2 points to this blog and both have something in common. So lets get started.
Earlier this week I watched the film Tenchi Forever! for the second time and really enjoyed the music, this lead to me getting the soundtrack and falling in love with it. It's probably one of the most peaceful and beautiful soundtracks I've ever heard. This made me realise what I've thought for a long time, I have such a love of music it's untrue. It got to the point where my iPod had a massive 3500+ tracks on it, I ultimately cleaned it up.
Now when it comes to playing music I'm not the best, will say that when I have a instrument in hand I can get a little tune out of it but nothing of meaning and nothing I can ever play again. Little funny story, one night when out with everyone a random drunk man came up to me and told me I should take up playing the guitar, now when a song I like is one I will mime playing it with my hand and I guess he saw that. He approached me several times just to tell me I had to play guitar. It was off putting but still pretty funny.
So to me music always plays a part in some of my favourite movies, games and more. If I love something then it will likely have a great soundtrack. The Dark Knight is a prime example, in the final scene which is one of my favourite scenes I remember the music just as much as what happened in the scene.
And when it comes to games one of my all time loves is Final Fantasy X which has a truly gorgeous soundtrack, whether it was 'Hurry' or 'Challenge' giving you that sense of urgency and rush during a battle. Or 'Basaido Island', 'The Sight of Spira' or 'Wandering Flame' helping to showcase the beauty of the atmosphere around you and the sadness of the story. Music helps make that game become even better and I can listen to some of those tracks for ages.
To me music plays another role which is that it can remind me of some great memories and can leave my mind to wander into my different things. For example the song 'From Dusk to Dawn' from the No More Heroes 2 game was a song that reminds me of one night in Leicester. I went to my friends Annabel's house for her house warming, after thinking I'd just stay for a few hours it lead to leaving in the early hours of the morning and I decided to walk back. As I walked back down a quiet path with the song playing several times and the sun slowly rising I thought it was very fitting, I think it fitted the situation really well and now hearing the song reminds me of the fun night and the walk back with such a great atmosphere.
The song 'Solar Eclipse Stage' from Super Street Fighter 4 lets my mind wander into a beautiful sunny day and there are many more that do that. I think of sitting on a park with friends with the sun shining and a slight breeze. There's so many songs that can let my mind wander which is something I like.
Music plays a major role in my life, I'm always finding new songs and they cover a variety of genres. As much as I think I would love the ability or the drive to learn to play a instrument I think it's one of the things it's probably best I don't do. I love to listen to music and I think being able to play might alter that somewhat, it might make me look into music for more details then I wanted. That sounds silly but I like doing what I'm doing when it comes to my love of music.
Now onto point 2 of this blog. Today I removed something that has been a part of my daily routine for a few years now and that the Mafia Wars game on Facebook. I got introduced to it when I first got facebook, you see I got Facebook because all my flatmates told me to get it so I did. I wanted to use it to pass the time and Mafia Wars helped with that. Now I loved the game, often going on repeatedly in each day. It did become some what of an obsession sometimes leading me to think about the game when I was away from the computer, thinking about how to use my energy and such. It was great fun and I really loved the game. But over the past few months the game transformed from fun to pure announce. There were making it so you had to do so much in so little amount of time that it wasn't fun, that combined with certain players focusing on their efforts to ruin my game it just wasn't worth it. The aim of the game was that the player should have fun and over time that just wasn't the case for me so it's now gone.
Since I've been a major player of the game for a few years now it is a biggest deal that it's gone and I thought it would take some time to get used to not going on and over today I have gone on Facebook from time to time thinking 'Why am I here?' and 'I'd usually check Mafia Wars now'. But I think that it'd will soon pass and I won't miss it one bit.
Well that's it. If you've taken the time to read this thank you for taking the time to do so and please let me know what you think or at least that you've actually read it.
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Saturday, 19 February 2011
Something you just remember
As wrestling fans there's time that we see a match and we know that it will stick with us for the rest of our lives. Everyone has their own personal favourites for their own reason and so I'm gonna give you my 5 (I have a thing for 5's and 10's when it comes to lists). This are in no real order but there the 5 matches that stick with me the most.
Terry Funk vs. Sabu-No Rope Barbed Wire Match from Born to be Wired
When I started watching wrestling in mid 97 I quickly became a fan of hardcore wrestling and fell in love with ECW, when I could find it in the UK. So when I found the Born to be Wired DVD I was interested, although the under card didn't really catch my attention the main event did. So I brought it and watched the show and all I can say is I didn't expect what I watched in that match. Anyone who has seen it knows how brutal it was and how sick yet I couldn't turn away. Hearing the inside story it's interesting to see that a lot of what they had planned was thrown out after the bicep injury and the finishing wasn't what was plan yet it doesn't take away from the match. I remember Funk yelling at Sabu 'I don't give a shit about your arm' when he was taping it up, I remember watching the 2 of them wrapped in the wire and unable to escape. It was one of the most brutal matches I've had seen at that point and it still is, a undeniable classic.
Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe-IWA MS Something to Prove
In my view something that makes a match great is the atmosphere and the fans involvement, whether it's something that's built over the process of the match or something that's there from the beginning which is not all the time. With that being said this match had the most intense atmosphere from the very beginning. The fans just wanted to see what these two would do against each other and it didn't disappoint. Probably the most intense match from beginning to end I've ever seen and something that you feel involved with from the very beginning. I seriously can't give this match justice and it's something you just have to see. A funny side note the show was part of a double header with CZW later that night which saw Necro team with Toby Klein to put on a classic with the H8 Club, Necro but on 2 classics in the span of a few hours.
Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero-CZW Out with the Old, In with the New
This match was the end of a near 2 year feud in CZW which saw so many twists and turns but it was the perfect end to the feud. This was 2 men beating the hell out of each other and putting on a fantastic wrestling match. Since I saw so much of the feud (there's a 10 part serious of videos on youtube which highlight it very well) and because these 2 are 2 of my favourite wrestlers I may be a little bit bias but it was voted match of the year. This match really shows that you don't have to go insane to get the fans involved, the finish was a Backfist which Kingston nailed on Hero and it was believable. They didn't have to do flips or anything insanely hardcore, these 2 just put on a war which was the perfect end to the feud. The only drawback was the crap that occurred after with Zandig however it was edited from the DVD so you don't see it.
Kris Travis vs. Martin Kirby-Pro Wrestling 101 Unstoppable
You won't find this match anywhere! The short lived 101 company went out of business after this show, it's funny that the last show was called Unstoppable. And so the show was never released on DVD which annoyed me since I paid and pre-ordered it. Anyways this was the first live show I went to. I came back from visiting my friend in Bolton and when passing my Universities Union a saw a poster for the show, looked at the line up got a ticket and went. So I should remember the first match or the main event, maybe the crazy no rules Triple Threat Tag match but I remember this match. For all those non British fans Travis and Kirby form the team know as Project Ego from time to time and I find that former tag partners put on great matches against each other, look at Chris Harris and James Storm in TNA. Back to the match itself, it was insane. Whether it was Kris Travis' disgusting saliva antics, the crazy action in the ring which included a spot of Travis jumping to the top rope with Kirby there and Kirby pulling of a super Orange Crush bomber and so much more. This match was so good it got a standing ovation from the crowd and it deserved it. I got so lucky to be in the building to see that match since the arena was pretty small it could only hold about 250 and was near sell out. Again it's sad that it can't be seen by any one who wants to see it.
Owen Hart vs. Goldust vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley-Triple Threat for Intercontinental title with Pat Patterson as Special Referee from Raw is War 1997
A little story. In July 1997 I was allowed to stay up late for the first time ever and had control of the TV, I rarely got to the TV in our house. So after flicking through the channels I came onto Sky Sports and saw this Triple Threat match take place. To say this is one of the worst matches to be the first example of pro wrestling is a understatement. With the 3 guys fighting for this title, each with their own corner person (Brain Pillman, Terri Runnels and Chyna) each interfering and the false finish with Goldust winning but Owen's foot was on the rope so was restarted it was very confusing. I had no clue what was going on, what the rules were or what sport this was but you know what I didn't care. This is the match that started it all for me, every since this I've been a die hard wrestling fan. Years later I revisited this match with a new set of eyes and it isn't actually that bad, pretty good when you consider just who is in it. Now this is by no means a classic or a must watch match but it sticks with me because it was the first I ever saw.
To be honest I could be here for ages writing down matches that I just love and stick with me mentally, and lets face it any wrestling fan can do the same. There are so many books and articles with 'Matches you must see' as the title but I personally feel that those matches, although good, will not stick with you as must as those that mean something to you personally.
Terry Funk vs. Sabu-No Rope Barbed Wire Match from Born to be Wired
When I started watching wrestling in mid 97 I quickly became a fan of hardcore wrestling and fell in love with ECW, when I could find it in the UK. So when I found the Born to be Wired DVD I was interested, although the under card didn't really catch my attention the main event did. So I brought it and watched the show and all I can say is I didn't expect what I watched in that match. Anyone who has seen it knows how brutal it was and how sick yet I couldn't turn away. Hearing the inside story it's interesting to see that a lot of what they had planned was thrown out after the bicep injury and the finishing wasn't what was plan yet it doesn't take away from the match. I remember Funk yelling at Sabu 'I don't give a shit about your arm' when he was taping it up, I remember watching the 2 of them wrapped in the wire and unable to escape. It was one of the most brutal matches I've had seen at that point and it still is, a undeniable classic.
Necro Butcher vs. Samoa Joe-IWA MS Something to Prove
In my view something that makes a match great is the atmosphere and the fans involvement, whether it's something that's built over the process of the match or something that's there from the beginning which is not all the time. With that being said this match had the most intense atmosphere from the very beginning. The fans just wanted to see what these two would do against each other and it didn't disappoint. Probably the most intense match from beginning to end I've ever seen and something that you feel involved with from the very beginning. I seriously can't give this match justice and it's something you just have to see. A funny side note the show was part of a double header with CZW later that night which saw Necro team with Toby Klein to put on a classic with the H8 Club, Necro but on 2 classics in the span of a few hours.
Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero-CZW Out with the Old, In with the New
This match was the end of a near 2 year feud in CZW which saw so many twists and turns but it was the perfect end to the feud. This was 2 men beating the hell out of each other and putting on a fantastic wrestling match. Since I saw so much of the feud (there's a 10 part serious of videos on youtube which highlight it very well) and because these 2 are 2 of my favourite wrestlers I may be a little bit bias but it was voted match of the year. This match really shows that you don't have to go insane to get the fans involved, the finish was a Backfist which Kingston nailed on Hero and it was believable. They didn't have to do flips or anything insanely hardcore, these 2 just put on a war which was the perfect end to the feud. The only drawback was the crap that occurred after with Zandig however it was edited from the DVD so you don't see it.
Kris Travis vs. Martin Kirby-Pro Wrestling 101 Unstoppable
You won't find this match anywhere! The short lived 101 company went out of business after this show, it's funny that the last show was called Unstoppable. And so the show was never released on DVD which annoyed me since I paid and pre-ordered it. Anyways this was the first live show I went to. I came back from visiting my friend in Bolton and when passing my Universities Union a saw a poster for the show, looked at the line up got a ticket and went. So I should remember the first match or the main event, maybe the crazy no rules Triple Threat Tag match but I remember this match. For all those non British fans Travis and Kirby form the team know as Project Ego from time to time and I find that former tag partners put on great matches against each other, look at Chris Harris and James Storm in TNA. Back to the match itself, it was insane. Whether it was Kris Travis' disgusting saliva antics, the crazy action in the ring which included a spot of Travis jumping to the top rope with Kirby there and Kirby pulling of a super Orange Crush bomber and so much more. This match was so good it got a standing ovation from the crowd and it deserved it. I got so lucky to be in the building to see that match since the arena was pretty small it could only hold about 250 and was near sell out. Again it's sad that it can't be seen by any one who wants to see it.
Owen Hart vs. Goldust vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley-Triple Threat for Intercontinental title with Pat Patterson as Special Referee from Raw is War 1997
A little story. In July 1997 I was allowed to stay up late for the first time ever and had control of the TV, I rarely got to the TV in our house. So after flicking through the channels I came onto Sky Sports and saw this Triple Threat match take place. To say this is one of the worst matches to be the first example of pro wrestling is a understatement. With the 3 guys fighting for this title, each with their own corner person (Brain Pillman, Terri Runnels and Chyna) each interfering and the false finish with Goldust winning but Owen's foot was on the rope so was restarted it was very confusing. I had no clue what was going on, what the rules were or what sport this was but you know what I didn't care. This is the match that started it all for me, every since this I've been a die hard wrestling fan. Years later I revisited this match with a new set of eyes and it isn't actually that bad, pretty good when you consider just who is in it. Now this is by no means a classic or a must watch match but it sticks with me because it was the first I ever saw.
To be honest I could be here for ages writing down matches that I just love and stick with me mentally, and lets face it any wrestling fan can do the same. There are so many books and articles with 'Matches you must see' as the title but I personally feel that those matches, although good, will not stick with you as must as those that mean something to you personally.
Saturday, 12 February 2011
FATE
I've had the subject of Fate on my mind for a little bit now and so I've decided to express my thoughts through this media. So let me tell you a story which shows how fate has been involved in my life, in my view.
Several years ago I had to choose which college I was going to go to, now in Leicester there were only 3 Q.E., Gateway and Leicester College. With Q.E. being the closest to me and hearing that a fair few of my friends where going there I went there. And here's where fate first introduced itself into my life.
On the first day we were informed that we had to pick 5 subjects to study, 4 main ones and a back up just in case one of the 4 you wanted were taken. So heading out to talk to teachers about the subject there were only 3 subjects I knew I wanted to do. The first 2 were Maths and History, the reason behind the choice was simple I did well at these subjects on GCSE level and enjoyed them so thought I would continue them. My third choice was Law as I was fascinated with famous murder/crime cases so I thought Law would teach me more. However this meant I needed 2 more to choose so my mind thought I'd be doing Law, Politics isn't a far cry away and the two seem connected so I went to talk to the teachers. After the talk I realised that Politics sounded boring to me and I'd hate it so it was my back up. So I looked for another subject and came across Psychology, it looked interesting and the teacher sold it to me really so that was my 4th choice. Luckily I got my 4 choices and college life could begin.
Beginning the first year I thought to myself that it would be a year full of 4 subjects that I would like doing, that didn't happen. You see it ended up being 3 subjects I liked and one I hated, that one was history. Whether it was the fact the teacher wasn't great, I didn't enjoy what we learned, I couldn't understand what was expected from me or a combination of these factors the fact is I couldn't stand it. As a matter of fact I had a running bet with a course mate on who would do worse on assignments, he always seemed to do worse than me which meant he kept winning the bet!
The good thing was that I was really liking my other subjects. Could do the maths well, was really into psychology and what we learned, expect for Freud the bastard! And I was kicking ass at Law, to the point where in class if the teacher asked a question and got no response they would ask me and I'd give them the answer, not bragging but I just took to the subject really well. So as the end of 1st year approached I was relived to hear that we only do 3 subjects in 2nd year, guess which one got dropped?
So 2nd year and I found myself in a similar position, loving certain subjects and hating another this time it was maths. It got too complicated for something that you can only really use to teach, I seriously don't see another kind of job you can get with it. So I stopped caring about it, rather stupid I know but it's how I am. The end of 2nd year came closer and closer with University looming over everyone I knew. All I knew was that I couldn't choose between Law and Psychology, my thought process should of been choose universities that offer them as a joint course but it wasn't. You see I choose my universities by asking my friends 'Which one are you going too?' and I would choose either Psychology, Law or a combination of the 2, at least that's what I thought when I picked them, and then apply. So by doing this I found Sheffield Hallam which did Psychology & Law so it became my top choice.
After I was accepted into Sheffield Hallam the next bunch of choices came in the form of accommodation. So I talked to my buddy who was going the same university and we picked pretty much the same places, the problem was that we didn't say that we wanted to live in the same place so we ended up in different places which was a blessing in disguise. You see I ended up in a place called Pearl House and got put with some truly awesome people, I loved lively with them and although there were some minor problems here and there the year went without incident so when it came to 2nd year we decided the majority of us would live with each other again. This is when some problems arised. There was also a problem with the course I was doing, after the first year I had failed 2 law modules and hated doing it, so with that in mind I talked to a tutor and switched to just Psychology, which would make the 2nd year a little easier on me when it came to work load and enjoying it. Back to my point about the living arrangements.
With such a big group of us, there was about 8 or so, a house was out of the question so we got student accommodation again which was cheaper, bigger and what we liked more. We would live together but some first years would as well, the place had about 15 rooms and that is too many. Now I'm not saying the addition were bad but with such a big group smaller groups would be formed. I didn't really fit in a certain group I'd say as I was pretty happy talking to anyone who wanted to talk but looking back there was a chance I was in a smaller group. Would need someone who isn't me to tell me. So over the course of the year there were some arguments here and there and groups decided to hang by themselves. By the middle of second year I was a little worried about living arrangements for next year, with these separations in a way and a number of our friends going on placement outside of Sheffield I was afraid I would have to start again but that wasn't the case as 5 of us found a house and we moved there. What's funny is I'm now in 4th year and living back in Student accommodation but that's a different story which won't be told.
Now I may have gone off a bit there but there's a reason for it.
You see it was fate that made me pick Psychology as that 4th choice at college and here I am mere months away from finishing university and what's my degree in Psychology. Every year I would hate another subject and wouldn't be able to handle doing them so it seems by process of elimination I was meant to do Psychology. And honestly I'm happy about that, I've learned that it wasn't the crimes that had me hooked it was understanding what makes people like that to commit such crimes. I really love forensic psychology and that's something I'd love to do as a career.
I know I went on about living arrangements while at University but there's a reason. You see I got lucky to be put in that building on that floor with those people, I loved everyone and was so happy to be there. I know of some people who only find a handful of people on their fall that they want to live with for the following year, we had pretty much the entire fall that we wanted to keep together. Now sadly over the years we've kind of drifted apart a bit and we're all over Sheffield this year. I also don't talk to them as regularly as I do except for one person which is Sarah. If I had never been put in that building on that floor I would of never of met her and would of likely gone insane while in Sheffield, something I've told her on several occasions. She's gone from being my flatmate, to being my friend at Uni, to being one of the people I'm most close to and one of my best friends. She's the only one who's come down to Leicester to visit me and the only one I've gone to visit while back home for summer break. I've I had never of been put in that place would of never met her.
There are more examples of fate being involved in my life and could be here forever but will give you one more, which comes in the form meeting my best friends.
I would tell you how I met Jason but I honestly don't remember as we were that young, we've been friends for nearly all our life's. But I can tell you about meeting Alex who has become like a brother to me. We met while at 'High school' through a mutual friend, he was in all the same groups as my friend and we would hang out so I got introduced to him. And we've joked that after all these years, a decade plus, it's weird how we met and how we've become such friends.
I know there are people out there who believe 'God' looks over them and what happens is 'Gods' doing, I'm not one of them I'm not even religious in any sense of the word. But to me there are a number of events that have occurred in my life that I see as being fate. You can say it's just look but to me it's not. This is a weird subject that generally people either belief or not, it's like luck or religion. But to me fate is real, it doesn't effect everything I do but I think it's played a part on my aspects of my life which I'm thankful for.
This is kind of long and I wasn't intended it to be but if you read this would like to say thank you and let me know what you think.
Several years ago I had to choose which college I was going to go to, now in Leicester there were only 3 Q.E., Gateway and Leicester College. With Q.E. being the closest to me and hearing that a fair few of my friends where going there I went there. And here's where fate first introduced itself into my life.
On the first day we were informed that we had to pick 5 subjects to study, 4 main ones and a back up just in case one of the 4 you wanted were taken. So heading out to talk to teachers about the subject there were only 3 subjects I knew I wanted to do. The first 2 were Maths and History, the reason behind the choice was simple I did well at these subjects on GCSE level and enjoyed them so thought I would continue them. My third choice was Law as I was fascinated with famous murder/crime cases so I thought Law would teach me more. However this meant I needed 2 more to choose so my mind thought I'd be doing Law, Politics isn't a far cry away and the two seem connected so I went to talk to the teachers. After the talk I realised that Politics sounded boring to me and I'd hate it so it was my back up. So I looked for another subject and came across Psychology, it looked interesting and the teacher sold it to me really so that was my 4th choice. Luckily I got my 4 choices and college life could begin.
Beginning the first year I thought to myself that it would be a year full of 4 subjects that I would like doing, that didn't happen. You see it ended up being 3 subjects I liked and one I hated, that one was history. Whether it was the fact the teacher wasn't great, I didn't enjoy what we learned, I couldn't understand what was expected from me or a combination of these factors the fact is I couldn't stand it. As a matter of fact I had a running bet with a course mate on who would do worse on assignments, he always seemed to do worse than me which meant he kept winning the bet!
The good thing was that I was really liking my other subjects. Could do the maths well, was really into psychology and what we learned, expect for Freud the bastard! And I was kicking ass at Law, to the point where in class if the teacher asked a question and got no response they would ask me and I'd give them the answer, not bragging but I just took to the subject really well. So as the end of 1st year approached I was relived to hear that we only do 3 subjects in 2nd year, guess which one got dropped?
So 2nd year and I found myself in a similar position, loving certain subjects and hating another this time it was maths. It got too complicated for something that you can only really use to teach, I seriously don't see another kind of job you can get with it. So I stopped caring about it, rather stupid I know but it's how I am. The end of 2nd year came closer and closer with University looming over everyone I knew. All I knew was that I couldn't choose between Law and Psychology, my thought process should of been choose universities that offer them as a joint course but it wasn't. You see I choose my universities by asking my friends 'Which one are you going too?' and I would choose either Psychology, Law or a combination of the 2, at least that's what I thought when I picked them, and then apply. So by doing this I found Sheffield Hallam which did Psychology & Law so it became my top choice.
After I was accepted into Sheffield Hallam the next bunch of choices came in the form of accommodation. So I talked to my buddy who was going the same university and we picked pretty much the same places, the problem was that we didn't say that we wanted to live in the same place so we ended up in different places which was a blessing in disguise. You see I ended up in a place called Pearl House and got put with some truly awesome people, I loved lively with them and although there were some minor problems here and there the year went without incident so when it came to 2nd year we decided the majority of us would live with each other again. This is when some problems arised. There was also a problem with the course I was doing, after the first year I had failed 2 law modules and hated doing it, so with that in mind I talked to a tutor and switched to just Psychology, which would make the 2nd year a little easier on me when it came to work load and enjoying it. Back to my point about the living arrangements.
With such a big group of us, there was about 8 or so, a house was out of the question so we got student accommodation again which was cheaper, bigger and what we liked more. We would live together but some first years would as well, the place had about 15 rooms and that is too many. Now I'm not saying the addition were bad but with such a big group smaller groups would be formed. I didn't really fit in a certain group I'd say as I was pretty happy talking to anyone who wanted to talk but looking back there was a chance I was in a smaller group. Would need someone who isn't me to tell me. So over the course of the year there were some arguments here and there and groups decided to hang by themselves. By the middle of second year I was a little worried about living arrangements for next year, with these separations in a way and a number of our friends going on placement outside of Sheffield I was afraid I would have to start again but that wasn't the case as 5 of us found a house and we moved there. What's funny is I'm now in 4th year and living back in Student accommodation but that's a different story which won't be told.
Now I may have gone off a bit there but there's a reason for it.
You see it was fate that made me pick Psychology as that 4th choice at college and here I am mere months away from finishing university and what's my degree in Psychology. Every year I would hate another subject and wouldn't be able to handle doing them so it seems by process of elimination I was meant to do Psychology. And honestly I'm happy about that, I've learned that it wasn't the crimes that had me hooked it was understanding what makes people like that to commit such crimes. I really love forensic psychology and that's something I'd love to do as a career.
I know I went on about living arrangements while at University but there's a reason. You see I got lucky to be put in that building on that floor with those people, I loved everyone and was so happy to be there. I know of some people who only find a handful of people on their fall that they want to live with for the following year, we had pretty much the entire fall that we wanted to keep together. Now sadly over the years we've kind of drifted apart a bit and we're all over Sheffield this year. I also don't talk to them as regularly as I do except for one person which is Sarah. If I had never been put in that building on that floor I would of never of met her and would of likely gone insane while in Sheffield, something I've told her on several occasions. She's gone from being my flatmate, to being my friend at Uni, to being one of the people I'm most close to and one of my best friends. She's the only one who's come down to Leicester to visit me and the only one I've gone to visit while back home for summer break. I've I had never of been put in that place would of never met her.
There are more examples of fate being involved in my life and could be here forever but will give you one more, which comes in the form meeting my best friends.
I would tell you how I met Jason but I honestly don't remember as we were that young, we've been friends for nearly all our life's. But I can tell you about meeting Alex who has become like a brother to me. We met while at 'High school' through a mutual friend, he was in all the same groups as my friend and we would hang out so I got introduced to him. And we've joked that after all these years, a decade plus, it's weird how we met and how we've become such friends.
I know there are people out there who believe 'God' looks over them and what happens is 'Gods' doing, I'm not one of them I'm not even religious in any sense of the word. But to me there are a number of events that have occurred in my life that I see as being fate. You can say it's just look but to me it's not. This is a weird subject that generally people either belief or not, it's like luck or religion. But to me fate is real, it doesn't effect everything I do but I think it's played a part on my aspects of my life which I'm thankful for.
This is kind of long and I wasn't intended it to be but if you read this would like to say thank you and let me know what you think.
Friday, 4 February 2011
The Wrestling Channel and the Internet
I was thinking of a subject to write a blog about and while I couldn't come up with a list or anything but 2 things came to mind. And I think they're connected in a way.
So a little history for you. After ECW and WCW closed they was only WWE to watch here in the UK. After they ran the awful Invasion angle I was falling out of love with wrestling a little bit. I thought the product was a mess and nothing was sticking out to me. I still watched as there was nothing else to watch but I was falling out of love with wrestling a bit. But things would change. While skipping from channel to channel I found something called 'The Wrestling Channel Preview' and it showed off some TNA, ROH and more indy companies. I loved what I saw and couldn't wait for the channel to start. And when it did I loved it, I literally had that channel on whenever I had the TV remote the channel was on and how could it not be? Every week they would put on the TNA weekly PPV's, highlights from ROH shows, MLW shows, 3PW shows and so much more. The channel introduced me to the indy scene in America, so got to watch CZW and IWA Mid South which introduced me to Chikara and so many more. The biggest reason why I loved the channels would be Sunday nights, from 8 till midnight they would put on a Supershow. This would be a full show from ROH, CZW, MLW and more, these even included some shoot interviews which were great. I loved to see these full shows and it got me more hooked on wrestling. Later on the channel put on many British companies which I fell in love with and it helped me learn more about the wrestling that is available to me. They even put on the classic World of Sport shows but I never really got into the shows that much, it was a bit slow for my likely but you got to love the amount of chain wrestling that went on.
Now sadly the channel isn't on any more. It changes to TWC then TWC Fight, which included many MMA shows and then the Fight Network which was nearly all MMA shows. I talk about this channel a fair bit with a buddy of mine and the idea of this returning would be amazing but it wouldn't really happen anytime soon which is sad to say.
Now with the idea of that returning leads me to my next topic. With this week being full of surprises with 'THEY' being revealed as Fortune, the return of Booker & Nash at the Rumble and the recent '2/21/11' promo it has been a week of surprises. So I actually watched the Rumble it's one of those shows I never miss and always enjoy and I marked out huge for both Booker's return and Nash's but I just couldn't help but think how much more of an impact that could of been if the Internet didn't ruin it. We all knew they were returning it was just a case of when during the match. Image if you had watched the rumble and you didn't know that was gonna happen? The explosions would of been so much bigger in my view.
So the 'THEY' angle only officially happened last night and it turned out that the guys who were meant to be the return of the Main Event Mafia ended up being the Fortune. In fairness to TNA they had no choice since 2 of the main guys returned to WWE the Sunday before so what could they do. With that being said they got a great reaction from the turn and it was the right choice. Now this was spoilt by the fact they record the shows days before and there were spoilers out which I probably shouldn't of read but they were there and with me knowing so many wrestling fans it was gonna be spoilt.
The biggest talk at the moment is the promo that appeared on Raw. Is it Sting? Is it Taker? Or is it something else? Now I got into a little debate with a guy in my 'Can We Find 1 Million Wrestling Fans?' group who had posted his views about it in the discussion section. He claimed that it couldn't be Sting and gave his reasons, it had to be Taker in his views. Now I did counter with my view that it could very well be Sting. I'm not gonna get into this whole thing as there's been loads of rumours and crazy things about that promo which lasted less then a minute. In my view we just have to wait until the date which isn't too far away but it's almost guaranteed that it will be spoilt by then.
As much as I love the Internet and all it gives me but in my view it can ruin a lot of things that could happen in wrestling. It also forces companies to change on the night because they know the fans will be expecting it. Just look at the Rumble, rumours had both Awesome Kong debuting and Triple H returning in the Rumble match and looked what happened. When they changed the Divas title match into a 4 way the fans chanted 'Kong' and they got Eve just because WWE knew they expected Kong.
I think as fans we just want to know more and more about the business we love but I think it takes away a great deal from the matches. Where's the surprise when you know it's gonna happen? That's the problem with the Money in the Bank, it's pretty much a for gone conclusion that the guy who cashes in is winning the belt the only surprise is when he's gonna cash it in which is getting shorted and shorter with each winner. One of the last times I was truly surprised when watching wrestling was Swagger winning Money in the Bank because he was the last guy I expected to win that match. To be honest I think WWE know how to trick the audience, I keep going on about the Rumble but seriously it was well done. I mean would you think that Alberto would win it by lastly eliminating Santino? Del Rio winning we knew but not Santino being the last eliminated.
Anyways I can complain and praise the ability to surprise us fans these days but nothing will change. We'll continue to read spoilers and they'll continue to make quick changes just so we don't get what we expect.
So a little history for you. After ECW and WCW closed they was only WWE to watch here in the UK. After they ran the awful Invasion angle I was falling out of love with wrestling a little bit. I thought the product was a mess and nothing was sticking out to me. I still watched as there was nothing else to watch but I was falling out of love with wrestling a bit. But things would change. While skipping from channel to channel I found something called 'The Wrestling Channel Preview' and it showed off some TNA, ROH and more indy companies. I loved what I saw and couldn't wait for the channel to start. And when it did I loved it, I literally had that channel on whenever I had the TV remote the channel was on and how could it not be? Every week they would put on the TNA weekly PPV's, highlights from ROH shows, MLW shows, 3PW shows and so much more. The channel introduced me to the indy scene in America, so got to watch CZW and IWA Mid South which introduced me to Chikara and so many more. The biggest reason why I loved the channels would be Sunday nights, from 8 till midnight they would put on a Supershow. This would be a full show from ROH, CZW, MLW and more, these even included some shoot interviews which were great. I loved to see these full shows and it got me more hooked on wrestling. Later on the channel put on many British companies which I fell in love with and it helped me learn more about the wrestling that is available to me. They even put on the classic World of Sport shows but I never really got into the shows that much, it was a bit slow for my likely but you got to love the amount of chain wrestling that went on.
Now sadly the channel isn't on any more. It changes to TWC then TWC Fight, which included many MMA shows and then the Fight Network which was nearly all MMA shows. I talk about this channel a fair bit with a buddy of mine and the idea of this returning would be amazing but it wouldn't really happen anytime soon which is sad to say.
Now with the idea of that returning leads me to my next topic. With this week being full of surprises with 'THEY' being revealed as Fortune, the return of Booker & Nash at the Rumble and the recent '2/21/11' promo it has been a week of surprises. So I actually watched the Rumble it's one of those shows I never miss and always enjoy and I marked out huge for both Booker's return and Nash's but I just couldn't help but think how much more of an impact that could of been if the Internet didn't ruin it. We all knew they were returning it was just a case of when during the match. Image if you had watched the rumble and you didn't know that was gonna happen? The explosions would of been so much bigger in my view.
So the 'THEY' angle only officially happened last night and it turned out that the guys who were meant to be the return of the Main Event Mafia ended up being the Fortune. In fairness to TNA they had no choice since 2 of the main guys returned to WWE the Sunday before so what could they do. With that being said they got a great reaction from the turn and it was the right choice. Now this was spoilt by the fact they record the shows days before and there were spoilers out which I probably shouldn't of read but they were there and with me knowing so many wrestling fans it was gonna be spoilt.
The biggest talk at the moment is the promo that appeared on Raw. Is it Sting? Is it Taker? Or is it something else? Now I got into a little debate with a guy in my 'Can We Find 1 Million Wrestling Fans?' group who had posted his views about it in the discussion section. He claimed that it couldn't be Sting and gave his reasons, it had to be Taker in his views. Now I did counter with my view that it could very well be Sting. I'm not gonna get into this whole thing as there's been loads of rumours and crazy things about that promo which lasted less then a minute. In my view we just have to wait until the date which isn't too far away but it's almost guaranteed that it will be spoilt by then.
As much as I love the Internet and all it gives me but in my view it can ruin a lot of things that could happen in wrestling. It also forces companies to change on the night because they know the fans will be expecting it. Just look at the Rumble, rumours had both Awesome Kong debuting and Triple H returning in the Rumble match and looked what happened. When they changed the Divas title match into a 4 way the fans chanted 'Kong' and they got Eve just because WWE knew they expected Kong.
I think as fans we just want to know more and more about the business we love but I think it takes away a great deal from the matches. Where's the surprise when you know it's gonna happen? That's the problem with the Money in the Bank, it's pretty much a for gone conclusion that the guy who cashes in is winning the belt the only surprise is when he's gonna cash it in which is getting shorted and shorter with each winner. One of the last times I was truly surprised when watching wrestling was Swagger winning Money in the Bank because he was the last guy I expected to win that match. To be honest I think WWE know how to trick the audience, I keep going on about the Rumble but seriously it was well done. I mean would you think that Alberto would win it by lastly eliminating Santino? Del Rio winning we knew but not Santino being the last eliminated.
Anyways I can complain and praise the ability to surprise us fans these days but nothing will change. We'll continue to read spoilers and they'll continue to make quick changes just so we don't get what we expect.
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