Author: dtm666

I ramble about things.

Howard Finkel

I thought long and hard about how to properly convey the words in regards to what kind of impact the late great Howard Finkel left on my life… and I end up drawing a blank. It’s almost embarrassing that it took me two weeks since his passing to come up with a worthy tribute… but ultimately, nothing I can do could be considered as such.

Because there are no words that could do the man justice.

Howard Finkel is the first thing that comes to mind when I think pro wrestling ring announcers. For over two decades, he was the voice of Wrestlemania. Appropriate when you consider that he was the one who coined the name. His distinct vocal inflections and way of making things seem grandeur and important brought a level of class and distinct to a sport that was often lacking in such things… and did a far better job of it than anyone that came before or since.

Howard Finkel was also the smartest man in WWE, with an encyclopedic knowledge of the business that became the inspiration for a short-lived contest called Out-think The Fink, where fans would try to stump the Fink. And when he needed to be, he played a perfect lackey or foil to the delight of the audience.

It is safe to say that there will never be another Howard Finkel. He was truly one of a kind and he shall be forever missed.

Thanks for the memories, Howard.

The "Lost" 2018 Reviews Are Coming To YouTube!

So over at the Youtube channel, I posted this update thing to let everyone know that the “lost” 2018 reviews will be posted there starting next week from Monday to Friday. These reviews were already featured on the blog while they had stuff like Nice Code and AT Games Weeks… so this is a first time moment.

New review (for the blog) coming at noon.

RAW After Mania (March 21st, 1994) – Welp… This Sucked.

Wrestlemania X has been lauded as one of the better Wrestlemanias ever produced, featuring a highly praised ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon, as well as Bret Hart bookending the show with a loss to his brother Owen in a fantastic match and eventually usurping the WWF Champion Yokozuna to reclaim the title that was stolen from him a year ago… everything in between those things is left to the imagination, but clearly, after a show with many milestones, how do you follow this show up?

With a shitty episode of RAW, of course!

Again, we’re still in the hour-long territory, but this also felt like a chore to sit through. The matches weren’t all that great… The Quebecers (the former Mountie and the current PCO) defeated the Bushwhackers in a boring match, Tatanka (BUFFALO!) squashes some job guy, Diesel also squashes some job guy in a match joined in progress, and Jeff Jarrett beat Koko B. Ware… not quite inspiring stuff.

Only thing noteworthy on this show is Bret Hart’s first interview as WWF Champion, where he talks about the night starting off poorly and ended great before addressing his loss to Owen. Other than that… eh, this wasn’t very good.

Zelda Classic Is Still A Thing

Zelda Classic is still a thing… because they’re hosting a 20th Anniversary contest.

That’s amazing. It really is… and I’ve dabbled in Zelda Classic here and there. It’s a great game, a great port of the NES Legend Of Zelda, and there’s plenty of custom content that keeps that thing going strong. It is, for all intents and purposes, my preferred way of playing Zelda 1.
In a period where fan games based on Nintendo properties are C&D into oblivion, it’s nice to see that one of these fan efforts is not only still around, but still heavily supported to this day by the people developing the thing. The most recent version upgrades the engine further so that the gameplay can feel more like the later games.
Go check it out if you can, especially if you like your classic Zelda.