably a dozen other genres that I listen to on a regular basis.
I had a gaming friend for a while who was totally into Everquest. Okay, I guess. Having never played it, I can't understand why it's such a giant time suck, but whatever. At this point in time, I was running a D&D 3.5E campaign and was getting some feedback from my players about creating my own .campaign world. I got some really good feedback (I still have their emails. I should look over those again). I had asked for spell ideas or changes to the magic system and this player sent me an email saying that he had some ideas and they were very "Everquest-ish." He never actually sent me the ideas. Anyway, every time I was talking to him about the campaign, he would bring up something Everquest-oriented in order to relate. While I understand using something you're familiar with as a guide when talking about something similar, eventually, you have to let go of that hand hold and move out into something unfamiliar.
I've seen the same thing in sports. People are particularly attached to one team or even one sport have an extremely hard time acknowledging that there are other sports/teams that could be considered worthy of attention. I'm originally from Ohio, so a LOT of my friends and family are big OSU supporters and I understand rooting for your home team and everything, but seeing anything having to do with the University of Michigan referred to as "scUM" is a little ridiculous. Of course, that's just my opinion. See, I even understand when people say "we" when they're referring to a sports team they cheer for. It's wanting to be part of something larger than yourself. Almost everybody does it in one form or another. I know I did it when I was younger. The dehumanization of the opponent fosters a feeling of superiority. It all makes sense. Except that, ultimately, it's a game that has no real bearing on much of anything, so I don't see why people do it.
I've even had discussions with people who say that one particular sport is the ONLY sport that matters and all other sports are inferior. When I was younger, I thought football was THE sport, period end of story. As I got a little older, I got into basketball while still retaining my love for football. Baseball? Kinda, but not really. Never really got into watching it. These days, I'd much prefer to watch an ice hockey game to either football or basketball, because in my opinion, hockey is a much more exciting game, because it moves constantly and there's always something exciting going on. It's kinda like basketball that way, but it's better because it's ALWAYS a team sport instead of one or two guys trying to dominate the game.
Pro wrestling is another good spot for this topic. There are different types of wrestling in the world. There's the "American style" which you would find in the WWE and TNA. There's lucha libre in Mexico in CMLL and AAA. There's puroresu in Japan in New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and many others. Each of these styles has something going for it that I enjoy.
The American style tends to focus more on power moves (especially the concept of the finishing move) and the character and storylines of a wrestler. A good example is the Undertaker. He's a large man (something like 6'10" and close to 300 pounds) and his character is known around the world. If I were talking about Mark Calloway in this section, you'd probably have no idea who that was, but when I say "The Undertaker" even some non-viewers know who that is.
Lucha libre involves smaller wrestlers (usually) and a lot more of a high-flying, acrobatic style. Storylines are important here too and can last for YEARS. If you're a viewer of WWE and TNA, Rey Mysterio (Jr.) and Amazing Red are luchadors.
Japanese wrestling or puroresu is considered a sport in Japan, not "sports entertainment." It's taken quite seriously. Interviews are done after a match that might have just gone 20 minutes long and the person being interviewed is completely out of breath and sweating. Japanese wrestlers hit each other REALLY hard. Realism is important, as well as the buildup of the match toward the finish. I've written down the words "finishing move" so I can write a blog about that at a later point.
So, discussing wrestling with people, I find that some people will ONLY watch one type and will put down the others, which I don't understand. I know I've mentioned in a previous blog about Chikara Pro Wrestling. The main reason I like them, aside from their use of gimmicks, is that they blend all of these styles together into one giant vat of awesome. If you're a casual watcher or not a watcher but are interested, I would suggest watching some Chikara (you can find stuff on youtube) and enjoy.
Ultimately, I think people are more interesting when they have more than one or two things to talk about. My friend Adam (Hi, Adam!) is a good example. He's one of the more intelligent people I know and he always has something different and interesting to talk about. That, my friends, is being diverse and interesting.
Until next time, take care.
P.S. My thoughts go out to the people of Japan and, honestly, the whole world at this point. There's some bad mojo going down and we all need it. Hang in there, Louis.
I'm not sure where I heard it, but I once heard this saying: someone that's interested in only one thing isn't very interesting.
Personally, I find this to be true, especially when it comes to things like music. One of my fellow DJs has a show on Sunday (schedule.partyfmradio.net) that's called the Metal Massacre, where he plays (mostly) heavy metal. That's all well and good and everything, but from conversations I've had with him, if it isn't metal, it's crap. Unless it's Nickleback or the Insane Clown Posse. He plays both on a metal show. *shrug* For me, if you look over my library, I have a lot of genres in my almost 24,000 songs. I rarely can listen to the same genre or band for more than a couple of songs. The only exception I can think of is the Hilltop Hoods, a rap group out of Adelaide, Australia. However, they tend to mix up their sound enough for it to not be the "same" across an entire album and their DJ, Debris, does a great job with the samples. Here's an example. I've started my iPod on the playlist I usually listen to and I'm going to list off the first ten songs that come up:
1) (randomly selected with the "Close my eyes and spin the click wheel" method): Run Runaway by Slade.
2) Land of Confusion by Genesis
3) Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train
4) Darth Vader's Imperial March composed by John Williams
5) Miss Murder by AFI
6) Blue on Black by The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band
7) I'm a Ramblin' Man by Waylon Jennings
8) Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd (often miscredited to Wilson Pickett)
9) Let's Get Retarded by the Black Eyed Peas
10) Kiss Me Deadly by Lita Ford
Okay, depending on definitions of genre, it's kinda Rock heavy (does Train count as rock?) but I think it's a moderately decent representation of the types of music I listen to. Of course, it doesn't cover the Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Industrial, Goth, Darkwave, Classical, stuff from the 40's/50's/60's and 70's, Progressive Rock, Symphonic Metal, and probably a dozen other genres that I listen to on a regular basis.
I had a gaming friend for a while who was totally into Everquest. Okay, I guess. Having never played it, I can't understand why it's such a giant time suck, but whatever. At this point in time, I was running a D&D 3.5E campaign and was getting some feedback from my players about creating my own .campaign world. I got some really good feedback (I still have their emails. I should look over those again). I had asked for spell ideas or changes to the magic system and this player sent me an email saying that he had some ideas and they were very "Everquest-ish." He never actually sent me the ideas. Anyway, every time I was talking to him about the campaign, he would bring up something Everquest-oriented in order to relate. While I understand using something you're familiar with as a guide when talking about something similar, eventually, you have to let go of that hand hold and move out into something unfamiliar.
I've seen the same thing in sports. People are particularly attached to one team or even one sport have an extremely hard time acknowledging that there are other sports/teams that could be considered worthy of attention. I'm originally from Ohio, so a LOT of my friends and family are big OSU supporters and I understand rooting for your home team and everything, but seeing anything having to do with the University of Michigan referred to as "scUM" is a little ridiculous. Of course, that's just my opinion. See, I even understand when people say "we" when they're referring to a sports team they cheer for. It's wanting to be part of something larger than yourself. Almost everybody does it in one form or another. I know I did it when I was younger. The dehumanization of the opponent fosters a feeling of superiority. It all makes sense. Except that, ultimately, it's a game that has no real bearing on much of anything, so I don't see why people do it.
I've even had discussions with people who say that one particular sport is the ONLY sport that matters and all other sports are inferior. When I was younger, I thought football was THE sport, period end of story. As I got a little older, I got into basketball while still retaining my love for football. Baseball? Kinda, but not really. Never really got into watching it. These days, I'd much prefer to watch an ice hockey game to either football or basketball, because in my opinion, hockey is a much more exciting game, because it moves constantly and there's always something exciting going on. It's kinda like basketball that way, but it's better because it's ALWAYS a team sport instead of one or two guys trying to dominate the game.
Pro wrestling is another good spot for this topic. There are different types of wrestling in the world. There's the "American style" which you would find in the WWE and TNA. There's lucha libre in Mexico in CMLL and AAA. There's puroresu in Japan in New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and many others. Each of these styles has something going for it that I enjoy.
The American style tends to focus more on power moves (especially the concept of the finishing move) and the character and storylines of a wrestler. A good example is the Undertaker. He's a large man (something like 6'10" and close to 300 pounds) and his character is known around the world. If I were talking about Mark Calloway in this section, you'd probably have no idea who that was, but when I say "The Undertaker" even some non-viewers know who that is.
Lucha libre involves smaller wrestlers (usually) and a lot more of a high-flying, acrobatic style. Storylines are important here too and can last for YEARS. If you're a viewer of WWE and TNA, Rey Mysterio (Jr.) and Amazing Red are luchadors.
Japanese wrestling or puroresu is considered a sport in Japan, not "sports entertainment." It's taken quite seriously. Interviews are done after a match that might have just gone 20 minutes long and the person being interviewed is completely out of breath and sweating. Japanese wrestlers hit each other REALLY hard. Realism is important, as well as the buildup of the match toward the finish. I've written down the words "finishing move" so I can write a blog about that at a later point.
So, discussing wrestling with people, I find that some people will ONLY watch one type and will put down the others, which I don't understand. I know I've mentioned in a previous blog about Chikara Pro Wrestling. The main reason I like them, aside from their use of gimmicks, is that they blend all of these styles together into one giant vat of awesome. If you're a casual watcher or not a watcher but are interested, I would suggest watching some Chikara (you can find stuff on youtube) and enjoy.
Ultimately, I think people are more interesting when they have more than one or two things to talk about. My friend Adam (Hi, Adam!) is a good example. He's one of the more intelligent people I know and he always has something different and interesting to talk about. That, my friends, is being diverse and interesting.
Until next time, take care.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The Ogre's Den: What ever happened to roleplaying?
The Ogre's Den: What ever happened to roleplaying?: "Hey, readerland. I'm back once again. It's been a while and for that I apologize. Tonight's blog is going to be a combo ga..."
What ever happened to roleplaying?
Hey, readerland. I'm back once again. It's been a while and for that I apologize. Tonight's blog is going to be a combo gaming/wrestling blog. Should be interesting to see if I can tie these together like I think I can.
So, I was on a gaming forum yesterday and someone was talking about trying to use 4E's Inherent Bonus to Pathfinder. Inherent Bonus gives a character bonuses as they reach certain levels. That sounds fine and all, but I said I couldn't see using anything like that because it gives the characters combat bonuses specifically and they don't apply to the "roleplaying" part of the game.
A response that I got basically said that I was wrong because the bonuses given to the characters could replace the "standard" magical weapons that characters get. I attempted to point out that players prefer to receive THINGS instead of an abstract bonus and another poster said that he didn't like the rule because as a regular rule, it's boring, but it would be good to use if you were playing a low-to-no magic game, which I agree with. I and another poster were told that the Inherent Bonus doesn't remove magic items from the game, it removes boring-but-necessary magic items from the game.
Now, I dunno about you, but I REALLY dislike being told what to think by pretty much anybody. To have another gamer tell me what's "boring" and "unnecessary" (assuming they aren't one of my players complaining about the game I'm running) is crap. If he had phrased it as an opinion ("It doesn't remove magic items from the game, it removes what I think are boring-but-necessary magic items from the game") then I'm okay with that. But no. So, I got a bit miffed.
The thing that REALLY got me, though, is that the guy who responded to me completely ignored the section where I originally said "If I were going to use something like that, I would give the bonuses to skill and so forth in order to foster more roleplaying." It seems to me that Yahtzee was right in his review of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm: it's all about the numbers. You want to have the best numbers. And I get that, but what happened to actually, you know, roleplaying?
Personally, and this is of course only an opinion, but I blame 4E and MMORPGs. 4E, from what I gather (never played it), has turned into a tabletop miniatures wargame and MMORPGs (again, never played one) are full to the brim with people who are simply there to raid and kill other people, which means you need to have all the best weapons and armor and magic and whatever else in order to complete another raid...so that you can get better weapons and armor and magic and whatever else. I understand, but I don't get it.
The people that I play Pathfinder with are "old school" gamers, so they know there's a balance between roleplaying and combat and they're okay with that. It seems like the newer players are either all powergamers or they were "brought up" in a game system with little to no roleplaying. When creating my last few characters as a player, I tried to make something different than I had played before. For example, one of my GURPS characters was a male exotic dancer-turned-smuggler in a dark cyberpunk-ish setting full of gun and violence. And he had hemophilia. Because it was good roleplaying.
So, you're probably wondering by this point how wrestling fits into all of this. Pro wrestling has been described as "soap operas for men" and I can't really argue with that. Every wrestler is playing a role of some kind, whether it's a dead man (The Undertaker), a Punjabi playboy (The Great Khali), a leprechaun (Hornswaggle), or they are flawless (LayCool...if you don't know any of these people, Wikipedia is your friend), they're all playing a role. This even includes the announcers.
Matt Striker (not his real name) was a teacher in real life, having a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in Educational Psychology, before making it big in the WWE. He has retired from in-ring competition and he became the color commentator for the WWE version of ECW, alongside Todd Grisham as play-by-play man. From ECW to Smackdown (again, my opinion), Striker and Grisham had great chemistry and they filled their roles well. There was a lot of criticism from the Internet Wrestling Community that Striker talked to much and he explained things that didn't need explaining, like why a headlock was such a good, basic move. What was he doing? He was teaching people! You know, the role he played!
Michael Cole, announcer for both Raw and Smackdown is another that has gotten a lot of criticism from the IWC. He has turned into a bad guy and has grown a personality. He verbally attacks his broadcast partners and has physically attacked Jerry Lawler, the color commentator on Raw. My only issue with Cole is that he yells too much, completely drowning out everything else. Other than that, I like the character. It works well, because the best commentating teams have always been the heel (bad guy color commentator and the face (good guy) play-by-play man (sometimes called the "voice of reason").
Of course, I have a issues with the commentating style in the WWE anyway. Hardly anybody actually calls the match that's in the ring anymore. It's all about the main event for that show or what's happening at the next Pay-Per-View. That's partly why I liked Matt Striker on commentary, because he actually knew what he was talking about, having been a wrestler, and he called the match that was going on in the ring. Fortunately I still get to watch him on Superstars.
Okay, I'm not sure that tie-in worked as well as I'd hoped, but for now, it's the best I've got. Take care, everyone.
So, I was on a gaming forum yesterday and someone was talking about trying to use 4E's Inherent Bonus to Pathfinder. Inherent Bonus gives a character bonuses as they reach certain levels. That sounds fine and all, but I said I couldn't see using anything like that because it gives the characters combat bonuses specifically and they don't apply to the "roleplaying" part of the game.
A response that I got basically said that I was wrong because the bonuses given to the characters could replace the "standard" magical weapons that characters get. I attempted to point out that players prefer to receive THINGS instead of an abstract bonus and another poster said that he didn't like the rule because as a regular rule, it's boring, but it would be good to use if you were playing a low-to-no magic game, which I agree with. I and another poster were told that the Inherent Bonus doesn't remove magic items from the game, it removes boring-but-necessary magic items from the game.
Now, I dunno about you, but I REALLY dislike being told what to think by pretty much anybody. To have another gamer tell me what's "boring" and "unnecessary" (assuming they aren't one of my players complaining about the game I'm running) is crap. If he had phrased it as an opinion ("It doesn't remove magic items from the game, it removes what I think are boring-but-necessary magic items from the game") then I'm okay with that. But no. So, I got a bit miffed.
The thing that REALLY got me, though, is that the guy who responded to me completely ignored the section where I originally said "If I were going to use something like that, I would give the bonuses to skill and so forth in order to foster more roleplaying." It seems to me that Yahtzee was right in his review of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm: it's all about the numbers. You want to have the best numbers. And I get that, but what happened to actually, you know, roleplaying?
Personally, and this is of course only an opinion, but I blame 4E and MMORPGs. 4E, from what I gather (never played it), has turned into a tabletop miniatures wargame and MMORPGs (again, never played one) are full to the brim with people who are simply there to raid and kill other people, which means you need to have all the best weapons and armor and magic and whatever else in order to complete another raid...so that you can get better weapons and armor and magic and whatever else. I understand, but I don't get it.
The people that I play Pathfinder with are "old school" gamers, so they know there's a balance between roleplaying and combat and they're okay with that. It seems like the newer players are either all powergamers or they were "brought up" in a game system with little to no roleplaying. When creating my last few characters as a player, I tried to make something different than I had played before. For example, one of my GURPS characters was a male exotic dancer-turned-smuggler in a dark cyberpunk-ish setting full of gun and violence. And he had hemophilia. Because it was good roleplaying.
So, you're probably wondering by this point how wrestling fits into all of this. Pro wrestling has been described as "soap operas for men" and I can't really argue with that. Every wrestler is playing a role of some kind, whether it's a dead man (The Undertaker), a Punjabi playboy (The Great Khali), a leprechaun (Hornswaggle), or they are flawless (LayCool...if you don't know any of these people, Wikipedia is your friend), they're all playing a role. This even includes the announcers.
Matt Striker (not his real name) was a teacher in real life, having a Bachelor's degree in History and a Master's degree in Educational Psychology, before making it big in the WWE. He has retired from in-ring competition and he became the color commentator for the WWE version of ECW, alongside Todd Grisham as play-by-play man. From ECW to Smackdown (again, my opinion), Striker and Grisham had great chemistry and they filled their roles well. There was a lot of criticism from the Internet Wrestling Community that Striker talked to much and he explained things that didn't need explaining, like why a headlock was such a good, basic move. What was he doing? He was teaching people! You know, the role he played!
Michael Cole, announcer for both Raw and Smackdown is another that has gotten a lot of criticism from the IWC. He has turned into a bad guy and has grown a personality. He verbally attacks his broadcast partners and has physically attacked Jerry Lawler, the color commentator on Raw. My only issue with Cole is that he yells too much, completely drowning out everything else. Other than that, I like the character. It works well, because the best commentating teams have always been the heel (bad guy color commentator and the face (good guy) play-by-play man (sometimes called the "voice of reason").
Of course, I have a issues with the commentating style in the WWE anyway. Hardly anybody actually calls the match that's in the ring anymore. It's all about the main event for that show or what's happening at the next Pay-Per-View. That's partly why I liked Matt Striker on commentary, because he actually knew what he was talking about, having been a wrestler, and he called the match that was going on in the ring. Fortunately I still get to watch him on Superstars.
Okay, I'm not sure that tie-in worked as well as I'd hoped, but for now, it's the best I've got. Take care, everyone.
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