It's happening again! It's time for WWE's biggest show of the year and like last year, NXT is being paired with Wrestlemania for one giant weekend. As always, we'll start with the first show first; NXT Takeover Orlando!
Currently, only four matches are on the card but I'm sure following the events from the last couple weeks, an 8 man tag featuring Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, Roderick Strong and the new to NXT Ruby Riot facing Sanity. For that one, I'm picking the face team as Sanity has been getting the upper hand each time and it's time for the good guys to win finally. We also have three title matches and one highly anticipated debut. Let's discuss!
Alesiter Black FKA Tommy End will make his debut against Andrade Cien Almas. This was actually a match they featured at the last NXT live event I went to. Going off of that, it was a fun little match. This should be good. Almas has really been hitting his peak, putting on some hard hitting matches lately. His match with Strong at Takeover San Antonio was great and I'm expecting another one here. Black will have to win since it's his debut. I hope Almas gets something else going instead of just losing.
The NXT Tag Team Titles will be defended in a Triple Threat Elimination match when the champion The Authors of Pain face #DIY and The Revival. This will most likely be the best match of the night. Way too much great talent in one match not to be. The tag division is all about these guys especially since TM61 have been out due to injury. The Revival have been the best tag team in the history of the brand and being that good begs the question, when will they get the call to the main roster? Probably after this match. The Authors of Pain haven't lost yet since their debut and have really fought hard and defeated just about every team in their wake. There's definitely money in a solo AOP/Revival feud. Maybe they won't get called up just yet. Gargano and Ciampa are too good to stay a team for much longer. NXT needs the singles star, especially if Nakamura is heading to the main roster soon. I think The Revival gets eliminated by DIY while AOP eliminates DIY to retain their titles. NXT is hyping up the debut of Heavy Machinery, even though they've been on TV already. They're big athletic guys and would definitely be a good match up against AOP down the line. I'm down with a big hoss match up. Authors of Pain retain.
Here's the match I'm looking forward to most on Saturday night; the battle for the NXT Women's Championship. Asuka defends her title against her hardest challenge; Ember Moon. This is the dream match of the division. This has been in the works since Ember made her debut back in August. They had to struggle with Asuka not having any challengers, they had to call up Mickie James to put over Asuka, they had to put three women against her but they finally got to the moment where Asuka will face Ember Moon. Asuka is undefeated in WWE, amassing 159 STRAIGHT victories, closing in on Goldberg's 172. Asuka will have held the NXT Women's Title for a FULL YEAR come Takeover. Ember has defeated all comers and has finally gotten his first opportunity at the title. Asuka has shown heel tendencies and a full blown turn is coming. I think there's a real good story to tell here, one that could stretch all the way to Brooklyn for Takeover there, just like Bayley/Asuka. Asuka could win here by some shady methods, lose the title at a Takeover in June and then lose the final match in Brooklyn before her main roster call-up. I don't think WWE themselves would have brought up Goldberg's undefeated streak if they weren't going to break it. Or maybe, that's the hook. Regardless, I don't see Asuka losing just yet. Stretch the feud out, tell a story and make Ember's moment special, like the passing of the torch. Asuka retains.
The main event, like last year, is a rematch for the NXT Championship. Bobby Roode will defend against Shinsuke Nakamura. The rumor mill is buzzing; will Nakamura debut the Raw after Mania? What else is left for Nakamura in NXT? He's won the belt twice. He's faced many of the top names of the brand on his way to the top. The next step is to be on Raw or Smackdown. Let Roode win here in a great match and give Nakamura his send off. NXT will be filled up again shortly, hopefully by a Adam Cole.....wishful thinking I know. Roode will retain his title here, pushing Nakamura to the main roster.
Wrestlemania 33 takes place from Orlando Florida this year and features 13 MATCHES. Yes, 13! That's too many. I'm guessing there will be 3-4 matches on the pre show. As of this typing, only three have been announced for it but I'm going to guess for the sake of the post. Let's get this thrill ride started!
The Andre the Giant Battle Royale is on the pre show after being on the main card last year. From the moment this was announced, I've had my winner picked. It's Braun Strowman. His mega push begins here. He'll be Universal Champion by the end of the year. It's a pointless battle royale but Strowman needs the push. Look at Corbin. It did him well.
In a strange move, Austin Aries will get his Cruiserweight Title shot against Neville on the pre show. Yes, probably the best match of the night ON THE PRE SHOW. It's fine, Aries and Neville will make sure they regret it. This will be one of the most competitive matches of the night. You want a wrestling match? THIS will be it. These two will attempt to steal the show. I just hope these two get the time they deserve. Neville is doing such wonders with the title and the division and while an Aries title reign would be nice, I think it needs to wait until The King of the Cruiserweights has helped the division grow even more. I'm going with Neville to retain the title.
I'm thinking the Raw Tag Titles will get bumped to the pre show. Gallows and Anderson defend against Enzo/Big Cass and Sheamus/Cesaro which is now a ladder match. The dirt sheets have claimed the plan was always to give Enzo and Cass the titles at the big show. Enzo and Cass certainly deserve it. They've worked the hardest, have gotten incredibly over with the crowd and improved in the ring. They never held tag title gold in NXT and a big win in the same area where it all started would be poetic. With the inclusion of the ladder aspect now, I expect Cesaro to do something crazy. It won't matter though. I'm going with Enzo and Big Cass to win the Raw Tag Titles.
The last match on the pre show will be the Smackdown Women's Title match. Alexa Bliss will defend the title against every available Smackdown women's wrestler. Becky Lynch, Carmella, Natayla and Mickie James are just a few of women Alexa will face. I fully expect Naomi to return as well. (confirmed on last Smackdown) I'm sure there will be some surprises here and there, maybe a former Women's or Divas Champion here and there. Kelly Kelly has said she was going to be there for Mania weekend to see Beth Phoenix inducted into the Hall of Fame. Maybe even Phoenix will jump in to the fray. Bliss is only champion because Naomi couldn't compete so maybe Bliss won't survive here? If I was going to pick anyone, it would be Mickie James as I'm a huge fan of her's. Have been since she debuted. They announced it would be a Six Pack Challenge so I don't know if the whole women making their return thing will happen now. The smart choice would be Naomi since she in her hometown and was going to walk in as champion anyway. There are going to be a lot of title changes on the main show though. Hmmm....I'm just going to say Alexa Bliss will retain her championship. Maybe feud with Mickie one on one afterwards.
The first match on the main card will either be the Raw Tag Title match if it's not bumped or the Intercontinental Title match between champion Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin. This is Corbin's big singles match debut at Mania. He had the big win in the Andre the Giant BR last year so he's looking to capitalize on his first one on one title opportunity. I don't see Ambrose as IC Champion for much longer and honestly, when was the last time he even defended his title? He's not doing the title no favors by holding it. Baron Corbin needs the title to continue his great run in WWE. He's been a great heel for Smackdown and one of the talents that has really stepped it up following the draft. This one is pretty easy to call. I'm going with Baron Corbin to win his first championship at Wrestlemania 33. Sorry Dean.
John Cena and The Miz will be apart of another Wrestlemania together, this time, teaming with their respective ladies. Cena and Nikki Bella will face Miz and Maryse in a Total Divas tag match. I've been very critical on the fact that they're using big match John for this, instead of putting over a young talent but to be honest, I think The Miz needs the rub here and he deserves it. He's really been impressing everyone since the draft and has become of the biggest reason to watch the blue brand. Also, the build has been great. Like, better than the Universal Title match. Miz and Cena have been firing on all cylinders lately and the Total Bellas ripoff Miz and Maryse filmed were hilarious. Best segment in Smackdown history. Well, at least since the draft. And sure, the match quality won't be up to par with Cena's great Mania clashes, sure, Miz and his wife won't win here and sure, Cena could have faced literally anyone else for a bigger match but at least Smackdown creative made the best with what they were dealt. I'm going with Cena and Nikki to win in a short affair and for Cena to propose to Nikki afterward. Maybe. Possibly. It seems too obviously honestly.
AJ Styles will compete at his 2nd Wrestlemania when he faces Shane McMahon in a.....well....a regular match. No stips have been added yet. That's depressing. I've voiced my opinion over this match but again, Smackdown has done a great job at building this match up. Styles won a trip to Wrestlemania, only to lose it due to unfair circumstances. He flipped at the closest authority figure the same night and attacked him the next week. It was brutal but you had to relate to Styles. Anyway, Styles VS Shane in a specialty match sounds special. A regular match, not so much. I don't care about the match but I care about Styles so I'm going with him for the win. He needs a Mania win.
Bayley makes her Wrestlemania debut as the Raw Women's Champion and she faces fellow Wrestlemania first timer Nia Jax, arch rival Charlotte and best friend Sasha Banks in an Elimination match for the title. It's not Sasha/Bayley but it can come down to them. This Wrestlemania will no doubt be very special for all four ladies as they will be performing in Orlando, miles away from where they got their start in NXT. It's pretty poetic. The elimination style adds a new dimension to the match. Obviously the women are going to jump Nia and get her out first and Charlotte will be next. Sasha and Bayley will remain. This will be very interesting. Will they pull the trigger on heel Sasha here or the next night? Mania is all about giving babyfaces their moment. I think a Sasha turn would be so much better on Raw. Bayley deserves to win in her first appearance. Bayley retains, Sasha turns on the Raw after. Should be a good match, as like last year, this is my most anticipated match of the night.
Chris Jericho will defend the United States Championship against former best friend Kevin Owens. This will be Owens' first singles match at Mania. This will be a barn burner, one that could steal the whole show. It will be a vicious fight with the classic wrestling styles both men are known for. Hopefully, this will the first match in a long feud between the two. I hear Jericho will be leaving soon to tour with Fonzy so Jericho's current run will end soon. With his run ending, so would his title reign. Jericho has suffered from the same not defending the title syndrome. Kevin Owens would do wonders with another singles title and could have great matches with Sheamus, Cesaro, Big E and Kofi. Kevin Owens will defeat Chris Jericho cleanly for the United States Championship.
Oh this will be a good one! Good one because of what WWE is going to do. Roman Reigns will face The Undertaker is Taker's 25th Wrestlemania match. This will NOT end well. This might be Taker's last match. Reports have come in that he's pretty beat up and his hips aren't holding up. They also say he needs surgery which would cause his in ring career to be over. That being said, WWE or sorry, Vince McMahon has put this match together as a passing of the torch match as Vince continues to push Reigns down everyone's throats. It's extremely funny to me that WWE has not learned from their past Wrestlemanias. Reigns got booed at 31 against Lesnar, Reigns got booed HARD at 32 against Triple H and now, he'll get booed at 33 against the Undertaker. Lesnar and Triple H were the heels btw. Reigns is the heel here. Heel to the fans only, not to WWE. Anyway, if it's a passing of the torch match then you know what that means right?
Roman Reigns will defeat The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 33. There. I said it. I'm sorry. My big thing is, WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN AFTERWARD? If Reigns was to turn heel during the match, it wouldn't be a problem but since they're going to be stubborn about it and not turn Reigns, it's going to end badly. I think overall, this is the moment I'm looking forward to most. Reigns going over Taker at Mania will be crazy. The fans are going to riot.
Bray Wyatt will enter another Wrestlemania against a major opponent in Randy Orton and it will be for Wyatt's WWE Championship. Wyatt has a great history of Mania matches and moments, wrestling Cena and Taker at 30 and 31 and interacting with The Rock at 32. He's been unsuccessful in all three attempts. It's not looking good for Wyatt in his match with Orton. Orton missed Mania last year but his last singles match, he defeated Seth Rollins at 31. Orton is hunting for World Title reign #13 against Wyatt. This should be a good match worthy of the WWE Title. The outcome? I'm really backing Wyatt. He seriously needs the win. I'm hoping Harper and Rowan reunite with him to help Wyatt win. Maybe we'll even get the first appearance from Sister Abigail. I'm still picking Bray Wyatt to retain. I know it sounds dumb.
Yes, it will happen. The match that has the most build is the non sanctioned fight between Seth Rollins and Triple H. This has been brewing since August, hell, since Triple H and Rollins had tension during the Authority storyline. This will be an all out war. Being a No DQ match, I expect Samoa Joe to get involved in this somehow to even the odds. Will there be someone to help Rollins though? How about Finn Balor? It would be a great tease at what's to come for the four men. Triple H is pretty good at pushing the youth at Mania. Cena, Sheamus, Batista, and Reigns have benefited from a Mania match with The Game. Rollins will too. This will increase his stock a lot to become the Kingslayer. Seth Rollins will get his revenge and defeat Triple H in another match of the night contender.
The main event is most likely going to be the Universal Championship match pitting defending champion Goldberg against Brock Lesnar. Goldberg is 2 up against Lesnar and they're coming off of their 86 second match at Survivor Series. I really don't give a damn about this match. Lesnar wins to become the first man to have held both World Titles in WWE right now. Hopefully he drops it the next night because I can't handle another part time champion.
That's the weekend ladies and gentlemen! What will be the best match, the biggest moment, the ultimate flop? Will the underwhelming card shock us or will it crash and burn. We'll find out this weekend! It's the ultimate thrill ride!
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Pros/Cons of Bray Wyatt/Randy Orton
It's time for the next Pros and Cons list! This time, we focus on the WWE Championship battle where Bray Wyatt will defend his title against the Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton. That is not a typo. Let's get into it!
Pros
1. Storyline
Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton started a feud in August of last year. If you remember, they had a brief staredown during Orton's feud with Lesnar. The two actually main evented No Mercy, not being a title match and Wyatt got the win thanks to a returning Luke Harper. Orton would shockingly side with Wyatt and Harper, forming The New Wyatt Family. Wyatt and Orton would lead Team Smackdown to victory at Survivor Series, being the only survivors on their team. This would lead Orton and Wyatt challenging for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at the next PPV, TLC. Thanks to a great distraction from Wyatt, they were able to capture the tag titles, which would be Wyatt's first championship win in WWE. They would lose the titles a few weeks later as tensions rose between the three. Wyatt and Orton would be apart of the final three for Wrestlemania and Orton was able to secure the victory, guaranteeing his spot at Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt was able to win inside the Elimination Chamber, winning his first WWE Title in the process. Orton originally rejected the idea of facing Wyatt for the title at Mania, which led to the whole Styles/Harper controversy. Orton would eventually turn on Wyatt, going to the Wyatt Family compound and burning the place where Sister Abigail's soul rests. Orton would have to face Styles, who won the #1 contendership in the meanwhile and Orton won, once again solidifying his spot.
As you can see, this is one of the longest running stories in the WWE. That alone makes it Wrestlemania worthy as it will be the payoff for the long feud. In a time where plenty of storylines are just swept under the rug, it's good to see one lasting this long.
2. Unexpected
Bray Wyatt VS Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. By a show of hands, WHO called this one? No one. Bray Wyatt as WWE Champion heading into Wrestlemania? That's the stuff of video games. It's one of the rare times that WWE has surprised the fans and in this day and age, it's welcomed.
3. Wyatt's Time
If you didn't know, I'm a Bray Wyatt fan, I have been since he made his main roster debut in 2013. I always wanted him to become WWE Champion but since he felt to the dreaded John Cena curse, I didn't think it would be possible in this lifetime. There were many other guys who I followed that I wanted to be champion as well. Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, the list goes on. I'm just glad that Wyatt got a chance. He's been consistently a great character and has feuded with some of the top names of the in the business. Cena, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker etc. A guy who has faced all those greats and holding his own was due to have a WWE Title reign. This is Wyatt's 3rd singles match at a Wrestlemania and he's doing it as champion. That's awesome.
Cons
1. Conflicting Emotions
Bray Wyatt as WWE Champion is amazing but, the thought of him being a transitional champion crossed my mind instantly. Did he just become champion to give the title to Orton? That would be horrible. On the flipside, Orton not winning at Wrestlemania would make the Royal Rumble ineffective for another year. The RR winner hasn't won the title at Wrestlemania since WM 29. It's going to make the match seem pointless if the winner doesn't cash in the chance at Mania. Also, Orton was unsuccessful in his last attempt after he won the Rumble in 2009. My reasoning is conflicted. Wyatt needs the win to back up his great 2017 so far. I mean, the guy had to pin Cena and Styles in the Chamber to win the title and then beat them again on the Smackdown after the show. How does a guy do that and then lose at Wrestlemania? Orton needs the win to help the legacy of the Royal Rumble and to make up for his past Rumble to Mania loss. Of all the two time winners, no one has failed both times. Austin, Cena, Batista, Triple H and HBK all won the Rumble on multiple occasions and at least once won the title at the Show of Shows. Orton, with a loss, starts a new category. I just have conflicting emotions on this one.
2. AJ Styles Snub
Much like the Goldberg/Lesnar match, a big problem I have with the WWE Title match is the obvious and painful snub of AJ Styles. You know, the guy who made Smackdown during this past draft? Styles was champion since September and lost it to Cena at the Royal Rumble. Expected as Lord knows you can't always beat Super Cena but the whole storyline where Orton gave up his title shot, Styles won it and then got it taken from him was ridiculous. Why couldn't they have just done a Triple Threat match? And don't give me the whole Orton/Wyatt storyline nonsense either. Cena/Edge/Big Show was the same thing. Edge and Big Show were the ones feuding and Cena was on the outside looking in. They could have done the same thing here. The match quality would have been much higher with Styles apart of it as well. To have a ultra talented guy like Styles not involved in the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania isn't the problem. The problem is they teased it so much and then we got Styles/Shane. That's crazy. Yes, this is a rant from a mark but still, Styles not being in the title match is disappointing.
3. Rematch
Simply put, this is a match we've seen before. Yes, it's for a title and different things have happened to lead up to this point but regardless, I've seen it before. It definitely not a match I thought we would see at Wrestlemania either.
Next up, the turf war between The Big Dog and The Dead Dog.
Pros
1. Storyline
Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton started a feud in August of last year. If you remember, they had a brief staredown during Orton's feud with Lesnar. The two actually main evented No Mercy, not being a title match and Wyatt got the win thanks to a returning Luke Harper. Orton would shockingly side with Wyatt and Harper, forming The New Wyatt Family. Wyatt and Orton would lead Team Smackdown to victory at Survivor Series, being the only survivors on their team. This would lead Orton and Wyatt challenging for the Smackdown Tag Team Titles at the next PPV, TLC. Thanks to a great distraction from Wyatt, they were able to capture the tag titles, which would be Wyatt's first championship win in WWE. They would lose the titles a few weeks later as tensions rose between the three. Wyatt and Orton would be apart of the final three for Wrestlemania and Orton was able to secure the victory, guaranteeing his spot at Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt was able to win inside the Elimination Chamber, winning his first WWE Title in the process. Orton originally rejected the idea of facing Wyatt for the title at Mania, which led to the whole Styles/Harper controversy. Orton would eventually turn on Wyatt, going to the Wyatt Family compound and burning the place where Sister Abigail's soul rests. Orton would have to face Styles, who won the #1 contendership in the meanwhile and Orton won, once again solidifying his spot.
As you can see, this is one of the longest running stories in the WWE. That alone makes it Wrestlemania worthy as it will be the payoff for the long feud. In a time where plenty of storylines are just swept under the rug, it's good to see one lasting this long.
2. Unexpected
Bray Wyatt VS Randy Orton at Wrestlemania 33. By a show of hands, WHO called this one? No one. Bray Wyatt as WWE Champion heading into Wrestlemania? That's the stuff of video games. It's one of the rare times that WWE has surprised the fans and in this day and age, it's welcomed.
3. Wyatt's Time
If you didn't know, I'm a Bray Wyatt fan, I have been since he made his main roster debut in 2013. I always wanted him to become WWE Champion but since he felt to the dreaded John Cena curse, I didn't think it would be possible in this lifetime. There were many other guys who I followed that I wanted to be champion as well. Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, the list goes on. I'm just glad that Wyatt got a chance. He's been consistently a great character and has feuded with some of the top names of the in the business. Cena, Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker etc. A guy who has faced all those greats and holding his own was due to have a WWE Title reign. This is Wyatt's 3rd singles match at a Wrestlemania and he's doing it as champion. That's awesome.
Cons
1. Conflicting Emotions
Bray Wyatt as WWE Champion is amazing but, the thought of him being a transitional champion crossed my mind instantly. Did he just become champion to give the title to Orton? That would be horrible. On the flipside, Orton not winning at Wrestlemania would make the Royal Rumble ineffective for another year. The RR winner hasn't won the title at Wrestlemania since WM 29. It's going to make the match seem pointless if the winner doesn't cash in the chance at Mania. Also, Orton was unsuccessful in his last attempt after he won the Rumble in 2009. My reasoning is conflicted. Wyatt needs the win to back up his great 2017 so far. I mean, the guy had to pin Cena and Styles in the Chamber to win the title and then beat them again on the Smackdown after the show. How does a guy do that and then lose at Wrestlemania? Orton needs the win to help the legacy of the Royal Rumble and to make up for his past Rumble to Mania loss. Of all the two time winners, no one has failed both times. Austin, Cena, Batista, Triple H and HBK all won the Rumble on multiple occasions and at least once won the title at the Show of Shows. Orton, with a loss, starts a new category. I just have conflicting emotions on this one.
2. AJ Styles Snub
Much like the Goldberg/Lesnar match, a big problem I have with the WWE Title match is the obvious and painful snub of AJ Styles. You know, the guy who made Smackdown during this past draft? Styles was champion since September and lost it to Cena at the Royal Rumble. Expected as Lord knows you can't always beat Super Cena but the whole storyline where Orton gave up his title shot, Styles won it and then got it taken from him was ridiculous. Why couldn't they have just done a Triple Threat match? And don't give me the whole Orton/Wyatt storyline nonsense either. Cena/Edge/Big Show was the same thing. Edge and Big Show were the ones feuding and Cena was on the outside looking in. They could have done the same thing here. The match quality would have been much higher with Styles apart of it as well. To have a ultra talented guy like Styles not involved in the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania isn't the problem. The problem is they teased it so much and then we got Styles/Shane. That's crazy. Yes, this is a rant from a mark but still, Styles not being in the title match is disappointing.
3. Rematch
Simply put, this is a match we've seen before. Yes, it's for a title and different things have happened to lead up to this point but regardless, I've seen it before. It definitely not a match I thought we would see at Wrestlemania either.
Next up, the turf war between The Big Dog and The Dead Dog.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
End of the Hyatt Era
Today, March 16th, 2017 was my last day at the Hyatt Place King Of Prussia, where I ended up spending 4 1/2 years of my life. I started on September 17th 2012, so it was literally exactly 54 months there. I left on my own, I wasn't fired, although they let me leave earlier than I wanted. I was scheduled to work until tomorrow but Wurzak being the cheap company they are didn't want to pay me for a 6 hour shift. I CANNOT make that up but I don't want to turn this into some type of hateful post. This is a glorious post. This is a VICTORY post. Since they let me leave earlier than expected, I will be taking about 12 days off and on March 28th, I will begin my new journey at the Sonesta in Philadelphia. I'm beyond excited. In the meantime, I plan to finish Horizon: Zero Dawn and Nier as I get ready for Persona 5, which releases a week after I start the new job. I plan to binge watch Lucha Underground as it just got released on Netflix. I plan to continue to complain about Wrestlemania 33 with my pros and cons posts. Most importantly, I'm just going to take the week to refresh myself and get prepared for my next venture. I'm stepping it up here with Sonesta, going full service so I'm really hoping to up my game and take the time off to prepare myself for what's next.
Hyatt Place was my home away from home. I've lost count over how many times I had to spend the night there, how many doubles I had to pull and how much time I lost that I could have spent with my church or my wife or my Playstation 4. I missed out on all the fun of getting our new church building two years ago, I've missed several outings with my wife, the list goes on. I didn't care as long as I felt like I was needed and of course, the money was pretty good. There was string of time in 2014 where I worked 6 day weeks for over four months. Monday nights, Tuesday-Friday morning and then Saturday night. Seriously, EVERY week. I barely knew if I was coming or going. I didn't care; I was respected, being paid and apart of something. I got my staycations in, basically time I spent with my wife and loved ones but it was only a week or so. Everything was fine at Hyatt until May 2016 when Wurzak took over.
During the few months of being unsure, I heard horror stories of Wurzak, saying all the employees were miserable and that they only cared about making money. I decided to hang around for the transition, even though I had looked elsewhere. I should have listened to the stories. Wurzak knows how to make money, I will give them credit where it is due but they don't know crap about employee care or work-life balance. I was constantly lied to, looked down upon and disrespected, up until today. I was told by the first Wurzak GM that I was going to be moved to a supervisor position. That was in May when they first took over. That GM left in December. I was never promoted and I came to find out, that since I couldn't work Sundays, I was never going to be promoted. The new GM came in, saw my passion for the place and promoted me. Well, in title only. I was never given a raise, but I was expected to do all the duties of a manager. This was the boiling point. I would ask weekly about it and I would get the same response; I'm working on it. I started to slack off more and more because I didn't think that was at all fair. God gave me a break when a former manager told me of a position available at another hotel so I took it, to see where it led and to my shock, they liked me. I had interview after interview and it starting looking good. I told my GM at the Hyatt and he didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care that his most tenured employee was leaving. He didn't even fight for me. I said, if they offered me more money, I would stay. I got nothing. After getting the job this past week, I told them my last day would be Friday. Today is Thursday. I was only scheduled until 12PM but my GM told me to stay late. He then bought all the department leaders lunch and thanked me for my work, which I thought was weird because my last day was Friday. I ended up leaving at 3PM but something was weird. My GM, who never wears his suit jacket unless his boss is coming, put it on. That struck me as weird. I said whatever and left. I got a call from my AGM, saying to stay home tomorrow and that she didn't want me to go through being walked off property. Finally, my GM confirmed what she said a couple minutes later with a call. He didn't say much, like always and didn't even say not to come in but I felt I wasn't wanted anymore.
Leaving the hotel is bittersweet. 4 1/2 years in one place. Tomorrow I wake up not having to go to the hotel after going 4-5 days a week EVERY week for a long time. I've had a lot of good times in the building, I've made a lot of amazing friends there and of course, made a lot of money. I will never forget this job. I don't leave with a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm free from the tyranny. Free from all the BS. I don't have to bring the stress home and have it affect my home life. I'm living on cloud nine right now. I have 12 days off to do nothing. I have a great job waiting for me. This is heaven!
Hyatt has been fun but it was only a stepping stone for my life and career. I'm glad to have moved on.
Rant over. I love all the Hyatt family I've made over the years. I love the building. I do NOT love, like or care about Wurzak. Please do not work for them. They suck. They don't care about their employees. This is not slander. This is TRUTH I've experienced.
Thanks for reading.
Hyatt Place was my home away from home. I've lost count over how many times I had to spend the night there, how many doubles I had to pull and how much time I lost that I could have spent with my church or my wife or my Playstation 4. I missed out on all the fun of getting our new church building two years ago, I've missed several outings with my wife, the list goes on. I didn't care as long as I felt like I was needed and of course, the money was pretty good. There was string of time in 2014 where I worked 6 day weeks for over four months. Monday nights, Tuesday-Friday morning and then Saturday night. Seriously, EVERY week. I barely knew if I was coming or going. I didn't care; I was respected, being paid and apart of something. I got my staycations in, basically time I spent with my wife and loved ones but it was only a week or so. Everything was fine at Hyatt until May 2016 when Wurzak took over.
During the few months of being unsure, I heard horror stories of Wurzak, saying all the employees were miserable and that they only cared about making money. I decided to hang around for the transition, even though I had looked elsewhere. I should have listened to the stories. Wurzak knows how to make money, I will give them credit where it is due but they don't know crap about employee care or work-life balance. I was constantly lied to, looked down upon and disrespected, up until today. I was told by the first Wurzak GM that I was going to be moved to a supervisor position. That was in May when they first took over. That GM left in December. I was never promoted and I came to find out, that since I couldn't work Sundays, I was never going to be promoted. The new GM came in, saw my passion for the place and promoted me. Well, in title only. I was never given a raise, but I was expected to do all the duties of a manager. This was the boiling point. I would ask weekly about it and I would get the same response; I'm working on it. I started to slack off more and more because I didn't think that was at all fair. God gave me a break when a former manager told me of a position available at another hotel so I took it, to see where it led and to my shock, they liked me. I had interview after interview and it starting looking good. I told my GM at the Hyatt and he didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care that his most tenured employee was leaving. He didn't even fight for me. I said, if they offered me more money, I would stay. I got nothing. After getting the job this past week, I told them my last day would be Friday. Today is Thursday. I was only scheduled until 12PM but my GM told me to stay late. He then bought all the department leaders lunch and thanked me for my work, which I thought was weird because my last day was Friday. I ended up leaving at 3PM but something was weird. My GM, who never wears his suit jacket unless his boss is coming, put it on. That struck me as weird. I said whatever and left. I got a call from my AGM, saying to stay home tomorrow and that she didn't want me to go through being walked off property. Finally, my GM confirmed what she said a couple minutes later with a call. He didn't say much, like always and didn't even say not to come in but I felt I wasn't wanted anymore.
Leaving the hotel is bittersweet. 4 1/2 years in one place. Tomorrow I wake up not having to go to the hotel after going 4-5 days a week EVERY week for a long time. I've had a lot of good times in the building, I've made a lot of amazing friends there and of course, made a lot of money. I will never forget this job. I don't leave with a bitter taste in my mouth. I'm free from the tyranny. Free from all the BS. I don't have to bring the stress home and have it affect my home life. I'm living on cloud nine right now. I have 12 days off to do nothing. I have a great job waiting for me. This is heaven!
Hyatt has been fun but it was only a stepping stone for my life and career. I'm glad to have moved on.
Rant over. I love all the Hyatt family I've made over the years. I love the building. I do NOT love, like or care about Wurzak. Please do not work for them. They suck. They don't care about their employees. This is not slander. This is TRUTH I've experienced.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Pros/Cons of Goldberg/Lesnar III
It's back again! For the third year in a row, I'm going to be doing pros and cons of the big match ups of Wrestlemania 33. That includes this match, the WWE Title match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, Roman Reigns VS The Undertaker, Kevin Owens VS Chris Jericho, the Women's Title matches, AJ Styles VS Shane and Austin Aries VS Neville. Let's start with the main event of the show; Goldberg defending the WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in the 3rd match of their rivalry, dating all the way back to Wrestlemania 20.
Pro
1. Marquee match
Wrestlemania is WWE's biggest show of the year with the most eyes on the product. It only makes sense to put two guys in the main event who the fans know and not some lesser known talents. Goldberg is one of the most famous talents in WCW history and fans have been chatting about his return to the company since his inclusion on the WWE 2K17 game. Brock Lesnar has always been a big well known talent not only due to his dominance in the WWE during the early 2000s but also because of his UFC career. Lesnar has become a major attraction, mainly because WWE only uses him very sparingly. It's a smart move and makes every appearance from him feel special. You put both of these big attractions together and then you make it for Raw's top title, the WWE Universal Championship. It sells itself. This is the most spotlight the championship will have to date.
Cons
1. Part Time Mania!
This has been the problem with the main events of Wrestlemania since 28. Vince loves to put his part timers in the main event slot. The Rock two years straight, Batista at 30 and Lesnar at 31. Yes, Triple H doesn't wrestle as much but his presence is always felt it what he does for the company so I can't include him. For argument's sake, you can include him on that list. There are guys who work hard all year long and end up getting snubbed when it comes to Wrestlemania. Now, this is only talking about WM 29 and 33. I felt like Cena/Rock from 28 was a deserving main event. Bryan got into the 30 main event so no complaints and the 31 main event was excellent in execution. 32 was trying to get Reigns over so bad that it ended up failing miserably. Wrestlemania 29 was a crime. CM Punk held the WWE Title for 434 days before dropping it to The Rock. It's not a big deal as Rock becoming champion was basically a given once he announced his intentions way back in the summer of 2012. The crime is that Punk didn't get a chance to main event a Wrestlemania, despite being the top champion for well over a year. You can argue that he lost his chances by losing his rematch to The Rock and losing against Cena on a Raw in February but they could have easily spun it so Punk/Cena/Rock main evented the show. Cena could have still won but Punk would have gotten the main event he deserved. This year, Kevin Owens is taking the backseat. Owens has been the focal point of Raw since August, holding onto the Universal Title for 6 months, defeating Rollins and Reigns on separate occasions. Goldberg, though, beat Owens in 22 seconds and took the title and Owens has decided to wait for his opportunity to cash in his rematch clause. That leaves an interesting opportunity for WWE that I will talk more about during the Wrestlemania predictions. For Owens to work hard all year and then be given a lesser part on the Mania card is frustrating as a fan. I'm really looking forward to Owens/Jericho but is there any reason WHY this two couldn't be facing one another for the Universal Title in the main event? I get the needed use of part timers in WWE, but to have this guys main event, especially when Goldberg has been back for like 4 MONTHS, is insulting to my intelligence.
2. Rematch City
Brock Lesnar and Goldberg will be doing battle for the 3rd time on April 2nd. Rematches are not my favorite thing in the world unless it tells a great story ala Taker/HBK or Rock/Cena. And this isn't just an rematch, it's a rematch of one of the worst matches in Wrestlemania history. I was so looking forward to Lesnar/Goldberg from Wrestlemania 20. It was probably the match I wanted to see the most. And then it happened and I was just dumbfounded. It was crap. Both guys were on their way out of the company so they didn't even try hard. They didn't have to and they knew it. What resulted was a weak match by two guys who didn't care. The only shining moment was Austin giving them both the Stunner, which symbolically was their way out of WWE. When they did the rematch at Survivor Series, I was against it but I understood it was for promotion of WWE 2K17, even though it WAS ALREADY RELEASED! I figured Lesnar would get his revenge and they would do a third match at Mania. No problem. Then Survivor Series happened and Goldberg squashed Lesnar and ruined Lesnar's aura, which in turn ruined the cost Undertaker losing at Wrestlemania 30. You guys really couldn't have a competitive match? A third match between the two is making me remember both these moments and getting me less and less excited about a third match in the feud. Why would I care after the two crap matches that have been put on? Doesn't make sense WWE!
3. Match Quality
When I see Lesnar in a match, I get excited because I know he can put on some good matches. Since he's returned in 2012, there have been some really good Lesnar matches, like his SummerSlam clash with CM Punk, his Wrestlemania match with Triple H and his Triple Threat title match with Cena and Rollins. Lately, Lesnar matches have been lacking. His match with Ambrose was so corny. So wasted. His match with Orton was pointless. Had I not just said that, did you even remember he faced him? Goldberg has been in the ring for less than 2 minutes since his return. This match will not be good at all. It will start as Survivor Series did, a quick spear out the gate. Then Goldberg will try again and caught in a F5. And then the suplexes will begin. And then another F5. Goldberg will kick out. Then another F5 and Lesnar will win. I'm going with a 6 minute Wrestlemania main event. The crowd will be into it but at the end of the day, it will not be an exciting match like Aries/Neville promises to be.
4. Raw Without a World Title
The biggest issue I have with this match is going to be the aftermath. I'm close to 100% sure that Lesnar will defeat Goldberg. What I'm not sure of is what happens next. Lesnar is a part timer so if he wins the title, he will not DEFEND the title regularly. That means Raw PPVs will not have a title match as the main event. This is VERY bad for the A Show. Now, obviously, WWE could do a quick title change on the Raw following Mania as Owens or Goldberg will clamor for their rematch. Maybe a Triple Threat for the title will headline the show, with HHH and Samoa Joe helping Owens regain the title? This con is definitely up in the air but the thought of the 'top' show without a World Title is troubling to say the least, especially with a lot of hungry talent on the show as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, Sami Zayn, etc. It wouldn't be fair to them to not have a title to feud over. And who knows how long Lesnar will hold this title hostage for. We saw how long it took for the WWE Title and that was back when there was only ONE World Title in the company.
Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar is Vince McMahon's hard on wet dream but it's definitely not doing a lot for many of the fans involved. I think many of us are looking forward to what happens afterward.
Next up, the WWE Title match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton!
Pro
1. Marquee match
Wrestlemania is WWE's biggest show of the year with the most eyes on the product. It only makes sense to put two guys in the main event who the fans know and not some lesser known talents. Goldberg is one of the most famous talents in WCW history and fans have been chatting about his return to the company since his inclusion on the WWE 2K17 game. Brock Lesnar has always been a big well known talent not only due to his dominance in the WWE during the early 2000s but also because of his UFC career. Lesnar has become a major attraction, mainly because WWE only uses him very sparingly. It's a smart move and makes every appearance from him feel special. You put both of these big attractions together and then you make it for Raw's top title, the WWE Universal Championship. It sells itself. This is the most spotlight the championship will have to date.
Cons
1. Part Time Mania!
This has been the problem with the main events of Wrestlemania since 28. Vince loves to put his part timers in the main event slot. The Rock two years straight, Batista at 30 and Lesnar at 31. Yes, Triple H doesn't wrestle as much but his presence is always felt it what he does for the company so I can't include him. For argument's sake, you can include him on that list. There are guys who work hard all year long and end up getting snubbed when it comes to Wrestlemania. Now, this is only talking about WM 29 and 33. I felt like Cena/Rock from 28 was a deserving main event. Bryan got into the 30 main event so no complaints and the 31 main event was excellent in execution. 32 was trying to get Reigns over so bad that it ended up failing miserably. Wrestlemania 29 was a crime. CM Punk held the WWE Title for 434 days before dropping it to The Rock. It's not a big deal as Rock becoming champion was basically a given once he announced his intentions way back in the summer of 2012. The crime is that Punk didn't get a chance to main event a Wrestlemania, despite being the top champion for well over a year. You can argue that he lost his chances by losing his rematch to The Rock and losing against Cena on a Raw in February but they could have easily spun it so Punk/Cena/Rock main evented the show. Cena could have still won but Punk would have gotten the main event he deserved. This year, Kevin Owens is taking the backseat. Owens has been the focal point of Raw since August, holding onto the Universal Title for 6 months, defeating Rollins and Reigns on separate occasions. Goldberg, though, beat Owens in 22 seconds and took the title and Owens has decided to wait for his opportunity to cash in his rematch clause. That leaves an interesting opportunity for WWE that I will talk more about during the Wrestlemania predictions. For Owens to work hard all year and then be given a lesser part on the Mania card is frustrating as a fan. I'm really looking forward to Owens/Jericho but is there any reason WHY this two couldn't be facing one another for the Universal Title in the main event? I get the needed use of part timers in WWE, but to have this guys main event, especially when Goldberg has been back for like 4 MONTHS, is insulting to my intelligence.
2. Rematch City
Brock Lesnar and Goldberg will be doing battle for the 3rd time on April 2nd. Rematches are not my favorite thing in the world unless it tells a great story ala Taker/HBK or Rock/Cena. And this isn't just an rematch, it's a rematch of one of the worst matches in Wrestlemania history. I was so looking forward to Lesnar/Goldberg from Wrestlemania 20. It was probably the match I wanted to see the most. And then it happened and I was just dumbfounded. It was crap. Both guys were on their way out of the company so they didn't even try hard. They didn't have to and they knew it. What resulted was a weak match by two guys who didn't care. The only shining moment was Austin giving them both the Stunner, which symbolically was their way out of WWE. When they did the rematch at Survivor Series, I was against it but I understood it was for promotion of WWE 2K17, even though it WAS ALREADY RELEASED! I figured Lesnar would get his revenge and they would do a third match at Mania. No problem. Then Survivor Series happened and Goldberg squashed Lesnar and ruined Lesnar's aura, which in turn ruined the cost Undertaker losing at Wrestlemania 30. You guys really couldn't have a competitive match? A third match between the two is making me remember both these moments and getting me less and less excited about a third match in the feud. Why would I care after the two crap matches that have been put on? Doesn't make sense WWE!
3. Match Quality
When I see Lesnar in a match, I get excited because I know he can put on some good matches. Since he's returned in 2012, there have been some really good Lesnar matches, like his SummerSlam clash with CM Punk, his Wrestlemania match with Triple H and his Triple Threat title match with Cena and Rollins. Lately, Lesnar matches have been lacking. His match with Ambrose was so corny. So wasted. His match with Orton was pointless. Had I not just said that, did you even remember he faced him? Goldberg has been in the ring for less than 2 minutes since his return. This match will not be good at all. It will start as Survivor Series did, a quick spear out the gate. Then Goldberg will try again and caught in a F5. And then the suplexes will begin. And then another F5. Goldberg will kick out. Then another F5 and Lesnar will win. I'm going with a 6 minute Wrestlemania main event. The crowd will be into it but at the end of the day, it will not be an exciting match like Aries/Neville promises to be.
4. Raw Without a World Title
The biggest issue I have with this match is going to be the aftermath. I'm close to 100% sure that Lesnar will defeat Goldberg. What I'm not sure of is what happens next. Lesnar is a part timer so if he wins the title, he will not DEFEND the title regularly. That means Raw PPVs will not have a title match as the main event. This is VERY bad for the A Show. Now, obviously, WWE could do a quick title change on the Raw following Mania as Owens or Goldberg will clamor for their rematch. Maybe a Triple Threat for the title will headline the show, with HHH and Samoa Joe helping Owens regain the title? This con is definitely up in the air but the thought of the 'top' show without a World Title is troubling to say the least, especially with a lot of hungry talent on the show as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, Sami Zayn, etc. It wouldn't be fair to them to not have a title to feud over. And who knows how long Lesnar will hold this title hostage for. We saw how long it took for the WWE Title and that was back when there was only ONE World Title in the company.
Goldberg VS Brock Lesnar is Vince McMahon's hard on wet dream but it's definitely not doing a lot for many of the fans involved. I think many of us are looking forward to what happens afterward.
Next up, the WWE Title match between Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton!
Saturday, March 11, 2017
2017 Gaming Thus Far
We're only in the third month of 2017 and usually, gaming starts slow. There are usually big releases in February and on but I can't remember a year where good quality games have been dropping this early and this plentiful. Games that have released THIS year that I've played are as followed; Resident Evil VII, (refer to my post in February about it) Tales of Berseria, Nioh, Yazkua 0, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I'll be adding Nier Automata to this list shortly as I begun working on this post on its release day. Let's talk each game.
Of all the games on this list, Tales of Berseria was my first new game purchase of 2017 and it's the one I've probably played the least. Not that it's not a great game but with all those other heavy hitters, it got lost in the shuffle. In the 10 hours I've spent with Berseria, I've grown to really enjoy it, mainly because it's different than other Tales titles. This is no tale (haha) of coming together to save the world. This is a tale of revenge. Velvet has a clear goal and will do what it takes to reach that goal, no matter who she has to manipulate or cross in her way. The gameplay is fun and exciting too and it's a real testament to the creators to continue to keep each title fresh in the combat department. This one uses a risk and reward system of the soul gauge. You start off with three and the more and more you attack, the less of the gauge you have. If you stun an enemy, you gain a soul but if that happens to you, you lose a soul. To do flashy attacks, you have to give up a soul as well. It's all very fun in the end and makes every battle feel fresh and rewarding, especially the boss battles. TOB is another achievement for the company and even better for the PS4 as it's an exclusive title. Exclusive as in not on Xbox as it's on Steam.
Nioh was the first game people felt could be a potential Game of the Year. Mixing the sengoku era with the Dark Souls formula, it was a major hit with fans and critics alike. And it was developed by Team Ninja, you know, the masterminds behind one of the best action adventure games from the sixth generation Ninja Gaiden? Where do I sign up? While not originally on my radar (because of Tales, Horizon and Zelda) once the reviews poured it, I couldn't resist. What I found was a game with the obvious Dark Souls mechanics but spun around with the Team Ninja feel. It plays like a hybrid between Dark Souls and Ninja Gaiden, like Dark Gaiden or Ninja Souls. Ninja Souls sounds amazing. Anyway, it has everything that makes Souls games memorable. The huge and sprawling dungeons. The dark world. The same risk and reward system, where dying makes a difference, The punishing but somehow manageable difficulty. Every little aspect that makes Souls games so amazingly well, Nioh does in its own way and that makes it stand out on its own. It's not fair to classify this a Souls clone. It's much faster, has different skill set-ups and in my opinion, plays better simply because of its speed. If you wanted a new Ninja Gaiden game, this is definitely one to play to scare that itch.
Yazkua 0 is 7th game released in the amazing open world beat em up series. That's not a typo. Since the Playstation 2, 6 games have been released on Sony platforms, starting with the original Yakuza in 2006. As its title suggests, it's a prequel to the entire series and thus, can be enjoyed without playing the other games in the series. Personally, I've never finished a Yakuza game but I've played 1-3 and skipped out on 4, 5 and Dead Souls. 0 takes place in December 1988 as the main character, Kazuma Kiryu, is just starting his rise in the mafia. After one of his targets that he was collecting money from dies, Kazuma must try to prove his innocence so that his foster father does not face retribution for introducing Kazuma to the mafia. Another main character in the entire Yakuza series, Goro Majima is running a night club after being exiled from the Yakuza. He's offered a chance at redemption when he's given a target to kill; a blind woman, Instead of going through with it, he protects her and looks for answers. I'm a huge fan of Shenmue and Sega has obviously put a lot of what I love about that game in here. This is the definition of a sandbox game, you can do so many things. Want to bowl? There's a bowling alley. Want to play some games? There's an arcade with actual Sega games in it. You can date, go to clubs, drink, or do what the game is really all about, FIGHT. Both Kiryu and Majima have three different fighting styles they can change to on the fly and it makes for intense battle situations. If you have a lot of enemies around, Rush style is the way to go. If it's one on one, go Brawler. Want all out chaos? Choose Beast and Kiryu will attack and pick up objects to swing at enemies at the same time. It's as awesome as it sounds. I find myself getting completely enticed by the game. I've had long play sessions with it, about 5 hours each of the three sittings I got with it. It grips you up with its engrossing story, fun battles and many side quests. Seriously, there are SO MANY extra things to do. While walking to the next main mission, I was stopped to teach a woman how to be a better dominatrix, asked to fake be a producer for a show and to help a child get back a video game he was looking forward to. I'm not joking. This game is epic, it's amazing and it's one I plan on finishing. With Sega announcing the Yakuza 1 remake, titled Yakuza Kiwami, coming to PS4 this year AND the critically acclaimed Yakuza 6 coming next year, this is a great time to get into the series. Yes, there's still no way to get into the whole series without owning both a PS2 and PS3 but this is a good start.
Horizon: Zero Dawn will go down as one of the best PS4 games of all time when this console is all done. Some of the better games this generation tend to mix gameplay aspects of other great titles. For example, Tomb Raider mixes the exploration of a Metroidvania game, the shooting and platforming of the Uncharted games and the brutality and gore of Resident Evil 4 for one of the finest games of the last two generations. Horizon is a mash up like that. It takes the exploration of the latest Far Cry games, the crafting and bow play of the newer Tomb Raider games and the parkour platforming made famous from Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed to make for one unique and unforgettable experience. What Horizon does really well is make you question when the game takes place. Now, it's obviously the future as the game tells you but it has a real primitive feel to it. Aloy, the main character voiced by Ashly Burch of Hey Ash Whatcha Playing fame, uses bows and spears as her main weapons. She also gets slingshots and rope trap devices and she's taking down mechanical beasts with them. It's crazy. Horizon has A LOT of things to do as well. It's almost too much. Apart from the main story to find out who attacked you during a ceremony, (I'm sure there's more to it, just haven't delved too much just yet) there's other side quests from the various NPCs in the game, challenges to test your ability at taking down the various robots you encounter and, like many of this open world games, a point to climb to scope out the area and fill in parts of the map ala Far Cry, Shadow of Mordor, etc. These points are actually robots called Longnecks and they help reveal more activities for you to do. I only have about 5 hours in this world right now but everything so far has been great. It looks fantastic, handles very well and is actually pretty challenging. This is a great first attempt at a new genre by developers Guerrilla Games, who have been doing nothing but first person shooters for years. I hope this trend continues for the company and I'm looking forward to getting even deeper in the game in the coming weeks.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is massive. It's incredible. It...at many times, doesn't feel like a Zelda game but that's not a negative about the game. It takes more cues from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds than say, Ocarina of Time. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, I knew it was different. You play as Link and you've just awakened from a 100 year sleep. You walk out the room, put your clothes on and get to the first block in the road. There's only a small little opening at the top and you have no items or no hookshot to get you forward. Here's two of the biggest changes to Zelda; Link can now climb and jump. Sprinting was introduced in Skyward Sword and that was a big help in itself. It returns here just as helpful. Yes, I realize jumping was in Link's Awakening but you needed an item for it. This is not automated jumping, you have to press a button to activate it. That is revolutionary for this game. Another major change is the formula of how you can complete the game. You know your objective very early; to defeat Calamity Ganon and you know his location. You can meet the final boss very early in your adventure but he'll be darn near impossible to slay. The change is there is no order you have to complete the game, as in EVERY other home console Zelda release. This is again taken from ALBW. No longer must you collect three of something, get the Master Sword, collect 5-8 of something else and then defeat Ganon. It's more free and open world. It feels a lot more like Skyrim, Far Cry and Assassin's Creed than it does Zelda. Link can cook, equip different armor to increase his stats and use weapons from enemies. Again, this is not the Zelda we grew up with as kids. Link's inventory has limited spaces as well, so you also have to manage your inventory, only take what you can use at the time. One of the best parts of the game are the various shrines located all throughout it's massive world. I believe there are 100+. The shrines contain puzzles that either involve using the Gamepad or Joycons to navigate a ball to a slot, using the various runes, like bombs, ice, stasis and magnetic to move further in or even combat a guardian. No two shrines are the same and it makes running around the giant map even more of a fun adventure than ever. When you complete shrines, you get an orb which you then can give to a goddess statue and you'll be blessed with either an additional heart container or a little more stamina, making the shrines not only a great distraction from the main story but also a must for additional exploring. It's going to be awful hard climbing all the vast mountains in the game with no stamina and even harder to defeat the giant monsters strolling the area with just three hearts. Many enemies I encountered from wandering around were MUCH stronger than I expected and took me out with one hit.
While I've played Zelda well over 10 hours now, I feel no closer to the ending or have done much of the main story. I just reached the Zora's Domain on 3/9/17 and that is the first of the four tribes I chose the visit. 10 hours in other Zelda games and I already have the Master Sword. The Master Sword in BOTW, nowhere CLOSE to being in sight. There's also little things in the game that I like, like the day-night cycle and the weather. Traveling at night is much more dangerous than in the day as skeletons will pop out of the ground to attack you. Also, while raining, it becomes near impossible to climb as the terrain will become slippery from the rain. Another nice touch is how smart the game is. For example, I was traveling during a thunder storm and every time lightning struck, it hit me. Why? Is there a vengeful god out to get me? Nope, turns out I just had on all metal based equipment so it was easier to be targeted by it. Amazing. Breath of the Wild continues to shock (on a roll today), impress and amaze me with his new mechanics, locations and overall scale. Yes, this is an entirely different Zelda game but that is the best thing that could happen for this 30 year franchise. While all the games have been great, let's be honest; it was getting pretty stale. This is the Zelda title that we will tell our kids about; the quintessential Zelda experience. It will go down as one of the greatest Zeldas of all time and also, one of the greatest video games of all time.
Nier: Automata is a sequel, kind of, of Nier, released back in 2010. That's the only similarities it shares. This is developed by PlatinumGames, best known for Bayonetta, Madworld and the not so often talked about Vanquish. PG had to cancel Scalebound for Xbox One, one of the MAIN reasons I bought a X1 in the first place but Nier has made up for it, simply because it embodies everything about the company and the games that they make. This game is CRAZY. While it's best described as an action RPG, there's also moments of 2D platforming, top down shooter and a few bullet hell moments. Seriously, within the first 15 minutes of the game, instead of doing hacking and slashing, you're playing a top down 2D shooter like Gradius. Then, it turn to a twin stick bullet hell shooter and then finally, you get to the hack-n-slash gameplay from the demo. The great thing is, the game crafts all these moments together so wonderfully that each play session is unique and fun. You'll be slashing away at robots and then the next second it will change the camera view to the top down perspective and you'll start shooting. It's fantastic. Nier Automata is also open world as well so along with the main quest, there are plenty of side things to do as well so you can level up and upgrade your weapons, set skills and make your pod, your little shooter companion, stronger. I only have 4 hours in Nier but they have been four amazing and fun hours, filled with mindlessly destroying robots, listening to some amazing music and a naked android? Hmmm...regardless, this is a fantastic title.
The Playstation 4 is absolutely destroying Xbox One in terms of exclusives. 5 of the games talked about are only available for consoles gamers on PS4. AND you still have one of the most anticipated JRPGs in Persona 5 coming next month exclusively for Sony consoles. I've played more of my PS4 in the past month then I've played my Xbox in the past three months. I didn't finish FFXV, simply because I got bored of it. It was a great game but one that only grabbed me for the small time it did because I was so looking forward to it, not necessarily because it was a great experience. Anyway, with the cancellation of Scalebound, Crackdown 3 and Cuphead are the two remaining exclusives for the system I'm excited for it and that's a shame.
Anyway, gaming is firing on all cylinders right now. I'm putting the most time into Zelda, Horizon and Nier right now. Nioh and Yakuza 0 are on the back burner for now. Zelda and Horizon are MASSIVE games so I need the time to delve into those before Persona 5 arrives. Nier is replayable and I bought it digitally so I'll always have it.
What a time to be a gamer!
Horizon: Zero Dawn will go down as one of the best PS4 games of all time when this console is all done. Some of the better games this generation tend to mix gameplay aspects of other great titles. For example, Tomb Raider mixes the exploration of a Metroidvania game, the shooting and platforming of the Uncharted games and the brutality and gore of Resident Evil 4 for one of the finest games of the last two generations. Horizon is a mash up like that. It takes the exploration of the latest Far Cry games, the crafting and bow play of the newer Tomb Raider games and the parkour platforming made famous from Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed to make for one unique and unforgettable experience. What Horizon does really well is make you question when the game takes place. Now, it's obviously the future as the game tells you but it has a real primitive feel to it. Aloy, the main character voiced by Ashly Burch of Hey Ash Whatcha Playing fame, uses bows and spears as her main weapons. She also gets slingshots and rope trap devices and she's taking down mechanical beasts with them. It's crazy. Horizon has A LOT of things to do as well. It's almost too much. Apart from the main story to find out who attacked you during a ceremony, (I'm sure there's more to it, just haven't delved too much just yet) there's other side quests from the various NPCs in the game, challenges to test your ability at taking down the various robots you encounter and, like many of this open world games, a point to climb to scope out the area and fill in parts of the map ala Far Cry, Shadow of Mordor, etc. These points are actually robots called Longnecks and they help reveal more activities for you to do. I only have about 5 hours in this world right now but everything so far has been great. It looks fantastic, handles very well and is actually pretty challenging. This is a great first attempt at a new genre by developers Guerrilla Games, who have been doing nothing but first person shooters for years. I hope this trend continues for the company and I'm looking forward to getting even deeper in the game in the coming weeks.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is massive. It's incredible. It...at many times, doesn't feel like a Zelda game but that's not a negative about the game. It takes more cues from The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Two Worlds than say, Ocarina of Time. Within the first 10 minutes of the game, I knew it was different. You play as Link and you've just awakened from a 100 year sleep. You walk out the room, put your clothes on and get to the first block in the road. There's only a small little opening at the top and you have no items or no hookshot to get you forward. Here's two of the biggest changes to Zelda; Link can now climb and jump. Sprinting was introduced in Skyward Sword and that was a big help in itself. It returns here just as helpful. Yes, I realize jumping was in Link's Awakening but you needed an item for it. This is not automated jumping, you have to press a button to activate it. That is revolutionary for this game. Another major change is the formula of how you can complete the game. You know your objective very early; to defeat Calamity Ganon and you know his location. You can meet the final boss very early in your adventure but he'll be darn near impossible to slay. The change is there is no order you have to complete the game, as in EVERY other home console Zelda release. This is again taken from ALBW. No longer must you collect three of something, get the Master Sword, collect 5-8 of something else and then defeat Ganon. It's more free and open world. It feels a lot more like Skyrim, Far Cry and Assassin's Creed than it does Zelda. Link can cook, equip different armor to increase his stats and use weapons from enemies. Again, this is not the Zelda we grew up with as kids. Link's inventory has limited spaces as well, so you also have to manage your inventory, only take what you can use at the time. One of the best parts of the game are the various shrines located all throughout it's massive world. I believe there are 100+. The shrines contain puzzles that either involve using the Gamepad or Joycons to navigate a ball to a slot, using the various runes, like bombs, ice, stasis and magnetic to move further in or even combat a guardian. No two shrines are the same and it makes running around the giant map even more of a fun adventure than ever. When you complete shrines, you get an orb which you then can give to a goddess statue and you'll be blessed with either an additional heart container or a little more stamina, making the shrines not only a great distraction from the main story but also a must for additional exploring. It's going to be awful hard climbing all the vast mountains in the game with no stamina and even harder to defeat the giant monsters strolling the area with just three hearts. Many enemies I encountered from wandering around were MUCH stronger than I expected and took me out with one hit.
While I've played Zelda well over 10 hours now, I feel no closer to the ending or have done much of the main story. I just reached the Zora's Domain on 3/9/17 and that is the first of the four tribes I chose the visit. 10 hours in other Zelda games and I already have the Master Sword. The Master Sword in BOTW, nowhere CLOSE to being in sight. There's also little things in the game that I like, like the day-night cycle and the weather. Traveling at night is much more dangerous than in the day as skeletons will pop out of the ground to attack you. Also, while raining, it becomes near impossible to climb as the terrain will become slippery from the rain. Another nice touch is how smart the game is. For example, I was traveling during a thunder storm and every time lightning struck, it hit me. Why? Is there a vengeful god out to get me? Nope, turns out I just had on all metal based equipment so it was easier to be targeted by it. Amazing. Breath of the Wild continues to shock (on a roll today), impress and amaze me with his new mechanics, locations and overall scale. Yes, this is an entirely different Zelda game but that is the best thing that could happen for this 30 year franchise. While all the games have been great, let's be honest; it was getting pretty stale. This is the Zelda title that we will tell our kids about; the quintessential Zelda experience. It will go down as one of the greatest Zeldas of all time and also, one of the greatest video games of all time.
Nier: Automata is a sequel, kind of, of Nier, released back in 2010. That's the only similarities it shares. This is developed by PlatinumGames, best known for Bayonetta, Madworld and the not so often talked about Vanquish. PG had to cancel Scalebound for Xbox One, one of the MAIN reasons I bought a X1 in the first place but Nier has made up for it, simply because it embodies everything about the company and the games that they make. This game is CRAZY. While it's best described as an action RPG, there's also moments of 2D platforming, top down shooter and a few bullet hell moments. Seriously, within the first 15 minutes of the game, instead of doing hacking and slashing, you're playing a top down 2D shooter like Gradius. Then, it turn to a twin stick bullet hell shooter and then finally, you get to the hack-n-slash gameplay from the demo. The great thing is, the game crafts all these moments together so wonderfully that each play session is unique and fun. You'll be slashing away at robots and then the next second it will change the camera view to the top down perspective and you'll start shooting. It's fantastic. Nier Automata is also open world as well so along with the main quest, there are plenty of side things to do as well so you can level up and upgrade your weapons, set skills and make your pod, your little shooter companion, stronger. I only have 4 hours in Nier but they have been four amazing and fun hours, filled with mindlessly destroying robots, listening to some amazing music and a naked android? Hmmm...regardless, this is a fantastic title.
The Playstation 4 is absolutely destroying Xbox One in terms of exclusives. 5 of the games talked about are only available for consoles gamers on PS4. AND you still have one of the most anticipated JRPGs in Persona 5 coming next month exclusively for Sony consoles. I've played more of my PS4 in the past month then I've played my Xbox in the past three months. I didn't finish FFXV, simply because I got bored of it. It was a great game but one that only grabbed me for the small time it did because I was so looking forward to it, not necessarily because it was a great experience. Anyway, with the cancellation of Scalebound, Crackdown 3 and Cuphead are the two remaining exclusives for the system I'm excited for it and that's a shame.
Anyway, gaming is firing on all cylinders right now. I'm putting the most time into Zelda, Horizon and Nier right now. Nioh and Yakuza 0 are on the back burner for now. Zelda and Horizon are MASSIVE games so I need the time to delve into those before Persona 5 arrives. Nier is replayable and I bought it digitally so I'll always have it.
What a time to be a gamer!
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Fastlane 2017 Predictions
Fastlane is the last PPV stop on the Road to Wrestlemania. 8 matches will take place, 1 on the pre show. Four of the five Raw titles will be defended on the show. Let's get right into it.
For the sake of completion of the post, I'm just going to pick Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa to win over The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar but it actuality, who really cares? The division has failed as of now.
Gallows and Anderson will defend their Raw Tag Team Titles against Enzo and Big Cass. Enzo and Cass won't get their moment until Wrestlemania as many other of the NXT crew. It's just filler for a filler PPV. Gallows and Anderson win.
Sasha Banks will face Nia Jax in another match. Again, this is a filler match of a filler PPV. Both ladies are scheduled to be apart of the women's title match at Wrestlemania and this match is being done to keep them both relevant until then. That being said, I think Sasha will get the surprise roll up victory to keep her fresh for her incoming heel turn. Hopefully WWE will wait until the Raw after Mania to make the moment. Sasha wins.
The revitalized and improved Neville will put his Cruiserweight Championship against the Extraordinary Gentleman Jack Gallagher. This should be a really entertaining match, if they give it the time it deserves. Neville just won the title last month and it would hurt his heel turn to just lose it right now and there are also rumors of an Austin Aries/Neville match for the title at Wrestlemania. I'm all for that. Neville wins with his new submission. Does it have a name? I'm calling it Broken Orbit until there's an official name.
Samoa Joe will make his PPV debut in a match with Sami Zayn, one that will definitely steal the show. Joe and Zayn have had battles in NXT and if that's a sign of what's to come on Sunday, we're in for a real treat. Joe is the new heavy for Triple H. Triple H's new heavy will not lose just yet. Plans for Joe aren't clear for Mania yet but if they want to protect Rollins, they could always do a Balor/Rollins VS HHH/Joe tag match. It would be just as amazing and you save the Rollins/HHH one on one match for another day. Regardless of direction, Joe/Zayn will be amazing. Samoa Joe wins with his swinging Uranage.
Bayley will make her first defense of the Raw Women's Championship when she faces Charlotte Flair at Fastlane. Do I really need to talk about this one? Yes, it should be another good match in their rivalry. Bayley and Charlotte don't have the chemistry of a Bayley/Sasha or Sasha/Charlotte but they still put on good matches. Charlotte is the Queen of PPV. She has never been pinned at a PPV in almost two years, winning every title match she's been apart on a PPV. She's 16-0. Why would the streak end at a filler PPV? I hate to type it, but Charlotte will defeat Bayley and become a FIVE time WWE Raw Women's Champion. If we're counting Charlotte's reigns as Divas and NXT Women's Champion, this will be #7 overall. Holy crap. Bayley will get her moment at Wrestlemania.
Two powerhouses will do battle as Roman Reigns will battle Braun Strowman in a highly anticipated match up. This is definitely be something to look out for. Strowman is coming off the best match of his career against the Big Show a couple of Raws ago and is looking to assert himself as the next top monster heel in the WWE. Roman Reigns is still struggling with the audience but WWE doesn't seem to care as he continues to be placed in the underdog role. Both guys need to look strong heading into the Wrestlemania, especially Roman Reigns, as he's penciled in to face The Undertaker. If I'm thinking with that mindset, I have to give Reigns the win. Taker can make an appearance after the match to Tombstone Reigns for a great reaction to set up the match.
The main event will feature the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens as he defends his title against Goldberg. Don't blink, you might miss it. Goldberg defeated The Beast Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds. What makes you think Owens will last any longer? This is all being done so Goldberg and Lesnar will main event Wrestlemania for the Universal Title, where Lesnar will finally get his revenge and Lesnar will hold the title hostage for 4 months. Yay. There are rumors of Triple H starting a faction with Owens and Samoa Joe so maybe they will run interference to help Owens retain? Maybe? Please God? That would explain why Owens turned on Jericho so soon. Jericho could have helped him like he has so many times before.
I'm just grasping for straws at this point huh? Goldberg will defeat Kevin Owens in 60 seconds or less for his first Universal Title, his first title in 14 years. I did not like typing that.
Wrestlemania is four weeks away. Will the show even be good? Lesnar/Goldberg, Owens/Jericho, Reigns/Taker, the Women's Title Fatal Four Way and maybe Rollins/HHH from the Raw side. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
For the sake of completion of the post, I'm just going to pick Rich Swann and Akira Tozawa to win over The Brian Kendrick and Noam Dar but it actuality, who really cares? The division has failed as of now.
Gallows and Anderson will defend their Raw Tag Team Titles against Enzo and Big Cass. Enzo and Cass won't get their moment until Wrestlemania as many other of the NXT crew. It's just filler for a filler PPV. Gallows and Anderson win.
Sasha Banks will face Nia Jax in another match. Again, this is a filler match of a filler PPV. Both ladies are scheduled to be apart of the women's title match at Wrestlemania and this match is being done to keep them both relevant until then. That being said, I think Sasha will get the surprise roll up victory to keep her fresh for her incoming heel turn. Hopefully WWE will wait until the Raw after Mania to make the moment. Sasha wins.
The revitalized and improved Neville will put his Cruiserweight Championship against the Extraordinary Gentleman Jack Gallagher. This should be a really entertaining match, if they give it the time it deserves. Neville just won the title last month and it would hurt his heel turn to just lose it right now and there are also rumors of an Austin Aries/Neville match for the title at Wrestlemania. I'm all for that. Neville wins with his new submission. Does it have a name? I'm calling it Broken Orbit until there's an official name.
Samoa Joe will make his PPV debut in a match with Sami Zayn, one that will definitely steal the show. Joe and Zayn have had battles in NXT and if that's a sign of what's to come on Sunday, we're in for a real treat. Joe is the new heavy for Triple H. Triple H's new heavy will not lose just yet. Plans for Joe aren't clear for Mania yet but if they want to protect Rollins, they could always do a Balor/Rollins VS HHH/Joe tag match. It would be just as amazing and you save the Rollins/HHH one on one match for another day. Regardless of direction, Joe/Zayn will be amazing. Samoa Joe wins with his swinging Uranage.
Bayley will make her first defense of the Raw Women's Championship when she faces Charlotte Flair at Fastlane. Do I really need to talk about this one? Yes, it should be another good match in their rivalry. Bayley and Charlotte don't have the chemistry of a Bayley/Sasha or Sasha/Charlotte but they still put on good matches. Charlotte is the Queen of PPV. She has never been pinned at a PPV in almost two years, winning every title match she's been apart on a PPV. She's 16-0. Why would the streak end at a filler PPV? I hate to type it, but Charlotte will defeat Bayley and become a FIVE time WWE Raw Women's Champion. If we're counting Charlotte's reigns as Divas and NXT Women's Champion, this will be #7 overall. Holy crap. Bayley will get her moment at Wrestlemania.
Two powerhouses will do battle as Roman Reigns will battle Braun Strowman in a highly anticipated match up. This is definitely be something to look out for. Strowman is coming off the best match of his career against the Big Show a couple of Raws ago and is looking to assert himself as the next top monster heel in the WWE. Roman Reigns is still struggling with the audience but WWE doesn't seem to care as he continues to be placed in the underdog role. Both guys need to look strong heading into the Wrestlemania, especially Roman Reigns, as he's penciled in to face The Undertaker. If I'm thinking with that mindset, I have to give Reigns the win. Taker can make an appearance after the match to Tombstone Reigns for a great reaction to set up the match.
The main event will feature the longest reigning WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens as he defends his title against Goldberg. Don't blink, you might miss it. Goldberg defeated The Beast Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds. What makes you think Owens will last any longer? This is all being done so Goldberg and Lesnar will main event Wrestlemania for the Universal Title, where Lesnar will finally get his revenge and Lesnar will hold the title hostage for 4 months. Yay. There are rumors of Triple H starting a faction with Owens and Samoa Joe so maybe they will run interference to help Owens retain? Maybe? Please God? That would explain why Owens turned on Jericho so soon. Jericho could have helped him like he has so many times before.
I'm just grasping for straws at this point huh? Goldberg will defeat Kevin Owens in 60 seconds or less for his first Universal Title, his first title in 14 years. I did not like typing that.
Wrestlemania is four weeks away. Will the show even be good? Lesnar/Goldberg, Owens/Jericho, Reigns/Taker, the Women's Title Fatal Four Way and maybe Rollins/HHH from the Raw side. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
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