Top 50 Favorite Titles Changes - #40-31

40. Bobby Roode wins TNA World Title – Impact 2011

Bobby Roode screams a main event player. From his look, his gimmick and his in ring work, everything about him says he's a main event player. Roode was never pushed as a singles star, that was until they started the Bound for Glory series. This is a tournament where the winner is granted a title shot at TNA's biggest event, Bound for Glory. Despite all the plans being laid in front of them, TNA didn't pull the trigger and Roode lost in his opportunity against Kurt Angle. You know who did defeat Angle for the title? Roode's tag team partner, James Storm. Roode won another match to become #1 contender to his partner's title. During the match, Roode cheated to win and turned heel in the process. This would lead to Roode becoming the top guy in TNA and he also had the longest reign in the title's history. Roode is a freaking star and this was the start of his ascension to the top. Hopefully, this isn't the last time we'll see him win World Title gold.

39. Austin Aries wins TNA World Title– Destination X 2012

Another star in TNA deserving to win the World Title was Austin Aries, who was absolutely dominating the X Division. His dominance over the division caused caused him to issue a challenge for the top prize in TNA. Hulk Hogan, the authority figure in 2012, agreed but Aries had to give up the X Division Title, which he had held the longest in the history of the company. Aries would agree, only if in the future, when Destination X comes around, that whoever holds the X Division Title will be able to cash it in for a World Title opportunity. This is called Option C and it also gave long time TNA original Chris Sabin his first World Title reign as well. (Sabin isn't on this list, sorry) At Destination X, Aries' gamble paid off and he ended Roode's recording setting reign. It was awesome to see. Aries is another indie darling so it was great to see him get what was coming to him. As with Roode, I can only hope this isn't the last time we'll see Aries holding a World Title.

38. Tyson Kidd and Cesaro win the WWE Tag Team Titles – Fast Lane 2015

Sometimes, WWE will pair together two extremely talented guys and push them as a tag team when they don't have anything singles wise planned for them. Edge and Jericho and Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre are just two off the top of my head. In 2014, WWE may have put together the best combination of guys. Cesaro is probably the hardest in ring worker in WWE while Tyson Kidd is the most underrated star the company has. When this two tagged together, they just clicked and had instant chemistry. WWE knew what they had so on Kidd and Cesaro's first attempt, they were able to capture the WWE Tag Team Titles from The Usos. It made sense as the team was a wrestling's fan dream and it was a good way to give both guys something to do. It also helped Cesaro get more exposure and he was able to thrive in late 2015. Time will only tell what it will do for Kidd, who is currently still battling his neck injury. Regardless, this was a great title win for two guys who definitely deserved it.

37. Bad News Barrett wins the Intercontinental Title – Extreme Rules 2014

It's no secret that Wade Barrett is one of my favorite stars in WWE. Well, was as he was recently released. I always felt he he was better than what WWE was giving him. The Raw after Wrestlemania 30, Barrett returned to in ring performance as Bad News Barrett and as expected from the crowd, he was greeted with a hero's welcome. This would propel him to winning a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the IC Title that was currently held by Big E. Barrett made the most of his opportunity as he was able to beat Big E and win his fourth Intercontinental Championship. Though this was his fourth reign as IC Champ, it was a rejuvenating win and sparked a resurgence for Barrett. Barrett would get injured and have to relinquish the title and I think this was the final nail in the coffin for his career. I'll always question what if with Barrett but his title win here was a beacon of hope for his career.

36. Chris Jericho wins the World Heavyweight Title – Elimination Chamber 2010

Heading into 2010, the main event for Wrestlemania was pretty much set as the world wanted to see the ultimate rematch between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The Undertaker was World Champion at the the time so the match looked like it could be for the title. That was until Edge made his return at Royal Rumble and won. Jericho and Edge had a history and Jericho blamed Edge for the fall of their team. Edge also eliminated Jericho from the Royal Rumble match. A Jericho/Edge match at Mania seemed likely, which could only happen if Jericho was World Champion. He got his chance inside the Elimination Chamber PPV right before Mania. Jericho and Taker were the last two inside the Chamber. As Taker was about to put away Jericho, HBK pulled away a part of the Chamber to sneak in and gave Taker the Sweet Chin Music. Jericho took advantage to win his 6th World Title. It was expected and it made things fall into place for the big event. I always like seeing Jericho as champion and this is another good one from the best in the world at everything he does.

35. Roman Reigns wins the WWE Title – Raw 2015

Roman Reigns had such a crazy 2015. He was prime picked to be the next top star of the company. To do that, Reigns was going to challenge the unstoppable Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, conquer the conqueror and look like a major hero. It didn't exactly go as planned as during one of the key moments in this plan, the Royal Rumble victory, the crowd turned on Reigns. HARD. Philadelphia destroyed Reigns and the entire Rumble match after Daniel Bryan got eliminated early. Reigns won the Rumble but didn't walk out of Mania as champion and spent the year fighting to get the opportunity again. He won the title at Survivor Series only to lose it minutes later to Sheamus as he cashed in the Money in the Bank contract. Reigns lost his rematch at TLC and goaded Vince McMahon in giving him one last opportunity on the Raw following TLC, with the caveat being that if Reigns lost, he was going to be fired. Oh, did I mention this Raw was in Philadelphia, the same place where Reigns' 2015 began? Reigns was able to overcome the odds and won the title, much to the delight of the Philadelphia crowd. It was awesome to see live and even better to see things come full circle for Reigns. Obviously, it didn't last long but to see the year long journey finally culminate and hear the crowd behind Reigns was great.  

34. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton win the WWE Title - SummerSlam 2013

The summer of 2013 belonged to Daniel Bryan as his popularity was through the roof. The Yes chants were getting ridiculous at this point and WWE knew they had to capitalize on it. When MITB 2013 came around, we all thought Bryan was going to win the briefcase again and cash in at SummerSlam for a big time coming out match against John Cena. That wasn't the case at Randy Orton was able to grab the briefcase. John Cena was able to pick his opponent for SummerSlam 2013 and to worldwide acclaim, he chose Daniel Bryan. The build for the match was great with Bryan calling out Cena for not being in WWE for the wrestling but the entertainment and he even made a parody shirt of Cena. SummerSlam came around and Bryan and Cena had an amazing match, which saw Cena take a rare clean loss and Bryan was able to capture the WWE Championship for the first time, his 2nd World Title overall. It was a great moment of hard working coming to fruition. It didn't last long as Randy Orton came out and teased his MITB cash in. As he was walking away, the special referee Triple H turned heel and gave Bryan a Pedigree, allowing Orton to successfully cash in and become WWE Champion for the 7th time, becoming a 10 time World Champion overall. It successfully did two things. One, make Triple H and Orton the top heels and two, make Bryan the ultimate underdog. It also gave the title picture a fresh change outside of John Cena and a truly great story that played out from SummerSlam to Wrestlemania 30. That title change will be talked about later but here at SummerSlam 2013, it was awesome to see not only Bryan get his moment but also to see Triple H and Randy Orton on the same page again.

33. John Cena wins the United States Title – Wrestlemania 31

Usually, when John Cena wins a title, I either don't care or dislike it. This is my favorite title win for Cena. It was reported in 2015 that WWE wanted to elevate the mid card titles. To do this, they were going to have main eventers hold onto the titles, with Daniel Bryan with the IC Title and John Cena with the US Title. Rusev was the current US Champion and undefeated for just about a year. Not for much longer! Rusev got the first win at Fast Lane 2015 thanks to some dirty tactics. At Wrestlemania 31, Rusev couldn't overcome the odds and John Cena was able to win the Unite States Title for the fourth time, the first time he held the title in 10 years. For this title change, it's not so much about the actual win, it was about what followed. John Cena started to defend the title on a weekly basis against random superstars, starting off with a great match Dean Ambrose and uping the ante each week. He battled Stardust, Wade Barrett, Zack Ryder, Neville, anyone who would step up to the plate. One of the biggest surprises was when Sami Zayn from NXT took on Cena's open challenge and alomst defeated Cena. This would also lead to Kevin Owens coming up to the main roster two weeks later. Cena's win at Wrestlemania helped elevate the title for most of the year. Yes, it went down after Cena lost it to Del Rio, but his win at Mania was one of the best decisions in WWE that year.

32. Cody Rhodes wins the Intercontinental Title – Smackdown 2011

I loved Legacy. It featured Randy Orton with two other superstars who had ties to the business, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. Everyone, including myself, thought that DiBiase was going to be the breakout star of the two and be pushed to the main event. That didn't happen as Cody Rhodes was able to find himself and find a nice little spot on Smackdown, turning into Dashing Cody Rhodes, a guy who was so concerned about his face and basically a narcissist. It did wonders for his career. He would eventually enter a feud with Rey Mysterio and turn into UnDashing Cody Rhodes, who was shell of his former self after being hit in the face by Mysterio. He basically became a super villain and became a top heel on Smackdown. His heel persona was over and he got an IC Title shot on Smackdown in 2011. He made the most of the opportunity and was able to beat then champion Ezekiel Jackson for his first singles title in WWE. Rhodes held the title until Wrestlemania 28 and was able to feud with top star Randy Orton during this period. Along with Wade Barrett, the two were seen as top stars on the brand but we obviously know how that went. Rhodes' win here was great and for me, I felt like it was a sign of the future. It's sad Rhodes didn't go onto to World Title glory but it was amazing to see him get his moment here.

31. New Day wins the WWE Tag Team Titles – SummerSlam 2015

The New Day, heading into 2015, were a failed gimmick. The trio of Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston were not off to a great start as they were met with boos heading into the Royal Rumble. Fans were just not into their whole staying positive, being positive crap. It was generic and a far cry from what it looked like they were going to be when they first came together. They would eventually become heels and things have never been the same. They were able to capture the titles at Extreme Rules 2015 but it was their win at SummerSlam that made much more of an impact. After losing the titles to the Prime Time Players at MITB, they were involved in a Fatal Four Way at SummerSlam with the PTP, The Lucha Dragons and Epico and Primo in their matador gimmick. Thanks to a blind tag, Kofi was able to steal a victory for his team which led to the best celebration in WWE history. This is the only title change on the list where the champions are STILL the champions. They defend the titles on a regular basis and have beaten every team that has stepped in front of them. They are a shining example of a gimmick going sour quick but when given another chance, a HEEL CHANCE, can be really amazing. Heel turns have always done wonders for superstars, Stone Cold, The Rock, Hulk Hogan etc and The New Day proved that the trend is still relevant in 2015 as they are the most over stars in WWE right now. I will now post GIFs of The New Day dancing in various situations. Please enjoy.

What other tag team have gotten Seth Rollins, Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H to dance? None, that's who!

Thanks for reading, #30-21 will be up next week!

Top 50 Favorite Title Changes - Introduction and #50-41

Title changes are one of my favorite things about professional wrestling. A title change can turn a stale program into something new and exciting. It can also hurt the product as a whole if the wrong person holds the title or if there are too many titles switches. In this post and the four to follow, I'm going to countdown my favorite title changes in wrestling. There are a couple of disclaimers that I want to go over before I start this though.

1. This is a list of MY favorite title changes and not one about the most important title changes. For example, you won't find Rock, Hogan or Austin's first run as champion on this list, even though they were very important to the business as a whole. This is about what I like.

2. There aren't many title changes for the following:
-Golden Age of Wrestling
-Attitude Era
-WCW and ECW

This is mainly due the the fact I wasn't watching wrestling yet. I wasn't a fan of either WCW or ECW so I can't comment on them. WWE from 2000 and on, TNA, ROH and NJPW all have spots on my list.

3. There will be repeat superstars on the list. For example, you might see Cena or Orton pop up twice because of how many titles they've won. I also have grouped together factions winning titles all on the same night and multiple title changes in one night, ala, Evolution in 2003 and Triple H and Randy Orton No Mercy 2007 respectively.

4. Once again, this is based on MY favorites. Favorite is based on how much I enjoyed the title change to this day or how I envision I will enjoy it in the years to come. You WILL NOT agree with everything on this list, I can personally guarantee that but you are free to do your own list and post it on your own blog/website/social media platform.

OK, got it? Without further ado, let's get this list started with the first 10, #50-41!!

50. Tetsuya Naito wins the IWGP Heavyweight Title - Invasion Attack 2016

We start the list with the only pick from New Japan Pro Wrestling and it's the most recent title change on the list. For those of you who don't know, Tetsuya Naito is a heel leader of the group Los Ingobernables De Japon which I believe translates to the Ungovernables from Japan, I don't know. It also features ROH World Champion Jay Lethal on a part time basis. Anyway, the group is responsible for getting Naito over as a villain after failing to connect with the fans as a face. NJPW is an amazing company with great talent and it shows after WWE took four of their big stars in the beginning of the year. With top single stars like AJ and Nakamura gone, NJPW had to look to Naito to build as a top star and establish him as the top heel in NJPW. Naito won the New Japan Cup and earned a title shot against Kazuchika Okada. After a great match and some interference from Sanada from TNA, Naito was able to capture the top prize of NJPW. After the match, Naito did something so amazing; he threw his newly won prize in the air and walked out the ring.

Heel status over 9000. Seriously, who does that? It was awesome to see Naito finally win the IWGP Heavyweight Title, especially after being rejected by the NJPW crowds a couple years ago. Turning a star heel is sometimes the best option. You hear that WWE? TURN ROMAN HEEL.

How long before Naito and Omega clash?

49. Team Hell No win the WWE Tag Team Titles – Night of Champions 2012

Kane is no stranger to having weird tag team partners. This is the guy who has won the tag titles with Mankind, X-Pac and The Hurricane. His strangest pairing would come with Daniel Bryan. The two were paired together by then Raw GM AJ Lee and they would be put together in anger management classes to work out their issues. Though they were dysfunctional, they were able to become #1 contenders for the tag titles and at Night of Champions 2012, they were able to capture the titles after some miscommunication between the two. The team were very popular with the fans and it definitely launched Daniel Bryan into super stardom. They were also very entertaining to watch and held the titles for a long time. Kane and Bryan clicked and their title win was a breath of fresh air to the stagnant division.

48. AJ Lee wins the Divas Title – Payback 2013

The Divas division has definitely struggled since the days of Lita and Trish Stratus but many hoped, like myself, that change would be coming to division, especially with WWE signing some great talent to their developmental brand. My favorite Diva at the time was definitely AJ Lee but she never really wrestled and was used for the GM and manager role. She finally became the #1 contender for the title in 2013 which led to a great match with real life best friend Kaitlyn at Payback. AJ made Kaitlyn tap to capture her first Divas Title. She would win the title two more times but her reign here was her longest and is the 2nd longest in history. As a fan of AJ, I put this on the list because it was awesome to finally see her win the title. It also meant that change could be coming soon for the division, which it eventually did a couple years later.

47. Brock Lesnar wins the WWE World Heavyweight Title – SummerSlam 2014

Though it wasn't coined until Wrestlemania, this was the start of Suplex City and it was its most vicious here. John Cena was in the midst of his 15th reign as WWE Champion and The Authority wasn't happy about it and wanted to end it, so they sent in the mercenary Brock Lesnar to end the reign. This match was something to watch. John Cena would always get destroyed in his matches but he would always come back and win. It wasn't the case here. Lesnar threw Cena around the ring like he was nothing and managed to hit him with SIXTEEN SUPLEXES. That is ridiculous. John Cena was essentially squashed in the main event of SummerSlam. As a fan, it was refreshing to see Lesnar do this, get revenge from his Extreme Rules 2012 loss and hold a title he hadn't held in 10 years. 

46. Chris Jericho wins the Intercontinental Title – Extreme Rules 2009

You could argue that Chris Jericho could be the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time if reigns alone meant anything. No one comes close to Jericho's then 8 reigns as champion. Jericho was in the middle of a great feud with Rey Mysterio that led to a series of matches for the IC Title. Mysterio had beaten Jericho at Judgment Day and the rematch was set for Extreme Rules 2009. Jericho had to use some underhanded tactics and while Rey was prepping the 619, Jericho snatched off Mysterio's mask and rolled him up to win his 9th Intercontinental Championship. The next most reigns is 6 which RVD and Jeff Jarrett share the record for. Jericho owns the IC Title and not only was this a great match but it was a classic heel way to win the title. Bravo Jericho.

45. Triple H and Stone Cold win the World Tag Team Titles – Backlash 2001

Stone Cold and Triple H were bitter enemies after The Game was revealed as being the mastermind behind running over Austin in 2000. To think the two could become allies was insane, but that's exactly what happened on the Raw following Wrestlemania 17. Stone Cold had just turned heel and needed to solidify his villain status. WWE decided to pair him with Triple H, who had been WWE's top heel for well over a year now. Stone Cold had already won the WWE Title at Mania while Triple H captured the IC Title during this time as well. It all came down to a huge winner take all match at Backlash where they faced Kane and Undertaker for their tag team titles. In true Attitude Era fashion, there was plenty of interference and in the end, The Two Man Power Trip were able to walk out with all the gold. It didn't last long because of Triple H''s legit quad injury but it was nice while it lasted.

44. John Cena wins the WWE Title – Wrestlemania 29

John Cena had a horrible year heading into Wrestlemania 29, which all started the year before at Wrestlemania 28. He lost his mega match against The Rock, he was beaten by the GM, and failed to capture the WWE Championship despite numerous attempts. It was the worse year in the history of John Cena. It all changed when he won the 2013 Royal Rumble though and WWE started to build on the rematch between Cena and The Rock. Cena said he needed redemption from WM28 and made it his mission to get it and the title. At Wrestlemania 29, Cena was able to get his redemption when he defeated The Rock and win the WWE Championship. He broke his previous record of 10 and became an 11 time WWE champion, 13 time overall with his two World Heavyweight title reigns. I'm not a fan of Cena but I desperately wanted anyone to take the title off of The Rock. After his year, Cena deserved the title and it was a great passing of the torch moment that should have happened the previous year.

43. Randy Orton wins the WWE Title – Backlash 2009

Before I talk about this one, let's be clear; Randy Orton should have won the title at Wrestlemania 25. He didn't though because, yeah, so Orton got another shot at Backlash 2009. This time though, it was going to be a 6 man tag, with the rule being if Orton's team won, he would become WWE Champion. There was also a rule in place if Triple H's team was DQed, Orton would be awarded the title. After some miscommunication between Triple H and his teammate Batista, Orton struck with a RKO and a Punt to win his 3rd WWE Title. It's ironic that at Backlash 2008, Triple H was the one who ended Orton's reign as WWE Champion so everything came full circle. I was a huge Orton fan during this time and I marked hard for one. This wouldn't be the last time he won the title either.

42. Triple H wins the WWE Title – Royal Rumble 2016

As the Royal Rumble drew near and many of the top stars injured, it was looking more and more likely that Roman Reigns was going to finally face Triple H for the title. The only thing was that Triple H wasn't on TV for a month after Reigns destroyed him at TLC 2015. The Royal Rumble was dubbed One Versus All as Roman Reigns wasn't only #1 but he had to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Title in inside the match, the first time a star had to defend the title inside the match type. At the event, Triple H made his unannounced and expected return when he entered the match at #30. He would then get revenge on Reigns by eliminating him, costing him his title. Triple H would go onto win the match and win his 9th WWE Championship, holding the record for the 2nd most of all time. Combined with his 5 runs with the World Heavyweight Title, Triple H became a 14 time World Champion. It was a predictable ending but to see one of my favorite wrestlers win the title one more time was a dream come true, even if only lasted 70 days.

41. Edge and Christian – Wrestlemania X7

Edge and Christian are the greatest WWE tag team of all time. You cannot tell me otherwise. Pioneers of the tag team ladder match, at the greatest Wrestlemania of all time, E&C were apart of a historic TLC with The Dudleys and The Hardys. E&C had already won the Triangle Ladder match at Wrestlemania 2000 and the first ever TLC match at SummerSlam 2000, already proving their dominance over the two teams. In their 3rd match, it was more of the same as Edge and Christian were able to overcome the odds AGAIN and win their 7th tag team championship together. 7 different times these two were able to hold the gold together. That's unprecedented. Their victory here would only further their claim as the top tag team in the WWE and it's hard to argue that they weren't. E&C are my favorite tag team of all time and them winning the titles here earned their spot on the list.

And that's the first ten! #40-31 will be coming the next week or so!

Dark Souls III - Journal #4

The last journal entry has become the highest viewed entry in the journal series and in the blog history! I attribute the success to the two pictures I used on the post, especially the one with the Lion Spider from Youtube. That seemed to bring in a lot of traffic. I played Dark Souls briefly this past Tuesday, here's my struggle.

I started at the 2nd bonfire in Farron's Keep which I believe is called the Keep Ruins. I already hate this place with a passion. Poison water everywhere, disgusting, deformed creatures and a large area to cover. There's so much to explore but I can't really go anywhere because of the poison! Last time, I had already extinguished two of the three fires so now I start looking for the third. I realize that I'm going to have to accept the poison or I won't be able to progress nor get any goodies that are locked away. I eventually extinguish the last flame and head through the door that opened. This led to another area, filled with previous enemies I defeated and a route to a bonfire. After resting there, I saw some what I assumed were knights massacring the deformed creatures. I watched in the shadows as these three absolutely destroyed them and when they stopped moving, I swept in and picked them off. I was very proud of myself. When I moved on, I saw a giant door just waiting to be opened. Upon opening it, I saw a big open space and no enemies in sight. This is usually a sign of a boss battle. I head in and am greeted to a knight killing another knight. This starts the Abyss Watchers boss battle.

He means business...

The boss battle isn't too hard. He had a pretty basic set of attacks that I could read and I have since lowered my equip load so my rolls would be more effective. The thing is, it's called the Abyss Watchers, plural, with a S. As I'm attacking the boss, I dodge one of his attacks to see ANOTHER Abyss Watcher running toward me. I run away and find ANOTHER. This is clearly another gimmick based boss battle. They get me the first time. The 2nd try goes way too easy and I'm able to defeat the main Abyss Watcher or so I thought. He flames up and drops the others so it becomes a one on one fight. His moves are basically the same but the fire lingers with every attack, making it difficult to time a counter attack. I get a few hits in before failing again. The 3rd time, I decide to use an Ember and summon an NPC, that way, I would have more of a fighting chance fighting his 2nd form. It worked perfectly as he was distracted and I was able to do massive damage while his back was turned to me. With the help of the NPC, I was able to defeat the Abyss Watchers! There's a little altar after you beat the boss that moves forward and reveals steps. They lead to the next are; The Catacombs of Carthus.

This catacombs are full of skeletons that can have two different life bars. Basically, you can defeat one and its bones will scatter, only for it to reanimate and become alive again. The area isn't too hard and is pretty easy to explore once you get the hang of the area. I come to the point where I'm at a huge bridge that looks pretty unstable and there's even a message from the game saying so. As I get to the other side and see the numerous skeletons trying to kill me, I decide to see if the thing can fall. I attack the ropes and the bridge comes crashing down and I can now climb further down to the Smoldering Lake, which I'm assuming is an optional area of this game.I climb back up and continue to another big area with no enemies in it. Another boss fight is coming isn't it? I try the main door to leave but of course, there's no command to open it. There's a goblet in the middle of the room and once you touch it, darkness completely engulfs the area. When you get control again, it's complete darkness and upon moving forward a bit, you're met with the next boss; High Lord Wolnir. He's a giant skeleton and he just kind of appears, which scared the crap out of me. Have I already expressed my interest in a FromSoftware survival horror game?

Creepy....

A player message near the goblet said something about the wrists, so I immediately aim for his gold bracelets. Upon attacking them, nothing happened but repeated attacks shattered the bracelets and took a huge chunk of his health off. He has three and I was able to destroy two before he charged forward and killed me instantly. I think it was because I wasn't positioned correctly as I had full life. He wasn't too hard so I know the 2nd try will be it. I stopped here as I started to feel under the weather.

I'm just about at the 20 hour mark. The Abyss Watchers look to have been the first of the Lords of Cinder so I should be facing the others soon. I'm on a good track and will mostly likely be able to complete the game by June. You know, June. The month where Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Mighty No. 9, The Technomancer, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Star Ocean V and ZERO TIME DILEMMA all release. I'm sorry, is it November already?

Stay tuned for more....

Dark Souls III - Journal #3

Being an adult means that I have to unfortunately do adult things, like care, work, and give times to other things besides gaming so I apologize for not posting in awhile. I had some time today so I thought I'd give you this brief entry.

I haven't played Dark Souls III in about a week but I'm at the bonfire in the Cathedral of the Deep. There are two doors here that are locked but I remember getting one of the doors opened before I stopped playing last time. I go through the door, take the lift and remember why I stopped playing for awhile. There's a massive enemy just waiting for you to walk past the area. Whenever you walk past him, he gets aggressive and will swipe at you or slam his fist down. I died the first couple of times as I tried to run from him with too much armor equipped. I decided I would try to fight him and equipped armor that would make my dodge rolls actually evade his attacks. I waited and every time he would slam his fist down, I would dodge at the last possible second and slash his hand. It took about 5 minutes but this method worked and he was finally killed! I thought that was the worst of this area but nope, it gets worse!

As I continue down and past a vicious Mimic chest, I see a knight walking towards me with a giant shield. I decide to fight him head on. Big mistake. This knight has a mace and his shield can knock you back and make you vulnerable to his attacks. I'm not getting anywhere with this so I run back and decide to cheat him with my pyromancy, which was taking chunks off of his health. He died and I continued on. Going deeper into the dungeon like area, I saw an item in a large room. There was nothing in the room but with my knowledge of the series, I knew there was something more to it. I got the item and bolted out the room. I decided to go back to see if there was anything in there now and there's the most disgusting creature I've seen in the game yet; The Lion Spider.

LOOK AT ITS HIDEOUS FACE!!!!! Thankfully, I was in the same position as the character above and used pyromancy to murder the monstrosity. After this, I got to the water area where the giant was attacking from and I found ANOTHER GIANT just chilling in some murky water. I decided to go a different way for now and found a path back to the bonfire. There were now two different routes I could go. I could either roll past the giant and see what was up there or I could take the lift next to the shortcut to the bonfire. I took the latter path first and this led to the rafters of the cathedral. Up here were THREE KNIGHTS, all trying to murder my face. The first couple of times I fell off, one time in particular, I was violently shot off by one of the knights. I was able to make all the knights fall to their deaths and I saw messages saying to roll down off the rafters. Because I blindly trust the messages other strangers leave, I do it and find new maggot like creatures to kill. Yay! This eventually leads to a new covenant path but other than that, it's a dead end.

I have to go past the giant. I go back and roll past him unscathed. Success! Thanks to how the game works, when he was kneeling, his knee was RIGHT at the bottom of the staircase. I took this time to cheat the giant and kill him. He would only take full damage when he was actually standing so I would get two to three hits in and run back up. Repeat until death! Past him is an altar, with two priest like characters and another stupid knight! I draw the knight out and kill him first and then the priests. Behind the altar is a door but it's opening is closed by fog. The message before it, for me, said, No Skill. I knew there was a boss but if it was one that was easy or didn't require me to be my best, I would fight it. Deciding to trust a stranger again, I decided to go in and here was the next boss, The Deacons of the Deep. There were alot of the priest like enemies from before, which I guess are deacons, and there would be only one that was glowing red. Killing that particular enemy would make the life bar diminish. Once it gets to halfway, the head deacon pops out of the ground and starts chanting with these dark spells. If you aren't quick enough or don't take out the others doing the same, you'll be enveloped in darkness and Cursed, which is an instant death, which happened to me the first time. The boss isn't hard and I was able to defeat it on the 3rd try. You get a small doll, which is necessary for another part of the adventure apparently and the Cathedral of the deep is now completed! There is no way forward from the boss fight, so it means that I must back track and venture into my nightmare, Farron's Keep. I only explored it a bit but I was able to extinguish two of the three flames and find the Wolf Covenant before I had to leave for work.

So far so good but I still haven't found the first major story boss yet. My journey will continue soon....