Wrestlemania XXX Predictions

Wrestlemania 30 is right around the corner, and it's sure to be a great spectacle regardless of the quality of matches and results. It's always a night full of drama and passion. Every wrestler's dream is to main event Wrestlemania. Some people will, most definitely will not. Making it to Wrestlemania in itself is an achievement for many, they can have their Wrestlemania moment. I'm excited, I always get excited this time of the year. The wrestlers get geared up, management gets geared up and the writers get creative. Magic will happen Sunday and I think I know what's going to happen. I hope they prove me wrong because I like to be surprised. So here are my predictions:

Andre the Giant over the top-rope battle royal: 30 wrestlers have a chance to go after a newly created, highly coveted trophy honoring the late great Andre the Giant. In Andre's days, battle royals were used to make the big guys look unstoppable. It definitely worked for Andre, he dominated the 70's and 80's going 15 years undefeated. Winning this match would be a great honor for any wrestler. So who is going to win it? I hope they go with someone who can take this momentum and turn them into a main event player. If I had my way I would have Drew Mcintyre win it. I see big potential in him, and he needs to break away from the 3 Man Band. The obvious choice is the Big Show just because of his giant stature and dominating presence. I will however go with the current intercontinental champion Big E. Showcase his strengths and have him eliminate the Big Show to win. He can keep defending his belt and look dominant eventually challenging the world champion.

Tag-Team Championship Match: The Usos are currently the tag champs. I like them as a baby face team, but have faced some really stiff competition since winning the straps. They have to defend them in a four way tag bout this weekend, and I have a feeling they aren't going to leave with them. They are facing Los Matadores (no chance), Ryback and Curtis Axel (I actually really like this pairing) and the Real Americans. Cesaro and Jack Swagger have gotten over like crazy lately, and I can see them continue to rise. The Real American will leave WM XXX with the bronze belts.

Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational: AJ Lee has to defend her Divas title against 13 other wrestlers. The odds seemed completely stacked against her considering the match ends with one fall. The only problem is that I don't see any of those divas ending her reign without a purpose. Maybe Tamina to make things interesting, but I think they should build that feud. I see AJ Lee somehow retaining her title this Sunday.

The Shield vs. Corporate Kane and the New Age Outlaws: I didn't see this match coming at all. I thought the Shield would break up, and Roman Reigns would be pinning Dean Ambrose to take his US Championship away. Instead they have banded together to fight HHH's cronies. The Shield wins this match no problem. Just the vets putting over the young guns and making them look strong in the process.

HHH vs. Daniel Bryan: HHH has vowed to end Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement. I've been a Bryan fan since 2005. I've seen him wrestle in gyms. I've seen him wrestle with a dislocated shoulder, a detached retina and a really bad sun burn. He deserves to be on top of the wrestling world. He deserves to be world champion. HHH has done a great job at making Bryan look good. He has played the evil corporate role to a T. Bryan will win this match and be entered into the main event against Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena: If this was 1988, John Cena would be guaranteed to win. Good always trumps evil. Even in 2008 this would have flown as well. But its 2014 and people are ready for a change. Bray Wyatt is the most interesting character to invade WWE for a very long time. He is on a crazy role, and the depth of his character is bottomless. Bray Wyatt has a lot to prove. Cena is a guy who is untouchable, but I see a start of a big change with a Bray Wyatt victory.

Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar: Will the Beast Incarnate beat the streak?? No, no he won't. Brock is huge and a formidable foe, but the streak is so legendary, I never see it ending. Especially not to a part time guy like Brock. Undertake goes 22 - 0. 

Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan: The main event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be a good match, with a ton of drama. HHH will come out and try to screw over Bryan, fail and Bryan will become world champion, FINALLY. The Yes Movement will be in full swing, and my prayers will be answered. All of Daniel Bryan's hard work will have paid off. All the sacrifices he has made will finally find retribution. YES YES YES YES YES!

The First 15 Years of Wrestlemania VI - X

So I've purchased my subscription to the WWE Network, and I have lost a lot of my life as a result. You can watch every WWF, WCW and ECW pay-per-view in history. Even ECW Heatwave '98!! Along with all those shows, they put new originals and let the new generation shine with the premiere of NXT (their developmental system). If you are a wrestling enthusiast like myself, or a casual wrestling fan, you can't beat the price of $9.99 a month for all that wrasslin'. Now that my endorsement of the WWE Network is over, let's get back to Wrestlemanias six through ten. 

Wrestlemania VI: April 1, 1990 - With over 67,000 people packed into the Toronto Sky Dome, the air of a new era can be felt throughout the night. The wrestling product was getting better. The best example of this was the Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) vs. The Orient Express. Fantastic tag bout, and a flare of new flavor. It was cool to see Ax and Smash become tag-team champions in beating the seemingly unstoppable Haku and Andre the Giant. Piper vs. Bad News Brown was interesting to say the least. I don't know how Piper got away with a lot of his promo work. It came off as a bit racist. The icing on the cake was when he came out to the ring, in half black body. Not just black face, but half his body was painted black. The match itself was pretty miserable, but the entertainment value was definitely there. This would never fly these days. The show was capped with the proverbial passing of the torch. The ultimate challenge. Hulk Hogan was the WWF Champion and The Ultimate Warrior was the intercontinental champion. Both were really hot, and both were good guys. There's never been a main event between two good guys fighting for the belt, so it had an interesting dynamic. If I were there live, I'm sure the atmosphere would have been electric. The crowd went absolutely insane when The Ultimate Warrior became champion.

Wrestlemania VII: March 24, 1991 - Well the Ultimate Warrior as champion experiment flopped. And they put Hogan back in the spotlight. This happens a few more times before he high tails it off to WCW. The main event is Sgt. Slaughter, america's second biggest hero, vs. Hulk Hogan. They decided to have Sgt. Slaughter become a bad guy and Iraqi sympathizer. This was right in the middle of the first Gulf War so fans were absolutely livid about his betrayal. I've never seen a more hated man in wrestling, it was awesome. Hogan eventually overcame the odds and beat Slaughter after being mauled for twenty minutes. He hulked up and leg dropped Slaughter back to the 80's. It's unfortunate that Slaughter was only champion for about a month and a half, but good must always triumph over evil. Legion of Doom had their first WM appearance beating Power and Glory. The Rockers had another spectacular match against the Barbarian and Haku. Finally, the Undertaker's undefeated streak by taking about the beloved Jimmy Superfly Snuka.

Wrestlemania VIII: April 5, 1992 - If you stopped this event right after the sixth match, Savage vs. Flair for the WWF Championship, I have claimed that this was one of the greatest Wrestlemanias of all time. Unfortunately it didn't, and we all had to suffer through Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Vicious in the main event. The main event ended with a disqualification, come on man. Why not put Savage vs. Flair on last?? It's for the belt! Oh well. A lot of great moments occurred on the under-card. Shawn Michaels has his first singles match after turning on Marty Jannetty, and eventually becomes Mr. Wrestlemania. Undertaker battles Jake the Snake Roberts in an awesome match, continuing the streak. Bret Hart beats Rowdy Roddy Piper for the intercontinental championship and starts his ascent to the top. Finally, a match that I've always loved. Ric Flair is the best villain to ever grace the squared circle. He can talk his way out of everything, and makes it sting when you fall for it. After coming back from "retirement," Macho Man sets his sights on gold. Flair makes it personal by forging lewd pictures of Miss Elizabeth, and that drives Savage into madness. Savage wins, him and Elizabeth are reunited creating a feel good moment that I can even get on board with. 

Wrestlemania IX: April 4, 1993 - That breath of fresh air I mentioned earlier, is in full force when WM nine comes around. A new roster, a new look and wrestlers hungry to make a name for themselves makes WM nine special. With all the Caesar's Palace foolishness aside, this was a great show. I do want to add that Bobby the Brain Heenan coming down to the ring riding a camel backwards, makes this show. Everything he touches is gold. I've always been a Doink the Clown fan. Especially when he was an evil clown. Not the greatest gimmick, but he was an outstanding wrestler. He wrestled Crush on this event, which was ok, but I love hearing the evil Doink entrance music. Shawn Michaels retains his intercontinental championship against Tatanka. I was excited to see Razor Ramon vs. Bob Backlund just because I loved both of their work, but something didn't click there. Undertaker continues his streak with a horrendous match with Giant Gonzales. Man he is bad. Bigger doesn't always mean better. This was the only match Undertaker has won via disqualification at WM. The main event was our Canadian hero Bret Hart vs. the villainous Yokozuna. Yokozuna eliminated Randy Savage at the Royal Rumble to earn his championship match against Bret. The match itself was not bad given the limitations of a huge wrestler. Yokozuna shocked everyone by beating Bret Hart, even though it was controversial. Yokozuna would be the only bad guy to win the championship at WM up to that point. And then Hogan happens. He comes out with a shiner (and a lot of speculation how he got it) and beats Yokozuna in seconds with a leg drop. Way to make your champions look like crap. Hogan wins his last WWF belt before leaving for WCW.

Wrestlemania X: March 20, 1994 - The tenth anniversary of WM was pretty special in it's own way. Most of the wrestling was sub par, but the good wrestling was amazing wrestling. Bret Hart and Owen Hart had the greatest opening match in WM history. The story was stellar and the ring work was spectacular. Owen Hart gets the biggest win of his career when rolling up Bret for the three count. The main even featured a rematch from last year with Yokozuna defending his championship against Bret Hart. Yokozuna defeated Lex Luger in the night so both men would have wrestled once before their match. Bret's leg was injured in his match against Owen so all odds were stacked against him when challenging the all powerful Yokozuna. Shocking fans, Bret gets the win and becomes "the guy" in WWF. Finally WM X featured its very first ladder match with two guys who were out there to steal the show. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels for the intercontinental championship. It's still regarded as one of the best ladder matches of all time. The new era was finally here after teasing change for a couple years. Vince agrees to stick with the future stars and it pays off in dividends.

The first 15 Years of Wrestlemania: I - V

Over the last few months, with a help from my library, I was able to watch the first 15 Wrestlemanias. The 30th anniversary of Wrestlemania occurs on April 6, 2014 and my goal was to watch the first 29 before then. With the announcement and launch of the WWE network, I think this goal will be much more obtainable. So how does the grandaddy of them all hold up over the last three decades? Were they as great as everyone remembers? Did Hulkamania really run wild? We shall find out.

Wrestlemania 1: March 31, 1985 - Wrestlemania was the great invention of Vincent K. McMahon. He wanted to cross over into Hollywood once a year and hold a huge wrestling extravaganza. He succeeded, but the matches were absolute garbage. The main event was the saving grace. It featured Mr. T and Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Cowboy Bob Orton and Jimmy Snuka were ringside for support of their teams. Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson were both guest referees for some reason. I know Vince wanted to pack as much star power into his main event, but this was ridiculous. The best part of the match, was Roddy Piper's hate for Mr. T. It seemed legit and he didn't let T do a single move. This was easily the worst Wrestlemania of the first 15.

Wrestlemania 2: April 7, 1986 - This Wrestlemania was held at three different venues throughout the U.S., Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Sounded like a cool idea, but people in the stands in Chicago, couldn't see the matches that happened in L.A. and New York. It was a first though! McMahon is all about making history, even if it's bad history. The matches on 2 were a step up from 1, but there was a ton of filler. Who would want to see Adrian Adonis vs Hillbilly Jim for no reason? Again the most entertaining part of the show was Roddy Piper. He had a boxing match against Mr. T. Piper that's been building for a year. I don't know how they got away with Piper's promos. They were oozing with racism. But nonetheless they stole the show. The Main event in Los Angeles was Hulk Hogan vs King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match for the WWF Championship. The match was decent and I was glad to see that the company's biggest title was defended in the last match. I know this won't happen in future Wrestlemanias and really doesn't make any sense at all.

Wrestlemania 3: March 29, 1987 - For the longest time, this was regarded as the best Wrestlemania. It definitely features the best Intercontinental Championship match between Ricky the Dragon Steamboat and Macho Man Randy Savage. This was a red hot feud. Macho Man was a villainous heel and was hated by many. No one could take the title off of him though. Macho Man took Steamboat out with a throat injury, and his come back was monumental. This was a perfectly built match, from beginning to end. Honky Tonk Man and Jake the Snake Roberts put on a fun short match as well. The main event contains one of the most talked about moments in wrestling history. Andre the Giant has been undefeated in 15 years of wrestling, and he's never been WWF Champion. He turned on the Hulkster and swore he would destroy Hulkamania. The match itself was slow, but that's ok, I know Andre wasn't in the best shape of his life. After 12 minutes of bear hugs Hulk does the unthinkable and body slams the 500 pound giant. The crowd erupts and Hogan keeps his title.

Wrestlemania IV: March 27, 1988 - Man this was a long show. With a total sixteen matches, it seemed to go on forever. WM 4 featured a WWF Championship tournament. It had some great wrestlers in the brackets including Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Jake the Snake Roberts. Most of the tournament matches were stinkers, and a lot of them ended in DQ's and non-decisions. The Ultimate Warrior stunk up the joint with a weak match against Hercules Hernandez. I really enjoy Hercules' work, and have seen a lot of his work since watching these. Can't see why he didn't get a bigger push. The main event was Macho Man vs. Ted Dibiase for the WWF Championship. It was a solid contest, and of course Hogan had to stick his nose in it since he wasn't in the match. Ultimately this led to Savage's first title, and it was a cool moment to experience. The picture that sticks out in my mind when remember WM 4 is Miss Elizabeth sitting on Macho Man's shoulder with his hand raised. Priceless.

Wrestlemania V: April 2, 1989 - A step better than last year, even though there were way too many matches on the card. Rick Rude pulled a pretty decent match out of the Ultimate Warrior for the intercontinental championship. My favorite match on the card featured Mr. Perfect vs. a young Owen Hart donning the Blue Blazer mask. It was Owen's first WM, and he proved he can hang with the best. The main event was built perfectly. This is easily Hulk Hogan's best WM match to date, and Randy Savage should be given all the credit for his performance. There was actual wrestling in this match, and it surprised the hell out of me. The story was crafted perfectly in which the Mega Powers (Savage and Hogan) split their tag-team over Savage's jealousy of Hogan. Savage accuses Hogan of stealing Miss Elizabeth, and the tension run really high during the entire match. Savage still has the belt from last year's WM and in typical Hogan fashion, he wins. But I can't complain because it made sense for him to win since he's the ultimate good guy.

A pretty slow start on the actual wrestling aspect of the show, but Vince McMahon didn't really care about the in ring show, just the spectacle aspect. In that way he had a very special event on his hands.

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 11 of 25

Seeing that today is the 28th birthday of Master of Puppets, I figured I take the opportunity to talk about my favorite album of all time. I know I say, "man I love this CD," or "this is my favorite!" quite a bit. I 100% mean it when I talk about Master of Puppets by Metallica.

Master of Puppets was released approximately four months and six days before I was born. It took me ten years to listen to it for the first time, but I couldn't really help that since toddlers don't usually thrash it up. Mine will, but unfortunately my parents weren't into the heavy metal scene.

Now where do I start to discuss the genius of this album? I consider it the best thrash album of all time, front to back. How about I start with the cover art? When I first saw the image of hundreds of crosses, being controlled the puppet master's hand, I didn't know what to think. It's not until my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C. and experienced Arlington National Cemetery for the first time, when I finally realized the message Metallica was trying to convey. That trip was special because it was my first dose of reality. Sure you've heard of all the craziness that's happened throughout history, and it just goes in one ear and out the other, but seeing those gravestones amassed in perfect alignment resonates heavily on a young mind. We hit up the mall that trip and I was able to find a Master of Puppets flag and I spent most of my money obtaining it, but I still have it to this day.

Just by the cover, I can tell this is a serious album. The musicianship is equally serious. Cliff Burton, the greatest bass player to ever grace the Earth, wrote a lot of the guitar riffs on this album. Cliff studied classical, old school rock and punk to create his sound. So when you mix that with the Kirk Hammett solo machine and James Hetfield's lyrical apex, you have a stainless piece of heavy metal steel.

It's hard to pick a few tracks off of here to spotlight. Master of Puppets is worth your time, every time. Orion could be the most beautiful metal song ever. Every time I listen to it, I get goosebumps. From Burton's memorable bass to Hammett's wailing guitar, Orion is full of passion and enchantment. A truly magical song. Disposable Heroes attributes to the unwieldy tone of the album. It's fast, unrelenting and almost punishing. The song Master of Puppets will go down as one of their most popular songs of all time. When I was in a thrash band in high school, Puppets was my favorite song to cover because of its energizing pace, and its shifting pieces. Its the fastest eight minute song, and I don't mean tempo. Its so awesome, you don't realize how long you've been listening to it. I had a complete blast tearing through that song every time.

Any music collection should include Master of Puppets. Its the most important metal CD of all time. Self-titled sold more records, but the importance of Master of Puppets is paramount. I feel like I grew up along with Master of Puppets and I am glad to celebrate its birthday.

Oscar Picks

I'm in no way a movie expert, but I do watch a lot of movies. Even though lately I've been engrossed with the WWE Network. I've watched a bunch of it. I mean who would pass up watching ECW Heatwave '98 or anything with Mean Gene Okerlund? Am I right or am I right? But I digress, I've watched a few of the nominees and have read my fair share of reviews for all the best pictures. So here are my picks for the 2014 Academy Awards.

The Big Ones:
Best Picture: American Hustle
Best Director: David O'Russell - American Hustle
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey
Best Actress: Amy Adams
Best Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o
Best Documentary: 20 Feet from Stardom

The Rest:
Animated Feature Film: Frozen
Cinematography: Gravity
Costume Design: Great Gatsby
Documentary Short: Facing Fear
Film Editing: Gravity
Foreign Language Film: The Missing Picture
Makeup: Dallas Buyers Club
Original Score: Her
Original Song: "Let it Go" from Frozen
Production Design: Gravity
Animated Short Film: Possessions
Live Action Short Film: Do I Have to Care of Everything?
Sound Editing: Captain Phillips
Sound Mixing: Captain Phillips
Visual Effects: Gravity
Adaptation Screenplay: Philomena
Original Screenplay: Blue Jasmine

Building a Solid Heavy Metal Collection: Part 10 of 25

My buddy Stephen described this CD as, "Metallica with a real singer." With that description, I had to check these guys out. In 2002, the renaissance of my metal youth, Shadows Fall was as integral as Metallica was in years past. They were the next evolution of heavy metal and revived thrash metal to its former glory. Many thrash bands followed suit and some classic thrash bands got back together. It has been a glorious ten plus years of thrash.

The Art of Balance was Shadows Fall's second major release. Of One Blood was a great record, but was lacking the variety and intensity that The Art of Balance brings. Balance is definitely a theme throughout the record. Aggression, inner peace, brutality and meditation are contributing elements to the music that make this album whole.

Idle Hands lures you in with its intense inception and sets the mood for the rest of the album. Thoughts without Words enters the mind of Brian Fair and the way he questions life, always looking for answers. Destroyer of Senses is a short, anthem dedicated to sorrow and dependence on alcohol, and how easily you can fall into its traps. There are two acoustic interludes on this album, Casting Shade and Prelude to Disaster, which are absolutely beautiful, but serve a purpose as well. They balance the heavy and the melodic concocting a perfect potion of heavy metal.

The Art of Balance officially ends with A Fire in Babylon, a seven and a half minute piece of perfection. The musicianship is top notch, solos are perfectly paced and placed, and the message is meaningful.

As a bonus, Shadows Fall includes a Pink Floyd cover of Welcome to the Machine. Sometimes I wish they didn't put this on the album, but its a great cover. Listen to the album all the way through to A Fire in Babylon and press stop. After some thought, listen to the Pink Floyd cover. It has a much better flow that way.

Mechanical Bull

Kings of Leon were pretty cool in 2008. It was something different, and indie music was definitely on the rise at the point. I completely skipped the following album, not because of disinterest, I just didn't know they had put out a new album. So I decided to check out Mechanical Bull from my local library and gave it a listen.

I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't very impressed at first. Supersoaker and Rocky City didn't get me excited to listen to the rest of the album. I stuck it out and continued to listen to the Virginia "rockers." A few tracks caught me off guard and rewarded my time.

Tonight, Beautiful War and especially Last Mile Home are worth listening to. Lyrically they are the best. The guitar is simple but it is effective and gets to the point. Track 8, The Comeback Story,  has the potential to be a karaoke staple with the clever chorus: "I walk a mile in your shoes, Now I'm a mile away, And I've got your shoes."

All in all, this album wasn't the best. It had some highs, but a lot more lows.

I give Mechanical Bull by the Kings of Leon 2.5 out of 5 Burning Lariats.