Tag Archives: aew

Wrestling

Reigns vs Zayn: Not Over Yet?

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I said many times that I have a Love/Hate relationship with Brock Lesnar. I’ve seen many fantastic matches where he fought Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Triple H and others, but there have been a lot of terrible matches with Lesnar as well. the bad matchres consist of German Suplexes followed by an F5 and sprints to the finish of the match. A lot of high spots that get a quick reaction, but nothing long lasting.

This match was a bad Lesnar match in reverse. Slow, painfully slow. To the point where I questioned if Sami Zayn is even a good wrestler anymore. Zayn’s last couple of years in the WWE have been more theatrical than focusing on in ring ability. Yes, he was great in NXT, but I would say the most impressive thing he did on the main roster was his feud with Braun Strowman in 2016, which was 7 years ago. Since then, he has been bottom tier on the roster, lackluster feuds and essentially struggling to hold any type of spotlight. This could very well be the first time watching a wrestler be elevated to potential WrestleMania Championship match based on emotional storytelling and not in ring ability.

All this match did was show that Roman Reigns can command an arena doing very little wrestling. Roman yelled at the crowd, yelled at Zayn’s wife, mouthed off to Zayn’s father, yelled at the crowd again. Every now and then Zayn caught Reigns monologuing and took advantage, but not for long. It felt like watching a retirment match where Zayn’s career was on the line and we saw glimpses of great moments from his past.

Of course the referee went down, bringing in Jimmy Uso to Superkick Zayn until the ref woke up. The Jey Uso hesitation with the chair was interesting, but makes me wonder if this is leading to Jey and Zayn winning the tag titles, which wouldn’t surprise me, but would be an immense letdown of storytelling. Zayn winning the title from Reigns is the only outcome that makes sense. Anything else is a massive letdown.

So what did this match accomplish? That Zayn isn’t at the level that Reigns is? That the fans will chant for you more if your parents had unprotected sex in that city? This feud is over to me. Obviously, we have WrestleMania and an unfinished Jey Uso moment of truth, but this is now Cody Rhode’s time.

Did they bring back Rhodes to win the Royal Rumble and not be the focal point. That we are getting a Triple Threat Match for the titles that again reiterates the fact that Zayn can’t win the big one? So now, they’re sacrificing Rhode’s potential WrestleMania moment for Zayn, when his moment should’ve been in Canada. What a waste.

Art work from Dream by Wombo AI Art

Simptastic Joe

Wrestling

HookHausen

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Hook might be one of the best written characters in AEW. They are smartly pacing his build, picking the perfect opponents and setting up meaningful feuds. But aligning Hook with Danhausen might be a detriment to his character.

The title picture in AEW is very crowded, but I can see Hook making that jump next year. Right now, the goal is building him more. Fighting against Tony Nese is a fantastic move in the right direction. Nese is highly athletic and is skilled enough to put on a show against anyone in AEW. I would make this a main event match for Rampage and give them a 20-minute match of pure wrestling and hard hitting. Hook needs to win the match, but only by a hair. Not his usual endings, where he puts his opponent in Red Rum and walks away after a tap out. I want to see Hook get the submission and then lay there in the middle of the ring, exhausted and beaten.

Now, to HookHausen….no…..just no. I don’t like Danhausen at all. When I said that online, I was sent a bunch of matches of Danhausen’s top matches and I wasn’t impressed at all. Danhausen isn’t good for AEW. The company is going in a more serious direction with its signings.

I will admit, I find some of Danhausen’s antics humorous. I was at Revolution and jumped and pointed to Danhausen appearing from under the ring and then cursed Ricky Starks, However, antics doesn’t translate over to money. Maybe merchandising, but try booking Danhausen as a main event fighter and see how that does.

So, pairing the men together isn’t going to be good for anyone. It might seem “fun” on paper, but overall, we aren’t going to see the duo going against FTR, the Young Bucks reDRagon, The Gunn Club, the House of Black and the Lucha Brothers.

Even having Danhausen manage Hook in some way is bad for business as well. Team Taz is a fantastic team and due to bad booking they could’ve been even better. Hook is an essential piece of that team and Team Taz having Danhausen walk to the ring with Hook doesn’t make the faction look as strong.

What do you think of the pairing of Hook and Danhausen and what teams do you picture them fighting?

Simptastic Joe

Wrestling

NXT Spring Breakin’ 2022 Prediction

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Grayson Waller vs. Nathan Frazer

Grayson Waller is who NXT should be building up as champion. I think Nathan Frazer is a good opponent, but shouldn’t be the focal point of the future of the 2.0 division. Waller is getting lost in the shuffle compared to his War Games teammates. I would’ve argued that Waller shoudlve been moved the main roster before WrestleMania in a match against AJ Styles, leading to a partnership between the 2 men.

Winner: Grayson Waller

The Creed Brothers vs. The Viking Raiders

The Creed Brothers have been sensational recently. I disagree how they won the titles, but if I had to put the belts on someone it would be them. The team is a more athletic Authors of Pain and even though they are very similar, you can see uniqueness in their moves. The Viking Raiders were a fantastic team on the main roster, I just don’t think they had the right opponents to create instant classics.

Winner: Creed Brothers

Natalya and Lash Legends vs. Cora Jade and Nikita Lyons

Nikita Lyons is the future of the Woman’s Division. This match will be focused on her mostly and the other women just adding her dramatic win.

Winner: Nikita Lyons and some other girl

Cameron Grimes vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship

Is the Bloodline going to interfere in this match? Is this all part of Roman Reign’s  proficy to get all the gold in the WWE? I think it’s the perfect time for it. the Bloodline and Reign’s title run can only last so long. Sikoa needs to get himself in that group as soon as possible to make sure he gets proper screentime.

If this doesn’t happen then Carmelo Hayes is my favorite to win. The future ids bright for Hayes and I don’t believe in Cameron Grimes. I feel like he is a filler champion and that NXT really doesn’t know how to write him.

Winner: Solo Sikoa

Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Championship

Love Joe Gacy, but now isn’t the time to hold this belt. I think they’ve been playing title hot potato too much between Bron Breakker and Dolph Ziggler with all their matches. Fight for the title on a PPV and then it changes on RAW? Kinda weird to me.

The only way I see Gacy winning this match, is if we unveil a new teammate for him. Harland has been released, and Gacy needs a big on his team. I see Gacy as the new Bray Wyatt and needs to start recruiting the future faction of NXT.

Winner: Bron Breakker

Movies and Shows

Johnny Depp DC Bound?

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With Johnny Depp cutting ties with Disney forever, I highly doubt we’ll see him in a Marvel movie. DC should take advantage of this by immediately firing Amber Heard (yes, I made the case to keep her in a previous video, but that was before the trial) and cast Depp in a role. My first choice for Depp would be Green Arrow, mainly because of his facial hair, but I think the perfect role would be Jason Blood.

Blood, and his counterpart Etrigan, aren’t the first character’s fans name when ranking their favorite superheroes, but Blood and Etrigan are a very interesting duo. I think DC, and Marvel alike, shouldn’t be focused on the bread-and-butter characters, but trying to make others in their universe work on the big screen.

Maybe a great time to introduce Blood into the DCEU would be during the rumored Zatanna movie. DC is starting to explore the supernatural with Doctor Fate and Constantine, so having Blood have some kind of a cameo in the movie makes sense. I would be ok with total tease of Etrigan, where we see the aftermath of a fight, a bunch of guards are torn to pieces and we see a slight glimmer of Etrigan as he is engulfed into flames and Blood emerges.

What do you think about Johnny Depp joining DC and who would you like to see him play?

World War Joe

Movies and Shows

Lightyear Damage Control

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Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I don’t think certain things get leaked without a reason. Disney has announced they have a woman kissing woman scene in the new Buzz Lightyear movie. Many people think this is in response to a new bill proposed by Ron DeSantis, banning schools from teaching about sexual orientation until after 3rd grade. The bill is now being trolled as an anti-gay bill and Disney is mad about that.

Now all of a sudden, it is leaked that the same sex kissing scene will be in the movie…after apparently being cut from the movie. My issue is why is a kiss the most talked about thing in this movie? I haven’t heard a single thing about the plot, any secret cameos or anything important.

The same thing happened before the movie the Eternals came out. In that movie, there was a man kissing another man for a second and that was all the internet was talking about. I didn’t read anything about how this movie tied into the MCU, nothing about the after-credit scenes, nothing about anything of value except the kiss. And Disney blamed the low box office numbers and bad reviews on that kiss.

Is Disney already writing the narrative of why Lightyear is going to fail? Are they going to go with the Liberal 3 (catchphrase pending), that the hate is from homophobic, misogynist, white supremacists? Or is the hate going to be well deserved because the movie might be poorly written?

I don’t expect this movie to crush the box office records by any means. The creation of Disney+ makes me ok with waiting for the movie to come to streaming for the included price. I think the only Marvel movie I saw in theaters in the last few years was No Way Home because it wasn’t going to be on Disney+. So why would I pay extra to see the movie in theaters of pay a Disney+ premium price to watch a movie that I can just wait a few months to see for no extra cost?

More importantly, will the Chinese release have this same sex kiss in it? Disney has kowtowed to China many times over the past few years. Making Finn smaller on the Chinese Star Wars poster and putting Black Panther in a mask in the movie poster didn’t really scream China really like black people. The Eternals didn’t have a release in China because of the same sex kiss. China is a massive part of Disney’s profits, so it’ll be interesting to see what the new Disney direction will be without China’s influence.

Do you agree with my theory that Disney is pushing the narrative? Do you think Lightyear will fail in the box office?

Let me know.

Wrestling

Where Are You Going With This?

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AEW needs a proper developmental brand to help build up wrestlers. NXT makes sense for the WWE. Wrestlers stay there for a few years before going to the main roster after winning championships or being there for long enough that fans will recognize them on the main roster. My issue with AEW’s lack of developmental brand makes me question the path of Captain Shawn Dean.

Dean has a very bright future in the world of wrestling, but I don’t know if AEW even believes in him. He was thrown in a garbage match against MJF, with resulted in Dean winning because CM Punk came in the ring, attacked Dean and technically ruined MJF’s undefeated streak. And this coming week on Dynamite, Dean will be facing MJF again and I’m predicting Wardlow will come out to the ring, which will distract MJF and Dean can get the rollup win. Maybe sparking a tag match between Shawn Spears and MJF vs Wardlow and Dean.

Whatever the outcome, Dean isn’t booked to be a realistic wrestler in AEW. Sadly, I predict Dean will be a roster filler for the most part, we will see him a little more in this MJF and Wardlow feud, but Dean’s roster spot will be on Dark and Elevation helping other wrestlers increase their win/loss record.

What do you think about Shawn Dean’s future in AEW?

Simptastic Joe

Wrestling

Why Punish Him?

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I don’t know the full story of what happened, but Nash Carter (current NXT Tag Team Champion) has been released from NXT following a domestic abuse allegation. Then they stripped Nash and his tag team partner Wes Lee of the titles….why? Why is Lee being punished for Carter’s actions?

This could’ve been a great opportunity for Lee. A storyline could’ve been created of Lee trying to find a tag team partner for an upcoming match. Maybe have him being jumped and be in a handicapped match against the number 1 contenders for the title.

A few members of NXT UK have been wrestling in the United States for a few months, so it wouldn’t be ridiculous to bring over another wrestler for a few weeks to team with Lee and eventually drop the belts. My top picks would be Dave Mastiff. Mastiff has been one of my favorite wrestlers of the UK division and I don’t think he’s been in the title picture enough.

If you want to go with a current NXT member in the US then Xyon Quinn (my new favorite wrestler) would be a great pick. Quinn is being booked perfectly as of late and it would be cool to see him in some tag matches. Or you can go with a current main roster wrestler who has done absolutely nothing and needs a rebranding. T-Bar (barf) sorry I mean Dominik Dijakovic was amazing on NXT, but never won any titles before going up to the main roster. Or if you want to trying building up someone on Smackdown devoid of a story then Mansoor is perfect. I think Mansoor should have an amazing year as the WWE is looking to branch out and make an NXT company in the Middle East. Mansoor needs to get better if he is going to lead that brand. And a great way to get him more screentime is teaming him up with Lee and holding those belts for a while.

Who would you team Wes Lee with and do you think striping him of the belt was a smart idea?

Simptastic Joe

Wrestling

Cody Invasion

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Imagine this. WrestleMania. Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar in a title vs title match. The ref is knocked out. The Usos charge the ring. Brock takes them both out with double clothesline. He starts beating them down. Heyman comes in with a chair and hits Lesnar across the back. Lesnar grabs Heyman by the throat and yells in his face. Reigns gets up and goes for the Spear, but his Heyman instead. Lesnar hits Reigns with the F5. 1. 2. 3. Lesnar celebrates, holds up both belts and makes his way up the ramp. He takes one last look at a defeated Reigns who finally made it to his feet. Then it happens. Cody Rhodes jumps the barrier, slides in the ring and hits Reigns with the Cross Rhodes. Then he takes a look at Lesnar and we cut to black.

How good would that be?

Simptastic Joe

Wrestling

What Team Taz Could’ve Been

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A couple of months ago, I thought Team Taz was going to be the best faction in all of wrestling. They have Ricky Starks (current FTW Champion), Powerhouse Hobbs and Hook. All three men are very talented and have a big future ahead of them, but I miss what could’ve been.

At one point you had Brian Cage there. Cage, one of the biggest and toughest looking guys in wrestling on Team Taz. And I don’t know if its contract or some other outside circumstances, but Cage hasn’t been in AEW for a long time. He is being used on other shows, but not any worthy of mentioning.

The Dante Martin storyline was one of the biggest disappointments for me. Team Taz had the big men (Hobbs and Cage), the charisma (Starks) and the wildcard (Hook) so Martin could’ve been the high flyer. That faction could’ve ran AEW for the foreseeable future.

What faction can compete with all that? Even teams like the Elite and the Inner Circle aren’t equipped enough to beat Team Taz.

World War Joe

Videogames

You Can’t Have Two Endings

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Choosing between multiple endings has become a staple in videogames today. Series like Mass Effect and The Walking Dead let you carry over the decisions from previous games into the new ones. However, those decisions and endings aren’t massively different, but still give the player a feel that their choices matter.

Games like Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath have ruined their sequels because of their multiple outcomes. The ending of Injustice 2 lets you pick the Batman, good ending or the Superman, bad ending. Choosing Batman’s ending means Superman and Brainiac are defeated. Superman is then imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and vows revenge. The Superman ending is massively different. After defeating Batman and Brainiac, Superman uses Brainiac’s mind control ability to control Batman, and seemingly the rest of the Justice League becoming the ruler of earth.

So how would Injustice 3 start? What ending do they start with? Do you get to choose how it starts? Right there you are making 2 massively different games that the events of the previous game are vastly different. Maybe NetherRealm are buying time with their Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League videogame coming out in 2022.

Mortal Kombat hit a home run with MK9 where they reset the timeline and you got to play the game from the beginning and started a more linear timeline. MK10 was even better where they introduced the next wave of MK characters and started to give the old classics their final endings. Then MK11 happened and took away all the progress of the previous two games. The ending of that game, Lui Kang is now in control of the timeline and has the ability to red con the entire series again.

Then NetherRealm decided to reset the timeline again with MK11 Aftermath where again time travel was the theme. The issue is the endings. You can play as Lui Kang, defeat Shang Tsung, and reset history in a nice happy way. Choosing Shang Tsung’s ending makes him the ruler of the realms and going on a bloody crusade to rule over everyone. Again, two vastly different endings. There is a rumored April 2023 date for MK12, but now we don’t have a clear ending on the previous game so its difficult to tell how the next installment will begin.

Do you think NetherRealm backed themselves into a corner making vastly different endings? Let me know what you think.

SimptasticJoe