WrestleMania 28: The Good, The Bad & The Downright Wrong

Another year, and another WrestleMania has been etched into the history books of the WWE.

While I still feel like the WWE is really missing that “wow” factor that it had so many years ago, WrestleMania 28, like any WrestleMania before it, had its highs and lows.  There were moments and matches that exceeded expectations, and those that could have been so much more than what they were.

John Cena vs. The Rock

I think the match itself lived up to what we were expecting.  Chris Jericho said it best when he said, “I think Cena vs. Rock is going to be one of the greatest matches we’ve ever seen, because it’s destined to be that.”  It was two of the biggest stars the WWE has ever seen, and that we thought would never cross paths, going toe to toe in the squared circle.  The atmosphere alone was destined to make the match everything we wanted it to be.

But the outcome… I’m sorry, but I completely disagree with what the WWE did here.  The Rock wins? My, oh my, oh my… Now, I’m not going to pretend to be able to see into the future. For all we know, these two could have a rematch and split the wins.  But if The Rock is packing up and leaving once again, as we all expect him to, this was an atrocious decision to make. And if you know anything about me, you know I hate John Cena.

But the fact of the matter is, tomorrow, and five years from now, Cena will still be here. He’ll be bleeding WWE until the day he hangs it up, and for that reason alone, he needed to come out on top in this match. So Rock wins, and what kind of mileage does he get from it? Nothing, he’s as good as gone again already.  A win in one of the biggest matches in WWE history is worthless where he’s going.

The match itself was great. Rocky clearly got in good ring-shape for the match, as we would expect him to. There was some good back and forth, and nice false finishes.  Rock still has the best arm drag in the business, but it’s not good enough for me to feel good about the final 3-count in this match.

Undertaker vs. Triple H

What can you really say about this match?  As soon as it was announced, I said, “I bet they want to make up for their stinker at WrestleMania 27,” and I stand by that opinion; their match last year was a piece.  The story-telling in this year’s match, with the addition of HBK, was outstanding.

Without question it was the most physical match of the night. Those chair shots had me cringing.  But Shawn, Hunter and ‘Taker all told a great story in there together. I would be comfortable calling this the best match of the night.

And I may take flak for saying this, but it should not be that way. And leads me to my next point:

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus

Pardon my French, but are you fucking kidding me?

This “match” was an absolute disgrace, and flat-out insulting and disrespectful to Bryan Danielson first, Sheamus second, and the fans third.

I said right off the top that this match would steal the show, and two talents like Sheamus and Danielson going at it easily could have.  I don’t know who Danielson pissed off, or what Vince McMahon was smoking backstage, but this was just mind-boggling.

As I alluded to earlier, newcomers like Sheamus and Danielson hold the future of the WWE in their hands. When guys like ‘Taker and Triple H aren’t around anymore to send the fans home happy, it’s going to be up to these guys to do the heavy lifting. And they should be stealing the show right now at WrestleMania.  And like I said, these two could have, they’re fantastic talents.

Quite frankly, these two are owed an apology in the form of a rematch, with no time limit, so we can see what we should have on the Grand Stage.

Horrible booking.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho

Honestly? Nothing special here.

Was it a good match? Absolutely.  But this was one of the matches on the card that had the capability of exceeding its expectations, and I don’t think it did. It was everything it was supposed to be, but nothing more.

The other matches were all filler, and quite frankly I don’t think anyone came here to read about them.

And to come a little out of left field here, this is as good as official: They need to bring Money in the Bank back to WrestleMania. It never should have left.  I can guarantee that probably 99% of the WWE Universe would have rather seen the participants of Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy in a MitB match instead.  It was consistently one of the best matches on the card, and really rounded out the whole show.  Bring. It. Back.

And that’s that!  Another WrestleMania down, and this one was really one of the better ones I’ve seen.  There were some things I didn’t agree with here and there, but I think the good outweighed the bad.  The only thing I’d say is most important right now, is that the young talent starts being given the opportunity to step in and fill the roles that guys like Edge and Triple H are leaving behind. And an 18 second bullshit match is doing the exact opposite.

What did you think of WrestleMania 28?  Share your own opinions, or comment on mine. Let me know!

2012
04/01
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Wrestling
1 comment

A Savage Read

I vividly remember sitting down with my copy of Hiroshima, time not on my side, and spending the whole night getting through it. It was a little slow-going at certain parts of the book, but not even that could have prepared me for The Savage War.

I simply don’t think it’s an appropriate choice for a book to be read for school, and especially in a program as hectic and stressful and CreComm.

Is the book packed full of interesting insights and information? Yes. But I feel like the content just doesn’t lend itself very well to a book.  Maybe a documentary, or a blog, and release chunks of information every week or so, complete with accompanying photos.

But sometimes I would sit down with this book for two hours, scratch and claw my way through 50 pages, and then struggle to remember what I read. And there’s a reason why: Wall-o-text.

That’s almost entirely what this book is. Wall after wall of quoteless, acronym-packed text.

People don’t read acronyms.  When you read something that references the “USA”, you don’t read it as “the United States of America”. You don’t even really say “USA” in your head, you see the letters and know what it’s referring to.  In The Savage War, there’s probably upwards of 100 different acronyms, and keeping track of all of them is virtually impossible. So when I would read about ANP’s and ISAF’s or whatever else, my eyes just glaze over. I can’t remember what this, the 43rd acronym in five minutes, means, and it just causes your brain to check out.

“At meetings in Kandahar and Kabul, senior Kandahari leaders — including Governor Asadullah Khalid and presidential brother/provincial kingpin Ahmed Wali Karzai — have suggested that NATO’s ISAF is ‘unwilling to take the fight to the Taliban,'” said the cable written on August 28, 2006.

“In front of ISAF officers, [Canadian] officials and key tribal elders in Kandahar, AWK reportedly said that ‘the coalition kicked out 20,000 Taliban [from Afghanistan] and now ISAF can’t even get rid of Taliban from two districts.”  (Page 101)

Did you read that exerpt word-for-word? Didn’t think so.

And sometimes the paragraphs in this book were like little books themselves. It’s a mental block when you flip a page and are staring at two pages with maybe a paragraph between them, and not a quote in sight. It begins to feel like you’re reading a textbook after a while.

Like I said, the information within is interesting, of course, but can just be a little overwhelming at times. There were moments where I felt like I needed to have eaten, sleeped and breathed the war in Afghanistan for the last 10 years of my life just to know what was going on, or what the author was referring to.

Probably my favourite part of the book was this quote:

During that first interview, Ahmedi trotted out a well-worn phrase: “You have the watches, but we have the time.” (Page 50)

It’s a reference to how the Taliban always think they’re so many steps ahead of any countering Canadian or American forces, and yet, as is also mentioned in the book, they have almost no proper battle training, and just empty their rifles and then get shot.

Reading The Savage War didn’t have all that much of an effect on me. I found certain things interesting, and it’s always interesting to learn about inside goings-on of a war, especially from a Canadian aspect, but there was just too much that prevented me from really getting immersed in the book, or even holding my attention.

As a journalist, I think what I learned from reading the book was that we need to really give a lot of thought on what medium to use to tell our stories. I recently released a documentary called Bright Lights: Inside Indy Pro Wrestling. I could have written their stories, inside of filmed them. But sometimes stories are just too lengthy and fact-filled to put on paper. They need to be shown.

Which prompts me to compare The Savage War to a video documentary we watched called Desert Lions. There’s a part in the film where the narrator is describing how the Afghani soldiers can simply be frustrating to have under your command, because of the differences in their culture. From there it just cuts to footage of a Canadian soldier tryign to tell an Afghani soldier to go get his weapon, and it perfectly depicts exactly what he was talking about.  I found this method a much more effective way of story-telling than writing detail after detail in a book.

Overall I just think I didn’t have the time to properly enjoy this book with everything else going on in school. It was a tough read that takes a lot of concentration to really catch all of the details, and when you’re reading on a deadline, this can be hard to do.  I didn’t enjoy it, but perhaps under different circumstances, I might have.

2012
03/19
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Journo
2 comments

Aboriginal Racism

This week in Journalism class, it was all about Aboriginal issues.

We were visited by Aboriginal journalist, Colleen Simard, and also went to the University of Manitoba to see the exhibit Where Are the Children?

The exhibit features a number of historical photographs, which detail the impact and shocking legacy of Canada’s residential schools.  Residential schools existed to basically eradicate all traces of Aboriginal culture.  Children were taken from their families, and would be forced to adopt a “civilized” Canadian lifestyle.  The schools were known to be extremely aggressive in forcing these children to forget their heritage, and for not taking great medical care of the children either.

It was eye-opening to see that something like this took place in Canada, and quite frankly, a little embarrassing. Canada is a place where oppressed people flee to for freedom, so how schools like these were so prominent at any point in our history is a little mind-boggling.

But it’s no secret that Aboriginals continue to face an uphill climb in Canada.  One of, if not the biggest issue that continues to plague Aboriginals today is simply trying to escape the stereotypes and racism surrounding them.

Often coming from troubled childhoods and upbringings on reserves, yes, Aboriginals can find themselves on the wrong side of the law, and we hear about it. But so does every other race. It’s a mankind thing, not an Aboriginal thing. And it’s certainly no reason to simply look at a Aboriginal person and make up your mind about him/her just based off of what you read in the newspaper the day before.

But still, Aboriginals are discriminated against and stereotyped, even in the last places you would expect them to be.

An article on the CBC was released in December 2011 that details the stories of Aboriginals who faced harassment and racism in the RCMP and the police force, which almost resulted in a suicide.

Part of me knows that it’s important to raise awareness about racism, and reach people at a young age about the issue, but another part of me knows that there will always be racism in every corner of the world. It’s inescapable. I think it’s more important for people to simply be aware that they’re likely going to face it in their lifetime, and to be prepared to overcome it.

Overall, the trip to Where Are the Children was an eye-opening and educational experience that gave a glimpse into just what kind of a past Aboriginals here in Canada are coming from.  I appreciated hearing from some people who had been directly affected by the schools, and came away with an understanding that not even a “spic and span” country like Canada is without its blemishes.

2012
03/18
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Journo
Leave a comment

Big Buff Needs A New Home

Yup, I said it.  But it’s not what you’re thinking.

"Suck it, Vancouver!"

I love Dustin ‘Big Buff’ Byfuglien.  I think, like probably most ‘Peggers, he’s the player that I’m the most up and down with.  I haven’t loved any player on the Jets as much as I’ve loved Buff when he’s on, and he’s probably been my most hated player at times too. Whether it’s not hustling hard enough on the back-check, or a lazy turnover.  But nothing brings the crowd to their feet like a Big Buff clapper from the point that snaps the twine, or when he sends a guy literally flying, like only he can.

I’ve got a friendly rivalry with a pal who lives in Richmond, BC, so, naturally, we’re both gearing up for the only showdown of the season between the Jets and Canucks on March 8.

Back in 2010, before there were any serious whispers about an NHL team coming back to Winnipeg, I was just a regular Canadian hockey fan.  And here’s the honest-to-God truth: The only thing I vividly remember about the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup run is Dustin Byfuglien.

Specifically, the series between the ‘Hawks and ‘Nucks.  As a Canadian with no team to call my own, I was pulling hard for Vancouver to go all the way.  And let me tell you, when that final whistle blew, sealing the demise of the Canucks in the 2010 Playoffs, I knew one thing only: I hated Dustin Byfuglien.

That guy was parked in front of Luongo from the start of the series, to its finish.  He was smug, arrogant, big, strong, talented, and loved rubbing it his opponents’ faces.  My face.  But the real reason people hate(d) him, is because he’s damn good at what he does, and is effective.

Naturally, now that he represents Winnipeg, I love the guy.  But with every passing game, I feel more and more strongly that he needs to go back where he belongs; forward.

I am really having a tough time understanding why he was moved to defence, unless it was by his own request.  He’s easily one of the biggest, strongest players in the NHL, and has proven that he is far and away most effective when he’s parked in front of the net.

Sure, he’s got a hell of a slap shot, but he seems to struggle to hit the net a lot of the time.  He’s not the fastest skater, and everyone has seen how much he loves coming down off the point and going deep into the offensive zone.  So why are we surprised when he can’t make it back in time to even up a 2-on-1?  He’s an offensive-minded player, with the size and strength to wreak havoc in front of the net, and doesn’t stay in position on defence.  How many more reasons do we need to put him up on forward?

We’re at a little too critical of a point in time right now to be doing any experimenting, but I hope that Claude Noel will consider trying him out on forward maybe for some exhibition games in the next season.  Or hell, experiment with it on March 8 against the Canucks, and then ask Bobby Lu what he thinks of the decision after the game.

2012
02/24
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Hockey
2 comments

Jets/Flyers

First and foremost, welcome to the revamped website!

I wasn’t all too happy with the way my site was laid out before, so I made a few adjustments aesthetically, but also updated a lot of information, and made my online portfolio more expansive, and threw up the ol’ resumé.

Photo I took from my seats at the Jets/Flyers game.

I had the (mis?)fortune of being at the Jets vs. Flyers game last night at the MTS Centre. I seriously don’t know which one it is.

What a game.

Just when it looks like we’re going to sweep the Philadelphia Flyers over the season… 15,000 strong on their feet, red in the face for yelling, paying respect to our Winnipeg Jets who were about to go four wins a row, and take down one of the best in the NHL yet again.  Our goalie and, quite frankly, saviour Ondrej Pavelec had made nearly 50 saves over three periods of play and had held on right to the end.  The two points were well in hand.

And then it all came crashing down.

Wayne Simmonds puts one in with under 10 seconds to go, and let me tell you… it was the Great Depression inside the MTS Centre.  I couldn’t believe it.  But even still, an OT win, a shootout win, it’s all the same.  There was still hope.

That Jagr salute will haunt me, as the Jets fell 5-4 in overtime, right after Pavelec made his 50th save of the evening.

An absolute heartbreaker to be sure, but we all (including the team) have to realize that a hard-fought loss to a top team like that, while at least grabbing a single point, is a hell of a lot better than a 2-1 loss to a team scraping the bottom of the barrel like the Carolina Hurricanes.

The positives out-weigh the negatives here, including the fact that our scorers are scoring, most notably our captain.  Our power play was outstanding last night, and has been good over the past couple games after being non-existent for about 17.  And we are still as much in the playoff race as we have ever been, right on the doorstep, tied for 8th place, and tied for the top of our division.

Like all the boys are saying right now, we need to take the positives from the last game, build on them, and put the loss behind us.  I’m impressed as hell with what I’ve seen from our Jets over the last four games.  They’re playing like a playoff team.  Win, lose, or draw, if they just keep doing what they’re doing, they’ll see the post-season.

2012
02/22
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Hockey
Leave a comment