SCN: RRReview

Dear Fellas,
I wrote this originally as a comment for Poncho's post, but it was too long so now it's a real post.

Alice and I ended up buying the PPV.  We were both stoked on Bryan being (in my eyes) the favorite to take it home, and we wanted to watch it live.  It took us days of arguing to agree to go through with the purchase.  All in all, it was really fun to be watching a live PPV at home, but $55 is a lot of money for Daniel Bryan not to win.  In our conversation, I said that if Bryan wins, it will be totally worth it to watch live.  If he doesn't, it will probably be a waste of money.  It was a gamble, and I should have remembered that the house always wins. The way I felt at the finish was reminiscent of last year's Rumble, when Cena won, which wasn't that bad, but it was just kind of boring, and then Rock took the belt off of Punk, which was super depressing.

Preshow
Hated to see the Rhodes' step out of the limelight, but the belts have got to get to the Usos somehow.

Bryan-Wyatt
The only solid match of the night.  I thought that Wyatt was under-selling Bryan's stuff, but after getting beaten up so much lately, I didn't think that was unfair.  I was even rooting for him to win the match, to keep his credibility up.  Bryan was killer of course, and even used some Steamboat-esque crossbodies in his offense.  The match was fun, the finish was cool, it was a good PPV match.

Big Show-Lesnar
Fine.  At least I didn't have to watch a Big Show match.

Orton-Cena
The worst WWE match since the last time they squared off.  How is it possible for them to suck so bad against each other?  They've both had some great TV matches in the past month, but the WWE WHW Championship title matches have been absolute garbage.  The finish of the Rumble is what everyone is talking about, but this shitty excuse for a match was equally as bad.

The Rumble Match
Kofi Kingston was completely amazing.  I loved how the crowd popped for him when he came out.  Punk didn't have many spots, but his performance was outstanding.  He really kept it rolling when some of the other guys were just looking around for something to do.  The Shield was super cool.  The logic of their internal drama made sense, and was well-told, although I really hope they don't break up.  They've easily got another year in them as a unit.  Alexander Rusev had a solid debut.  I was disappointed that Xavier Woods and Brodus Clay weren't in it.  I really liked their feud, but it seems to have been completely dropped, and Brodus is jobbing to the Miz now instead of becoming a monster heel.  Sad, but it's kind of his fault for not improving in the ring.  Kevin Nash was a waste of an entrant.  Besides him, the Miz, Del Rio, and the winner were the only people I didn't think were any good.  Sheamus should have changed his look up a little, it was underwhelming seeing him back with his corny haircut, doing his stupid forearm-to-the-chest-10-times move.  I still felt kind of bad for him getting booed toward the end, though.  The end was really painful.  Talk about having the wind taken out of your sails, I felt totally deflated and confused and angry.  To me, the best thing in wrestling is when a story reaches a crescendo, and you get this great outpouring of emotion.  It takes a long time to tell that story, and the timing has to be just right.  Last night was Daniel Bryan's night, his popularity is at a fever pitch, and we've all been coasting on his ability to tell his story.  Instead, just like last year, an ex-wrestler/actor comes in and gets a massive victory right off the bat, thereby burying the roster's year of hard work.  Raw tonight is going to be interesting, they'll probably just be booing the shit out of everything.  Whatever the WWE is thinking of doing, even if their plan is to put Bryan over in a big way at Mania, the Rumble was a missed opportunity to keep the fans invested in the overall product.

In better news, I started a new job this morning teaching middle school kids about art, which was fun.  I go to my other job later today, which will not be as fun, but at least I'll be making a few bucks instead of sitting at the computer griping, which is probably what I'd be doing all day.

U-S-A U-S-A U-S-A Hoooooooooooo,
Marshall

Poncho's Late Royal Rumble Preview

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!So it's almost 8 o clock on Sunday night. That means the Rumble is basically over. I'm frazzled. Seriously frazzled. Basically, I send drunk texts to the Quarter Marshall on Saturday nights talking about ROH being on tv, and then I include funny little tidbits. Well...I haven't technically sent him a text on a Saturday night in a few weeks, but I'm always thinking about it.... because I figure I should embarrass myself in public and in text form while getting way too excited.  Anyways...here's a preview for something that I'm guessing you both already watched.

Preshow
oh you didn't know!? I already watched this.

*weird screen flash*
DBD vs. Bray WyattI think I've enjoyed everything about this. I really enjoy the characters. The Shield won everything forever, and the Wyatt Family loses all the time...but are so compelling that they got/are getting over.

 Okay so here's my random weird thought about DBD that I have all the time, and I'm specifically mentioning this because I told someone to shut the fuck up during ROH last night because they were dragging "homo erotic wrestling jokes" into the ground for twenty minutes and it was driving me bonkers (then they would apologize and make more jokes). Anyways...sometimes when I watch DBD matches lately, and all because they keep telling us about how he's engaged to Brie Bella...I just think about them getting it on. Is it just me? Am I being an imaginary voyeur? Is this creepy? Or is it natural? Have I made you uncomfortable yet? Just tell me to shut the fuck up.
*weird screen flash*

Big Show vs Barack (sic) Lesnar
Did he F-5 him!?! Did he!?! That would be cool. Hey internet! Lesnar most likely can't ever legit fight again! Didn't he like...almost die and stuff? Quit telling me he's going to. Oh...by the way...a friend of mine's dad who works on movies blowing shit up (most recent was blowing cars up in The Last Stand) told me today that he always thought Andre The Giant was an asshole slob. Thought it was interesting.

John Cena vs Randy Orton
Just what I need. Another match with these two. These two going back and forth is what got me out of watching WWE for awhile. Neither are bad wrestlers. Both do their jobs very well. I JUST DON'T LIKE THEM. I don't unequivocally support the military. I don't wear Ed Hardy or Tapout t-shirts. I don't have tribal tattoos. I don't get a haircut every week. I wouldn't ever want to hang out with these people. I can't even remotely identify with them.

Royal Rumble Match
Speaking of tribal. Fuck Batista. His comment to ADR on twitter about (paraphrasing) being a B talent in a C era of wrestling really got my goat. Wrestling has been "down" since the end of the Monday Night Wars...and sorry....getting belly button tribal tattooed douches shoved down my throat (shoulda stuck to movies....I am actually stoked for him being in Guardians Of The Galaxy) is another reason I quit caring for awhile.

 If I was in the audience I'd want a sign saying "If Daniel Bryan doesn't win We Riot" and then I would quietly riot to myself in my chair. Probably crying. I cry! Maybe I'll  be surprised. You guys know the outcome...I guess the Vegas odds (which the favorite has never been wrong apparently?) are Batista wins (Batista vs. Orton snooze fest!?!? For the title!?!? The only title!?!). I'm glad that you two can read my anxiety online...since I'm the one that's usually more up to date.

Well....till the rocket fuel in my veins that has been brought down from space with the blood of all my warriors burns out and I turn back into a 148 pound DDP Yoga doing, cottage cheese eating, anxiety filled crier...I'm respectively yours....The Poncho Man

2014!! Rusty Report BEST / WORST / SCRAPS

FIRST, SOME SCRAPS<<<>>>><>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>>

Shit guys. It has been a looooong time. I kinda have been on a lull when it comes to my pro wrestling consumption. I was watching old WCW ppv's like crazy a few months back. But then the holidays hit, as well as my lap top breaking, personal shitty-ness and lots of music stuff and I just haven't had the time. I haven't watched a full episode of raw in weeks. I have skimmed them so I know what's up but I haven't actually paid much attention lately. But things have been looking up. I started watching Beach Blast 92 a few nights ago and it opens with a great match featuring Flyin' Bryan and Scotty Flamingo. I think it's funny that these guys would go out and tear it up in the first match. Especially in the days where someone like Kevin Nash would come out later and stink it up. They kicked some ass in this match, I hope you like it

SO ANYWAY... 2013 is OVER. I honestly don't have a solid visual of all that happened last year. I wish I

did. I also wish I had kept a best and worst list while watching over the past 12 months.But I didn't, so off the top of my head I give you

~~~RUSTY NICKLES BEST OF 2013!!!~~~~

MATCH OF THE YEAR

Well, I don't have just one in mind. Plus I'm a mark and I can't really judge that kind of stuff. But I will say that 2 matches stand out off the top of my head. The first one was on Raw and totally surprised me. RVD vs Jericho. It was kinda a sleeper match. One of those that you just space out thru till the finish. But this one sucked me in. I thought it was great. It was a long well paces match with the old guys showing the younger dudes how to do it. Really fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRz_bBnyk8c

I also LOVED the rematch with DBD and RKO on RAW the night after the PPV. What PPV? I am completely drawing a blank (Maybe it was the night after the Hell In A Cell ppv). These guys had ten million matches last year so it's hard to remember exactly. But that's what made this one so great. They were clicking, working together so well. I loved it. DO YOU HEAR THAT???!!! I LOVED A RKO MATCH! 

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

Holy shit.I feel really weird about this. It's kinda like I'm comming out to my parents. I know what I'm about to say is absolutly true. It's just hard to say in front of someone else.

Ok.

Here goes nothin'.

My pick for star of the year is...

and this is my personal opinion...

RANDY ORTON!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
WHAT HAVE I BECOME!!!!!!!

Yeah sure DBD was amazing this year. But I already loved him. It's kinda annoying that everyone is all freaking out about him now that he is over and a big star. That's cool, but i have loved him for years. Thinking like that is lame. It's like only giving a band credit when they finally have a shirt in Hot Topic even tho they have been making great records for years. So yeah, DBD ruled. Punk and Hayman had the best promos. Whatever. I pick RKO because he completely changed my opinion on him. I love him now. He is a great heal. He always was a great wrestler but I need personality and story with my wrestling. And finally I'm getting that from him. It's great. I actually look forward to seeing him on tv. it's kinda cool to have your opinion changed.

WORST SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR

This is easy. The Miz. That guy is so bad it's unbelievable. I don't even wanna waste my time on typing up how i feel. I'm sure you guys understand.

WORST OF THE YEAR

Oh man. Some really bad ideas this year. Ill just make a list

1. DBD not ever winning the belt

2. Cena coming back early.

3. Bad News Barret

4. Miz using the figure 4. Naitch rub.

5. Divas musical chairs

6. Not completely committing to the double turn with Del Rio and Ziggles

7. DBD gets beat up and screwed by the higher-ups. Suddenly gives up and joins a culy for no reason. 2 weeks later decides to quit.

I'm sure i could find more. But who cares. Wrestling is always bad and sometimes good. If it was always good we would get bored. It's the dumbness that keeps us watching. I don't wanna focus on the bad.

PPV OF THE YEAR

That is a tough one. If I had kept a damn list I would be able to pick. But I didn't. So I guess I'll just have to give it to the B PPVs. They had a string of killer ppvs a few months back that really surprised me. Yeah, this is vague. But I figure you dudes probably remember what I'm talking about.

I can't really think of anything else to complain about or praise. UH...The band Big Star is great. I like coffee. I'm playing in a great new band with a singer / songwriter / front man who is awesome. I started smoking again and coincidentally I started trying to quit at the same time (eerie!). 

Lastly. I went to a DOA show last week. It was fun. It was sold out, about 150 to 200 people and lots of fun.Check out this video review that someone made. You can't see my in it, but almost, i was sitting right behind the kid with the mohawk.

Tell next time!!!!!

Yet Another Year's End Best Of List

First, I'd like to completely retract all of my predictions from 6 weeks ago, because clearly none of them will even come close to fruition.  How embarrassing.

I've been seeing lots of Best Of lists.  Some of them are "as voted on by you- the people" and some are individual opinions.  All of these lists have the same categories-- best wrestler, best female wrestler, best tag team, etc.  I wanted to make a list to highlight some of the other stuff I'll remember best from 2013, peppered with random screenshots from throughout the year.  So here we go.

BEST Face Turn= Cody Rhodes.  His performance at Money in the Bank made him a face even before Sandow turned on him.  His wrestling style has changed to better suit his new character, he's more athletic, does cool aerial moves, has awesome comebacks, etc.  Cody's been an innovator for a while now, and having a fresh character to work with has shown that he can continue that trend.  Goldust gets tons of praise, and rightfully so, but Cody's right up there with him.

BEST Heel Turn= Adam Cole.  I didn't even think he could pull it off, being that he was such a solid babyface, but his bad guy persona is just as, if not more effective.  The slow transition with all of the teasing along the way was a highlight of ROH booking.

BEST Double Turn= Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler had one of the coolest matches of the year when they successfully pulled off the double turn.  Ziggler's good guy hasn't really gotten over, and Del Rio never got much heat, but for that one beautiful, shining moment, I totally gave a shit.

BEST Commentary Team= Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino.  Corino really makes this one.  His color makes ROH twice as fun to watch.  He regularly cracks me up, and it's been a REALLY long time since I could say that about a commentator.  Plus, Kelly is a solid play-by-play guy with an upstanding everyman kind of persona, and he makes a great foil to Corino's witty slime.

BEST Moment On Television= Mark Henry's Retirement Speech.  I still go back and watch this sometimes.  Goosebumps.  Close second would be when The Shield jumped Undertaker on the Raw after Mania, with Kane making the save.

I was trying to come up with a list of different kinds of matches, and my favorites from each type, but that was taking too long, but I'm pretty sure my favorite match of the year was Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton at Battleground.

So what's up fellas?  We gonna do the Rumble again this year?  Maybe meet in Portland again, maybe out here on the sunny Oregon coast, or maybe Eugene (if that's an option).  Let's make a plan!