Ladies and Gentlemen My Name Is Paul Heyman review.

 

Alright I know what you are thinking “oh way to be behind the times” “This DVD came out two months ago.” Well you are right but I have finally gotten around to purchasing this DVD and watching it and WOW! What a great DVD this is I mean from the actual documentary to the DVD extras are fantastic.

The Documentary itself is a journey into the history of the greatest manager of the past 2 generations Paul Heyman, a man who managed a great list of professional wrestlers much of them were either former or future world heavyweight champions. His story is very interesting and the fact that he came from a family of driven and successful parents who taught him through there actions to be the best at whatever he did. The documentary also finally gives Heyman the opportunity to get his side of the story out on a full and open forum where he could say “Hey this is what I saw, compared to what everyone else has said about me.”

All and all this documentary is another home run hit by WWE, I was very impressed and loved to actually see how the WWE would use the footage of Heyman, they killed kudos WWE kudos.

Roman Reigns out of #NightofChampions

Word came down a little over 30 minutes ago that WWE superstar Roman Reigns has undergone an emergency procedure for what doctors are calling an incarcerated hernia while promoting the upcoming WWE pay-per-view Night of Champions which is a little over 24 hours from the time this story is being posted.

Reports are that his recovery will be evaluated by WWE doctors and that Reigns is officially out of tomorrow nights pay-per-view, which is a blow to the show itself because this angle between the former members of the Shield and the authority has been the bright spot of the WWE.

There will be more on this stick to That Combat Sports Guy for more on this as the story develops.

#WWE rounds up, lays off and hits a landmark.

On the day that WWE announces a second quarter net loss of 14.5 million dollars the company announces that they are laying off 10 percent of it’s work force and is expanding into the international television market with the WWE network for the next 10 years as they pen a landmark deal with Rogers Communications which will make the network a pay TV channel on the communications giants cable empire.

The WWE network has not started without its share of follies with the first day roll out having player issues almost instantaneously and other issues that have been vocalized on various social media outlets and news websites. This is not the big news of what is now the ultimate professional wrestling channel on various forms of video playing equipment, the big news came today when Rogers Communications in Canada announced they are going to provide the network as a pay channel on its cable systems beginning August 12, 2014 which could make up for the 14.5 million that the “sports entertainment” juggernaut lost in the second financial quarter of this year.

All this news today is not really a surprise to this journalist because with small gains comes large loss, I am confident that this amazing service will begin the long journey upward to a fantastic library of Pay Per Views, Documentaries, and Classic content that all professional wrestling fans clamber for on a regular basis.

If you like what you have read share this, talk about it, and feel free to tell me what you think.

Ring of Honor #BITW review.

 

I know this may come a little late but hey what better time than now to give my thoughts on what I consider a very nice step in the right direction for the little organization that can Ring of Honor Wrestling and it’s first full length pay per view event “Best In The World.”

Lets begin with the production value of the show being in the media, a former camera man, and broadcasting school graduate production value is very high on my list of priorities and “Best in The World” delivered in aces and spades. The camera men and producers of the matches should receive a raise and promotion for how amazing the camera angles were and how crazy the quality of the way it was via the fantastic camera angles.

The finishes that were booked for the blow offs in each angle was superb with not only each match (obvious statement here) being put together beautifully by the workers themselves, but again going back to the production value the team that shot and framed the show helped put over the drama that the wrestlers were trying to tell.

My review of this show is a 4/5 star. The video quality could have been a lot better but thinking of the companies style and what they are about I really can’t complain that much non the less it was a great time and worth every penny that I paid.

Why the #UFC is in a good position with young talent.

 

Over the past 21 years the UFC has been a growing brand with Pay-Per-View buys in the Billions and countless television numbers which spans 3 networks and UFC’s own fight pass subscription based programming. This could cause a problem for many promoters in various forms of combat sports but Dana White and his counterparts at Zuffa LLC. have done what many could not do….. GROW THEIR TALENT BASE.

The one thing you can say about the UFC is they have an uncanny knack for evaluating talent and picking the proverbial cream of the crop, with 2 versions of the Ultimate fighter happening almost parallel to one another on different platforms the UFC has catapulted itself into probably the most viable sports franchise for the next 20 years, being that sport is still growing and evolving every time someone steps into the Octagon.

This business model has been duplicated in a certain sense by the second largest sport based company on the planet the WWE who rehashed their Tough Enough series after (in this not so humble mans opinion) the success of the Ultimate Fighter which was airing on USA Network’s competition Spike TV.

The youth movement in UFC competition has not only proven that they are the future of the company but also that they can hold their own against already established stars of the sports juggernaut known as The UFC, some of the names in question are names like Anthony Pettis, Jon Jones (who debuted early in UFC but also is only 26 years of age), and The current UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman who knocked out Anderson “The Spider” Silva to gain the title and then defended the championship and aided in the breaking of Silvas’ leg in their rematch.

Another step forward UFC took was the introduction of female MMA stars and up and comers to the company, these women have shown not only is MMA not a mans’ world anymore but that they can have highlight reel KOs and fabulous submissions but that they truly can hold their own in the cage.

Tonight is UFC 174 live from Vancouver, Canada and no doubt the young talent will be on display to show the world what they can do. I would suggest if you have the money buying it and making an effort to learn all of the names because they will be on the scene for quite some time. The talent base is very strong and not only will UFC be around for decades to come but with a centralized championship format where there is One recognized champion in each division this company will be sustainable for decades.

For more that combat sports guy head on over to my facebook  “That Combat Sports Guy” Ray Hyclak or on my twitter @TCSGRay and make sure to share this post and the other ones on my blog to spread the word about That Combat Sports Guy.

#AIW #JLIT is a celebration of #WRESTLING.

Every May on a small street in the Midwest town of Cleveland, Ohio a professional wrestling tournament is held to honor a fallen legend in the Cleveland independent scene that mans name is J.T. Lightning and the company that holds this tournament is Absolute Intense Wrestling.

J.T. Lightning believed in variety for his fans he would have a pure wrestling match and then a ruckus, brutal, bloody battle that would bring the crowd to a fever pitch. #JLIT pays homage to the ideology of J.T. Lightning and the excellent way he put on shows and entertained the loyal and passionate wrestling fans of Cleveland, Ohio.

This years #JLIT was nothing short of entertaining, heart pounding and completely insane action. I have gone to every for at least one day since the first show in 2011 and have never disappointed any of its’ fans and has done all it could to make the legacy of J.T. live on for as long as the world will last!

The major highlight of this years show was the matches that featured the gigolo and professional wrestling legend  Marcus “Buff” Bagwell of WCW/NWO fame who took on both Jock Samson and “All Ego” Ethan Page. Seeing Buff Bagwell live is something I would recommend to anyone who grew up in the early to mid 90’s as not just a nostalgia performance, but a reminder that no matter how long he has been in the game he still has the skill in which he displayed by performing a Canadian Destroyer on #ALLEGO  and amazing ability to entertain the crowd and make people believe in him including the wrestlers themselves who gave him a ringing round of applause when he walked through the curtain to the back.

The weekend culminated in the main event where “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin who defeated #ALLEGO Ethan Page who has won the tournament last year and cashed in his shot at the Absolute Championship last year at Absolution which is AIW’s big show every year.

In closing this show and DVD is a must see for any professional wrestling fan, the matches were all exciting and the fan fest was a blast. If you missed this years tournament I recommend to you save your money for a hotel, some tickets, and after party money because this tournament is something you can never truly pass up. I honestly can not wait for AIW’s next show Absolution which anyone reading this should make a point to come to Cleveland on JUNE 29th for AIW: ABSOLUTION.

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WWE gives tribute to its’ littlest superstar

 

Connor “The Crusher” Michalek was a young man who loved professional wrestling like most of us around the world, the only difference with little Connor is that was a young man with brain and spinal cancer in which he passed away from on April of this year. He gained notoriety when the WWE granted his wish of meeting his hero WWE World Heavyweight Champion, where he made at the time World Tag Team Champion tap out.

The WWE created a video for their youngest superstar and it is maybe the most emotional tribute to anyone ever. I have posted the video and have to say I could not get through it without having an emotional cry session because of how inspiring this little giant was.

 

Why Paul Heyman has “HUSTLED” passed Bobby Heenan as the greatest manager of All Time!

 

 

This may come as no surprise to any WWE fan but this may make a lot of old school wrestling fans this maybe tantamount to blasphemy. My mind set is not one of a main stream fan but as one who has seen both Heenan and Heyman as managers.

Lets compare the two of their managerial careers and then you will see my point on how I cam to this conclusion.

Bobby Heenan has managed a myriad of great talent such as Nick Bockwinkel, Big John Studd, André the Giant, and Ric Flair. All of these men have a major role in the sport of professional wrestling, Bockwinkel being a multiple time AWA World Heavyweight Champion. André The Giant is truly the greatest giant in the history of the business. There are a multitude of reasons why older wrestling fans will say Heenan and rightfully so but now comes a part of this post that will cause many people to be mad.

We now go to the man who I believe is now the greatest manager in the history of professional wrestling. Paul Heyman has not only managed a lot of the same wrestlers that Heenan has but also Heyman has managed many more World Champions and former world champions. Just to name a few you have The Undertaker, Rick Rude (Also Managed by Bobby Heenan),  Larry Zbyszko, and the biggest name of all of them is former WWE World Champion Steve Austin.

If you compare Heyman’s stable of wrestlers you see that there are 15 World champions as former “Clients.” While Heenan only has 9 World Champions, a lot of them share a number of them but for some reason Heyman’s been able to get his men over more by speaking for them in a way that you will go HEY! I hate that guy!

So in conclusion Paul Heyman has become the best manager in wrestling history by not only aligning himself with the right talent but also by know the right talent to pick so not only will the performers legacy will be built but Heyman’s will continue to rise.

If you like what I saying share this if not share it and spread your opinion on it as well.

Mixed Martial Arts and Women, how they are a match made in heaven.

 

An article posted Wednesday in The Times Union in New York state prompted me to write this article due to the issue at hand which is women in mixed martial arts.

New York state has been on a constant loop of legislation dealing with the (and I cannot believe I am saying this being 2014) legalization of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. There has been many arguments on why the state of New York has not lifted the ban on mixed martial arts, and now they have come up with the most disgusting reason why MMA should continue to not be legal in the state which is that MMA is steeped in misogynist culture. Which could not be more from the truth!

I have been a fan of Mixed Martial Arts since I was 13 years old and after seeing my first women’s fight on what was then EliteXC on Showtime I realized that women in MMA are as Forrest Gump once said “like peas and carrots.” The traditional role of women in any society has always been the second banana in a world dominated by their male counterpart, well in the mid 90’s a major barrier had been broken through in Japan and America when women got into the newest sport called Mixed Martial Arts.

When you think of 2 women squaring off you think of two white trash women who are angry because one of them is hitting or screwing the others male or female partner. Well as we all know now women in the world of Mixed Martial Arts are a far cry from the women you will see at your local watering hole on a Saturday night at 1 a.m. The women of MMA are the toughest most in shape female athletes in the world today, more so than female distance runners, track stars, and  any other female athlete that does not require fighting or grappling.

Along with the evidence in this article and others you have to look at the women of Mixed Martial Arts around the world from The UFC Womens’ Bantam Weight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey to Gina Carano, these women along with the female Japanese fighting stars women in Mixed Martial Arts are the strongest willed and independent females of the species.

We were taught as children Martial Arts were supposed to help build peoples confidence and self-esteem, so why are politicians saying this stuff to bring down that notion? As I close this article I will say that I prefer women’s MMA compared to any other sport because I know I will be excited and interested in the fighters and their back stories.

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Why NXT: Take Over should be the start of a monthly Pay Per View type show for NXT.

 

This past Thursday WWE “COO” Paul Levesque (a.k.a. Triple H) announced on the May 1st edition on WWE NXT that there will be a new live 2 hour special on the WWE NETWORK called NXT: Take Over happening May 29th. This is a great idea and to be honest NXT should have its’ own monthly Pay-Per-View type show on the Network, because it would be a good way of 1) Utilizing the great and astounding amount of Talent that WWE has cultivated in the so called “minor league” system that is NXT.

Not only would this work on a financial scale for the WWE but it would make the creative team work hard to produce interesting story lines that the audience can get very much involved in and find the perfect ways to blow them off so to speak at maybe NXTs’ big “Wrestlemania” type event. This company has become almost the top “Indie” promotion over the past several years and has many of the independents biggest stars the roster and these guys know what a big/small show is all about.

If WWE did decide to put on monthly PPVs for their developmental brand in Florida, this blogger believes that right after the announcement the enrollment figures for the WWE Network would double in a matter of a year because buzz of that these athletes (yes they are athletes) would generate because the internet fans would swoon over this new venture.

In closing the announcement of this 2 hour special will be amazing as NXT always delivers on great matches and very interesting characters that you know most of them will be on the main roster anytime the office wants. It would only be fitting and get them ready for the big time if WWE was to make these “specials” monthly and not so few and far between.

Sound off on what you think comment below and take part in That combat sports guys poll on this subject.

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