Author Archives: ryanfoges
Trailer Alert – Deadpool 2 (Teaser)
Official Teaser
Deadpool is BACK.
If you follow Ryan Reynolds on Twitter (which you really should be doing) you know he has a very specific and hysterical sense of humor. Fans got a tiny sense of that humor peppered throughout his film career, but when Deadpool came out last year, you saw it in full force. Deadpool was a critical and box office success, and most of that credit has to go to Reynolds, who has been passionate about getting the movie made his way for a long time. Like most movies that do well in the box office, there is a sequel, but Reynolds and company continue to put their unique spin on everything, including teaser trailers. For most of this trailer Reynolds (as Wade Wilson) does his best Bob Ross impression, and it does not disappoint. Deadpool 2 is slated for release on June 1, 2018.
-Ryan
For all of our movie trailers, click the Trailer Alerts tab on our home page.
AJ Styles Is Your New WWE Champion #SmackdownLive
When AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE championship was announced last week, I speculated that WWE could be pulling the trigger on a potential dream match. If you’re a wrestling fan and DON’T want to see Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles, I’m not sure what to tell you. Styles is the best wrestler in the WWE at the moment, and Lesnar is still a beast capable of big time matches (Great Balls of Fire & Summerslam are two recent examples).
Well, guest what? WWE actually did it and had Styles defeat Mahal last night on Smackdown Live, and it’s possible he’ll go on to face Lesnar at Survivor Series. It’d be odd to have Lesnar still face Mahal if Jinder is no longer champion, even though I think Styles’ title run will be short lived. Lesnar vs. Styles is the money matchup at Survivor Series, and you can have Mahal win back the title during WWE’s tour of India in early December. Win-win.
Side note – I hope WWE was paying attention to the crowd reaction during this match. There is no way in hell a Jinder Mahal match should garner that type of reaction, but AJ Styles is a goddamn miracle worker. I know it’s a wacky theory, but giving us happy moments with guys we enjoy watching might be a recipe for success.
-Ryan
Monster Blog Wednesday: Our Favorite Ric Flair Promos #NatureBoy
Photo: Wrestling News Source
WOOOOO! Has there ever been a sound you associate with someone as quickly as you associate the WOOOO with Ric Flair? ESPN aired their latest 30 for 30 last night, Nature Boy, which chronicled the incredible life and career of Flair. While the WOOOO has taken on a life of it’s own over the last few years at different sporting events, Ric Flair has been a household name in the wrestling industry since the 70s. While he may not be as popular with the non wrestling crowd as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold or The Rock, Flair was THE MAN in WCW (the southern equivalent to New York’s WWF) for almost all of the 80s and early 90s.
Imagine someone with the energy level of a Hulk Hogan, but instead of talking about saying prayers and eating vitamins, he was talking about how rich he was. Or how much better than you he was. Or about how many women he had sex with last night. Flair had swag before swag was a thing, and he had the wrestling prowess to back it up. To celebrate the release of Flair’s 30 for 30, we decided to bring back the Monster Blog and talk about our favorite Ric Flair promos. This wasn’t an easy task, as Flair has about 100 promos that could be considered all time, but we narrowed it down to two. Enjoy. WOOOOOO!
Your World Champion
Flair was a master at hyping up his own opponent, because he knew he’d only look good if he beat someone who also looked good in the eyes of the audience. It’s sort of a lost art in pro wrestling, as most guys are busy bashing their opponents, and the only name I can think of that does it well is Paul Heyman. Flair starts the promo off talking about himself, which happens in literally every Flair promo, but he quickly switches gears to talking about his latest challenger, Lex Luger. Flair points out that Luger is a former NFL player and has one of the greatest physiques he’s ever seen. Luger might be able to beat most champions, and but he won’t beat the WORLD champion, because that’s Flair, and Ric Flair can go all night long.
As a side note, I’m very upset we never got that Flair presidential run.
–Ryan
The Dirtiest Player in the Game, Ric Flair
Easily one of my favorite Flair promos, which was pretty hard to find, is this one from 1987 with David Crockett. This promo/interview completely embodies what Flair’s character is––he’s better than you, in fact, he’s better than everyone. He only drives the best, dates the best and is the dirtiest player in the game. Skip to 3:00 for PEAK Flair. That last few minutes are like Flair loaded his words into a machine gun and started firing straight down the barrel of the camera. Unlike most modern wrestling promos, this one is quick-witted and cuts so god damn deep. Can’t wait to see his 30 on 30…I really hope this promo makes it in.
–Matt
Your Average WWE Raw Recap (11/6/17)
Photo: WWE
We’re less than two weeks away from Survivor Series and with the match card already set, last night’s WWE Raw primarily focused on which men and women would be added to Team’s Raw. The show was taped in Manchester, England earlier in the day, but unless you like watching the world burn you should’ve been able to avoid spoilers.
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And now, the recap for the November 6th, 2017 edition of WWE Raw.
Mizerable
Raw opened with a familiar sight: Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (hysterically sporting a neck brace to sell last week’s attack by Strowman) standing in the middle of the ring, recapping and previewing everything from Miz/Baron Corbin at Survivor Series to last week’s attack by Strowman. Miz eventually brought out Kurt Angle who thankfully is a little more forceful now that he knows he has the ability to wrestle without his head falling off. Angle is confident Team Raw will be victorious at Survivor Series, and even makes a match for Miz tonight against the newest member of the team: Braun Strowman. It wasn’t the most exciting segment in the world, but it did a nice job of previewing Raw and Survivor Series.
Stupid Stipulations
The Jason Jordan/ Elias saga continued with a guitar on a pole match. The point of the match was to grab the guitar that was hanging on a pole above a ring post and then hit your opponent with the guitar. That’s it. No pin falls or submissions, so I’m not sure what this match proved outside of showing that Jason Jordan can hit people in the back with a guitar. Whenever WWE goes outside of it’s bread and butter stipulation matches it’s almost always awful, and this match was no exception. Everybody loses.
Asuka Squash
I’m not sure if it was WWE realizing their mistake, the release of Emma or both, but introducing Asuka to the WWE Universe via squash wins is a great idea. It didn’t make sense to introduce the most dominant, undefeated woman in the history of your company via a competitive match against Emma where Asuka had to fight from behind to win. She’s ASUKA. Put her in there against some local talent and let her slap and kick the shit out of them until she’s ready to choke them out. I also like the subtle change to her entrance, as now the lights go out and her mask appears on the screen before her music hits. Beautiful stuff. After her win Alicia Fox announces Asuka as a member for Team Raw, which is extra terrible news for everyone on Team Smackdown.
Joe The Destroyer
Last week Samoa Joe finally returned to Raw and beat the pulp out of Apollo Crews. Crews’ ambassador Titus O’Neil took exception to that and challenged Joe to a match last night, so Joe jumped O’Neil and Crews during their entrance and went on a rant about how nobody in the locker room can touch him. That brought out Finn Balor, and the NXT fan inside of me jumped off the couch so hard I hit my figurative head on the ceiling. Joe and Balor had a memorable feud in NXT, and it was clear their chemistry didn’t miss a beat as they had the best match on the show last night. Joe easily floats between being as smooth as silk and powerful as an ox, and Balor is always better when he’s fighting guys bigger than him. I’m not sure why they don’t do it more often, but WWE should use some of the memorable NXT feuds as a blueprint for stories on the main roster. This match was great, but it was basically a throw away to set up both guys being added to Team Raw, although we did get this wonderful gif of Balor attacking Joe on the stage:
Wheeeeeeeeeeee! pic.twitter.com/tVWNvZdldK
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) November 7, 2017
Sasha vs. Bayley…Please?
Sasha Banks and Bayley took on Alicia Fox and Nia Jax in a fun tag match, but once again the story is what happened after the match. Sasha Banks made Alicia tap for the millionth time in a row, so Fox got on the microphone and announced that Sasha would join herself, Nia and Asuka on Team Raw. That decision leaves Bayley out of the loop, and please for the love of all that is holy, let this start a Sasha/Bayley feud. Bayley can get irrationally mad at Sasha for joining Team Raw without her even though Bayley would do the same thing, and Sasha can remember that she’s THE BOSS and doesn’t need a best friend anymore.
BRAUN
If you’re looking for a recap of the Miz vs. Braun Strowman match in gif form, I think I’ve got something for you:
Strowman manhandles Miz, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel and Kane when he decides now is an ideal time to prove he’s the real top monster in the WWE, and it was all wonderful. Braun is so much fun to watch because he’s everything rolled into one. He’s freaky fast for a big guy like Lesnar, but he’s also able to do all those fun power moves and knock guys out. Braun is back to being his dominant self after getting trash compactor murdered, and similar to Asuka in the women’s match, I feel bad for everyone on Team Smackdown with Braun coming for them.
Bruiserweight
I’m not sure if the WWE felt bad about making us sit through another incomprehensible Enzo promo, but they made up for it in spades by bringing out the Bruiserweight Pete Dunne for his Raw debut. Pete Dunne is the current UK champion and has been on a handful of NXT shows, including TakeOver Chicago where he and Tyler Bate had my favorite pro wrestling match so far this year. Dunne is wonderful, and on top of everything he’s already done in his career, he’s only two days shy of his 24th birthday. If you didn’t know or love Dunne before his debut last night, here’s the first thing he does in his match against Enzo:
If @PeteDunneYxB wasn’t already one of your favorite human beings, he is now. pic.twitter.com/L6h4t4YVQB
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) November 7, 2017
Dunne also picks up a victory thanks to a distraction by Kalisto, and this might be the first time I actually don’t mind a distraction victory. Bruiserweight forever.
Main Event
The main event saw Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose face Cesaro & Sheamus for the tag titles. It was a little odd to see Kurt Angle give in to Cesaro and Sheamus so easily, especially when he just tagged with Rollins and Ambrose a few weeks ago. I did like Ambrose’s response when asked how he felt about having to defend the belts on such short notice though. Rollins and Ambrose know that being a champion in WWE comes with a target on your back, so they’re ready to defend the titles at a moment’s notice. Statements like that go a long way when you’re looking for characters to root for, and I loved Rollins and Ambrose’s attitude heading into the match. We also got this adorable Renee Young gif after the interview:
.@ReneeYoungWWE believes in the Shield. pic.twitter.com/9qMdt7Ti2B
— TDE Wrestling (@totaldivaseps) November 7, 2017
The match itself was really good, as most of the tag matches between these two are. There was a frenetic pace that lasted almost the entire match, and I love how creative Cesaro and Sheamus get with their double team spots. The ending was chaotic, with all four guys down New Day’s music hit and they began to enter from the crowd. That set off some type of alarm in Kurt Angle’s brain so he charged the ring with Raw guys in an attempt to stop New Day. While all this was happening, Sheamus Brogue Kicked Rollins and just like that, The Bar are the new tag champs.
This has to set up New Day vs. The Shield (especially with the announcement of Reigns returning next week) and now The Bar will face The Uso’s at Survivor Series.
-Ryan
#MusicMonday TLC – Waterfalls
Welcome to Music Monday
If you came here looking for a nice upbeat song to get your week started off with a bang, you have come to the wrong place. I’ve been listing to CrazySexyCool like a mad man, and I don’t think any explanation of that is necessary. Have a great day on purpose everybody.
-Ryan
WWE Could Be Setting Up A Much Anticipated Match For Survivor Series
Photo: 411 Mania
The match card for WWE Survivor Series will feature a slew of champion versus champion matches, including Brock Lesnar versus Jinder Mahal. The main issue with that match is LOL it’s Jinder Mahal versus Brock Lesnar, which should end in 5 seconds with an actual murder. Here’s the feud so far in video form:
Paul Heyman has put over Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman but even he knows that Jinder vs. Brock is a joke. While this is only one man’s far out opinion, Shane McMahon’s tweet last night has me feeling hopeful that the match could change.
Due to @JinderMahal vicious attack on @AJStylesOrg, he will defend the #WWEChampionship against AJ this Tues. in Manchester, UK on #SDLive.
— Shane McMahon (@shanemcmahon) November 2, 2017
WWE was in a similar situation a few years ago when they had HHH defend his title against Dean Ambrose a month before WrestleMania at Roadblock. While HHH ended up winning that match and faced Reigns at Mania instead of the much more interesting Ambrose/Reigns match, I think Styles winning on Tuesday makes a lot of sense. The rules for Survivor Series are champion vs. champion, so if Styles wins the title Tuesday he would take Mahal’s place as Lesnar’s opponent. Plus, if the rumored Lesnar/Reigns match at Mania is still on, why not add Styles to the list of guys Brock has beaten this year to get to Reigns?
Jinder Mahal’s title reign has been a rousing disappointment, so hopefully WWE pulls the trigger on Tuesday. That would give Styles a title win he very much deserves while also giving WWE fans a dream match at Survivor Series.
-Ryan
Trailer Alert – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
As far as movie title’s go, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is as on the nose as it gets. The movie is literally about a mother with a missing daughter who uses three billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri to get the police to pay attention to her pleas for help. It’s got a dynamite cast, including Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell & Peter Dinklage. It’s also safe to say nobody plays a better angry character than Frances McDormand, and that’s on full display here. If you don’t believe me, watch the trailer all the way through until the scene where she’s driving by the field reporter trying to film her piece for the news. The movie is slated for release on November 10th, and has already racked up a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
For all of our trailer alerts, check out the Trailer Alerts tab on our home page.
-Ryan
Trailer Alert: I, Tonya – Starring Margot Robbie
I, Tonya
The Tonya Harding story is one that people usually remember because of one event: when she had her boyfriend beat up Nancy Kerrigan’s knee with a pipe. Like most stories that focus on one day of a person’s life, there’s MUCH more to the story. The trailer for I, Tonya has a Wolf of Wall Street feel, as Robbie switches between acting for the camera and acting to the camera. There are a few shots where she’s talking directly to the audience, which I’ve always been a fan of as it keeps the audience on it’s toes. I, Tonya does have not an official release date as of this writing.
-Ryan
