Sharpshootin' With The Franchise
Wrestlemania Hangover: Wrestlemania 23 has come and gone and I would best describe it as a mixed bag. It wasn’t quite WM XIII bad nor was it WM X7 good. Kind of just there. I suppose I feel this way because most of the results were fairly predictable. I mean, did you really think Donald Trump would get his head shaved? I certainly didn’t. I also had a feeling Cena and ‘Taker would win their respective matches simply because they had a lot more momentum going into their respective bouts than their adversaries. As for the Money in the Bank ladder match, by far the best match on the card, you could have made a solid case for all eight competitors but WWE has been really high on Mr. Kennedy for a while so I figured they would have him win. Other than that, no huge surprises, no debuts, no comebacks no drama. Also, I thought they could have slipped in a couple of more matches in the show. Eight matches in a four-hour show is a little thin. They usually have more than eight matches on the regular three-hour PPVs. On the bright side, I think WWE has set themselves up for some really interesting television in the next few months. I love the Lashley-McMahon feud because it helps build Lashley into a big star. The Cena-HBK angle took some very interesting turns this past Monday night and I am curious as to which title Kennedy will go after. Plus, it seems as though WWE is slowly eliminating the brand extension idea which is something I have been dying to see since they introduced it five long years ago.
TV Funhouse: If the first episode of UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show is any indication as to how this season is going to unfold, well, then, you better cancel all your plans for the next two and a half months because this will truly be must-see TV. So what were my first impressions of this season’s cast of characters? Glad you asked: I like Corey Hill. A lot. He’s intense, focused and, at 6”4, by far the tallest fighter in the house. He also seemed to have picked up on the fact that Gabe Ruediger came into this competition a wounded animal and quickly pounced on him. Smart move.
I’m also really excited to see Nate Diaz in action. Diaz’s brother is former UFC star, Nick Diaz, and I have heard that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to talent inside the octagon and personality outside of it. Another intriguing fighter is Joe Lauzon. UFC fans may remember Lauzon as the man who knocked out TUF 5 coach, Jens Pulver, in 48 seconds(!) at UFC 61. FORTY-EIGHT SECONDS! Their history wasn’t discussed in episode one but I can’t wait to see if any sparks fly between them (especially since Lauzon is on Team Penn). Speaking of this year’s coaches, I love watching the bitter hatred BJ Penn and Pulver have for one another. My first impression of them is that Penn is the more serious of the two. He seems to be a lot more focused (despite all the head games he plays), a lot more determined on proving that he is the better teacher and, eventually, the better fighter. The two will get it on in the main event of the season finale of TUF 5 in June. The lightweights have been largely ignored over the last few years but when this show is all said and done they may turn out to be part of the most popular division of them all.
Texas Shootout: This Saturday’s latest UFC PPV offering, UFC 69: Shootout, can not come soon enough. Any show that features the pride of La Belle Province, Welterweight Champ, Georges St. Pierre, in action is good enough for me. GSP takes on TUF 4 winner, Matt “the Terra” Serra, in first title defense since taking Matt Hughes to school in November. Serra, an eight-year MMA veteran, got his title shot by winning The Ultimate Fighter welterweight tournament in November. This is his one shot at glory and he will need to rely heavily on his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to have any chance at dethroning the champ. However, while his BJJ skills are stronger than St.Pierre’s I still believe GSP will come out on top. I just don’t see him losing the belt in his first defense especially with a huge payday on the horizon in the form of his rematch against Hughes (rumored to be in Montreal. Yeah, I think I will be in attendance). Also on the card, Josh Koscheck battles Diego Sanchez in an MMA purists dream match. Both men are two of the youngest and most technically sound fighters in the UFC. To add to the fight’s intrigue, they’ve been talking trash all over the Internet with Sanchez calling Koscheck “the human blanket” (implying he puts people to sleep). Interestingly, these two fighters met on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter but throw that fight out the window because both men have improved by leaps and bounds since Sanchez defeated Koscheck on the reality show. A really tough one to call but I am going to go with the undefeated Sanchez in a surprise KO.
“I’m from Hollywood, dammit”: Yesterday marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the infamous Andy Kaufman vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler showdown at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN. Before Mr. T, Mike Tyson, Dennis Rodman and, now, Donald Trump, Kaufman was one of the first major celebs to step between the ropes. Kaufman often stated that his wrestling angle with Lawler was the highlight of his acting career. Take that Christopher Lloyd. It’s been well-documented that both men were great friends off-camera but in a day and age when wrestling had yet to be labeled as “fake” this feud really put it on the map. Lawler “injured” Kaufman with a piledriver during their match and a few weeks later both men met on the set of “Late Night with David Letterman” to try and settle their differencs. Every up-and-coming wrestler should watch this video to learn how to execute the perfect wrestling angle.
TV Funhouse: If the first episode of UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show is any indication as to how this season is going to unfold, well, then, you better cancel all your plans for the next two and a half months because this will truly be must-see TV. So what were my first impressions of this season’s cast of characters? Glad you asked: I like Corey Hill. A lot. He’s intense, focused and, at 6”4, by far the tallest fighter in the house. He also seemed to have picked up on the fact that Gabe Ruediger came into this competition a wounded animal and quickly pounced on him. Smart move.
I’m also really excited to see Nate Diaz in action. Diaz’s brother is former UFC star, Nick Diaz, and I have heard that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to talent inside the octagon and personality outside of it. Another intriguing fighter is Joe Lauzon. UFC fans may remember Lauzon as the man who knocked out TUF 5 coach, Jens Pulver, in 48 seconds(!) at UFC 61. FORTY-EIGHT SECONDS! Their history wasn’t discussed in episode one but I can’t wait to see if any sparks fly between them (especially since Lauzon is on Team Penn). Speaking of this year’s coaches, I love watching the bitter hatred BJ Penn and Pulver have for one another. My first impression of them is that Penn is the more serious of the two. He seems to be a lot more focused (despite all the head games he plays), a lot more determined on proving that he is the better teacher and, eventually, the better fighter. The two will get it on in the main event of the season finale of TUF 5 in June. The lightweights have been largely ignored over the last few years but when this show is all said and done they may turn out to be part of the most popular division of them all.
Texas Shootout: This Saturday’s latest UFC PPV offering, UFC 69: Shootout, can not come soon enough. Any show that features the pride of La Belle Province, Welterweight Champ, Georges St. Pierre, in action is good enough for me. GSP takes on TUF 4 winner, Matt “the Terra” Serra, in first title defense since taking Matt Hughes to school in November. Serra, an eight-year MMA veteran, got his title shot by winning The Ultimate Fighter welterweight tournament in November. This is his one shot at glory and he will need to rely heavily on his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to have any chance at dethroning the champ. However, while his BJJ skills are stronger than St.Pierre’s I still believe GSP will come out on top. I just don’t see him losing the belt in his first defense especially with a huge payday on the horizon in the form of his rematch against Hughes (rumored to be in Montreal. Yeah, I think I will be in attendance). Also on the card, Josh Koscheck battles Diego Sanchez in an MMA purists dream match. Both men are two of the youngest and most technically sound fighters in the UFC. To add to the fight’s intrigue, they’ve been talking trash all over the Internet with Sanchez calling Koscheck “the human blanket” (implying he puts people to sleep). Interestingly, these two fighters met on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter but throw that fight out the window because both men have improved by leaps and bounds since Sanchez defeated Koscheck on the reality show. A really tough one to call but I am going to go with the undefeated Sanchez in a surprise KO.
“I’m from Hollywood, dammit”: Yesterday marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the infamous Andy Kaufman vs. Jerry “The King” Lawler showdown at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN. Before Mr. T, Mike Tyson, Dennis Rodman and, now, Donald Trump, Kaufman was one of the first major celebs to step between the ropes. Kaufman often stated that his wrestling angle with Lawler was the highlight of his acting career. Take that Christopher Lloyd. It’s been well-documented that both men were great friends off-camera but in a day and age when wrestling had yet to be labeled as “fake” this feud really put it on the map. Lawler “injured” Kaufman with a piledriver during their match and a few weeks later both men met on the set of “Late Night with David Letterman” to try and settle their differencs. Every up-and-coming wrestler should watch this video to learn how to execute the perfect wrestling angle.
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