A Perhaps Ironic Quote From Mr. AJ Lee

“The thing about it is, this entire industry is based on men solving their problems in between these ropes. This is the company that gives you Hell In A Cell, this is the company that gives you the Elimination Chamber… I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but “unsafe working conditions?” I thrive on that! Hell, this is professional wrestling, this ain’t ballet!”
 
— CM Punk, WWE Monday Night Raw Oct. 10, 2011

DTM-Cast – Episode #056

Click here to download.

It’s the delayed edition of the DTM-Cast; a really short episode that was recorded days ago and I had completely forgotten about. Oops.

In other news, I discovered that my old Ask.fm account is still active and has a bunch of unanswered questions. So, I guess that means you can use that to send me questions for future episodes. Maybe I’ll even fill the page with answers to make it seem less desolate.

Random Thoughts On… The New WWE Brand Split

So WWE recently announced that starting July 19th, Smackdown will be going live on Tuesdays. Not only that, but they are re-introducing the brand split so that each show – RAW and Smackdown – will have their own rosters, their own creative teams, their own storylines, and that sort of thing. I’m skeptical that they’ll be able to pull this off. It’s no secret that Smackdown has been relegated to a fourth-fiddle show that occasionally has stuff worth watching, but is generally skippable fare. Even with the talented Mauro Ranallo and a refreshed Jerry Lawler providing commentary, it feels like Smackdown is just something to fill time rather than anything worthwhile.

With the new brand split, maybe things will be shaken up and more folks will be showcased. It’s no secret that the brand split of 2002 set the stage for some folks to showcase their skills and even become big stars in their own right. Guys like Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Edge, and others were able to make a name for themselves during this era and for a time, both shows felt like different properties. If you were more into sports entertainment, you’d watch RAW. If you prefered a purer wrestling product, you’d watch Smackdown. And I’ll tell you what; during those initial years, Smackdown was the better show as it had great talent, great matches, and generally better stories while RAW, on the other hand, had HHH as world champion and nobody gave a shit.

Now how the split will unfold, when will the draft take place, how will the titles be distributed, will they split the World title into two (god, I hope not – I like having one World title as it makes it feel special) – the details haven’t been leaked, but I’m more concerned on whether they’ll actually make a genuine effort in trying to make Smackdown its own thing with its own feel rather than just second-rate RAW with another bunch of people. Ideally, I’d like for them give Smackdown a far different dynamic from RAW, similar to how NXT has a far different dynamic to the main WWE product… but that’s just speculation. Right now, there’s a split, Smackdown goes live in July, airing on Tuesdays on USA… that’s all we know. So as more gets revealed, if I feel like talking about it, it’ll be on the blog… or maybe wait till next episode; either way works for me.

Random Thoughts On… The Order

Every once in a while, I get together with a bunch of friends and talk over coffee. Nothing special, just talking among friends about stuff that interest us.

One of the things we talked about recently – ever so briefly, mind you – is the Order, a film that has been teased on Facebook and other places and is due to be released somewhere down the line. And the whole selling point that it features a bunch of Power Rangers alumni getting together to make a movie that seems to be militaristic with some martial arts stuff thrown in for good measure. It looks cheap, probably because it is. They got a crowdfunding thing lasting two months and there’s a bunch of perks to it for people who care. In any event, someone brought up, we touched on it for a bit, and  a short while later moved on to something else.

Look, here’s the deal with the Order and I will put it to you as bluntly and as straightforward as I possibly could; I don’t care. It’s not a project that interests me. It’s not a project that appeals to me. It’s not something that I’d feel compelled to watch or support. It is not, as the campaign page so boldly and so fragrantly claims, the Power Rangers reunion you’ve been waiting… it’s just a movie with a bunch of former Power Rangers actors. The two things are not in the slightest bit alike because the two things are completely different things.

I think it’s cool that they got a whole bunch of former Ranger actors in there, but the fact of the matter is it’s not Power Rangers. it’s this other thing. if it was former Ranger actors coming back as part of a Power Rangers special episode or event or whatever the case may be – maybe something similar to THAT sort of subject matter – I might be more interested in that sort of thing. But that’s not what it is; it’s the Ranger Alumni take on the Expendables… and quite frankly, that doesn’t interest me in the slightest.

Best of luck to the folks behind that movie; wish nothing but the best for them. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s not the “reunion” I’ve been waiting for. It’s just another thing that I’ve no interest in. And that’s all I have to say about that.

* For those wondering, this post doesn’t get the Power Rangers tag because it has nothing to do with Power Rangers.

Random Thoughts On… Star Trek Beyond Promotion

Star Trek Beyond, the thirteen overall Star Trek film and the third entry in the current reboot film franchise that comprised the 2009 film as well as 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, just had their second trailer come out a couple weeks ago, which gives us a bit more background in regards to some of the plotpoints.

I won’t touch on the trailer too much, but it is certainly a better sell of the film than the teaser was. You know, inxay on the Beastie Boys helped – you have a more classical sort of movie trailer music here – but there were little bits of character moments that were shown ever so briefly, the opening spiel between Kirk and McCoy seems very much like a Star Trekkish kind of moment. I like the design of the starbase; I thought that was pretty cool and am looking forward to seeing more of it. And I’m definitely getting a sort-of NX-01 vibe from the new ship, which is the USS Franklin and I’m guessing it’s supposed to be more of a scout ship than a proper thing, but who knows? Still not thrilled about the Enterprise going down, but at least there are glimpses of the ship putting up a fight before being disassembled like a cheap model kit.

But honestly, I was pleased with the trailer and I thought it did a better job of telling me about the movie than the first one did and while my going was a sure thing, I’m actually a little more optimistic about this one. And I’m pleased that the folks behind the trailers took the criticisms to hard and crafted a trailer that attempts to properly portray the tone and the direction that the filmmaker hope to acheive with Star Trek Beyond. It is certainly a better second trailer for a film than the second trailer for some other film that has gotten somewhat negative reactions.

I’m also pleased, especially after voicing my concerns on the lack of press for Star Trek Beyond, that they’re finally started to shoot out some material for the film. A few posters including a really nice one based on the poster for the Motion Picture – said poster is my desktop wallpaper, by the way – and there’s also a few more promotional stills. Those who attended the fan event last weekend also got a glimpse at a couple key sequences in rough form and reaction has been positive.

So they’re finally starting the push towards July and I hope this movie ends up being as good as they’re making it out to be.

Just A Thing I’m Fiddling With

(Just a bit of an experiment that I’m working with here. Don’t expect too much out of this.)
It began with a signal from deep space.
None of the usual hailing frequencies or communication methods could make contact, no sensors could identify the source or where it came, nor could some of the best scientific minds in the federation could determine what the signal entails. The only thing that is certain was a presence of a signal from some unspecified sector of space… possibly unexplored.
Several weeks after the signal first appeared, more precise co-ordinates were extracted. Much to the chagrin of the fleet, the co-ordinates placed the signal firmly in Romulan territory. Not only did this put a damper on any potential reconnaisance mission, but it also placed command in a bit of a quandry. Surely if they knew of the signal, there’s no doubt that Romulus would know of it as well, especially if it was sitting in their proverbial backyard.
Before long, an emergency session of the Federation Council was called to determine how best to deal with this situation. For weeks, there was bickering, arguing, and anything short of physical fisticuffs over the issue. Eventually, it was decided that a lone starship would be sent to investigate the signal. To send more would provoke an undesirable response from the Empire; even just sending the one ship was pushing it. Regardless, it was deemed as the only viable option, with the other option of letting the Romulans get to it first being less than desirable.
Of course, there was the problem of picking the unfortunate ship and crew to carry out this extremely delicate mission. Right off the bat, sending the Enterprise was not an option; the presence of the Federation flagship would raise a few eyebrows and besides, she was busy on an extended mission of exploration and was far from the signal to make it there with any expediency. It was also decided that the mission would best be served with a smaller ship.
Eventually, a ship was selected.
To be continued… maybe…