#Top 10 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time

[wikiuntamed]

Top 5 @Wikipedia pages from yesterday: Saturday, 13th April 2024

Welcome, ongi etorri, welkom, 환영 (hwanyeong) 🤗 What were the top pages visited on @Wikipedia (13th April 2024) 🏆🌟🔥?

1️⃣: Fallout (American TV series) "Fallout is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet for Amazon Prime Video. It is based on the role-playing video game franchise created by Tim Cain.Amazon purchased the rights to produce a live-action project in 2020, and the show was..."

2️⃣: O. J. Simpson "Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024) was an American football player and actor. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills, and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. His professional success was..."

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3️⃣: Tama Tonga "Alipate Aloisio Leone (born October 15, 1982), better known by his ring name Tama Tonga (Japanese: タマ・トンガ), is a Tongan professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand as a member of The Bloodline. From 2010 to 2024 he was in New Japan Pro-Wrestling..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by ハイエナジー

4️⃣: Amar Singh Chamkila "Amar Singh Chamkila (21 July 1960 – 8 March 1988) was an Indian singer and musician of Punjabi music. Chamkila's vivid language, high-pitched vocals, and novel compositions accompanied by tumbi made him popular. His music was influenced by the Punjabi village life in which he grew up. On 8 March..."

5️⃣: Indian Premier League "The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as the TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held annually in India. Founded by the BCCI in 2007, the league features ten city-based franchise teams. The IPL usually takes place during the summer, between March and May..."

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (450): Sat 10th Jun 2023

Today while I was (pretending to be) working my manager came over to tell me that today was the one year anniversary of me starting work at the factory! I know it's a cliche but fucking hell how time sure does fly. Whenever I reach milestones like this or birthdays or New Year I always think of a quite from the novel Go Ask Alice in which one of the characters says "Time seems so endless but moves so fast" and I don't think a truer statement has ever been made about life. retty much every day that I've worked at this place I've gone to my work station knowing that I've got a 10 hour shift ahead of me wondering what the hell I'm going to think about in order to pass the time. As the seconds, minutes and hours tick away it feels like the day is never going to end and then all of a sudden I've been there for a whole fucking year! I really can't get aross just how grateful I stumbled into this job quite randomly. After realizing that I'd made a huge mistake in working for the bank I came home one day feeling incredibly depressed but for some reason some long lost region of my brain prompted me to check to see if there were any factory jobs going in the area and to my amazement there was one so I applied for it and received an interview the next day which lasted less than a minute, consisted of hardly any questions and they told me that they wanted me to start in a weeks time. I doubt that I will ever get a job so easily again but I don't know that I want another job because although factory work is boring as shit that's exactly what I want. I never want another job where I have to talk to customers either face to face or on the phone or on WhatsApp or whatever holographic technology Meta is going to punish customer service workers with next. I've always wanted a job that was so god damn brainless that you can do it without even thinking and spend your entire shift daydreaming. Some people may say this smacks of a lack of ambition but as I've previously said I hate people so I don't care what those cunts say. I still haven't been made permanent yet but I'm hoping that I will be because this is quite simply the greatest job I have ever had I checked out last night's Impact Slammiversary show and was delighted to see that Alex Shelley won the world title. I've followed Impact since year two and I've watched as talented performer after talented performer has been denied their chance at the top (or even the lower mid card) so it's great to see that they've given Shelley a shot with the main prize. There are so many wrestlers (not just in Impact but in WWE as well) who I feel were around for so long and worked so hard but never got a run with the belt that I think the companies could have just given them a title run as a thank you more than anything. Mr Perfect, William Regal, Earthquake, Umaga, A-Train, Brian Kendrick (Before he was outed as a mental holocaust denier), Damien Sandow the list goes on. Just give them a go with the belt and if it doesn't work just take it off them again and at the very least they'll be able to tell their kids they were the world champion once.

[omegatheunknown]

AEW Double or Nothing 2021

In which the spirit of WCW is alive in confusing and delightful ways and we are left to parse whether overbooking and extracurriculars are offset by having actually very good wrestling happening at the same time.

- Lessons learned from Revolution on the production side? Maybe just cool it on pyro, though the rappelling adventure in the Stadium Stampede showed some of that now-characteristic 'trust us it'll look better on TV' flair. Hot crowd tends to paper over most woes, and the crowd was pretty hot. My one gripe is that the casino theme is hanging around like yesterday's takeout containers. Nothing wrong with clinging to a theme, I just think it's time for season 2. My suggestion? Under the Sea.

*Pre-Card Serena Deeb (C) v Riho for the NWA Women's Championship (***1/2) - Serena Deeb's star has finally risen. She's a remarkably consistent technician and she can get a match out of anyone at this point. She's working at the level of Mercedes Martinez or Madison Eagles at this point, it's amazing that she was overlooked or considered fit only to be a coach for so long. With the NWA belt she has this new swagger, she's basically everything Tessa Blanchard might bring to the table with none of the downsides (Serena has a lot of friends and seems like a lovely person, even!) - Riho's back and here to stay. Her time in Stardom didn't do much for my evaluation of her, which is that there are many better wrestlers that would be better representatives of the joshi style and she's merely pretty good. - The match was very good. Serena showcased a champion's aggression against a sympathetic Riho, they really work well against each other, Deeb's technical prowess against Riho's flexibility led to a very dynamic finish.

*Main Card Hangman Adam Page v Brian Cage (***1/2) - Here the shenanigans start. Brian Cage is on Team Taz, Team Taz has nothing else much to do tonight, so why wouldn't Team Taz flex their muscles, bait us with HOOK, etc? (Because it would be nice to have some variety in the card in terms of a match where one competitor stands across from another competitor?) - Hangman is (checking notes) yeah, still over as fuck, as befits the Anxious Millennial Cowboy. Cage terrifies me, he's a child's drawing of a body builder. He do be very agile for a man of his immense musculature tho. They match up well, Page is biggish for a flyer, Cage loves to play catch. Nothing much to write home about, other than Hangman's beautiful moonsault to the floor and what was overall a very good curtain jerker. - Okay fine, I am curious about Cage's reluctance to lean on the goons, Starks can't come back soon enough.

The Young Bucks v Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston (***) - I will not be referring to Mox & Eddie as (The) Wild Things because it gives me 'he calls it the wacky line' flashbacks for some reason. - The Bucks have to cheat and abuse Rick Knox's attention span constantly to be on even footing with Mox & Eddie, which is a clever sort of thing that gets washed out by the appearance of LG and Karl Anderson, which again, is cool in a vacuum but was the story of the evening. - Pace was weird - repetitive in eliminating Eddie, then Mox fights back, failed hope spot, Bucks team up, Eddie saves x2/3 in a row. - Mox, unlike Cody (in so many ways,) will probably actually be taking some time off with Renee, which is the kind of thing I would prefer not to know in terms of booking, but they really uh, put him down on the canvas here, and it felt pretty finale-esque.

Casino Battle Royale (n/r, but on the balance pro) - Any changes to the theme of the PPV would likely include changing up the nonsense suit format of these largely joyless slogs. - Obviously anticipating a NJPW talent, or... I dunno, actually -- Lio Rush was a surprise. Got in a quick demonstration of his otherworldly quickness, and you know what, there's probably a fun place for him in AEW. He'll need some friends, of course, feel like Team Taz might fit his temperament. I wonder if he was aware of the Mark Henry news... - Christian does not need to win this kind of match to get a title shot, obviously, but that said it was super lovely to use him to give Jungle Boy the shine. Jungle Boy would be a license to print money if he was even as big as Hangman. - Could register some continued griping about how Penta is not getting his due in AEW but he also literally was dressed as the Joker so I'm low on sympathy on this one particular night.

Anthony Ogogo v Cody Rhodes (*) - I did not like this. It's hard for me to read jingoism as a face move to begin with, and Cody's was egregiously tone deaf and kinda silly yet delivered without a trace of irony because Cody doesn't do irony on purpose, ridiculous neck tattoo aside. - Great argument to be made that Ogogo just isn't experienced enough to be winning matches against Cody. But like, what are we doing here? Cody needs to take some time off, maybe. I thought that's what was happening when he had his mini feud with Penta that really just ended in quick decisive Cody win. I though maybe Cody was being turned when QT and The Factory snapped-- sure, they're a group of impotent player 2s, but Cody is an out of touch elitist with a callous and manipulative streak. Alas, also no. America #1. - Cody is approximately 8 times as tough as Billy Gunn based on his weathering of the one punch man. Match ran a bit long given how little there was to go on. Cody gigged? Quelle surprise. - Cody had the best match on the card like, 3 out of the first 4 AEW events or something, and that was all booking and storytelling. I do hope Cody follows Moxley's lead into a little sabbatical.

Miro (C) v Lance Archer for the TNT Championship (**1/2) - Card's hossiest hoss match, a quick burst reminiscent of a car wreck. Absolutely hit on what it should've hit on but a little slow moving considering it went all of 10 minutes. - I will not complain about Jake the Snake, who I love. And also the gimmick spot, with Miro very astutely yeeting what was definitely a snake in a bag (surely.) back down the tunnel.

Dr Britt Baker, DMD v Hikaru Shida (C) for the AEW Women's Championship (***) - Picked up a lot of steam toward the end but seemed a little toothless (heh) until the last five. - Shida 'deserved' some more time as champion in front of crowds but also it's time to let heel Britt reach her peak, I can't even imagine how obnoxious she can be as the champ, it's going to be great.

Sting & Darby Allin v Ethan Page & Scorpio Sky (***1/2) - Such is the power of STING that I feel like I might be underrating this match... I mean it was an okay match about very simply getting some revenge and the sixty year old man did a very subdued Code Red and a slightly less subdued dive. He's also Sting. They missed an opportunity in calling it the 'Scorpio' Death Drop, but the main takeaway here is you see something like this where it's The Icon and you start to understand why WWE trots out their legends to come out of incredibly still kick ass without bending their knees. - The difference, I guess, is that Sting is absolutely being used to build up Darby Allin, whereas it's not like the fed brought back Goldberg and his attendant aura to pump up... anyone but Goldberg?

Kenny Omega (C) v PAC v Orange Cassidy for the AEW World Championship (****) - Off the top I have to say I'm very sad that the rest of the Galaxy's Greatest Friends were seen only very briefly, nice of them to bring OC's backpack. - Also have to point out that PAC's promo featured one of my favourite jokes, that Kenny must be short for Kenneth as a sort of legal/birth name belonging to a professional wrestler. (See also: Samoa Joseph) - And Mr Cassidy certainly did try in this match, ragdoll sells and all. Kenneth and PAC are absurd talents who bring aerial, power and technical maneuvers in equal measure and OC is not doing any of those on the same level, but he picked his spots, showed his genre savvy and hung in there to the point that he wasn't just the fall guy. - The extracurriculars continue in a match that was already a little overboard for silliness due to asymmetry... I think if you're the Invisible Hand it would've made sense to save up all your tricks for this match, but who am I to question the golden goose? - Sure, Kenny and Don ran the classic heel manager interference spot and taking out the ref in desperation spot but having to take out the ref because PAC wouldn't break the hold is fun, as is the stupid/inspired sense in running the 'smash opponent with the belt' spot four times so as none of your heavy gold prizes feel left out. (I love that AAA Mega Championship, they weren't on TV so we get to see it?) - "Fuck You, Don," indeed.

The Inner Circle v The Pinnacle in 'Stadium Stampede II' (***1/2) - This one had to grow on me for two reasons, first that it's usually pretty unforgivable to co-opt the main event spot from the championship match, and second to law of diminishing returns on dumb gimmick matches. - But grow it did. There's a full on meat locker? Commentary will refer to a cardboard cut-out of Shahid Khan as Tony Khan's father (that's canon now,) and Jericho will lovingly pat it? Konnan happened to be the DJ at whatever night club there is a Jaguar Stadium? Spears surrounds himself dramatically with chairs and his hoisted by his own petard? - Ultimately it comes down to letting Sammy shine. His involvement with the Inner Circle has sometimes come at the cost of being able to showcase that prior to AEW he was an ascendant talent in PWG, on his way to Ricochet level feats of acrobatic excess. Still feel like Sammy could've/should've been the one tossed off the cage a few weeks ago, but even better is being the guy getting the pin in the ring.

[daleisgreat]

Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased

WWE has release a few Shawn Michaels DVDs over the years, but continuing on the theme of my last few wrestling-centered entries, WWE Home Video stuck with their “unreleased” brand of DVDs in 2018 with the three-disc release of Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased (intro - I could not locate a trailer for this anywhere!). In that clip Shawn quips that the producers deserve an award for finding previously unreleased matches. I believe the criteria for this release is still similar to previous “Unreleased” collections where they may have aired on television (and thus likely in the WWE Network archives) or long discontinued VHS tapes, but this DVD will mark the first time the matches are available on disc. Also included is a new interview with Michaels that they broke up in several parts and sporadically inserted throughout the collection. The first disc is something special as it essentially is a “Best of Rockers” DVD. The first two matches are from Shawn’s rookie year in 1985 for Mid-South in quick enhancement matches for Hector & Chavo Guerrero and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Matches serve their purpose, but it is nonetheless fascinating to see how Shawn had that already apparent potential in him way back in 1985. The remaining 11 matches on the first disc are all Rockers matches, with the first three tag matches being from their Midnight Rockers AWA days with two bouts against Doug Summers & Buddy Rose and one more with Brian Knobbs & Dennis “I’m not booked” Stamp. The two Summers & Rose matches are show-stealers that had exhilarating beginning/middle/end structures, and was fun to watch the 1980s crowd go nuts for.

The first disc is almost all AWA & WWF Rockers matches!! For the eight WWF Rockers matches, they consist of almost an all-star lineup of a golden age for WWF tag teams where they square off against the likes of Demolition, Brain Busters, Hart Foundation, Natural Disasters and Legion of Doom. The sad thing about The Rockers back then is that as charismatic and agile as they were back then, they mostly made other teams look good in their WWF run and that is the case here as they lose six of those eight WWF matches. Even worse is the two matches they win is a DQ win against the Rougeaus after Jimmy Hart’s megaphone is used, and a countout win against the Orient Express. That said, a lot of the other matches are pretty damn good, with high honors going to the Brain Busters bout, two Demolition matches and surprisingly working in a lot of good stuff against Legion of Doom. Worth pointing out is another good match against the Hart Foundation where it seems noticeable the teams missed their cue to go home because the match starts to feel there is no end in sight when out of nowhere during an abdominal stretch a bunch of wrestlers run in and an awkward impromptu brawl ensues and the match is declared a draw.

Disc two has 12 matches from Shawn’s first singles WWF run from 1992-1998. Some highlights from this are an unsurprising technical showcase with Mr. Perfect, oddly having a positive dynamic with Bret Hart to team up against the Blu Brothers in 1995 and predictable-yet-high quality formula matches during his first WWF Title run against 1-2-3 Kid and Steve Austin. Disc two has a disappointing triple tag elimination match with Shawn, Diesel and Undertaker against Psycho Sid, Tatanka and Kama filled with lots of stalling and headscratching booking for the eliminations. There is also a questionable match against Vader a month after their controversial-yet-excellent Summerslam match, where in this match Shawn takes 95% of the offense and quickly squashes Vader in three minutes. There is also a fascinating bout against Yokozuna from the summer of 1996 in Kuwait, when Yoko is nearing the end of his WWF run due to him putting on excess weight, and the match kind of expectedly plods along, until something must have clicked for Shawn to motivate Yoko into a pretty watchable match in the back half, and the two show respect afterwards which was awesome to see….until Yoko suddenly darts off to the back like he really has to go to the bathroom. The third disc consists of 10 matches from Shawn’s return run to WWE from 2002-2010. All the matches here are from RAW, so that means they follow the formula that still holds true for WWE TV main events today where it is either a cobbled together tag match, or a really good one-on-one match with interference or a hokey finish. There are a couple exceptions with worthwhile clean matches against Ric Flair during a Japan 2005 tour and against Christian in 2004 when he was building momentum with Tyson Tomko by his side. HBK’s matches against Rob Van Dam, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho are the highlights on disc three, but all three contests have varying degrees of interference to effect the finishes, and in some cases it actually benefits the match as is the case with Angle with the story they were telling. I was delighted to see a post-RAW dark match included with Shawn teaming with Batista against Triple H and Edge. WWE is notorious for usually doing a fun untelevised promo or bonus match for the fans after the cameras go off the air with some quirky moments that would never fly in a televised match. That is the case here with Triple H doing lots of exaggerated selling and fun jawing with the crowd that absolutely ate it all up for a fun time.

Shawn didn't disappoint in his 21st century run, with matches included here that don't disappoint against Ric Flair and Kurt Angle. A couple of promos are uncovered like Shawn doing an open Q&A with the fans when Sensational Sherri was managing Michaels early in his singles run. Another amusing bonus promo is Shawn and Diesel doing a Times Square workout session to hype up their upcoming WrestleMania 11 match with the one-and-only Todd Pentigill hosting. The several interview clips inserted throughout the DVDs has Shawn hitting on certain parts on where he was at that stage in his career and reflecting on the infamous Barber Shop break-up with Marty, his 2002 return, rebooting a less edgy, more goofball version of DX in 2006 and retiring in 2010 (this was filmed before his ill-fated Saudi Arabia return match). From these series of introspections, it was fascinating to hear Shawn think back on why he was not all-in for teaming with Jose Lathario in his WWE Title run, and hearing him settling on being a family man in retirement and turning down multiple

WrestleMania return matches. There are also a few sets of interviews with NXT talent commenting on how lucky they are to have Shawn as a teacher at the WWE Performance Center. Shawn comments a few times here too on being proud of passing on his knowledge, and it is obvious he is genuine on his passion for his new role building talent in NXT. WWE has once again amassed another recommended collection of un-vaulted matches. I am digging this format following the Piper and Macho Man sets where they break up the action every few matches with a set of interviews. Wort mentioning is about a quarter of the 35 matches here have no commentary because they were either dark matches, or from arena shows WWE use to film at regionally in the 80s and 90s and never recorded commentary for and/or lost the rights for the commentary. While there are some skippable matches, the good-to-bad ratio is largely in the positive here, and the not-so-good bouts usually at least have an entertaining backstory or era they emanate from. This all adds up for Shawn Michaels: The Showstopper Unreleased being another must-have installment of the Unreleased branding. Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Getting Rowdy: The Unreleased Matches of Roddy Piper Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[blackkudos]

Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American-Canadian actor, producer, businessman, retired professional wrestler, and former professional football player. He was a professional wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.

Johnson was a college football player for the University of Miami, with whom he won a national championship in 1991. He initially aspired for a professional career in football and entered the 1995 NFL Draft, but he went undrafted. As a result, Johnson signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), but was cut from the team in the middle of his first season. Shortly after, he began training as a professional wrestler.

In 1996, Johnson secured a contract with the WWF and was promoted as the first third-generation wrestler in the company's history, as he is the son of Rocky Johnson and grandson of Peter Maivia. He rose to prominence after developing a charismatic persona of a boastful trash-talking wrestler named The Rock. He subsequently won his first WWF Championship in 1998 and helped usher the WWF into the "Attitude Era", a boom period in the company's business in the latter 1990s and early 2000s which still hold professional wrestling records for television ratings. In 2004, he left the WWE to pursue an acting career and went on a seven-year hiatus before returning in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, before wholly retiring in 2019.

Considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers and biggest draws of all-time, The Rock headlined the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view event ever, WrestleMania XXVIII, and was featured in among the most watched episodes of WWE's television shows, WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown. He has won several championships, being a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time tag team champion, and a ten-time world champion. He was also a Royal Rumble match winner and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion.

Johnson had his first acting role in The Mummy Returns (2001), and played his first lead role in The Scorpion King (2002). He has since starred in numerous successful films, including The Game Plan (2007), Get Smart (2008), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Tooth Fairy (2010), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), San Andreas (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), Moana (2016), Rampage (2018), and Skyscraper (2018). Johnson's most successful box office role has been Luke Hobbs in The Fast Saga films. He first appeared as the character in Fast Five (2011) and helped catapult the film series into one of the top-grossing movie franchises in history. He starred in the sequels, Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Furious 7 (2015), and The Fate of the Furious (2017), as well as the spin-off film Hobbs & Shaw (2019). Another notable franchise starring Johnson is Jumanji, and he has appeared in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and its sequel Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).

Johnson starred in the HBO series Ballers, on which he was also a producer, starting in 2015. The show ran for five seasons and was ranked as HBO's most watched comedy in six years. He has also attained success as a television host, author, and producer. In 2000, he released an autobiography titled The Rock Says... which debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. In 2012, he founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions, which has since produced several films. Consistently ranked among the world's highest paid actors, Johnson made the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list in both 2016 and 2019.

Early life

Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California, to Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson briefly lived in New Zealand with his mother's family, where he attended Richmond Road Primary School in Grey Lynn before returning to the United States. He then attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he spent a couple of years at Shepherd Glen Elementary School and Hamden Middle School. Johnson spent his high school years at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, Glencliff High School and McGavock High School in Nashville, Tennessee, and Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud before the age of 17. Johnson also began playing sports, joining his high schools' gridiron football, track and field and wrestling teams.

Johnson is half-Black (African) and half-Samoan. His father was a Black Canadian, from Nova Scotia, and part of the first Black tag team champions in WWE history along with Tony Atlas. His mother is Samoan and the daughter of Peter Maivia, who was also a pro wrestler. Maivia's wife, Lia, was the first female pro wrestling promoter, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982, until 1988. Through his grandfather Maivia, Johnson is considered a non-blood relative to the Anoa'i wrestling family. In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Football career

Johnson was a promising football prospect and received offers from many Division I collegiate programs. He decided on a full scholarship from the University of Miami where he mostly played defensive tackle. In 1991, he was on the Miami Hurricanes' national championship team. After suffering a number of injuries, he was later replaced in the starting lineup by future Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Sapp.

After Johnson graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of General Studies in criminology and physiology, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League as a linebacker. He was assigned to the practice roster but was cut two months into the season.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1996)

After his football career, Johnson decided to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson got Johnson several tryout matches with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996. Under his real name, he defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show on March 10. and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. After wrestling at Jerry Lawler's United States Wrestling Association as Flex Kavana and winning the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson signed a WWF contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim Albrecht and Mark Henry.

World Wrestling Federation/EntertainmentDebut and Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)

Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers. He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. He was given the nickname "The Blue Chipper" and his lineage was played to on TV, where he was hyped as the WWF's first third-generation wrestler. Maivia, a clean-cut face character, was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience. He debuted on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996. His first match came at Survivor Series, on November 17, in an eight-man elimination tag match; he was the sole survivor and eliminated the final two members of the opposing team, Crush and Goldust. On February 13, 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Monday Night Raw. Maivia then successfully defended the title against Helmsley at In Your House 13: Final Four. He had his first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 13 where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan. WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company. He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War. Behind the scenes, Hart mentored Johnson for his first year in WWF and refused to be booked to take the title from him. On April 20, at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, he lost to Savio Vega by countout but retained the title. Audiences became increasingly hostile toward Maivia, with chants of "die, Rocky, die" and "Rocky sucks" being heard during his matches.

The Nation of Domination (1997–1998)

After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997 episode of Raw Is War and suffering a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind, Maivia returned in August 1997 and turned heel for the first time in his career by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination. He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as The Rock, though he would still be billed as "The Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos.

At D-Generation X: In Your House, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock in under six minutes to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The next night on Raw Is War, Austin was ordered by Mr. McMahon to defend the title in a rematch, but forfeited it to The Rock instead, handing him the title belt before hitting him with the Stone Cold Stunner. The Rock feuded with Austin and Ken Shamrock through the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998. On January 19, 1998, at Royal Rumble, The Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental title. Later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match and lasted until the final two before he was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 29, at WrestleMania XIV, he defeated Shamrock by disqualification once again to retain the title. The next night, on Raw is War, The Rock debuted a new Intercontinental Championship design and would later overthrow Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination to spark a feud between the two. He then successfully defended the Intercontinental title against Faarooq at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31. The stable would then refer to themselves as simply "The Nation".

The Rock and The Nation then feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X, with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, which The Rock won. At King of the Ring, The Rock defeated Dan Severn in the semi-final match and lost to rival Ken Shamrock in the final. The Rock then resumed his feud with Triple H, as the two had a two out of three falls match at Fully Loaded: In Your House for the Intercontinental title, which The Rock retained in controversial fashion. This led to a ladder match at SummerSlam, where The Rock lost the title.

The Rock saw a big uptick in fan support during this time, causing him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated him at Judgment Day: In Your House, after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.

WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–2000)

The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at Survivor Series, where The Rock defeated Vince McMahon's associate, Mankind, to win his first WWF Championship. A "double turn" then occurred as The Rock turned heel again after allying with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their stable, The Corporation, after the McMahons betrayed Mankind. On December 13, 1998, at the pay-per-view named after him, Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Rock had a rematch with Mankind for the WWF Championship. Mankind appeared to win the match when The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw submission move, but Vince McMahon ruled that since The Rock did not tap out, he retained his title.

The Rock continued to feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship, which was traded back and forth between them. First, in the main event of the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Mankind defeated The Rock after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then at the Royal Rumble on January 24, The Rock regained the title in a brutal “I Quit” match, a type of match that only ends if one of the combatants says “I quit” on a microphone. Intended to show a vicious mean streak in The Rock's character, this match went horribly wrong as at the end of the match The Rock hit Mankind in the head with a steel chair eleven times instead of the scripted five- five shots already being a risky amount (most wrestling matches in the Attitude Era involving steel chairs had at most 2 or 3 shots to the head). After the 5th shot, Mankind was still at ringside instead of being two-thirds up the entrance ramp where he was supposed to be, and after the eleventh shot which knocked a bloodied Mankind out, a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview was played over the PA system. On January 31, during an episode of Sunday Night Heat, The Rock and Mankind participated in an Empty Arena match, a match that took place in an arena with 22,000 empty seats where any part of the facility could be used to contest the match. After 20 minutes of chaotic brawling in the ring, the stands, a kitchen, the catering area, an office, the arena corridors and finally a basement loading area, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift truck to win the WWF title. This match was referred to as "Halftime Heat" as it was televised during halftime of that year's Super Bowl. The two faced off again, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, in a Last Man Standing match which ended in a draw, meaning Mankind retained the title. Their feud ended on the February 15 Raw Is War, when The Rock won his third WWF Championship in a Ladder Match after Big Show interfered on his behalf. The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XV.

The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. He then lost the title rematch against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash: In Your House after he was betrayed by Shane McMahon, turning him face again and starting a feud with Triple H, The Undertaker and The Corporate Ministry. On April 29, 1999, WWF aired the pilot episode of SmackDown!, a term derived from one of The Rock's catchphrases. In the episode, The Rock continued his feud with The Corporate Ministry. This led to a match with Triple H, at Over the Edge, which The Rock won, and a match for the WWF Championship against The Undertaker, at King of the Ring, which The Rock lost. The Rock then lost a number one contender's match to Triple H, at Fully Loaded, after interference from "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn. The Rock then defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass match at SummerSlam.

Shortly after SummerSlam, The Rock began teaming with former opponent Mankind and the two became known as The Rock 'n' Sock Connection. They became WWF Tag Team Champions for the first time after defeating The Undertaker and Big Show for the titles on the August 30, 1999 episode of Raw is War. The two performed a number of critically acclaimed comedic skits together, including one called "This Is Your Life", which saw Mankind bring parody versions of people from The Rock's past on television, such as his high school girlfriend and his high school football coach, only to have The Rock insult them. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating, one of the highest ratings ever for a Raw segment. The two lost the titles back to Undertaker and Big Show on the September 7, 1999 episode of SmackDown! and won them back from them on the September 20, 1999 episode of Raw is War. Rock and Mankind then lost the titles to The New Age Outlaws on the very next episode SmackDown!. Rock and Mankind would win the tag titles for the third and final time after beating the New Age Outlaws on the October 12, 1999 episode of SmackDown! before losing the titles to The Holly Cousins on the October 18, 1999 episode of Raw is War.

At Royal Rumble, on January 23, 2000, The Rock entered the Royal Rumble match and was one of the final two remaining, along with Big Show; In an attempt at a "false finish", Big Show intended to throw The Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, before The Rock countered the move on the ring apron, sending Big Show to the floor before re-entering the ring as the winner. However, The Rock's feet accidentally hit the floor during the reversal attempt although those watching the event on TV did not see that. This was played up in the storyline as Big Show provided additional video footage showing this fact, and claimed to be the rightful winner. The Rock's number one contendership for the WWF Championship was then put on the line against Big Show at No Way Out, which Big Show won after Shane McMahon interfered. The Rock then defeated Big Show, on the March 13 episode of Raw Is War, to regain the right to face the WWF Champion, Triple H, at WrestleMania 2000 in a Fatal Four-way elimination match, also including Big Show and Mick Foley. Each wrestler had a McMahon in his corner: Triple H had his wife, Stephanie, Foley had Linda, The Rock had Vince and Big Show had Shane. The Rock lasted until the final two but was eliminated by then-reigning champion Triple H after Vince betrayed him by hitting him with a chair.

Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)

In the following weeks, The Rock continued his feud with Triple H and eventually won his fourth WWF Championship, which he won on April 30, at Backlash, after Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened on his behalf. The following night on Raw, he successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match. On May 21, at Judgment Day, The Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. With the score tied at five falls each, and with seconds left on the time limit, The Rock was disqualified when The Undertaker attacked Triple H, thus giving Triple H the 6–5 win and the title. The Rock won the WWF Championship for a fifth time at King of the Ring on June 25 by scoring the winning pin in a six-man tag team match, teaming with Kane and The Undertaker against Shane McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon, whom he pinned. The Rock successfully defended the championship against Chris Benoit, on July 23, at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam. The Rock had another successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and The Undertaker, on September 24, at Unforgiven.

The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle, at No Mercy, in October. The next month, The Rock feuded with Rikishi and defeated him at Survivor Series. The Rock wrestled a six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship, at Armageddon, which Angle won to retain the title. On the December 18 episode of Raw, The Rock won the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Undertaker, defeating Edge and Christian, before losing it back to them the next night at a SmackDown! taping. In 2001, The Rock continued to feud with Angle over the WWF Championship, culminating at No Way Out in February, where he pinned Angle to win the WWF Championship for a sixth time. The Rock then feuded with the Royal Rumble winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom he lost the title to at WrestleMania X-Seven after Austin allied with Vince McMahon, who interfered on his behalf. On the next night's Raw Is War, during a steel cage title rematch, Triple H attacked The Rock, allying with McMahon and Austin and helping Austin retain the championship. Austin and Triple H then formed a tag team called The Power Trip, while The Rock was indefinitely suspended in storyline. Johnson used this time off to act in The Scorpion King.

The Rock returned in late July 2001, when the WWF was feuding with rival promotions, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), during what's known as The Invasion storyline. In reality, WCW and ECW were purchased by Vince McMahon and the WWF. Many former WCW and ECW wrestlers were then brought onto WWF television and formed The Alliance to compete with WWF in storyline. The Alliance and Vince McMahon then both attempted to persuade The Rock to join their team. The Rock then aligned with McMahon and the WWF. The next month, The Rock defeated Booker T, at SummerSlam, to win the WCW Championship for the first time. He later lost the title to Chris Jericho at No Mercy. The next night on Raw, he teamed with Jericho to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Dudley Boyz. The two then lost the tag titles to Booker T and Test on the November 1, 2001 episode of SmackDown!. The Rock defeated Jericho on the November 5 episode of Raw for his second WCW Championship.

As part of the WWF's battle against The Alliance, The Rock wrestled in a "winner takes all" five-on-five elimination tag team match at Survivor Series where the losing team's company would be dissolved in storyline. He was a member of Team WWF along with Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show. The Alliance's team consisted of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Shane McMahon. In the end, it came down to a one-on-one between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock seemed to have the upper hand, until his teammate Jericho entered the ring and attacked The Rock. Austin tried to capitalize on this by pinning The Rock, but Kurt Angle revealed his true allegiance by attacking Austin. The Rock then pinned Austin, giving Team WWF the victory and forcing The Alliance to disband. The Rock's WCW Championship was renamed the unbranded "World Championship" following the Alliance's loss. At the next pay-per-view, Vengeance, The Rock lost the World Championship to Jericho, who would then unify the WWF and World titles later that night. The Rock then unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the now Undisputed WWF Championship at Royal Rumble.

At the next pay-per-view, No Way Out, The Rock defeated The Undertaker in a singles match. The event also saw the WWF debut of the famed WCW faction New World Order, which at the time consisted of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. This later led to a match between The Rock and Hogan at WrestleMania X8. The match was billed as "icon versus icon", with both men representing the top tier of two generations of wrestling; ultimately The Rock pinned Hogan at WrestleMania X8. Despite The Rock portraying a heroic character and Hogan a villain, a portion of the crowd attending the SkyDome was rooting heavily for Hogan. In an interview in 2013, Hogan said he and The Rock changed the style of the match on the fly based on the crowd's response. After the introduction of the first-ever brand extension, the WWF held a "draft lottery" on the March 25, 2002, episode of Raw. The Rock was the number one overall pick, going to the SmackDown brand before taking a sabbatical from wrestling.

The Rock made a surprise return on a June episode of Raw before going to his assigned brand of SmackDown. There, he was named the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship, which he won for a record-setting seventh time at Vengeance, on July 21, by defeating Kurt Angle and then-champion The Undertaker in a Triple Threat match. The Rock successfully defended the title at the Global Warning event in Melbourne, Australia, against Triple H and Brock Lesnar after pinning Triple H. On August 25, at SummerSlam, after interference from Lesnar's manager Paul Heyman, The Rock lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to Lesnar along with the record for the youngest WWE Champion, which he had set in 1998. In 2018, writing for ESPN.com, Sean Coyle noted in a retrospective review of the event, that following his victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, The Rock "started to see a dip in fan support" and "that dip turned into a plunge" by the time Rock had his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam because fans knew he was leaving WWE to pursue an acting career. This was evident by the fact that he was met with a negative crowd response during his match against Lesnar. After the event ended, The Rock was visibly angry at the crowd reaction. When he tried to do a post-show speech for the crowd, the fans attending the Nassau Coliseum would still boo him. The Rock then took time off to kickstart his acting career.

Final feuds and first retirement (2003–2004)

The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003 episode of SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out. Because of negative fan reaction during his previous couple of matches as a result of his budding acting career, The Rock turned heel again. The Rock then defeated Hogan at No Way Out before assigning himself to the Raw brand. There, he had various small feuds, including one with The Hurricane. He also began performing "Rock Concerts", segments in which he played the guitar and mocked WWE performers and fans in song.

After failing to win a number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock went into another program with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This led to a match at WrestleMania XIX, which called back to their previous two WrestleMania encounters, both of which Austin had won. The Rock won after delivering three consecutive Rock Bottoms, ending their long-running rivalry in what turned out to be Austin's final match. The next night, Raw was billed as "The Rock Appreciation Night", in honor of his victory over Austin. That night, he was attacked by a debuting Goldberg. At Backlash, Goldberg defeated The Rock, who then briefly left WWE to film Walking Tall.

Throughout the rest of the year, The Rock made occasional appearances, reverting to a face character. In 2004, The Rock aided Mick Foley in his feud against Evolution, leading to a reunion of The Rock 'n' Sock Connection. They lost against Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista in a handicap match at WrestleMania XX, when Orton pinned Foley after an RKO. This would be Johnson's final wrestling match until November 2011. The Rock appeared in WWE sporadically following WrestleMania XX. He made returns to provide support for Eugene against Jonathan Coachman, made a cameo in his hometown of Miami and helped Mick Foley against La Résistance. Later in 2004, he hosted a pie-eating contest, as part of the WWE Diva Search, and ended the segment by giving Coachman a People's Elbow. The Rock's contract with WWE then ended and he started his full-time acting career.

Return to WWENon-wrestling appearances (2007–2009)

On March 12, 2007, The Rock appeared on a WWE show after nearly three years, via a pre-taped promo shown during Raw. He correctly predicted that Bobby Lashley would defeat Umaga at WrestleMania 23 in Donald Trump and Vince McMahon's "Battle of the Billionaires" Hair vs Hair match. On March 29, 2008, Johnson appeared to induct his father and grandfather Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson into the WWE Hall of Fame. Johnson's next appearance was via a pre-taped promo on October 2, 2009, during the Decade of SmackDown.

Feud with John Cena (2011–2013)

On February 14, 2011, The Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII, appearing live on Raw for the first time in almost seven years. During a lengthy promo, he addressed the fans and started a feud with John Cena. After numerous appearances via satellite, The Rock appeared live on the Raw before WrestleMania XXVII to confront Cena. After he and Cena exchanged insults, The Miz and Alex Riley appeared and attacked The Rock; he fended off Miz and Riley, only for Cena to blindside him with an Attitude Adjustment.

On April 3, at WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock opened the show by cutting a promo. After appearing in numerous backstage segments, The Rock came to ringside to restart the main event between Cena and The Miz as a No Disqualification match, after it had ended in a draw. As revenge for the Attitude Adjustment Cena had given him on Raw, Rock hit Cena with the Rock Bottom, allowing The Miz to pin him and retain the WWE Championship. After the match, Rock attacked Miz and hit him with the People's Elbow. The following night on Raw, The Rock and Cena agreed to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII the next year. They then worked together to fend off an attack by The Corre, which at the time consisted of Wade Barrett, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel, and Ezekiel Jackson.

The Rock appeared live on Raw in his hometown of Miami to celebrate his 39th birthday. On September 16, WWE announced The Rock would wrestle in a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series tag team match, teaming with Cena at Survivor Series in November. However, on the October 24 episode of Raw, Cena instead suggested The Rock be his partner in a standard tag team match against The Miz and R-Truth, a team called Awesome Truth, which Rock agreed to the following week. On November 14, during the special Raw Gets Rocked, The Rock appeared live, delivering Rock Bottoms to Mick Foley, who had been hosting a "This Is Your Life"-style segment for Cena, and later both members of Awesome Truth. The Rock and Cena defeated Awesome Truth on November 20 at Survivor Series, when The Rock pinned The Miz. After the match, The Rock gave Cena a Rock Bottom.

Leading up to WrestleMania, The Rock and Cena had several verbal confrontations on Raw. On the March 12, 2012 episode of Raw, The Rock hosted his first "Rock Concert" segment since 2004, mocking Cena in his songs. On April 1, at WrestleMania XXVIII, The Rock beat Cena in the main event after countering Cena's attempt at a People's Elbow into a Rock Bottom. This event broke the record for biggest professional wrestling pay-per-view buyrate. The following night on Raw, The Rock praised Cena, calling their match "an honor". He then vowed to once again become WWE Champion.

On July 23, at Raw 1000, The Rock announced he would wrestle for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. During the show, he encountered then-reigning WWE Champion CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena, all of whom expressed a desire to face him. The Rock later saved Cena from an assault by Big Show, only to be laid out by CM Punk. On the January 7, 2013 episode of Raw, The Rock returned to confront his Rumble opponent CM Punk. On January 11, he made his first SmackDown appearance in ten years, getting into an altercation with Team Rhodes Scholars, resulting in him delivering a Rock Bottom to Damien Sandow and a People's Elbow to Cody Rhodes. The Rock closed out the 20th-anniversary episode of Raw, on January 14, with one of his "Rock Concerts", leading to a brawl with CM Punk. The following week on Raw, The Rock was attacked by The Shield. Vince McMahon then asserted that if The Shield attacked The Rock in his title match with CM Punk, Punk would be stripped of the WWE Championship.

On January 27, at Royal Rumble, CM Punk would seemingly defeat The Rock after the arena lights went out and someone attacked The Rock. Vince McMahon then came out and was about to strip Punk of the championship, however, at The Rock's request, he instead restarted the match. This culminated in The Rock defeating Punk to win his eighth WWE Championship. Punk received a title rematch with The Rock, at Elimination Chamber, with the added stipulation that if The Rock was disqualified or counted out, he would still lose the WWE Championship. The Rock would pin Punk to retain the championship. The following night on Raw, The Rock unveiled a new WWE Championship design, with a different center plate and removable customizable side-plates which had his "Brahma Bull" logo. The Rock then resumed his rivalry with John Cena, who won that year's Royal Rumble to set up a rematch of the previous WrestleMania match between the two at WrestleMania 29, only this time with the WWE Championship on the line.

On April 7, at WrestleMania 29, Rock lost the WWE Championship to Cena, ending his reign at 70 days. Despite being advertised for the Raw after WrestleMania, where it was stated that The Rock was still entitled a rematch for the WWE Championship, The Rock did not appear because of a legitimate injury sustained during his match with Cena, in which his abdominal and adductor tendons tore from his pelvis. Johnson underwent surgery on April 23 to reattach the torn tendons.

Sporadic appearances (2014–present)

In April 2014, The Rock appeared in the opening segment of WrestleMania XXX along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. On the October 6 episode of Raw, The Rock made a surprise appearance to confront Rusev and Lana; this resulted in the Rock clearing Rusev from the ring.

The Rock appeared at the 2015 Royal Rumble event during the main event match, where he helped his relative Roman Reigns fend off Big Show and Kane after Reigns eliminated them from the match. Reigns then won the match and The Rock endorsed him in the ring. The Rock appeared at WrestleMania 31 alongside Ronda Rousey, getting into an in-ring altercation with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Rock and Rousey prevailed after he attacked Triple H and she overpowered McMahon. On June 27, The Rock appeared at a live event in Boston where he confronted Bo Dallas and gave him a Rock Bottom.

On the January 25, 2016, episode of Raw, The Rock was in a segment that saw him converse with The Miz, Big Show, Lana and Rusev before he and his relatives, The Usos, got into an altercation with then-WWE Tag Team Champions, The New Day. The Rock appeared at WrestleMania 32 where he announced that WWE had broken the all-time WrestleMania attendance record before being interrupted by The Wyatt Family. The Rock got into a verbal back-and-forth with Bray Wyatt before having an impromptu match with Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan. The Rock won after giving Rowan a Rock Bottom and pinning him in six seconds, which set the record for the fastest win in WrestleMania history. The Rock was then aided by a returning John Cena to fend off Wyatt, Rowan and Braun Strowman. On the February 20, 2017 episode of Raw, The Rock made an untelevised appearance after the broadcast had gone off the air, where he promoted and filmed a scene for his then-upcoming film Fighting with My Family.

On August 3, 2019, The Rock officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling. On September 30, 2019, after weeks of speculation, The Rock announced that he would be making an appearance on SmackDown's 20th Anniversary on October 4, marking his first appearance on SmackDown since October 2014 and his first televised appearance since April 2016. At the event, he would cut a promo with Becky Lynch before they were interrupted by King Corbin. After attacking Corbin, The Rock and Lynch celebrated in the ring.

Independent circuit (2009)

On September 30, 2009, The Rock appeared at a World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) show to support the pro wrestling debut of Sarona Snuka, the daughter of his long-time friend and mentor Jimmy Snuka.

Mainstream crossover

The Rock appeared on Wyclef Jean's 2000 single "It Doesn't Matter" and in its music video. He also recorded "Pie" with Slick Rick for WWF The Music, Vol. 5.

In 1999, Johnson appeared on That '70s Show as his father, Rocky Johnson. The next year, he was on Star Trek: Voyager as an alien wrestler that used The Rock's famous moves.

In 2000, he hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) for the first time. Fellow wrestlers Triple H, The Big Show, and Mick Foley also appeared on the show. Johnson has stated the success of that episode is the reason he began receiving offers from Hollywood studios. He has since hosted SNL another four times.

In 1999, The Rock was listed No. 5 on Entertainment Weekly's Top 12 Entertainers of the Year. In 2000, Access Hollywood ranked him number six in their list of the Top 10 Celebrities of 2000. That year, Rock was also listed in the Forbes Celebrity 100 and People Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People.

The Rock was listed Entertainment Weekly's 101 Most Influential People in both 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he was also listed on E!'s 20 Top Entertainers. In 2002, The Rock was listed on E!'s 25 Toughest Stars. In 2003, he was listed in VH1's 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons and was No. 13 in People Magazine's 50 Favorite TV Stars.

The Rock made a surprise appearance at the official Xbox unveiling during Bill Gates's keynote speech at the ongoing Computer Electronics Show in 2001.

Johnson's motion picture debut was as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001). The movie broke a two-year record for the highest-grossing single day in film history by earning US$28,594,667. The movie's financial success led to Johnson's first leading role, in the spin-off The Scorpion King (2002). He received US$5.5 million for the role and Guinness World Records named him the record-holder for highest-paid actor in their first leading role.

The Rock has appeared on the covers of many magazines, including Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, and TV Guide. He has also appeared in, and been the cover athlete for, several video games.

As of September 2019, his Instagram account is the fourth most-followed in the world.

Legacy in pro wrestling

The Rock has been listed as one of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers as well as one of the top draws in wrestling history. Many have placed The Rock on their "Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling", including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and John Cena. In "Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting", The Rock was described as "for a long time, the WWE's biggest star and probably held the greatest international appeal". R. D. Reynolds stated in his book "The WrestleCrap Book of Lists" that The Rock was "the biggest star for WWE from 1999 until 2004".

The Rock main-evented the most bought pay-per-view worldwide in WWE history (WrestleMania XXVIII), the most bought pay-per-view domestically in WWE history (WrestleMania X-Seven), the highest rated Raw in history, the highest rated SmackDown in history, and was part of the highest rated segment in WWE history. His return in 2001 did a 7.1 rating which was the highest rated segment of the entire year. The Rock was also part of the highest rated match of the 21st century. His WWF Championship defense, on May 1, 2000, against Shane McMahon did an 8.3 rating on the regular time and a 9.1 on the overrun making this match the second most watched professional wrestling match in the United States of this millennium, only behind a 12 minute long match between The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin which drew a rating of 9.5 which is the highest rated segment in Raw history.

In 2011, The Rock's return to an episode of Raw generated an average of 4.7 million viewers in the United States, with 7.4 million tuning in during his promo. Raw 1000 was the highest rated Raw episode of 2012 and his segment with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan was the highest rated segment of the show. In 2013, the night after The Rock won the WWE Championship for the first time in over a decade, at Royal Rumble, Raw got its highest rating of that year.

Derived from one of his catchphrases "lay the smackdown", WWE introduced its second flagship program WWE SmackDown in 1999 which later became television's second longest-running weekly episodic program in history. The term "smackdown" was instituted in Merriam-Webster dictionaries since 2007.

The Rock holds the record for most Raw shows main-evented in one year (38 in 2000), most SmackDown shows main-evented in one year (36 in 2000) and tied with Stone Cold Steve Austin (in 2001) for most PPV shows main evented in one year (12 in 2000).

Film career

Johnson entered Hollywood and the film industry, becoming a star initially through his wrestling popularity and noted work ethic. Over his acting career, he has become one of the highest paid and most successful actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career on television while wrestling. In his first television acting job, in 1999, he played his own father in an episode of That '70s Show called "That Wrestling Show". Nearly a year later, he appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Tsunkatse" as an alien wrestler who fought popular character Seven of Nine. While Johnson was away from WWE, the company continued to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows.

Johnson began his theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002) the action-comedy The Rundown (2003) and the Walking Tall (2004). He played a supporting role in Be Cool (2005) and was the primary antagonist in Doom (2005). Roles in Gridiron Gang (2006) Reno 911!: Miami (2007) Southland Tales (2007). He played a cocky famous American football player in The Game Plan (2007) and Agent 23 in Get Smart (2008). He presented the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards.

Johnson became known for reinvigorating film franchises after portraying Marvin F. Hinton / Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in Fast & Furious 6; while also starring in true-story films Pain & Gain and Empire State (all released in 2013). That same year, he hosted and produced the TNT reality competition series The Hero, and won the Favorite Male Buttkicker Award at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. In May 2013, it was announced that he would executiveproduce and star in Ballers, an HBO comedy-drama series about NFL players living in Miami, Florida. By December of that year, Forbes named Johnson the top-grossing actor of 2013, with his films bringing in $1.3 billion worldwide for the year. Forbes credited the success of Fast & Furious 6, which grossed $789 million globally, and Johnson's frequent acting work as primary reasons for topping the list.

Johnson starred as the title character in Hercules (2014) and reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in Furious 7 (2015). He hosted another reality series for TNT in 2014, entitled Wake Up Call, which saw him "lending a helping hand to everyday people who were facing enormous challenges in their lives" alongside guest experts such as Rocco DiSpirito, Jillian Michaels, and Josh Shipp. It was announced that he would executive produce and star in the horror film Seal Team 666, and is set to play Nick Schuyler in the drama film Not Without Hope. In 2016, Johnson co-starred with Kevin Hart in the action-comedy Central Intelligence and had a lead voice role in the Disney animated film Moana, in which he voiced the Polynesian demigod Maui. He reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in The Fate of the Furious, which was released in 2017. Johnson starred in two other blockbuster movies that year, Baywatch and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon and Dr. Smolder Bravestone, respectively. In 2018, he starred in two action films, Rampage and Skyscraper.

In 2019, he produced and appeared as himself in Fighting with My Family, a comedy drama about WWE superstar Paige and her family, who are also professional wrestlers. Johnson's role within The Fast and the Furious franchise continued with Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, co-starring Johnson and Jason Statham. David Leitch directed the project from a script co-written by franchise-writer Chris Morgan, and Drew Pearce. The film began principal photography in September 2018, and was released on July 26, 2019. Though initially believed to be a part of Fast & Furious 9, Johnson has since stated that he will not appear in the film; instead, opting to begin developmen on a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw. Johnson reprised his role as Bravestone, in Jumanji: The Next Level. With the critical and financial success of Welcome to the Jungle, production on the movie began in early-2019, with a scheduled release on December 25, 2019.

Johnson will star in Netflix's upcoming Red Notice, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. It will be the third time the two collaborate, following Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. The film co-starring Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds, will begin production in fall of 2019. Production on Black Adam is slated to follow thereafter, in mid-to-late 2020. A film centered around Teth-Adam / Black Adam, a part of the DC Extended Universe, was announced to be in development January 2017. Originally cast in the role as early as September 2014 as the antagonist, in a film centered around the superhero Billy Batson / Shazam, his villainous role for Shazam! was re-worked into two separate films. Though Johnson would not appear in Shazam!, he served as a producer and his likeness was used through special effects in flashback scenes. Johnson will co-star with Emily Blunt in The Walt Disney Company's Jungle Cruise, as Frank and Lily Houghton, respectively. Cast in the role in August 2015, the film was announced to be based on the themepark ride of the same name. Jaume Collet-Serra serves as director, with a script by Michael Green from a previous co-written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. In addition to his work on the film, Johnson assisted with re-designing the titular ride for all Disney theme parks. Jungle Cruise is scheduled to be released on July 24, 2020.

Noted for his busy schedule and for developing multiple projects at once, a sequel to the box-office hit San Andreas was announced to be in the pre-production stage with director of the first film, Brad Peyton returning as director along with the main cast (marking the fourth collaboration between the actor and filmmaker following Journey 2, San Andreas, and Rampage respectively). Though originally attached as producer and star, Johnson will now serve solely as the former on a film adaptation of The Janson Directive. John Cena will fill the leading role, with Akiva Goldsman attached as screenwriter. Additionally, he will produce and star in a Netflix exclusive film titled John Henry & The Statesmen, as the titular folklore hero. The film will be directed by Jake Kasdan, from a script co-written by Kasdan and Tom Wheeler. With the first official teaser trailer released in October 2018, the project marks Kasdan and Johnson's third collaboration, following Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.

Johnson will co-produce and star in The King, a film about king Kamehameha Kūnuiākea, founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawai'i. The project will be directed by Robert Zemeckis from a script written by Randall Wallace. The movie will be comparable to Braveheart in tone, given Wallace's work on both films, and will depict the king's role in resolving the wars among the islands of Hawai'i. The King will begin production in 2020. Johnson is also attached to produce/star in a sequel to Big Trouble in Little China, as well as project under development with Shane Black focusing on a new interpretation of Doc Savage. In April 2018, he announced that he is working on a film that will include Chris Pratt as his co-star. On November 14, 2019, Johnson announced a December 22, 2021 release date for the standalone Black Adam film.

Other work

In 2000, Johnson published his autobiography, titled The Rock Says..., which he co-wrote with Joe Layden. It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks. In 2012, Johnson founded his production company, Seven Bucks Productions.

In 2013, Johnson hosted and produced the TNT reality competition series The Hero. In 2014, he hosted another TNT reality series entitled Wake Up Call. In 2019, Johnson started hosting an NBC competition series called The Titan Games.

In March 2016, Johnson partnered with the American fitness apparel manufacturer Under Armour to release "Project Rock". The first item in his partnership with Under Armour, a gym bag, sold out in a couple of days. His second item, a black T-shirt sporting his signature "Brahma bull" sold out after being worn at WrestleMania 32. Johnson also released an alarm clock app as part of "Project Rock" that received more than one million downloads in its first week of release. Since then, they have released sneakers, headphones, and other apparel.

In 2016, Johnson started a YouTube channel titled "The Rock" with the help of online personality Lilly Singh. His first video was called "The YouTube Factory" and featured several internet stars.

In 2019, Johnson announced he would be launching his own competitive bodybuilding show, alongside business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, called "Athleticon" set to rival other long-standing bodybuilding shows such as The Arnold Classic and Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia. The show is set to debut October 9–11, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Personal life

Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. Their daughter Simone was born on August 14, 2001. On June 1, 2007, they announced they were splitting up amicably. Johnson then began dating Lauren Hashian, daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. Hashian and Johnson were married on August 18, 2019, in Hawaii. They have two children.

As of 2014, Johnson has a home in Southwest Ranches, Florida, as well as Los Angeles, California. He also owns a farm in Virginia. In 2009, he gained Canadian citizenship through his father. Though he was previously registered as a Republican, he voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 United States presidential elections. He did not vote in the 2016 U.S. election, and is an independent voter as of 2017.

In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson had the noble title of Seiuli bestowed upon him by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there in July 2004. He received a partial Samoan pe'a tattoo on his left side in 2003, and, in 2017, had the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull.

In February 2020, the WWE announced that Johnson's daughter Simone had begun training at the WWE Performance Center, making her the first-ever fourth-generation WWE Superstar.

Activism and philanthropy

Johnson attended the 2000 Democratic National Convention as part of WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown Your Vote" campaign, which aimed to influence young people to vote. He also had a speaking role at the 2000 Republican National Convention that same year.

In 2006, Johnson founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity working with at-risk and terminally ill children. On October 2, 2007, he and his ex-wife donated $1 million to the University of Miami to support the renovation of its football facilities. The University of Miami renamed the Hurricanes' locker room in Johnson's honor. In 2015, Johnson donated $1,500 to a GoFundMe to pay for an abandoned dog's surgery. In 2017, he donated $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. In 2018, Johnson donated a gym to a military base in Oahu, Hawaii. After the 2018 Hawaii floods, he worked with Malama Kauai, a nonprofit organization, to help repair damages caused by the floods. Johnson has also worked with Make-A-Wish Foundation on a number of occasions.

Championships and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

United States Wrestling Association

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment/Federation

Match of the Year (1999) vs. Mankind in an "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble

Match of the Year (2002) vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8

Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1999, 2000)

Wrestler of the Year (2000)

Ranked No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000

USWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bart Sawyer

Best Box Office Draw (2000, 2011, 2012)

Best Gimmick (1999)

Best on Interviews (1999, 2000)

Most Charismatic (1999–2002, 2011, 2012)

Most Improved (1998)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)

WCW Championship (2 times)

WWE Championship (8 times)

WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)

WWF Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Mankind (3), The Undertaker (1), and Chris Jericho (1)

Royal Rumble (2000)

Sixth Triple Crown Champion

Deadly Games WWF Championship Tournament (1998)

Slammy Award (9 times)

Best Actor (2014)

Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with John Cena

Guess Who's Back or: Return of the Year (2011)

LOL! Moment of the Year (2012, 2013) – insulting John Cena using the history of Boston, Massachusetts, Rock Concert on the 20th anniversary episode of Raw

Match of the Year (2013) – vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29

New Sensation (1997)

"Tell Me You Didn't Just Say That" Insult of the Year (2014) – insulting Rusev and Lana

"This is Awesome" Moment of the Year (2015) – with Ronda Rousey

[auxgod]

The 15 Greatest Wrestling Attires Of All Time

One of the best things about playing a wrestling game is creating your own wrestler and designing their attire. Not only does a wrestler’s outfit choice individualize their own swag to the audience, but it becomes more iconic when you see attire changes at special events like “WrestleMania”. Whether your from Parts Unknown like Undertaker or 

Growing up huge wrestling fans, we’ve seen some of the worst outfit choices in pro wrestling history so today we highlight the 15 greatest wrestling attires in WWE history.

15. Rey Mysterio Jr

The WCW Cruiserweight division had tons of different looks throughout there run but one of the most popular stars to come from that division was Rey Mysterio Jr. Him being an explosive high flyer was already cool to see but him changing his attire weekly with the pants & mask combo was a dope addition,

14. Rob Van Dam

Mr. Monday Night RVD was the Bret Hart of ECW in terms of popularity but moveset not even close. What they did have in common was the customized Singlets they would rock. RVD had many memorable versions. One of our favorites for the Bones/Ying Yang he had during his Hardcore Champion run.

13. Kurt Angle

The Olympic Hero Kurt Angle played off the American Flag color scheme and it worked his entire career. Various formats of Red, White & Blue, Kurt made this his signature look and his 1996 Gold medals completed the image.

12. Kane

From the moment Kane arrived on the scene back in 97, His Black & Red attire known as “Demon Kane” was memorable for how he carried himself. Similar to his brother The Undertaker, Kane really gave zero fucks to the point he would even set people on fire

11. Owen Hart 

Like his brother Bret, Owen Hart utilized the Black & Pink color scheme. His attire was dope and usually stood out for the “King Of Harts” & “Slammy Winner” designs on the singlets. 

10. Harlem Heat

Booker T and Stevie Ray better known as Harlem Heat were an exciting tag team to watch in WCW. 

In the era where tag team wrestling was prevalent, Harlem Heat had the moves, the music, and the attire to be a top in WCW. Whether it be their all Black or All Red attire, it would always be a surprise to see what they color they be wearing.

9. Jimmy Hart

Jimmy Hart had Drip before it even had a name. Known for his Megaphone and colorful airbrushed Jackets, he made the manager role more popular with how involved he was.

8. Ric Flair 

Styling and Profiling, Ric Flair has few robes that pop up over and over again in his career, and the black-and-white robe that Flair wore for the bulk of his then-WWF run from 1991 to 1993 certainly ranks among the most recognizable. 

Most of Ric Flair's iconic robes had recognizable, repeated patterns, but he also wore a few outliers that go beyond even the standard level of Flair bombast

7. Sting 

Sting was already standing out with his bright colored face paint and his blonde hair. But it was when he established his “Crow” Gimmick that It seemingly gave his character and career new life.

6. Bret Hart 

The Best There is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be, Bret Hart had everything you need to be the perfect wrestling. Hist attire stood out rocking the signature Hart Foundation Pink & Black Colorway but he took it to a new level. My Favorite was his 1994 Royal Rumble with the paint splashed.

5. New World Order

In July 1996, The New World Order took over the WCW like a gang showing up in all black.Not only id they take no Shit from anyone, but it worked so well because the world was so use to seeing Hogan in red and yellow. 

That color change in retrospect a transitional work, all the ingredients for the superstar version of Jay are there — the transcendent arrogance, the pop instincts, the unimpressed-to-the-point-of-boredom street-talk

4. Shawn Michaels

The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels is known for having an iconic Wardrobe. Whether it be a regular WWF Raw match or a WrestleMania main event, HBK had legendary attire for days. 

His Texas styled hearts for Royal Rumble 97, or his Black/Green DX tights for IYH always kept you wondering what color way he’d choose next.

3. Razor Ramon 

Slick back hair, tooth pick, and gold chains with instructions to take good care of them during the match, Razor Ramon sold his Tony Montana gimmick was fun to watch because his ever changing gimmick. Seeing him night after night on Monday Night RAW in different attires made you question what color they would choose in certain video games.

2. The Ultimate Warrior 

Ultimate Warrior was known for his outrageous outfits. The man from Parts Unknown, His color choices made him look like a neon blur as he raced toward the ring. But the WWF Universe had never seen the Warrior make such a big deal out of one of his contests that he based his attire around it.

1. Macho Man Randy Savage 

I don’t think I need to go into detail on this one. Savage’s gear really spoke for him when he didn’t have a mic in his hand. It was loud, colourful and somehow managed to make sense for him, though if anybody else wore it they’d look like an idiot

[hyaenagallery]

Chris Benoit (1967 – 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Michael and Margaret Benoit. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, from where he was billed throughout the bulk of his career. During his childhood and early adolescence in Edmonton, Benoit idolized Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington and Bret Hart. At 12 years old, he attended a local wrestling event at which the two performers “stood out above everyone else." Benoit trained to become a professional wrestler in the Hart family "Dungeon,” receiving education from family patriarch Stu Hart. In-ring, Benoit emulated both Billington and Bret Hart, cultivating a high-risk style and physical appearance more reminiscent of the former. Years later, he adopted Hart’s trademark “Sharpshooter” hold as a finishing move. Benoit included a wide array of submission holds in his move-set and used a crossface, dubbed the Crippler Crossface, and a sharpshooter as finishers. He also used a diving headbutt to finish off opponents. The diving headbutt, which saw the deliverer leap off the top rope and land head first on the opponent, was partially blamed for his later head trauma. Another of Benoit’s trademark moves was three rolling german suplexes. This move would be mimicked by multiple other wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar who uses it as Suplex City. During his 22-year career, he worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Benoit is often cited as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Pre-eminent industry historian Dave Meltzer considered him “one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats.” Benoit held 22 titles between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, and ECW. He was a two-time world champion, having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE. Benoit headlined numerous pay-per-views for WWE, including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event match of WrestleMania XX in 2004. #destroytheday https://www.instagram.com/p/CDRbKFHhp1c/?igshid=1c0v77x76vbtc

[jxffhxrdy]

RAW 5/19/2020

Wassup everyone. Back again with opinions that you didn’t ask for on Monday Night RAW tonight 5/19/2020. I am not related to WWE in any capacity, so what I say is not bible. 

The show in general tonight? Sucked. I’m sorry, but it really did. You’d peaked my interest with a Drew/Corbin fight, because I think Drew is the most talented big guy on RAW and Corbin is the best heel on Smackdown. But even THAT let me down. Alright, let us discuss, shall we?

♡Edge Accepts Randy Orton’s Challenge (-)

I mean, duh. God, I am so bored with this. WWE, I played your little game and allowed it with Wrestlemania, since Edge had just come back and let’s face it- I am a big ol’ fan of Adam Copeland. But this is just overworked, overdone, overpromoed, just... over everything. And calling this “the greatest match ever?” Really? In an empty arena and no fans, no pop, no nothing? Please WWE. Chill with that. It just makes me cringe. I could easily list 10 matches of both of theirs that are undoubtedly going to be better than this match. Minus.

♡Murphy vs. Humberto (-)

Jesus christ. I’m sorry, but you cannot take someone who was literally a jobber last week to trying to take on the biggest tag team on RAW. You just can’t do that. You just sent Humberto to the slaughterhouse because you wanted a hispanic wrestler to stand up for a hispanic wrestler. Let’s be real. Now, if Aleister Black had come out for a little pre-match tussle, it would’ve been more forgivable. But this was just random and boring.

♡Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott (-)

Honestly, forgot this match happened. CHARLOTTE FLAIR SHOULD NOT BE ON 3 SHOWS. I see so much of Charlotte Flair during the week that I literally do not care what she does anymore, because I know if she loses a match on Monday, I’ll see her fight on Wednesday and Friday again. Yes, I commend her for working like she does 3 days a week, that must be insane. But it is Charlotte City so much that all of her matches just run together. Give Rhea back the NXT belt, take her off Smackdown, and just keep her on Raw. Less is more here. Also... what is Ruby’s storyline? Redemption? Isn’t that Liv’s story? Like this match just made no sense for either character, unless they’re trying to make Charlotte seem like some tyrant and Ruby even more of a loser than she already is. Seriously, when was the last time that girl won a match? Please don’t turn even more of your female roster into jobbers for the 4HW. 

♡Whatever the Asuka thing was (?)

So it got leaked after Becky’s announcement last week that at MITB this year, we were supposed to get Nia Jax vs. Becky, with Nia taking home the belt. But with her sudden pregnancy and Nia not being the most well liked woman on the roster, they figured giving the belt to Asuka was the safest option. Which, yes, that is correct. I get Asuka and Kairi are cute lil weirdos and they play their parts well, but this was a very weird start to the Asuka/Nia feud. It was just kinda sped through and all over the place. However, I did enjoy including Kairi. I am terrified of them splitting up the Kabuki Warriors. I just don’t really know how I feel. 

♡R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley (-)

The only positive out of this is I absolutely adore R-Truth. He is so damn funny (until he puts those damn teeth in) and I cannot wait to see how he gets Gronk. On the other end with Bobby.... I just really don’t care? I mean, 3 weeks ago, we saw the man flip a tire. Like, that was a whole segment. And if you want Bobby to seem like the biggest badass, why oh why would you put him with Truth? Why wouldn’t you have a Jinder Mahal vs. Bobby Lashley for top contender spot? That would be FAR more entertaining then watching Lashley put the beating on Truth every week. MVP is settling quite nicely into the manager position though.

♡Women’s Tag Team Championship (A BIG -)

I AM FURIOUS. ABOUT THIS MATCH. FIRST OF ALL. Fuck WWE for ending it on a DQ, because if it were a male match, it would’ve been completely fine and not mentioned. I am very very tired with womens’ wrestling in WWE being so quick to DQ. Second, why would you have an ACTUAL tag team lose to this awful combo? Put Nikki back in NXT with Sanity; you can’t deny that would bring BIG interest into NXT. Alexa... I don’t know. She has a horrible mean girl thing about her that I can’t take any of her feuds seriously because she reminds me of high school. I truthfully don’t see her in the title picture, especially not with the likes of Nia and Asuka, But you know who she would absolutely kill with? Zelina fucking Vega. Ruby, maybe? Liv even? The combo with Nikki and Alexa is just so awkward and I’m over it. The IIconics are annoying- BUT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. You can tell they are best friends and have the best chemistry in and out of the ring. They are so entertaining and a genuinely good team. Please. 

♡Shayna Bazler vs. Natalya (-)

Natalya deserves better than a year of losses. That’s all I am going to say about this match. Shayna is very talented and will do very well in the current main title picture.

♡Owens/Crews vs. Andrade/Garza (+) (MVP)

I actually liked this match! Kevin Owens is the fuckin’ man. He is so talented, he’s amazing on the mic, and honestly- he is what kept this episode afloat for me tonight. Plus getting Crews back was amazing; he is the most underused talent on the Raw roster. I enjoyed getting a taste of the Andrade/Garza tag team that’s been rumored for a while and I think once Andrade loses the belt (which is undoubtedly coming shortly), I’d love to see them do some stuff with Street Profits. Or even Mysterio/Black if we get that tag team. I would absolutely love to see Crews get that belt next week, it is time for him to. If he does get it and they’re going the McIntyre/Lashley route they seem to be going on- maybe pair Crews with Jinder? Shelton or Titus maybe? I think that would be great. A lot of potential here. MVP of the night!

♡Murphy vs. Aleister Black and randomly austin theory and seth rollins (?)

So, everyone knows I love me some Aleister Black. I think the man is insanely talented and should be in a title picture ASAP. And honestly, I’m a fan of Murphy too! I think the two of these men have great in-ring chemistry and I enjoy watching them fight. The reason this match is getting a question mark is... Austin Theory? Really? So, I know Theory was kinda brought up to give Angel Garza something to do while Andrade was out on probation, but why on God’s green earth are you going to put him with Seth and Murphy? I was hoping after the split of Zelina’s group, he would go back to NXT and maybe work with Undisputed Era or Cameron Grimes. I also know he’s not been moved from the NXT page on the WWE website to RAW yet. But if you’re planting the seed of him “following” Seth, then when are you going to make that pull official? Should they? No. Theory is not ready yet. He doesn’t have a distinct ring persona yet. Out of the three, Andrade is the cocky workhorse, Garza is the flirty ladies man, and Austin is... there. Send him back and if you want to fill your roster, pull someone who could make some good ass TV (Damien Priest with Aleister Black, thank you). 

♡Axe Throwing (+)

Scrolling on Twitter, it seems to be that a lot of people cannot stand the random competitions between the Street Profits and Viking Raiders, but honestly? I’m a fan! With the empty arena era, all of WWE’s matches are just grunts and ring slaps. Long matches become literally miserable to watch (ie. Orton vs. Edge at Wrestlemania 36). Having these random cutaways, while aren’t wrestling, is something different from the usual. And frankly, I’d rather see this than most of the other matches I sat through tonight. I don’t want to see the Street Profits lose their belts just yet, I absolutely adore them, but I think these cutaways are setting up a really fun feud. 

♡Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Baron Corbin (-)

Drew wins, fucking obviously. Did people REALLY think Corbin was going to win here? Against Drew, who is literally a tank? No ma’am, not a chance. This was kind of a throw away match just to set up the feud with Drew & Lashley... yawn. MVP is the best part of Bobby Lashley right now. I just love Drew McIntyre so much, I never want him to lose the belt ever. Bobby vs. Drew at Backlash, most likely. Whatever man. 

♡General Thoughts

~Please just never let Lana speak anymore. No promos anymore from Lana.  ~More Kevin Owens. More Aleister Black. Yes. ~Where the FUCK is Cedric Alexander and Ricochet? Please bring them back, WWE. Please stop destroying legitimately good tag teams.  ~Lana Never Speak Again 2020 campaign. 

Thanks for reading my rambles and I’ll be back on Wednesday for AEW thoughts. <3 

[darkarfs]

This is gonna make so many horrible people unhappy. EVERY Takeover has had at least one match-of-the-year candidate on it. Some of the most emotional moments in that brand have come from cards that even aren't quite as good. I even considered not doing this list, because, by all accounts, NXT Takeover: Tampa isn't even going ahead. But then I thought, fuck it, let's celebrate, taken all together, for my taste, the best wrestling product in the history of mankind. It's not just moves; it's emotional investment, sharply-focused, character-based storytelling, intricately-performed spectactle from the greatest physical specimens ever to lace their boots. It FINALLY legitimized Western women's wrestling in the mainstream (Michelle McCool, Trish, Molly, Mickie, Jazz, Victoria, you all were stunning performers in your own right, but you and your kind were, until NXT, only given 3 minutes: the longest women's match IN HISTORY, until 'Mania 32, was Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James at Wrestlemania 22, and it got 9 minutes.), it's got some of the greatest tag wrestling ever seen on ANY brand, it's created the longest-drawn storytelling ever, it's the best of the indies, the best of the WWE, wrapped up in a sequence of shows that were epic without being FIVE FUCKING HOURS LONG.

Where do I even start...?

Honorable mention: Takeover: R Evolution (I have to, because I've only got 10) Sami Zayn spends over a year, clawing and sweating and tearing walls down, just to get to the top of the mountain in NXT. He has the opportunity to cheat, but does it his OWN way, as beautiful, unique babyface Sami Zayn...before being no-scoped by his best friend, who debuted THAT NIGHT. The undercard isn't as strong, so I can't officially include it, but this payoff, this triumph, and this tragedy represents everything the first era of NXT was, and kickstarted it, truly, onto its first golden era. So, properly, then...

10. Takeover: Rival If you leave this list feeling like the title reigns, and thus, ERAS, of Zayn/Owens are a little under-represented by it, I completely understand. After all, so much good came from that time. American Alpha soldifying themselves as the dominant tag team, the Iron-Woman match between Sasha and Bayley, Becky Lynch putting all the pieces together, Enzo and Cass actually being GOOD...it was, still, at its heart, a developmental brand at that time. It had indie megastars, yes, but it also had the likes of Bull Dempsey. And that's not a dig at Bull Dempsey, it's just that those early Takeovers were an eclectic mix of skill levels, which is what NXT was at that time. It was a place to showcase these people. That said, some of these cards were truly *fantastic.* Case in point: Takeover: Rival. Not only was the undercard completely stacked (Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze over-delivered; we had the first and still SOMEHOW ONLY Fatal 4-Way match between the Four Horsewomen; and Finn Balor vs. Neville was a solid match of the year candidate), but the main event was the first step in one of the most storied rivalries in the history of wrestling: Zayn vs. Owens. The video package is one of the best NXT ever did, and the match...was a masterpiece of simple-but unexpected booking. Zayn mistimes a leap to the outside, hits his head, and Owens responds by powerbombing him over...and over...and over again, until the ref stops the match. Zayn loses nothing, because he was never pinned, Owens is made to look even MORE the loathsome monster, and Zayn's title reign ends after just a month, without the champion nor the championship devalued in any way. It showed that NXT knew, even then, how to reward fans for their emotional investment.

9. Takeover: Portland Right now, NXT feels like it's approaching the very end of a special time in its life. Like it's on the verge of hitting critical mass. One of either Gargano or Ciampa probably leaving the company after the next Takeover, and the reign of the Undisputed Era seems to be crumbling, too. In yesteryear, this would indicate a raft of very important call-ups, neccessitating a shift in the roster and a period of calm centered around more patient character-building. NXT's existence now as a third brand throws that formula into uncertainty, but it definitely feels like they're ramping up to a finale, because goddamn, this is NXT almost at a point of self-parody. Every match is so. MUCH. Lee/Dijakovic is the pinnacle of HOT wrestling (and Lee, will you marry me?) Bianca Belair breaks out as an actual superstar...just as Charlotte decides to visit and to ruin everything, which is just dreadful timing. Gargano/Balor being everything we need it to be, and also Balor pinning Gargano with his fucking dick. And the Broserweights being VERY DUMB...but also VERY, VERY GOOD. The only thing that lets this card down...and this is obviously subjective...is that NXT has almost come TOO FAR, now, in its delivery on its main events, in that every kickout starts to beggar belief. On the level of Triple H/Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28, in that I still love it, but...hoo, it can be exhausting. Depends on how much Ring of Honor you like in your gumbo, I guess, but it feels like everyone on the roster is racing toward Tampa to explode, like a wrestling Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then MAYBE...things can calm down. Just a hair. Y'know, if Tampa even...still happens.

8. Takeover: Philadelphia If there's one man that's become synonymous with NXT, it's Johnny fucking Wrestling. You know, what would happen if a meerkat put on muscle mass and became the best set-piece wrestler this side of Daniel Bryan. We knew since he started his tag team with Tommaso Ciampa that he was an exceptional wrestler, but it wasn't until Philadelphia, and his INSANE match with Andrade "Cien" Almas, that we saw him as truly the industry's next star. It was the first Takeover match to go over 30 minutes (Sasha/Bayley at Respect went EXACTLY 30, don't @ me), it was the first NXT match to get 5 stars from Dave Meltzer (if that matters to you), and it set a new bar for Takeover main events. And while the undercard doesn't live up to it, it's still loaded with excellent matches. A.O.P. vs. the Undisputed Era is something special. Shayna Baszler makes her Takeover debut, and while she's nowhere near her prime, it cemented her immediately. Velveteen Dream and Kassius Ohno have a very fun match, and Aleister Black and Adam Cole have a ludcriously stupid no-holds-barred match, featuring two men doing with chairs what no one ought to do with chairs. But as good as all of that is, it's really a one match show, but what a match, and Ciampa ending it by being an utter bastard yet again.

7. Takeover: Brooklyn I Does the first Brooklyn Takeover feature Canadian Destroyers, 18 kick-outs and "fight forever" chants? It does not. Does it create moments of wrestling happiness that are rarely, if ever, replicated? It sure does. Firstly, Blue Pants appears and helps the Vaudevillains defeat Blake and Murphy. Seems quaint to look back on it, but it made everyone SO goddamn HAPPY that night. If you're forgetting, Leva Bates (that wrestling librarian in AEW right now) was once a comedy jobber in NXT, who wore Blue Pants. Adorable. Ignore what happened on the main roster (which is something you'll probably have to do with a lot of these shows, I imagine), but the Vaudevillains were once incredibly over (I promise!), and their win was one of several beam-inducing moments from this stellar night. Samoa Joe destroyed Baron Corbin at the height of his game, Apollo Crews debuted brilliantly (again, ignore what happens next!) and Balor and Owens' ladder match was also fantastic. Also, what's Jushin Thunder Liger doing here?? Wrestling like he's in his early 30s, that's goddamn what!! But of course, the reason we're all here is Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, and...there's still something in my eye. Anytime people want to rag on NXT for being "predictable," remind them that giving the people a moment they've genuinely prayed for...is a good thing. Bayley besting Sasha Banks at her prime just made us all...so happy. All of us. Everyone. When that curtain call took place, it was so earned. The narrative of women's wrestling dominated most of 2015, and this moment, this match, was the apex of that narrative.

6. Takeover: Chicago I And speaking of feelings...hello, Ciampa, you godless fuck. And so begins maybe the actual greatest rivalry in all of NXT. It is truly an odyessy, with twists, turns, injuries, betrayals, wounds torn open, and this is the nexus point. Well, the seeds had already sort of been planted, because Triple H knows what he's doing. Ciampa almost ALMOST turns on Gargano after their terrific match in the Cruiserweight Classic, only for the team to die another day...and what a death it was. After a great ladder match, the two stand atop the ramp, and you think "will it happen?" And the absolute bastards show you the copyright logo, just to make you think the show ends there, because it always does, seconds after that happens. You unclench, you breathe out, relax...Ciampa whispers "this is MY moment" and then...It is a perfectly engineered bait-and-switch, and exactly as vicious as it needs to be. Pats on the back, all 'round. This moment alone makes this a worthwhile Takeover, but there's also a hell of an undercard. The women's triple-threat (Ruby Riott vs. Asuka vs. Nikki Cross) is stellar, Bobby Roode and Hideo Itami have their respective best Takeover matches ever, and then there was Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. An absolute show-stealer of a match, a star-making performance for both men (especially Dunne), it cemented the career of several men, and was a fully-formed GREAT show, as opposed to a good show in service to a storyline.

5. Takeover: Brooklyn IV Gargano and Ciampa's battle of brotherhood, betrayal and brainwashing was supposed to blow off at Takeover: New York, but because God hates necks, Tomato Champion was out of action, making this the final singles encounter to date, until Tampa (again, IF it even happens). This is the weakest of their 3 excellent encounters (which still makes it better than any match over SummerSlam weekend), but it also features Johnny Stupid running into a speaker, because his dumb ass can't seem to quit Ciampa. It's one of the greatest long-form feuds for a reason, mirroring Bret and Owen from 1993 into 1994, with all the repeated imagery, the callbacks, the nuances, the psychological cruelty. The street fight at Chicago II is MAYBE better, but this undercard, for me, is a lot stronger. It featured the Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain, aka the Brothers Shithead vs. the Proud Circus Bear and His Beautiful Son. Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 was the closest NXT got to WWE-style storytelling and was still brilliant (remember when EC3 wrestled?), and HEY, wouldn't you know it, Kairi Sane was once a character with dimensions, as evidenced by an amazing match with Shayna Bazsler. But what makes this undercard truly stellar is Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. It is so nice to see Ricochet used well, etc., but I will still never stop pissing myself at Cole nailing him square in the jaw with a superkick WHILE HE'S MID-MOONSAULT UPSIDE-DOWN SWEET JESUS. Sometimes...sometimes...things fall exactly into place.

4. Takeover: WarGames (2018) The WarGames Takeovers are just so silly. It's a silly shoebox, filled with huge, silly men who only barely know why they're killing each other. It's as close as we ever get to WWE's now-terminal problem of "set aside whatever feuds you have right now, because it's Stipulation Month!" (see: Hell In a Cell, most Money In the Bank shows, though Elimination Chamber largely sidesteps this). The other Shoebox Takeovers are really good, no doubt, but this one stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. But there is not a bad match on this card. Kassius Ohno rides Matt Riddle's knee all the way to heaven; NXT shows why 2-out-of-3-falls is fast becoming its signature stipulation with the excellent blowoff between Sane/Baszler; Sexy Mindgames Prince had a star-making match against Tommaso Ciampa, showing why he may be the best overall character in NXT right now, and sweet lord, Aleister Black vs. Johnny Wrestling. It somehow showed that Gargano was JUST AS, if NOT MORE engaging as a dirtbag than as a good guy. And those Black Masses are presents just for me, a guy who tends to like more community theater in his wrestling than flips ("I ABSOLVE YOU...OF ALL YOUR SINS!"). And then we get to the Shoebox, and gosh it's silly! The Viking Experience, Ricochet and Pete Dunne take on the Undisputed Era, and...its a fucking LOT. 45 minutes of spots and smashing, with just a sprinkling of story, with Fish locking Dunne in his cage so he can't participate in the match. Since this seems to be what this match is designed for...let's rattle off some spots! Ricochet, jumping from one ring to the other! That amazing face-off that recreates the Captain America: Civil War poster! Perhaps the beefiest Tower of Doom in all of wrestling! And then Ricochet proving just how amazing he is...with the double moonsault off the top of the cage. What a stupid thing to do in an amazing, amazing show.

3. Takeover: Dallas I get it; a lot of people might not rank this Takeover quite so high. But it might be my actual personal favorite...? Overall...? More than any other Takeover, this show feels the most like it's filled with living, breathing superheroes. Many NXT stars are seen as just indie guys whose only gimmick is "I'm a very good wrestler," making them almost anti-WWE at the core. But NXT doesn't get enough credit for being, at its core, the best aspects of WWE. The showmanship, the things that elevate mere wrestlers to things like monsters, gods, and demons. I will always like my NXT WWE-style: the best wrestling cut with the most theater, the most camp. And Dallas is that concept, writ large. Baron Corbin coming out with lil' skulls on his shoulders. American Alpha finally becoming Super Saiyan Nerds. Asuka killing our hero, because Bayley is a person, and Asuka is a goddess who can perform brain surgery with her feet. Finn Balor coming out and going actual Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Samoa Joe. It's excellent wrestling, near-mythic visuals...and then we get to Nakamura/Zayn. The most special moment of a very special night. It is, from nearly every perspective, perfect. The hype of the crowd, salivating with anticipation. That moment when Nakamura appears in silhouette, and that violin note slides like a knife across steel, to reveal the man who set New Japan aflame. Sami Zayn getting the best possible swan song in a promotion built almost entirely on HIS back. The end of his era. That bit where they just KEEP PUNCHING ONE ANOTHER. I know it's not a perfect show (Balor/Joe stops for 3 minutes to address a cut on Joe's forehead, stalling its momentum; that Corbin/Ares match isn't as good as it could be) but that all means nothing. It's a sentimental choice, and I'd make it #1 if I could.

2. Takeover: New Orleans I went around and around in my head, and this one and #1 kept jockeying for position in my brain. But these top two Takeovers are literally note-perfect, from ship to shore, soup to nuts, top to tails. So if this is YOUR favorite? (Honestly, maybe 1 person I know who loves wrestling as much as I do will even see this mess). I'm here for you, and I understand. But this show has TWO 5-star matches from the Wrestling Observer, and I don't ever agree with that. In this case, I agree with BOTH, in the North American Championship ladder match, and the first (and so far, BEST) match in the Gargano/Ciampa feud. Everything. Is. Amazing. Shayna Bazsler became Women's Champion after BEAST-MODING her SHOULDER back INTO IT'S SOCKET to show that, YES, she gets pro-wrestling. Roderick Strong shocked the world (and the System) by joining the Undisputed Era and becoming the final Chaos Emerald needed to make that stable Super Sonic. Aleister Black took the championship from Andrade "Cien" Almas and SMILED, I fucking SAW IT! And it all depends on what you want from your wrestling, but Gargs/Tamps might actually be the best main event in Takeover history, at least from a storytelling standpoint. The crutch, the neckbrace. Each man going back to their DIY roots (the tag team - they didn't build another ring when that one broke), and then sitting side-by-side, like they did at the Cruiserweight Classic. Brothers. Completely spent. Destroyed. No one but each other. And then Ciampa shits any chance at redemption up the goddamn wall, cementing his own destruction. Every. Bit. Counts.

and #1...

Takeover: New York For a whole bunch of other wrestling fans, this has the greatest main event in Takeover history. But first, let's take a minute to appreciate how lucky we are, or were, that NXT exists. It justfies the existence of WWE, artistically, almost by itself. If this one's only slightly worse than New Orleans, it is argued, it's that the North American title ladder match was TOO good, and hurt every other match on the card. It has been argued. Not by me, but this one is somehow the most perfectly paced, perfectly sized wrestling card, on its own, ever. Every match, through alchemy or magic, manages to enthrall the crowd equally, and completely. The Viking Raiders vs. Grumpy Smaller Undertaker and the Human Pinball was off the hook incredible, and that warm "thank you" feeling has translated, currently to a man trapped in a room and a man trapped in Vince McMahon's scorn for smaller wrestlers, respectively. Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream put on an absolute fantasy match, pitting the best of MMA vs. the best of WWE-style theatricality, and adds to the complete, demented character-world of this brand, and the fact that Dream WINS against one of the hottest new prospects is so deserved, and shows that he can, and will, shine forever brighter. Then AAAAGH WALTER vs. Pete Dunne! WALTER LAYS into poor Dunne, his chops alone having you believe that after the match, he's going to run into the arena's parking lot to FIGHT THE CARS. Then Shirai vs. Baszler vs. Sane vs. Belair and goddammit how do I even expound on that without crashing thesarus.com? And then Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole wrestled for. 40. MINUTES. With Gargano as the defacto heel because it was allegedly Cole's time. And by the match's end, he had the crowd more behind him than maybe they ever had been before. Is it a bit much? Yes. Too many kickouts? Probably. But it stands as the apex of Johnny Wrestling's journey. After everything had been taken from him: DIY, his health, his sanity, even his chance at revenge...the only thing he has left is the NXT Championship. And in that moment, he is invincible, he is more than enough.

What a show. What a host of shows.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

[frankbelloriley]

top ten wrasslin’ matches of 2018

So before I get into this, I’m gonna lay down some ground rules--well, more like tell you the rules I gave myself and those rules are 1) did it make me laugh a bunch and forget about how stupid the world is? (which is the basis for every one of these kinds of lists really) 2) would I show this to someone who had never seen wrestling before? and 3) one (1) match per episode/pay-per-view with one (1) exception for a good reason With that in mind, I’m going to get some honorable mentions out of the way:

Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Kenny Omega vs Chris Jericho for the IWGP US Championship, and the Fatal Four Way for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship between Marty Scurll, KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi, and Will Ospreay from Wrestle Kingdom 12-- they’re all really good and fun and worth checking out, but another Wrestle Kingdom 12 match is going on this list

The other two Chris Jericho NJPW matches versus Tetsuya Naito and EVIL--not on this list literally only due to the “one match per ppv” rule, but they’re all very fun, Chris Jericho is delightfully dickish and you should watch them in order to see Chris Jericho become a progressively more goth dad (he out gothed a dude named “EVIL” (all caps theirs, not mine) that’s how goth Chris Jericho got)

As much as it pains me and as much as it is a testament to what good wrestling there was in 2018, none of the Johnny Gargano-Tommaso Ciampa matches (1, 2, 3, which I can’t find online and whatever) are on this list (my favorite is probably their second match), and neither is Velveteen Dream-Tommaso Ciampa which rips (can I interest you in a fight between a Prince inspired wrassler who refers to himself in the third person and whose act became a giant subtweet of Hulk Hogan against just the biggest asshole in the world?). There is only one Johnny Gargano match on here, and if I’m writing a list of the best character arcs in 2018, the list goes Gargano’s redemption only to succumb to the dark side, Kazuchika Okada’s existential crisis after losing the championship, and Becky Lynch becoming The Man in that order. Becky’s arc really only started four-five months ago and much of it was spent by creative trying and utterly failing to get the crowd to boo her, and Okada’s arc was, by design, slow and frustrating after he lost the championship, but Gargano basically started the year as Luke Skywalker getting his hand cut off and ended the year as Kylo Ren yelling at a ghost on the salt planet, with every character turn making sense. It’s fascinating.

Speaking of, no Aleister Black-Johnny Gargano at NXT War Games 2 match which might be as pure a classic wrestling story as there is, second only to the Gargano match that is actually on here. (In real life, Aleister Black hurt his leg, so in story, they explained it that he got attacked in the parking lot by an unknown person, so the mystery of who attacked him would go on for months (coincidentally the same amount of time it would take someone to recover from an injury like Aleister Black’s) until Johnny Gargano fessed up to the act by kicking him in the face, so now Aleister is seeking justice. Wrestling is delightfully extra.

Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair vs Asuka TLC match for the Smackdown Women’s Championship (no link, couldn’t find)-- whew (not “woo” in this house we boo the woo) Asuka was finally Asuka again (her first and last ppv matches in 2018 (this and against Charlotte at Wrestlemania) are super great and everything else is super not), Becky Lynch continued being the actual greatest, and I literally do not know how Charlotte Flair did not end up in the hospital after this. It’s not making the list for how the match ends in bullshit fashion even though it ends perfectly in character with consistent story logic (a pleasant fucking surprise from WWE especially considering, again, the rest of Asuka’s year)

None of the Shayna Baszler-Kairi Sane matches (can’t find NXT Takeover Brooklyn 4, but I found Evolution and NXT War Games II) (NXT was really good this year), which is a shame because all of which are great, but my personal favorite is on Evolution, and another match beats it out. As I’m writing out the list, I realized there aren’t a bunch of women’s matches, but that’s because WWE’s creative ideas for its women’s division was garbage until the Becky Lynch turn happened in August and got a crowd reaction they super didn’t want and tried to change until they were finally forced them to lean into it. However, Evolution was easily the best main roster WWE ppv.

Nothing from All In literally only because that show is for Wrestling Fans, and this list is supposed to be a “if you’ve never watched wrestling in your life” list. All In is good good fun, but if you show it to someone who’s never seen wrestling before, they’re gonna ask why are there dick druids, and you’re gonna have to explain that Joey Ryan, a dude who wrestles with his dick, came back to life after being murdered and the number one suspect was the guy from Arrow (really). Get into wrestling, then watch that PPV.

Good god, that’s a lot of honorable mentions. Anyway:

10. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens, an open Intercontinental Championship Challenge on Monday Night RAW, August 27th - this is just a really fun wrestling match between two talented guys who were stuck in other feuds that were prolonged needlessly in 2018, and it was just fun to see these guys branch out, do something different, and tear the house down against each other like, “oh yeah, these two are really good at what they do, I almost forgot.”

9. Andrade Cien Almas vs. AJ Styles - Smackdown Live on September 18--Like Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins, AJ Styles was stuck in bad storylines that meant to make him look like a strong champion but ended up making him look like a plot armored goober. Here we have the story of the cocky upstart Almas taking the veteran champion Styles to his absolute limit with a finish that is smooth as hell.

8. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Will Ospreay, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship at NJPW Dominion on June 9th - Spoiler for the number two entrant but this is where I’m breaking the “one per ppv rule” because Hiromu Takahashi has a broken neck and no one knows if he’ll ever wrestle again, so this might be his swan song. (He doesn’t break his neck in this match, I wouldn’t introduce him like that) These are two dudes who flip with zero caution to themselves with some incredible flippy shit. Watch it and pray for Hiromu to make a full recovery.

7. Six Man Ladder Match for the NXT North American Championship with Adam Cole, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, EC3, Killian Dane, and Lars Sullivan - Okay, so, about this. Excepting Killian Dane and maybe Lars Sullivan, everyone here has had a better match elsewhere this year (Lars probably had a better match against Keith Lee, Adam Cole had his best match against Ricochet, Ricochet and EC3 had their best matches against Velveteen Dream, and Velveteen Dream had his best match against Tommaso Ciampa), but everyone gets a moment to shine here, and this is the NXT introduction of Ricochet who is basically a flippy videogame cheat code who is made out of some sort of alien substance. At one point the two large men Lars Sullivan and Killian Dane toss Ricochet across the ring to each other like they’re playing fucking catch. It’s hilarious and maybe the fifth most insane thing that happens here. If someone was to come up to me like, “I know nothing about wrestling, what should I watch to find out if I like it?” I would probably show them this.

6. Kenny Omega vs. Tomohiro Ishii,  G1 Tournament Match - I’m laughing just thinking about this match. I don’t think anyone would call Tomohiro Ishii the best wrestler in the world, but I love him with my heart. Kenny too, but a boyish giggle comes out of me every time Tomohiro no sells someone slapping the utter shit out of him and he says (presumably) something like “that it?!” (I’m a fan of this gif of Pete Dunne slapping a no-selling Tomohiro for Pete Dunne shaking his hand afterwards. Physical comedy!). Anyway, the story here is Kenny Omega has gone 6-0 in this tournament, Ishii (who he has a competitive history with) has gone 0-6 in the tournament, so Kenny takes him for granted and when he realizes his opponent won’t go down that easily, it’s too late. It’s quick, it’s fast paced, and very fun.

5. Meiko Satomura vs Mercedes Martinez, Mae Young Classic Quarterfinals - I had no idea who these women were before the Mae Young Classic, but I loved Meiko with her first match in it, while Mercedes was just, you know, fine. But this? Wheeew. Two veterans giving it their all, and if you don’t turn into a Michael Scott crying gif after when they show each other respect, we ain’t the same.

4. Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas, NXT Takeover: Philadelphia -  Going with this one because it’s the most newbie friendly match, it kicks off Johnny Gargano’s year storyline at the finish, and Andrade Cien Almas is really really good at his job. It’s a simple “good guy versus arrogant heel” match, and Andrade comes out to a masked mariachi band as his entrance.

3. Kota Ibushi vs Cody Rhodes, Wrestle Kingdom 12 - there are probably better matches from Wrestle Kingdom 12 but this is my list so fuck you but this is the match where pro wrestling finally clicked with me after starting to watch it because of GLOW. Folks, this is a 20 minute Jackie Chan fight with Kota as the daffy Jackie Chan-like hero and Cody as Anime Biff Tannen. It is fast, has some wild acrobatics, and it is funny as hell.

2. Kazuchika Okada vs Kenny Omega, 2/3 Falls Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (Part 1, Part 2), NJPW Dominion on June 9th - If the last one was a comedy, this is an epic. This thing last an hour and a half, and it goes by in a flash. The entire Okada-Omega series is basically wrestling’s Lord of the Rings, and this is its Return of the King. The only reason it’s not number one because of the match’s lack of follow through in the months since, but man, this is great.

1. Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair, Last Woman Standing Match at Evolution (start at 29:45 then watch the end here)- *types then deletes a bunch of unintelligible vowels* Okay, so this is the first match that really took advantage of the NXT Horsewomen since their call up in a good long while and it rules. I’d say Bayley, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch had been given nothing for 2018 until August, but “nothing” would be a step up in some cases *cough* group therapy *cough* *cough* Nia Jax injuring every single one of them plus others and the only reason she still has a job is that she’s The Rock’s cousin *cough* Charlotte had her Wrestlemania match against Asuka, but this? This is mean, this is rough, this is the story of a girl, no this is the story of two former friends wanting to throw the other through a table. When pro wrestling is bad, it’s “what the fuck am I doing with my life watching this shit” bad, and when it’s good, there is nothing like it. This is the latter (not the ladder, but there are those here).

[gamerssphere]

It was finally the time for us to see the Money In The Bank pay per view of the year, an event where we got to see a lot of fights, taking up a lot of time, with a lot of ladders. Let’s check what happened during this event.

Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass

The first match of the night had the recently-recovered duo of Daniel Bryan and Big Cass going against each other. Since the beginning, the crowd let us know who they were rooting for with their “YES! YES! YES!” chants.

Cass came in really confident, and he handled the times of the match really well, with Bryan only being able to counter every once in a while, always being supported by the entire coliseum. Of course, there was an Achilles’ Talon for Cass: his left knee, and Bryan was going to use that against him. At this point, Bryan starts getting momentum and gets the upper hand on Cass by even throwing himself from the top rope of the corner to Big Cass who was outside of the ring.

Unfortunately for Big Cass, Daniel Bryan was finally able to lock his submission, making him tap out and lose this match.

We get a segment with The New Day and Kevin Owens, where the longest reigning Tag Team Champions are still trying to decide who will be at the Money in the Bank ladder match, and Kevin Owens gets in there with some pancakes. The usual odd segment we get in PPVs.

Sami Zayn vs Bobby Lashley

This match is happening, pretty much, because WWE creatives have no idea about what to do with The Walking Armageddon, Bobby Lashley. This has been an absurd feud, with just so much stupidity that I can’t wait for it to be over, hopefully, with Lashley destroying Zayn.

The match started the way we would’ve expected: with Sami running around, trying to get Lashley to make a mistake. Remember that Kevin Owens vs Goldberg match for the Universal Championship? Same thing.

This match makes no sense. Lashley is a beast, and he starts by getting handled easily by Sami. A simple punch to Lashley’s back takes him down. That’s just not believable at all. Finally, Lashley starts attacking Sami, this is what we can believe, he can destroy his competition. Why is he not in any Championship match?

In the end, Lashley hits a Flag Suplex on Sami and covers him with just one hand to his chest to get the pin. Useless match, really.

Intercontinental Championship – Seth Rollins vs Elias

We get another segment, this time, a musical one with Elias. Love him or hate him, dude knows how to handle the crowd, and he can play the guitar for sure. The crowd is actually listening to him, but he decides to stop playing. Seth makes his entrance to start the match.

We have to admit that, when it comes to RAW (and even maybe, SmackDown Live), Seth Rollins is the best wrestler, bringing the Intercontinental Championship up the ranks -mostly knowing how the Universal Championship has been useless for the past 2 years- as he keeps an Open Challenge for the belt, defending it pretty much every single week against whoever is up for the challenge.

Seth starts by attacking Elias and handling for a bit; however, Elias is able to counter by causing Seth to hit his neck on the apron. Remember, Seth has been attacked by Elias the last couple of weeks, causing him some -possibly- minor injury in the neck area.

We see the first drop of blood in the event when Seth starts bleeding from his mouth.But this doesn’t stop our champion, who takes out all of his arsenal against Elias, just the way a championship belt should be defended. Every single Pay Per View at least.

Rollins seems to have got injured, his right knee might be in troubles after he jumped from the top rope above Elias, and this is something the challenger takes advantage of, almost pinning the champ. Even with this possible injury, Seth is using all of his moves, and the best part of it is that Elias is taking them like a champ, too. Elias goes nuts attacking Rollins outside the ring, against the ringside wall, the corner post and then against the metal steps. Rollins kicked out of the pin at 2 and a half.

In the end, Rollins wins in a rather controversial way, as Elias made a count but Seth held Elias’ pants to get the pin. This feud isn’t over, and I’m glad about it.

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch vs Ember Moon vs Natalya vs Naomi vs Lana vs Alexa Bliss vs Charlotte Flair

This year, unlike last year’s match, involves 8 women, 4 for each brand. All of them wanting both, a contract that they can cash in at any moment in the next 365 days for a championship match opportunity, and the bragging rights for their brands, being able to say their brand brought in the contract. This might well be a new kind of Bragging Rights.

I’m rooting for RAW on this one, given how SmackDown got the very first Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

As soon as the bell rang, all 8 women started the action. They are fearless and reckless this time; however, for some reason, they seem to prefer using their normal attacks against each other rather than giving a different use to the many ladders around the ring. The first one getting hit with a ladder is Sasha Banks, as Ember Moon used a moonsault and got Sasha to fall on top of a ladder, followed by Lana hitting her finisher on the edge of the ladder to get Ember out of the ring, knocked out, but before she was able to set the ladder, Natalya hit her on the ladder too, and defended herself against Naomi. Charlotte is finally the only one in the ring, until Becky appears to fight her best friend.

At this point, there are bodies everywhere, this is war for sure. We start seeing a pseudo team between Naomi and Ember Moon, in order to take Becky Lynch out of the action.

Now we get to what seems to be the culmination of the match, every woman is on top of a ladder, as Lana brought a super big ladder, this might just be what Alexa Bliss needed since she couldn’t reach the briefcase on a regular ladder.

  Interestingly enough, Lana seems to be the one closer to winning, but the Naomi gets to the briefcase and couldn’t get it out of the hook, so Beckly Lynch capitalizes on this mistake, but Charlotte goes against her friend, until Alexa takes the ladder down, just to get a spear by Charlotte.

In the end, Becky Lynch got to the briefcase, and couldn’t get it off the hook either, just to get thrown down the ladder by Alexa Bliss, who ended up taking the briefcase. What an amazing match this was!

[su_spoiler title=”Match Photos” style=”fancy”]

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Now to another segment, this time between both General Managers, Kurt Angle and Paige, who discuss about RAW getting the first briefcase and discussing about the next ladder match, for men. Baron Corbin appears to interrupt, only to get owned by Paige as she tells him that he is just angry because he unsuccessfully cashed in his Money in the Bank contract last year.

Jinder Mahal vs Roman Reigns

This feud is…I don’t even know what adjective to give in here. Basically, Jinder has attacked Roman before, costing him some wins. Roman claims Jinder is the cause of him not being Universal Champion, but being fair, that’s on the referee who decided to give Lesnar the win over him in their Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

This is just a “random” match. Roman starts by handling the Modern Day Maharaja easily, until Sunil Sighn interferes and pushes Roman against the corner post. After that, Jinder started owning the match.

Usually, it is fun seeing a match where both wrestlers get the upper hand for a while against each other. This match is not one of them. It is not hyped at all, it is not important either. This match, shouldn’t have happened. Even the crowd is chanting about other wrestlers, not about this match, there’s a wave going on in the crowd as well, they couldn’t care less about this match, I’m on the same boat.

Oh! There’s blood in Jinder’s face. This is picking up my interest now. Roman hits the Superman Punch on Sunil and Jinder, hits Sunil with a Spear, the Maharaja receives another Spear and Roman wins. What a surprise…

SmackDown Women’s Championship – Carmella vs Asuka

Carmella starts by showboating quite a bit, this is a rather dangerous strategy, as Asuka stars attacking with all of her usual intensity. Of course, Carmella tries to run away with her belt, but Asuka doesn’t allow her to do so as she attacks the champion from the apron.

The champ locks here “Silence Code” on Asuka, but without locking her feet, which allowed Asuka to escape the lock. Interestingly enough, Carmella is bringing the fight to Asuka, and that’s certainly good to see given how just a few have some hopes on the champ; however, it could certainly hurt if Asuka doesn’t win, as the WWE would be giving the Empress of Tomorrow too many loses recently.

Unlike what everybody would’ve thought, this match is really good, and Carmella is super competitive against the Empress of Tomorrow.

Wait! What the hell is going on. Another person, with Asuka’s mask appears on the apron, and Asuka is completely lost in the match now. This person takes the mask off, it is James Ellsworth! And Carmella hits Asuka with a Super Kick and retains her title! What the hell?!

WWE Championship – AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura

This is certainly the final round in this feud, a Last Man Standing match can’t be used for anything else, right?

Quickly, the match went outside the ring, with both competitors causing as much pain in the other as possible; however, it is too early to have a 10 count, even if they are doing everything to knock their opponent out. They are not using any weapons, though, and I want blood.

Nakamura is dominating the match so far and AJ looks hurt and without air. I’m getting worried about the champ’s form right now. It was just a matter of time before the fight went to the crowd, as they went to fight right where the crowd is, I wouldn’t have expected less from this match.

They are really hurting each other, and we can see the result in AJ’s face. So far, the match has been rather clean, with both wrestlers attacking each other with everything they have, without using external objects or anything.

Nakamura throws AJ to the top of one of the commentators’ tables and ends up hitting the Kinshasa on AJ, but the count ended at 9 as the champ got back up. Nakamura seems to be on the way to win this match, and the championship, but AJ is taking every hit and getting back up. Nakamura takes out a table from under the ring, interestingly enough, AJ is on the mat in the ring but there’s no count going on.

Nakamura gets the table to the ring, and gets AJ to go through it, but again, the count ends at 9. If Nakamura is to win the championship, this is when. Of course,  Nakamura hurts his knee giving AJ the possibility to capitalize on it, going as far as hitting the Calf Crusher and getting Nakamura to tap out, but this match is only won by a 10 count.

AJ hits Nakamura with a chair, and the heel even pledges for some mercy just to hit AJ with a low kick, again, followed by a another Kinshasa, but the count went just up to 9 again. AJ goes and hits the Styles Clash from the metal steps to the floor, Nakamura seems to be done, but he gets up at 9 and a half for some reason. What a match!

The champ hits Nakamura with a low kick as well, and hits a Phenomenal Forearm from the ring to the announce table and gets the 10 count! The champ has retained!

[su_spoiler title=”Match Photos” style=”fancy”]

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RAW Women’s Championship – Ronda Rousey vs Nia Jax

Is Ronda ready to become a WWE Champion?

The match starts super aggressive with Nia attacking Ronda in the corner, Ronda tries to lock here armbar but Nia picks her up and takes her out of the ring. Nia is now dominating the baddest woman in the world.

Ronda is trying to attack Nia, but there’s nothing she can do right now, or at least that’s what it looks like. Nia is simply killing her in the ring, but Ronda keeps kicking out of every pin attempt, bringing frustration to Nia’s face and attack.

Ronda is going to do anything it takes to win this match, locks the armbar using the ropes and hurts Nia, then goes to the top rope and hits Nia, throws some punches and even hits a side suplex on the champ.

[su_spoiler title=”Match Photos” style=”fancy”][/su_spoiler]

Ronda is ready to lock her submission, but Alexa Bliss appears attacking Ronda with her newly acquired briefcase, and takes her out, along with the RAW Women’s Champion.

RAW Women’s Championship Part 2 – Alexa Bliss vs Nia Jax

Alexa cashes in her briefcase and the crowd went completely crazy as she hits Nia with everything she has to become the new RAW Women’s Champion!

[su_spoiler title=”Match Photos” style=”fancy”]

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Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor vs Rusev vs Kevin Owens vs Bobby Roode vs The Miz vs Braun Strowman vs Kofi Kingston

Same as with the women’s match, we have 8 contenders in here, 4 for each brand, and they are all seeking the same thing: to reach the Money in the Bank briefcase to, hopefully, do the same as Alexa Bliss just did, and become the next big champion.

The match starts as we all thought, every wrestler attacking Braun Strowman, but this is able to get them out of the ring. Braun might be the favorite, but it will always take the attack of everyone to just try to keep him out of the battle. This is a 7 on 1 match, and there’s no other way this could’ve been.

At one point there’s only Finn and Kevin Owens in the match, but all their hits look fake, I have not seen such an awful match-up in WWE in a long time, I can’t believe these two can’t sell their punches and moves in this stage, I’m completely disappointed in both of these guys, but luckily, Rusev takes Kevin Owens out, just to be taken out by Samoa Joe, ending up with Kofi taking Joe out. Might Kofi be the one to win this match?

At this point, Braun comes back from under the ladders, but he is taken down by attacks from Samoa Joe, Rusev and Kevin Owens, but Braun is able to counter their attacks, ending up with a knocked out Kevin Owens as he threw him from the top of a super tall ladder through a table.

This is not a match about getting the briefcase, it is about damaging the Monster Among Men, and that’s the best that could’ve happened to this match.

With Braun out, Rusev takes everybody else out, but when he was about to get the briefcase, Miz took the ladder down, and went up the ladder, but, Braun appears again, taking everybody out and finally getting the briefcase. We have Mr. Money in the Bank now!

[su_spoiler title=”Match Photos” style=”fancy”]

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This is certainly Braun’s year, and this years Money in the Bank was one of the best in recent years. RAW certainly earned the bragging rights as it took home both of the briefcases, with one of them already getting successfully cashed in.

#WWE #MoneyInTheBank 2018 - Where's My Money? #MITB It was finally the time for us to see the Money In The Bank pay per view of the year, an event where we got to see a lot of fights, taking up a lot of time, with a lot of ladders.

[azpartygirlz]

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021

CODE ORANGE

at 191 Toole (info/tix)

Code Orange’s 2020 album UNDERNEATH represented a creative and critical high mark for the band. It closed out last year on multiple year-end lists.  NPR celebrated it among “The 50 Best Albums of 2020” declaring, “UNDERNEATH’’s liquid metal soundtracked a molten catharsis of confusion and rage.”  The New York Times named it among the “Best Albums of 2020,” and Billboard touted it as one of “The 25 Best Rock Albums of 2020,” going on to applaud how,“The band’s greatest strength remains that unpredictability.” Landing on “The 25 Best Albums of 2020,” Revolver urged, “You could never question their creative ambition; on UNDERNEATH, those ambitions are fully realized. Stand back in awe.” Consequence of Sound proclaimed it one of the “Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020.” In its “The 100 Best Albums of 2020,“Noisey put it best, “Fitful and frightening, this album sounds like the dying cry of the modern world.” Furthermore, Code Orange have also garnered a 2021 GRAMMY Award nomination in the category of “Best Metal Performance” for the title track “Underneath.”

UNDERNEATH is available on all streaming platforms, and features the singles - “Swallowing The Rabbit Whole,” “Underneath,” and “Sulfur Surrounding.” In its wake, the band performed multiple unforgettable livestream experiences, including “BACK INSIDE THE GLASS” an all-immersive environmental experience placing Code Orange’s live show at the center of awe-inspiring virtual landscapes. It marked Code Orange’s third groundbreaking livestream of 2020, following their revolutionary empty venue record release show, “LAST ONES LEFT: In Fear of The End,” and “UNDER THE SKIN,” their first-ever stripped down performance, which is available now as a digital album on all streaming platforms. Additionally, Code Orange have continued to reach fans across the globe through their “YOU AND YOU ALONE” livestream series, which features collaborative performances, playthroughs, and in-depth discussions + fan Q&A’s broadcasting regularly on the band’s official Twitch channel.

Produced by Code Orange’s Jami Morgan and Nick Raskulinecz with co-producer Will Yip,UNDERNEATH features additional programming from Chris Vrenna, and was mixed by Yip and Code Orange’s Eric ‘Shade’ Balderose.  NPR declared “[it] devours a body of extreme sounds — sludge, noise, metallic hardcore, doom, grunge, industrial and whatever else it takes to make the mosh pit swarm — to make uncompromisingly chaotic metal.”  Stereogum detailed UNDERNEATH as “a conceptual piece about online poisoning…” adding, “the experience of hearing it on headphones is akin to getting torn limb from limb by cybernetic terminators,” while the The FADER attested, “Code Orange sound like no other metal band around right now. Underneath is their shot at the stars.”  The UK’s Metal Hammer gave UNDERNEATH a perfect 10 out of 10 album review, hailing the LP as “a 1,000 ft neon signpost for the rest of the metal world to follow, the first classic record of the decade.” Kerrang! awarded UNDERNEATH a flawless 5K review declaring the album, “one of the most powerful, cathartic, creatively satisfying and bruisingly heavy records of its age,” with Rolling Stone praising Code Orange’s, “cutting melodies and the group’s balance of industrial rattle and shock-treatment guitar riffs.”  Revolver affirmed, “The record is one of the most colossal and best sounding hardcore-adjacent albums of all time.”

Furthermore, Code Orange made headlines in the professional wrestling world earlier last year with their performance of “Underneath” at WWE’s NXT Takeover: In Your House event. Code Orange previously released “Let Me In,” their official entrance theme for WWE Superstar ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt, and featured at WWE’s NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III performing a rendition of wrestler Aleister Black’s entrance theme alongside Incendiary’s Brendan Garrone.

Comprised of Jami Morgan (Drums / Vocals), Eric ‘Shade’ Balderose (Electronics / Guitar / Vocals), Reba Meyers (Guitar / Vocals), Dominic Landolina (Guitar) and Joe Goldman (Bass), Code Orange flipped the heavy music world on its head with their breakthrough albumFOREVER, a collection that masterfully mixed hardcore aggression with urgent industrial textures, earning the band a breakthrough GRAMMY nomination and top placement on several “Best of 2017” lists including: Rolling Stone’s “20 Best Metal Albums of 2017,“Revolver’s “20 Best Albums of 2017,” and The Independent’s “Top 20 Rock & Metal Albums of 2017.”  FOREVER was followed by the 2018 release of THE HURT WILL GO ON, a digital EP featuring “3 Knives” and “The Hunt” Feat. Corey Taylor, as well as “The Hurt Will Go On” (Shade Remix), an official remix of Code Orange’s “Hurt Goes On” helmed by the band’s guitarist and vocalist Shade. More recently the Code Orange has collaborated with a wide array of artists, co-producing Injury Reserve’s “HPNGC” Feat. JPEGMAFIA, serving up a pair of remixes for alt-J’s “Hit Me Like That Snare” and “Adeline,” and guesting on Amnesia Scanner’s “AS Flat.”

[atomic-reality]

Top 10 Greatest WWE Wrestlers of All Time 2021

[daleisgreat]

Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man

Freak out, freak out, oh yeahhhhh…..sorry I could not resist, but kicking off an entry with that iconic catchphrase means it is time to cover a Macho Man home video collection. In 2018 WWE gave Macho Man the ‘Unreleased’ DVD treatment, a line of several DVD match collections containing entirely never before released on home video matches. I already covered one on here several months ago dedicated to Hulk Hogan, so it would only seem appropriate to cover another one dedicated to his Mega Powers partner, Randy Savage. Like the Hogan DVD, it has a gratuitously long title in the form of Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man (trailer). If you are into these ‘Unreleased’ sets, then check back here later this year as there are two other semi-recent installments I plan on knocking out by the end of this year. Randy Savage Unreleased is jacked with content at three discs tallying up nine hours of material. There is a total of 41 (!!) matches and 9 promos spanning Macho’s career in WWF and WCW from 1985 through 1999. Also interspersed every several matches is one of 10 newly recorded panel discussion segments with Corey Graves, Bayley, Sean Mooney and Diamond Dallas Page. The panel discussions are not throwaway one-to-minute quick takes, but instead each are nearly several minutes each where all four panelists reminisce about each stage of Macho’s career with Mooney and Page both having pivotal on-hand accounts for how Savage was at that point backstage too. Page has detailed memories of his classic WCW rivalry with Randy and recounts a story I was all ears for about a voice mail he left for Macho on Thanksgiving. Hearing Bayley’s love for Randy was an interesting perspective to take in since she states she was not aware of him until his WCW years. Corey Graves’ passion for the 1993-as-hell Macho Man rap music video rubbed off on me as I never saw it before this collection and I will link to it here so you can have it forever imprinted into your mind as well.

Obviously I am not going to dissect each and every one of the 41 matches included here, but I will point out some highlights. In general, the quality of matches is fairly solid, and even though a fair amount of the first nine matches are in Macho’s early years with mostly quick, dominant encounters they were still a delight to watch his character evolve from coming out with a cape to adding in his vintage 80s bandana and ring robe and seeing his then-wife Miss Elizabeth join his side. Some early things that caught my eye were Macho’s first TV match in June of 1985 against Aldo Marino where the hype of Randy being the ‘hottest free agent’ attracted all of WWF’s managers to ringside to scout him in action. One of Jesse Ventura’s few WWF matches is here where he tags with Macho Man shortly before he succumbed to a career-ending injury not too long after signing with the WWF. I dug Savage’s first matches on here against formidable competition like former tag champ and Mark Henry manager, Tony Atlas and unearthing a high quality 1986 WWF match against the hidden gem of 80s WWF enhancement talent in one Scott McGhee. When it shifts into his Intercontinental title run, there is a good rematch included with Ricky Steamboat that had a red hot crowd and countless near falls and another good match against Steamboat where he teamed up with Honky Tonk Man against Steamboat and Hogan. His WWF Title run era features must-see WrestleMania-rematches against Ted Dibiase and Hulk Hogan.

Of all of Randy Savage’s flamboyant ring attires, the one I fondly remember the most was his over-the-top cowboy hat and full body attire complete with tassels. I had no idea until going through this collection that he started rocking that classic look midway through his two year run as the ‘Macho King’ with Queen Sherri by his side. The only notable match in this collection from that run is another WrestleMania-rematch with the mixed tag bout with Macho King and Sherri against Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire. There are nearly a dozen matches from Savage’s final few years in WWF after his reinstatement, but only three truly standout. One is a unique trios pairing that has Randy teaming with Piper and Jim Duggan against Ric Flair, Undertaker and Jake the Snake, while the other is another tag bout with Randy teaming with the Dead Man to take on Ric Flair and Berzerker. Seeing the chemistry between Savage and Undertaker was something special to say the least. Lastly, Savage has a heck of a bout with a post-Red Rooster, Terry Taylor in one of the better technical matches on the set. There are a few key WCW matches to point out in here from the eight included. One is where he is part of the teaming with the Hulkster against the Dungeon of Doom and hitting all the classic Mega Powers spots, including hitting an elbow on Hogan to wake him up after he succumbed to a sleeperhold. There is an awesome Nitro match on here against Ric Flair…which has a cruddy finish unfortunately, but everything else leading up to it is the best wrestling in this entire set. The most peculiar match on here is Savage wrestling on a C-tier weekend morning WCW show, {Pro} where he takes on Kurasawa and has Hulk Hogan by his side too in a strange twist. I am guessing Savage and Hogan must be tight with Kurasawa because these two were making huge money for limited dates in WCW and to have both of them appear in this weekend morning show match is a head scratcher…..it would be kind of like tuning in to Main Event now and seeing Brock Lesnar wrestling. The final match in the set was a surprisingly delightful schmoz of a mixed tag match with Savage and Madusa teaming up with Ric Flair and “Lil Naitch” himself, Charles Robinson! I expected the worst going in considering this was in 19990 when WCW was beginning its downward ratings spiral in its last couple years, but the four pull off a lot of entertaining spots and salvaged a heck of a performance.

Randy Savage Unreleased is a fairly strong compilation of matches and promos from Macho Man. I would say about a third of it is skippable, and there are a few teases of intriguing match-ups that wrapped up far too quick thanks to poor booking, like a WCW contest against Curt Hennig for example. I have no idea why there were two ho-hum matches against Mr. Hughes included either. That is almost to be expected of these ‘Unreleased’ collections, and seeing Savage’s character, moveset, attire and personality evolve from beginning to end is also fascinating in and of itself. I am glad we got a fair smattering of vintage Macho Man promos throughout his career, with his campaigning reinstatement speech and the aforementioned music video standing out the most of the bunch. Having a break from the 41 matches with the occasional promo and panel discussion segments are appreciated breathers from the action, and the panelists all bring a lot of classic Macho Man stories and memories to the table. This all adds up to Randy Savage Unreleased: The Unseen Matches of the Macho Man being a must-see for any Randy Savage aficionado.

Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Clash of Champions Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes DDP: Positively Living Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 Eric Bishoff: Wrestlings Most Controversial Figure Fight Owens Fight: The Kevin Owens Story For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Hulk Hogans Unreleased Collectors Series Impact Wresting Presents: Best of Hulk Hogan Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story The Kliq Rules Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat NXT: From Secret to Sensation NXT Greatest Matches Vol 1 OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor 2010-Present ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Hall: Living on a Razors Edge Shawn Michaels: My Journey Sting: Into the Light Straight Outta Dudley-ville: Legacy of the Dudley Boyz Straight to the Top: Money in the Bank Anthology Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Then Now Forever – The Evolution of WWEs Womens Division TLC 2017 TNA Lockdown 2005-2016 Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe War Games: WCWs Most Notorious Matches Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania III: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28-Present The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2017

[junker-town]

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ of sports: Misfit teams that thrived when put together

We’re looking for “The Guardians of the Galaxy” of sports.

The Guardians of the Galaxy were relative unknowns as characters when they were introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe back in 2014. The success of the franchise inside of the bigger picture of the rest of Marvel’s Infinity Saga gave birth to one of the most beloved casts and set of characters despite skepticism of how things might work when they were introduced to us.

All week at SB Nation, we have been taking a look at the MCU and the impact it has had on the world at large and some of the things that have bled over into all of sports. Here, a panel of our writers are going to take a look at some of the teams that mirror the ragtag collection of characters thriving once they found each other.

The 2003-04 Detroit Pistons

Perhaps it is just the Detroit in me (spoiler alert: it absolutely is), but there is no better representation of throwing a bunch of pieces together and crossing your fingers that it works than this group.

Ben Wallace was the heart and soul of the team, but had bounced around the league for a few years and was undrafted. Chauncey Billups was the No. 3 overall pick in 1997, but was on four different teams before landing in Detroit in 2002. Rip Hamilton was part of a trade that sent Jerry Stackhouse, an All-Star scorer, out of Detroit. Tayshaun Prince was a star at Kentucky, but had a hard time cracking the rotation early in his Pistons career. The final piece was Rasheed Wallace, who was a fiery personality despite having all of the talent in the world.

The Pistons were a formidable team in the East before adding the latter Wallace to the mix, but he was the final piece to a puzzle that saw them make a run through the playoffs and then cast the final blow in the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal Los Angeles Lakers dynasty. The Pistons rode an elite defense and contributions from all every direction to take down the Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, winning the series 4-1. They came a Game 7 short of going back-to-back, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. The 2006 Pistons would finish with a regular season record of 64-18, but lost in six games to Dwayne Wade and Shaq’s Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. That would be the last time the Pistons’ starting five shared the court together, as Ben Wallace would leave for the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2006-07 season.

— Anthony Broome

The 2013 Red Sox

The 2013 Red Sox really had no business being as good as they were. Boston was coming off a very not nice record of 69-93 and finished last in the division during the absolutely disastrous one-year experiment with Bobby Valentine as manager in 2012. With new manager John Farrell at the helm, the Red Sox had some really great pieces to work with — namely superstars in David Ortiz, Shane Victorino, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, and Dustin Pedroia — but had some questions marks coming off an utterly horrific season.

The Red Sox pretty much cruised to an AL East pennant, but the season was a real rollercoaster. The squad donned a “Boston Strong” patch after the Boston Marathon bombings, and Big Papi’s emotional “THIS IS OUR F*CKING CITY” speech served as a rallying point for the team and city.

At one point in September, Mike Napoli (basically Drax, if we’re being honest), Mike Carp, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia all hit grand slams over the span of a week. Not home runs, grand slams.

Oh and don’t forget the beards. Just about every member of the team grew distinct beards, and it became such a thing that the team adopted “fear the beard” as the official slogan heading into the postseason.

Every time it looked like they were out of a fight, they’d come through in the clutch.

The Red Sox would go on to beat Tampa Bay, Detroit, and St. Louis en route to their third World Series title in 10 seasons. With huge contributions from guys like Napoli, Carp, Saltalamacchia, Jonny Gomes, David Ross, Brandon Workman, and Will Middlebrooks, how can it be anything other than a rag tag success?

— Caroline Darney

The Rock & Sock Connection

Look, I get it, some of you are probably foaming at the mouth because I dared to mention a WWE tag team, but there’s very little that better typifies a “misfit team” than when The Rock and Mankind teamed up and became tag team champions in 1999.

The pairing was perfect. You had The Rock, stalwart babyface (good guy) teaming up with the misunderstood Mankind to form a classic Odd Couple amidst the WWE’s “Attitude Era.” Not only were they two of the best, most-popular wrestlers in the world at the time, but they had natural charisma and chemistry together.

Wrestling fans knew the team wouldn’t last. These were two of the top singles competitors in the company working as a tag team, but it lifted both of them. It allowed The Rock to be his classic, smack-talking self, and Mankind to almost be the straight man — which was a hilarious departure for someone whose character was largely comedic.

The duo were dynamite in the ring, and electricity off it. Nobody can forget the classic “Mr. Rocko” promo, in which Mankind gifted The Rock with his own, personalized sock puppet, that looked like it was air brushed on a seaside boardwalk. Everything that was good about WWE at the time was typified by The Rock & Sock Connection, and they are my pick for the greatest misfit team of all time.

— James Dator

The 2005-06 Phoenix Suns

From Bright Side of the Sun:

Some how, some way, this group of misfits still won 54 games and finished 1st in the Pacific Division. They would match up against Kobe (who had 35.4 ppg that year...the 9th best scoring season in NBA history) and the Lakers in the First Round of the 2006 Playoffs.

The Suns would go down 3-1 to Los Angeles, and it felt like all hope was lost. Yet, in true superhero fashion, they battled back to win the series in seven games. This was in large part to another Guardians-esque misfit, Tim Thomas (we’ll allow him to be Yondu in this scenario)

— John Voita, Bright Side of the Sun

Team North America

Team North America is, was, and always will be my favorite hockey team. They played together for only six games total, but the mark they made on hockey is one that will not be forgotten. This team was the brainchild of NHL General Manager Gary Bettman leading into the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and included 23 players under the age of 23 from the United States and Canada.

This means that current stars like Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Jack Eichel were all playing on the same team. It was the first official look at the Toronto Maple Leafs 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews whom many had not been able to watch while he was playing in Switzerland.

Team North America was everything traditional hockey analysts hate — they had the confidence of youth without having earned their time, they played a run-and-gun offensively aggressive style, and they were endlessly cool. Also, the logo is awesome. This was a snapshot of what the NHL was about to become, a transition from the second dead puck era into a future of fast, skilled hockey.

Photo by Brian Babineau/World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images

Alas, this team wasn’t as successful as they were legendary. They won two of their three pre-tournament games but when it came time to the actual World Cup of Hockey, the did not advance past the first round with a record of 2-1, losing to the only team that mattered in the tie breaker to advance. The finished the tournament in fifth place but will forever be first in the heart of everyone who watched these young bucks usher in the new age of hockey.

— Steph Driver

[gamerssphere]

Today we got to see the very first event in Saudi Arabia for the WWE when they brought the Greatest Royal Rumble. This event had to be rather compliant with many different requests from the country’s organizers, as well as laws, of course, therefore, they had to be really specific on what sort of show they’d be bringing.

The very first match of the night featured the Cerebral Assassin, Triple H, facing John Cena. The match started with some clash of strength by both of them, trying to show who was more powerful. This is certainly set to be an interesting show. Triple H was getting the upper hand at the beginning, going as far as mocking Cena’s “You Can’t See Me” hand gesture multiple times.

The match is really good and interesting, Triple H is going slowly, methodically, paused, and every single time Cena tried to attack back, Triple H was able to counter his attempts. This is a visual beauty of a match; however, Cena is looking too weak against The Game. I hadn’t seen such a weak John Cena since his Wrestlemania match against The Undertaker, but before that, I don’t remember seeing him in such a weak state.

Finally, Cena starts to fight back and goes as far as hitting an Attitude Adjustment on Triple H, but The Game was able to kick out. Right after that, Triple H got out of a second Attitude Adjustment to go into his Pedigree right away, but Cena kicked out at 2 as well.

Then, after a chain of an STF from Cena, to a crossed clutch by The Game, Cena hits Triple H with 2 Attitude Adjustments to win the match.

The second match of the event is for the Cruiserweight Championship between the current champion, Cedric Alexander and Kalisto. This starts completely different to the previous match, both competitors are going through some chain wrestling with the usual agility that is the main weapon 205 Live contestants bring to the ring. After a great match between them, the champion retains his title.

The third match of the event has The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro) versus Woken Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt for the RAW Tag Team Championship. This is an interesting match given how The Bar is no longer part of RAW as they were moved to SmackDown Live during the Superstar Shake-Up.

At first, the newest Tag Team from RAW was dominating and animating the crowd, until The Bar started to play their heel roles during this match, which turned the table for the match.With great combination of a Twist of Fate with the help of Bray, Matt and Bray finally become the new RAW Tag Team Champions!

The next match of the event is for the United States Championship as we have Jeff Hardy defending against Jinder Mahal. The match starts with Jinder’s usual aggressiveness against Jeff, but the champion is able to counter him, keeping in mind that Jinder isn’t alone as he comes with Sunil Sighn.

There was an interesting botch in this match as Jeff tried the Whisper in the Wind but failed, and Jinder still went down, a few seconds late.

After an intervention by Sunil, Jeff is able to counter Jinder’s Khallas and use his normal Twist of Fate + Swanton Bomb to retain his title.

Now we have the SmackDown Tag Team Champions, The Bludgeon Brothers, defending their titles against The Usos. The former champions came into this match completely synchronized, using that to their advantage against the current champions. However, The Bludgeon Brothers are too strong, and fast, and they ended up retaining their titles.

The next match of the event is a Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship between Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, The Miz and Finn Balor. This ought to be a great match, a contender to steal the show.

To nobody’s surprise, this was a great match all around. Every single one of the competitors went all in for the title, giving a good use to those ladders, of course. The Miz, former Intercontinental Champion, gave a great match, going against all of his opponents and coming out on top of them in multiple times.

In the end, surprisingly, Seth Rollins was able to retain his title due to how quick and agile he is, as Finn was about to reach the belt, but Seth jumped from the ropes to the ladder, and “stole” the belt from Finn.

  Now we get the introduction of 4 candidates to join the WWE from Saudi Arabia, but in the middle of this promo, the Daivari Brothers come into the ring with the flag of their country: Iran.

The next match of the night is for the WWE Championship between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. First thing to note is that the WWE gave Nakamura’s entrance some lyrics, and the way in which Nakamura moved was completely different than what we are used to see. It is also worth saying: it is great to see AJ’s entrance with pyro.

After about 2 hours and a half of almost complete silence in the crowd, we finally see them chanting, moving, cheering. Saudi Arabia seemed to need AJ vs Nakamura to wake up, because they do not chant the usual out-of-the-ring count, they don’t chant the usual “1, 2,…” when there’s a pin going on. But now, the crowd is reacting, and it is awesome to see and hear.

In the end, AJ Styles retains his title due to a double count-out. This keeps Nakamura in the championship run for sure, maybe we’ll see them in a no disqualification match in a future PPV.

Next on we have The Undertaker versus Rusev in a Casket Match. After a rather quick and aggressive match, The Undertaker got both, Rusev and Aiden English into the casket to win the match.

It is now time to go into the Steel Cage for the Universal Championship match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns. We have to admit how great entrances are when pyro is in place.

The match starts with a Suplex City, there was no time to do anything, Brock literally went in to kill Roman. Four consecutive German Suplex followed by one F5. This is overkill. Lesnar is only sweating because he sweats like a beast.

Roman finally counters with 3 Superman Punches followed by a spear attempt that Brock defends against. Roman is close to get out of the cage until Brock takes him back in, leaving him the space to get out of the cage himself; however, Brock doesn’t seem comfortable at all going up the cage, which gives Roman time to get back on his feet.

Roman hits the first spear on Brock, immediately followed by a second one. Brock is still alive in the match though, so he uses the same spear he used against The Undertaker in Wrestlemania 33, with some push from the ropes and counts, but Brock kicks out. Roman is about to get out of the cage through the door, but Paul Heyman closes it on Roman’s face to help his client. Brock hits the second F5 and pins Roman, but he kicks out. Heyman throws a chair into the cage and Brock takes his gloves off before taking the chair, but Roman hits his fourth Spear. Brock kicked out again.

Roman takes the chair and starts hitting Brock with it. Even the referee cringes to these hits. Roman hits the fourth Superman Punch of the match. Roman hits a Spear against the wall of the cage which breaks it, and the ref says Brock has retained the championship. Contested, Roman’s feet were the first ones to hit the floor. This won’t end like this.

It is time for the main event of the show: the 50 men Royal Rumble match. There’s a shiny trophy accompanied by a Championship Belt waiting for the winner of this match.

The very first entrant is Daniel Bryan, followed by Dolph Ziggler. There’s really no point on talking too much about what happened in the hour and 30 minutes that it lasted for, so let’s jump to what happened at the end, and which surprise contestants we got to see.

Surprises:

And, after 1 hour 16 minutes and 5 seconds in the match, Big Cass throws Daniel Bryan over the top rope, to get to the ending of this match between him and Braun Strowman, who has thrown over 10 men over the ropes. In the end, the winner of the very first Greatest Royal Rumble is Braun Strowman.

Overall, the show was really good, although, there were absolutely no changes in championship belts, which is highly disappointing. When it comes to the crowd, it was quiet for most of the show, which is also disappointing given how wrestling is alive thanks to fans’ reactions, and even though matches were super interesting, it is a rather bittersweet ending, with an awful ending to AJ vs Nakamura, a controversial ending to Brock vs Roman, a 50 men Royal Rumble in which most of the wrestlers didn’t last 5 minutes. At least, Braun has won this match, and I hope they do something with that quite stylish belt.

  #WWEGRR #Recap #WWE #GreatestRoyalRumble Today we got to see the very first event in Saudi Arabia for the WWE when they brought the…