#ok so cross ref insanity here

[chrystalmaniac]

Original pic stolen from twitter but OMG LOOK AT THEM. Once again referencing that Shu is the light and Mika the shadow, the sun and the moon, but also note how the sun character is the more "femme" presenting one i.e. presenting us with the dress side of the costume or just wearing a dress altogether. Shu also mirrors this, thereby proving that he plays the "female part" in their performances. I really hope the climax discusses gender more because I find it really fun that Happyele chose for a dynamic where the lead is the femme part with a supporting male role. Their dynamic, not only in this performance but also in general, is like Orpheus and Eurydice but with the roles reversed (and hopefully without the tragic ending...)

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW THE NEW BEGINNING in Osaka 2020 Review (Feb 9th, Osaka-Jo Hall)

Nakanishi Final in Osaka-Jo Hall: Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Toa Henare  **1/2

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: SHO & YOH (c) vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru  ***1/2

Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Guerrillas Of Destiny, Yujiro & Chase Owens  **1/2

Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.  ***1/4

SANADA vs. Jay White  ***1/4

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Ryu Lee  ****3/4

IWGP U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Jon Moxley (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki  ****1/2

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT AND IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. KENTA  ****

Photos.

This was a show that got off to a bit of a slow start, but ended incredibly well. It opened with Manabu Nakanishi’s final ever match in Osaka, as his team was victorious when Kojima Lariated his way to victory over Honma at 7:09. The match was nothing really, but ended in Nakanishi bowing to the fans as he exited, getting a good ovation in a nice moment. The Jr. Tag straps were on the line next as Roppongi 3K defended against Desperado and Kanemaru. This was very good, but was missing something I felt. The Suzuki-gunners worked over SHO’s knee they injured at the Korakuen shows mid-week all match, but the champions overcame the odds. After SHO countered a Kanemaru whiskey mist attempt with a big German Suplex, he hit a cross-armed piledriver for a near fall, then the champions hit Strong X for the win at the 16:22 mark. Taguchi came out in the post match and asked Rocky Romero to join him in a challenge for the belts next. So it looks like 3K are getting the Coaches. Tanahashi, sporting one of his more preposterous “do’s” in quite some time, pinned one half of the IWGP Tag Champions when he locked Tanga Loa in a small package to end an average 8-man outing at 10:50, which was more about setting up future programmes. Tana and Ibushi challenged G.O.D. for the next title shot, but former champions Fin-Juice, who only lost the titles last week, appeared upset by this. It looks like it may be a 3-way.

New Japan announced a return to Madison Square Garden in August, as well as the firs two nights of G1 being held in Osaka in September, and a return to prime time Japanese TV in the mini interval. Well thats all newsworthy. Okada, teaming with Ospreay, once again pinned Taichi, teaming with ZSJ, with a Rainmaker to end a good 12 minute tag match. This was a brief sprint, though entertaining as it was, it was pretty forgettable stuff and really just a reason to get all four on the card I reckon. Next up, Jay White took on SANADA. I’m not going to lie, watching live, I fell asleep during this match, and had to go back and rewatch it before reviewing, and I can say that, whilst good, no doubt, it wasn’t anything too interesting. It went on an incredibly long time (22 minutes) and just didn’t feel like they got out of first gear. After Cold Skull kicked the ropes into an interfering Gedo’s crotch, he locked on Skull End, but made the age old mistake of letting go to try the Moonsault. Jay obviously avoided it, but gets caught in another Skull End. This time Jay makes the ropes, but SANADA gets a near fall with the Japanese Leg Clutch. White hits the Sleeper Suplex, a version of the Regal Plex, and finally the Blade Runner to take the win. As I say, this was really good by the end, but has to rank as something of a disappointment.

It was time to watch through fingers next as Hiromu defended the Jr. Title against arch nemesis Ryu Lee. Look, there’s no denying the spectacular nature of this match-up, but it was fucking terrifying to watch. Baring in mind, the last time these two fought resulted in one of them breaking their necks, this was never going to be an easy watch. Perhaps they’d have slowed down, or worked a less crazy style? Nope, it was business as usual, and it was frightening. They started with an epic overhand chop battle, until Lee hit a Frankesteiner out of the ring, sending the champion to the floor, then hitting a frankly insane tope suicida as Hiromu was sat on the barricade, wiping out all and sundry. Takahash followed that up with a Sunset Bomb out of the ring, and hits a nasty Death Valley Bomb into the corner, which Lee landed right on his head for. Hiromu locks in the triangle choke he calls “D”, but the Dragon hoists him up and teases the Dragon Driver, the same move which broke Hiromu’s neck, in a terrifying moment. Ryu Lee hits a double stomp off the top to the floor, then they end up on the apron, where Lee charges Hiromu, but ends up getting overhead suplexed off the apron to the floor. Hiromu goes up and hits his batchit crazy Senton off the top to the outside. Back inside, they trade Germans, and Lee attempts Desnucadora, but Takahashi catches him in D. Lee escapes with a buckle bomb, but runs straight into an overhead suplex into the corner pad. A devastating knee strike from Ryu gets a near fall, then he tries the Dragon Driver again (please stop!), but Hiromu escapes, then counters a Last Ride attempt into a Canadian Destroyer. Another huge knee strike by Lee gets a tremendous near fall, but Hiromu hits another Destroyer, followed by Time Bomb for another super close near fall. Takahashi pulls Lee up and hits a huge elbow strike, following it up with a second Time Bomb, this time getting the win and retaining the title at 23:54. As mind-blowing as this match was, I don’t need to see another between them for some time.

Moxley and Suzuki had a tough act to follow, but ended up being more than up for the task by having a very different, but no less crazy outng for the United States Championship. This was a wild brawl. They started the match by brawling through the crowd, and exchanged hard strikes. Suzuki worked over Moxley’s arm, wrapping it in a chair and bashing the chair clad arm with another chair. Suzuki locks on an arm bar, but Mox powers him up and powerbombs Suzuki through a table at ringside. They go to a close up of Suzuki who has a smile on his face as he lays in the wreckage, which was tremendous. They trade more forearms back in the ring, which Suzuki obviously wins, then locks on a tight rear naked choke, releasing it and getting a two count. A stiff sliding kick from Minoru follows, and Moxley returns the favour by hitting the Regal Knee. The Ill-Natured Man puts Moxley down with a big dropkick, then goes for the Gotch, but Moxley counters into Death Rider. Suzuki actually kicks out of Death Rider, then they had a chair duel, resulting in Mox hitting a DDT onto one of the chairs. They trade again with forearms and punches, before Moxley hits another Death Rider, this time finishing the match at 17:16. This was excellent. Zack Sabre Jr. came out in the post match, nailing Mox with the title belt, then chokes him out, signifying that he’s Moxley’s next challenger. That’s an interesting match-up indeed.

And in the main event, Tetsuya Naito defended both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles against KENTA. OK, so this ended up being really great, but there’s no denying that both have seen better days, physically speaking, and expecting them to go 36 minutes seemed like a stretch. Whilst neither are as good as they were in 2014 say, both have tons of charisma, and that’s what got them by here. Also, some very fortuitous hard-way juice helped make it really dramatic down the stretch. The early going was a hard slog in all honesty, but this really picked up when Naito outlasted a Game Over, and hit Gloria for a near fall. After a ref bump, Jay White ran out and nailed a Sleeper Suplex on the champion, which brought out BUSHI, but he’s inturn taken out with Blade Runner. Hiromu comes running down, and takes care of Jay, dragging him to the back, whilst Naito hits his signature flying forearm on KENTA. From here, KENTA blocks a Destino attempt with a Lariat, then tries Go 2 Sleep, by Naito turns it into Destino. Naito charges KENTA, but the dastardly heel sends him into the exposed turnbuckles, which split Naito’s forehead open, and he juices really heavily. A KENTA Busaiku Knee gets a near fall, but another Go 2 Sleep is turned into a reverse rana, then Naito nails another Destino to end this at the 35:50 mark. In the post match, a bloody Naito calls out Hiromu, and challenges him to their long-talked-about match. Hiromu accepts his mentors challenge, so that shuld be pretty damn great.

NDT

[ristocycling]

Is that it?

For the first time, I’m sitting at home in Estonia and writing this blog. I came here to ride Estonian Championships in X-Country Marathon. Before I even came here, I got disturbing news that my cycling licence is registered wrong in the system, that ment no Championships for me. Since I already got the tickets and all was planned, I decided to ride the race anyways. Which also ment that my shoulders drop, nerves were under control and everything looked fine, until the very morning. Cannot really put words on it what happens in my head, but nothing makes sense anymore. I wanna quit. I don’t feel it´s worth it. This tremendous fight in me makes it challenging to continue. So, when a random questions led to changing the category to Estonian Championships 1 hour before the start, it didn’t really affect me at all. The guy I was talking to was the chief referee, apparently. So it was kind of a good thing that the licence posed problems to begin with.

But, maybe the lack of preparedness made it worse this time? I saw couple of videos of the race online and it looked really scary- I´ve always been scared of heights and there are many places on this race when you ride on the edge of a cliff- Estonia is pancake flat, yes, but it has some hI´lls. True story! Also I had no plans of hydration since I counted on neutral zones, while most of the other riders had teams to rely on. Maybe if I had a plan and though a peace of mind, something would have been better, different the very morning? I don’t really know! I’ve always struggled before the races, well almost every time. I’ve had a whole season where the nerves were under control no matter the race! So, I’m aware that it´s all in our heads?! For sure! And I know something can be done to hold the head on the surface. But what can you do about it, really? How to calm down, think straight thoughts, or not think of anything? I guess it has also something to do with expectations. So the real question is: does it really matter in the terms of result, if one has high expectations or simply show up to have fun? -GIVEN that preps are done! Maybe not.. Maybe not. What are expectations? Define that! I’m starting to think that it´s simply some pile of bullSHIT! Expectations=how things should be=pretend to be a prophet=religion of futurism=fantasy=ambitions? While I’m always telling others to let go of prejudices, expectations and go with the flow, but have ambitions and wI´ll to do better… Then I’m doing exact the opposite my self. Maybe I should start being a bad example?! Start living rather than fantasising. Maybe even stop having ambitions and simply be the best version of my self?

Well, maybe the fact that my life´s once again at a cross road makes it a bit more difficult to tackle? Maybe my mental capacity ain´t big enough to overcome all the pressure right now? What are these «other» things? Well, their all personal. But I can say so much- nothing in my future is given right now. Maybe, for my health sake, I should take time off from racing? It´s just as simple as that- the pressure is unbearable and I felt it both before and while racing. I made a mistakes for sure. As I rode two hours without eating anything, just drinking. 29th place was more than ok and I HOPED that it would hold. But then the hammer appeared and hit me hard! And then the bad feelings, thoughts, black hole manifested. I started to think of quitting. Didn´t feel sufficed. So after a while, an hour or so, I realised that I was riding in emergency mode (ref. cars that are having severe problems). Then the very best, Greete S, come from nowhere and parked me. I really tried hard to keep her back a while and when opportunity presented it´self, I wished to contribute. But nothing, she was simply superior at that time. After a while, I stopped for a couple of minutes, cheered on my competition, ate 3 bars and drank a little. After a while, stopped in a feeding zone and eat some bread, Estonian black bread! A sausage. Some bananas. Drank some more fluids. Cheered on the second lady. And then continued the journey. And yes, after a long while, the energy stores were restored and I got the speed up. Catch up some racers and even passed them and made them pay parking tickets. All-in-all, 56th out of 125 racers. 50min lost to 1st place. 12 min behind the very best Estonian WChampion.

Now it has been 2 days since that race. I’ve made some analyses on Strava and I cannot really hide myself behind some data that prove that things would have been better IF and so on. I started really hard, too hard. I was climbing up from 32nd place to 29th and kept it going for a while, until the world famous Hammer! My level ain´t that high on single trails, flat, sandy ground. It might sound like I’m defending myself right now, but that really ain´t the case. It´s simply a explanation of what does not suit me. On contrary, hI´lls and climbs suit me very well, easier ground and some gravel too. So, yes, I’m not a complete biker! Far from it. But until now, I’ve fought a fair fight. In my own head, I believe, in a way, I can be related to a fictional character, Rocky Balboa:

«…it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa

So, to sum up. I´m not saying that I´ll quit. I simply say that I´ll choose to meet up to have fun from now on. I’m done with getting so nervous that It squeezes out all the fun and will to ride my bike. That doesn’t mean that my competition should feel neglected- when I do meet up for a race, I´ll do my very best, yes I will! But I´ll act as if it´s only for fun.

If you feel a bit a bit frustrated because some of it, think all of it is bullCrap, shame! It´s my personal blog and its not open for criticising. And yes, all of it is personal and IF you feel like some of it also apply to you, good, maybe I was to help? In the end, I´ll print it out as a «book» and hand to my kids one day. Hopefully it’ll happen one day :D

But. I cannot forget the the most important part of it all. To honour the winners. Petter Pruus, Greete Steinburg and all the others before me, after me. I’ve ridden about 50 different races in my career and this was the most insane single track race ever! About 85km singles is tough call no matter how you look at it! Chapeau! Jõelähtme Rattamaraton is truly a mekka for riders who enjoy themselves on single trails!

Thank you for reading! I´ll now be heading to Dolomites to ride Sellaronda HERO, oh well.. to have fun on Sellaronda HERO. This ride suits me pretty well! So I´ll go for my personal best this year and leave it all on the mountains there. My wish is to cross the finish line, happy, satisfied and proud. But, if it doesn´t work out well, I´ll go for a great tour :D It´s amazing place!

Risto

[adampage]

The Game

Characters: [Y/N], Triple H, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens

"ahh ok! i really like angst with a happy ending! maybe fake relationship turned real??" (for triple H) - @deanammbrose

Word Count: 2,389

Warnings: death mention, angst, sad lovable characters. aha sorry Author’s Note: Thanks to @deanammbrose for the request! I struggled to write it at first but honestly, it needs a second part. It hasn’t even started yet. I can’t wait to continue! And to anyone who reads this -  my requests are open (:

Tagging: @llowkeys / @mewsburger / @hardcorewwetrash / @blondekel77 / @xxmaddhatter39xx / @crowleysqueenofhell / @unabashedwwesmut / @alexahood21 / @lip-sync / @we-work-hard / @the-geekgoddes / @sjwrites22 / @welshwitch5 / @wrasslin-x / @roman-reigns-princess / @straight-outta-the-asylum / @idekwhatthisis / @wwetrashqueen / @reigns420 /

It had been nearly twenty years since Stephanie's death. The day after, Hunter had retired from the ring, and spent the rest of his days in the wrestling industry working behind the scenes with Vince. Or so he thought.

It was the December of 2014, and you and Kevin Owens were set to debut at NXT: R Evolution. Behind the scenes, your long-time friend Sami Zayn sat next to you, not at all nervous. Your leg shook up and down, hoping to shake away the anxiety pooling in your stomach. "Hey, everything's gonna be fine." "How do you know?" "Because I believe in you." You scoffed at his gesture, instantly regretting doing so. You placed your hand over Sami's, giving him a weak smile. "Sorry, it's just all very much for me." As you were about to speak again, a shadow appeared in front of the two of you, dark and brooding. "Mr. Helmsley," you stood, bright smile breaking across your face. The boss was here, dressed in a dark grey tailored suit and baby blue tie. You held your hand out for him, noticing how your back went straight and your posture changed dramatically in his presence. You hoped you weren't being too fake, honestly. "[Y/N], please, it's Hunter," he took your hand, giving it a firm shake and cupping it with both hands. "Big night for you." "Yeah, yes it is," you couldn't help the grin on your face. As easy as it was to change yourself in front of him, he always brought you back down to earth, to the matter at hand, swiftly and without pain. "I hope I don't let the crowd down. Or you, of course." "Don't worry about the crowd," he chuckled, "and definitely don't worry about me. As long as you can make yourself proud, it's all I can ask." He still hadn't let go of your hand. He lingered on it, until you broke into a smile again and nodded. "Thank you, sir." Hunter gave you a stern look, turning to face Sami, who had been silently observing your encounter from the bench. There was a strange, knowing look to Sami that made you wonder what he was contemplating. He looked up in time for Hunter to hold out his hand and receive it. "The man of the hour!" Hunter pulled Sami in for a hug, clapped him on the back. "Hey, Hunter. Good to see you, man." As they pulled away from each other, one of the backstage hands came and announced that your match was about to start. You looked back one more time at Sami to wish him good luck, hoping he'd wish it to you again, too, only to find him engaged in a conversation with Hunter that you couldn't even begin to hear as you were led away to gorilla.

The roar of the NXT crowd rang in your ears, nearly drowning out the thud of the referee's counts on the mat. "ONE. TWO. THREE!" The bell rang, drowned out quickly by the drone of the crowd. Chest heaving, legs nearly buckling beneath you, you stood, the ref taking your hand and lifting your fist in the air in triumph. Your opponent was still facedown on the mat. When the cheers died down, you kneeled next to her, pulling a strand of her bright colored hair back behind her ear. Your mouth leaned close, whispered in her ear something incomprehensible, leaving it to the audience to interpret what you'd said through your actions. You stood back up, a mischievous smirk on your face, and your music hit, the deep bass ominously ringing through the small arena. You slinked out beneath the bottom rope, careful to keep the same expression on your face. You shook your hair across one shoulder, gave the crowd a wink, and slithered away. Behind the curtain, Sami and Kevin were waiting, broad smiles on their faces. "Honestly, not quite sure how we're gonna top that," Sami embraced you, ruffled your hair. Kevin scoffed. "Okay, not sure if you were *that* good, but you did a great job out there, [Y/N]." You gave him a joking death glare, and pulled slightly back from your hug with Sami, looking at him seriously. "What does that say about you, knowing your two best friends are heels?" He scratched at the back of his neck, thinking. "Not sure. Maybe I just see the good in everyone, even if they're assholes." "Hey!" You and Kevin interjected simultaneously, a grin breaking on Sami's face. "I kind of regret you finding out about Kevin, though. I would've loved to have seen your reaction." "Are you kidding? That was the most predictable shit I ever-" Sami touched your elbow, signaling for you to shut the hell up. "Bad mouthing creative already, are we?" His voice sent shivers down your spine. You turned around, a defensive measure already on the tip of your tongue. "Well, I-" "I'm just joking around. Congratulations on your match, by the way. I have to hand it to you, you really pulled it off." "That's...really great, coming from you." He pulled you in for a hug, and you were amazed to find that he was extremely fit for his age. His suit did nothing to mask the body that wore it; you could feel his strong muscles rippling underneath. "But did you make yourself proud? Remember, I told you that's what matters." You thought about it, nose twitching in contemplation. "I'd say I did a pretty damn good job. He raised a brow, intrigued. "Cocky looks good on a woman. You know," he said, arms crossing, a soft chuckle escaping his lips, "you remind me of someone." "Who's that?" You asked, curious. Behind you, Kevin looked confused, wondering as well. Sami was quiet, blank as he stared at the floor, his expression unreadable even if you had seen it. Hunter's brows furrowed, and the shadow of a smile appeared across his lips. "Just...someone." And he walked off, very unprofessional-like. You turned back around to Sami, not at all surprised to find Kevin gone as his music hit in the arena. Sami, however, was deep in thought. "You're not worried about your match with Neville, are you?" "Hm?" He answered, clearly distracted. "Oh, um, no." You gave him a smirk. "Then what is it?" You poked him. "It's-it's nothing," he waved you off, "really." "Come on!" You eyed him doubtfully. "You're going to think I'm insane." You crossed your arms, giving him a hard stare. "Try me." He let out a breath. "All right then." He took a sip of his water bottle. You would think he would be worried about his match right about now. That was usually when he got the jitters, a mere hour before the match. Sami could spend the entire week preparing mentally, physically. To the point where he closed his eyes and had it all masterfully planned out, mapped perfectly in his brain and engrained beneath his eyelids. But this was different. Something had him on edge that you couldn't understand. "I think I'm in love with you." What?

Hunter had been walking down the hallway, back towards you and Sami. He was going to pitch something to you, an idea for your storyline. He was ecstatic. He figured with this new plan, both of you would have more time to speak, more reason to interact. He wasn't sure if you had felt what he felt every time you stood in each other's presence, but he wanted to test it out. I think I'm in love with you. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that, a feeling of anxiety overwhelming him that he couldn't comprehend. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. I love you. And I know we've been friends for what feels like our entire lives, but I had to say it. Why? I don't know. Just felt like the right time. Hunter stood there, around the corner, listening intently. It was stupid, he knew. And not at all professional. In fact, he felt like a little kid doing it, he wanted to leave, but he couldn't bare it. He had to know how this played out, the fire in his gut unwilling to let him slip away. It was maddening. Sami, I don't know what to say. That's fine. You don-you don't have to say anything. I just needed to tell you. Sami, I- Just then, a backstage hand appeared, calling out for Hunter. Both you and Sami whirled around, confused because Hunter was nowhere in sight. The crew member went straight to Hunter, rounding the corner and telling him that he was needed in the tech van. His unusually gruff voice answered, and your stomach clenched. Had he heard everything? You certainly hoped not. You looked to Sami, who was just as confused. He shrugged.

"[Y/N], can I see you in my office, please?" "Sure thing, Hunter. I'll be right there." You hung up the phone, a steady power walk to his makeshift office leading you through the university arena's hallways. It had been more than two weeks since Sami's championship title win and your debut. Sami was out, spending time with his family in Canada, and you hadn't seen him since the day after his win, when you were saying goodbye as he caught his plane. It was awkward, and not a moment you were proud of. You quickly shook off the feeling of nervousness, that cold sweat you'd gotten when he hugged you coming back now. You couldn't afford to be nervous in Hunter's presence, even if it was an old, lingering feeling. It was shameful, how you'd acted. Cold, distant. Afraid. I'm not asking for your hand in marriage. I'm asking for a chance.

I don't know if I can give you that chance.

The look of hurt that passed by Sami's face, just for that fraction of a second where he wasn't paying attention to his features, it was enough to break your damn heart. It was gone as soon as it came, disappearing under his mesmerizing smile. And it hurt you all the more that he masked his pain. Where once his embrace had been the most comforting, it became the most unbearable. And it was your fault. So much for trying to shake the feeling, you thought, the door to Hunter's office looming in front of you now, that gut-wrenching regret eating at your insides. Of all the moments to feed off that horrible memory, and you chose right now. Fuck, you thought, here goes nothing. "Hey, [Y/N], how are you?" He motioned for you to sit in the seat opposite him. "I'm doin' all right, Hunter. You?" "Fine, fine. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something." Oh, boy, you thought. Please don't let it be about Sami. All of this was even worse, knowing Hunter had heard Sami's confession. He hadn't mentioned it at all, so you were hoping he really had just been walking by and hadn't heard a thing. His brown eyes bore into you, assuring himself that you were paying attention. You tried your best to look as attentive as possible, but you couldn't shake Sami from your mind. "Are you okay?" He asked, hands together in front of him on the desk. "You seem a little out of sorts." "I'm fine," you replied quickly, not wanting to talk about it. "Really." You flashed Hunter a smile. "You sure?" "Absolutely." He eyed you curiously, doubtful. But after a couple seconds, he figured it best to let your strange behavior go. He got to the point. "I have a storyline proposition for you." Your brow arched. "Really? What is it?" You could feel your body slowing becoming more enthusiastic, your mind slowly drawing back to the matter at hand, the ugly thoughts of Sami's departure slowly trickling away as you looked at Hunter's eager face. "We were thinking a storyline where you were romantically involved with someone." If you had been drinking something, this would've been the perfect moment to spit it out. As it was, you had no beverage, so you made do by looking shocked and remaining silent. Hunter seemed to be awaiting some sort of response. "We were going to pair you with Kevin, make you this sort of heel powerhouse, but he's already set with his own betrayal storyline with him and Sami. We don't want to put too much on anyone's plate, but the other heel wrestlers don't really seem like a good fit. Baron, possibly, or even -" "I don't really feel comfortable doing that. With any of them, I mean." Hunter eyed you cautiously, begging the question, "Why's that?" "I don't know them very well. I just got here. Maybe someone else, that I had more chemistry with." "I'd say Sami, but he's a face, unfortunately." Your stomach dropped. "Not Sami." Your voice was firm, unquestionable. As if to defend your statement, or even to answer the probable follow-up of why, you said, "He's my friend. I don't want to make it awkward." As if it wasn't awkward already. You couldn't prove it, but you swore you saw a flash of relief cross Hunter's face, though you had no idea why. He seemed deep in thought for a minute. For a brief moment, his face lit up, as if he'd had an idea. You waited impatiently, wondering what he could have possibly thought. "What if it's a romance with someone outside of the ring?" "What? You mean like Regal? He's married, isn't he? Doesn't the entire audience know he's married?" You shrugged, "not that I mind being a mistress, I could do the whole mistress angle, but it's a little less believable when it's done in front of a live crowd, right? Maybe that's a little too complicated." His index finger pointed slightly in front of him, as if he was wagging his digit to some invisible object in front of him. His mind seemed to be somewhere else, engineering this complex idea. You sat, amazed, and realized now why they called him The Game. He was the master, and each and every wrestler, interviewer, or other on-screen personas were his chess pieces. "What if your love interest is me?"

Part Two

Last Note: was it bad?? tell me. give me your thoughts. I need thoughts. help me do the word thing. please and thank you - Emiliana

[wgwhite]

Andy Weir’s ‘The Martian’, A review – Or: ‘How many potatoes can a man eat on Mars?’

Not since the Mountain faced off against the Red Viper have I felt quite so tense whilst viciously clutching a book between my frail man fingers.

I’m tempted to tell you to just read the book. Don’t read this, read the book! Fair warning, this review will feature spoilers. ‘Cause…I wanna talk about the book, OK?

The Martian, by Andy Weir is a roller-coaster on speed. It’s like watching your favourite comedian walking a tightrope between the London Shard and the Gherkin whilst doing his best routine with no safety harness and a swarm of angry, UKIP supporting super wasps doing fly by stingings. Sure, you’re laughing–but who knows when one of those bastard bugs’ll get a pot shot and the laughter goes tumbling back to Earth. Splat. Bye-bye laughter!

Tumbling back to Earth is something Mark Watney would have loved to do. Being stuck on Mars sounds…frightening. If you don’t know the story, here it is in a nutshell: Mark Watney, one of six Ares III crew members (a NASA organised manned Mars mission) finds himself stranded on the red planet when a nasty storm causes an emergency evacuation. On his way to the MAV (fancy speak for spaceship), Mark goes and gets himself a little bit impaled on flying debris and the rest of the crew shrugs apathetically, climbs into the rocket and slings their collective hooks. Bye-bye, Mark!

With only his super botany skills, above average mechanical engineering skills, and a whole boatload of smarts, Mark must find a way to resist Mars’ wiles and keep himself alive until he can be rescued. But with no way to communicate with NASA, and not knowing if anyone realises he’s even alive, Mark is faced with the damn right daunting reality that he’ll either have to survive until the next Ares mission (four years away), or die alone on a godforsaken rock.

He gets busy, gettin’ busy, I’ll tell ya that for free!

You might recall in my last review (David Brin’s Uplift), I mentioned that I’m a slow reader. Whilst that’s true, every rule has an exception. And The Martian is my exception. I read it in five days, which is a record for me. Others say they read it in a single sitting, but you know what, whatever. Five days is impressive, I don’t care what you think!

Every page of this book is a turner. Be prepared for a whole bunch of science, though. I’m not sure how accurate it all is; the last science I did was in secondary school, eight years ago. I did alright in GCSE science (B,B?). Either way, Weir clearly knows his stuff, and it’s incredible to see so much research and hard science in a work of fiction. It makes the entire thing that much more believable.

That said, this is a survival story to the bone. This is the sort of stuff Bear Grylls should be doing. Oh, you ate a live scorpion? Good for you, Bear. Mark Watney ate potatoes…which he grew…on Mars…after harnessing the bacteria in his own homemade chocolate pudding.

You crossed the Sahara Desert did ya, Bear? Very impressive, Bear. Well done, Bear! Mark Watney crossed MARS, Bear! He pimped a rover, and drove 3,200 kilometres with a radioactive radiator as his only source of heat!

Face it, Bear. You’ve been dethroned.

Just to clarify, I’m aware that Mark Watney isn’t real…but he is, so shush.

I’m not typically a fan of first person narratives, but this isn’t pure first person, so it’s fine. Not that there’s anything wrong with first person–a good story’s a good story–but I just prefer third person.

We, the audience, get semi-regular daily updates from Mark as he sits down and types out his misadventures. Should I say daily? Soly? Eh…anyway, I thought it was pretty neat of Mark to format his diary as one would a typical novel. 0.6” indent on new paragraphs. Double spaced. 0.5” margins. Thanks, Mark. Very considerate. Honestly though, that was the only thing that drew me out. Once. And it’s not something that can be helped, it was just a thought that paid me a visit whilst reading. Anyway, this format allows for plenty of interesting story telling tricks because everything’s told from a first person account of past events. So, a log entry can start (and often does) with something like:

“I f**ked up. I f**ked up big.”

And instantly my heart is racing. Whatcha do, Mark? Are you doomed? Don’t let it be so, Mark. You’ve gotta make it back! The world’s watching, Mark!

Mark Watney might just be my favourite fictional character in recent years. I actually care about this person. I care if he lives or dies. I’m invested in his survival. Well done, Weir. You made me care for a non-thing! Mark’s a funny, optimistic, ridiculously intelligent bloke. Yeah he swears, and he throws tantrums, but wouldn’t you in his shoes? His resourcefulness and ingenuity is utterly inspiring. Really, at the end, it begs the question: could I do what Mark Watney did? Even with the intelligence and training. Could I have lived alone, stranded on a world that doesn’t even support the simplest of bacterial life, for a year and a half? Would I have gone insane? Taken the easy way out? Or, more simply, would I have failed?

See, Mark falls down. He falls down a lot. But he also manages to dust himself off, and get back to it. So the message I’m taking away from The Martian is that of perseverance. When the universe decides to pile it on, when everything’s getting too damn much, I’m just gonna remember that Mark Watney endured a year and a half of disco music and nothing else, but despite that he remained a sane man.

What an inspiration.

* * *

The Martian is Andy Weir’s debut novel, and is soon to become one of those moving picture books staring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott. Weir first self-published The Martian,but was later picked up by an agent which is both bloody rare, and really, really lucky for us all. I don’t know if I’d have heard of this fantastic book had it remained self-pubbed.

Check Andy Weir out here: http://www.andyweirauthor.com/

And check out The Martian here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Martian-Andy-Weir/dp/0091956145/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438977239&sr=8-1&keywords=the+martian

[wwesummerslam2017]

2017 WWE SummerSlam Match Predictions

WWE's yearly SummerSlam pay-per-view is finally upon us. This is treated almost like a second WrestleMania, so we should expect a few surprises during the super-sized event.

Here is a look at the card as it stands, according to WWE.com:

Jason Jordan and The Hardy Boyz vs. The Miztourage Akira Tozawa vs. Neville (Cruiserweight Championship) Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt John Cena vs. Baron Corbin Rusev vs. Randy Orton Big Show vs. Big Cass (Enzo locked inside shark cage) The New Day vs. The Usos (SmackDown Tag Team Championships) Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose (Raw Tag Team Championships) AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship, Shane McMahon as special guest ref) Naomi vs. Natalya (SmackDown Women's Championship) Alexa Bliss vs. Sasha Banks (Raw Women's Championship) Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Championship) Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman (Universal Championship) Bleacher Report's lineup of contributors will examine each feud and provide predictions for the matches on the SummerSlam card. Our group is made up of the following:

Anthony Mango (@ToeKneeManGo). Kevin Berge (@TheBerge_). Ryan Dilbert (@RyanDilbert). James Moffat (@JamesMoffat). Alfred Konuwa (@ThisIsNasty) Yours truly, Chris Mueller (@BR_Doctor). Jordan and the Hardys vs. The Miztourage wasn't announced when the questions were distributed, so there will not be a slide for that match. Rollins and Ambrose vs. Cesaro and Sheamus (Raw Tag Titles) 1 OF 12

Q: Do you think it would have been better to have Rollins and Ambrose come together at SummerSlam or was it better to reunite them on Raw before the PPV?

Alfred Konuwa (AK): I was quite surprised to see Rollins and Ambrose reunite one week early, but I felt the segment went really well. Reuniting at SummerSlam in Brooklyn would have caused a hotter reaction, and potentially a more memorable moment, but it couldn't have been that much better than the energy that poured down from the TD Garden.

Prediction: Rollins and Ambrose win the Tag Team Championships. Dean Ambrose turns on Rollins and takes the belts with him.

Ryan Dilbert (RD): I've really enjoyed how WWE has handled this reunion and mined a ton of drama along the way. It's been among the best stories the company has told all year. At SummerSlam, there will still be tension between Rollins and Ambrose, giving this tag match an added dimension.

Prediction: Rollins and Ambrose win the titles despite not being a completely unified front.

Anthony Mango (AM): If WWE had teased that they had the title match and still weren't on the same page, it would have felt obvious that they'd win the titles and reunite, making it predictable. Now that they've already done it, there's a possibility it was a red herring and Ambrose turns heel, so that makes it more intriguing to me. In the end, it'll all work out OK, so it doesn't really matter.

Prediction: New tag team champions are crowned.

Kevin Berge (KB): I would have preferred the two only showed complete solidarity after their SummerSlam match, win or lose. It would have been a great story for the two to lose with Rollins taking the fall for Ambrose, forcing Ambrose to finally admit he trusts Rollins. Their crossed fists on Raw made for a nice moment but felt rushed in a feud that has been largely well-paced.

Prediction: Sheamus and Cesaro use Ambrose and Rollins' lack of experience as a unit against them and defeat the accomplished veterans, but Ambrose shows his respect for Rollins and helps him get back to his feet and walk to the back.

James Moffat (JM): WWE actually did this right. Reuniting Ambrose and Rollins pre-SummerSlam was necessary for fans to be truly invested in their partnership. I feel the two should have come together two weeks earlier when Rollins saved Ambrose from a Sheamus and Cesaro beatdown, but that's splitting hairs. WWE hit all the right chords on this one heading into SummerSlam.

Prediction: Rollins and Ambrose dethrone Cesaro and Sheamus for the tag team titles.

Chris Mueller (CM): I was happy to see them reunite as friends before SummerSlam. This way their match can be more about the quality of the wrestling instead of the question of whether Rollins and Ambrose can work together effectively.

Prediction: Rollins and Ambrose win the match, but they might not win the titles due to a DQ or countout. The Usos vs. the New Day (SD Tag Titles) 2 OF 12

Q: Which brand currently has the superior tag team division and why?

AK: SmackDown gets a slight edge here. Rollins and Ambrose are the most interesting thing going in tag team wrestling right now, but The Usos and New Day have had that mantle for what seems like months. The Hardys are the most popular tag team in WWE, but Breezango are the ones breaking ground with an innovative gimmick. Meanwhile the only thing "broken" about Matt and Jeff is their lawyers' bank.

Prediction: The New Day retains the Tag Team Championships in a match that sees a split crowd reaction, possibly skewing toward The Usos.

RD: SmackDown losing American Alpha hurt the division big time. It now heavily depends on The Usos and The New Day in the ring, as well as the stellar Breezango comedy segments. Raw has more options, more star power, especially when The Revival returns following Scott Dawson's recovery from injury.

Prediction: The New Day hang on in a wild, fast-paced match.

AM: Both divisions are struggling heavily, but for different reasons. SmackDown doesn't seem to want to invest any time in most of their tag teams, while Raw keeps suffering setbacks with injuries to The Revival and feuds being confusingly dropped out of nowhere. Right now, Raw is better, but not by much.

Prediction: The New Day is victorious.

KB: I prefer the SmackDown tag team division because I have a reason to care about everyone. Raw has more teams, but they all feel like they are directionless with Rollins and Ambrose instantly becoming the most interesting team in the entire division with one story. Every week, I tune in to see The New Day, The Usos and especially Breezango on SmackDown.

Prediction: New Day retains in a Kickoff show-stealer over The Usos.

JM: I'd have to say Raw, based on depth alone. Smackdown's tag division is The New Day, The Usos, and that's it. While entertaining, Breezango isn't a real threat to compete, much like The Ascension. At full strength, Raw has five teams that could legitimately go; six if you include Ambrose and Rollins.

Prediction: The New Day retains

CM: SmackDown would have been my answer last week, but with Ambrose and Rollins joining the division, it makes Raw and SmackDown evenly matched.

Prediction: The New Day retains the titles. Rusev vs. Randy Orton 3 OF 12

Q: This match seemingly came out of nowhere. Book a better match with Superstars who aren't on the SummerSlam card yet and explain why it would be better than Orton vs. Rusev.

AK: Is this where I'm supposed to make a formal complaint that Chad Gable isn't WWE champion yet? I'll pass. But here's my scenario: Chad Gable gets squashed by a heel Mojo Rawley. In less than a minute. Rawley attacks him on his way to the ring and his victory causes WWE fans at the Barclays Center to boo so loudly you'd think a foreigner was celebrating his culture.

It would be the ultimate scenario of a WWE-approved character like Rawley getting the better of the little guy, just like Sheamus beating Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds, and it'll only cause fans to naturally rally around Gable. Everybody wins.  

Prediction: Orton beats Rusev but not before the Barclays Center does the wave.

RD: The Miz vs. Jordan would have a better story to build on. It would be a showcase for the newly solo star Jordan. Plus, the Intercontinental Championship would give this higher stakes than Orton vs. Rusev.

Prediction: Rusev gets the win.

AM: All WWE needed to do was replace Orton with Gable and have him and Rusev in a more evenly matched feud where the winner would earn a United States Championship match after SummerSlam. It's that easy and helps push Gable as a credible singles star. Either man could win to face Styles or Owens and the other could work with the loser of that match, easily.

Prediction: Let's flip a coin, because it doesn't matter in the slightest. Oh look, heads. I guess that means Rusev wins.

KB: I'd go with Charlotte (with Becky Lynch) vs. Tamina (w/Lana), building off the story of Lana and Tamina that is already being told. With Lana giving her an opening, Tamina could ambush and beat down Charlotte before Lynch came to save the day, with Lana then convincing Bryan to book the two in a No. 1 contender's match. This match would have more story behind it as well as stakes looking forward.

Prediction: Orton wins with a sudden RKO to get some momentum back.

JM: Sami Zayn and Tye Dillinger vs. Breezango in a No. 1 Contender's match for the SmackDown Tag Team titles. This matchup gets four athletic, underutilized Superstars in the ring with real stakes. It also pits two teams fans can cheer for without a telegraphed winner. Zayn and Dillinger aren't going anywhere as singles competitors, so why not use them to build the blue brand's weakest division?

Prediction: Rusev wins in a snoozer.

CM: I would have booked Zayn vs. Mike Kanellis to give them one last chapter to their story. Orton and Rusev have no real buildup to their feud, but Zayn and Kanellis have months of storyline between them.

Prediction: Rusev wins, but Orton hits an RKO to make the crowd happy. Finn Balor vs. Bray Wyatt 4 OF 12

Q: Should Balor use The Demon persona more often, or is he better off only wearing the paint for big events and why?

AK: The fact that a 36-year-old Finn Balor, who missed eight months due to injury from 2016-2017 and whose body is bound to break down any minute now, is slow-playing a super-over character is insane to me. All these people who want to "make The Demon special," let me ask you some questions:

How many Clark Kent comic books did you ever buy? How many WrestleManias were headlined by Jim Hellwig? How many house show flyers featured The Ultimate Warrior with no facepaint? Is Steve Borden in the Hall of Fame, or is it Sting? Do you like Bobby Roode's theme song? You do? Well, what if WWE decided to give him generic rock music every week, except for one or two major pay-per-views a year where they could make the "Glorious" theme song "special." Do you like Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance? You do? Well, what if WWE decided to give him generic rock music every week, except for one or two big pay-per-views a year where they could make the "The Rising Sun" theme song "special." Enough with this part-time Demon mentality. It's steaming-hot garbage. This is not World Wrestling Occasional Entertainment. Sting, The Road Warriors, The Ultimate Warrior and Demolition; all had facepaint, all were legit gangsters. The Demon is no exception. There's a reason Balor spent the last pay-per-view cycle being lapped by Elias on TV before getting benched for Great Balls of Fire. It's because as Finn Balor he's an overpaid Noam Dar.

Prediction: Balor defeats Wyatt as The Demon. In October, he brings back the character permanently in a panic after two more months of irrelevance where his name is inevitably floated around in a production meeting as a No. 1 Contender on 205 Live.

RD: It has to be used sparingly. It won't feel special if Balor is trotting out there in The Demon's garb every Monday. And it has to make sense in terms of the current story. The Demon is best served as Balor's secret weapon, one he whips out when he can't beat his foe by normal means.

Prediction: Balor wins.

AM: Entrances should always be bigger on the four biggest shows of the year, so if WWE wants to keep the paint as a special attraction, I see no problem with that. The problem I have is if a feud is built entirely around wanting to see that and nothing more, which is what's happening here.

Prediction: Balor wins.

KB: The Demon is a fantastic concept precisely because it showcases Balor is stepping up, willing to tap into a greater power for the biggest matches. The Demon is the main part of Balor's character that makes him interesting, but that just shows WWE should spend more time developing him separate from his war paint. The Demon will always be cool, but Balor can be more interesting on his own as well.

Prediction: The Demon allows Balor to take an impressive victory over Wyatt.

JM: Balor is a great personality without needing The Demon, so it makes sense to use that persona sparingly. It would be even better if WWE had kept it a surprise instead of making Balor's alter ego a foregone conclusion. I mean, it's not like we weren't watching SummerSlam anyway.

Prediction: The Demon secures the victory.

CM: I know the logistics would be a nightmare because his paint is so time-consuming to apply, but I wouldn't mind seeing him be The Demon more often. It should be his persona for every PPV at the very least.

Prediction: Balor defeats Wyatt by unleashing The Demon. John Cena vs. Baron Corbin 5 OF 12

Q: How do you feel about the way WWE handled Corbin cashing in his Money in the Bank contract?

AK: I truly hope there is more to this story. Hopefully, Corbin either gets his briefcase back, goes medieval on John Cena or all of the above. If not, it was an inexplicable gaffe that made Corbin look like a goof while diminishing the value of a briefcase that has over a decade-worth of great legitimate prestige.

Prediction: Cena defeats Corbin by disqualification after Corbin gets carried away. Corbin gets his briefcase back on Tuesday night.

RD: What a waste of a moment. Corbin's cash-in instantly ranks as one of the worst of all time. He didn't benefit in the slightest from it. Even if he takes down Cena, it won't make up for what he lost in momentum.

Prediction: Cena breaks his SummerSlam losing streak.

AM: While I didn't want Corbin to win the title anytime soon, I also don't think Mahal or Nakamura should be holding it, so I think the entire WWE Championship situation is a mess. And the mishandling of Corbin's title shot was an unnecessary sacrifice that doesn't help his feud with Cena out enough in comparison to how it hurts all the potential good that could have come out of it in the future if it were still around.

This was a rush job to force some heat on this feud all because WWE couldn't commit to writing a better storyline.

Prediction: Poor Corbin either wins and nothing comes of it or he loses and keeps eating crow.

KB: I don't mind the move as it was both unique and unexpected; however, it needs to not be the end of Corbin's story. He has been built up well as SmackDown's monster and needs to continue to stay dominant. If he loses to Cena on Sunday after this embarrassment, he will have lost all the momentum he had built up.

Prediction: Corbin cheats to steal a win off Cena and send him off to Raw.

JM: Insert Stone Cold Steve Austin two-finger salute here.

Prediction: Cena secures a victory before heading to Raw for a while.

CM: The only way this works out is if Corbin channels his anger into his match with Cena and absolutely destroys him. WWE did a great job building him into one of SmackDown's top heels. There is no point in having him lose his title match unless it leads to something more important. A win over Cena would do wonders for his blossoming career.

Prediction: Corbin wins by nefarious means. Big Show vs. Big Cass (Enzo in a Shark Cage) 6 OF 12

Q: Once Big Cass and Enzo are finished feuding, which Superstar do you think WWE should push harder and why?

AK: Big Cass has money written all over him. He's progressing quite nicely in a feud that's engaging the crowd much better than it should. When someone gets booed the way Cass did on Monday night, I often hear jaded wrestling fans say "he's not getting the right kind of heat," as if they own some type of WWE thermometer that measures the proper heat level where one is supposed to get booed.

Prediction: Big Cass wins using an intercepted chain Enzo drops from the shark cage. He proceeds to kick Enzo in the face for good measure.

RD: Cass is the more complete Superstar of the two. Amore is more of a manager masquerading as a wrestler. Cass is bigger, a better in-ring performer and is a more believable threat. He's generating great heat as a heel so far.

Prediction: Cass wins a slugfest.

AM: Between the two, Big Cass is definitely the one who needs help in being pushed, but Enzo is the more easily marketable option. Enzo should go to 205 Live, while Cass should be given the right amount of attention to help him transition into success as he still needs guidance.

Prediction: Big Cass wins.

KB: Big Cass is the only one with potential as a singles competitor, and he honestly could be a legitimate star in the future. Enzo may have incredible charisma and mic skills, but he is too much of a liability in the ring to perform at a top level. Cass has the look, the skills and the heat to be a dominant heel soon.

Prediction: Cass forces the referee to stop the match after the damage he does to Show's hand.

JM: It should be Cass, who has all of the tools to be a main event Superstar for a long time. WWE needs to figure out what it wants from Amore, whether that is becoming a full-time manager or a low-tier Superstar with a golden tongue. You can't push guy if you don't know where he fits.  

Prediction: Big Cass wins and (hopefully) moves on from Amore and Big Show.

CM: Cass is the one WWE should put more work into simply because he needs more time to get over by himself. Enzo is popular on his own, so he will be fine, especially if WWE moves him to the cruiserweight division.

Prediction: Big Cass picks up the win to finally end his feud with Enzo and Big Show. AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens (U.S. Title) 7 OF 12

Q: After Owens and Styles are done with their storyline, which Superstar would you like to see get a shot at the U.S. title and why?

AK: OK, fine, Chad Gable. Geez!

Prediction: Styles wins after McMahon snaps. McMahon and Owens becomes a Match of the Year candidate whenever it happens.

RD: I'd love to see Styles bring back the U.S. title open challenge and face a number of different foes for a while. This would be a fun way to bring back Shelton Benjamin or give a guy like Erick Rowan an opportunity of a lifetime.

Prediction: Styles wins. Owens leaves furious with McMahon's officiating.

AM: Following what will be a disappointing feud with Cena, I think Corbin needs to enter the U.S. title picture and possibly even take the belt from Styles. If not him, I would love to see Bobby Roode come up to the main roster to start something with Styles.

Prediction: Styles retains the title.

KB: Count me in for a Styles vs. Rusev feud. Rusev sounds like the perfect opponent for Styles with Rusev's size and impressive speed plus the story writes itself given Rusev's insistence that he be treated with respect and be given title opportunities.

Prediction: Styles ends this rivalry with two Phenomenal Forearms.

JM: I'd really like to see WWE explore Gable's potential as a top midcard talent, which means giving him a chance to shine as he did against Styles a few weeks back. Even if it's a short program—a few weeks and maybe culminating in a pay-per-view match—it would give Gable a great chance to shine.

Prediction: Styles retains the United States Championship.

CM: It's clear WWE won't push Zayn as a main event Superstar anytime soon, but he deserves a run with the U.S. title to get himself back on track. He is too popular and talented not to utilize more often.

Prediction: Styles retains and Owens attacks McMahon. Akira Tozawa vs. Neville (Cruiserweight Title) 8 OF 12

Q: How do you feel about WWE giving away the cruiserweight title change on Raw instead of waiting until SummerSlam?

AK: Giving the Cruiserweight Championship away in front of a hot crowd on Raw created a bigger reaction than doing so on a ho-hum pre-show for a pay-per-view. I'm all for African-American talent on WWE TV, so I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Titus O'Neil for basically force-feeding charisma into Akira Tozawa and, seemingly, this entire lifeless division. It's always great to see African-American talent take advantage of what has become a historically limited ceiling.

Prediction: Neville regains the Cruiserweight Championship.

RD: It's a baffling move. After all that buildup to this battle and to have Neville reign for so long, WWE had a hell of a SummerSlam moment in its pocket. Now the PPV gets a retread instead of the big finale.

Prediction: Tozawa retains.

AM: Since we had already seen these two face off so many times before, it's frustrating to see yet another match happening and then to be told you're getting another rematch at SummerSlam. Sure, switching the title prompts a storyline reason for the rematch, but I'm tired of these two going at it; and if giving it away on Raw speeds up the process of moving on to new feuds, good. In most scenarios, I'd hate that decision.

Prediction: Tozawa retains the title.

KB: I hated it. Neville was such a fantastic champion for 197 days, and his reign deserves to end on a larger stage which was easy given they were about to compete at SummerSlam. The win for Tozawa felt anticlimactic, and neither man was wrestling at their best.

Prediction: Tozawa retains and sets off Neville even more with another clean win.

JM: I thought this was a genius move, but only if they stick with the story of Tozawa retaining the title. It would make no sense for Neville to drop the belt only to regain it four days later. This also helps get the rematch stipulation out of the way early, allowing Tozawa and the Titus Brand to move on to a new challenger quickly.

Prediction: Tozawa retains his belt.

CM: It has both positives and negatives. Having a title change hands on free TV will always generate a buzz, but Tozawa winning at SummerSlam would have been so much more satisfying.

Prediction: Tozawa wins a hard-fought contest. Jinder Mahal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (WWE Title) 9 OF 12

Q: What is the better booking decision, having Nakamura win the WWE title to make the fans happy or having Mahal retain to continue his push as a main event player?

AK: I'd like to see Jinder Mahal continue his reign. He seems to be getting comfortable with the otherwise repetitive material he's given, and these two have essentially been feuding for one week. It's too early to pay off a Nakamura Championship victory, which, for the record, I'd eventually love to see under the right circumstances. But for now, Nakamura has been mishandled at points during his run on the main roster and needs to come into his own a bit more. It would also help if he shook his early WWE reputation for being dangerous in the ring.

Prediction: Mahal defeats Nakamura with help from The Singh Bros.

RD: Nakamura as champ would be a great way to close out the year for SmackDown. He can give the title scene some needed electricity. Mahal has already benefited from this push and can remain a prominent part of the show.

Prediction: Nakamura wins the title.

AM: Can we go back in time and have Cena defeat Mahal to win his 17th world title instead? It's too soon for Nakamura, who won't be able to handle the pressure since he can't cut promos, and Mahal has struggled too much in his own right. WWE needs a true main-eventer like Owens or Styles to handle the job.

Prediction: I predict Hell in a Cell is going to make no sense with either of these two as the champion, so SmackDown is screwed for a few months no matter what. Let's just go with Mahal retaining.

KB: Mahal should win because he is not ready to lose yet. His push would collapse with a loss. Nakamura is a star who will be a quality champion when the time is right, but neither man would be better off for Nakamura winning the title at SummerSlam.

Prediction: Mahal uses The Singh Brothers to allow him to steal the win and escape as champion.

JM: Mahal needs to retain, and I don't think there's any question that this would be the right decision. Mahal just had three matches against a 13-time world champion and came out on top in each one. Mahal needs to retain again thanks to shenanigans from The Singh Brothers. Otherwise, WWE wasted three months of Orton's career for nothing.

Prediction: Mahal retains thanks to some hijinx

CM: Mahal winning is the better option here, especially if WWE plans on having someone win the universal title in the other main event. Nakamura can always win the belt in the future, but WWE only has one chance to make The Maharaja's first reign a dominant one.

Prediction: Mahal wins again thanks to The Singh Brothers. Naomi vs. Natalya (SmackDown Women’s Title) 10 OF 12

Q: Would you rather see Naomi, Natalya or Carmella leave SummerSlam with the women's title and why?

AK: I've really loved the story of Naomi seizing the crown in a women's division that did not carve out a place for her. But Carmella has the hot hand, and I really feel like the time to strike is now.

Prediction: Naomi defeats Natalya in a match where Natalya works over her knee extensively. Carmella goes Tonya Harding on that knee with the Briefcase before cashing it in successfully.

RD: Naomi's title reign hasn't had a chance to really gain any traction. After a holdover feud with Lana, it would be great to see her face a number of superior challengers and get a shot at telling some comeplling stories as champ.

Prediction: Naomi wins. Carmella teases a cash-in but pulls back.

AM: Naomi, undoubtedly. Natalya is excruciatingly boring as a heel and it isn't Carmella's time yet, particularly right after Corbin just wasted his title shot. Naomi still needs to feud with Tamina over the title before preferably dropping it to Asuka, in my mind.

Prediction: Naomi retains the title and Carmella doesn't cash in her title shot.

KB: Naomi has been the champion for a while, but it hardly feels like that is true. Her reign has lacked memorable feuds, and her rivalry with Natalya is only beginning. She should stay champion long past SummerSlam, with Carmella still needing to improve.

Prediction: Naomi retains by forcing Natalya to tap out then avoids a Carmella cash-in.

JM: Natalya needs to leave SummerSlam as champ, and Carmella needs to hold that briefcase through 2017. Nothing against Naomi, who has been a very good champion, but Nattie is better and can help rebuild this division, an excellent veteran who can elevate pretty much any opponent.

Prediction: Natalya wins the SmackDown Women's Championship.

CM: Carmella is so good as the cocky heel waiting to cash in that it would be a waste to have her use up her title shot this early. Natalya has deserved a title for a long time, but Naomi needs to successfully defend hers on a big stage after being left off a few PPVs recently.

Prediction: Naomi keeps glowing her way to a win. Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss (Raw Women’s Title) 11 OF 12

Q: Why do you think Bayley was booed by the Raw crowd during her recent promo?

AK: Because alcohol is legal in Canada, and after months of awful booking, Bayley cut an even more awful promo that went down the drain quicker than the Toronto Blue Jays' playoff chances.

Prediction: Sasha defeats Alexa Bliss. WWE turns Bayley heel, but only if they're out of their freaking minds.

RD: Some of the audience has soured on her character and booking. With good reason. WWE hasn't figured out how to showcase Bayley as the endearing underdog the way NXT did.

Prediction: Banks wins, putting a strain on her relationship with Bayley.

AM: Part of it was probably the crowd not wanting to hear the same old sob story about how her dreams were crushed but she'll make it back to the mountain top since that character and promo has become exhausting and boring, while part of it was probably just an attempt to have fun booing a babyface. I can't say I didn't laugh, even though I felt bad for her at the same time.

Prediction: Sasha Banks takes the title…but I keep changing my mind every day about this.

KB: It was Toronto, which is a crazy town. While it may have been affected by WWE's poor booking of Bayley, most crowds are not booing Bayley especially when she's injured. That was an anomaly scenario.

Prediction: Bliss once more uses every trick in the book to escape with her championship.

JM: Because Toronto fans wanted to be the stars of the show instead of enjoying the stars in the show. Sometimes you simply get a bad group of fans. For example, at Elimination Chamber two years ago, the Corpus Christi, TX, crowd was terribly dead. In Toronto two weeks ago, the fans wanted to be funny. They weren't, and I hope WWE remembers that when they choose where to send the TV cameras next time.

Prediction: Sasha Banks defeats Alexa Bliss to win the Raw women's title.

CM: WWE was in a smark-heavy town that night, so it was bound to happen to one of the babyfaces. When Bayley returns, she will get a big pop, and management will put her right back in the hunt for the title.

Prediction: Bliss manages to squeak out another victory. Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe vs. Roman Reigns (Universal Title) 12 OF 12

Q: If you could book this match, who would leave SummerSlam as universal champion and why?

AK: Lesnar, with an outside shot of Reigns if there is a heel Shield reunion in store. I'd also be on board for Paul Heyman to screw Lesnar in the process and become the mouthpiece for this group.

Prediction: Lesnar pins Samoa Joe and calls out Jon Jones.

RD: Joe. He's been so tremendous as Raw's resident predator. His NXT run was a revelation and he's topped that on Raw. The time is now to crown him whereas Strowman and Reigns are younger and have time to reach the mountaintop later.

Prediction: Lesnar retains in a Match of the Year candidate.

AM: In my mind, absolutely anybody but Lesnar should win this match. Lesnar as champion does nothing for Raw in the months he's absent and, if he beats all three of these guys in the same match, I'm not going to care to see him beat them again later. I don't want him to hold the belt all the way until WrestleMania, specifically, if he's going to face Reigns; the sooner he drops the belt, the sooner Raw can restabilize the roster behind someone who can actually put the belt on the line more often.

Prediction: Sadly, Lesnar is going to retain.

KB: I hate the idea of the Raw world championship on a part-time talent, so I would absolutely move the title. Joe has been incredible these past few months and already has the experience needed to be a world champion, so I would have him walk out of the match as champion, stealing a pinfall win on Reigns from Lesnar.

Prediction: Lesnar walks out still champion, pinning Strowman.

JM: Lesnar. He's under contract, he's the biggest draw in the company and having him defeat three behemoths means someone new needs to challenge Lesnar the next time around. Lesnar without a title is a disinterested fellow, and I don't want a half-hearted effort from him if he's only sticking around for a few more months. I want a beast, and that only happens when he's fighting for the top prize.

Prediction: Lesnar retains.

CM: My ideal scenario would be Samoa Joe choking Lesnar out to become the champion, but I know that probably won't happen. However, I do still think WWE might put the belt on Joe to give us a shocking ending to the PPV.

[wionews]

A Canadian explains fighting in ice hockey for Indians

When I told my Indian colleague that in pro ice hockey players often punch each other in the face, he wouldn't believe me. I was amused, but understood his reluctance. Only one sport in the world allows fist fighting. Say what you will about relations between India and Pakistan, when it comes to cricket there are standards of behaviour.

Ice hockey is different. 

  In pro puck, fighting is supervised 

After two players “drop the gloves”—both a euphemism for fighting and also something literally done so players can connect fist to face—they sit in the penalty box for five minutes. Players from both teams tap their sticks against the boards in a show of support, the fans cheer, and the fighters catch their breath. The five minute penalty they earned is a “major penalty”, opposed to a two minute “minor”.

But since one penalty offsets the other, no team is actually handicapped. That fighting is on the one hand considered “major” enough to warrant a longer penalty, yet results in no actual punishment sums up hockey culture's acceptance of fighting.

Also revealing in this regard is the ease with which the announcer switches from narrating a hockey game to a fight. And how the ref doesn't stop the fight, he supervises it, only intervening after there is a clear winner or when one or both parties seem tired.

  Why do ice hockey players fight?

The basic logic: “Enforcers” protect skilled teammates. Ice hockey is an ultra-fast game played in an enclosed rink by rough men carrying wooden sticks. If a small, skilled guy can't score because players are hacking him, that's no good. Injuries and intimidation is built in to hockey. Formally, there are five ways a hockey stick can be used for assault: Cross-checking, tripping, slashing, hooking and spearing.

So if somebody messes with the skilled guy, the goon sorts him out. A dangerous man is a bigger threat than the referee's whistle. 

Historically, this worked. The mild-mannered ,140-pound Wayne Gretzky scored 2-3 points a game for the Edmonton Oilers in the '80s. Any punk who laid a finger on him dealt with a bloodthirsty animal named Marty McSorley. 

Fighting is like nuclear deterrence: Peace is maintained by keeping a lethal weapon inactive. Everyone knows nuclear warheads are dangerous, but no country wants to get rid of their own while other countries have them. Similarly, no coach wants to get rid of their fighter.

This explains why fighting is so hard to remove from the game, despite modern knowledge about the long-term effects of concussions. It also explains why each professional ice hockey team has at least one player who is noticeably bad at hockey. 

  The "staged" fight

In peacetime when fighting is unnecessary, so are fighters. So two enforcers will fight each other because they simply have nothing else to do. They need to remind the coach of their specialty. Indeed, their only purpose.

Sometimes, before a whistle you can see two players talking. The puck drops and immediately they go at each other. This is the staged fight, probably the fight most puzzling and unnecessary to outsiders. It seems like nothing has preceded the fight, but that isn't quite true.

Even totally useless, staged fights can totally change the momentum of a game. One team gets an adrenaline rush and the game is simply different after. This is sometimes reason alone to fight a guy. 

  Rivalries and score settling

Here is some accepted wisdom in hockey that makes no sense but still is basically a law: It's usually OK to slash someone, but if you slash someone back the ref will see and he'll whistle you for it. Retaliation is the sin, not the slash. So players will take down the guy's number and tag them good later.

It might be next period, it might be next season. It might be a nice legal open-ice hip check, a nasty illegal hit, or a fight. It depends. But what looks on the surface like only senseless violence may be just a reasonable, measured response to senseless violence.

  "Face washing"

Sometimes, two pretty skilled guys bump into each other. They might skate away, but sometimes one gives a shove or a hack. The other doesn't want to take this silently; It signals he can be pushed around. So he shoves back, and things escalate until maybe punches are thrown.

Perhaps they only reach the stage just before a fight, which is the "face wash". When a player wipes another player's face with his open hand, that's a face wash. It doesn't hurt, it's just meant to be demeaning, to goad other players into taking a penalty by protecting their honour. They're common in post-whistle scrums. At the 0:28 mark here is a decent face wash. 

  Sheer goonery:

Lest we think fighting is rough but rational, often it is just brainless goonery.

The retired enforcer Tie Domi--the prototypical meathead goon, bless his heart--used the term "old time hockey" to describe the time he punched a fan in the face. Video of this incident is posted below, as proof it happened and because it's insane. I watched this game live on TV, and while it seems incredible to me now on several levels, it made sense at the time, just a natural expression of my own hatred for Philly and their fans.

  Sport's parallel to nationalism 

I used to be a maniac fan watching games on TV by myself, screaming obscenities in response to grievances mostly imagined. I would stomp around and freak out. I've never punched anybody in my life, outside of ice hockey. I was a lunatic. Canada has many such lunatics.  

Athleticism can be valued for its own sake. Its elegance, imagination and skill is ravishing. The comaraderie as a team grows together and accomplishes their mission can be beautiful. Sports are great! 

But some fans support their team as rabidly and blindly as nationalists do their country. People form allegiance to their country and their sports team often for the same reason: They were born there. Rival countries interpret the same historical event in the exact opposite way, like opposing fans arguing about whether a play was offside after watching the exact same replay.

They both often have a superficial love manifested in the fanatic embrace of symbols (a team logo, a national flag, the myths of each). On the other side is hate for certain teams or countries. Both sides are toxic.

There's overlap in the underlying forces causing conflict between countries and sports teams. Self-identifying with a nation or sports team often carries a germ that warps perspective and creates endless antagonism. With countries it can lead to war. In hockey, to fist fighting.

  My derangement

I have experience being deranged. My Leafs met the Ottawa Senators in the playoffs four times in five years between 2000-'04. I mean it, I hated everything to do with Ottawa. When the Weather Channel reported a storm hit Ottawa, I cheered. This is not an exaggeration, I have a specific memory rejoicing at a weather report.

Being a hockey fan was the closest I've ever got to being racist. Until a few years ago I spelled Ottawa Senators without capitalising either proper noun. The improper grammar stung, but I could not show that team any respect.

I have grown up. Notice, I used capital letters back there. I let go of my hate. I don't "Other" players or teams. Now I have the good sense to understand that, just like people are people wherever country they're from, so every single NHL player is obscenely rich, disgustingly young and physically gifted.  

This past April I watched my Leafs play playoff puck for the first time in years. The hockey was great, but I was silent and enjoying it. I didn't want Washington Capitals players, our opponent, to die. I cheered for the Senators even. The Leafs lost, life went on.   

  Macho tradition vs modern science

If a hippie pacifist weenie like me can be brought to a near murderous rage by hockey, no wonder strapping farmboys brought up in a hyper-masculine war culture to value self-sacrifice and ferocity end up fighting people.

But hockey culture is changing. We know about the long-term impact of concussions now. Fighting is in decline. Even if it isn't entirely eliminated, "rock 'em sock 'em" hockey isn't in vogue. Fighting is less glorified and this is slowly changing the culture.

The rules have changed in recent years to promote skill, not brute toughness. It's welcome. The game has markedly improved. According to hockeyfights.com, in 2002 season, 42 per cent of games had at least one fight. Last year, this was down to 25 per cent. Progress! 

But call it nostalgia, I can't help feel some fondness for the old rough stuff. If today it seems crazy that hockey still allows fighting, 90s and early 2000s puck was really crazy. 

Here are a few wild, classic samples of NHL players dropping the gloves. 

  Exhibit #1-Goalie fights--Felix Potvin vs Ron Hextall, 1993

  Exhibit #2--Goalie + forwards + defenceman fight--Detroit vs Colorado, 1997

  Exhibit #3--"The Brawl", all Ottawa vs all Philadelphia, 2004

(WION)

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