After 20 Wrestlemania wins, the undertaker has beaten just about everybody there is to beat. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Big Show, Kane, Randy Orton, Edge, Batista, the list goes on and on. The last four years in particular have been some of the greatest battles in the history of the WWE, facing Shawn Michaels twice, ending his career the second time, before doing battle with possibly the best of all time, the one and only Game, Triple H, first in a no holds barred match, and then inside Hell in a Cell, in what was a brutal, emotionally charged war between two of the greatest to step in the ring, that I don‘t hesitate for a moment in saying was one of the greatest matches I‘ve ever seen. Realistically, The Undertaker is 47 and probably only has two or three big matches left in him. So who should those matches be against? These are my top 5 candidates:
1. Kane
I can’t think of a more fitting opponent for the Undertaker to do battle one last time with than the big red machine himself, his brother Kane. These two have had one of the most historic, brutal, and just plain greatest rivalries in the history of WWE, and if Wrestlemania XXIX turned out to be the deadman’s last, I can’t think of a more appropriate opponent than the devil’s favourite demon himself. With good booking, and a lengthy, epic build-up, this could be the perfect send off for the deadman. It should be Kane.
2. Triple H
After two incredible battles at the previous two ‘manias, perhaps there’s just nothing lift for these two warriors to give. But I remember The Undertaker saying something very telling to Triple H before their first battle at Wrestlemania 27: “If the time ever comes to put me down, you’d be the man I would want to do it… but it isn’t that time yet”. Could this be a foreshadowing of a third act in this epic rivalry? And if so, after the last two incredible matches, is there anyone who wouldn’t want to see the Deadman and the Game do battle one last time?
3. John Cena
Cena and the Undertaker have never done battle at Wrestlemania. Cena is almost always chasing the WWE championship, but if these two were to get it on at Wrestlemania 29, I can guarantee that it would be a show stealing match. The Undertaker was born to steal the show at Wrestlemania, and whether or not you like Cena, the fact is that, if given the right opponent, Cena can deliver huge performances, his matches against Triple H and Shawn Michaels at previous ‘manias are ample evidence of that. Another interesting factor is the Cena lovers desperately hoping for Cena to end the streak, and fans of the Deadman (including myself) desperately hoping that he doesn’t. If the WWE does chose to end the Undertaker’s streak at this point, and I would be shocked if they do, Cena is the man who would do it, and I’m not a Cena lover, I’m just a realist. Putting the result aside however, one thing is for sure: The main event of Wrestlemania XXIX, John Cena vs. The Undertaker, would tear the house down.
4. The Rock
Much has been made of the Rock’s ‘mania victories over Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold and John Cena, and the potential angle for Wrestlemania XXIX is pretty much staring WWE in the face: The Rock decides that he wants to add the Phenom to that list, a feud ensues… profit? The current thinking is that The Rock will face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 29, but if not, The Rock vs. The Undertaker would no doubt be a great match, maybe not with as much potential as the top 3, but WWE could do a lot with the build up, given how great these 2 are on the mic, in addition to just how plain iconic they are.
5. Brock Lesnar
Well… here comes the pain. Lesnar and the Deadman have plenty of history, they’ve been in Hell in a Cell matches, biker chain matches, in addition to supposedly having real life issues. Lesnar could play the heel role very well going into Wrestlemania XXIX, challenging the undertaker, wanting to end the streak for no better reason than just to assert his dominance, wanting to end it, just because he can. The only reason Lesnar isn’t higher is because the feud might struggle to build traction. Lesnar only needs to appear a limited number of times over the next year according to his contract, and the undertaker appears less and less every year. Nevertheless, it’s a rivalry that began almost a decade ago, and could be an instant classic.
It’s become almost impossible to think about Wrestlemania without also thinking about the Undertaker. He and his mythical streak have become so hallowed, that when the Phenom finally does call it a day, the customary Undertaker match will be a massive omission on a Wrestlemania card, Wrestlemania, and indeed WWE will never be the same. Ultimately the day will come soon, so let us cherish what few great moments the deadman has left to give us. After the career that the Undertaker has had, nobody deserves more than him to Rest… In… Peace.
29 June, 2012
14 June, 2012
Anything can happen in the WWE
I used to be a big fan of WWE. I actually started watching it just a few short months after it became WWE, august of 2002. And though our love affair couldn’t last, I do find myself wandering back every few years to see what Vince and the creative team have been cooking up recently. I try and make a point of watching Wrestlemania every year, and though I don’t always succeed, when I heard what was going down at Wrestlemania XXVIII, I knew it was something I had to see. No, no, no, I’m not talking about John Cena vs. The Rock, nor CM Punk vs. Jericho, nor the ridiculousness that was the 18 second long match between my fellow country man Sheamus and Daniel Bryan. No, the match I had to see was Triple H vs. The Undertaker, inside Hell in a Cell. And I was not disappointed.
We’re almost three months on from Wrestlemania and my current spell of Wrestling watching has endured, so I figured, hey, why not write a blog about it, you haven’t done one of those in a month and a half, you lazy bastard. And so I got to work, because there are a lot of things I’d like to go over.
No Way Out
I don’t think N.W.O (wink wink) is shaping up all that badly. Some of the feuds haven’t been hyped all that well, but the matches themselves have a lot of potential:
WWE Divas championship
Layla (ch) vs. Beth Phoenix
The Divas division isn’t exactly flying high right now, in fact it really seems that WWE doesn’t care about it at the moment. However, Layla and Beth are definitely the top 2, and if they’re given some time, they can definitely put on a great match. My prediction: Layla retains, and the feud continues until at least Money in the Bank, possibly Summerslam
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Christian (Ch) vs. Cody Rhodes
Goddamn, give these guys the time and this match will steal the show. Christian and Cody are two of my favourite superstars right now, they’re both great on the mike, and their ring work is second to very few. Here’s hoping this feud continues a while longer. This might be just wishful thinking, but if WWE start pushing Ziggler for the Intercontinental title, can you imagine a triple threat match between Ziggler, Cody and Christian at Summerslam for the strap? Match of the year candidate, in my opinion, if it was done right. As for N.W.O, my prediction: Christian retains
World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (Ch) vs. Dolph Ziggler
These guys can put on a great match, but considering Ziggler has been confirmed to face Sheamus for less than a week, the odds of Ziggler winning the title are basically nil. Sheamus works great for a big guy and Ziggler almost always puts on a great match, so this should be a good one, but honestly, my prediction: Sheamus WILL retain
WWE Championship
CM Punk (Ch) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
This match has been built up extremely well in my view, I love the Punk/Bryan feud, I’ve always loved Kane, and I love how well AJ has been utilized in the middle of the whole thing. Put it all together, and you have what really should be a great match, there’s no reason it can’t be, and given that it’s triple threat, and given the unpredictability of AJ, you have a match that its self is hard to predict. In terms of the match its self, it’s hard to know how the technical styles of Punk and Bryan will mesh with the brute strength of Kane, but Kane has been involved in good matches with Punk and Bryan in the run-up to N.W.O so I’m not too worried on the score. I would say Kane will spend sometime incapacitated so that Punk and Bryan can grapple uninterrupted for a bit to satisfy the wrestling purists such as myself. As for my prediction, honestly… I’m picking Bryan. I think the whole AJ thing will be some sort of bluff and AJ will end up siding with Bryan. The whole thing could backfire and AJ could end up costing Bryan the title, but I don’t think so, then you just end up with Punk as champion and Bryan mad at AJ, which has already been done over the last few months. So Bryan narrowly gets my pick, perhaps setting up the feud to continue until Summerslam. My prediction: Punk hits the G.T.S on Kane, AJ distracts Punk allowing Bryan to sneak in and pin Kane
Steel Cage match
Big Show vs. John Cena
-Sigh- Credit where it’s due, big show has been well developed as a heel on this occasion, he’s destroyed everything that has got in his way, and he’s genuinely very threatening at the moment. And as for Cena, I don’t love him, nor do I hate him. He’s charismatic, no doubt, but he’s just not that good in the ring. And neither is big show. And this is the problem: this probably isn’t going to be a good match. It’s got the build-up, it’s got a lot riding on it (spoiler: Someone named John will be fired) it’s got everything… except the superstars. Cena is capable of having terrific matches, no doubt about it, if he is put against the right opponent. Look at his matches against people like Triple H, against CM Punk, against Shawn Michaels (although to be fair, Shawn could wrestle a broom and it would still be a match of the year candidate) Cena can have great matches, but he’s not a guy that can carry another guy to a great match. Put him against the big show, and honestly, I just can’t see it being a good match. I also can’t see Cena winning. I don’t think WWE are ready to off John Laryngitis just yet. There has been speculation about some sort of Laryngitis/McMahon feud going into Summerslam, perhaps they’ll do something with that, but I don’t think the time is right just yet. Cena won’t lose cleanly (losing to the rock at Wrestlemania was the first time Cena lost cleanly in about 5 years) there’ll be interference or something to keep Cena looking like superman, but he will probably lose. Perhaps big show then goes after the title or whatever, while Cena takes a hiatus. My prediction: Cena is about to escape but Laryngitis or David Otunga or someone pushes him back in to the cage, and big show hits the WMD (probably the least creative finisher ever, a punch, seriously?) and pins him or walks out the door, probably the latter.
And that’s N.W.O, I’ll talk about different things over the next few days, and I’ll be doing a full review of N.W.O as soon as I can download it, probably in the middle of next week.
We’re almost three months on from Wrestlemania and my current spell of Wrestling watching has endured, so I figured, hey, why not write a blog about it, you haven’t done one of those in a month and a half, you lazy bastard. And so I got to work, because there are a lot of things I’d like to go over.
No Way Out
I don’t think N.W.O (wink wink) is shaping up all that badly. Some of the feuds haven’t been hyped all that well, but the matches themselves have a lot of potential:
WWE Divas championship
Layla (ch) vs. Beth Phoenix
The Divas division isn’t exactly flying high right now, in fact it really seems that WWE doesn’t care about it at the moment. However, Layla and Beth are definitely the top 2, and if they’re given some time, they can definitely put on a great match. My prediction: Layla retains, and the feud continues until at least Money in the Bank, possibly Summerslam
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Christian (Ch) vs. Cody Rhodes
Goddamn, give these guys the time and this match will steal the show. Christian and Cody are two of my favourite superstars right now, they’re both great on the mike, and their ring work is second to very few. Here’s hoping this feud continues a while longer. This might be just wishful thinking, but if WWE start pushing Ziggler for the Intercontinental title, can you imagine a triple threat match between Ziggler, Cody and Christian at Summerslam for the strap? Match of the year candidate, in my opinion, if it was done right. As for N.W.O, my prediction: Christian retains
World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus (Ch) vs. Dolph Ziggler
These guys can put on a great match, but considering Ziggler has been confirmed to face Sheamus for less than a week, the odds of Ziggler winning the title are basically nil. Sheamus works great for a big guy and Ziggler almost always puts on a great match, so this should be a good one, but honestly, my prediction: Sheamus WILL retain
WWE Championship
CM Punk (Ch) vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane
This match has been built up extremely well in my view, I love the Punk/Bryan feud, I’ve always loved Kane, and I love how well AJ has been utilized in the middle of the whole thing. Put it all together, and you have what really should be a great match, there’s no reason it can’t be, and given that it’s triple threat, and given the unpredictability of AJ, you have a match that its self is hard to predict. In terms of the match its self, it’s hard to know how the technical styles of Punk and Bryan will mesh with the brute strength of Kane, but Kane has been involved in good matches with Punk and Bryan in the run-up to N.W.O so I’m not too worried on the score. I would say Kane will spend sometime incapacitated so that Punk and Bryan can grapple uninterrupted for a bit to satisfy the wrestling purists such as myself. As for my prediction, honestly… I’m picking Bryan. I think the whole AJ thing will be some sort of bluff and AJ will end up siding with Bryan. The whole thing could backfire and AJ could end up costing Bryan the title, but I don’t think so, then you just end up with Punk as champion and Bryan mad at AJ, which has already been done over the last few months. So Bryan narrowly gets my pick, perhaps setting up the feud to continue until Summerslam. My prediction: Punk hits the G.T.S on Kane, AJ distracts Punk allowing Bryan to sneak in and pin Kane
Steel Cage match
Big Show vs. John Cena
-Sigh- Credit where it’s due, big show has been well developed as a heel on this occasion, he’s destroyed everything that has got in his way, and he’s genuinely very threatening at the moment. And as for Cena, I don’t love him, nor do I hate him. He’s charismatic, no doubt, but he’s just not that good in the ring. And neither is big show. And this is the problem: this probably isn’t going to be a good match. It’s got the build-up, it’s got a lot riding on it (spoiler: Someone named John will be fired) it’s got everything… except the superstars. Cena is capable of having terrific matches, no doubt about it, if he is put against the right opponent. Look at his matches against people like Triple H, against CM Punk, against Shawn Michaels (although to be fair, Shawn could wrestle a broom and it would still be a match of the year candidate) Cena can have great matches, but he’s not a guy that can carry another guy to a great match. Put him against the big show, and honestly, I just can’t see it being a good match. I also can’t see Cena winning. I don’t think WWE are ready to off John Laryngitis just yet. There has been speculation about some sort of Laryngitis/McMahon feud going into Summerslam, perhaps they’ll do something with that, but I don’t think the time is right just yet. Cena won’t lose cleanly (losing to the rock at Wrestlemania was the first time Cena lost cleanly in about 5 years) there’ll be interference or something to keep Cena looking like superman, but he will probably lose. Perhaps big show then goes after the title or whatever, while Cena takes a hiatus. My prediction: Cena is about to escape but Laryngitis or David Otunga or someone pushes him back in to the cage, and big show hits the WMD (probably the least creative finisher ever, a punch, seriously?) and pins him or walks out the door, probably the latter.
And that’s N.W.O, I’ll talk about different things over the next few days, and I’ll be doing a full review of N.W.O as soon as I can download it, probably in the middle of next week.
29 April, 2012
Eurovision 2012 - Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva - When the Music Dies
Well, 2 songs, 2 ballads, although Miss Sabina Babayeva’s efforts are a little more flamboyant than Mr Humperdinck.
The song starts with a mood setting but perhaps a little generic piano intro. Like Love Will Set You Free, When the Music Dies relies largely on the strength of it’s singer and Babeyeva certainly has a set of pipes on her, her tone really is gorgeous, very soulful vocal work throughout, particularly during the songs climax.
Lyrically the song isn’t terrible but it’s nothing particularly particularly brilliant either, they’re the kind of lyrics that you would expect to hear about 5 different variations of during any given chart music top 10 countdown, talking about love or relationships or love or... romance or... love or... sorry, getting topic.
The song ends on a peculiar note, Sabina rushing the last lyric, almost as if she’d noticed that she was running out of time at the studio. Whatever the case may be, it’s a little abrupt and ends up being a little jarring.
Ultimately When the Music Dies is a good but ultimately bland entrant, there’s nothing here particularly unique, the melodies and lyrics are all fairly generic, Sabina’s vocal work being the only thing that stands out. Still, the host nation have a song that they need feel no shame over, it certainly isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but after the success of last years “Running Scared”, some may feel When the Music Dies to be a bit of a let down.
The song starts with a mood setting but perhaps a little generic piano intro. Like Love Will Set You Free, When the Music Dies relies largely on the strength of it’s singer and Babeyeva certainly has a set of pipes on her, her tone really is gorgeous, very soulful vocal work throughout, particularly during the songs climax.
Lyrically the song isn’t terrible but it’s nothing particularly particularly brilliant either, they’re the kind of lyrics that you would expect to hear about 5 different variations of during any given chart music top 10 countdown, talking about love or relationships or love or... romance or... love or... sorry, getting topic.
The song ends on a peculiar note, Sabina rushing the last lyric, almost as if she’d noticed that she was running out of time at the studio. Whatever the case may be, it’s a little abrupt and ends up being a little jarring.
Ultimately When the Music Dies is a good but ultimately bland entrant, there’s nothing here particularly unique, the melodies and lyrics are all fairly generic, Sabina’s vocal work being the only thing that stands out. Still, the host nation have a song that they need feel no shame over, it certainly isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but after the success of last years “Running Scared”, some may feel When the Music Dies to be a bit of a let down.
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