Posts Tagged ‘Wrestling’

WrestleMania XXXI Recap

Monday, March 30th, 2015

by Frank Opalinski

WM31

I love wrestling but I have tolerated it for a few years, which is a damn shame. I didn’t enjoy the build-up and not even the message boards could add to it. Going in, I was looking forward to HHH vs Sting, ladder match, and Reigns vs Brock. I enjoyed the pre-show. The 4-way tag match was okay, with some good spots. The battle royal was normal. My favorite part was Lita and the teasing of her and Trish wrestling a match. That would be cool. I didn’t like the way the show was organized, having the ladder match and Sting vs HHH so early in the card. I understand their thinking, get the show started with some “wow”. It was a good match but nothing memorable. Ladder matches can be great but with so many guys in it, kind of waters it down in my opinion. I was glad to see Bryan win as I was hoping this would lead to Brock keeping the strap and make the IC and US Titles main event status when Brock isn’t there.

Next was Orton vs Rollins. Don’t get me wrong, I like Rollins and he is a great heel. The problem is if he is going to job to Orton he should not be the champ at the end of the night. More on that later. HHH’s entrance was great, so were Wyatt, Sting, and Undertaker. Unfortunately being an outside stadium, it kind of made them less great than they could have been. I loved the DX and NWO interaction, even seeing Hall, Nash, and Hogan taking some bumps. What I didn’t like about it was the hand shake at the end, especially when later in the night HHH bad mouths Sting. This really could be a fun angle with HHH & DX and NWO & Sting. WWE won’t do that though.

The woman’s match was okay. I’m an AJ Lee guy though, and to me she does no wrong. I would enjoy seeing a “weird friends but have feelings for each other” type of angle. Again, probably won’t happen. Cena vs Rusev, let’s just say I hate John Cena. His demographic for fandom is over 60 and under 10. They need to turn him heel but he sells way too much merchandise. Cena winning the title gave me hope they would keep the title on Brock and use Cena to move the US Title to main event status when Brock isn’t there. One of my favorite parts of the night was Rock, Rousey/HHH, Steph. Steph is so great being a bitch, I love her. I am happy that UFC and WWE have a working relationship that will hopefully lead to an easier transition for Punk returning in the future. How great would it be to have Rock & Rousey vs HHH & Steph in the future? Wyatt vs Undertaker was what I thought, slow paced and okay; nothing special. I hope he is done and the rumors of Sting vs Taker at WM 32 aren’t true, especially since I hope/plan to be there.

Finally, the main event. They made both Brock and Reigns look strong as hell. One of the reasons I love Brock matches are because they are so stiff and he makes it look like a legit fight, and that is different, and different is good. That leads me to Rollins cashing in his briefcase. Look, they make a point to say that he can cash it in on the champ anytime throughout the year. That means he should have to pin Brock to get the title, not just be in a match with the champ and pin the other guy. My problem with this is twofold.

1. Earlier in the night, he lost.

2. He didn’t pin the champ.

Brock just signed a new deal, so what does that mean for him going forward? Orton should be the number 1 contender and my biggest problem is that the champion is weak. They made it out to be that there is no way Rollins can beat Brock or Reigns without a lot of interference. Why have a champ like that? I was hoping that we could see Brock keep the title and defend it, and dominate like 4 times a year and eventually a couple years down the line someone comes by and takes it. It’s different and again, different is good.

Liked:
1. Rousey/Rock/HHH/Steph
2. NWO/DX
3. Brock saying “Suplex City bitch”
4. HHH entrance

Disliked:
1. The finish of the main event
2. The structure of the card

I just hope going forward WWE can maximize storylines off of what happened. I doubt it though, being a publicly traded company and with Vince McMahon still on this Earth.

 

Frank Opalinski, for War Room Sports

Scott Hall Documentary

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Girl Fight

Friday, February 18th, 2011

On February 17, 2011 an Iowa freshman made history when she won a wrestling match during the state tournament.  She was the first girl to win a match in the tournament’s 86 year history.  However, she won by default.  Her opponent, Joel Northrup, a sophomore boy refused to wrestle a girl.  He said:

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [another girl that was eliminated from the tournament] and their accomplishments, however, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times. As a matter of conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most of the high school sports in Iowa.”

This young man can still win the tournament, but he has to do it through a loser’s bracket.  So far he is doing well.  Many applaud this young man for sticking to his convictions.  I do not.  It’s a tournament, a competition.  And as a competitor, you face the opponent in front of you.  The girls and their families are well aware of the nature of the sport and still the girls decide to compete. I assume that Joel Northrup entered the tournament to win.  What happens if those two are the last ones standing at the end of the competition, will he just give her the title?   I’m a skeptic so maybe I’m just reading too much into the situation.  Perhaps, this young man (a home schooled preacher’s son) is a stand up guy that just doesn’t think its right to “fight” a girl.  But, I feel there is more to this story.  Perhaps, while being home schooled, he never learned to socialize with the opposite sex and is afraid of what may happen if she gets too close.   Maybe this young man is scared to lose to a girl?  If it were your son, what would you advise him to do?

Monica Pierce, Guest Blogger for War Room Sports. Read more of her writing @ monicasthoughts.com.