Brutal Bob Evans Talks, Ring of Honor, Lethal vs. Briscoe, Micheal Bennett, & More

I recently interviewed Brutal Bob Evans at What Culture.com where he shares his thoughts on topics such as Destination America, the success of Micheal Bennett, putting Cheeseburger through a table, and his initial criticism of the company. Here some highlights:

On Being an ROH Critic: The line I use is that I used to hate this company, now it’s the only place I want to be. I think it was the change in philosophy on both our parts. In other words, I think we needed to be a little more open-minded, and I wasn’t open-minded.

Will Briscoe vs. Lethal Deliver: I’ve actually pulled both guys aside and told them there are people who don’t think you’re going to have the match that Ring Of Honor is promising. I think both guys are looking at it as a challenge to really step up their game and compete at that kind of level where they’re going to have that type of match.

I personally want to thank Bob for taking the time to talk to me. You can check out the entire interview here at What Culture.com

The Undertaker is One of My All-Time Favorites

The Undertaker is tied with Bret Hart as my all-time favorite wrestler. While his dark side persona has gained him fame the world over, he represented something else to me. The giants of the squared circle often apply dastardly tactics while using their size advantage to steal victories. Taker started the same but quickly became something different, something more. Continue reading “The Undertaker is One of My All-Time Favorites” →

Big Easy Win for Old Man Hendo

It took Dan Henderson 28 seconds to prove the naysayers wrong on Saturday night in New Orléans as he dispatched of Tim Boetsch. The catalyst for Boetsch’s demise came in the form of an H-bomb special that crumbled the barbarian, causing him to count the lights in the Smoothie King Center. Continue reading “Big Easy Win for Old Man Hendo” →

Henderson’s Last Ride?

Dan Henderson at Team Quest — allelbows.com

The middleweight showdown between Dan Henderson and Tim Boetch will headline the latest UFC Fight Night card from Louisiana on Saturday evening. Both fighters are coming off losses, but the bigger story here is that Henderson, a legend in the sport, has won only one of his last six fights.

With his 45^th birthday right around the corner, could this be the last time we see ‘Hendo’ grace the cage? Continue reading “Henderson’s Last Ride?” →

Masters of the Universe is Kind of My Jam

Christmas of 1984, times were tough for my family as we lived in a crammed one room apartment. I was only four years old, so I didn’t understand the gravity of the situation. I really had no concept of Christmas, so I was surprised when there were four wrapped presents waiting for me when I woke up that morning.

The first two were Superman and Batman action figures courtesy of Kenner’s Super Powers line. Presents three and four were He-Man and Skeletor of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe collection. To be more specific, it was the Battle Damage He-Man and Battle Damage Skeletor, not the regular figures. Continue reading “Masters of the Universe is Kind of My Jam” →

Seth Rollins is a Poor Man’s Randy Orton

I’m going to get some static for this one, but it is my opinion that the WWE world heavyweight championship reign of Seth Rollins, so far, has been flat, dull, and a repetitive loop of the same old song and dance we’ve already seen. Continue reading “Seth Rollins is a Poor Man’s Randy Orton” →

Planet Hulk # 1 Review

Sam Hunphries and Greg Pak hit comic book fans with a pretty snazzy 1-2 punch as they implement the beloved story arc of Planet Hulk into Marvel’s current big event, Secret Wars.

The other part of the combination deals with a gladiator Steve Rogers and his trusty steed in the form of a giant red t-Rex, Devil Dinosaur kicking ass and taking names.

I couldn’t help but notice the bump up in price compared to the other Secret Wars tie-in books. The book is certainly thicker, but does it add up in the realm of content? Of course, all things in Battleworld leads back to Doctor Doom, who is now referred to as God Doom.

Seeing a beaten down Steve Rogers being forced down at the feet of Doom harkens back to Secret Wars circa 1984. Doom obtained ultimate power in that outing, and Rogers got into his head by turning his own hubris against him.

Their interaction in this current state of affairs dropped some hints about whether or not Doom remembers everything before Marvel’s version of the big bang. It would make sense considering he is the shot caller, but many of the characters remember bits and traces of their past without realizing what it really means.

Enough about Doom and Rogers, though. The book is called Planet Hulk, and you want to hear about how they wreck shop and cause total destruction. Greenland is the name of this Gamma-infested region that has been carved out for Hulk-like beings.

Sam Humphries sets things up nicely by establishing how dangerous this place is as it is conveyed to be the most feared place in Battleworld.

Greg Pak writes a nice little back story that shows life in Greenland before, well, it turned green. The cover had a retro sixties vibe, which almost seemed like a gag at first.

However, even though Battleworld is a bastardization of reality, these are still real people who live their lives until things took a turn for the worst. Pak’s gives Planet Hulk perspective through this origin story.

Most of the time, tie-in books fail to add any real depth to the overarching story they are trying to enhance. While it would have been nice to see more of Planet Hulk in its current form, Humphries did a great job of establishing everyone’s role where green goliaths appear to play background noise to a much larger issue at hand.

Score: 4 out of 5

The Ladies Prove Unstoppable in NXT and Hopefully Beyond

“The NXT Women alone are worth more than $9.99.” Lance Storm

Any wrestling fan worth their salt logged on to the WWE Network on Wednesday evening and watched NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable. It was a great night of action and excitement that culminated with the debut of former TNA star Samoa Joe. While Joe’s arrival means a plethora of dream matches for the energetic brand, the women’s championship match featuring Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch stole the show.

In fact, they didn’t just steal show, they flat out hijacked it at point blank range. Continue reading “The Ladies Prove Unstoppable in NXT and Hopefully Beyond” →

The WWE Debut of Kevin Owens

What appeared to be another U.S. open challenge suddenly turned into a much more exciting affair as the guitar riffs of the CFO$ song, “Fight”, coursed through the sound system of the Richmond Coliseum. For some, it was an audible invasion of the unknown. For others, it was familiarity at its finest as Kevin Owens unexpectedly emerged on Monday Night Raw. Continue reading “The WWE Debut of Kevin Owens” →

Secret Wars #2 Review

Enter Battleworld, a new plane of existence somehow created in the wake of the Marvel universe’s destruction. It’s a crazy, dark place where the characters we know have new lives and have taken on radically different roles. A seemingly medieval symmetry encapsulates the motif and lifeblood of this realm.

Various families and houses squabble, politic, and plot to expand their dominion under the watchful eye of one supreme monarch. While there are certainly no songs of fire and ice, I got the impression that winter is coming. Continue reading “Secret Wars #2 Review” →