I haven't done a personal post in awhile so here we go!
My wife Robyn and I have been married for 2 years now. Everything is going quite well if you ask me. While we don't get to see each other as much as we like due to her schooling and work and my constant 6 day a week, every shift schedule, we still obviously love each other and try to do married couple things as much as we can. Tonight was the first time in awhile that Robyn brought up the notion of having children, which is something that I'm not a fan of. What I want to talk about in this post is why I feel like that.
First off, children FRIGHTEN me, probably as much as any jump scare from any movie or video game that I've experienced in my life. The fact that they're so frail makes me not want to hold them. The fact that they're so dependent makes me worry about my free time and finances. The fact that they cry gives me nightmares. I hate unnecessary noise to a grade degree. I just can't stand pointless chatter or background noise. A baby is basically all of that. Why would anybody want something like that in their lives?
Having a child is expensive. Money is a resource that I don't have a great deal of. Sure, I have enough to pay my 'rent' and fund my gaming habit but outside of that, I save. Babies eat through your savings like Pac-Man eats pellets. The whole thing is Robyn wants to have children young. SHE'S 23 NOW. We're still babies ourselves when it comes to age and in marriage. A wise woman once said that it's best to spend time as a couple first before you become a family. A baby changes everything. It instantly bumps up life to the next difficulty and it's not one that you can easily change, least not without dealing with some type of emotional damage. Children are a serious venture that I don't want any parts in right now.
Yes, eventually I want a child of my own. I would love a boy that I can raise up in the Lord and teach him all about video games and the evil man they call John Cena. That sounds like an amazing chapter of my life, but NOT yet. I'm almost 25, quarter of a century. Life hasn't even really begun yet. I'm thinking about things realistically here but I think Robyn is in this fantasy land, where you just have a child and things get progressively better from there. IT DOESN'T. Obviously, I don't know from personal experience but come on, how can your life get much better? The child is definitely a blessing from God, but feeding two mouths is easier than feeding three. With children, also comes worry. You worry about their wellbeing, how they will end up in life and who they're with. It's not just the early stages I fear, it's the whole process. If the child is like be, the only thing I have to worry about is that he doesn't corrupt himself by looking at porn. That was really the only thing I did. I didn't drink, smoke, party, have promiscuous sex, nothing. So, if the child is like me, we're good. Anything else, and we're back to the struggle. For me, right now, life is on Easy mode. Think the first level in an game. I live with my parents, only paying a lump sum whenever I get paid. I do my church work, I relax with my wife when we can, play video games and watch wrestling from time to time. Adding a baby to that mix will change the very foundation of my life. Am I ready for that change? No. Once my finance situation changes and I become more mature, then I'll be ready. No one is really ready when they have a baby though. It's not like a video game where you can get video walkthroughs or cheats for getting past the hard parts. It's a learning experience that kicks your butt. I have respect for all the people I know who are parents or are going to be parents. I just can't do that right now.
I think this is all coming about now because Robyn's sister recently had a baby, so Robyn is inflicted with baby fever and wants one of her own. She forgets that with her niece, she can give her back. She doesn't have to care for it 24/7 as her sister does. It's basically a loan if you will. Children consume LOTS of time, which Robyn has NONE of. I don't think she's thinking rationally about the situation but once again, that's what the fever does to you.
Last point, children to me have this sort of finality to it all, like, this is it. You've reached the highest plateau and that's it. It reminds me of many games after you beat them. Some allow you to continue to play them after you complete them but is it really worth it? Will collecting all the secret flags make you feel better about yourself? You've already finished the game, the story is over. Having a child is like that. Once you have one, there is NO going back.
I'm just rambling at this point. Bottom line is this, having children is just a big responsibility that I can't see happening anytime soon realistically. All it takes is a slight slip up yes, but I'm really not ready yet for the added pressure of being a father right now. I'm trying to cope with the fact that I'm 24 and balding. Can I deal with one major life issue at a time here?
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Battleground 2015 Reactions
Battleground was a great show. All of the main events delivered! Let's talk about the important moments.
As expected, Randy Orton got a huge reaction in his hometown. Orton and Sheamus had a great match to open up the show. These two have always been the perfect rivals. I don't know what's next for these two but I'd love to see an Orton/Owens feud down the line and Sheamus is just a cash in away from becoming World Champion.
Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt started off their first ever singles feud with a bang, putting on a match worthy of the five week build. Hard hitting and back and forth action, this was a great first match in this feud. In the end, we got a surprising reunion between Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper, who during a referee distraction, attacked Reigns which allowed Wyatt to pick up the cheap victory. First off, I'm glad Luke Harper is back on WWE TV. He's a great talent and deserves to be doing something with his career. Second off, a Wyatt Family reunion is a great idea, especially with the direction of Wyatt's character. They have NO idea what to do with him so it works for the time being. There's speculation and rumors buzzing, saying that Sting will be making his return to join forces with Reigns to face Wyatt and Harper at SummerSlam. Who's the last person that can say they faced The Undertaker AND Sting in the same calendar year? It would be a great way to continue the feud, which would hopefully culminate inside Hell in a Cell in October.
The Divas revolution continued with a STRONG performance from Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella. This was the best main roster Divas match this year and it's no surprise that it came from Charlotte and Banks, who have tore the house down at NXT. This is promise. They started an angle on Raw and showcased it on PPV. I am actually excited to see where this all goes. The only thing bad about all this is that Sasha has to drop the NXT Women's Title now. She doesn't need it anymore. Bayley will start her tremendous roll to NXT Takeover Brooklyn this week, beating former friend Emma, then finally beating Charlotte and winning a #1 Contender's Match against Becky Lynch. It will all culminate with a huge win over Sasha Banks at Takeover in what should be the main event of the show. It's the female Sami Zayn. It's definitely nothing wrong with it. Anyway, the ladies impressed with the lights on bright. Hopefully, Becky will get her time to shine tonight, maybe against Naomi or Alicia.
John Cena defeated Kevin Owens to retain the United States Championship in another fantastic clash between the two. I'm a huge Owens fan and yeah, I would have loved to see him walk out as champion but let's look at it from WWE's standpoint. Owens STILL has to face Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover. Owens is basically wrestling his swansong match that night, which means he's going to lose. It wouldn't look very good for the NEW US Champion losing to a person who is, in WWE terms, under him. Besides, the NXT Champion has already beaten the US Champion this year. Let it be awhile before that happens again. Owens has to fully wrap up his run in NXT before he wins any belts in WWE. I picked Owens to win but rather than getting mad when he did lose, I thought about it and Owens losing made sense. Now, at SummerSlam, in front of a mainly Kevin Owens mark crowd, he can win the title. I don't think they'll do Owens/Cena IV but I'm going with what a friend of mine said. A Fatal Four Way between Cesaro, Rusev, Owens and Cena. The Triple Threat from Raw last week was amazing. Just imagine adding Cena to that fray. The one good thing to note from this match for Owens fans, besides the fact that he had 3 straight match of the year quality matches with the man who runs the place, is that that he's the first man EVER to kick out of an AA off the top rope. It showed that Cena had to do everything in his power to beat Owens. For all of those who are mad at the decision, it's pro wrestling. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk both loss their initial wars with Cena but BOTH beat him for the WWE Title when it mattered most. Don't worry, Owens will have his da. It just wasn't at Battleground.
OK, what the hell did I just witness? Why is The Undertaker back? WHO in creative thought that a Wrestlemania rematch would be a good idea at SummerSlam? Don't you think that Taker should get revenge at the event he LOSS at? Seriously, it's stupid. The whole heel and face thing isn't important I get it but people are definitely going to side with Taker on this one as the streak was sacred to all WWE fans. While I like the fact that Lesnar is now (hopefully) away from the title picture, I don't know if I'm super psyched to see a Taker/Lesnar match a year and a half after the Streak ended. What is this match going to prove? That Undertaker can beat Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam? It's not going to change the fact that The Streak is over. It could definitely be a great match but really, how many suplexes can a 50 year old man take? HOW MANY? Seth took 13. Cena took 16. Reigns took a lot as well. It's just...I get it, it's SummerSlam in New York and you gotta have the big names for the big show but ugh, why ruin a main event 7 months in the making? Seth Rollins is still champion but now, if Taker and Lesnar are occupied with each other, who's next?
I don't think Sheamus/Rollins would put a lot of butts in seats but what if Sheamus cashes in on Raw tonight to set up for the match? That way, Sheamus/Rollins could face off at SummerSlam and WWE would then put Taker/Lesnar in the main event? You know, because they do that. How about a Triple Threat between Lesnar/Seth/Taker? Let Taker win and have Sheamus cash in? I just don't see them having Seth sneak out of this squeaky clean. I guess we'll see tonight though.
Battleground was the best B PPV of the year so far. It did a great job of continuing great storylines and creating intrigue for tonight's Raw AND SummerSlam. You may have not liked a decision WWE did at Battleground but you sure were talking about it this morning with your friends. If so, WWE has done their job. Best Battleground ever.
Could we possibly see Lesnar, Taker AND Sting ALL on one show tonight? Is it Wrestlemania season?
As expected, Randy Orton got a huge reaction in his hometown. Orton and Sheamus had a great match to open up the show. These two have always been the perfect rivals. I don't know what's next for these two but I'd love to see an Orton/Owens feud down the line and Sheamus is just a cash in away from becoming World Champion.
Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt started off their first ever singles feud with a bang, putting on a match worthy of the five week build. Hard hitting and back and forth action, this was a great first match in this feud. In the end, we got a surprising reunion between Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper, who during a referee distraction, attacked Reigns which allowed Wyatt to pick up the cheap victory. First off, I'm glad Luke Harper is back on WWE TV. He's a great talent and deserves to be doing something with his career. Second off, a Wyatt Family reunion is a great idea, especially with the direction of Wyatt's character. They have NO idea what to do with him so it works for the time being. There's speculation and rumors buzzing, saying that Sting will be making his return to join forces with Reigns to face Wyatt and Harper at SummerSlam. Who's the last person that can say they faced The Undertaker AND Sting in the same calendar year? It would be a great way to continue the feud, which would hopefully culminate inside Hell in a Cell in October.
The Divas revolution continued with a STRONG performance from Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella. This was the best main roster Divas match this year and it's no surprise that it came from Charlotte and Banks, who have tore the house down at NXT. This is promise. They started an angle on Raw and showcased it on PPV. I am actually excited to see where this all goes. The only thing bad about all this is that Sasha has to drop the NXT Women's Title now. She doesn't need it anymore. Bayley will start her tremendous roll to NXT Takeover Brooklyn this week, beating former friend Emma, then finally beating Charlotte and winning a #1 Contender's Match against Becky Lynch. It will all culminate with a huge win over Sasha Banks at Takeover in what should be the main event of the show. It's the female Sami Zayn. It's definitely nothing wrong with it. Anyway, the ladies impressed with the lights on bright. Hopefully, Becky will get her time to shine tonight, maybe against Naomi or Alicia.
John Cena defeated Kevin Owens to retain the United States Championship in another fantastic clash between the two. I'm a huge Owens fan and yeah, I would have loved to see him walk out as champion but let's look at it from WWE's standpoint. Owens STILL has to face Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover. Owens is basically wrestling his swansong match that night, which means he's going to lose. It wouldn't look very good for the NEW US Champion losing to a person who is, in WWE terms, under him. Besides, the NXT Champion has already beaten the US Champion this year. Let it be awhile before that happens again. Owens has to fully wrap up his run in NXT before he wins any belts in WWE. I picked Owens to win but rather than getting mad when he did lose, I thought about it and Owens losing made sense. Now, at SummerSlam, in front of a mainly Kevin Owens mark crowd, he can win the title. I don't think they'll do Owens/Cena IV but I'm going with what a friend of mine said. A Fatal Four Way between Cesaro, Rusev, Owens and Cena. The Triple Threat from Raw last week was amazing. Just imagine adding Cena to that fray. The one good thing to note from this match for Owens fans, besides the fact that he had 3 straight match of the year quality matches with the man who runs the place, is that that he's the first man EVER to kick out of an AA off the top rope. It showed that Cena had to do everything in his power to beat Owens. For all of those who are mad at the decision, it's pro wrestling. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk both loss their initial wars with Cena but BOTH beat him for the WWE Title when it mattered most. Don't worry, Owens will have his da. It just wasn't at Battleground.
OK, what the hell did I just witness? Why is The Undertaker back? WHO in creative thought that a Wrestlemania rematch would be a good idea at SummerSlam? Don't you think that Taker should get revenge at the event he LOSS at? Seriously, it's stupid. The whole heel and face thing isn't important I get it but people are definitely going to side with Taker on this one as the streak was sacred to all WWE fans. While I like the fact that Lesnar is now (hopefully) away from the title picture, I don't know if I'm super psyched to see a Taker/Lesnar match a year and a half after the Streak ended. What is this match going to prove? That Undertaker can beat Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam? It's not going to change the fact that The Streak is over. It could definitely be a great match but really, how many suplexes can a 50 year old man take? HOW MANY? Seth took 13. Cena took 16. Reigns took a lot as well. It's just...I get it, it's SummerSlam in New York and you gotta have the big names for the big show but ugh, why ruin a main event 7 months in the making? Seth Rollins is still champion but now, if Taker and Lesnar are occupied with each other, who's next?
I don't think Sheamus/Rollins would put a lot of butts in seats but what if Sheamus cashes in on Raw tonight to set up for the match? That way, Sheamus/Rollins could face off at SummerSlam and WWE would then put Taker/Lesnar in the main event? You know, because they do that. How about a Triple Threat between Lesnar/Seth/Taker? Let Taker win and have Sheamus cash in? I just don't see them having Seth sneak out of this squeaky clean. I guess we'll see tonight though.
Battleground was the best B PPV of the year so far. It did a great job of continuing great storylines and creating intrigue for tonight's Raw AND SummerSlam. You may have not liked a decision WWE did at Battleground but you sure were talking about it this morning with your friends. If so, WWE has done their job. Best Battleground ever.
Could we possibly see Lesnar, Taker AND Sting ALL on one show tonight? Is it Wrestlemania season?
Friday, July 17, 2015
Battleground 2015 Predictions
Battleground is the last WWE PPV before SummerSlam and it has a pretty good card, rivaling last year's card. Plenty of big titles matches, a big rivalry match between two of the big stars of the PG era and rumors of a potential return make for a big time event. Let's talk about Battleground!
There's no Divas match on the card and with Ryback not being able to defend his title, there's only 5 matches on the card. They'll definitely add Stardust/Neville to the event. I'm not sure the appeal of a Big Show/Miz match so hopefully they won't pain us with that. After Monday's HUGE NXT Divas angle, they need to have some type of representation. Nikki should definitely defend her title, maybe against Tamina and Paige ala the the Beast in the East special. That way, you save Nikki's confrontation with some of the NXT Divas for a later date. There has to be some type of match or matches added, unless all the scheduled matches are going to go 20 minutes each, without entrances.
Randy Orton VS Sheamus is just filler for both guys. Orton doesn't have anything to do and they have to keep Sheamus relevant as he has the MITB briefcase now. It will definitely be a hard hitting contest. Sheamus/Orton have had great matches in the past so this one will be no different. Like I said, just filler. Sheamus wins.
I'm loving the Prime Time Players as champions but they really don't have much competition in the way of teams. It's really just The New Day. The Ascension are far from contenders unfortunately and WWE has wasted the call-up of The Lucha Dragons. The division has potential but once again, it just isn't clicking right. I'd love to see the PTP against The Ascension at some point but I just don't know if that will happen. WWE needs to do something with this division. There's plenty of potential and WWE needs to do something with stars not doing anything. Prime Time Players retain in a good match.
Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt will do battle in their first of what is sure to be many PPV single matches. This is a feud I've been waiting for and was hoping they would first do it over the WWE Championship. That's not the case and with nothing for either man to do, we get this match. Wyatt continues his goal, his claim he said in 2013, one that was taken by Stardust this past week. Wyatt continues to go after the heroes of the WWE Universe. He has a pretty good resume of names that he has feuded with including CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, The Undertaker and Ryback. That many feuds with top stars is a crime without a World Title. Now, he's onto Reigns. This should be an awesome fight. Wyatt made it personal around Father's Day by bringing up his daughter while Reigns has gotten the upper hand leading into Battleground. It's a match that both guys need to win. Wyatt needs it to stay relevant while Reigns needs to continue to build towards his inevitable title run. I don't see this feud being over with just one match though! After a solid 17+ minutes, Roman Reigns will get the hard earned victory of Bray Wyatt. I'm fully convinced that Bray Wyatt will forever be stuck with random feuds and never become World Champion. I hope I'm wrong but with no direction and other guys around, there seems to be no hope. Anyway, Roman Reigns wins.
Kevin Owens and John Cena will do battle for the 3rd straight event. Cena hasn't had to many feuds this year but I'm loving this position in the company right now. He's the gatekeeper for the next generation. He started with Rusev, who after beat him once, he went onto to destroy in the following three matches. Owens and Cena are split 1-1 with the rubber match now being for the United States Championship. This match is special for a couple reasons. One, say what you will about John Cena, but he has done his job in making the US Title relevant again. This feels like a World Title match with the build of it all. The US Title feels important again and whoever is the one to beat Cena for it will definitely have earned it. Two, this will be Owens first PPV match as an actual member of the main roster. After losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor on July 4th, Owens loss the NXT background on his titantron, signifying him staying for good on the main roster. He's still going to finish up his appearances for NXT and challenge Balor for the belt at NXT Takeover, but after that, he'll be done for good. Owens first PPV main roster match may get him the championship.
Owens and Cena will steal the show again. They've had two back to back classics. Cena has been putting on some of the best matches in his career, especially that Cesaro main event a couple weeks ago. This is going to be another special match-up. With it being the 3rd match, I'm hoping that this is the final time these two do battle for the US Title. Owens/Cena is a major feud that I'd like to believe could headline PPVs in the future of the WWE World Title so maybe they separate after this. I'm all for Owens winning and starting a feud with Cesaro after this but I'm definitely going to miss the US Open challenges if Cena does lose. Those were definitely some of the best moments in Raw this year and even brought us Kevin Owens to the main roster. This match should get a lot of time to finish Part 1 of this story. I say Part 1 because, once again, these two will definitely meet again when the stars align. Kevin Owens will get the win and the US Title. I want to say he'll win it by KO after multiple powerbombs but this IS John Cena he's facing...Owens wins.
Brock Lesnar VS Seth Rollins has been brewing since the Royal Rumble. It was a match not thought possible at that time because we all knew Lesnar was just about to leave the WWE. Now that Lesnar has signed a new deal, this match is possible and going to happen. Lesnar's matches since introducing Suplex City have been great. His last boring match was with Taker at WM30 but to be fair, Taker suffered a concussion that night. Lesnar is definitely going to throw Rollins all over the ring and will do moves to Rollins that he wasn't able to do against Cena, Taker and Reigns. It will be definitely be one of the greatest matches of the year once we all look back at it. The outcome is the only thing I'm having trouble seeing. You see, there's a lot of rumors and such going on this week, saying that The Undertaker will be making his comeback at Battleground while Sting will be coming back on the Raw after Battleground. The sudden comebacks definitely put into question the main event, at least, The Undertaker's does. Will he want revenge against Lesnar for ending the Streak? Will WWE do Taker/Lesnar again, this time for the WWE Title? What about Mr. MITB Sheamus? How will he fare in all of this? There's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. I personally don't want to see Taker taken to Suplex City as that would definitely mess up the face turn of Brock Lesnar. I also just don't have a desire to see the match at all. I called Sheamus the new face of the Authority awhile back and I'm sticking to that. I really think Sheamus VS Brock Lesnar would be a worthwhile hard hitting main event and probably the best fight for Lesnar right now. As for Rollins, the Triple H match could still happen but that would mean that both Rollins and Lesnar would be faces then? You know what, for the first time in awhile, I'm stumped. I'm going to watch this as a fan and see where they go with any outcome. For predictions sake, I'm going with Brock Lesnar winning the WWE World Championship but Sheamus to cash in to set up for the main event of SummerSlam. If Taker does come back, it won't be at Battleground or it might just not happen at all to be honest.
Battleground is going to be great. Match wise, it has 3 matches that could be main events on their own. Storyline wise, there's a lot of potential for mega matches for SummerSlam. With NXT Takerover: Brooklyn happening the night before, WWE's main roster will have to put on the best card possible to not be upstaged. Is it really upstaging if Owens and Banks are on both shows? Just a thought...
Battleground is THIS Sunday!
There's no Divas match on the card and with Ryback not being able to defend his title, there's only 5 matches on the card. They'll definitely add Stardust/Neville to the event. I'm not sure the appeal of a Big Show/Miz match so hopefully they won't pain us with that. After Monday's HUGE NXT Divas angle, they need to have some type of representation. Nikki should definitely defend her title, maybe against Tamina and Paige ala the the Beast in the East special. That way, you save Nikki's confrontation with some of the NXT Divas for a later date. There has to be some type of match or matches added, unless all the scheduled matches are going to go 20 minutes each, without entrances.
Randy Orton VS Sheamus is just filler for both guys. Orton doesn't have anything to do and they have to keep Sheamus relevant as he has the MITB briefcase now. It will definitely be a hard hitting contest. Sheamus/Orton have had great matches in the past so this one will be no different. Like I said, just filler. Sheamus wins.
I'm loving the Prime Time Players as champions but they really don't have much competition in the way of teams. It's really just The New Day. The Ascension are far from contenders unfortunately and WWE has wasted the call-up of The Lucha Dragons. The division has potential but once again, it just isn't clicking right. I'd love to see the PTP against The Ascension at some point but I just don't know if that will happen. WWE needs to do something with this division. There's plenty of potential and WWE needs to do something with stars not doing anything. Prime Time Players retain in a good match.
Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt will do battle in their first of what is sure to be many PPV single matches. This is a feud I've been waiting for and was hoping they would first do it over the WWE Championship. That's not the case and with nothing for either man to do, we get this match. Wyatt continues his goal, his claim he said in 2013, one that was taken by Stardust this past week. Wyatt continues to go after the heroes of the WWE Universe. He has a pretty good resume of names that he has feuded with including CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, The Undertaker and Ryback. That many feuds with top stars is a crime without a World Title. Now, he's onto Reigns. This should be an awesome fight. Wyatt made it personal around Father's Day by bringing up his daughter while Reigns has gotten the upper hand leading into Battleground. It's a match that both guys need to win. Wyatt needs it to stay relevant while Reigns needs to continue to build towards his inevitable title run. I don't see this feud being over with just one match though! After a solid 17+ minutes, Roman Reigns will get the hard earned victory of Bray Wyatt. I'm fully convinced that Bray Wyatt will forever be stuck with random feuds and never become World Champion. I hope I'm wrong but with no direction and other guys around, there seems to be no hope. Anyway, Roman Reigns wins.
Kevin Owens and John Cena will do battle for the 3rd straight event. Cena hasn't had to many feuds this year but I'm loving this position in the company right now. He's the gatekeeper for the next generation. He started with Rusev, who after beat him once, he went onto to destroy in the following three matches. Owens and Cena are split 1-1 with the rubber match now being for the United States Championship. This match is special for a couple reasons. One, say what you will about John Cena, but he has done his job in making the US Title relevant again. This feels like a World Title match with the build of it all. The US Title feels important again and whoever is the one to beat Cena for it will definitely have earned it. Two, this will be Owens first PPV match as an actual member of the main roster. After losing the NXT Title to Finn Balor on July 4th, Owens loss the NXT background on his titantron, signifying him staying for good on the main roster. He's still going to finish up his appearances for NXT and challenge Balor for the belt at NXT Takeover, but after that, he'll be done for good. Owens first PPV main roster match may get him the championship.
Owens and Cena will steal the show again. They've had two back to back classics. Cena has been putting on some of the best matches in his career, especially that Cesaro main event a couple weeks ago. This is going to be another special match-up. With it being the 3rd match, I'm hoping that this is the final time these two do battle for the US Title. Owens/Cena is a major feud that I'd like to believe could headline PPVs in the future of the WWE World Title so maybe they separate after this. I'm all for Owens winning and starting a feud with Cesaro after this but I'm definitely going to miss the US Open challenges if Cena does lose. Those were definitely some of the best moments in Raw this year and even brought us Kevin Owens to the main roster. This match should get a lot of time to finish Part 1 of this story. I say Part 1 because, once again, these two will definitely meet again when the stars align. Kevin Owens will get the win and the US Title. I want to say he'll win it by KO after multiple powerbombs but this IS John Cena he's facing...Owens wins.
Brock Lesnar VS Seth Rollins has been brewing since the Royal Rumble. It was a match not thought possible at that time because we all knew Lesnar was just about to leave the WWE. Now that Lesnar has signed a new deal, this match is possible and going to happen. Lesnar's matches since introducing Suplex City have been great. His last boring match was with Taker at WM30 but to be fair, Taker suffered a concussion that night. Lesnar is definitely going to throw Rollins all over the ring and will do moves to Rollins that he wasn't able to do against Cena, Taker and Reigns. It will be definitely be one of the greatest matches of the year once we all look back at it. The outcome is the only thing I'm having trouble seeing. You see, there's a lot of rumors and such going on this week, saying that The Undertaker will be making his comeback at Battleground while Sting will be coming back on the Raw after Battleground. The sudden comebacks definitely put into question the main event, at least, The Undertaker's does. Will he want revenge against Lesnar for ending the Streak? Will WWE do Taker/Lesnar again, this time for the WWE Title? What about Mr. MITB Sheamus? How will he fare in all of this? There's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. I personally don't want to see Taker taken to Suplex City as that would definitely mess up the face turn of Brock Lesnar. I also just don't have a desire to see the match at all. I called Sheamus the new face of the Authority awhile back and I'm sticking to that. I really think Sheamus VS Brock Lesnar would be a worthwhile hard hitting main event and probably the best fight for Lesnar right now. As for Rollins, the Triple H match could still happen but that would mean that both Rollins and Lesnar would be faces then? You know what, for the first time in awhile, I'm stumped. I'm going to watch this as a fan and see where they go with any outcome. For predictions sake, I'm going with Brock Lesnar winning the WWE World Championship but Sheamus to cash in to set up for the main event of SummerSlam. If Taker does come back, it won't be at Battleground or it might just not happen at all to be honest.
Battleground is going to be great. Match wise, it has 3 matches that could be main events on their own. Storyline wise, there's a lot of potential for mega matches for SummerSlam. With NXT Takerover: Brooklyn happening the night before, WWE's main roster will have to put on the best card possible to not be upstaged. Is it really upstaging if Owens and Banks are on both shows? Just a thought...
Battleground is THIS Sunday!
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Second Quarter Over
Wow, that was fast! The spring months just flew by! Just like with the last post, I'll talk first about video games during April-June and then wrestling! Let's get in to it!
This was another quarter that set up for the rest of the year. E3 was this past June and we got a lot of release dates for games coming out in the late months. Fallout 4, which was announced the during the weeks leading up to E3 and Rise of Tomb Raider were both announced to be coming out on November 10th. That makes it the greatest release date of the year, which will be following the release of Black Ops 3 the previous week and followed by Star Wars Battlefront the following week. Once again, November will be the biggest month for gaming. The amount of money gamers are going to pour into these games is going to be insane. Just Cause 3, Hitman and Xenoblade Chronicles X are all going the safe route of releasing in December, basically all within the same week it seems. I'm pretty excited for the later months but we'll discuss them in the coming months.
I finished Bloodborne during these months. It was another fantastic journey through Hell. I didn't get to fight the Moon Presence since I only had two of the required items instead of three but I still enjoyed my 40+ trek through the games. It's definitely my Game of the Year right now as nothing during the 2nd quarter really impressed me like Bloodborne did, except ONE game. It took a tried and true formula and made it its own. They announced that there will be some type of expansion for the game and since I downloaded the full game, I'll be playing the DLC whenever it arrives.
I finally finished Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm very happy that I did it with plenty of time before the sequel releases. I hope people don't haze me or anything like that but you know what I realized upon playing this again? I was LITERALLY 1 hour away from beating the game. I could have finished this title LONG ago. I guess I was too focused on the side quests and such that I just tired myself out. I had well over 60 hours in the game and was preparing myself for the superbosses in the game. I never did fight them or beat it on the Wii version. Ah well, at least it's all finished now. I'm fully prepared for Chronicles X on December 4th.
I did a lot of catching up from games in the 1st quarter and of course, played some that were released in the 2nd. The most notable being Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight. Mortal Kombat X is more of the same amazing fighting that the series is known for. There's a well thought out story mode, just like the last MK game and Injustice. All the new characters fit right in with the MK elite as many of them are actually the descendants of them. For example, you can play as Cassie Cage, the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. There are others as well and they all fit. I'm not the biggest fan of fighting games but I always try and play the new additions to either Tekken, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat when I can. If you love fighting games, you should definitely check it out.
Batman: Arkham Knkight is more of the same and that's not a bad thing. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are two of the greatest superhero games ever. Arkham Knight only furthers this amazing trilogy. The addition of the Batmobile is amazing and much welcomed along with the familiar combat and predator sections. Although this is the fourth go around with Batman, AK does a fantastic job of keeping things fresh. You're never doing the same thing for too long and nothing ever overstays its welcome. Getting tired of destroying tanks? Don't worry, the game will force you on foot eventually. Tired of fighting goon after goon? Don't worry, you'll have to deal with a Riddler puzzle soon. I think the best thing about the Arkham games in the assembly of super villains in the game. They're not all apart of the main story as well so if you really want to see some of the best villains, you actually have to do the side content. You'll be investigating murders, tracking down the Man Bat, or destroying The Penguin's weapon caches. Everything feels different and fresh, even after doing it numerous times and the addition of the original villain Arkham Knight is amazing as well. I haven't completed the game as of this typing but it's easily becoming my #2 game of the year right now. Rocksteady has made Batman a household name in the video game community again. The big question is now what's next for the team. There are dozens of Superman references in the game so maybe that's next?
(I've since completed Batman on July 3rd)
Next up, wrestling!
-Seth Rollins backed up his Wrestlemania title win with victories over Orton, Reigns and Ambrose during the 2nd quarter. He will face Brock Lesnar at Battleground though. That should be a very good match. Rollins and Lesnar had great moments from the Triple Threat from the Rumble and certainly have unfinished business from Wrestlemania. It all makes for an amazing match up but at Battleground of all events? It definitely boosts up the PPV's status a bit but why not wait until SummerSlam? They must have a few big matches planned for the show then.
-Sheamus won the Money in the Bank contract Ladder match in June, thus basically guaranteeing he'll be champion this year or next. I like Sheamus. His new look works, he's a call back to the villains of old and his hard hitting in ring style makes for a good match with just about anyone. I'm really hoping that WWE will pair Sheamus as the new face of WWE, in the storylines at least. The Authority is getting tired of Rollins as champion so what better way to have Rollins turn face then by having them turn on him? You could either have Rollins somehow beat Lesnar, only for Sheamus to cash in or just have Sheamus cash in after Lesnar wins, setting up for Lesnar/Sheamus at SummerSlam. THAT WOULD PUT BUTTS IN SEATS! Well, at least mine in my couch.
-Kevin Owens is the future. Owens won the NXT Title in the first quarter and continued to dominate NXT from there. He came up to the main roster during one of John Cena's US Open Challenges and attacked him, which led to a match at the pop up event on WWE Network, Elimination Chamber. Kevin Owens shocked the world when he defeated John Cena CLEAN. No holding the ropes, no dirty tactics, just straight up finisher into the cover. It's easily the moment of the year from a potential match of the year. They had the rematch at Money in the Bank and while still a match of the year contender, Owens lost. The rubber match will probably happen at Battleground for the US Title as Owens will probably lose the NXT Title to Finn Balor at the live special event from Tokyo on July 4th. This is only further confirmed by the fact that neither Balor or Owens are featured on the tapings after July. Owens on the main roster is great but it also means that we won't be getting anymore matches right now between him and Samoa Joe, that is, until they meet again on the main roster. With Owens soon to be departure from NXT, Finn Balor would be the head of the class, with guys like Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami feuding with him upon return. Solomon Crowe could really grow from this opportunity and Uhaa Nation and Samoa Joe will add to the already great indy talent that NXT has. NXT may be losing a power player in Owens but they will gain plenty more in the coming months. I still want Adam Cole and/or AJ Styles to make their way. I don't care about the rumor of WWE not wanting to use ROH talents. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins all are former ROH Champions and also all walked out of different Wrestlemanias as WWE Champion. Maybe hiring guys from ROH ISN'T a bad thing? Just saying... And Cena's open challenges has been amazing. Sami Zayn getting a shot in his hometown was magical and Cesaro/Cena was absolutely amazing. While I'm pushing for Owens to win the US Title, if Cena does retain, I can't be too mad, especially if we see more great challenges.
-I already said in the last paragraph but Kevin Owens VS John Cena from Elimination Chamber was a match of the year type of encounter. While it was fantastic, there is still one match that tops them all for me and that was Sasha Banks VS Becky Lynch from NXT Unstoppable. I don't think I've seen a better technically sound women's match better than this. These girls WRESTLED. Armbars, takedowns, these two were just so in sync with each other. When they announced this match, I did not think it would be as amazing as it turned out to be but Banks and Lynch really put on a stellar performance with the 15 minutes they got. No Divas match from the main roster has ever come close to being this amazing. THIS is how you do a Women's wrestling match.
-Paige is continuing to feud with the once again seem to be villainous Bella Twins. Paige flashed the Bat Signal on the Raw after MITB and no one responded so is it time that one of the Four Horsewomen be called up to the main roster? Bayley has been in NXT for a LONG time so maybe a push to Raw wouldn't be so bad. Sasha's the champ so I can't see it being her while Becky is still honing her craft so it's probably not her. My money is on Charlotte. There's really nothing left for her to do in NXT. Sasha and Charlotte had what we probably be their final NXT match together on the tapings in June, which is set to air on July 15th. With that, it looks liek Charlotte could make her way up to show the WWE Divas how it's done. Maybe....We'll see what happens
What does the 3rd quarter hold for gaming and WWE?
For gaming, the summer kind of a drought. There are games releasing but not a lot that I'm going to play. The biggest release that I want to play during this quarter is definitely Until Dawn. As many of you know, I love story heavy, visual novel type games. Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Hotel Dusk etc. Until Dawn is going to mix them altogether with a horror based story and multiple pathways and endings. How could I not be excited for it? I can't wait until August 25th!
Gamescon is in August so we'll get to see more from some games that missed E3, liek Quantum Break, Crackdown and Scalebound AKA the three games I currently want most for Xbox One.
The biggest release of this quarter is definitel Metal Gear Solid V, which releases on September 1st and will start the amazing lineup of games coming out in the months to come. Now, I'm not a big MGS fan but with this game rumored to be Kojima's last in the series and with Konami, I'm definitely going to be reading all about it come September.
Obviously, all eyes are going to be on the 4th quarter, which holds MANY big titles, including Call of Duty, Fallout 4 and Assassin's Creed just to name a few. Just have to get through this slow quarter. Lost Dimension, Until Dawn and Mighty No. 9 will tie me over until then. Not to mention I still have Batman, Dying Light, and The Witcher 3 ALL to beat.
For wrestling, the first big thing to happen is going to be Finn Balor winning the NXT Championship. (This has happened) It's all but guaranteed. They had a whole special on him. It's like when John Cena had a DVD release without winning a title yet. Owens will then be on the main roster permanently, eventually dethroning Cena for the US Title so Cena can go back to the main title picture.
Rollins will probably lose the title at Battleground to Lesnar, only for Lesnar to lose to Sheamus, setting up for that monster clash at the show, along with a now face Seth Rollins VS Triple H. Reigns and Wyatt will have some type of specialty blow off match while Owens and Cena will do battle for the last time for the US Title.
NXT will continue to impress and at the next live event, Balor and Samoa Joe will likely main event for the title. Balor will hold onto the title until Hideo is cleared to wrestle again. Balor/Itami is the same as Neville/Zayn. If Itami doesn't come back until January, then Balor NEEDS to hold the belt until then. I feel bad for Itami. I wonder, had he not gotten injured, would he have been the one to win the title in Tokyo? It would have been that much more special.
The 2nd quarter wasn't too bad. It featured another strong contender for Game of the Year and several great matches for Match of the Year. For the 3rd quarter, I'm most looking forward to seeing Crackdown and Scalebound in action, while finally getting to play Until Dawn. For wrestling, the amazing weekend of a NXT Takeover Special IN Brooklyn on Saturday and SummerSlam on Sunday is almost too much for me to handle. Almost I said....
That's all! Until next quarter!
This was another quarter that set up for the rest of the year. E3 was this past June and we got a lot of release dates for games coming out in the late months. Fallout 4, which was announced the during the weeks leading up to E3 and Rise of Tomb Raider were both announced to be coming out on November 10th. That makes it the greatest release date of the year, which will be following the release of Black Ops 3 the previous week and followed by Star Wars Battlefront the following week. Once again, November will be the biggest month for gaming. The amount of money gamers are going to pour into these games is going to be insane. Just Cause 3, Hitman and Xenoblade Chronicles X are all going the safe route of releasing in December, basically all within the same week it seems. I'm pretty excited for the later months but we'll discuss them in the coming months.
I finished Bloodborne during these months. It was another fantastic journey through Hell. I didn't get to fight the Moon Presence since I only had two of the required items instead of three but I still enjoyed my 40+ trek through the games. It's definitely my Game of the Year right now as nothing during the 2nd quarter really impressed me like Bloodborne did, except ONE game. It took a tried and true formula and made it its own. They announced that there will be some type of expansion for the game and since I downloaded the full game, I'll be playing the DLC whenever it arrives.
I finally finished Xenoblade Chronicles. I'm very happy that I did it with plenty of time before the sequel releases. I hope people don't haze me or anything like that but you know what I realized upon playing this again? I was LITERALLY 1 hour away from beating the game. I could have finished this title LONG ago. I guess I was too focused on the side quests and such that I just tired myself out. I had well over 60 hours in the game and was preparing myself for the superbosses in the game. I never did fight them or beat it on the Wii version. Ah well, at least it's all finished now. I'm fully prepared for Chronicles X on December 4th.
I did a lot of catching up from games in the 1st quarter and of course, played some that were released in the 2nd. The most notable being Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight. Mortal Kombat X is more of the same amazing fighting that the series is known for. There's a well thought out story mode, just like the last MK game and Injustice. All the new characters fit right in with the MK elite as many of them are actually the descendants of them. For example, you can play as Cassie Cage, the daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade. There are others as well and they all fit. I'm not the biggest fan of fighting games but I always try and play the new additions to either Tekken, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat when I can. If you love fighting games, you should definitely check it out.
Batman: Arkham Knkight is more of the same and that's not a bad thing. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are two of the greatest superhero games ever. Arkham Knight only furthers this amazing trilogy. The addition of the Batmobile is amazing and much welcomed along with the familiar combat and predator sections. Although this is the fourth go around with Batman, AK does a fantastic job of keeping things fresh. You're never doing the same thing for too long and nothing ever overstays its welcome. Getting tired of destroying tanks? Don't worry, the game will force you on foot eventually. Tired of fighting goon after goon? Don't worry, you'll have to deal with a Riddler puzzle soon. I think the best thing about the Arkham games in the assembly of super villains in the game. They're not all apart of the main story as well so if you really want to see some of the best villains, you actually have to do the side content. You'll be investigating murders, tracking down the Man Bat, or destroying The Penguin's weapon caches. Everything feels different and fresh, even after doing it numerous times and the addition of the original villain Arkham Knight is amazing as well. I haven't completed the game as of this typing but it's easily becoming my #2 game of the year right now. Rocksteady has made Batman a household name in the video game community again. The big question is now what's next for the team. There are dozens of Superman references in the game so maybe that's next?
(I've since completed Batman on July 3rd)
Next up, wrestling!
-Seth Rollins backed up his Wrestlemania title win with victories over Orton, Reigns and Ambrose during the 2nd quarter. He will face Brock Lesnar at Battleground though. That should be a very good match. Rollins and Lesnar had great moments from the Triple Threat from the Rumble and certainly have unfinished business from Wrestlemania. It all makes for an amazing match up but at Battleground of all events? It definitely boosts up the PPV's status a bit but why not wait until SummerSlam? They must have a few big matches planned for the show then.
-Sheamus won the Money in the Bank contract Ladder match in June, thus basically guaranteeing he'll be champion this year or next. I like Sheamus. His new look works, he's a call back to the villains of old and his hard hitting in ring style makes for a good match with just about anyone. I'm really hoping that WWE will pair Sheamus as the new face of WWE, in the storylines at least. The Authority is getting tired of Rollins as champion so what better way to have Rollins turn face then by having them turn on him? You could either have Rollins somehow beat Lesnar, only for Sheamus to cash in or just have Sheamus cash in after Lesnar wins, setting up for Lesnar/Sheamus at SummerSlam. THAT WOULD PUT BUTTS IN SEATS! Well, at least mine in my couch.
-Kevin Owens is the future. Owens won the NXT Title in the first quarter and continued to dominate NXT from there. He came up to the main roster during one of John Cena's US Open Challenges and attacked him, which led to a match at the pop up event on WWE Network, Elimination Chamber. Kevin Owens shocked the world when he defeated John Cena CLEAN. No holding the ropes, no dirty tactics, just straight up finisher into the cover. It's easily the moment of the year from a potential match of the year. They had the rematch at Money in the Bank and while still a match of the year contender, Owens lost. The rubber match will probably happen at Battleground for the US Title as Owens will probably lose the NXT Title to Finn Balor at the live special event from Tokyo on July 4th. This is only further confirmed by the fact that neither Balor or Owens are featured on the tapings after July. Owens on the main roster is great but it also means that we won't be getting anymore matches right now between him and Samoa Joe, that is, until they meet again on the main roster. With Owens soon to be departure from NXT, Finn Balor would be the head of the class, with guys like Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami feuding with him upon return. Solomon Crowe could really grow from this opportunity and Uhaa Nation and Samoa Joe will add to the already great indy talent that NXT has. NXT may be losing a power player in Owens but they will gain plenty more in the coming months. I still want Adam Cole and/or AJ Styles to make their way. I don't care about the rumor of WWE not wanting to use ROH talents. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins all are former ROH Champions and also all walked out of different Wrestlemanias as WWE Champion. Maybe hiring guys from ROH ISN'T a bad thing? Just saying... And Cena's open challenges has been amazing. Sami Zayn getting a shot in his hometown was magical and Cesaro/Cena was absolutely amazing. While I'm pushing for Owens to win the US Title, if Cena does retain, I can't be too mad, especially if we see more great challenges.
-I already said in the last paragraph but Kevin Owens VS John Cena from Elimination Chamber was a match of the year type of encounter. While it was fantastic, there is still one match that tops them all for me and that was Sasha Banks VS Becky Lynch from NXT Unstoppable. I don't think I've seen a better technically sound women's match better than this. These girls WRESTLED. Armbars, takedowns, these two were just so in sync with each other. When they announced this match, I did not think it would be as amazing as it turned out to be but Banks and Lynch really put on a stellar performance with the 15 minutes they got. No Divas match from the main roster has ever come close to being this amazing. THIS is how you do a Women's wrestling match.
-Paige is continuing to feud with the once again seem to be villainous Bella Twins. Paige flashed the Bat Signal on the Raw after MITB and no one responded so is it time that one of the Four Horsewomen be called up to the main roster? Bayley has been in NXT for a LONG time so maybe a push to Raw wouldn't be so bad. Sasha's the champ so I can't see it being her while Becky is still honing her craft so it's probably not her. My money is on Charlotte. There's really nothing left for her to do in NXT. Sasha and Charlotte had what we probably be their final NXT match together on the tapings in June, which is set to air on July 15th. With that, it looks liek Charlotte could make her way up to show the WWE Divas how it's done. Maybe....We'll see what happens
What does the 3rd quarter hold for gaming and WWE?
For gaming, the summer kind of a drought. There are games releasing but not a lot that I'm going to play. The biggest release that I want to play during this quarter is definitely Until Dawn. As many of you know, I love story heavy, visual novel type games. Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain, Hotel Dusk etc. Until Dawn is going to mix them altogether with a horror based story and multiple pathways and endings. How could I not be excited for it? I can't wait until August 25th!
Gamescon is in August so we'll get to see more from some games that missed E3, liek Quantum Break, Crackdown and Scalebound AKA the three games I currently want most for Xbox One.
The biggest release of this quarter is definitel Metal Gear Solid V, which releases on September 1st and will start the amazing lineup of games coming out in the months to come. Now, I'm not a big MGS fan but with this game rumored to be Kojima's last in the series and with Konami, I'm definitely going to be reading all about it come September.
Obviously, all eyes are going to be on the 4th quarter, which holds MANY big titles, including Call of Duty, Fallout 4 and Assassin's Creed just to name a few. Just have to get through this slow quarter. Lost Dimension, Until Dawn and Mighty No. 9 will tie me over until then. Not to mention I still have Batman, Dying Light, and The Witcher 3 ALL to beat.
For wrestling, the first big thing to happen is going to be Finn Balor winning the NXT Championship. (This has happened) It's all but guaranteed. They had a whole special on him. It's like when John Cena had a DVD release without winning a title yet. Owens will then be on the main roster permanently, eventually dethroning Cena for the US Title so Cena can go back to the main title picture.
Rollins will probably lose the title at Battleground to Lesnar, only for Lesnar to lose to Sheamus, setting up for that monster clash at the show, along with a now face Seth Rollins VS Triple H. Reigns and Wyatt will have some type of specialty blow off match while Owens and Cena will do battle for the last time for the US Title.
NXT will continue to impress and at the next live event, Balor and Samoa Joe will likely main event for the title. Balor will hold onto the title until Hideo is cleared to wrestle again. Balor/Itami is the same as Neville/Zayn. If Itami doesn't come back until January, then Balor NEEDS to hold the belt until then. I feel bad for Itami. I wonder, had he not gotten injured, would he have been the one to win the title in Tokyo? It would have been that much more special.
The 2nd quarter wasn't too bad. It featured another strong contender for Game of the Year and several great matches for Match of the Year. For the 3rd quarter, I'm most looking forward to seeing Crackdown and Scalebound in action, while finally getting to play Until Dawn. For wrestling, the amazing weekend of a NXT Takeover Special IN Brooklyn on Saturday and SummerSlam on Sunday is almost too much for me to handle. Almost I said....
That's all! Until next quarter!
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