2006 Match of the Year

My personal pick for Match of the Year 2006. A match straight from Japan, and a definate must see:

GHC Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. KENTA

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Part 4:

Am I Meant To Die?

So today, I was in ANOTHER car accident. It wasn't my fault and again, I am the victim. I was just pulling away from a four way stop when some douchebag in a big white van plowed into me from behind going 45 at the very least. He wasn't trying to break because I would have heard screeching and the impact was incredible. Upon impact, my back window exploded towards the front and my radio powered off and it broke my seat as once my car finished rolling (40 feet the cop said) I was laying down rather than sitting up. A witness came running to my car to check to see if I was alive and okay and told me his wife was calling the cops and that they'd be on their way soon, which they arrived within 5 minutes, tops. I tried to get out of the car, but the cop heard me speaking and noticed my shaking and told me to stay in the car because I was in shock. Ambulance came to take me to the hospital, but I refused medical attention which was dumb on my part because my neck is in terrible pain, as well as my back and shoulders, but I know it's nothing serious and is only whiplash, if anything. So anyway, the extent of damages done to my car once I examined it and got a chance to give it a once-over:

* Shattered back window
* Two severed tires
* Entirely smashed back end including trunk, doors, back seats and bumpers
* Broken driver and front passenger seats (drivers seat completely snapped in half)
* Broken side windows
* Broken radio
* Broken front & back ashtray
* Smashed side door
* Broken money holder
* Broken back cup holder
* and the glove compartment won't open

There is probably more unknown damage to the car that I don't know about. Obviously, something more is wrong as the impact was to the back, yet the radio and windows are broken. All of this because some douchebag ran a red light. I feel really, really lucky to be walking or just sitting at my house right now because if I didn't have my seatbelt on, I could have been dead or wounded to an unknown extent. However at the same time, I feel completely unlucky. Ever since I've bought this car, I've had nothing but a streak of bad luck. This is my third car accident, my car broke down on the way to California and luckily, I had enough time to turn and pull over as my car died -- but with each accident seems like it gets worse and worse. With this, I could have been a goner if he nailed me from the front in. I just have this awful feeling of doom inside me and I feel like God just has it in for me. I am a very safe driver and all of this is happening to me. I feel like things will continue to get worse for me. It just feels like I am meant to die soon. This car accident was just another notch on my belt. If I had any passengers in the back, they would be in the hospital or dead.

Regardless, today has been the worst day I've had in ages. I truly feel like my time left is either going to be torture or non-existant.

My First Indy Experience

Some opening notes here. Bryan Danielson was in attendance, sitting at the announcers table wearing a beanie. The majority of the crowd was Mexican as the show was aimed towards their community. This was my first indy show that I had ever been to and I had high hopes for it. Here is my review.

The show kicked off with a promo by Joey Ryan and Carl Anderson who came down and ran down the crowd claiming that it's not their fault that they're Mexican. Got a shitload of heat (obviously) and they were eventually ran down by Los Luchas who challenged them to a Flag Match later on in the night.

Four Corners Tag Team Match
JJ Perez & TJ Perkins vs. E.G.O. (Nathan Rules & AJ Kirsch) w/Johnny LaRocca vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson) vs. Midnight Dynamite (Johnny Paradise & Charles Mercury)

Very fast paced, and fun match up. Before tonight, I had never seen any of these wrestlers except Nathan Rules and I wasn't all too impressed with him, but these 8 guys definately kicked off the show right to me and impressed me in their own way. One of the high spots of the match that stood out to me was when Nick Jackson hit a West Coast Pop off the top rope on to the floor to one of the guys. Dangerous and impressive. In the end, it was the Young Bucks who picked up the win pinning Paradise and Mercury with a double pin in around 12 minutes. ***

The Mighty Kafu vs. Pete Goodman

Holy fuck, this match was atrocious. The mexican people went absolutely apeshit for Kafu who is like the Mexican Ultimate Warrior. Talentless, but charismatic. This guy was awful, and Pete Goodman was decent but couldn't salvage this match. He was an excellent heel but in the end, the match was won via old school chop by Kafu. The match went on far too long and sucked. DUD

Bobby Jo Marshall & Ricky Reyes vs. Colt Cabana & Sexy Simpson

This was a surprise to me because I had no idea that Cabana would be in attendance. I marked out when the tunes of "Copa Cobana" hit. His partner I had never seen or heard of before, but they made a good comedic team. Reyes looks smaller live than he seems on DVD/online. Once the comedy aspects were put out of the way, the match itself was quite solid. Cabana and Reyes handled the more impressive portions of the match, but Marshall bumped well and Simpson just seemed out of place. However, it was a standard yet entertaining match which was won by Cabana around 15 minutes. **3/4

Nick Bockwinkle was brought out and was announced as an inductee to this years WWE Hall of Fame. He went to shake Pearce's hand, and it was ignored and Creed shook it instead.

NWA Heritage Championship
Adam Pearce © w/C.E. Vanderpyle vs. Nelson Creed

I had never heard of Creed, but Pearce had never really done too much to impress me, but I knew I'd get a solid match from him because he is solid in the ring and a great heel. Until this point, he had garnered the most heat of anyone on the show. This match was actually fucking awesome. Creed impressed the hell out me and while neither man did anything spotty or flashy, they wrestled a damn fine match. Vanderpyle had tossed Pearce a pair of knucks and he used them on Creed, but didn't get the pinfall. Creed had been getting his leg worked on so he went for a move and fell into the ref. Creed went for the knucks again, but Creed stole them and decked Pearce with them. He pinned him and won the match. Fans went nuts. However, another referee informed the current ref of what happened and the decision was reversed to a DQ victory for Pearce at about 19 minutes. ***3/4

Afterwards, Creed destroyed the referee though he made the right decision. Pearce was pelted with popcorn, drinks and otherwise from the people.

25 Man King of the Summit Rumble

This was wrestled like the Royal Rumble, but new entrants came in every 45 seconds. It wasn't a masterpiece of anything, but it was entertaining as one of the guys, Sexy Chino, who weighs about 120 pounds (literally) lasted from #4 until the very end. He eliminated one of the guys (whose name slips from my memory) when The Mighty Kafu (who had been eliminated) came in to help Chino eliminate the other guy and win the match. Chino was close to elimination about 50 times, but lasted until the end and won the match. Again, not a masterpiece but entertaining. I won't rate this, but I had fun watching it.

Kaos & Aaron Aguilera vs. Human Tornado & Matt Classic

For those who don't know, Matt Classic is Colt Cabana under a mask and is his gimmick in WSX on MTV. It's a gimmick of a classic old school wrestler from the 1960's with the HUGE tights and socks showing beneath the boots. This match was fucking fun. Not a classic by any means, but for the second time in one night, Cabana was on the fucking ball. Hell, everyone was. Kaos was always neat to me since I saw one of his Ladder Matches a couple of years back and I mark for Tornado who hit all of his comedic spots (sans the Pounce though). Tornado hit a HUGE plancha on to Kaos and Aguilera into the front row which was neat and Classic and Kaos semi-chain wrestled. In the end, Tornado hit a HUGE tornado DDT and Aguilera ditched Kaos after he missed a dropkick allowing Tornado to pin Kaos. Fun match, but also very solid. Went on about 15 minutes. ***

Post match, Aguilera came back in the ring and feigned anger with Kaos and just when it seemed they were going to fight, they hugged to major heat. Good way to close this segment.

Flag Match: Team USA vs. Team Mexico
Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) vs. Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson & Joey Ryan

Opening pieces of the match saw a lot of crowd taunting including a drunk mexican in the front row taking off his shirt ready to fight Joey Ryan. The less said about that, the better. The opening five minutes were very crowd involved, but once the wrestling got started, it was awesome. The luchas were very fucking fast and Ryan and Anderson had trouble keeping up with them (kayfabe, I'm sure) which led to a lot of semi-homosexual innuendos between Ryan and Anderson like hugging with the face near the crotch and rubbing each other down and such. Ryan and Anderson dominated the smaller guys, as one would expect, for most of the first 10 minutes or so. However, a double sunset flip by Star and Zokre on the Americans led to their tights being pulled down and an unwelcome shot of Joey Ryan's pubic hair and ass. I could have done without. In the end, the match flipped control a few times before the referee was distracted by the ever-appearing C. Edward Vanderpyle and Adam Pearce ran down and broke the Mexican flag across one of the Luchas' back and Joey Ryan pinned him (Phoenix, I believe) for the win at around 25 minutes or so (that's counting the first 5 minutes of shenanigans). ***3/4 This match fucking ruled and was exciting as fuck.

A small note, when Pearce broke the flag, a piece of it went flying into the crowd right past me and hit some kid right in the face and cut him open. He was taken to the back to get medical attention. Meanwhile, after the match was over, the crowd (again, mostly Mexicans) almost rioted and began throwing anything they could in the direction of Ryan, Pearce and Anderson. Nelson Creed ran down and chased off the heels and broke the American flag over his knee, despite being American himself. One of the Luchas took the mic and jabbered on in Spanish. Then, one of the officials for the NWA came down and said he understood what he meant and said that he is agreeing to meet the request of Los Luchas to book a Tag Team Cage match at the next event in Vegas on May 20th of this year. Fans went apeshit for this.

Main Event
El Hijo del Santo & Kidman vs. Psicosis & Super Parka

Kidman appearing was another shock to me, and while I am not a Kidman fan, I do have to say I was happy he was there. And boy, he is fucking HUGE now. I thought he was big when he got fired from WWE, but now, he's got to be at least 250. His head is so small and his body is so huge. Anyway, this match was fun as fuck and without a doubt the best match of the night. Lucha rules applied, and spills to the floor and plenty of high risk maneuvers to go-round here. Kidman busted out the Shooting Star Press, but missed it and was out for about 5 minutes. Santo then proceeded to pwn Parka and Psicosis leading to a sequence between Parka and Santo which Parka won. Kidman then came in, hit the Shooting Star on Psicosis and then Santo pinned Parka with a rollup out of nowhere in about 20 minutes to win the match. **** Match was seriously MOTY quality and is worth buying the DVD when the match comes out.

Afterwards, fan went nuts and they thanked us for coming and that was that.

Final Thoughts: I am happy to say that my first indy experience was a success and nothing disappointed too much (outside of ONE match) and that makes me fucking happy. Plus, after some research, I find out that The James Gang was originally supposed to be here, but no-showed, thank God. I got a couple of surprising treats such as Cabana not only once, but twice, plus a surprise appearance by Kidman. Everyone busted their ass (for the most part) and the crowd definately was hot. Rowdy fucking Mexicans. They definately have gained me as a fan and I will be back on May 20th. This show owned and makes me want to chase my dream of being a wrestler even further. Soon. Soon. When it comes out on DVD, I reccomend that you check this show out. You won't be disappointed.

I don't give a fuck!

Ghost Rider

Rather than doing an entire review for this, I'll say that despite the fact that I have NEVER read a Ghost Rider story or the like, I did enjoy the movie. However, it's nothing I'd recommend or view again. It was good, but it was just that. Good. Decent at best. I dug Sam Elliot's acting and Nicholas Cage was pretty good in his role. Holy fuck, he got in WONDERFUL shape for this movie and looked about 10 years younger that he actually is. Donald Loage is always funny/good, so it had all the right elements. The best part about the movie is without a doubt Eva Mendes gracing the screen. The effects for the movie were decent, but I couldn't get into it that much. The "bad guys" were bland and it just wasn't what I expected.

Overall Rating: 2/5 - Decent, if only for the effects and acting. The actual movie is meh.

TCE Radio Returns -- FINALLY!

TCE Radio made it's grand return to the air, and LIVE this time with an audience to boot! It was a rough broadcast with technical difficulties, but still a good show once we go things going. From the death of Bam Bam Bigelow to Russo and his awful TNA booking, myself and my co-host Taylor Green discussed it all. It's definately a must hear:

Download it here.

Feedback/comments are welcome here.

iMPACT 1/11/07 Workrate Report

Cage's Workrate Report
iMPACT 1/11/07

So after the abortion that was last week's iMPACT, we're FINALLY treated to an average to above average show. Is that too much to ask for, Russo? Honestly now, give us what we want. Give us what you advertise. TNA: This Is Wrestling. My ass.

The opening segment with Cornette and Angle was so incredibly stupid. Cornette has got to be the worst on screen authority figure since Linda McMahon. Of course, it's the way he's booked more than anything. Angle has to be in the ring to face Michael Shane?! That's worth his while? Right.

The match itself was bland as possibly, but it actually provided WRESTLING. Drawn out squash match as nobody honestly expects Matt Bentley to defeat Kurt Angle. This Serotonin thing is fucking retarded and needs to end. They've killed Kazarian and Bentley and nobody gives a good God damn about Devine in the end anyway and Raven needs to be off TV until he loses some weight. WTF was up with that mask? And did anyone else hear Mike Tenay yell out "That's So Raven!"? Amusing.

I hate Team 3D. LAX deserves better. I also don't understand why they'd claim that 3D took out Konnan, but not show how it happened. They can show Raven canning Bentley, but not this? I don't understand it, nor will I try to do so. It just makes zero sense to me. However, at least it's a heat builder. It gets me SOMEWHAT interested in their match, though I will boycott TNA if Bubba and D-Von win the Tag Team Titles.

Holy fuck, Chris Harris gave an amazing interview. The cheesy soap opera music in the background sucked, but he made me legitimately believe his pain and the heartbreak. Push this man, now! Thank God they didn't have Tenay doing this interview with his awful facial expressions and badgering. He fucking suck. So does Borash, but this segment just worked for me.

That being said, the six-man tag was also very good considering how little time it was given (or chopped into by TNA's editing crew), and I like that AJ is now one of the better heels in TNA. Kinda silly for Daniels to fall for AJ's heel work that he JUST used like 2 weeks ago, but it gets AJ over more, which is necessary. He's so much more entertaining as a heel and works better too. Rhino continues to look like an idiot too which is always fun.

Mitchell cut an excellent promo as expected by him. He's one of the better promo men in this business, and this is a prime example of such.

I was a little irked by the Borsah/Young segment, not for the birth control pills, but because Borash was waiting for Team 3D to enter the Impact Zone after they'd already come in, shown up on TV, and did something to Konnan that obviously wasn't important enough to show on tv. However, Eric Young continues to entertain me. That's all that matters.

The Tomko/Abyss main event was an okay big man match, nothing was really done badly in it, and I was happy to see them protect Tomko so he can be taken seriously as Cage's bodyguard. I love how they had Abyss come down the face ramp as Mitchell locked absolutely petrified on the opposite side of the "arena". Have they ever really utilized the face/heel ramps like this before? If so, I can't remember.

Sting is the Stupidest Babyface in the World. How many times does he have to be turned on to realize that YOU CAN'T TRUST SOMEONE WHO PREVIOUSLY TURNED ON YOU (more than once). He's a fucking idiot and it's that booking that's frustrating.

All in all, fun show with some meh happenings, but nothing too painful that I can't forgive. 3.5/5

SD! 1/12/07 Workrate Report

Cage's Workrate Report
SmackDown! 1/12/07

WHAT WORKED:

- Holy fuck, Finlay vs. Hardy was fun! I believe this is the second year in a row that they kicked things off on SmackDown!. Regardless, it told a good story and was very enjoyable while it lasted. Neither man is doing much of anything right now (usual case with Hardy) so why don't they put them in a feud? Of course, I say that before Mercury runs it to continue the MNM vs. Hardys feud which I am fucking pumped for.

- Benoit vs. Kennedy was one of Kennedy's better matches in his WWE tenure and the best match he's had with Benoit, hands down. I love the current push they're giving Kennedy. It's not over push and there's no chance that he'll defeat Batista at the Rumble, however, they're making him feel important and he really needs that after the abortion that was the Undertaker/Kennedy feud. Fun match here which clocks in for ***1/2 from me.

- That segment where Regal and Taylor was letting London and Kendrick know that it was a "wrestling" match was brilliant... as was their match. Really, really fun stuff here. Both teams looked awesome and I'd like to see this feud go on. London & Kendrick have single handedly brought back tag team wrestling in the WWE and for that, I applaud them. This feud is just another in the great series they're having and I hope they continue to come out on top. They fucking deserve it bah gawd.

- MVP. No, not the match he was in, but MVP. He just is fucking awesome and continues to impress the fuck out of me. His selling of the burns ranged from good to awesome and his overall package is just thumbs up. That Inferno Match had to have been a turning point in his career. MVP for United States Champion in 2007! Oh yeah, the match was pretty decent too.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:

- Chavo on commentary. He sounded so fucking out of place that it's not funny. Chavo, to me, is really underrated in the ring when he's motivated. But you'd think with fucking Eddie Guerrero as your uncle that over the years you would have picked up some of his charisma on the mic. It's really, really sad when motherfucking Vickie Guerrero is better on the mic that you.

- JBL saved it a bit, but Miz being squashed by Taker is just silly to me for a couple of reasons. 1. A squash match should not main event SD!. 2. Undertaker shouldn't have "had it easy", but I suppose it's all random, but still... Regardless, Kennedy's involvement also saved this, but it still didn't work for me.

- Lack of Batista. Yes, I know that he had a promo and they were airing the "Batista story" but still, he should have more of an interest in these things. All those clips of Kennedy watching could have been matched by Batista watching as well. I guess he doesn't care who he faces. Meh.

All in all, SmackDown! continues to rule everyone asses and is the #1 show in wrestling today, bar none. Anyone who says otherwise is a fucking sheep, lying loser with no BRAAAAIN. Everything for the most part fell into place with this, and of course, it shows. Good event, definate must see. 4/5

"Everything happens for a reason"

I'm sure you've all heard this phrase at one time or another in your life.

Quite honestly, I hate it.

Today, I find out that my 8 year old cousin, Hunter, has been diagnosed with Encephalitis and has been in the hospital since Saturday and is getting worse by the day. Yet everything happens for a reason. I'd like to know what reason there is for a healthy, lively, intelligent and amazing kid with so much potential for the future to be stricken with something so awful that it may lead to his death at the age of 8. Honestly, I am just beyond pissed at this point because the first thing someone said to be today when I was asked "What's wrong?" is that everything happens for a reason.

I need an explanation.

I can't begin to fathom that whatever higher being that exists, whether it be God or what have you, honestly feels that there is a reason to cause an 8 year old child so much hurt and pain. If he does live, he loses his sight and his speech will forever be slurred because at this point, he can't see and he speaks like he has a mouth full of Oatmeal. He's lost weight, and he's already tiny. And because it's Viral rather than Bacterial, he can't be treated with any Antibiotics because it wouldn't cure anything. So all we can do is pray. But if we're praying to God, what's the point? Everything happens for a reason but he made this happen.

It's fucking sickening and it's shit like this that makes me question "His" existance. If God is so great, then why does this happen to a fucking 8 year old child, but sick pieces of shit still roam the streets raping, murdering and doing all sorts of other awful things to people. Ugh.