Weekend!
It’s The *Other* Superbowl Weekend.
There are two matches that have me saying “well… um… well…”
Brock vs. Roman and Taker vs. Wyatt.
I mean, I’m seriously looking forward to Sting vs. HHH (and Sting’s going to win that one) and Daniel Bryan is going to win against Bad News Barrett (despite not needing the belt) and Rusev is going to not lose the belt against Cena. I suspect that Seth Rollins is going to beat Orton. (Yeah, there’s going to be a four-way tag team match and a battle royal and a women’s match but those are going to have outcomes that won’t change the next 4 or 5 months.)
But Brock vs. Roman? A few weeks ago, I would have said that this was Roman in a walk… but Roman’s audience response remains tepid and, not only that, Brock has re-signed with the company. Which puts this up in the air. But if Roman doesn’t beat Brock, *WHO* can beat Brock?
As for Taker vs. Wyatt, had this match appeared last year, I’d have seen it as yet another telegraphed Undertaker win. But the Undertaker is now 21-1. This *MIGHT* be his very last match. Will he want to go out on his back (the only way to go, according to some of the old timers) or will he want to go out with a W? I could see it going either way.
Anyway, come Sunday, we’re going to go to the Wingstop and get the crazy order of 100 wings and too many sides and prepare for The Big Game.
So… what’s on your docket?
(Photo is “Footrace finish line, 1925” from the Seattle Municipal Archives, used under a creative commons license)
We finally had a neighbor complain about our dog, so we’re going to have to do something to keep her from wandering (too far) off the property. Our yard is not suited for a fence, real or virtual, and beyond some work dissatisfaction (tomorrow will mark the 21st straight day of 12-hour shifts, with night call sprinkled in) has the spectre of moving again lurking in the background (sigh…) and so we’re not hugely inclined to invest in things that won’t help the resale value.
So I purchased a wireless virtual fence. Since it sends out a circle in all directions, and almost none of our neighbors have fences, it won’t perfectly keep her on our property (assuming it works at all), but if we put it in a particular corner of the house it will be close enough. The x-factor is the sanctuary to the side. It’s going to be difficult to put visible flags in the woods.
I tested distances tonight and will have to do so again tomorrow. I have it just long enough to prevent her from going onto the offended neighbor’s yard, though may pull it in a bit more. The x-factor is that the offended neighbors have free-roaming cats on their property, which the dog may risk the “correction static” to chase.
In the meantime I am keeping her tethered to my belt on a 25ft cable. Nobody enjoys this. You never realize just how many things a cable can get caught on, until you’re dealing with a 25-footer.Report
@trumwill I feel your pain. We’ve got a fenced yard and a dog door, but our dog has been going out in the middle of the night to bark. It’s completely unacceptable and I can’t subject the neighbors to it. Unfortunately, the alternative doesn’t seem much better. If we close the dog door, she will bark to go out at 2 or 3am. Our sleep is wretched as it is.
I know it’s an issue of habit. She’s got no health problem (like a UTI) that would make her need to go out. She’s just used to going outside whenever she feels like it. I take her out myself at 10 or 11 and stay with her (so she won’t bark) until she goes, but she still wants out in the middle of the night. I’m not sure how to change the habit, but this can’t continue.Report
Mmm… bourbon beans.Report
Yes. They are my favorite thing about Wrestlemania.
(Well, other than the people we watch it with. But I see them all the time…)Report
My husband has a rather important client coming to town, so we’re going to spend the weekend outside of town, so as to avoid meeting the chap.Report
This comment is sublime.Report
Seriously, someone needs to be chronicling this stuff.Report
Chris,
for the love of G-d!
If you start doing that, you might start believing me…Report
Driving Junior to and from his father’s house for an overnight visit. This is the con of the exhusband living so far away. Working the second job. In my down time, I’ll be enjoying my sick time in bed. This is payback for all the fun I had over the past few weekends.
We’re supposed to have great weather again this weekend. If I can pull myself out of bed on Sunday, I will hike in the morning and go wine tasting in the afternoon. Or I’ll dream about it…Report
I thought I was supposed to fly to NYC tonight. Turns out that I am an idiot and bought a ticket for a flight on Monday and not on Friday. Oh well.
There is a documentary about Orson Wells that I want to see. SF is supposed to be nice this weekend.Report
Turns out that I am an idiot
[Crickets chirping]Report
Be nice, Scarlet.
If you can’t be nice, at least be subtle.Report
I also want to see Noah Baumbach’s new movieReport
If you do, LMK how it is. I actually like Baumbach better than his compatriot Wes Anderson; if he’s a less formally-accomplished filmmaker, his characters are closer to actual human beings.Report
My wife and I are great at communicating about the important stuff. Our ability to miscommunicate about the unimportant stuff is nothing less than astounding.Report
Signs you might just live in a tech-town:
http://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2015/03/26/George-Takei-headlines-Pittsburgh-Humanities-Festival/stories/201503260075Report
Is Ted DiBiase is still around?Report
He shows up for stuff like the annual “Old School Raw” and will probably make an appearance at Saturday night’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the audience somewhere.Report
He shows up, says “everybody’s got a price,” and laughs his evil laugh.Report
My goal would be to huck goats at dragons but I didn’t choose a Qunari.
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/im-really-bad-at-fighting-dragons
I thought of it just to see Solas turn into racist grandpa but I figured that is something best left for a non-gamefly playthrough so I just settled with human. I figured that the game is JUST SO GOOD that I didn’t want my head to explode with awesome.
Actually, graphic issues on the 360 aside, SWTOR is, objectively, a more polished game experience than DA:I. Yet, I keep coming back to it instead of other games. I’m even putting off sending it back and letting Trails in the Sky languish for a weekend so I can play it some more.
It is also an interesting contrast to Deadpool which was also awesome but, in roughly 1:30, I was about a third of the way through the whole game. A good game for $15 but, if I had paid $60 for it, I would have been pissed.Report
NOT. ONE. RED. CENT.Report
Maybe what you need to do is to go a few years saying that Bioware are the Shock Jocks of the Industry. Then, you get oddly addicted to Twitch TV and you see videos where people park 10 buses in front of a tunnel on some train tracks to see if they can stop the train that way. (Spoilers: They don’t) This leads to an epiphany which results in you realizing such self-imposed boycotts are silly when you’re involved in an industry that regularly bends you over the table and you buy GTA IV and V, Mike.
Wait, I meant “buy Dragon Age: Inquisition, Jaybird.”
Don’t know how I made that mistake.Report
Grab Jade Empire on Steam. And KOTOR 1 and 2. 🙂Report
The issue with Mike was that he refused to play fun games from an awesome publisher *BEFORE* he played them. He just got offended by them. They subtly seduced him in with their fun games with interesting mechanics.
Bioware, by comparison, was FREAKING AWESOME for many, many games (even though they leaned a bit too hard on the whole “hero’s journey by numbers” thing) before they up and demonstrated contempt for the fans who loved them so.
Mike was offended. I was betrayed.Report
I wrote a 3 paragraph comment earlier today, and then wordpress eated it.
Basically I need about 3 weeks off to rest in a room where I don’t have to be “on” and I don’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt to stand up most of the time and I don’t have to be nice to people who aren’t nice to me first. Or really deal with people who aren’t nice to me first, at all.
But I’ll settle for the restful and pleasant weekend we’re hoping to have.Report
For right now I am immensely enjoying the NCAA tournament. If my Cards can survive the weekend it would be a dream. Without them I am going to root for Notre Dame and then (hopefully) Wisonsin. If UK makes it to the finals and the Cards are out, my loyalty to my home state will have to trump my hatred for the Big Blue Nation. I have to say they are pretty amazing to watch after the beating they put on WV last night (sorry Sam).
Other than that, not much on the docket other than the Walking Dead finale and some household projects. Another round of work travel is on the horizon so trying to make the most of my last weeks at home.Report
This is definitely shaping up to be an interesting Mania. I want Rusev to retain against Cena, and I want him to keep his undefeated streak. However, I do not see them having Cena lose at a PPV again.
I cannot imagine Sting losing, but sometimes WWE displays a willingness do the unimaginable.
Brock vs. Reigns? I really do not picture Reigns as a credible threat to Brock, and now that Lesnar is staying on, he could keep the belt. However, are they really going to throw away all the buildup they have been doing for Reigns?
Undertaker vs. Wyatt, I am not sure if it matters who wins or loses, but I think there will be some sort of symbolic “transfer of evil power” from Taker to Wyatt. It could happen after a Taker victory or a Wyatt victory. A lot of people expect Taker to retire next year in Dallas. However, to make Wyatt matter, two Mania losses in a row is not a good thing.
I am looking forward to tomorrow night.Report
I want Rusev to retain as well, but I don’t see it happening given that he’s already won by cheating. The problem with Brock is that he doesn’t *HAVE* a credible threat anymore. Until last year, I would have said “Cena and Undertaker”.Report
I’m also looking forward to seeing what the writers do. Trying to out-guess them is always fun. If I were writing it… If the rumors about Lesnar’s contract are accurate — $5M, three years, ~36 total appearances — then he’s got to hold on to the title. And once a month would be a waste of Heyman’s mic skills. Lesnar holds the title in a tough match to help put Reigns over as a Beast, Jr., then some sort of scene to add Reigns to the Heyman stable. After all, there was this yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJMGw9mQeP0
Undertaker-Sting retirement match next year is a huge draw. Taker doesn’t need the win to sell that, so pass the torch to Wyatt. Without a long WWE history, Sting does need the win, and the PPV needs a feel-good moment. Miz and Sandow “tie” — hit the floor simultaneously — in the battle royal to set up a best-of-five series with the loser taking the stunt double role, finale at Summer Slam if they can carry the story line. I was looking the other day and WWE’s top two revenue sources are TV and then live shows. If Lesnar takes the heavyweight title belt out of circulation, then the other belts have to be important on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis. Ambrose for the Intercontinental and he turns it down, setting up assorted possibilities involving the top mid-card players. Rusev for the US, as Cena is getting older and needs to lighten his work load.Report
Dude, I would pay money to see that.Report
Dude, you’re already paying money.
But I forgot Rollins, so… Orton beats Rollins, later a shot of Rollins backstage with a lawyer and the MITB case open, and the lawyer is explaining that the contract actually says it can be cashed in for a match for any of the WWE titles. Ambrose wins the ladder match, then vacates. Long shot of the ring with the carnage from the ladder match and the IC belt. Rollins saunters down the ramp, smirking, and climbs in. Explains the contract, announces that he’s challenging for the title, but since there’s no one to defend it, it must just be his. Picks up the belt, leaves the MITB case, and saunters back off stage. On Monday Night Raw the Authority confirms the contract reading.
Ambrose (because if Rollins has it, he wants it), Barrett, Bryan, Orton, Rollins, and Ziegler swap the belt seemingly at random for the next four months, leading up to some six-way match at Summerslam. As the writer, I’m drooling. Two faces, two heels, two loose cannons, J&J Security, all good-or-better workers. I can have the belt change hands at least once a week at the end of a good match.
With the added benefit that I’ve tied up that darned MITB loose end that Lesnar’s new contract made intractable.Report
If Orton beats Rollins, I will stand up and start screaming at the television.
I cannot believe how willing the WWE is to eat its own seed corn.Report
You win already — the WWE will eat the seed corn. GRRM doesn’t appear likely to finish anything in 2015. Weber doesn’t seem inclined to finish anything this year. I guess if I’m going to have not-overly-complicated story telling this year, I’m going to have to finish rewriting my own novel, the short stories that provide back stories for the characters, and start the Big One. Damned, that’s a bunch of work.Report
Am I the only one who thinks that Leonardo looks like an android created by somebody who forgot the exterior schematics and worked off an imperfect memory of what a muscular man should look like?Report
Error, Lesnar, not Leonardo.Report
Lesnar has an amazing look for stuff like “Standing” but he doesn’t really have great “Play To The Cheap Seats” charisma in the ring. I don’t know how much that has to do with the fact that he’s a gladiator born in the wrong millennium.Report
WrestleMania as a wrestling show was mmmrph. Eh. It was better than some, worse than others.
WrestleMania as the World Entrance Federation? HOLY CRAP THAT WAS THE BEST WRESTLEMANIA EVER!
Sting’s entrance? Holy crap that was awesome! HHH’s entrance? Everyone else in the room was rolling their eyes and calling it dumb but I was laughing and thinking how awesome it was. It was stupid and I can see them firing the guy who said “it might be a little overstated?” but, dang, I felt like a little kid. That was awesome. Rusev’s entrance? They should have made the soldiers practice walking in step with each other a couple dozen more times but, apart from the equivalent of the blue shark, that was some good stuff. The montage of American presidents before Cena’s entrance? I laughed, I cried, I saluted. And Bray Wyatt’s entrance with him bringing scarecrows to life? I BELIEVED. All in all, a whole bunch of awesome spectacles.
Now for the storylines: Sting vs. HHH was thematically atrocious. Sting and the NWO wouldn’t have been on the same side. That doesn’t even make sense. The whole match didn’t make sense. And HHH winning didn’t make sense. I was confused. And scared.
Undertaker vs. Wyatt was awesome. Good stuff all around from both guys. I know the supernatural wrestler thing is oh-so-very 80’s, but Wyatt can hold his own with it.
Lesnar vs. Reigns was the writers painting themselves into a corner and they had no way to credibly have Lesnar lose. When Rollins cashed in his briefcase and won the belt by pinning Reigns, everybody in the room said “I’ll take it.” Now all they have to do is have Lesnar be distracted from the belt and now they can have other people fight for the title while Lesnar can continue his monster schtick.
And when Orton won, I stood up, pointed a chicken bone at the television, and yelled incoherently. My buddy told me “I agree with everything you’ve just said.”
All in all, the show ended much more strongly than it started leaving me glad that I watched it. It didn’t leave me happy and exhausted and saying “Oh, yeah… that’s why I put myself through this” but those moments are few and far between for anything. It didn’t leave me saying “Why do I put myself through this?” and that’s an improvement over the mid-oughts.
Except for that Sting match. That was incoherent.Report
I was not happy with the Sting match, for the same reasons that you mentioned. NWO were not loyal WCW guys, they were WWF guys invading WCW. They feuded with Sting. Hall and Nash are friends with HHH. It made no sense for them to defend Sting, defend WCW, or to attack HHH.
Other than that, I wish Rusev would have remained undefeated, but I did not expect it to happen.
When Ambrose was injured during the ladder match, I figured that was to get him out of the way, so he would not interfere with Rollins cashing in later. However, the announcers never really mentioned it, which seemed odd.
Overall, it was a good Mania, though not a great one.Report