#and it shows when wrestlers who for all intents and purposes have not had any major controversies other than over utilizing the Superkick

[court-of-pokemuses]

Reasons why I enjoy writing each of my muses

Bruno:

For a character that is limited in vocabulary he is one of the most intelligent of anyone I write, but it’s the nature he has that makes the combination so much fun. Firstly when it comes to Bruno I wanted the side effects of being mind controlled for so many years to have an impact. Of course there isn’t much research or science with mind control so I had to work something in and I thought well some people wake up from comas caused by brain damage with different languages learned or accents, sometimes have to relearn things, so what if being mind controlled is like a coma but you wake up being unable to speak how you used to. In came Bruno. The other thing about him walking out of Rocket with a disability was intentional because he hangs about the Johto elites these days. All of them also came from Rocket and their baggage is mental, emotional, but it’s something that they not only carry but in a way almost make it something they have to hold, there’s guilt there. Bruno is the only one who really can’t have guilt because he had no control. All of the others had a choice, they could of chosen to not be in Rocket but they did so they have that guilt and can only really blame themselves at the end of the day. Bruno can’t, and in that aspect one could argue he has the mot right to be angry, to want revenge because everything was forced on him. However he doesn’t have that attitude, when it comes to Rocket he is open and very quick to forgive them which is dramatically different form the others. In his mind if Karen, Koga, Will, and Lance all became such good people why couldn’t anyone else from Rocket? Therefore he forgives them, now he still believes in justice for actions, but he’s willing to give them a chance if they will. Bruno is the most physically strong of the group but he’s also the strongest emotionally.

Kukui:

Admittedly he’s the one I am the least confident to write so I am always eager to get more interaction with him. I jumped on the sun and moon rp bus late. Like it’s still around but it’s no where near as active and I am aware of that. However I just really like Kukui. he’s got alot of big dreams and aspirations which are fun to follow along with. Juniper for me was when I feel like the pokemon company actually started to do more with the professors. They went from just another guy with a briefcase to a character that had more depth to them that wasn’t simply hinted at but actually was explored. They gave them weight and purpose to the story which I was excited to see. Kukui was given SOOO much attention in the anime which was wild, and even though I only watch bits and pieces from the anime I loved his character when he got on screen since it felt like every time I did see him he was playing to an overall arc for himself. I loved that since usually no one ever grows in the pokemon anime, or if they do it’s minimal. The other thing they gave him was just alot of character and inroads. Granted I feel like they gave him alot for a side character like, he’s a wrestler, he’s a researcher, he helps run a school, he developed a poked, he wants to make a league, then there’s relationships such s Guzma and Burnett, basically he’s got too much going on in my opinion for that show but as a character to write for I have time to develop that which I’m excited about. 

Lucy:

In this house we love our quiet girl. Oddly she’s almost like an opposite to Bruno in a way. She has this positive energy but it’s more subtle and hidden. Even her speech quirk is more subtle than Bruno’s. Also she’s one of the few where I actually don’t use too much of the manga to influence her character. I enjoyed her character in the anime alot. That episode with her was one of the few we owned and I watched it so much. I just found it crazy how this strong imposing character was made practically mute by these people that huddle around her which are apparently ‘friends’. Like I always found it weird these supposed good guys seemed to in general hurt her more than help, and for whatever reason she let’s it continue. Then in the game they aren’t around but there’s these pauses every time she speaks and after watching that episode I felt like she’s just waiting to be interrupted. I felt bad for her as a character cause I felt like she had alot to say, she had all these dreams and ideas, but she just had the hardest time letting them out because no one would let her. As for her disability I figured it’d be the start of why she was so silenced. Since it took her so long to be able to understand and communicate things were just sort of done for her, or steps were made to try to give her what she wanted when sometimes that wasn’t what she was trying to express. However with busy parents and such she just kind of put up with it figuring,”well I guess they know what’s best.” What I’m excited about with this character is developing her and writing her in a way so that she starts deciding for herself what’s best, and become the bold girl we know she can be. 

Eusine:

He a bad boy but not like does bad things more like the 50% item at Walmart. Seriously I love this guy cause he’s supposed to be a good guy that we all root for and love but he’s just kind of a jerk. His goal is to find Suicune and show that,”not al humans are awful!” but I see it as this big hero complex. He’s a guy who wants the posh life so he dresses that way. he sees himself as the cream of the crop and the one to drive himself out of a situation by having this big noble cause of correcting a wrong, but that’s it. His goal is so vapid, and fleeting that once he accomplishes it what is he even going to do? Settle down?  Look for more? What is there past that? It’s something that he yearns for so bitterly but he hasn’t thought about asking’what next?’ even once and dismisses the question if asked. His drive is brought on by wanting to become as famous as the elusive legend, for being the one to reunite the pokemon and people, but if you look at everything it’s like someone chasing down those elusive 15 minutes of fame thinking that will make them happy. The other thing is that despite saying he’s better than any other human the only one who really gains from him meeting and changing suicune’s mind is himself. After all suicune is more trusting now, they’re now in more danger, and eusine get’s to flaunt how wonderful he is. There’s not much substance there at all to his motivation, but he refuses to see it that way. He also has this aggravating prideful stance about himself despite coming from humble means while claiming to be a representation of humanity’s best for legendary pokemon to trust. Sure he’s maybe got loyalty to a few people, but he also refuses to admit those he’s loyal to are possible to fault. After all if they have faults then he’s made a mistake for trusting them, and a man of his caliber can't possibly make mistakes like that. At least that’s what goes through his head. Eusine is a spoiled child, and he’s not a good person, but man is he fun to write seeing how utterly delusional he can be.

#munnings #headcannons

[beingallelite]

The feuds developed over the first three shows in company history laid the foundation for Saturday's event before the weekly TNT show begins Oct. 2.

None, however, have gotten as deeply personal as Cody Rhodes vs. Shawn Spears. The feud began with no obvious backstory as to why Spears plastered Cody on the head with a chair at Fyter Fest. It's blossomed because of the intricate storytelling AEW fans hoped to see. President Tony Khan promised more gripping entertainment than what wrestling fans have been used to in recent years, and the buildup for Cody and Spears' feud has been a highlight.

Below is a breakdown of the rivalry until now. Watch their match and the rest of the All Out event Saturday on B/R Live.

Background

Although the friendship between Rhodes and Spears wasn't highly publicized before the chair shot, AEW set the larger stage for their feud through the YouTube series, Road to All Out. AEW established Rhodes and Spears' history of camaraderie during their time at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's former developmental territory. There, the two were a tag team and won the promotion's tag titles twice.

In 2006, Spears taught a young Rhodes, only a handful of professional matches into his wrestling career, about the business.

"It started in OVW. It started with me," Spears said in an interview with AEW's Jim Ross during a Road to All Out episode. "He came in, and I taught him to wrestle. Those were his words, and he's made it public knowledge. ... He's a leech. He latched on, bled me dry and moved on in his ascent to the AEW hierarchy.

"Bottom line is he's forgotten who he was. He was in my inner circle. He forgot that I was there for the 50th wedding anniversary of his parents. He forgot that I sat at his table for Thanksgiving dinner. We were like brothers."

Harboring a deep resentment is a time-tested way to kick-start a wrestling angle, and this one planted the seeds for Spears to turn on Rhodes the moment the latter said "great hand."

"Great Hand"

In an episode of Road to All Out before June's Fyter Fest, Rhodes described Spears as a "great hand" to Nik Sobic, AEW's vice president of business operations, about The Perfect 10 signing for their company.

"He could potentially be a player-coach," Rhodes said. "He's great for the young guys and is a great hand, so I'm happy with it."

That's a compliment—usually. A hand is someone skilled in the ring and good to work with. Superstars can be hands and so can midcarders. It also can be a condescending dig at a guy who can work but is not going to be a star. For the purposes of this feud, Spears is selling it as a dig that he's never going to be a top star in the company. He's merely a good wrestler used to put over better guys.

Rhodes sees Spears as someone whom younger wrestlers at AEW can go to for advice and that he can help guide, similarly to what Spears did for Rhodes at OVW. As shown by his actions at Fyter Fest just weeks later, Spears was not pleased with this description.

The Chair Shot Heard Around the World

Rhodes had just finished a thrilling match against Darby Allin that reached its 20-minute time limit and ended in a draw. The crowd was hot already, and Spears jogged down the ramp with a chair in hand.

The crowd grew louder as The Perfect 10 raised the chair over his head and waited for Rhodes to turn around. When he finally did, Spears walloped his victim with a vicious, unprotected shot reminiscent of the Attitude Era.

A puddle of blood could be seen gushing out of Rhodes' head as he laid on the canvas with Spears standing over him. Brandi Rhodes, Cody's wife and the chief brand officer of AEW, rushed to the ring as she and referee Aubrey Edwards begged Spears to not take any further action. With an emptiness in his eyes, Spears left through the crowd.

The moment went viral—but probably not for the reason AEW wanted. Fans debated the recklessness of allowing someone to take a chair shot to the head. WWE banned them in 2006. Khan and the Young Bucks said after Fyter Fest that the blood was not intentional. The gimmicked chair used as a precaution mistakenly injured Rhodes.

Regardless, even more eyes were on the impending Rhodes-Spears feud now. The bludgeoning of Rhodes added to the perceived disdain Spears has for him, and that was the point. The chair shot confirmed how personal this feud was going to get.

Reaction

Fans were left to wonder why Spears did that since the friendship between them wasn't highlighted until after the chair shot. The explanation came in his interview with Ross.

"Cody crossed the line," Spears said. "You don't call someone a good hand. It's the curse of this industry to be called a good hand. He should know better. Clearly he forgot, and that's why I wrapped a steel chair around his face. Sometimes people just need to be reminded."

The angle: Spears felt disrespected by Rhodes and believes his time at AEW will transcend that of just someone there to help others. He wants to be a face of the company and doesn't care who he has to confront to get that message across.

Reaction from within Rhodes' circle came in hot and heavy as his close friend, MJF, called Spears a "piece of s--t" in the buildup to their match at Fight for the Fallen two weeks later. Brandi Rhodes followed it up with a three-minute episode of Road to All Out solely dedicated to her thoughts on what happened and a warning to Spears on what's going to happen to him at All Out.

"He was your friend, and yet you took an unforgiving steel chair and ended all of that to make a name for yourself. ... That blood that I saw coming out of the back of his head may as well have been a mirror into your future. ... Ten staples to the back of my beloved's head was your 15 minutes. I really hope you enjoyed them."

This feud feels personal, and bringing in the opinion of others close to Rhodes to chime in emphasized that. However, Spears also didn't mind bringing in people to back him up.

Tully Blanchard

Toward the conclusion of Spears' interview with Ross, he told AEW's lead commentator he had an ace up his sleeve. In walked Tully Blanchard, a WWE Hall of Fame member best known for being one of the Four Horsemen alongside Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson and Ric Flair.

Why bring in Blanchard? As Spears put it, his history of competing against Rhodes' father, Dusty, will give him psychological insight into what he can expect from Cody. After all, Blanchard and Dusty did wrestle together 184 times.

"I got a phone call from a great athlete who was feeling underappreciated," Blanchard said in an interview on Road to All Out. "He asked me how to get his career to the top. I said if you take down one of the Rhodes, that'll get you to the top in anyone's book. I probably knew Dusty as well as anyone across the ring. I know what makes the Rhodes family tick. Shawn has asked me to give him that knowledge."

Bringing in a name of Blanchard's ilk adds prestige and even more background as to why Spears assaulted Rhodes. Blanchard telling his protege that the quickest way to gain some respect around AEW is to go after the man he felt underappreciated by in the first place is compelling, in-depth storytelling.

Blanchard set the scene at All Out even further with one key stipulation.

The Stipulation and What We Can Expect From All Out

The contract signing on Road to All Out was brief, with Rhodes entering the room where Spears and Blanchard, along with a group of AEW officials, awaited the arrival of The American Nightmare. Rhodes walked in, signed the contract and left without saying more than a couple of words.

Before that, though, Blanchard and Spears added a clause in the contract stating that only one person would be allowed in the corner of each competitor during the match. It was obvious who would accompany Spears, but who accompanies Rhodes has yet to be announced.

Could it be Brandi or MJF? Could we see someone from Blanchard's past who can match wits with the Horseman? There are plenty of options, most whom already have their own stake in the feud. The surprise addition will add another layer to this bout.

This is the promotion's first real test in building a storyline that stretched for months, and so far it's worked. AEW's four events before its weekly show begins have given the promotion the opportunity to get its feet wet creatively. This feud has yet to feel far-fetched or disingenuous.

The match itself is what fans will really remember. If both wrestlers—and everyone else involved in the match—can deliver a satisfying finish, it would be a strong bridge to the start of AEW's weekly television.

#cody rhodes #shawn spears #tully blanchard #brandi rhodes #all elite wrestling #aew #bleacher report #article #promo: all out #posted on: 8.26.19

[thesportssoundoff]

“No but seriously, he has one eye” The Brawl For All Combatants Ordered Out!

So a few weeks ago, I presented you with a beginning outline of what I'm aiming to do here. A chance to take a long look at the Brawl For All; a concept so insiduous that I imagine even Vince McMahon has aimed to bury it in the deepest recesses of his mind. The first time out we looked at its genesis, the concepts and the back stories beyond the concepts:

http://thesportssoundoff.tumblr.com/post/183395306465/what-happens-when-you-take-a-bad-idea-and-make-it

NOW let's take a long look at who participated, who didn't participate and the fallacy behind the entire project IF rumors are to be believed.

A Hot Take To Lead Us Off

This is something I long theorized but a long look at the people involved in the Brawl For All confirmed it for me. So by and large, the Brawl For All was a stupid dumb concept. Agreed, right? Well what if it could've worked elsewhere? Now again the rules are dumb, the genesis behind it was dumb, everything about it from stem to stern is full of stupidity. Allow me to argue that it COULD have worked; just not in the WWF. When you see the roster the WWF was working with here, it's not going to blow you away on paper and we obviously have a mighty fine idea of how the execution went. What about a different Brawl For All roster? Saaay (in 1998 when this happened):

Rick or Scott Steiner- Decorated All American wrestlers for the University of Michigan Scott Norton- Legitimate tough guy bad ass professional arm wrestler, former bodyguard of Prince Jerry Flynn- Taekwando practitioner, former mixed martial artist Earnest Miller- Three time karate champion Glacier- Professional karate man dude prior to pro wrestling Brian Knobbs/Jerry Saggs- The JBL's of WCW in more ways than one seemingly Meng- All time legendary tough guy and bar room savage Barbarian- Genuine tough guy El Dandy- Jam Up Guy Serious Professional All Around Good Man

Plus the other litany of guys who were noted shooters or tough guys on the undercard. Let's also be fair and note that the South was a touch more receptive to the UFC at this point in time than say the East Coast as well. Perhaps it could've worked with a better roster and perhaps WCW, with its glut of shooters and tough guys respected in the industry, would've been better suited for a Brawl For All.

Or maybe it's just a stupid fucking idea with no merit. That too.

So who DIDN'T participate?

Well let's start with the very beginning and work our way back. Let's talk about some of the guys who just opted NOT to participate. For starters, the big stars were obviously not going to partake in this. Right off the jump you have to assume Undertaker, Austin, DX, The Rock, Kane, Mankind, Vader and the like are not going to be participating. This was about giving a bunch of guys they kind of didn't give a shit about something to do so that meant no sacrificing top stars. It was filler programming and obviously everybody doing important shit was busy doing important shit. Also of note was that the WWF did not want originally the likes of Dan Severn, Steve Blackman and Ken Shamrock in it. Ken apparently wasn't interested and made the argument that it didn't benefit him given the fact that he was a genuine UFC star still to take a pit stop in pro wrestling. At the same time, Dan Severn was asked not to participate at first and then had to be coerced into taking a spot when injuries happened. The same goes for Steve Blackman who was signed up after a few drop outs occurred, primarily due to the promise of Blackman being allowed to throw kicks in the tournament. The dropouts are hard to pinpoint but Tiger Ali Singh is one of the more notorious ones per Bob Holly. I've also read around that Ahmed Johnson was at one point supposed to be in it but I've never been able to confirm that (or remember the shoot interview that it was mentioned in). The point is that on its face, the Brawl For All was going to be a shoot fighting tournament without the two genuine proven shoot fighters in case you're curious about the true idea behind it.

Also as an MMA fan, I can't help but notice the # of "I was a last minute addition" stories these guys have. Lord knows that has to be a common thing said by guys like Sean Shelby and Mick Maynerd to get some of these fights done. I'd imagine that "We need a guy and you're going to help us out!" sweet talk happens to this day. My immediate thought is that they were either a) having a tough time filling spots in the Brawl For All and started telling people they were in need of last minute additions or b) most of these guys regret doing it and figure saying they were last minute replacements helps take the edge off.

So who WAS in?

We got sixteen names so buckle up and pour a drink or two.

8-Ball- Ron Harris aka 1/2 of The Blu Brothers aka Vince Russo's Creative Control. Vince Russo has never been a master of subtlety and so I suppose it's no surprise that one of his top angles was "Gang Warz" pitting an all white stable (The DOA) vs an all Puerto Rican tag team (Los Boricuas) vs a mostly all black tag team (the Nation Of Domination). Needless to say, Vince Russo makes it hard to defend him sometimes. To my knowledge neither Ron nor brother Don have any sort of proven fighting experience and the less said about them (and their tattoos), the better off we'll be. Ron (and Don) were rumored to have threatened Shawn Michaels on their last night in the WWF in the 90s, a rumor that seems to be corroborated by at least a few folks.

Steve Blackman- Most of the dudes who talk about the Brawl For All admit that this guy probably wins it all things being equal. Blackman had a legit karate background with some muay thai and amateur wrestling mixed in. Besides Blackman somehow overcame being bedridden for two years with malaria to become a legitimate pro wrestler so needless to say if it's a "Who wants it more?" shoot type deal, he's going to cover the grit and grind department well. Blackman is also rumored to have once taken down The Big Show and held him down until Show begged him to let him up which is akin to Bob Backlund apparently getting the Iron Sheik down and sitting on him until he either lost interest or was asked to let him up. Steve Blackman is by all intents and purposes a badass.

Bradshaw- Apparently the inspiration behind this atrocity depending upon who you ask. Bradshaw's reputation is marred now with incidents of bullying (real or fabricated), pro wrasslin' racism (goosestepping in Germany to get heat, some other old school heel shenanigans) and borderline dangerous behavior like blindsiding the Blue Meanie and beating the shit out of him when Meanie thought it was a working brawl. At this point though, none of that is really widespread and Bradshaw is just a fake Stan Hansen who looks tough and stiffs the hell out of people. He's about to eventually turn into a mute member of the Undertaker's industry before he comes a heel mercenary for hire before they turn into FUN beer drinking cigar smoking mercenaries for hire before turning into a Wall Street rich Texan chasing Mexicans "at the border" to get heat for a feud with Eddie Guerrero. I suppose you cant say Bradshaw didn't earn it at least.

Brakkus- Wooof. Brakkus was a massive German bodybuilder who apparently didn't quite understand that the Brawl For All wasn't worked. The WWF had big plans for Brakkus (if they send you to Memphis to work for Lawler in the USWA, it probably means they had a long term vision for him) but he sucked and no matter where they sent him, he continued to suck. He was bad in Memphis, was bad in ECW and ultimately this feels like an attempt to just do something with him. Again though, how good you are as a pro wrestler doesn't matter in the Brawl For All. It was about legit fighting----and Brakkus apparently according to Savio Vega had no idea he was in a real fight. Keep that in mind.

Mark Canterbury- I have NO idea why Henry O. Godwinn is listed on wikipedia by his real name but fuck it, here he is! So full blindspot up front, I LOVED Henry O' Godwinn as a kid. He carried around a slop bucket, poured what looked like puke on people, wrestled in overalls which helped him stand out and it sort of gets lost in the fact that he was given a dumb gimmick (In the mid 90s, it felt like the WWE was acknowledging how big of a slide it was in because every human being had a side hustle) that Godwinn could absolutely work. Here's Godwinn vs Bret Hart in a killer match btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9vihPkNmLM. This was before Vince Russo and company turned them from a fun midcard act into a gross-ish play on Vince McMahon's distaste for southerners. Oh and also! Henry Godwin PROBABLY is doing this with a  still kinda broken neck. He broke it in 1997, was told to take three months or more off (Godwinn gives numbers ranging from ten weeks to sixteen weeks) and he just showed back up in less than two months to work through it. Keep that in mind.

Droz- A tragic story all in all which we'll get to eventually. Droz at this point is basically coming out of a dead angle with the LOD where he was written in storyline to be feeding drugs (and whatever else) to Road Warrior Hawk in an attempt to take his place in the Legion Of Doom. If it sounds awful it's because it was and while MAYBE a good writer can make that work, we're talking about the WWF in 1998 trying to soap opera a drug pusher/drug abuse victim angle. It ultimately ended with Droz shoving Road Warrior Hawk off the titantron while Hawk was attempting to commit suicide. Again, it's as bad as you'd believe. Droz had a college football background but that's about it unless I missed some boxing or kickboxing background.

The Godfather- By all accounts the Godfather is a badass. He was hip to MMA before the UFC really caught on, was a freakishly devoted bodybuilder and he just looks like the sort of guy who would take very little shit from anybody. The Godfather is about to become THE Godfather as he's transitioning from Kama Mustafa and the Nation Of Domination's actually good muscle enforcer (Mark Henry is bad around this time and would continue to be such until about 2009 or so) but at this point I'd imagine the writing is on the wall for most of the NOD guys that the Rock is about to leave them in the dust and this group is going to theoretically die a death. The Godfather is about to take a seriously big turn but FIRST, the Brawl For All!

Bart Gunn- At this point, Bart Gunn is doing nothing. Basically nothing. One could even say less than nothing. Bart Gunn is in The New Midnight Express, an angle that Vince Russo has claimed was apparently a way to shut up Jim Cornette and prove to him that old style wrestling couldn't work in 1998. Bart Gunn was apart of the Smoking Gunns and according to him, he had toughman contest experience. Apparently Bart Gunn got brought into the Brawl For All because Kevin Kelly had seen him wear out big guys in Tampa and per Billy Gunn, Bart was the sort of dude who could wipe out a bar room full of people if need be. That said it's not like Bart had any boxing experience or what have you.

Hawk- Another noted tough dude and one of pro wrestling's weirdest mysteries. Every old school dude be it Kevin Sullivan, Jim Cornette or Paul Heyman raves about Hawk as a talent and claims he could've been a major marquee attraction as a singles wrestler. Kevin Sullivan in particular claims that had he had the opportunity to work with Hawk and freshen him up as a singles wrestler, he could've been an Undertaker-esque attraction who drew money across multiple character iterations. Hawk is coming off his personal demons storyline which I mentioned before that sucked. At this point, he and Animal have broken down and are in serious need of repairs from a physical and character standpoint.

Bob Holly- Bradshaw and Bob Holly in the same tournament and somehow they didn't face off? In 2019, I imagine people would be rooting for a double KO (although Bob's image has softened with fans since leaving the WWE) but at this point Bob Holly is just trying to figure shit out in his career. He's teaming with Bart Gunn in the New Midnight Express after sputtering out (HA HA) as a race car driver. Bob Holly is another dude who by in large is just known as a tough guy with a bit of a bully streak tendency behind that reputation. Owner of the wrestling world famous "YOU GOT TWENTY FOUR HOURS TO LEARN HOW TO FIGHT, BITCH!" threat to Rene Dupree before he kicked the shit out of him over parking tickets.

Marc Mero- The story of Marc Mero is a rough one with a happy ending. Marc Mero was really over in WCW as Johnny B. Badd, a Little Richard knock off with a Badd Blaster that shot confetti. Johnny B. Badd was so over that Vince paid him big money to be Johnny B. Badd----only for someone to smarten him up that Johnny B. Badd was a WCW trademark so he had paid for a guy who was trained from jump to do ONE role his whole career. Marc Mero was pretty over and underrated as a wrestler (I SWEAR BY THIS) before his knees gave in. Making matters worse for him was that his wife, Rena, was the women's face of the Attitude Era as Sable. According to Jim Cornette, Marc Mero was trying to be a good husband and help get his super over wife even MORE over---so he took a powerbomb from her on TV. Mero's future big money opponent was Stone Cold who happened to be  watching the show at the time from home. Apparently Austin called up Vince McMahon and immediately asked who he would be working with on next week's Raw since he wasn't going to do any business with Mero after eating a powerbomb on TV from his wife. I don't know if this was before or after the Brawl For All though so take that for what it's worth. Either way, Mero is doing a boxing gimmick now (he is apparently a reputable legit golden gloves champion) and so it makes sense he'd be in the Brawl For All.

Pierre- This is a real shootfight tournament. Actual punches are being thrown and takedowns are implemented. This is, again, a legitimate shoot fight----and so of course one of the dudes involved in the shoot fight is missing an eye. Quebeccer Pierre/Pierre Carl Oulette/Jon Pierre Lefitte is missing an eye and was competing in a shoot tournament WITH one eye. We're not talking Michael Bisping fighting with a damaged eye for years on end, we're talking about an actual lack of an eye. This happened, people. We'll talk more about Pierre (and his amazing story in 2019) but right now in 1998, he's JAG who is bouncing between WCW and WWF looking for something to do. He's also at this point known as the guy who refused to put Kevin Nash over in 1995 despite Nash being the face of the company. PCO is the original Bret Hart, refusing to job in Canada.

Scorpio- I gotta admit I have no idea what Scorpio is doing here. I bet he doesn't know either if we're being truthful. Scorpio is one of those guys who was ahead of his time but seemed incapable of staying on the right path (whatever that means in wrestling) to get what he was due. He had come into the WWF in 1997 as Flash Funk and so I imagine Flash Funk was over and he's just killing time until the Job Squad angle.  Scorpio is apparently a legit tough guy (or madman depending on who you ask) and held a 1-0 unofficial record over Hawk after he beat the shit out of him in WCW.

Dan Severn- Dan Severn was told he wouldn't even be allowed to participate and then was told the day OF the taping that he was needed to take a spot. Severn is not too far removed from being a UFC everything (champion, tournament winner etc etc) and so he's for the most part a prospective favorite. That's probably why he wasn't asked to compete at first I'd imagine since the plan was PERHAPS to get somebody else over. Another rumor is that Severn is such a boring plain dude with a boring plain style (Severn admits his plan was to never throw a punch and just grapple people) that if he had won, there would've been no payoff in it.

Savio Vega- I have NO idea if Savio Vegas has a professional sports background or what the deal was. Apparently Savio Vegas asked to be in it and was also the unofficial official matchmaker (he drew the names out of a hat) and he's Puerto Rican so he's got my rooting interest right away. I think Los Boricuas at this point were in full swing and Savio was obviously the head of said stable. Gang Warz was dumb as hell.

Steve Williams- And we reach the FINAL name. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Steve Williams was a former football player at the University of Oklahoma and one of the more decorated wrestlers in Oklahoma history. He had carved out a niche in Japan by this point after establishing himself as a star in Mid South with the occasional stop off in the NWA/Jim Crockett Promotions/various regional feds and start ups. Williams didn't have any official fighting background but he was a crazy good wrestler and by all accounts a ridiculous bad ass. Jim Cornette tells stories of Dr. Death fighting fans and laying bodies to waste with little to no effort. He was also extremely popular with people in the WWF office, namely Jim Ross and Jim Cornette. Bruce Prichard doesn't QUITE say that the WWF thought Dr. Death would win the Brawl For All but he does a damn good enough impression of Jim Ross advocating for Steve Williams that I have to believe it. Vince Russo has spoken in the past about Steve Williams being Jim Ross' "boy" and how this was basically his way of seeing whether Jim Ross was right. Bob Holly has said that they were already doing vignettes with Barry Switzer and interviews as if Dr. Death won the Brawl For All. Dr. Death claims that the Triple H push of 1999 was the one Vince had promised him before the Brawl For All.

All of this brings me to my final point.....

Dr. Death was never going to be a big star in the WWF

I truly hate to speak ill of the dead and I'm trying hard no to either. Let's just speak from a more realistic pragmatic grounded stance. The kind of talent that was getting over in 1999 falls into three distinct categories. The first were talkers, guys and gals who could rap so to speak and had tremendous presence. Promo guys could carry the day and even IF you gave Dr. Death a Jim Ross to do the talking for him, let's not forget that by 1998 at this point in July there's basically just one manager actually doing anything as a talker and that's Paul Bearer. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams was not a talker and even if he was, he's certainly not the kind of talker who would fit in Vince McMahon's WWF. The second were guys who were big with "the look" according to Vince McMahon. Pull up a picture of every top star in 1998 for the WWF and then slide Dr. Death in there and ask if he fits the mold. He's unique for sure and there's the Mick Foley outlier----but imagine how long it took Mick Foley to be seen as legitimate by Vince McMahon. Even if Dr. Death is the definition of a Jim Ross style Hoss, he looks woefully out of date by 1998 standards. He in many ways, like a lot of guys who frequently toured Japan and basically were behind on the times, looked like he had been left in 1988. Lastly there were the gimmick guys; the Undertaker, Kane, The Rock, DX, Austin etc etc. Dr. Death's gimmick was that he was an ass kicker which is great but AGAIN we are to believe every human being in the WWF at this time is an ass kicker. Maybe Vince and company would've found a way to get something out of him but the chances are that Dr. Death would've never been a big star. Could he have feuded with Stone Cold? Surely! A big money draw? A multi million dollar hit? I just don't see it. Can't imagine it. Also let's be fair here, how toned down would his style have been for the WWF at the time as well? Is he going to suplex Steve Austin around after Stone Cold broke his neck? I'm not quite buying that either.

So there's your sixteen. You got a few amateur wrestlers ten years beyond their competitive days, a boxer or two, a toughman contest guy, a few dudes who dabbled in kickboxing and a man with legitimately one eye. You've got the guy who the company thinks SHOULD win it. So who won the fuckin' thing? How did they win it?

That's for next time.

#WWF #WWE #Brawl For All #Scorpio #Dr. Death #Steve Williams #Bart Gunn #Bob Holly

[wrestlewriting]

#13 [Kenny Omega]

Requested, #13: I’m like 20% sure this plan will work. The other 80% means we could die horribly and violently, but honestly it’s a really solid plan.” (Prompt from here.)

Author note: This is just a little over 1000 words of fluff and sweet things.

@superkixbaybay @ihtscuddlesbeeetchx3  @valeonmars  @pjanina13  @spot-of-bother  @bolieve-that  @m-a-t-91  @not-that-kinda-gurl08 @running-ropes @heelturn-timesten @wrestlingnoob  @alexahood21 @wwesavedme   @theelitevillian @bitchesgonnabemad @castielscamander  @imaginingwwesuperstars  @heeltothequeen

Standing in the back of the arena in Osaka, you avoided anyone that was even remotely nearby, though there were very few bodies passing by. You just kept looking at the floor, shifting from foot to foot, thinking through what tonight entailed. No one would blame you for your nerves. This wasn’t something you were used to doing, and it certainly wasn’t something you’d done in NJPW before.

“Yo, come on,” Nick’s voice broke into your thoughts. Your eyes turned to where the younger Buck stood at the end of the hallway. “He’s up in like ten.”

“OK, yea, I’ll be there in a second,” you assured. With one last curious look, Nick turned and went back the way he had arrived.

You weren’t a contracted wrestler with NJPW, and you weren’t even officially in The Bullet Club. But you portrayed a heel all the same and had a sort-of understanding with your fellow troublemakers. That was on screen at least in ROH and other various indie promotions.

Behind the scenes, the Bucks were some of your favorite people. You’d been running around on the independents, crossing paths, with them for years. So of course, you’d had appearances on the Being the Elite show, and it wasn’t like you were a secret.

And that was basically how you were now standing backstage at a NJPW show, where Kenny was once again taking on Okada.

Their matches were always incredible, physical, destructive. Terrifying.

It had been your reaction, which was basically a meltdown, to their WrestleKingdom match that had gotten you into your current predicament, however.

Throughout that entire event five months ago, you’d been on the edge of your seat. You’d dug your nails into poor Candice’s arms, leaving marks. There’d been hiding behind hands, as well in the shoulder of those around you. At one point, you’d even attempted to leave. Hell, you’d taken a few shots of liquid courage before arriving at the building.

When you’d finally seen Kenny in the locker room post-loss, you had managed to clean your act up and present yourself as a concerned but loving girlfriend who wasn’t entirely emotionally unstable.

But word traveled quickly through your friends, and soon enough the next day Kenny was well informed about your behavior during his match.

You’d made one innocent comment in the following discussion, telling Kenny that you just hated being so far away from him and not being able to do something quickly if something had gone wrong. 

All you’d wanted was to be sitting closer, not be a part of the situation.

When Kenny had approached you with his idea initially, you’d immediately balked. You weren’t here as a wrestler, you were here as a girlfriend. You were meant to just be supportive from a distance during and take care of him the best you could afterward.

He’d argued that for all intents and purposes you’d still be supportive from a distance, just a closer distance by a couple feet than if you were in the front row.

Stupid technicalities.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing back here?” It was the first thing you could think to ask as you watched Kenny come towards you.

“Looking for you,” he answered, stopping where you stood.

“You shouldn’t even be thinking about me right now. You need to be focusing on this match and everything. Just go back, I’ll be there in a second, I promise.”

“I can multi-task,” Kenny argued.

“No you can’t,” you replied in earnest. He laughed at your response, nodding his head briefly in agreement. The silence fell around the two of you, any commotion in the arena and in the ring muffled by the walls and barely audible. Kenny seemed to be assessing you, and you had to keep yourself from chewing at your lip.

“I want you out there,” he finally said, repeating the same sentiment he had been for the past two weeks.

“I know,” you stated. “And I just…I don’t know. Why do you need me? You have Nick and Matt.”

“Nick and Matt aren’t you,” Kenny pointed out, reaching out to take your hand in his, tangling your fingers together. “I love them, and I will always have them in my corner. But I want you there too. I want to hear your voice when I need it most.”

“You know I’m probably more of a liability out there than anything.”

“Nah,” he dismissed. “You’re smart, and this is far from your first time outside the ring. Things go differently here. Nothing will happen to you. Something could happen to me, but I mean, that’s to be expected. But what I’m planning on is I win and we get to leave together.”

“You seem pretty certain of all this.”

“Honestly, I’m like 20% sure this plan will work. The other 80% means we could die horribly and violently, but honestly, it’s a really solid plan.”

Your laughter was instant at his statement, the absolute seriousness that he said it with causing your reaction more than the words themselves.

“So reassuring,” you teased through giggles. His smile was bright at the sound of your laughter, making him look far less intimidating in his wrestling outfit. With a slight tug on your hand, he brought you right into his body, looking downward at you. Your amusement trailed off as you looked up at him. “I love you.”

“Love you,” he echoed back.

“Should I have had some drinks before I came tonight?”

“…yes, fuck yes.” He looked almost horrified you hadn’t.

“Welp! This will be fun!” you decided. “Guess we have to up it to a 90% chance we die horribly.”

“You gonna wait for me in the afterlife?”

“Eh,” you shrugged. “Unless young Patrick Swayze shows up. Then sorry not sorry.”

“Yea, I can totally respect that,” Kenny agreed. You locked eyes for a solemn moment, but you both broke into smiles. You leaned forward putting your head against his bare collarbone, grinning to yourself when you felt a kiss placed on your hair.

“Come on, we should go,” you said, without moving your head. “You’ve got a match to have. And I have a panic attack to have.”

“You’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.”

“Will it be fine? Is that what it will be?” You couldn’t stop the sarcastic question from leaving your mouth. Slowly you lifted your head, meeting Kenny’s unamused look. “Not fine?”

“C’mon, dork,” he requested, leaning down to kiss you gently and briefly.

“You’re the dork, dork,” you childishly argued, pushing at him gently, before turning and starting down the hallway. Within two steps he was beside you, an arm going around your shoulders, tucking you to his side.

Tonight was going to be intense, that much you knew. And being close, being able to see the detail, to know for sure Kenny was OK…you did appreciate what he was trying to do to make the night easier for you. Which was kind of funny, given he was the one basically going into a war of a match.

You just hoped it didn’t, in fact, backfire in some way tonight. And you hoped you could keep yourself in check ringside, and not have a meltdown. For the first time in your life, you had to be wrestler and girlfriend at the same time, and it was weird. But for Kenny, it was worth it.

#kenny omega imagine #kenny omega drabble #kenny omega fan fiction #kenny omega fanfic #kenny omega fan fic #wrestling fanfic #wrestling fan fiction #wrestling imagine #wrestling drabble #wrestling fan fic #njpw imagine #njpw fan fiction #kenny omega

[jasper-rolls]

i talked about this a bit on twitter but i wanna elucidate on it here so here’s another fucking post about the fucking dream daddy shit because i cant stop myself from being annoyed by the back and forth and misrepresentation and vague posts trying to act like they’re just talking in general when its very obviously about this

strap in cause this is gonna be a long one

there are three points i want to make

1) criticism of media is important and needed, particularly in the realm of discussing representation and creator intent, since its overall purpose is to further discussion and foster overall improvement in future. criticism of a work isn’t always an attack on the people who like it

i mean, we’ve all been there. it sucks to read when someone’s talking down something you like a lot, especially if its something that’s very meaningful to you. it happens to me too - i can’t count the number of times i’ve read an article or essay ripping apart something i love and found it very difficult to disengage my personal feelings from it.

but unless the person making the criticism is specifically going out of their way to say “and all the people who LIKE this thing are fucking gibbering idiots who wouldn’t know good quality if it punched them in the face”, then the criticism isn’t an attack on you personally, and you have to find the place to disengage that emotional attachment and at least tolerate the criticism of the work. you may accept and agree with it or not, but understand that the critic is (probably) not directly attacking you

and raising potential problems on the representation side of the work is important, because it highlights potential problems for people interested in it that they might not have been aware of before, like creator’s personal views influencing development of the work, or unfortunate implications of plot beats within the work

there’s definitely legitimate cause for concern in game grumps involvement with dream daddy. in my personal experience, the grumps aren’t particularly forward thinking in a lot of respects - arin and danny are quick to lapse into bottom of the barrel racist accent humor (particularly with asian characters), or “hey, isn’t being gay kind of weird” straight guy nonsense. the understanding they’ve showcased of lgbt concepts and issues leaves a lot to be desired (last i remember, arin still considered “cisgender” to be a slur despite being told what it actually means)

and every time this is brought up, i see fans saying “oh but they’re better now, they’ve learned!” and i have to say, i still watch them fairly regularly and...they really haven’t! the “progress” is minimal at best, its like watching someone push a boulder up a hill. they haven’t really changed all that much in the last few years to be frank. so the concern with them being involved with, and putting their name on, a game where the focus is on mlm (and has transgender characters) has definite grounding, given how they’ve acted before.

and the cult ending naturally has unfortunate implications - the idea that every character in the game is being tricked into being forever single, their misery being used to fuel some sort of demon...i mean, given how gay people have been treated throughout history and in media, at the very least it’s pretty regressive. you can’t fault someone for reading the transcript and feeling a little sick

the raising and highlighting of these things isn’t a personal attack. it’s overall, to help people make an informed decision, and be aware of the things that aren’t so great - that might be a dealbreaker, on a personal level. criticism is valuable, and useful, and we should recognize it as such

-----------------------------

2) on the opposite hand, EVERYTHING we read, watch, or play is guaranteed to have a problematic element of some sort, and nothing you ever enjoy is perfect. expecting something to conform to a 100% ideologically pure standard is unreasonable and ultimately a fool’s game

my personal favourite game of all time, ever, is killer7. it’s the game that bought suda51 to prominence in the west. it’s a weird blend of first-person shooter, rail shooter, and rpg. the story is outright bizarre, with disorienting visuals and surreal events like a lucha wrestler headbutting a bullet out of midair, a ghostly man wrapped in bdsm gear popping up to give you advice, and giggling zombies that explode on contact

its also got quite a share of shitty moments - a rape scene, the female characters leave a lot to be desired, its got a frankly weird interpretation of a lot of psychological disorders, and a good chunk of the game is dedicated to character development of a pedophile

suffice to say it probably wouldn’t be a big hit with a lot of people here. but does this stuff mean its completely reprehensible, and not worth spending any time with? i did just tell you it’s my favourite game so you can probably guess how i’m going to respond to that rhetorical question. this post is long enough without me spending several more paragraphs explaining to you why i think killer7 is worth giving a shot, so i’m going to skip to the point that this example is illustrating - the things we love, our favourite things, are probably just as, or maybe even more problematic than the things we don’t.

i’m not going to cite any further examples since i don’t know what you, the reader, personally enjoys or loves, but like...i guarantee you, its probably done something pretty shitty with its running time. i’m fairly confident i’ve never read or enjoyed something that didn’t at some point play into some shitty trope about lgbt people, or people of colour, or women - and if didn’t somehow, chances are it’s because it never showed them in the first place, because its focus is on straight, white, cis men, which is, naturally a problem of its own

if you’re willing to shrug off shitty opinions of creators of things you love, or bad tropes and plot elements in things you love, then why is it so different for the things you dislike? to write off dream daddy entirely, because of the involvement of game grumps, and the existence of one bad ending with shitty implications, and ignoring its more positive elements while praising the things you love that have more than likely done shitty stuff too is...frankly ridiculous

it perhaps may not seem like much to you, but dream daddy getting the kind of coverage and attention it has is...kind of a big deal as far as i’m concerned! games with narrative tend to be pretty hostile towards gay men*, so for a game that presents an overall sincere and positive representation of gay men to see this much attention and get to no. 1 seller on steam a significant step forward, i think. it’s not revolutionary, but personally, as a gay man, it means a lot to me, and i know a few other gay men who would feel the same, and that surely counts for something

and as far as killer7 goes, well...waypoint explains it better than i could, but i would just like to say: that pedophile character i mentioned? that part of the game ends with you beating him in a duel so hard, he falls over and gets eviscerated by a machine designed to cut out organs. so it’s not all bad.

-----------------------------

3) (this is the big one) this site has a big fucking problem with virtue signalling 

perhaps its bad of me to assume something of people, but i’m going to go out on a limb and say at least one person immediately closed the tab the moment they read that line, and i wouldn’t blame them, because the problem with saying something like “virtue signalling” is that the alt-right and gamergaters have tried their absolute hardest to make that phrase essentially mean nothing by throwing it at anyone who shares a dissenting opinion of any kind. but despite their efforts, virtue signalling is a phrase that does actually have a meaning, and its the meaning i’m using here

i’m going to take a quick excerpt from hbomberguy’s video on the subject (it’s worth watching, it’s only 10 minutes long and pretty funny)  - “The term was originally coined[...]to decry people who say, ‘I don’t like this thing very much’, in order to feel good about themselves, and then just, vote Labour every few years or whatever and take no stake in actually making things better.”

tumblr (or at least, the part of tumblr i engage with) does this, a LOT. it’s in the smug, one line “uhhhh, yikes, lmao 💅” rebuttals to arguments against the thesis of a given post. it’s in the strawman cartoons and chat posts that cast opponents of the OP as self-contradicting fools. it’s in the “so jot that down” responses, the “i’m side-eyeing everyone who isn’t reblogging this”, etc. etc. everyone has done this. you have probably engaged with this. i definitely have - at least one of my popular posts, if not more is, basically me, doing this thing! to be fair i had no intention those posts being popular, but then one never does, do they?

in the case of dream daddy, it’s “me: y’all:” image edits snarkily demonstrating how they’re SWERVING “that dad dating shit”, chat posts casting defenders points as “WHY CAN’T YOU JUST NEVER CRITICIZE ANYTHING EVER”, posts smugly announcing they’re going to pirate the game just to take money from arin hanson, as if that’s how game development works, and i think it’s what’s led to a huge amount of misrepresentation about this game in particular

i’ve seen people acting like the game grumps are like, directing and writing the game, when, as far as i’m aware, all they did was provide funding and voice acting. and the big thing that really got my goat, was someone describing the cult ending, and listing the implications i’ve already gone over myself, and then saying that this was the game’s true ending

this...literally could not be further from the truth. for starters, no-one has actually gotten this ending from playing through the game naturally. the reason? because you CAN’T. it was found through data-mining - it isn’t accessible through regular play. it’s either content that was cut from the game late in development, or, as the theory goes, intended to be a non-canonical or fake ending added in as halloween DLC come october (given the tone of the whole thing it sounds reasonable to me) which has, unfortunately, now been ruined due to this whole debacle

to do this kind of thing, to describe this as “the true ending” borders on being an out and out lie for the purpose of making dream daddy look way, way worse than it actually is. there’s no justice here, there’s no attempt to inform accurately. it’s “hey, check out how shitty this thing is! i’m good for disliking it, aren’t i? ignore the context, or the fact that i’m literally lying about what this is”

look, okay, i’m getting a little vitriolic - people can make mistakes, misunderstand things, it happens. everyone does it. me too. but this posing, this “look how good and cool i am, for not liking this thing”, it helps nothing at best and actively harms at worse. misrepresenting positions, context, and events for the purpose of satisfying the ego of whoever is making the statement - it helps no-one, except that person, in the most minor and meaningless of ways

i want to be clear - this final bit is just as much a memo for myself as it is for everyone reading this

be critical. don’t take things at face value. read into issues, understand context. get as close to the source of the issue at hand as you can, and determine the truth from there. resist the urge to be smug, detached, and dismiss those who disagree with your position - resist the urge to laugh at them, they may just not know. try and engage them in honest debate. if they resist that, if they don’t want to meet you on an equal footing you are within your rights to disengage.

be strong. support the things you love, and remember where the line is

we can all be better

*i’m not saying that other groups aren’t treated with hostility in games and gaming - trans women certainly get it really, really bad. just personally saying, in my experience as a gay man, the gaming community, and subsequently games with a focus on narrative themselves, have a sort of...special hatred of mlm. not necessarily worse, just...uniquely hostile

[calmdowncolb]

woah boy here’s the thoughts

everyone else has.. something. my two best friends, jackson has hiking and alex has her big family to care for.

wrestling has always been all i’ve got. the only thing i’ve really liked and been consistently fascinated by.

i’ve watched my whole life and it wasn’t until a few years back that i discovered 2 wrestlers who changed me. one is tattooed on my leg. the other one is who this post is about.

sami zayn taught me, from the first moment i saw him, that it’s okay to be yourself and love yourself exactly the way you are.

he was betrayed and hurt by kevin, and when kevin tried to manipulate him back to his side, sami told him, for all intents and purposes, to go fuck himself

sami had too much self respect and self worth to go back. he valued himself too much. he valued his weird, loner/outcast self too much, even when no one else did. he made that okay. he showed me that being myself & having self respect was worth it. it was worth being true.

on sunday when he saved kevin, watching that made me feel like all that was erased.

every shred of character development may as well have never happened.

and yeah, he gave a valid explanation. he didn’t wanna see someone who he has feelings for get badly hurt. i get that. i hate to admit it, and this is me being really honest here, but i’m sure i’d do the same for either ex-best friend of mine. they both hurt me very badly too.

maybe that’s why i hate it so much? it’s too real, cuts too deep to the bone? makes me think about something i’d rather bury?

or maybe it’s wwe’s adamant refusal to give Sami any story with substance unless it involves kevin. making him seem like he’s worthless without kevin. he is only as good as his past suffering.

now listen i am 100% of the opinion that tumblr is supposed to be fun and everyone’s opinion is their own. so a part of me is weirdly happy for those who are pleased about their reunion?

but it’s almost like a sarcastic jealous kind of happy. it’s artificial. kinda like i’m saying “hmm oh well, good thing one of us is having fun” in a snotty tone.

meanwhile i’m sitting in my bed with tears streaming down my face.

i feel betrayed.. is that weird? i feel betrayed by the person who taught me that it was okay to love yourself enough to not take crap from anyone. he taught me that i’m good enough just the way i am. i’m valid, i deserve respect… does he not think that way of himself, though? was he just faking?

and yes i’m aware that this is a fictional character and perhaps i’m taking this WAAAY too seriously. but i don’t have many friends and honestly dude. seeing sami do this feels like i’m losing one of my very best friends.

fuckin’ sucks.

#just my extremely personal thoughts here #probably tmi #please dont argue with me guys #ive just got to get this out

[buniyaad]

Bullet Club Thot Chronicles

ngl I understand very well that the Bullet Club exists very much to titillate the non-Japanese population of New Japan’s fans. I mean, its literal creation was based on one dude’s feeling of severe disenfranchisement in a foreign company, and then using that disenfranchisement to create one of the most powerful stables in professional wrestling history. I get it. Bullet Club is for all the dudes out there that thought they weren’t getting anywhere and wanted to get somewhere. You can argue Bullet Club is an answer to Japanese xenophobia (a very real and very dangerous thing that many migrant populations experience across many different industries and not just professional wrestling). Its initial creation makes sense because it highlights the issues with New Japan’s localized strategy for selling product primarily to its own people instead of to people all over the world, despite having a workforce that’s multi-ethnic. You don’t have to like the foundations of Bullet Club, but you do have to understand that it comes from a very raw and very real issue present in lots of developed countries- the issue of migrant laborers being underserved by their host nations because of their ethnic heritage in a place that only looks to use their labor and nothing more. And I mean this from a very kayfabe stance, as well, since outside of kayfabe, Bullet Club is widely known as the grandchild of nWo.

But in kayfabe, I think it's prudent to realize that the most awe-inducing period of Bullet Club's legacy lies in its first leader's, and original creator's, intention to run a villainous stable in a territory that he thought didn't take him seriously enough. The disenfranchisement man, that shit is real. Prince Devitt is, and always will be, the scariest Bullet Club leader to run the thot joint.

However, I digress, the damn stable is supposed to be a bastion of mayhem and malady because... that's what induces fear. Yet today, you have Suzuki-gun outheeling the Bullet Club thots in public (even with Kenneth's recent victory), and Being the Elite is out here fracturing the unity of the stable. Not unlikely, as the Cleaner persona has always been a flighty hoe who's in it to win it, and for all intents and purposes, people have noticed that the Elite seem to matter more to Kenny than the actual Bullet Club (again, in terms of kayfabe, I am not aboutta write an essay on capitalism and professional wrestling, please just read Raquel's post here about commercialization and merchandise movement for a better understanding of why certain angles are never gonna die). ANYWHO, the Bullet Club thots of today have a problem. On one hand, they're still hella propular, but on the other, they've lost their original luster as a heel faction. Kenny, despite being an anime villain straight out of a homoerotic seinen manga, is still largely a heel in it of himself. You can see that the Bullet Club doesn't really have a storyline besides what was teased in G1 Special, and essentially the advent of Cody. There's a civil war coming, but what would that civil war seek to achieve? We already know Kenny can live without the Bullet Club. He's what he's always dreamed of becoming- the best of the best, without any distractions (which includes his former lover, Kota Ibushi). So, what's a formal fracture going to do? If anything, Kenny walks away, because why the fuck not? The Bucks will go where he goes, so Bullet Club's left with Cody and the rest and there's no civil war, just a diet mutiny.

Or, it'll get violent when someone decides to remind Kenneth that his heel turn was solidified when he betrayed Kota for Redneck George (also noted as one of the few times Kenny showed real remorse for having turned heel). It was, after all, a full betrayal that solidified Kenny's place in the heel stable, which eventually led to Kota's departure from the company months after, and his own ascension to leader of the Bullet Club after Redneck George's departure. Betrayal, blood, and his own self-esteem issues is what allowed Kenny to become the anime villain he is today, but it's also what can best facilitate his departure from Bullet Club. I'm not saying Kenneth should turn face (he shouldn't because he is, for all intents and purposes, the best because he turned heel and took every opportunity that came his way), but I am saying that perhaps, deep down, he could be even better by out-heeling the stable originally meant to elevate foreign talent in a largely localized territory.

Maybe it's just me, but I really, really don't want Kenny to turn face. I want him to leave the Bullet Club, sure, but I don't think his future lies with the face crowd. The look he gave Cody after Cody threw the towel at his face during G1 Special was the face of a stone cold cleaner- as in someone who cleans up crime scenes after having watched others commit crimes on his behalf. I can absolutely see Kenneth sanctioning a hit out on Cody just for the shits and giggles because Cody had the nerve, and the nerve is not something to be had against Kenneth. Now, how could that function within a Bullet Club civil war? Simple- those who want a part-time sociopath as their leader will choose Kenny, and those who want a hot-blooded American just off the shelf from a largely restrictive promotion, they'll side with Cody. Both have their merits, but both also have their faults, and at the end of the day, Bullet Club's future lies in whose faults run deeper. Cody may not be the best wrestler on the planet, but he cuts a mean fucking promo, and Kenneth has been touted as one of the best wrestlers on the planet, but he's too fucking detached from his own stable to have any meaningful impact on how they're gonna shape their own fucking future.

It's truly one of my favorite story arcs going into 2018 because of how overlooked Bullet Club is as a disintegrating faction. There's no real narrative attached to their stable, and every day it seems like Kenny's becoming more and more distant, and the stable's just collapsing in on its own because of Devitt's legacy and Kenneth's detachment. Hopefully the year of the American expansion strategy sets up a true civil war for us to indulge in, because I, for one, live for the drama.

#bullet club #kenny omega #cody rhodes #njpw #kota ibushi #real talk #wrestling

[mrheyhellohowareyou]

WWE-ECW TV MATCH BATCH #1

The worst part about the WWECW reboot wasn’t the logo, but Jesus is this shit is hard on the eyes.

The WWE vs ECW Tuesday special and One Night Stand 2006 are both things that I enjoyed a fair amount recently. I wasn’t a  wrestling fan in 2006 so I don’t remember anything about the rebooted ECW, all I know about it is its less-than-stellar reputation. I figure if One Night Stand was the launch then the new show should have started with SOME promise so I’ve been combing through episodes to see what catches my eye.

Episode 2 (6/20/2006)

Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle vs Edge and Randy Orton

RVD is your WWE and ECW champion and riding a HUGE wave of momentum, having pinned World Heavyweight Champion Rey Mysterio (maybe not all that impressive since Rey wasn’t very good at winning right then) in a non-title match at the aforementioned WWE vs ECW special, John Cena at One Night Stand ‘06 for the spinner strap, and would go on to successfully defend against Edge in a fuck-ugly match at Vengeance the Sunday after this show. Kurt Angle is “ECW’s Kurt Angle,” which seems like it meant that the guy was still an overconfident Olympic dickhole, the kinda guy who would slap people on the back of the head while they were covering up on the ground, but the crowd dug it because good guys who act like dicks are an ECW tradition.

Edge and Orton are representing RAW and sports entertainment as a whole if you listen to Joey Styles. Edge comes out first and says that ECW SUCKS, which we’ve heard so many times from so many different people that it ceases to be a controversial opinion. Commentary says this is the first time these two have ever teamed up.

Angle starts with Edge and throws him around a little bit, treating Edge like lumpy trash. RVD comes in to do his moves and Edge tags in Orton so he can take some punishment instead. Rob crotches Orton on the top rope and comes off the top buckle to kick him off, which is kind of a piece of shit move but Randy is a dick so no one cares. Orton and Edge take over when Lita pulls down the top rope and RVD falls to the floor, leaving the heels to take over with crisp tandem offense. Orton is pretty nasty in this match, really putting some malice behind his hits and displaying one of the few things I like about watching him. RVD takes a crazy bump through the ropes headfirst into the announce table and then gets kicked in the face with both of Orton’s heels on a crazy-high dropkick.

RVD creates some separation and tags Angle in, who throws both heels to the mat with German suplexes. Angle goes for Orton’s ankle but Edge pulls him to the ropes, which doesn’t put a full halt to Angle’s offensive tear. Edge comes off the top and gets caught for another German followed by an attempt at an Angle Slam, but he forgets about Orton lying in the corner and gets caught with a chop block to the knee. These bastards are nasty and their teamwork is super solid for a first time pairing, smothering Angle with their teamwork and not letting him breathe. Angle thrown to the floor by Edge and tweaks the chop-blocked knee on the way down, then is into the steps and rolled into the ring. Extreme Angle suprised Edge with a single leg from the ground and goes for a choke, which is broken up by Lita. Joey Styles doesn’t know what “the back” means, which is strange because he was just criticizing King for “not watching the product” very recently. Edge throws Angle into the corner and just gets kicked right in the chest on a charge, giving him an opening for another German and an opportunity for Angle to tag in RVD. Clotheslines and a kick to Edge, a blast to Orton on the apron, step-over kick to Edge and a tope to Orton on the floor. RVD grabs a chair but gets grabbed by Orton on his way back into the ring so RVD chucks the chair at his face (Orton takes a full five seconds to fall down) before getting blasted back to the floor by Edge. Angle grabs Edge’s ankle and ducks a belt shot from Lita then delivers the Angle Slam to her, which the crowd loves because you can take the fans away from the trash but you can’t take the trash away from the fans. Straps are down, Orton back in to RKO Angle, but he makes the mistake of gloating and gets kicked in the face by RVD coming off the top. He then goes for Rolling Thunder but gets kicked right in the face by Edge on the way down. Edge sets up for the spear, gets hit by Rob’s forearem, Five Star Frog Splash and that’s the match. Edge gets pinned clean (as clean as you can in ECW I guess) going into their match at Vengeance

Fun match, went by quickly. RVD bumped around like crazy and everyone had a little spring in their step.

Episode 3 (6/27/2006)

Rob Van Dam vs Kurt Angle

Edge comes out to sit at ringside so he can get a look at who he’s gonna fight at a later date. Taz tries to interview him but Edge calls him short so Taz shoves the mic into his chest. Edge threatens him and says “I know how to choke somebody out too” but I don’t think anybody believes him.

What I like about the build to this new ECW was that it seemed certain wrestlers took the cue of the new format to change their styles to something more appropriate for the audiences’ expectations. RVD’s style resembled the spot-heavy, ridiculously-athletic sprinting pace of old while Angle turned up the nastiness of his character while still playing to what a bloodthirsty crowd would want out of a good guy Olympic wrestler with an insane amount of self-confidence in his amateur skill.

This match… well, you would have no idea that any of this had actually happened by watching this match. Starts with Angle outwrestling RVD (obviously), with Rob showing enough skill of his own to avoid getting fully caught up in Angle’s submissions. Angle keeps on knocking Rob onto his back and killing his momentum and takes over the action. Rob tries going high risk, where he gets caught and gets thrown from the top rope all the way to the floor.

The remainder of the match goes something like this: Angle takes over with holds on the ground but stops fully wrenching away on them after awhile, leaving a little something to be desired in the punishment he’s supposed to be inflicting and the mean streak he’s supposed to be displaying; Rob creates separation a few times but keeps getting caught when he goes high risk, getting dragged back down to the mat. Rinse and repeat. RVD could bump like crazy but it seems like he doesn’t exactly do too well at selling holds. There’s nothing wrong with the formula, solid enough in concept but the two don’t seem to have much chemistry in this match.

After a few back and forths Rob starts to hit his signature offense. Rob eventually hits a tornado DDT off the ropes then anticlimactically climbs to the top rope for a connecting Five Star Frog Splash to end the match.

The biggest detriment to this match was the inconsistency it has with the character-building and stage-setting being done within the new ECW universe at the time as it’s worked like a standard WWE TV main event. Both wrestlers do their thing and have the match until it ends.

Episode 9 (8/8/2006)

Kurt Angle vs Sabu

Would you call this a “dream match?” Somebody has definitely dreamed about this match but I don’t think anybody has ever sat down and gone “you know who would be good together…” and then came up with this.

This shit right here is FAR superior to the RVD/Angle matchup, a lot more competitive with a lot more going on. Angle is smotheringly aggressive and gets a lot of shots in at Sabu, but the Genocidal One’s offense is so outside of what Angle is used to that he is caught off-guard on the regular throughout the match. This is almost the opposite of the last match, where it seemed Angle had RVD’s number until he managed to eek out a win with the high-risk offense, since the two go back and forth taking their best shots at each other and trading places as the dominant one in the match. This is a “non-extreme” match but that almost works into Sabu’s unpredictability: if he can’t use his chair then what’s he gonna try and pull out to gain the advantage?

(Unintentionally) funny bit early on when Sabu puts his feet on the ropes while trapped on the mat and aggressively tries to bring this to the blind ref’s attention. Angle keeps grinding down Sabu and smacking him around until he misses a charge into the ringpost and takes a gnarly bump to the floor after a second charge gets him tossed over. Sabu is pretty crisp here and keeps the action going, keeping himself in logical contention with the Olympic gold medalist, getting in WAYYYY more offense than Rob did in his ECW match with Angle. Sabu’s fists = underrated.

The two trade off spots of dominance, Angle grinding down Sabu and Sabu retaliating with some really “explosive” offense consisting of a mix of strikes, mat wrestling and high-flying craziness, both guys bumping inside and outside of the ring like the fate of the brand depended on it.

Sabu has Angle down and hits a Frog Splash for 2 and then gets his ankle caught, but before anything else can happen RVD comes down and smashes both dudes with a chair because, well, he wants a title shot. It seems like there are other ways to go about that but, y’know, ECW. So of course Rob gets what he wants next week in a ladder match against Sabu.

Almost disappointed this match had to end this way, it was very competitive and I was looking forward to seeing how one man would get the upper hand over the other. Both guys came at each other with purpose and nastiness, intent on cutting the other down but unable to gain a real dominance due to the style clash and the resiliency on display.

If you told somebody that never watched Raw in ‘06 that Angle’s last match for the ‘E would be against Sabu and that it was an actual fluid and entertaining affair, I doubt that anybody would actually believe you

#wwe #ecw #wrestling #match reviews

[spoilerfreewrestling-blog]

#match ratings #noah #puroresu #february #show reviews

[entergamingxp]

5 of the Best Wrestling Moves in Non-Wrestling Video Games

April 9, 2020 1:00 PM EST

Bah gawd!

Recently, I have been playing Resident Evil 6 (for some reason) with DualShockers‘ Managing Editor Logan Moore. It has been a blast for all the wrong reasons. However, the best thing to come out of this awfully hilarious experience is witnessing popular Resident Evil characters performing sick wrestling moves on zombies.

This got me wondering, “What are some of the best wrestling moves in non-wrestling video games?” Here are five that I think any wrestling fan would pop for.

Leon Kennedy’s Running Power Slam in Resident Evil 6

As I mentioned, I have been playing Resident Evil 6. First, I want to say that all of you are liars. I have had so much fun playing this multi-campaign “survival-horror” game. Who could forget when Ada Wong got shot in the heart and said, “Ya got me, well played.”

I was expecting this semi-spooky zombie-filled adventure. Instead, I got an action-packed romp where I can perform wrestling moves on the undead. It is truly wild. When I unexpectedly had Leon Kennedy do a running power slam, I popped so hard. It is one of the best moments I have had in a video game recently. Again, maybe I love it for all the wrong reasons, but it’s still rad to see these gritty survivors superkick a bunch of zombies.

King’s Rainmaker in Tekken 7

It is no secret that the jaguar mask-wearing luchador King has a few wrestling moves in his repertoire. But when I performed NJPW’s Kazuchika Okada’s Rainmaker finisher on Heihachi Mashima, I just about lost my mind.

As seen in the video above, King’s Rainmaker Rage Art begins with dollar bills raining down onto the stage. Then, just like Okada, King takes the opponent’s arm and hits them with the devastating finisher. It’s awesome. Also, you can equip King with Okada’s in-ring gear, making it approximately 10 times cooler. The math adds up.

Akira Nishikiyama and Kiryu Kazama’s Powerbomb to Facestomp in Yakuza 0

Before playing Resident Evil 6, I finished a game that has been in my backlog for years. I bought Yakuza 0 back when it launched in 2017 and finally completed the prequel this year. Even if this game didn’t have sick wrestling moves, I would still consider it one of my favorite games of the current console generation.

However, this game does have sick wrestling moves, which means Yakuza 0 is one of the greatest games of all time. My personal favorite was when you, Kiryu Kazama, teamed up with your buddy Akira Nishikiyama. If you can time it right, you can do a finisher where Nishiki powerbombs an enemy and Kiryu just stomps on their face, rendering them useless.

Sett’s RKO Ultimate in League of Legends

At the request of Managing Editor Logan Moore, I have added Sett’s Show Stopper ultimate ability to this list. However, I couldn’t just add any move to this list. Otherwise, we’d have filth like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door‘s Rawk Hawk in here. I had to see this for myself for the integrity of the list. I can confirm Sett definitely deserves the spotlight on this one.

This dude basically does an RKO outta nowhere! Well, sometimes. As seen in the video above around the three-minute mark, Sett can perform a number of different wrestling moves, each devastating in its own right. I don’t really play League of Legends, but I think it’s time I buy some League dollars and play this character a maximum of 2 times. I’ll probably int and quit.

Dave Bautista’s Batista Bomb in Gears 5

Almost all of the characters on this list are not actual professional wrestlers. Yes, some of them are inspired by real-life wrestlers, and some of these characters may have inspired real-life wrestlers, but you will find none of these video game protagonists in the squared circle. That changes now.

If you haven’t played Gears 5, then you may not know that WWE Superstar Batista is kind of playable in the game’s multiplayer modes. When I say “kind of,” he is actually a skin for Marcus Fenix. But that doesn’t make it less cool by any means. It is still, by all intents and purposes, rad.

When the Batista skin was announced, I wanted The Coalition to add a Batista Bomb execution badly. I can only name a few things cooler than Batista performing his finisher on Locusts. Well, dreams were made last weekend when it was announced the Batista Bomb was added to Gears 5. I mean, look at that video above. Batista is in the Gears of War universe Batista Bombing Locusts to pieces. It’s high art.

Those are just a few of my personal favorite wrestling moves in non-wrestling video games. Surely, there are some other ones I am missing. What are some of your favorite moves? Sound off in the comments below and let us know your favorites or some of the moves we might have missed.

April 9, 2020 1:00 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/04/5-of-the-best-wrestling-moves-in-non-wrestling-video-games/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-of-the-best-wrestling-moves-in-non-wrestling-video-games

[pruittwrites]

The Tribe Of Naphtali

Joshua 20:7

7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

Kedesh means Sanctum, or Holy Place, and Galilee means circle. Isn’t it wonderful, that The God who sits upon the circle of the Earth according to Isaiah 40:22, grew up in Galilee, the circle referenced in Isaiah 9:1). In the allotment of Zebulun and Naphtali.

We talked about that aspect in the chapter on Tribe Of Zebulun. I bring it up here for a slightly different reason.  To talk about the circle that Naphtali, not Jesus, was birthed into.  About what looked, from the outside, as a dysfunctional family, filled with chaos, but was actually a Holy place, ordained by God for Naphtali.

Whether true or not, when I think of Naphtali, I think of a strong burly man. The type of man who would have been a brawler, or a wrestler. After all, it’s what his name means, it’s how he was introduced into the world. To view him, you have to begin with the women in his life.

I’ll confess, I’ve always preferred Leah to Rachel, but I doubt Naphtali felt the same way.  Bilhah was his Mom, but Rachel named him. Mind you, I don’t know how favorable he viewed her either. According to Genesis 37:2, it was Rachel’s son who reported on the bad report of the children of Bilhah and Zilpah.

Before we cast blame on anyone involved, look at the course of events that led to the birth of Naphtali. Laban promised Jacob Rachel, but gave him Leah. Then gave him Rachel, who was barren. Jacob loved her, but hated Leah.

When Rachel saw she couldn’t have children, she gave Bilhah her maid to Jacob to marry and have children with.  Dan was first, Naphtali was second.  Bilhah’s name means trouble, and the family dynamics certainly were that, troubling.

Let’s review Naphtali’s standing in the family at this point. He was the younger brother to Dan, and the sixth son of Jacob. He was the second born son of the third wife, not even the second favorite spouse, but a servant.  Bilhah didn’t ask for any of this, but it was her reality.

Naphtali didn’t ask to have to put up with the favorite child, his perfect stepbrother Joseph, but it was his life.  Rather than focus on Joseph and Naphtali’s relationship, I mentioned it to soften the view we’ve always had of Joseph’s brothers. They weren’t justified, but their life wasn’t easy either.  

Now that we’ve looked at the family, and baby Naphtali, let’s see what the wrestler named his children.  What would the son of a former slave call his sons? Would he be bitter, or better?

Genesis 46:24 (KJV)

24 And the sons of Naphtali; Jahzeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shillem.

I believe you can tell a lot about a man by what he names his children. Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, And Shillem. God will allot, protected, forming, and repaid, this was the meaning of their names.  

I wonder if one of Naphtali’s favorite stories, as a child, was to hear about the night his Dad wrestled with the Angel. Was it a story he retold his children? Most of all, did he understood that the limp was a victory, and not a defeat?  

Based on what he named the first child, I suspect he did. The man named wrestling, didn’t say I have carved out something, or wrestled it.  He said God will allot. It appears he knew, even though Naphtali probably wouldn’t have chosen this place in the family, that God had provided it. He still gave Naphtali a place, in the family of faith. 

For all of the problems he had seen, he recognized that God was working. He could have very easily been born the son of another, whose father was not Jacob, but God said, this child, at this time.

Remember, it wouldn’t matter what Rachel’s intentions were, if Bilhah couldn’t have children. Naphtali, based on the name of his firstborn, understood God’s Providence in all things. So much so, he named his second son protected.

It is the third and fourth children who intrigue me. One is named forming, and the other repaid.  What was going on at the time?  Was He talking about his family’s future, his son’s, or his own?  

Genesis 49:21 ESV

21 Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.

Genesis 49:21 KJV

21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

I suspect it was partially the family’s future, because the fourth son’s name meant repaid.  It leads me to ask if  something happened between the birth of these two boys? I don’t know what it was, but I do know one thing.  If Naphtali had questions about his family’s future, Jacob would shed some light on it.

God has a plan for all of us. He intends to form us, form a ministry through us, and to form an inheritance for us to pass on to the next generation. Some things He forms for public view, others He forms in the stillness. 

As humans, if we are not called to a particular event, we can have the tendency to view our lives as purposeless, this is a mistake. God was forming something, for example, in Job. We can be tempted to think the catalyst of Job was the enemy’s response to God’s question, but God asked the question, to fulfill God’s purpose. God wanted to form something in Job before the enemy ever opened his mouth.

We do not always see the purpose, before or after completion, and that’s okay. At times, knowing isn’t necessary. If we know The Who, the why is less important. It appeared Job had everything he needed, so he didn’t know the why. He couldn’t see, that Job dealt with fear, and relied on his righteousness as a comfort when his friends unrighteously judged him.

They were wrong, but that didn’t make Job’s righteousness his defense. Like us, Job basically said I’ve done what was right, and I’m still facing this mess.  What we all miss, is had God not opened our eyes to our need for redemption originally, we would not have attempted to do what was right. We attempt to live lives of faithfulness, not because we are spotless, but because He washed our spots away.

Before we leave Job, and how his situation speaks to Naphtali’s, let me mention one more item. God never told Job he wouldn’t face troubles. We have been tempted to view Job’s troubles as an unprecedented event, but while Job had a hedge, that was the rarity.  Jesus told us we’d face troubles in this world, and that’s always been true, since Adam.

The greatest thing about the book of Job wasn’t Job’s righteousness, knowledge, or sacrifice. The greatest lesson of Job was, that even at his lowest point, even hurting, confused, and angry, He held to God. He said ��Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

I love this verse, and Job meant it.  Yet, don’t admire it so that you miss the fact, God never intended to slay him. He intended to bless him, and refused to allow the enemy to destroy him. I believe, that God tricked the enemy into being a factor to remove Job’s fear, and reliance on his own righteousness, and to lean completely on God.

How does this apply to Naphtali? Can you imagine the guilt that gripped Naphtali and his brothers, as they watched their Father’s sorrow? I don’t know if Naphtali was a Father yet, either way, can you imagine the fear he felt when the thought hit him? 

What he must have felt when something whispered, what if it was Jahzeel, instead of Joseph?  Job relied on his righteousness, Naphtali didn’t even have that luxury. He knew he was guilty.

He may have been tempted to cling to his secrecy.  Or to obsess over his children’s safety like Job did.  I can understand that temptation. Could that be why Naphtali named his second son protected?  

Is it possible that, between the two births, God removed out of Naphtali his fear, and guilt? Just as God had used the enemy to work fear, and self righteousness out of Job?  I believe the name reflects, not only the future of the family, but the growth of the wrestler.

The ESV, and most translations, in Jacob’s prophecy, say that “he is a doe let loose, which bears beautiful fawns.” The KJV says the same about the first part of the verse, but in the second half says, “he gives goodly words.”  I believe they both speak to Naphtali’s situation.

Considering the servanthood of his Mother, her elevation, also her children, and finally the naming of his children, I feel that is important. He gave his children a good name, or good words, and birthed a beautiful future before them, as a goal to leap towards.

Whether Naphtali named his children, or his wife did, we show no record of anyone else naming them.  Bilhah had not been allowed to name her children, no one said this about Naphtali.  Also, his Mother gave birth to two sons, Naphtali had four sons.

Naphtali was among the sons of Jacob who received one verse’s words worth of reference.  Others like Judah and Joseph received more, but more isn’t always a blessing. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, at the time, would probably have traded with Naphtali.

Naphtali didn’t receive a large prophecy, but he also received no rebuke either. He may have seen the parallel. Still, I do wonder, was he happy at his Dad’s promise, or did it leave him confused, wondering what it meant?

Have you ever received a promise from God, that you did not understand?  Many times He does not ask for understanding, only acceptance. Don’t always try to figure out what God gives as a mystery. Ask for understanding, but don’t allow the lack of it, to be an obstacle in pursuing God’s promise.

 Earth shattering things happen when we follow God, and not our vision, or the blessings. We understand that God’s motive is life and light for all who meet Him at the cross, and He will take care of the rest! This is the type of faith embraced by Abraham, birthed in Isaac, established in Jacob, and instilled in Naphtali.

The Hebrew language is fascinating, one word has multiple meanings, as evidenced by the KJV and the ESV.  I believe Jacob meant his blessing to Naphtali in both ways. I believe Naphtali, in addition to being a good Dad, must have had wisdom of his own, which is different than knowledge.

In a house of 13 children, twelve boys and one girl, Naphtali had said something that stood out to Jacob. Even when one son was Joseph, and one Judah, Naphtali’s voice stood out to his Father. It must have been more than just a single phrase, because he said words, plural.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Naphtali said a lot, but that when he spoke, he said something of importance.  A wiseman taught me, its not the quantity of words you speak which matter, but both the quality and the consistency of what you speak.  

Lives aren’t built on flashes of brilliance, but on a consistent, and faithful commitment to what is right. Knowledge can be learned, but the same wisdom which says seek knowledge, teaches us to be faithful, or consistent. 

We know it wasn’t always the case with Naphtali, because Joseph brought his Father the evil report of the sons of Bilhah in Genesis 37:2. However, by the time of Jacob’s death, there had been a consistent change.

Jacob did not mince words during this prophetic speech. If he had any criticism of Naphtali, he would have voiced it, he didn’t. Jacob had only praise for this, not forgotten son. 

There is the lesson. Jacob, the Earthly Father, reflecting the fact that no matter our situation, Our Heavenly Father isn’t ignoring our circumstances.  No matter what we face, no matter how difficult, or how stressful, He hears our cry.  He will bless us, speaking a future into our lives, empowering us to give birth to a blessing far greater than our troubles.

It’s not about where you’re born in this life, or even whether your circumstances are triumphant or tragic. He produces greatness, in both the prison and the palace. What matters is that you are part of God’s family, and how you respond. 

The situation, the foe, the circumstance all are irrelevant to God, when it comes to your destiny. What is relevant, is will you trust in Him, when you don’t understand? Will you say, this doesn’t make sense, or I don’t understand it, but He does?

Naphtali said, God will allot, protected, forming and repaid. Naphtali emerged the squared circle of his story, to rely on God’s Will. In other words, I’ll trust Him to set the course, to keep us protected in the process, to form what’s needed in us, and to repay us, not by our merit, but by His worth!

from The Tribe Of Naphtali

#The Tribe Of Naphtali

[thesportssoundoff]

“A great night of fights with two potentially so-so headliners” UFC Fight Night From Brazil Preview

Joey

October 25th

After a very solid afternoon tilt, the UFC is back on the road and back in international waters with a show from Brazil! The wonderful 2nd home of the UFC has seen quite a fall from grace in recent memory as there is ONE current Brazilian champion after running the sport from 2012 to 2014 and for once, there doesn't seem to be a wealth of options out on the bench ready to step up and hit a home run. Now having said that, this card is VERY good with a collection of established names you're familiar with, newbies with high promise, some under 30 or so fighters who have been honing their crafts on undercards and best of all some absolutely perfect matchmaking to back it all up. It's gonna be worth your time so let's see what a Brazilian Fight Night brings to the table on a very busy Saturday slate of action.

Fights: 12

Debuts: 1 (Marcelo Golm)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Carlos Felipe OUT, Marcelo Golm IN vs Christian Colombo/Augsto Mendes OUT, Raoni Barcelos IN vs Boston Salmon/Boston Salmon vs Raoni Barcelos CANCELLED/Luan Chagas OUT, Vicente Luque IN vs Niko Price)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 5 (Lyoto Machida, Derek Brunson, John Lineker, Demian Maia, Jim Miller)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 3 (Jim Miller, Lyoto Machida, Hacran Dias)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  9 (Colby Covington, Marlon Vera, Rob Font, Pedro Munoz, Jack Hermansson, Thiago Marreta Santos, Niko Price, Antonio Carlos Junior, Elizeu Zaleski)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 32-29)- Marcelo Golm

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 17-31-1)- Marclo Golm, Vicente Luque

Second Fight (Current number: 23-33)-  Jarrod Brooks, Devieson Figuerido

Cage Corrosion (16-9-1)- Lyoto Machida, Hacran Dias

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- So what does Lyoto Machida even have left at this point? Machida's run at 185 lbs has been interesting to say the least. His resume at 205 lbs is tremendous with wins over Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Tito Ortiz, Rich Franklin (forgive me if that was at 185 lbs), Ryan Bader, Randy Couture and Shogun Rua all when those meant a whole hell of a lot. His losses are to Shogun Rua, Rampage Jackson and Jon Jones. He made the decision to dwell at 185 lbs in 2014 and thus far the results haven't been as sparkling. Obviously nobody should shun wins over guys like Gegard Mousasi and CB Dollaway but his losses at the weight class have been pretty burtal to bear witness to. He made a valiant effort with a late rally vs Chris Weidman but against Yoel Romero, he was absolutely run over and against Luke Rockhold he was outpowered and overwhelmed. He's approaching 40, coming off a hell of a layoff and his last two fights do little to inspire confidence in him. He is, for all intents and purposes, a guy who seems washed up.

Machida will be the first real case study in how a style like his ages. You always hear that the chin and the reflexes are the first things to go and the power is the last thing. Machida is reliant, almost to an absurd degree on his timing and reflexes. Against Rockhold I can't think of a single thing he could've done differently but he always looked slow vs Yoel Romero. He seemed pensive and once a guy at his age has a tough time pulling the trigger, that's it. That's NOT something that comes back. If you lose the ability to fire, you're done. In his prime, Brunson would've been a style that Machida would crunch up on. A big power so-so cardio wrestler who isn't going to give you a lot to worry about. Machida used to LIVE for those "tough in the first round" types because he'd just pick them off from the outside, wait until they slow down and then blitz and finish them. If Brunson gets him then I have no idea what to say anymore.

2- Who will have the cardio edge in the championship rounds? Machida's never been cardio deficient but he IS going to be 40. Brunson is good early, rougher late and has a style that's not conducive to long fights. A lot of quick hitter explosion on the feet and grinding wrestling late. Might not be a great matchup.

3- The Tough Dad's Division is up in the air but I think I've figured out the key to succeeding as a Tough Dad: Be Available.

From Derek Brunson's fight vs Uriah Hall in September of 2016 to now, this will be his 4th fight. So if you include the Uriah Hall fight, he's fought five times in 13 months. Let's comp that with "the elites" of the division:

September 16 to October 2017 you have Yoel Romero fighting twice,  Robert Whittaker fighting a remarkable three times, Jacare twice, Luke Rochold gracing us with his presence ONCE, Michael Bisping also has just ONE appearance and Chris Weidman has fought three times. Your ability as a middleweight and light heavyweight is your availability I suppose. It's why Tim Boetsch survives in MMA, it's why Sam Alvey will forever have a gig and why Uriah Hall never slumps TOO much. Guys who fight often can eliminate wins and losses a lot quicker. There's a skill and strength to being active so kudos to Brunson for figuring this thing out.

4- Is Demian Maia vs Colby Covington the UFC's way of just taking two problems and hoping they cancel each other out? Like I can't see this fight being exciting in any way really.

5- It's somewhat hidden on a very good card BUT gimme that fight with Jim Miller and Francisco Trinaldo. Massaranduba built up a really great 155 lb streak and it came to a screeching halt when Kevin Lee outlasted him after a hectic first and subbed him in the second round. Jim Miller is sort of in the midst of a career renaissance or at the very least, he's taken great strides in re-establishing himself as a total all action psychopath in the cage. Even when he's athletically outmatched, he seems to always make those fights his own.

6- Pedro Munhoz vs Rob Font is SUCH an impressive fight on paper primarily because it returns Font to the scene of his greatest disappointment. Against John Lineker, Font looked SO overwhelmed from the size of the crowd to the volume to the actual opponent. He didn't fight up to the situation and even if you don't beat a guy like John Lineker, there are ways to impress in a loss. He didn't impress and while Lineker and Munhoz are not even on the same universe in terms of styles and reputation, Munoz is a fantastic 135 lber. This is a very cool fight with a shot at redemption for Rob Font.

7- They have different ways of going about it but both Marlon "Chito" Vera and John Lineker share a common trait for success; they are never ever out of a fight. Lineker's power and his march ahead brawler style make him a threat to anybody. Chito Vera's grappling, length and power in his own right makes him a scary fighter for any opponent. He's long, freakishly athletic and fights like he doesn't know any better. This is another great fight at 135 lbs.

8- If you have FS2 then you're in for a Jim Dandy because the FS2 prelim slate is really, really good. From a battle of good MWs with two clashing styles in Antonio Carlos Jr and all action Jack Marshmann to Elizeu Zaleski vs Max Griffin in what should be a "let 'em fly" slugfest to the return of Niko Price vs competent WW Vicente Luque, you got plenty to dig in and digest.

9- Speaking of Zaleski, I feel like his upside is muted by fans sometimes. Why can't this guy fight in the top 10 of the division? His wins are over Keita Nakamura, Omari Akhmedov and Lyman Good. If you follow beyond the main cards, that's really solid competition and his one loss was to Nicholas Dalby in a fight I was SURE he won. He's all action, he has tremendous cardio, fights at an unrelenting pace and MELTS people with his power and his cardio. If his wrestling improves a smidge, he can beat guys in the top 10.

11- Thiago Santos is all action all of the time....but I have questions about his ability to deal with aggressive wrestlers. There are some things that Jack Marshmann does very well and one of those is pressure and rely on his ground and pound. I don't know if that's a good style for Marreta BUT we shall see if he cracks him first.

12- The UFC's problem in the United State is that fight fans want to see their old guys and dont care about new names. In Brazil, the problem is that the old guys keep losing but they have zero young guys to replace them. The youngest Brazilians on this card? 27 year old John Lineker, 27 year old Antonio Carlos Junior and 25 year old Vicente Luque. Good fighters but almost all have ceilings which will limit their growth going forward. Not overly exciting.

Must wins

1- Derek Brunson

Lyoto Machida is in a very specific group of people who will leave the UFC under their own terms. He's got a job quite possibly for life as a former champion who fights at two weight classes of need PLUS he's Brazilian. He'll be here until he decides he doesn't wanna be here. For Derek Brunson, he's approaching 35 and every big fight he's taken he's lost. Now granted, he made a great showing vs Yoel Romero, probably beat Anderson Silva and had Robert Whittaker hurting. Ifs and buts as they say. He's facing a near 40 Lyoto Machida coming off a long layoff. He HAS to win this or else his availability will only guarantee an existence outside the top 10.

2- Colby Covington

I mean....duh? Covington is trying to be the guy who uses social media to build his profile and get people excited about him. That's AWESOME except his social media ramblings are quite weird. He's an acquired taste and the same can go for his more boring meat and potatoes style which is a throwback to the Matt Hughes era of wrestling and ground and pound above all else. He vs Maia is a case of two negatives being asked to produce a positive and if he does that AND if he wins then the sky may be the limit for him.

3- Antonio Carlos Jr

Antonio Carlos Jr is high upside and an amusing fun style of grappling combined with youth and desperation. The UFC needs a new Brazilian face and Shoeface, ironically enough, could just be that guy. He's a name to keep an eye on even if his hype is just desperation. The HW turned LHW turned MW draws a winnable fight in Jack Marshmann; a sophisicated brawler type who feasts on pressure but is hittable and beatable in any facet of the game. He's a sum of his parts kind of guy. Shoeface needs to win this one because it's a stylistic giftwrapped type opponent at home no less.

#MMA #UFC #Brazil #Fight Night #Maia #Covington #Brunson #Machida

[11wwewrestlersblog-blog]

Fired Wrestlers Where Are They Now

Coronary heart failure brought about the death of another former WWE star Lance Cade. The wrestler died a untimely loss of life at the age of 29 only. Cade aka Lance McNaught was a scholar of the "Heart Break Child" Shawn Michaels and started his profession in 1999. Cade quickly became a professional and labored in Japan and was later signed by Vincent Kennedy McMahon in a developmental contract.

In the yr 2003, Lance Cade was teamed up with Mark Jindrak as an rising tag group and so they were given a spot in Raw. The tag staff spilt a yr later and Lance teamed up with Trevor Murdoch. The duo spent three years together and also won the WWE Tag Staff Championship during this tenure. The duo had gained the tag titles 3 times and both Cade and Murdoch have been considered as the subsequent generation WWE superstars.

But despite a considerable hike to his in-ring character, Cade failed to achieve the heights as a singles performer and was finally launched by WWE in 2008. He joined FCW, the developmental territory of WWE in September 2009 and was released from there as well in April 2010.

Particulars on the reason for his loss of life are but to be revealed. During his whole career Cade battled prescription drug issues and that reportedly was instrumental in his release from WWE. At that time, he was in the midst of a serious storyline developed around his mentor Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. Cade was scheduled to headline a professional wrestling present at Sumo Corridor in Tokyo, Japan on Aug. 29. WWE formally released an announcement on 13th August, 2010 and the group prolonged its deepest condolences to the McNaught family. Several present and former WWE superstars like Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Matt Hardy have been surprised by the untimely death of Cade and conveyed their prayers and thoughts to Cade's household.

World Wrestling Leisure, which is often referred to easily as WWE, recently announced that they are trying to find the next wrestling superstar. With company places of work positioned in Stamford, Connecticut, the WWE organization has quickly risen to be the preferred sports entertainment firm of it is variety. Stuffed arenas and file pay-per-view watchers are just a small a part of what makes the WWE so interesting to wrestling newcomers. As well as, traveling to nearly each state in America and a formidable paycheck are among the different elements leading to impressive responses to WWE wrestling tryouts.

The subsequent WWE wrestling tryout/training session will likely be held in Hidalgo, Texas. As a way to be considered, fascinated parties should submit an software online. This temporary questionnaire requires the entrant to supply his/her common data equivalent to identify, deal with and telephone quantity. As well as, a date of start, top, years of wrestling expertise and a quick clarification of why he/she must be the next WWE famous person should be provided. Together with the applying, the entrant will probably be asked to upload two images of themselves, which must be in a JPG format and will not exceed 200kb per picture.

Together with the net application, wrestling hopefuls should present a DVD/VHS compatible audition tape to be viewed by WWE's expertise department. However, each entrant must also print and signal a 'Submission Release Letter,' which is offered at wwe.com. This letter must be signed and submitted together with the audition video with the intention to it to be accepted.

For additional information on WWE Tryouts and new wrestling superstars, people are urged to go to http://www.wwe.com and click on on the 'Tryouts' hyperlink, which is situated within the far left column.

Many new WWE talents will seem for reside and televised occasions on an occasional foundation while others will develop into on the spot superstars. A rigorous exercise routine, travel schedule and exhausting competitions are all part of the wrestling way of life. Along with that, cheering fans, spectacular merchandising and tons of autograph requests are among the many upside to the media consideration that comes with professional wrestling.

For individuals who maintain a lifelong dedication to wrestling, there could also be a hall of fame induction in their future.

As is the case with WWE Famous person Brett Hart, lots of the industry's legends can be eternally celebrated within the corridor of fame. While there is no such thing as a assure as to any career or how long it would final, many are taking their probability at changing into the subsequent wrestling celebrity and step one is to audition.

Many wrestling fans do not realise it, however the reality is, WWE keeps sure wrestlers away from TNA by not releasing them, so that they can't signal with TNA. Carlito is a very good instance of a wrestler that they have avoided TNA for a very very long time. He has even requested release in the past, however he was "convinced" to remain.

So why precisely does WWE do that? It is because loads of the wrestlers that have labored for the company, know a number of the ways in which it operates. Now they would not need these "secrets" leaking out into its competitors.

One other facet of this that many followers do not understand is the timing of when WWE releases their wrestlers. Obviously WWE can't just preserve every wrestler they don't need on their roster, just so they do not go to TNA. That will minimize too much into income. So what the company does as an alternative, is that they release these wrestlers when their competition has just heavily invested in signing other performers, so that they've a tough time bringing these wrestlers into their firm.

If you happen to look at the latest handful of wrestlers that TNA signed (RVD, Jeff Hardy, Hulk Hogan, and so forth), they're all massive title wrestlers. Which means TNA has invested a big chunk of money into them. It isn't exactly a bargain having the world's most famous wrestler, Hulk Hogan in your organization. Whereas RVD and Jeff Hardy may not be as standard as him, they still are fairly demanding as well due to their title value.

World Wrestling Entertainment, which is commonly referred to simply as WWE, not too long ago announced that they are trying to find the subsequent wrestling celebrity. With corporate offices positioned in Stamford, Connecticut, the WWE group has quickly risen to be the most popular sports activities leisure firm of it is type. Crammed arenas and report pay-per-view watchers are only a small part of what makes the WWE so appealing to wrestling newcomers. As well as, touring to almost each state in America and a powerful paycheck are among the other components leading to impressive responses to WWE wrestling tryouts.

The following WWE wrestling tryout/training session shall be held in Hidalgo, Texas. With a purpose to be considered, fascinated events should submit an application online. This temporary questionnaire requires the entrant to offer his/her general data similar to title, address and telephone number. As well as, a date of birth, height, years of wrestling expertise and a brief rationalization of why he/she needs to be the next WWE celebrity have to be supplied. Together with the appliance, the entrant will be requested to add two images of themselves, which must be in a JPG format and should not exceed 200kb per picture.

Along with the online software, wrestling hopefuls should present a DVD/VHS appropriate audition tape to be considered by WWE's expertise division. Nonetheless, every entrant should also print and signal a 'Submission Launch Letter,' which is provided at wwe.com. This letter have to be signed and submitted along with the audition video to be able to it to be accepted.

On Monday July 25, 2007 it was reported that wrestler Chris Benoit, his spouse and baby had been lifeless. At that cut-off date, the complete extent of this tragedy was unknown, and the WWE canceled its deliberate reside Raw event and aired a special Tribute Present - out of respect for the sudden dying of Benoit's household and his contributions to the enterprise.

Now, as the details of this tragedy are being uncovered, the WWE is being slammed for "honouring" a murderer by media outlets and likewise by the general public. I imagine that when the choice was made to make Raw a Chris Benoit tribute present, the WWE was doing only what gave the impression to be respectful at that time. As extra information was found, the WWE took a special and applicable stance to their programing. Tuesdays ECW and Fridays Smackdown had been devoted to all of the followers and it was made clear that no point out of Benoit can be made in these reveals.

In Australia, Raw isn't proven until Wednesdays, the "tribute show" was by no means screened here. On Wednesday 27, Uncooked was not aired - as an alternative an apology was issued on behalf of the WWE and alternate programing was aired by Fox8. On Saturday [when a repeat of Uncooked is usually aired], a special Uncooked was scheduled, once more dedicated to the WWE fans - this edition of Uncooked showcased a few of 'the Greatest Championship Matches over the previous year'. As with ECW and Smackdown, no mention of Benoit was made.

I don't assume it is honest that the WWE is being give such a tough time because of it is decision to air the tribute present. As said earlier than, at that point in time the WWE [and the world] didn't know the full extent of this tragedy. They did what some other sporting present would have executed had Benoit been a 'traditional' athlete

The full extent of this tragedy was not made public until approximately 2/3's by way of the original broadcast of the Raw tribute. The WWE did the appropriate factor by canceling delayed broadcasts of the tribute present [like in Aus] and removed not solely the tributes on their web site but additionally his Famous person page and merchandise from the WWE store.

I believe that the WWE must be counseled on how they have handled this example, not condemned for it. It is a very delicate scenario and they have dealt with it nicely despite what the media have stated and implied in regards to the trade and firm.

Although Benoit was not one in every of my favorite wrestlers, I did respect him. As did all wrestling followers and those who knew and labored with him. Like the rest of us, I consider the wrestling world really feel simply as confused, shocked and angered by Benoit's actions. I do know that there are a lot of people saying that Benoit couldn't presumably have killed his spouse and little one, that it was a set up. I disagree, the police are usually not silly. There would have been proof of 'exterior interference'. Individuals cope with grief in numerous ways and till this case is formally closed by police, there are going to be lots of theories and opinions on the occasions that passed off over the weekend of the murders. The reality is, a motive or motive for the occasions could never come to light.

I think it is terrible how the media is spinning that 'roid rage' is the cause of this tragedy. For starters, the authorities haven't yet finished their investigation, and subsequently nothing is for certain at this point. The media need to take a step back and look at the info of this case. I, like the WWE, do not consider 'roid rage' is the cause of this tragedy for a number of causes.

* A toxicology report is yet to be released [and will not for a few weeks] - it isn't even identified if Benoit was utilizing steroids. As the WWE have said he tested negative in a random test conducted in April this year. And yes, like every workplace that perform drug tests - they're random.

* Bodily findings released by authorities point out deliberation, not rage. The spouse's arms and feet had been certain and she or he was asphyxiated [as was the son], not overwhelmed to demise. Authorities have said that there was a substantial time period between the time of death of the wife and the death wwe wrestlers released in 2017 of the son, which suggests deliberate thought, not rage. Neither has it been acknowledged by officers that the house showed indicators of injury brought on by a fit of rage, absolutely if Benoit was certainly affected by 'roid rage' there would have been some damage caused to the house and furniture.

* Authorities stated that every one medicine present in the home had been legal and have acknowledged plainly that there isn't any evidence that Benoit had steroids in his physique, pending toxicology reviews, and they had no evidence at this to as to a motive for these acts.

I do not deny that steroid/drug use has been a problem and continues to be, to some extent, an issue in the wrestling industry, the WWE have been taking steps to deal with these issues over the past few years of their 'Wellness Program'. I am certain that the WWE will look to improving it's Wellness Program and do as much as it may well, as an employer, to help employees with any problems they could have.

[kimberlykaleikahua]

‘Too Sweet’ – Paying Homage to Wrestling Legends or Being a WWE Copycat?

History has repeated itself, and many fans encountered déjà vu as members of the Bullet Club “invaded” the WWE Raw live event outside of the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Canada (Heisel, 2017). The Bullet Club members (Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll, the Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Brandi Rhodes) decided to recreate the epic moment that happened in 1998 where DeGeneration X (Triple H, X-Pac, Chyna, and the New Age Outlaws) invaded WCW Monday Nitro (Heisel, 2017). The Bullet Club created a nostalgic moment, gathering fans and showing up in a stretch Hummer (Heisel, 2017). Highlights of the "invasion" were Cody Rhodes going word for word on Bill Pullman’s speech from Independence Day and their continued pleas to rescue Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and Finn Bálor (former members of the Bullet Club) from the WWE (Heisel, 2017).

The day after the Bullet Club “invasion,” the Young Bucks were hit with an actual Cease and Desist order to stop them from using the “Too Sweet” gesture (Satin, 2017). The reason for the Cease and Desist letter could be from the fact that the Young Bucks and Bullet Club were using the gesture through different companies and producing merchandise of the product, or it could be the retaliation of the Bullet Club showing up at WWE’s live event (Satin, 2017). WWE claims that they bought the rights to the “Too Sweet” gesture back in 2001 (which there is no record of that) and if the Young Bucks continue to use the hand gesture, the WWE will be slapping them with a $150,000 fine (Satin, 2017).

So where did the “Too Sweet” gesture come from?

According to an interview held between Triple H and Kevin Nash, the “Too Sweet” gesture was created by the “The Kliq” (Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, Scott Hall, and Shawn Michaels) to signify a symbol of unity or brotherhood (Laboon, 2016). The hand signal was first presented by the North Carolina State Wolfpack which was called the “Wolf Kiss” (Laboon, 2016). Nash brought it to the Sports Entertainment industry with “The Kliq” and called it the Turkish Wolf (Laboon, 2016). When “The Kliq” split to NWO (WCW) and DeGeneration X (WWE), Nash renamed it to “Too Sweet” (Laboon, 2016).

In 2006, two up and coming stars – Karl Anderson and Finn Bálor would use the “Too Sweet” gesture as anyone would a handshake or high-five, but it was their way to greet each other (Laboon, 2016). After Bálor won his match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling event, instead of high-five from Anderson, Bálor threw up the “Too Sweet” gesture and once again the gesture was brought to life as it continued to be connected to the Bullet Club (Laboon, 2016). The “Too Sweet” gesture represents a brotherhood of wrestlers who may no longer work under the same roof, but still holds a strong bond between them (Laboon, 2016). It remains a tribute to those wrestlers who paved the way and created personas and characters that would become a staple in the sports entertainment industry (Laboon, 2016).

The WWE doesn’t have an official trademark on the “Too Sweet” gesture although it seems they tried to put an application in with the United States Patent and Trademark Office back in March 2015 (Hausman, 2015). Since the application wasn’t tended to within the six months waiting period, the application was marked abandoned and dropped from the system (Hausman, 2015). The WWE had the opportunity to petition to reinstate by February 2016, but there is no information that it was made (Hausman, 2015). There is, however, another snag to getting the trademark as I said previously the North Carolina State University already holds a trademark to the “Wolfie” hand gesture (Beck, 2015). So, if WWE had obtained such a trademark, wouldn’t it confuse others with NCSU gesture? Would it be a waterfall effect where WWE would fine the Young Bucks $150,000 and North Carolina State University can turn around and sue the WWE? None of it makes sense, but what does is that the Young Bucks probably mean no harm in using the gesture for their well-being.

Kimmie’s Take: 

In the spirit of how pro wrestling operates behind the scenes, meaning that everything is a storyline, I feel that maybe the WWE is overreacting to everything that has been happening with the Bullet Club “invasion” and subliminal messages in social media. If they were serious about what the Bullet Club were doing, they would’ve sent all sorts of police and security to escort them off the premises. I’m sure that the WWE were aware that the “invasion” was going to happen, but maybe the Bullet Club went off-script in some way which is why the WWE felt that to let them learn their lesson. To show how mighty the WWE is, they sent a reminder (the Cease and Desist letter) that you don’t mess with the WWE.

Pro wrestling circuits and the WWE are for entertainment purposes only. I feel that this won’t be the last time that the Bullet Club will bump heads with the WWE and I can see a storyline building up from it. Just like how specific television series have cross-over episodes, it would be an excellent opportunity for the WWE to do somewhat of a cross-over with the Bullet Club. More recently, the popularity of the Bullet Club has spiked, with merchandise now being sold at Hot Topic and many fans turning to New Japan World Wrestling for more action and strong style type fighting, they could easily follow in the steps of NWO and DeGeneration X.

To answer the question, no, I don’t think the Bullet Club had any intentions of being a WWE copycat. I genuinely believe that wrestlers like the Bullet Club are paying homage to those who came before them and made way for opportunities to let their character shine and do what they do best, to entertain those who have love and passion for professional wrestling. The “Too Sweet” gesture runs a more profound meaning than a viral hand signal, it signifies the love and respect between those who have been in the business together and through thick and thin, they will always be brothers.

REFERENCES:

Beck, G. (2015). The Wolfpack/Kliq hand gesture has been trademarked… and not by the WWE. Wrestling News. Retrieved from: http://wrestlingnews.co/wwe-news/the-wolfpackkliq-hand-gesture-has-been-trademarked-and-not-by-wwe/

Greer, J. (2017). The too sweet: If WWE sues Young Bucks, can NCS sue WWE? Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved from: http://lastwordonprowrestling.com/2017/09/28/sweet-wwe-sues-young-bucks-can-ncs-sue-wwe/

Hausman, N. (2015). What is the latest WWE trademark? Update on the “Too Sweet” hand gesture trademark, list of WWE superstar appearances through mid-March. PW Insider. Retrieved from: http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/657211-what-is-the-latest-wwe-trademark-update-on-trademark-on-too-sweet-hand-gesture-updated-wwe-superstar-appearances-through-mid-march 

Heisel, S. (2017). The Bullet Club pulled a DX and invaded Monday Night Raw. UpRoxx. Retrieved from: http://uproxx.com/prowrestling/bullet-club-invades-monday-night-raw/

Laboon, J. (2016). The ‘Too Sweet’ history of WWE’s most iconic gesture. WWE. Retrieved from: http://www.wwe.com/article/wwe-too-sweet-hand-gesture-meaning

Satin, R. (2017). The Young Bucks hit with actual Cease and Desist from WWE over ‘Too Sweet’ hand gesture. Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.prowrestlingsheet.com/young-bucks-cease-desist-wwe/#.WeM6MxOPLUp