Bellator Opening Pandora’s Box With Shamrock vs. Slice

Ken Shamrock vs. Kimbo Slice will headline the Bellator MMA event on June 20 inside the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The bout is scheduled to take place at heavyweight and will air on Spike TV. This is a rematch of the fight that never was from October 4, 2008, when they were booked to headline an Elite XC show on CBS.

The day of their initially scheduled bout, Shamrock suffered a cut over his left eye and withdrew. There was controversy surrounding this since Shamrock was upset when he learned how much more Slice was being paid and asked for an increase in salary, which was denied.

Seth Petruzelli, who was already fighting on the card, accepted the change of opponent to Kimbo on the shortest of notice and knocked out the backyard brawler in 14 seconds. Allegations from Petruzelli stating he was told not to take Kimbo down, along with substantial money losses from the advertised main event falling through, caused Elite XC to file for bankruptcy and then close their doors seventeen days later. Continue reading “Bellator Opening Pandora’s Box With Shamrock vs. Slice” →

Bitch Planet #3 Review

Bitch Planet has a strong feminist component that reinforces the message of self-acceptance when everything around us says we’re not good enough. While the male perspective might roll their eyes at this type of social commentary that doesn’t appeal to them, the reality is, it does.

Kelly Sue DeConnick has made Bitch Planet an enthralling and entertaining premise for the comic book medium that fits like a glove in all its splendor. The creators have laid out a format where every third issue will shy away from the main narrative and focus on the origin story of a specific character. Continue reading “Bitch Planet #3 Review” →

Could Roman Reigns Learn From Diesel?

On November 27, 1995, I turned on the TV to watch WWF Action Zone and expected it to be just another episode of recaps and squash matches. You can imagine my surprise when the entire show revolved around the shocking news that the night before at Madison Square Garden, Diesel pinned Bob Backlund in 8 seconds to become the new WWF Champion.

“Huh” was my first reaction followed by “Really?” as I found myself disillusioned with this turn of events. Back then, I bought anything Vince McMahon was selling, however, something about this transaction felt hollow. In the end, Diesel never showed the fans why he was worthy of his instant push into the limelight and was the least profitable champion of all time.

Take that, founding father of the highly successful nWo!

There is a lot of talk in the wrestling world about Roman Reigns these days. Is he ready to be “the guy” in WWE? I feel he needs more time to mature as a performer. Plus, he hasn’t had that one hot angle to distinguish himself.

I wrote an article for WhatCulture.com about the possibility of Reigns becoming the champion and beyond. Click here to check out 5 Ways Roman May Reign WWE

Darth Vader #1 Review

When it was first announced that Marvel obtained the comic book rights for Star Wars, everyone wondered what kind of stories we would get. Instead of looking towards the Expanded Universe, the publisher revisits the familiarity with the franchise’s most infamous character in Darth Vader. Dark Horse Comics produced several limited-run Vader books over the years.

Most of them did a great job of highlighting the dark lord’s ruthless aggression. Still, Kieron Gillen goes into uncharted waters by exploring Vader’s psychology at a time where he has lost favor with Emperor Palatine. Continue reading “Darth Vader #1 Review” →

Spider-Man Swings Into The Marvel Cinematic Universe!

FINALLY, after months of negotiations and years of audience demand, Spider-Man is now a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has never been able to use the iconic wall-crawler in their films because Sony purchased the movie rights in 1999.

The deal was announced late Monday night as a partnership between Marvel Studios and Sony where Spider-Man will appear in a Marvel Studios film, which will see him rub shoulders with The Avengers. Also, four of Marvel’s Phase 3 films have been pushed back as a new Spider-Man movie opens in theaters on July 28, 2017.

Sony has fumbled the ball with this franchise since 2007, with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 being the last straw. An e-mail from the “Sony Hack” revealed that Marvel president Alan Fine was highly critical of Sony’s script two years before the movie’s release. Continue reading “Spider-Man Swings Into The Marvel Cinematic Universe!” →

Finn Bálor and Adrian Neville Set The Stage For NXT Takeover

– WWE NXT Results – 2/4/15 | Fail Sail University, Winter Park, FL | Commentators: Corey Graves, Rich Brennan, and Alex Riley

NXT kicks off in SWAFT fashion as Enzo Amore and Big Cass get the crowd going. They introduce Carmella who tells the crowd that Blue Pants (who defeated Carmella on 1/1/15) went back to the clearance rack. Emma comes out next with her usual bubble entrance and dance number.

– Emma vs. Carmella

The crowd loves Emma and they’re happy to see her back at Full Sail. Carmella doesn’t care and goes right in for the attack but Emma catches her with some forearms. Carmella is able to out power Emma to take control of the match. Emma bounces back with a two clotheslines. Emma looks to have things well in hand until Carmella delivers a drop toe hold and applies a leg scissors choke, forcing Emma to tap out.

The SWAFT crew celebrates in the ring while Emma looks dejected. Emma was a little more intense this time around and it was mentioned that Emma is back in NXT to jump start her career and she might be a little sour as a result. Carmella compliments Cass and Enzo’s act but she isn’t as over with the crowd, yet. Enzo has charisma for days and “you can’t teach that!”

Winner: Carmella via submission Continue reading “Finn Bálor and Adrian Neville Set The Stage For NXT Takeover” →

Smith Hart Talks WWE’s Creative Direction, Roman Reigns, Bret Hart, Vince Russo, and More

In this special edition of the Gerweck Report podcast, I talked to Smith Hart of the legendary Hart Family. Smith is the oldest brother of Bret Hart and the uncle of WWE Diva Natalya. Click here to find out what Smith had to say about various topics such as

-Earliest memories of breaking into the wrestling business

-His days as an amateur wrestler

-Stampede Wrestling

-Wrestling in Japan

-Thoughts on the UFC

-His relationship with his brothers Bruce, Keith, and Bret

-WWE current creative direction

-Would he ever work for WWE, TNA or ROH

-His dealings with John Laurinaitis

-How to book heels and babyfaces

-Does he believe Roman Reigns is ready to be the top guy

-His blog about the ten worst executives in the history of wrestling

-His challenge to Vince Russo

-and more!

Warning: strong language

Visit Smith Hart on Facebook and Twitter @SmithHart1

Calling The Shots: Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz

Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz main event at UFC 183 is a fight that was never supposed to be made. A middleweight that walks around at 220 lbs. and a thinly framed welterweight doesn’t make sense in the combative sphere of the MMA. However, a gruesome injury, along with the eclectic desire to only vie for a high valued prize, suddenly made this bout go from impractical to something that makes complete sense.

Silva is coming off a thirteen-month layoff after recovering from a broken leg he suffered in his bout with Chris Weidman. Diaz emerges from a 22-month retirement where a seven-figure payday in a loss to Georges St. Pierre made him very selective on who he does business with inside the confines of the Octagon. Continue reading “Calling The Shots: Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz” →

Somebody Get Me A Condominium On The Moon: Randy Savage Makes The Hall Of Fame

After all this time, it’s finally official. Macho Man Randy Savage will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before WrestleMania 31. Regardless of what anyone thinks of the HOF’s legitimacy, Savage’s induction is long past due.

To me, Randy Savage will always represent the moment professional wrestling became a lifelong passion of mine. While channel surfing on a hot summer night in 1988, I stumbled upon a Mega Powers promo and was immediately drawn in as they vowed to bankrupt the Mega Bucks at Summer Slam 88.

Continue reading “Somebody Get Me A Condominium On The Moon: Randy Savage Makes The Hall Of Fame” →

The Force Awakens My Excitement

The official title of the new Star Wars movie that is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2015 is The Force Awakens. I like the title, but without context, I can’t say that I love it, yet. It does feel right when saying it along with the names of the other titles such as A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

I did notice that “Episode VII” is absent from the title image. TheForce.net has confirmed with Lucasfilm that it will be not appear in the title or promotional material for the film, but it will be in the opening crawl. Continue reading “The Force Awakens My Excitement” →