All posts by World War Joe

Shelton Benjamin : Snubbed

Shelton Benjamin is probably the most talented wrestler in WWE history that was never given a fair shot at a heavyweight championship. Mid card and tag titles he’s won, but Benjamin should’ve won a World Champion by now. Now sadly its too late for him, but I wonder if it would be best for him to end his career somewhere else. Impact Wrestling would be the safest move. AEW is too heavy in the world title run and NJPW doesn’t really have the impact like it did a few years ago.

I thought Benjamin would’ve been good at leading a faction of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan calling themselves the Gold Standard. It would’ve been nice to see Benjamin getting more screentime as something more than a match filler. Being a part of the Hurt Business was probably the most interesting thing they did with him in years, but sadly that ended too fast and now Benjamin is just cannon fodder to make Bobby Lashley look better.

Where do you see Benjamins, future going in the WWE and if you had a dream match for him who would it be against?

Simptastic Joe

Your Disability Doesn’t Make Sense   

I understand the MCU is adding more diversity to their characters. Not just in gender and color, but in disabilities. In the Eternals and the Hawkeye TV show we saw a pair of deaf women Makkari and Maya Lopez. I don’t see the logic of the two women being deaf.

Let’s start with Makkari. She’s an Eternal, which is a superpowered being created by a celestial being. A celestial created her with superspeed and the inability to hear? Okay? Why? And worst of all, the character in the Eternals Phastos is their tech guy of the group, someone who can create anything. Phastos even made a machine that can trap and negate the powers of Ikaris. So, you’re telling me he couldn’t just make a hearing aid for Makkari?

I got into a very long argument online questioning logic of Makkari’s deafness. I argued that her being deaf is a hinderance to the group. Apparently, she can sense vibrations in people’s voices so she can tell what people are saying, but the group still needs to do sign language for her. Not only that, the group battles monsters. Which in a fight, having the ability to hear is kind of important? Also being able to comminate with your teammates is also important. So, besides checking off some diversity boxes, why would they make her deaf?

Now to Hawkeye. Lopez is one of the henchmen of the Kingpin, who is one of the riches most powerful crime bosses in the Marvel Universe. Lopez is deaf and also missing a leg. Oddly enough the actress is really deaf and is missing a leg, which is very impressive especially with all the fight scenes she’s in. mt issue is that disabilities like these shouldn’t exist in Marvel. Tony Stark built a time machine in a night; you’re telling me giving people the ability to hear and see is impossible? That Bucky has a vibraniam arm and the Kingpin can’t afford something like that for Lopez? That forcing fellow henchmen to learn sign language so they can communicate with Lopez was a better idea than just giving her the gadgets she needs or simply releasing her.

I know its nice to give actors and actresses who have a disability like this a chance to be on screen and most importantly look awesome on screen. Both women were incredible to watch. The fight scene was Ikaris was one of the best fights in the MCU and Lopez is reported to have her own spin off show called Echo (which ill get to another time) and was one of the best characters in the Hawkeye show. 

I have no issue with the idea of having a character with such disabilities, but I just think in both situations it made little sense. What do you think about that?

Simptastic Joe

No Way Jose : Dead From The Start

Terrible name. Boring moves. Horrendous finisher. No Way Jose was poised to fail from his first moments in NXT. Having a dancing gimmick hasn’t worked out since the days of 2 Cool, and those guys were never really found themselves in the main event picture. I don’t really remember Jose having any main roster moments of value.

Is there a way to save Jose? Not without a total overhaul. He does have some good size and athleticism. A change in finisher is the first thing. Something simple like The Freak Accident or a reverse Samoan Drop is what I would choose for him.

Character wise I would’ve put him in a multi man ladder match on NXT or pair him off with someone like Kona Reeves, another wrestler devoid of purpose. Have them make a run in the Dusty Rhodes tag Team Classic and see if they catch on with the fans. Some matches against Sanity and AOP would really boost their credibility. Maybe move them up to the main roster together. I still think Reeves is on NXT somehow after all these years without a meaningful feud yet.

That’s how I would’ve fixed Jose. I don’t think he would’ve been a main star in the WWE or NXT, but he would be someone that fans would want to tune in to see. Someone who would be in Royal Rumbles, fill out Money in the Bank matches and maybe, with alittle push, be able to jump into a successful singles career.

Simptastic Joe

The Death of Trent

This episode of Rampage has once again proven that AEW has no idea what they are doing with their storylines or how to protect their wrestler’s reputation. The Best Friends and their companions have been fighting the Elite for weeks now. Adam Cole and Orange Cassidy ended their feud in dramatic fashion and I figured this was the ending to the Young Bucks and Trent and Rocky Romero storyline, but it looks like that storyline will continue with AEW’s new signing Jay White. Which I imagine in a few weeks we will get the Young Bucks teaming with Jay White vs The Best Friends.

Today will be the beginning of the end for Trent’s career because he will be going one on one with Jay White, a man who I consider a top 5 wrestler in the world. Obviously, the plan is for White to pick up his first win in AEW against Trent. Which means that Trent is now cannon fodder in AEW? Trent shouldn’t be the one used, it should be Romero. Romero doesn’t have much of a future in AEW. The best-case scenario for Romero is a tag team champion or be in some multi-man battle royal match. Trent at least has potential to be in a mid-card title picture. Maybe squeak out a win there, but not be a long-time champion. Still, Trent deserves better.

On the other side, what would happen to White if he loses his first match? It would kill any momentum in AEW. Many wrestling fans know White in YouTube videos and compilations. I doubt many people who watch AEW even know what channel NJPW is on.

White is going to be booked as a superstar in AEW. He’s not brand new to the industry like Hook. White is one of the most decorated wrestlers overseas, someone who can the face of any wrestling promotion in the world, someone who is not going to sign to one of the biggest wrestling companies in the world and lose to Trent.

Last week we watched Keith Lee in an extremely impressive debut match against Isiah Kassidy. And even though the match wasn’t a complete squash, unlike many of Hook’s matches, it still let the AEW fans know that Kassidy is nothing more than cannon fodder in this company. I doubt there were any plans for Kassidy to beat Kenny Omega at Double or Nothing for the AEW Championship, but still its good to not embarrass him in the eyes of the fans.

So what do you think of Jay White debuting and how far do you see him going in AEW?

Simptastic Joe

Shocker : Marvel Strike Force

I don’t see the Shocker being used very much in my rotations. His only real bonus is getting Sinister Six bonus stats, but even that isn’t very beneficial to him. There are times I have to double check that Shocker even does damage. He has Sinister Six bonuses, but there are a lot more characters than 6 in this game so Shocker isn’t someone I take seriously.

Simptastic Joe

Umaga : Hall of Fame?

Umaga | WWE

I’m seeing a lot of posts from Rikishi and the rest of his bloodline saying that Umage should be a Hall of Famer. Why? Because he was there? My view of a Hall of Famer is someone who was a big part of the company. Someone who help multiple titles and was essentially running the show for a time. Umaga was a 2-time Intercontinental Champion and that was it. The Intercontinental Championship is a veery prestigious title in wrestling, but having it only 2 times and not really for a significant run isn’t that impressive. And I never felt like Umaga was the biggest threat in wrestling. If anything, he was the biggest springboard of future champions. His matches with Jeff Hardy, John Cena and others were more about building them up vs making Umaga look like a beast.

I don’t think Umaga should be anywhere near the Hall of Fame and furthermore I don’t think Rikishi should either. They tried to make him look like the next big thing, but every time was overshadowed by the likes o Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker and Kurt Angle. Rikishi should’ve been a main title holder. He was being built up as someone who can hold the title for a while, but they never went through with it.

So should Umaga or Rikishi be in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Simptastic Joe

Yondu : Marvel Strike Force

There are very few things to dislike about Yondu. Mystic, Cosmic, attacks all enemies at once. His Boarding Party adds 1-2 Ravagers to the group which have bailed me out of many matches. Any character who summons others are my favorites. There are 2 types of Ravagers you get. Either a Healer or a Damage, both are essential.

Yondu checks off all of my boxes to be in my main rotation. Having him as Villain, Mystic and Cosmic ensures that his progression won’t be wasted and he will be a long-standing staple of my teams moving forward.

Simptastic Joe

Captain America : Marvel Strike Force

Marvel Strike Force - Orbs Opening, Captain America Power Up & Battles -  YouTube

Obviously, the best part of using Captain America is the Blocking. That shield can block a lot of damage and with his Inspire move relay helps out himself and the allies. And when you have Iron Man as a teammate the two can do a special move where Iron Man shoots Captain America’s shield to damage all enemies. The game does a good job with combination moves but I feel like they should do more of them. Especially if it’s a kill shot.

Putting Captain America alone isn’t enough. I feel you have to pair him up with the other Avengers to really make his perks worth it. a great team would be Captain America, Sam Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Hulk. That team has a lot of muscle and can Tank a lot of damage.

Simptastic Joe

Kofi Eliminated: Why Show The Replay

WWE Royal Rumble: Kofi Kingston comments on risky botched elimination spot  | GiveMeSport

I understand that mistakes happen in professional wrestling, but there are some very few times where you can EASILY explain away certain things. So Kofi Kingston got eliminated from the Royal Rumble in dramatic fashion. Seems every year Kofi pulls off some spectacular move to stay in the Rumble. In this moment, Kofi was launched out of the ring and into the stands, he was supposed to land on the barricade, but was short by 2 inches and his feet hit the floor. At first, it was very close to see if he actually got eliminated. And then they did the worst thing and put the replay on the screen for everyone to see and it was determined that he was eliminated.

Why show the replay? You are in control of all the camera angles for the entire show. You could’ve easily had a ref come over and wave his hands saying Kofi didn’t hit the floor and nobody would’ve questioned it. It just seemed dumb to let the fans see the angle and not just quickly pretend Kofi never touched the floor.

Simptastic Joe

Is Adam Cole Dying?

Adam Cole with that classic wrestler's physique : r/Wrasslin

Remember when Chadwick Boseman was dying of cancer? He filmed a lot of movies before he started to dramatically lose weight and look like a skeleton. While he was dying, he was very quiet about it and people mocked him online.

Chadwick Boseman Is a Reminder to Not Comment on Celebrity Weight Loss

Now Adam Cole wasn’t the most jacked guy in wrestling, but he still looked good. He had muscle and tone to his body. Right now, Cole looks terrible. Its very strange when a wrestler randomly looks different, especially if there’s no reason for it. Trent recently had neck surgery and came back in better shape than ever. Triple H was on steroids for a very long time and when he stopped, he was in terrible shape, but then looked fantastic after it all wore off.

Page 2 - 10 WWE Superstars who underwent amazing transformations

Was Cole on steroids or is something more serious happening to him? Either way, whatever is happening to Cole’s body is alarming. So what do you guys think of Adam Cole’s body now?

Simptastic Joe