Brock Lesnar’s appearance at UFC 146???

The internet is up in arms over Brock Lesnar’s appearance at UFC 146 this past Saturday. Everyone wants to know: is he ditching the WWE, once again, for Octagon glory? The answer is yes. Well, at least until Junior Dos Santos was declared the winner.

In his retirement speech, Brock stated his plan was to win the title one more time and retire as champion. It’s been proven that if you can throw a decent punch, you can beat Brock Lesnar. Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem & Junior Dos Santos all fit this criterion. Frank Mir? Not so much. Mir can’t take a punch either, but what if he had somehow beat JDS? Brock would have been the first person in the cage to challenge him, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he was there.

He knows he can beat Mir, and a rubber match between the two could end up being the highest drawing pay-per-view of all time. Their first bout drew 600,000 buys and their second bout drew 1.7 million buys.

Thank goodness Mir lost because if he had won, we would be reading about Lesnar quitting WWE for the second time and all the drama that would come with it. Brock is a fickle man and can get away with what most people can’t because he draws a lot of money. The funny thing is, after all the legal rigmarole, Vince would still take him back because, in the end, money talks.

Monday Night Raw Going Permanently To Three Hours In July

If I was still an innocent wrestling fan who never discovered the IWC, read a newsletter or smartened up by my time on the independent scene, I would have been ecstatic about Raw moving to three hours on a permanent basis. My sense of occasion is non-existent because the company can barely write an entertaining two hour show, and three hours runs a great risk of watering down the product and burning out the fans. The ratings are always down during the first hour of a three hour Raw because people forget about the earlier start time and let’s face it, the steak and potatoes are not on the plate until the beginning of the second hour.

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Confessions of a Wrestling Superfan Chapter 3: Mom and I Attend Monday Nitro

Mother’s Day has come and gone, and one of the memories that stands out to me is the time my Mom and I saw WCW Monday Nitro at the Fleet Center in Boston.

It was my sophomore year of high school, and my best friend was grounded the Friday before the event. My Mom hinted she wanted to go, but what teenager wants to have their Mom tag along with them to a wrestling show?

I pretended not to pick up on the hints because I was sure I’d find someone to accompany me.

Yeah, not so much.

Monday arrived, and no sooner did I turn the door knob to leave for the train station did my Mom ask if I had found anyone to go with me. I shrugged it off and told her I decided to go by myself.

“Oh…well, have fun,” she replied in a disappointing tone. I immediately felt guilty. The angsty teenager in me turned to her and said: “I guess you can come if you really want to.”

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Frankenstein Alive, Alive #1 Review

The story takes places years after he “died” on a funeral pyre, and he is at peace while working as a circus freak.

Steve Niles adds another notch on his horror belt as he weaves a tale that recalls Frankenstein striving to embrace his humanity.

It’s a struggle that traces the line between truth and treachery because there may not be humanity, to begin with. Life and death can make strange bedfellows, especially when consistent torment from your creator can make you crave one over the other.

He has found balance right now but is there something that will take it all away?

Bernie Wrightson’s art truly brought Frankenstein’s lowest points to life. What makes the story stand out is that it’s not a story about a brooding monster but a monster of a man searching for a grim finality while journeying great distances for something bigger than himself.

Grade: A

Thoughts on The Ultimate Fighter Ratings Decline

The Ultimate Fighter Live

The Ultimate Fighter Live on FX is currently the lowest-rated season in the history of the series. The show has been missing that WOW factor for quite some time. Season 10 back in 2009 featuring Kimbo Slice and the Rampage vs. Evans feud was the last signs of worth wild television the show has produced. Faber and Cruz are two of the best fighters in the world but they do not produce that dynamic you want from opposing coaches in order to pop a rating. Also, the show hasn’t changed its look or presentation since its debut in 2005

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Movie Review: The Avengers

Comments such as “I can’t believe I just saw that”, “I’m definitely buying this on DVD, and I mean on release day” and “Joss Whedon never fucks up”, left the lips of movie goers as I exited the midnight showing of The Avengers. There is no amount of telling you how awesome this movie is that will prepare you for how totally freakin’ awesome this movie is. When I finished watching Captain America last summer, I wanted to find the first trash can lid I saw and throw it like his vibranium shield. Now, I want to add a hammer as well as a bow and arrow to the mix.

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Avengers vs. X-Men #2 Review

Avengers vs. X-Men #2 | Writer: Jason Aaron | Art: John Romita & Scott Hanna | Colors: Laura Martin | Price: $3.99

This book was just as hard to find as the last one…and I understand why. The opening shots have been fired as the battle begins on Utopia.

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Red Lanterns #6 Review

British professor Jack Moore has dealt with a lifetime of torment and ridicule. He buried his anger, thinking he could keep his feelings in line. Things change for Mr. Moore as the instrument of rage selects him and begins a harrowing transformation of the mind, body, and perhaps, soul. Moore tries his best to fight it as a tidal wave of awful memories floods his mind.

Reminders of the past begin to chip away at his consciousness until Jack realizes he can no longer control himself as he’s encountered the one thing that can make him the monster he hid from everyone: A Red Lantern ring.

Meanwhile, Atrocitus and Bleez fight each other for leadership of the Red Lanterns as many of the Lanterns watch on, rooting for one over the other.

The crux of the story is Moore’s emotional struggle as the power ring plays the devil’s role on the shoulder, telling him to embrace the hate.

There was nothing special or bad about the artwork as it did a great job orchestrating Milligan’s script. It is detrimental to our mental health to keep things bottled inside because eventually, you will snap.

The red ring was drawn to Moore like a moth to a flame, and the end result produces the first human Red Lantern.

Grade: A-

Batman #5: One of the Best Comics I’ve Ever Read

One of the great things about being a comic book fan is when you find the perfect book that completely captivates your attention from beginning to end.

Comic book nirvana has arrived as Scott Snyder puts Batman through the wringer in a story with the Dark Knight battling his own sanity. Bats has been trapped in a dark labyrinth by the Court of Owls for eight days without food, water, or rest. He hasn’t bathed or shaved, his costume is torn up, and the white left eyepiece is missing from his mask.

The missing eyepiece is excellent because it allows us to see Batman’s true emotions as he faces unspeakable peril. Over the years, I always wondered if a punch or a kick hurt more than he let on or how horrified he was, if at all, when he examined a crime scene.

At one point, the lights inside the labyrinth are turned on, and a stylish Owl-shaped water fountain is revealed. Knowing it’s drugged, Batman drinks the water without hesitation. The mind games begin to take shape as secrets are revealed, and the horror is unleashed.

As you read the book, you come to a page layout where you have to turn the book left-side up to make sense of it all. When you turn from that layout, the next page is upside down, which looks like a mistake.

You naturally turn it right-side up to examine the page, thinking you are correctly holding the book again. As you continue to read, it takes you a minute to realize that you’re reading the previous pages repeatedly, thus experiencing and sharing Batman’s mental madness.

The ingenuity of it all was simple and brilliant. The artwork is almost in sync with the story, more than any other comic book I have read in quite some time. Even this early in the year, Snyder’s number 5 has all the makings to be the single best issue of the year.

Grade: A+

Amazing Spider-Man # 677 Review

The Amazing Spider-Man #677 | Writer: Mark Waid | Art: Emma Rios | Colors: Humberto Rios & Edgar Delgado
Publisher: Marvel Comics | Price: 3.99

Dan Slott takes the month off as Mark Waid places a little Daredevil magic on to the pages of Our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Peter Parker is doing his superhero thing while being down in the dumps over being kicked to the curb by Carlie.
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