WrestleMania 31 Recap

The thirty-first installment of WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, took place at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California in front of a reported capacity crowd of 76,976. There were several big storylines going into this event.

Would this be Sting’s first, and last, WWE match? Could The Undertaker return to glory after his big loss last year? Would the fans reject the company’s new heir apparent, Roman Reigns, on the grandest stage?
Will John Cena stop the mad Russian and bring the U.S. title back to the states?

Click here to check out my review at Forces of Geek.com

GRP: Wrestlemania 31 Predictions

Frank Dee, Cassidy Ash and I sit down for a special edition of the Gerweck Report Podcast to breakdown and give our WrestleMania 31 predictions. WrestleMania takes place this evening with nine big matches with two of them taking place on the pre-show.

Will Sting win his first WWE match?

Can the Undertaker come back from his streak ending loss?

Will Roman Regins be booed out of Levi Stadium?

and so much more!

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The Fall of A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 featured the death of Donatello which capped off a four issue story arc titled Attack on the Technodrome. A second printing has already been ordered and will be available on April 8th. Most comic book stores were sold out of the book within minutes of its release, which has made the first printing a tough item to acquire.

So, why kill Donatello? While the series is consistently one of the best reads on the shelf, it was the right time for something drastic to occur. Team members die and return to life in comic books all the time, which often cheapens eerie hold that death is supposed to hold over someone.

The team dynamic will be different going forward because Donatello was the smart one and his intelligence was often the key in getting the team out of sticky situations. That is gone now, and adjustments will have to be made which should provide for some interesting stories down the line.

I wrote a column at Forces of Geek.com reviewing the last five issues of the series which shows how this moment was set up along with everything else that was happening with out favorite turtles. Click here to check it out.

Script-Mania and Thoughts on Brock Lesnar Resigning with WWE

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns is the scheduled main event for this Sunday’s WrestleMania and all the chatter going into the match revolves around the popular opinion is that Reigns isn’t ready to be anointed ”the guy.” Looking at this objectively, I’m wondering what kind of match these two are going to put on.

Lesnar delivers in high-profile situations largely because his opponents have been able to mask his shortcomings as a worker by accenting his strengths. Reigns hasn’t had that standout singles performance and needs to be carried at this point of his career. Continue reading “Script-Mania and Thoughts on Brock Lesnar Resigning with WWE” →

Thoughts On The Passing Of Perro Aguayo Jr.

There was some sad news over the weekend as Lucha Libre star Perro Aguayo Jr. passed away after a match in Tijuana, Mexico at the age of 35. Coincidently, this was also Rey Mysterio’s first match since being released from WWE. There are some news outlets that have reported this responsibly, but there are other places that have used misleading headlines which blame Mysterio for Aguayo’s passing.

I know the real story here is that a young man tragically lost his life, however, something needs to be said for how the media is portraying Mysterio as having sole blame in this matter. I’m sure he is extremely heartbroken over the situation, and some in the wrestling media are trying to change the narrative at the expense of Mysterio’s reputation for the sake of web site click bait.

The footage of the match shows the sequence of spots leading up to Aguayo’s passing. Everything from Aguayo taking a spinning head scissors where he bumped on the floor, to the moment he took a dropkick into the ropes to set up the 619 and even when Manik hit the ropes while Aguayo was positioned on them are all inconclusive.

The fact of the matter is that we may never know the precise moment and move that triggered the fatal injury. The only thing that is clear is that this was an accident in every sense of the word. No one is to blame, it’s a sad situation all around.

I don’t know why, but all the discussion regarding the various moves that attributed to Aguayo’s passing made me think about the time I watched video of my backyard wrestling escapades two years after I began training to become a wrestler. Watching that footage with a trained eye scared me because there were several instances where I didn’t remotely have a clue how close I was to seriously injuring myself or someone else.

I’m not saying in any way, shape, or form that the men in the ring that night were careless or untrained. It just goes to show the risk that every single person who steps into a ring is taking when they perform. The bottom line is that someone died, and that should be the focus, not whether someone is to blame or not to blame.

My condolences go out to the family of Perro Aguayo Jr. I also want to wish all of the wrestlers well who have matches coming up as we go into our favorite weekend of the year. Please, be safe, and have fun.

Remember The Name: Joanna Jedrzejczyk

UFC 185 produced an interesting night of fights that not only provided some divisional clarity but crowned two new champions. One of the new titleholders became a star on Saturday night as she pummeled her way towards straw-weight gold and her name is Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The first straw-weight title defense in UFC history hadn’t gained a lot of fanfare even though an entire season of The Ultimate Fighter was used as a vehicle to usher in the division. Carla Esparza seemed to have a firm lock on the title since her wrestling appeared to be unstoppable. Continue reading “Remember The Name: Joanna Jedrzejczyk” →

First Photo’s of Melissa Benoist as Supergirl. (Yes, I’m Blogging about a Costume)

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I’ve received a lot of messages over the last six days with everyone asking me one very important question. What do I think of the new Supergirl costume? I found this kind of weird since its WrestleMania season, but hey, I’m game.

CBS has just begun production on a new Supergirl television show that is scheduled to air this Fall. Melissa Benoist of Glee and Whiplash fame has been cast in the titular role and the first photos of her costume has received enormous feedback.

Most people seem to like the outfit, but there are others who don’t like because it’s too dark. Seeing the first image of any actor in a superhero costume is a big deal because it’s our first glimpse into a new world.

Continue reading “First Photo’s of Melissa Benoist as Supergirl. (Yes, I’m Blogging about a Costume)” →

X-Men and Guardians of The Galaxy Enter The Black Vortex

The Black Vortex is the current big event going on in Marvel Comics with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men teaming up to stop an ancient artifact that is imbued with immeasurable power from destroying billions of lives across the universe.
This event will be a three month trek with four books that were released in February, five installments to be released in March with the final four chapters hitting shelves in April.

Here we’re going to examine the first four books while looking at story progression, character depth, and things that look to be shaping up. If you haven’t started reading this event yet, consider this your Cliff’s Notes on The Black Vortex.

There is one question that needs to be asked and that is, “why should we care about this event when Secret Wars is right around the corner?”

The Marvel Universe as we know it will be melded into one single cohesive alignment called Battleworld where continuity could be changed, altered, or remained untouched. While crossover events should deliver some high stakes excitement that augments the overall scope of the universe in some way, shape, or form.

However, sometimes, it’s all about providing a sense of wonderment while seeing your favorite characters in uncommon situations. If you’re a Guardians and or X-Men devotee, seeing them interact is half the fun.

Check out my review of the first four installments of The Black Vortex at Forces of Geek.com

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” →