The Examination of UFC on Fox 5

Seattle played host to the best MMA card of the year, UFC on Fox 5, which was seen by over 4.4 million people. Some key developments emerged from Saturday night’s event, as fans witnessed the rise and fall of MMA’s past.

Raphael Assuncao over Mike Easton by Unanimous Decision: These are two of the most talented fighters in the Bantamweight division. Easton has a huge upside and could be a star in the future. Assuncao controlled the tempo of the fight and dictated where the fight took place. He might have done enough to earn the next title shot against the winner of Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald in February.

Yves Edwards defeats Jeremy Stephens via TKO @ 1:55 of the 1^st Round: From 2004-2005, Yves Edwards was arguably the best lightweight in the world. Dana White considered Edwards his champion when the division’s championship was absent from the promotion. It was great to see signs of the old Edwards as he dropped Jeremy Stephens with a well-timed left hook and finished him with elbows on the ground. Also, an extra $65,000 for Knockout of the Night is a nice Christmas bonus.

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The Iron Week Spectacle of “Brutal” Bob Evans vs. Todd Sople

(Column written for gerweck.net)

Contrary to popular belief, the best wrestling match this past Monday night did not occur on television. Instead, it took place at the New England Pro Wrestling Academy in North Andover, Massachusetts. “Brutal” Bob Evans wrestled Manchester, New Hampshire’s Todd Sople in a sixty minute iron man match as the second installment of “Iron Week.”

Iron Week is a challenge for some, a happening for most, and a journey for Bob Evans. The concept of Iron Week consists of seven 60-minute matches taking place over seven consecutive days. Evans did this once before in 2009 for six days and this year he would like to break own record. At 40 years old, this is Evan’s second chance to make a lasting impression as time is not on his side. The end game is to make a lasting impression in order to wrestle on the national stage on a regular basis.

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How Did You Become A Wrestling Fan?

(Column written for gerweck.net)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and while we all have things in our life to be thankful for, I think wrestling can appear on that list in some way, shape, or form. Wrestling fans come from all walks of life and all of us having our own likes and dislikes about the business. Some are casual WWE fans while others are hardcore fans who simply can’t get enough of their favorite pastime.

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Champion vs. Champion: Georges St. Pierre vs. Carlos Condit Preview

Georges St. Pierre’s seventeen month journey back to the Octagon culminates on Saturday night in Montréal. Once the cage door opens, Carlos Condit will be waiting with anything but open arms and a firm desire to remove the interim status from his championship reign. This is a fascinating fight for a variety of reasons despite the resounding opinion of a GSP victory.

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Cung Le: Fact or Fable?

Cung Le’s spectacular first-round knockout of Rich Franklin proved he is the real deal even though it won’t silence the critics. Le gained notoriety before he entered MMA with his Sanshou Kick Boxing bouts on ESPN. He never looked back once he transitioned to the sport and has garnered a professional record of 11-2. Despite his success in the cage, his resume does have some issues to dissect.

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The Conquistadors: All Gold and No Glory

Conquistador is Spanish for “conquerors” and is applied to Spaniard soldiers who explored the New World in the 16^th century. In the late 1980s, the squared circle of the World Wrestling Federation was treated to Conquistadors of a different variety. Gone were the warriors of strategic battle tactics and enter the two individuals who never came close to conquering anything.

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Ten Greatest WCW Cruiserweights of All-Time

The international flavor of WCW’s Cruiserweight division produced some of the most innovative wrestling matches and served as the launching pad to some of the biggest names in the industry. The hot potato nature of its title reigns makes it impossible to rank the wrestlers by championship merit.

Oftentimes, these matches would not only open the show but downright steal it. Jushin Liger and Brian Pillman deserve honorable mentions in this conversation. Their matches took place in the Light Heavyweight division, a precursor to the Cruiserweight division, and put lighter-weight classes in professional wrestling on the map in the United States. Today, we rank the top ten WCW Cruiserweights of all time.

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CM Punk: The Best DVD In The World

The gold standard of WWE DVD releases are The Ultimate Ric Flair collection and The Rise and Fall of ECW. After spending 3 hours with my Blu-ray player, CM Punk: Best in the World can be added to that list and may be the crown jewel of their catalog. I am of the opinion that CM Punk is currently the best worker in the business today. This is coming from someone who is not his biggest fan.

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Combat Sports Lose Two of Their Finest

This week, combat sports lost two of its most influential and beloved members in Jeff Blatnick and Emanuel Steward.

Blatnick won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Greco Roman wrestling and was a color commentator for UFC 4-32. He was instrumental in drafting the unified rules that govern the sport today and coined the term Mixed Martial Arts.

Stewart won the national golden gloves tournament in 1963. He transitioned to training professional fighters and became one of the most accomplished and sought after trainers in the sport. The founder of Detroit’s legendary Kronk Gym not only produced a plethora of championship fighters such as Thomas Hearns but helped get troubled youths off the streets.

Todd Martin of the Wrestling Observer wrote an insightful piece on Jeff Blatnick, and ESPN posted a wonderful article on Emanuel Steward. I highly recommend you check them out.

I Know How To Beat Ryback

(Column I wrote for gerweck.net)

Ryback vs. CM Punk headlines the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View event this Sunday. The WWE has booked themselves into a tight little corner because they played the Ryback card way too soon. In contemporary wrestling where wins and losses don’t matter, Ryback’s undefeated streak is everything. If he loses under any circumstance, the gimmick is dead and he is just another superstar on the roster.

In my opinion, let him win the title. He is over and as long as you don’t mess with his formula of destroying people, he will continue to be over for quite some time. While the common wisdom suggests Ryback must win, there has to be a creative way for him to be pinned without losing his momentum. I’m going to have a little fun with this and put on my booking hat and throw out an idea that could work.

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