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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Episode 186 Notes

Episode 186 - Episode VII - The Pod Awakens

Movies
Anthony:
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  • Sisters
Brent:
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Next Week:
  • The Big Short
  • Concussion
  • Daddy’s Home
  • The Hateful Eight
  • Joy
  • Point Break
News:
  • Spaceballs 2ceballs 2

TV
  • Star Wars TV Show
  • Fuller House
Premieres:
  • Doctor Who Christmas Special
Canceled:
  • Mike & Molly, Best Time Ever, The Awesomes

Comics/Books
  • Star Wars: Shattered Empire

Toys
  • Star Wars Toys

Food

  • Super Lubes Popcorn
  • R2-D2 Holiday Cookies
  • Captain Phasma Crazy Hot Pop Chips

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Episode 184 Notes

Episode 184 - Bum Staples

Movies
Anthony:
  • Cooties
Brent:
  • Mistress America
  • Stanford Prison Experiment
Next Week:
  • In the Heart of the Sea
  • The Ridiculous 6
News:
  •  

TV
  • The Wiz Live!
Premieres:
  • Monday: Telenovela, Neon Joe Werewolf Hunter
  • Friday: Transparent
Canceled:

Comics/Books
  • Devil Dinosaur
  • Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Toys

Food
  • Doritos Loaded
  • Popcorn, Indiana Crizzlecorn
  • Snyder’s Pretzel Poppers
  • Hot Chocolate M&M’s


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Episode 183 Notes

Episode 183 - Chips With Benefits

Movies
Anthony:
  • Creed
  • The Good Dinosaur
Brent:
  • Shaun the Sheep
  • Santa’s Little Helper
Next Week:
  • Krampus
  • The Letters
News:
  •  

TV
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 Casting
Premieres:
  • Monday: Superstore
  • Tuesday: Real Rob
  • Wednesday: The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines
  • Thursday: The Wiz Live!
  • Friday: A Very Murray Christmas
Canceled:

Comics/Books
  • Spider-Woman #1
  • Star Wars #12
  • Huck #1

Toys

Food

  • Coconut Oreos
  • Simply 7 Quinoa Chips
  • Pringles White Cheddar & Black Pepper

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Episode 182 Notes

Episode 182 - The Pod Surprise

Movies
Anthony:
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
  • The Night Before
Brent:
  • Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Next Week:
  • Creed
  • The Good Dinosaur
  • Victor Frankenstein
News:
  •  

TV
  • Marvel’s Jessica Jones
  • Master of None
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 Kickstarter
Premieres:
Canceled:
  • The Soup, The Bastard Executioner

Comics/Books
  • All-New All-Different Avengers #1
  • All-New Wolverine #1
  • Superman: American Alien #1

Toys
  • The Hunger Games Pop Figures
  • Star Wars Hero Mashers
  • Star Wars Toy Surprise

Food
  • Mike’s Harder Lemonade Deadpool Cans
  • Twin Bing Bar
  • Cracker Jack Holiday Sugar Cookie Popcorn


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Episode 181 Notes

Episode 181 - Hypothetical Episode Title

Movies
Anthony:
  • Spaceballs
  • Love the Coopers
Brent:
  • 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown
Next Week:
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
  • The Night Befor
  • Secret in Their Eyes
News:
  •  

TV
Premieres:
  • Friday: Marvel’s Jessica Jones
  • Saturday: Jim Henson’s Turkey Hollow
Canceled:
  • Wicked City

Comics/Books
  • The Land of Stories: The Curvy Tree
  • The Vision #1
  • Deadpool #1
  • Extraordinary X-Men #1

Toys
  • Mystery Minis

Food
  • Frozen Surge
  • BK Buffalo Chicken Fries
  • Gingerbread Oreos

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Episode 180 Notes

Episode 180 - It's the Great Dewty, Charlie Brown

Movies
Anthony:
  • The Peanuts Movie
  • Spectre
Brent:
  • End of the Tour
Next Week:
  • The 33
  • Love the Coopers
News:
  • Call of Duty
  • Blazing Samurai

TV
  • Ash vs. Evil Dead
  • Star Trek
Premieres:
  • Thursday: 2 Broke Girls
  • Friday: With Bob and David
  • Sunday: Into the Badlands

Comics/Books
  • Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir
  • Drax #1

Food

  • Mountain Dew Game Fuel Berry Lime
  • Chips Ahoy Chocolate Banana Cookies
  • Chips Ahoy Hot Cocoa Cookies

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Episode 179 Notes

Episode 179 - Novemberween

Movies
Anthony:
Brent:
  • The Gift
  • Southpaw
  • Trick r Treat
Next Week:
  • Peanuts Movie
  • Spectre
News:
  • All Female Ocean’s Eleven 

TV
  • Supergirl
  • Selena Gomez Netflix Series
Premieres:
  • Thursday: Mom (Big Bang Theory & Life in Pieces move)
  • Friday: Master of None
  • Sunday: Getting On
Canceled:
  • The Brink, Married

Comics/Books
  • Wildflower by Drew Barrymore
  • Sunflower #1
  • Walking Dead Compendium 3

Toys
  • Science Fiction Mystery Minis

Video Games
  • WWE 2K16

Food
  • Hostess Pumpkin Spice Mini Donuts
  • Sunbelt Apple Spice Granola Bars
  • Autumn Peep Show
  • Welch’s PB&J Bites


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Episode 178 Notes

Episode 178 - Podding in the Deep

Movies
Anthony:
- Back to the Future Part II
- Sicario
- Jem and the Holograms
Brent:
Next Week:
- Burnt
- Our Brand is Crisis
- Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
News:

TV
- Gilmore Girls 
Premieres:
- Monday: Supergirl
- Tuesday: Wicked City
- Saturday: Ash vs Evil Dead
Canceled:
- Rookie Blue, The Whispers, Clipped, Mythbusters

Comics/Books
- Plutona #2
- Sam Wilson Captain America #1
- Guardians of the Galaxy #1
- I Hate Fairyland #1

Toys
- Rocky Horror Pop Figures
- Nightmare Before Christmas Pop Figures

Food
- Wild Mike’s Ultimate Pizza
- Mini Trix
- Skippy P.B. Bites


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Episode 177 Notes

Episode 177 - Up the Creek Without A Hull

Movies
Anthony:
- Goosebumps
Brent:
- Dope
- The Gallows
- San Andreas
Next Week:
- Jem and the Holograms
- The Last Witch Hunter
- Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
- Rock the Kasbah
- Steve Jobs
News:
- Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok
- RL Stine’s Fear Street
- Die Hard: Year One

TV
- X-Men TV Shows
- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Premieres:
- Nothing
Canceled:
- America’s Next Top Model, Beauty and the Beast, Defiance, Dominion

Comics/Books
- Anthony’s Original Goosebumps Book
- Paper Girls #1
- Invincible Iron Man #1
- Rowans Ruin #1

Toys

Food
- Nutter Butter Creme Patties
- Buffalo Ranch Pringles
- The Amazingly Wonderous Nuggets


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 176 Notes

Episode 176 - Pod Squad

Movies
Anthony:
- Pan
Brent:
- Magic Mike XXL
- Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Next Week:
- Bridge of Spies
- Crimson Peak
- Goosebumps
News:
- Marvel Studios NYCC News
- Furious 8 Director


TV
- Billy on the Street
- Limitless
Premieres:
- Monday: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Fargo
- Thursday: Nathan For You
- Friday: Truth Be Told
- Sunday: Comic Book Men, Robot Chicken: DC Comics Special 3
Canceled:
- Extant, Minority Report Episodes Cut

Comics/Books
- Jessica Jones #1
- Buffy: Season 10 #19
- Wild’s End: The Enemy Within #1

Toys
- Playstation 4
- Pop Rides - Director Coulson with Lola

Food
- Yoplait Whips Root Beer Float Yogurt
- Lance Quick Starts
- Halloween Krave Cereal


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 175 Notes

Episode 175 - Pod Nods

Movies
Anthony:
- The Martian
Brent:
- Entourage
Next Week:
- Pan
- The Walk
News:
- Animated Ghostbusters Movie
- Terminator: Genisys Sequels On Hold

TV
- Marvel Shows
- Blindspot
- The Grinder
Premieres:
- Tuesday: The Flash, iZombie
- Wednesday: American Horror Story: Hotel, Arrow, Supernatural
- Thursday: Billy on the Street, SuperMansion
- Friday: Undateable
- Sunday: Walking Dead, Talking Dead


Comics/Books
- Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps #4

Toys

Food
- Surge
- Rainbow Doritos
- Cookie Pop Cookies & Cream
- Belvita Pumpkin Spice Biscuits


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 174 Notes

Episode 174 - Hotel Conversation

Movies
Anthony:
- Hotel Transylvania 2
Brent:
Next Week:
- The Martian
- Sicario
News:
- Men in Black Reboot

TV
- The Muppets
- Scream Queens
- Heroes Reborn
- Life in Pieces
Premieres:
- Monday: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
- Tuesday: Grandfathered, The Grinder, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Wednesday: Chicago PD, Code Black, Criminal Minds
- Thursday: The Blacklist, Bones, Sleepy Hollow
- Friday: Dr. Ken
- Saturday: Saturday Night Live, The Unaurized Beverly Hills 90210 Story
- Sunday: The Affair, CSI: Cyber, The Good Wife, Homeland, The Leftovers, Madam Secretary


Comics/Books
- Captain America White #1

Toys
- Marvel Legends Bruce Banner

Food
- Star Wars GoGurt
- Little Debbie Pumpkin Shortbread Cookies
- Puffins Cereal


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 173 Notes

Episode 173 - The Wrap Party

Movies
Anthony:
Brent:
- The Overnight
Next Week:
- The Green Inferno
- Hotel Transylvania 2
- The Intern
News:
- Booster Gold/Blue Beetle Movie
- Charlie’s Angels Reboot

TV
- Megan Fox New Girl
Premieres:
- Monday: Big Bang Theory, Blindspot, Castle, Gotham, Life in Pieces, Minority Report, NCIS: Los Angeles, Scorpion, The Voice
- Tuesday: Fresh Off the Boat, Limitless, The Muppets, NCIS, NCIS: New Orleans, Scream Queens
- Wednesday: Black-ish, Empire, Goldbergs, Law & Order: SVU, The Middle, Modern Family, The Mysteries of Laura, Nashville, Rosewood, Survivor
- Thursday: Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes Reborn, How to Get Away With Murder, The Player, Scandal
- Friday: The Amazing Race, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-O, Last Man Standing, Shark Tank
- Saturday: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
- Sunday: Blood & Oil, Bob’s Burgers, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Family Guy, Last Man on Earth, Once Upon a Time, Quantico, The Simpsons
Canceled:
- CSI, Mr. Robinson

Comics/Books
- Star Wars: Shattered Empire #1
- Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5
- Ms. Marvel #18
- Anne Bonnie

Toys
- Force Friday Part 3
- E.T. Pop Figures
- Pitch Perfect Pop Figures

Food
- Belvita Cranberry Orange Biscuits
- Ruffles All Dressed
- Keebler Pumpkin Spice Fudge Stripe Cookies


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 172 Notes

Episode 172 - Goomba Ball Droid

Movies
Anthony:
- People Places Things
Brent:
- The Visit
Next Week:
- Black Mass
- Captive
- Everest
- Maze Runner: The Scorch Trails
News:
- King Kong vs Godzilla
- Rebecca Ferguson front runner for Captain Marvel?

TV
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
- Jessica Jones
- Preacher
Premieres:
- Tuesday: The Bastard Executioner, Best Time Ever with NPH, The Mindy Project
- Wednesday: South Park, Moonbeam City
- Saturday: Doctor Who

Comics/Books
- Plutona #1

Toys
- Force Friday Part 2

Food
- Blue Raspberry Pop Tarts
- Rockstar Whipped Strawberry


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Episode 171 Notes

Episode 171 - Force Pod Day

Movies
Anthony:
- American Ultra
Brent:
- American Ultra
- The D Train
Next Week:
- The Perfect Guy
- The Visit
News:
- Nicktoons
- Neighbors 2 Casting

TV
- Hulu Plus Plus
- Aqua Teen Finale Swerve
Premieres:
- Tuesday: Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Awesomes, A Season with Notre Dame Football
- Wednesday: The League, You’re the Worst
- Friday: Z Nation
- Saturday: Ferrell Take the Field
- Sunday: Project Greenlight
Canceled:
- Under the Dome, Coach

Comics/Books
- Captain Marvel and the Carol Corps #3
- Batman: The Black Mirror

Toys
- Kevin Smith Podcast Pal
- Force Friday: Part 1

Food
- Lunchables Nacho Walking Taco
- Key Lime Pie Oreos
- Welch’s Graham Slam!


-Website/Facebook/Twitter/E-Mail/Amazon/Snapchat

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Episode 164 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 164 - Underscore San Diego Comic-Pod.





Monday, May 25, 2015

Episode 158 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 158 - Summer Good, Summer Bad.





Episode 157 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 157 - Rigmarole.





Episode 156 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 156 - Fairy Snackmother's Day.





Episode 152 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 152 - The Pod Without Fear.





Episode 151 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 151 - 40 Eggs and 40 Nights.





Episode 150 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 150 - Antsch and Brassburg Explain It All.



Episode 149 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 149 - 3 Way Couch.



Friday, May 8, 2015

Random Convo With a Pornbot

*Warning: The following contains mature content*

So this random account has been messaging me on Hangouts for the past few days trying to get my attention, but I just ignore the messages, today they contacted me during my lunch and thought what's the worst that could happen.  Below is the conversation we had.

melanie snow
hi

Brent Strassburg
hi

melanie snow
hey i found your name on the directory. I'm 24/female wanna chat and share pics?

Brent Strassburg
not really

melanie snow
My name is amanda i grew up in Miami.. i'm kinda a small girl with big attributes lol where are you from?

Brent Strassburg
You found my name on the directory? And your name is Amanda, not Melanie? I'm confused what's your name?

melanie snow
cool, im just bored as fuk at home! I'm single and looking... have you ever had cyber sex?

Brent Strassburg
Actually I'm at work so that would be pretty inappropriate

melanie snow
lol, send me a recent pic of you and lets have some fun

Brent Strassburg
My profile picture is a pretty recent pic, it has me and my wife in it, right now she's almost 8 months pregnant

melanie snow
sweet like want to see pics of me?

Brent Strassburg
I don't think so, I'm happily married, and I certainly don't need to see any pictures you saved off of an ex-girlfriends website that you claim to be you

melanie snow
I uploaded recent pics here... http://imgur.com/a/sI3uG

Brent Strassburg
It's fun that whenever I google image search your images, it ends up being some model named Angie Verona and not somebody named Melanie Snow or Amanda, that's right motherfucker I watch Catfish, I'm just a regular old Nev Schulman up in this bitch!

melanie snow
talk to me like a slut baby... do you like girls with big tits? want to see some naughty big tit pics?

Brent Strassburg
Do you have more pictures of Angie Verona that you stole off her Instagram?  I can just go to her Instagram and see them if I was interested, which I'm not.  Thanks though!  Hope you have a fantastic day and enjoy that "Miami" weather from your mom's basement in Toledo, Ohio.

melanie snow
i'm getting wet baby wanna watch me rub my pussy on my cam!?

Brent Strassburg
I'm sure your mom's basement is pretty warm this time of the year, so you're probably sweating up a storm.  Hot Pockets don't just eat themselves you know and no I don't want to see you pet your cat on a webcam.  I have my own cat that I'm looking forward to seeing when I get done with work.  I don't need to waste valuable company bandwidth trying to stream this at work.

melanie snow
here! i just sent u an invite to my page http://hangoutcamz.com accept that! it works on mobile too

Brent Strassburg
No thank you, I don't go to any site that unnecessarily puts a z into it's web domain instead of the proper s, much in the same way I never wear an Ed Hardy shirt, it's just a douchey thing to do.

melanie snow
Don't worry baby the site i'm on is FREE to join all you have to do is register they support mobile phones too :)

Brent Strassburg
Ok, I'll join the site if you can answer a question without googling it, what's the state capital of Wisconsin?

melanie snow
fill out your cc info baby for Age verification ONLY, your card will not be charged. ok i'm ready for u now

Brent Strassburg
You still didn't answer my question...

melanie snow
ok babe.. talk to you in there.. gonna put my phone to charge.. mwa! xoxo btw my username is UxoHottiexo

Brent Strassburg
And I'm sure it's for age verification only, it's not like you would *gasp* use my credit card information for your own gain and then I'd see a bunch of fraudulent charges on there

melanie snow
k

Brent Strassburg
Ok, that's just the most generic, horseshit username ever
You didn't put any thought into that at all
Your creativity is mindbendingly low

Episode 155 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 155 - Up With Root Beer





Sunday, May 3, 2015

Episode 154 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 154 - Hanging Chat Gets Kicked In the Sausage.





Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Friday, March 27, 2015

Wrestlemania: Play Button Primer


We are just days away from granddaddy of them all, Wrestlemania, which airs live Sunday, March 29.  This is by far the most exciting time of year to be a wrestling fan or even a casual wrestling observer.  Even in the 8 year span were I did not regularly watch wrestling, the time period from Royal Rumble (my favorite PPV) to Wrestlemania (my second favorite PPV) was a time I would check the dirt sheets out and see what was happening even if I didn't have a connection to the product like I used to.

Growing up, I was a die hard wrestling fan, from the age of 5 to 19, I was absolutely obsessed with wrestling. I grew up in the era when Hulkamania was running wild, stuck through the new generation into the Monday Night Wars and Attitude Era, and slowly began to become disinterested when WWE had conquered all of their competition.  I watched wrestling up until 2004, but eventually the complete disinterest in wrestling amongst my friends, going to college, and gaining new interests in TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, and The Shield lead me to watching other things besides wrestling.  It's possible part of that was just being burnt out from watching wrestling 7 nights a week for most of my high school years.  I watched sporadically throughout the years but I got back into wrestling around 2011 after being interested in The Rock returning and the evolution of the CM Punk character.  The interest has grown throughout the past 4 years, to the point it annoys my wife how much I talk about wrestling.

For those that don't watch wrestling, some of this is going to sound completely ludicrous and in a way that's what makes pro wrestling great.  Whether you watched wrestling one time or are a frequent viewer, EVERYONE should watch the video below. Max Landis has made a 24-minute YouTube video called Wrestling Isn't Wrestling, which details out the great long-term storytelling that wrestling is capable of doing.  The example used in this video is the evolution of Triple H, from a rookie Greenwich Blueblood to COO of the company and married to the bosses daughter.  The story is recreated using a largely female cast and features celebrity cameos from people like Seth Green, Macaulay Culkin, Josh Peck, and various wrestling personalities. Max is the son of filmmaker John Landis who has made some of my favorite comedies like Animal House, Blues Brothers, and Coming to America.  This is truly a fantastic piece of entertainment.



If that video doesn't get you pumped to watch wrestling, I don't know what will and the best thing is this is the PERFECT time to start or restart watching.  Wrestlemania 31 aka Play Button (because the logo instead of incorporating the roman number of the event as it previously had, now has a play button for some inexplicable reason) is Sunday night.  While, this is certainly not the most exciting line-up they've had for a Wrestlemania, some would say it's quite the opposite, I am still very pumped.  The events leading up to this Sunday haven't gone the way many diehard wrestling fans have hoped.  Instead of getting Daniel Bryan, the most universally liked man on the roster in the main event for the second year in a row, they have elevated Roman Reigns, who many feel is not ready for the top spot on a WWE card, let alone the biggest WWE event of the year.  But let's breakdown the card match by match.

The best part about this is instead of paying $65 for the Pay-Per-View like things were just over a year ago, Wrestlemania can be watched by subscribing to the WWE Network for just $9.99 a month.  That includes all of their monthly PPVs, not just Wrestlemania, and also EVERY SINGLE PPV in WWE, WCW, and ECW history.  It also has a ton of episodes of Monday Night Raw, Smackdown, Nitro, ECW, and airs all of the new episodes of NXT, which from a pure wrestling basis is the best show WWE airs each week.

The show starts off with a 2 hour kickoff show at 5:00 eastern.  In total, they are giving you 6 full hours of pre-show and actual show.  Most of the pre-show will be pretty unnecessary to watch unless extremely unfamiliar with the storylines.  Even then, many of the video montages they have explaining the feuds will be shown during the show itself.  But there are two reasons to check-in to the pre-show and that is they are airing TWO matches during the pre-show.

The tag team titles will be on the line in a 4-team match.  I'm not sure if this is going to be single elimination, where teams are eliminated until only one team stands, or one fall to a finish, where the first team to score a pinfall or submission victory is your winner.  Here are the participants in this match-up:

Cesaro and Tyson Kidd (champions) - Two randomly assigned great wrestlers who have had underwhelming singles careers (many would blame the writers for this) joined together, defend their belts (even though they wear them around their waist the word belt is pretty much taboo in WWE vernacular) championships.  It's a shame Cesaro, who won the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal last year, and was a participant in the main event of the Pay-Per-View before Wrestlemania last year, has managed to fall slowly down the card even though he puts on solid match after solid match.  Cesaro could easily be in the main event against Brock Lesnar in alternate world where pure wrestling talent dictates your place on the card.  Tyson Kidd went back to the WWE developmental company NXT, and re-ignited his career after headlining a few NXT events and changed the minds of many fans who had his career written off.

http://dailywrestlingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Cesaro-Kidd-Natalya1.jpg                   
Cesaro, Natalya (Tyson Kidd's wife/manager), Tyson Kidd.  

http://www.wwe.com/f/wysiwyg/image/2014/02/021714_Cesaro_Swing.gif









For fun: Cesaro Swing on John Cena.

Los Matadores - Two Puerto Rican guys in bull fighting outfits and they come out to the ring with a little person who flies around the ring in a bull suit. They previously wrestled as Primo and Epico before getting rebranded with the bullfighting gimmick, mostly as a way for WWE to get the extremely talented El Torito, their bull sidekick, on TV.  El Torito is a great character but is extremely underutilized in a company where you only have one other little person and "midget wrestling" is largely frowned upon. Mostly, Los Matadores have served as a doormat for every other team in the division.

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1adVkugs4As/maxresdefault.jpg
Diego, El Torito, and Fernando.

The Usos - Twin Samoan brothers and are becoming the flag bearers in the tag team division.  They are quite frankly one of the few legitimate tag teams in the WWE.  They have a good entrance which starts with Jimmy and Jey Uso doing a Samoan war chant and then leads into some crowd participation, where when they say "Uce" the crowd yells "O!"and are exciting in the ring with a barrage of high flying attacks and superkicks. They are also the sons of Rikishi, who will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before Wrestlemania.

 http://www.wwe.com/f/styles/photo_large/public/photo/image/2015/02/RAW_1134_Photo_209-791435446.jpg
Naomi, Jimmy Uso, and Jey Uso


The New Day - A half-baked and mostly stereotypical gimmick of African-American preachers feels like the most generic gimmick that this light blue wearing group consisting of Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods could get.  Kofi Kingston has won many titles before, including the tag team titles, but has not been doing much in the past couple of years.  Big E was one of the hottest prospects coming from NXT, winning the Intercontinental title shortly after making his debut, but after that run hasn't been doing much.  While Xavier Woods came up from NXT and never really went anywhere in his singles career before forming this group.

 http://cdn3.whatculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/new-day-wwe.jpg
 Kofi Kingston, Big E, and Xavier Woods

The tag team titles have become pretty much an after thought in the WWE, which is why they aren't being defended on the main show.  It's a shame because tag team wrestling when it's done right is amazing.  In many instances however, the tag team division serves as a platform for former singles wrestlers who don't have a place on the regular card to perform (see Big E, Kofi Kingston, Cesaro, and Tyson Kidd).

The other match on the pre-show is going to be the second annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, in which as I stated earlier Cesaro shockingly won last year by throwing the favorite The Big Show over the top rope and winning the huge trophy last year.

http://www.wwe.com/f/wysiwyg/image/2014/04/20140406_WM30_LIGHT_HP_CesarAndreCup1.jpg

30 men participate in the Battle Royal where the object is to throw your opponent over the top rope and be the last man standing. All 30 of the men will start in the ring at the same time.  These 30 men largely consist of wrestlers who do not have a place anywhere else on the show so they can get a "Wrestlemania Pay Day," which consists of bonuses the wrestlers get for performing on Wrestlemania.  Since there's 30 men in this match, I'll just highlight the notables.

The Miz and Damien Mizdow - This is one of those things that sounds incredibly dumb (and it is) but it is one of the greatest things going in WWE right now.  When former Real World contestant, The Miz, returned from shooting his second WWE Films movie, The Marine 4, he came back as a better than everyone, Hollywood actor.  Because of this, he couldn't fight his own fights and had to enlist in a stunt double, Damien Sandow (re-branded as Mizdow since he dressed like The Miz).  The best part was as a tag team, when The Miz was wrestling Mizdow would act out what was happening to The Miz in the ring.  It got more and more ridiculous as the weeks went on and Damien Mizdow became a fan favorite, while The Miz is holding down.  He has since fired him as his stunt double and he is now his personal assistant.  Mizdow has teased turning against The Miz but it hasn't happened yet.

http://www.prowrestlingpowerhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Mizdow-WWE.jpg
The Miz and Damien Mizdow

The Big Show - Always a favorite to win every battle royal, but being over 7 feet tall and 450 pounds will make you a favorite.  It's funny that he is in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal because making his debut in WCW 20 years ago he was called The Giant and was billed as being the illegitimate child of Andre the Giant.  I can't believe that was 20 years ago, now I feel old.

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The Big Show

Sheamus - Not even confirmed to be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal but still one of the favorites to win is the Celtic Warrior, Sheamus.  He has been out since November due to injury but is healthy and ready to return this Wrestlemania in one way or another.  Many are assuming that his appearance will be in the Battle Royal, but if not here, he may wind up causing chaos in another match in the card.


sheamus
 Sheamus

Hideo Itami - The WWE Developmental company NXT decided to have a tournament at WWE Axxess, which is basically WWE's version of a comic book show that the hold the 3 days before Wrestlemania.  Many stars sign autographs, props from different matches and eras are on display, and they also run NXT matches sporadically throughout the show.  Itami surprisingly won the tournament beating Tyler Breeze, Finn Balor, and Adrian Neville to earn a spot in the Battle Royal.  This is surprising because out of the 3, he has gotten the least amount of a "push" in NXT, but the Japanese superstar will have his chance to shine and possibly earn a spot on the WWE roster by winning the Battle Royal.

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Hideo Itami

All of that is just the pre-show.  There's another 4 HOURS of content after that.  While it's in California, and I'm sure there will be a lot of star power in the crowd.  It has been announced that LL Cool J will be there to kick off the show, I don't know what that means exactly.  Also announced is that the Wrestlemania theme song artists David Guetta, Skyler Grey, Kid Ink, and Travis Barker will be performing what is basically WWE's version of a halftime show.  Between those musical and celebrity appearances and the elaborate and crazy entrances that many of the superstars make their should be some theatrics to keep anybody that doesn't care about the "rasslin" interested.

While, the Divas title is not being defended, the Divas Champion Nikki Bella and her twin sister Brie Bella will be facing off against the other two top divas on the WWE roster right now AJ Lee and Paige.

The Bella Twins - These twins have been in the WWE for the past 7 years, which is an extremely long-time for divas in the company, although they did take a year off to pursue other ventures before re-signing with the company.  Nikki and Brie have improved greatly over this time as evidenced by Nikki being a credible champion right now.  The also feuded for a bit this past fall before reconciling unexpectedly with basically the only explanation being that they're twins.  However, with my wife having twin sisters, I realize how quickly they go from being mortal enemies to not being able to live without each other, so it makes sense in that reguard.


Nikki and Brie Bella

Paige and AJ Lee - This unlikely duo of Divas spent most of summer feuding over the Divas title before AJ lost it to Nikki Bella.  Paige debuted in the WWE the day after Wrestlemania last year ending AJ Lee's record setting title reign of 295 days by winning an impromptu match.  AJ just recovered from an injury and made a surprise return on Raw a few weeks ago stopping the Bellas from their attack on Paige, causing the former frenemies to unite against the Bellas.


Paige and AJ Lee

In a grudge match, Randy Orton seeks his vengeance on Seth Rollins, the man who took him out of action for 4 months after a vicious attack where he curb stomped Orton's face into the steel ring steps.

Randy Orton - Former Face of the WWE and multiple time champion, Orton is one of the most accomplished wrestlers on the roster today.  Orton returned at the Fast Lane PPV event last month wanting to get his revenge but temporarily made good with Rollins in order to turn on him at the right opportunity.  Orton main evented last Wrestlemania defending the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan and Batista and is regularly featured in big matches on WWE television.


Randy Orton

Seth Rollins - Many would argue that while Orton is the "Face of the WWE," Rollins is poised to take that position.  Former member of one of the most dominant groups in WWE, The Shield, before turning his back on his Shield brethren Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns in order to join up with The Authority, the group lead by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon that controls the WWE.  Rollins has since won the Money in the Bank briefcase, with help from The Authority, which can be cashed in at any time for a WWE Championship match.  He has since hired his own personal security, J&J Security, which consists of former WWE wrestlers Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury, whom are supposed to protect him but do that by largely getting attacked while Rollins runs away.


Jamie Noble, Seth Rollins, and Joey Mercury

The Intercontinental championship match is going to be a 7-man ladder match.  Whichever of these 7 men climb the ladder and pull down the championship belt which will be hanging above the ring will walk away champion.  Recently, these individuals have spent their time stealing the championship belt from current titleholder Bad News Barrett and it's been a game of hot potato over who has the belt between these participants.  Sadly, the Intercontinental belt, which was a prestigious title throughout my childhood, lost a lot of it's prestige and became far less important over the years.

Bad News Barrett (champion) - This five-time Intercontinental champion was on quite a tear this summer before suffering a shoulder injury and being out for five months.  He recently returned and recaptured his title, but has spent most of the past month trying to re-gain possession of it from whomever stole it from him.  Formerly known as Wade Barrett, Bad News earned the moniker by delivering bad news to the other wrestlers and to whatever city they were in and he was making fun of that week.  This was another example of a gimmick that sounds dumb, but when he utters the phrase, "I'm afraid I've got some bad news," you know he's going to be bringing some pretty funny stuff to the table.


Bad News Barrett

R-Truth - It's strange that R-Truth is in this match because it seems like you can go months without seeing him on television, let alone in a title match on a pay-per-view, but Truth has earned his spot with some great commentary and hilarious antics stealing the Intercontinental title from Bad News Barrett.  R-Truth started wrestling in the WWE in 1999 and worked there for a few years before leaving for TNA, where he was a 2-time NWA champion, before making his WWE return in 2008.  He's known for rapping his way to the ring to such songs as "Getting Rowdy" and recently "What's Up?"


R-Truth

Dean Ambrose - Former member of The Shield and current Lunatic Fringe, Ambrose is one of the craziest performers in a WWE ring.  The ladder match seems right up his alley, especially after his TLC match with Bray Wyatt this past December where he climbed a 15 foot ladder and dropped an elbow on Bray Wyatt through a table.  Ambrose previously held the United States Championship for 351 days, which is the longest run with that title in WWE history.


Dean Ambrose

Luke Harper - Another character that is hard to explain, Harper is like a backwoods hick that has a major screw loose.  Harper was a member of the Wyatt Family, which was lead by Bray Wyatt, who was their cult like leader before setting them free this fall.  Harper took this freedom as an opportunity to beat Dolph Ziggler for the Intercontinental title and start a short title run.  For being 6'5" and 275 pounds, he is way more athletic than many would give him credit for.  Fun fact: He looks a lot like my Uncle Mark.


Luke Harper

Dolph Ziggler - Fan favorite and one of the best performers in the WWE on a week-by-week basis.  Ziggler has held the Intercontinental title four times in the past, as well as many other titles throughout the years.  Most recently, Ziggler had the odds against him being down three-to-one in the Survivor Series main event, but battled back and ended up defeating those three men and winning the match for Team Cena.

ZIggler
Dolph Ziggler

Stardust - The character of Stardust is just weird.  In order to fit in and be a better tag team partner with his brother, Goldust, Cody Rhodes decided to take up the Stardust moniker.  Cody ended up becoming too involved in the Stardust character, to the point where Goldust tried to snap him out of it, only to have his brother attack him.  They battled at Fast Lane last month, but after a botched finish, WWE decided to not have them settle the score at Wrestlemania and instead give the former two-time Intercontinental champion a shot at winning the title again.

Stardust

Daniel Bryan - After winning the WWE Championship last year at Wrestlemania 30 and marrying his wife, Brie Bella, a few days later, things went downhill rapidly.  Bryan lost his father after returning from his honeymoon and a neck injury that was bothering him for a while flared up to the point where he had to have surgery on it.  Recovery from the surgery ended up taking longer than expected and he had to drop the titles in June and didn't return until January of this year in the Royal Rumble.  Many expected him to win the Rumble and earn a spot in the main event to try to win back the title he never lost, instead he is in a 7-man match for a title that doesn't have nearly the esteem.  However, this could be Bryan's spot to win the belt and elevate it to it's past glory.


Daniel Bryan

Speaking of titles that lost their values, the United States title currently held by Rusev was one of those titles for a while.  Through Dean Ambrose's 351 day reign, I think I can count a handful of times he actually defended the title on TV.  Rusev has started to bring some of the allure of the title back and defending it against John Cena on this huge stage is a great opportunity to make this championship have a lot of value again.

Rusev (champion) - The Hero of the Russian Federation, made his debut at the Royal Rumble last year and has since dominated the WWE since making his singles match debut in April.  Along with his manager, Lana, they have taken a very pro-Russia, anti-American stance leading WWE to recreate Rocky IV and the Ivan Drago vs. Rocky fight over and over again with various superstars including Mark Henry, Big Show, and Jack Swagger amongst others staying undefeated this entire time.  Rusev, in the ultimate bit of irony won the United States championship in November.


Rusev and Lana

John Cena - One of the most polarizing characters in the WWE Universe, Cena has won 22 championships since his WWE debut in 2002.  Cena is loved by women, children, and my friend Shaun and almost universally hated (but respected) amongst long-term wrestling fans.  Many people hate him because his character has been the same over the past 10 or so years and pretty much always wins, which lead to many just getting tired of his schtick.  That being said, Cena is one of the most reliable WWE superstars and pretty much always puts on good matches.  He also has supernatural recovery times, like coming back from a torn triceps in 6 weeks, when originally was supposed to sideline him for 4-6 months.


John Cena

Undertaker famously had an undefeated streak of 21-0 going into last Wrestlemania but was defeated last year by Brock Lesnar.  Since then, he has not been seen.  The streak may be broken but Bray Wyatt wants to take The Undertaker's soul.

Undertaker - As said in the Wrestling Isn't Wrestling video, The Undertaker may be the strangest most unbelievable character in professional wrestling history, but yet it works and is amazing.  While he doesn't have near the championship accolades of a John Cena, his legacy in WWE which began in 1990 will be eternal.  Many were shocked when he lost last year to Brock Lesnar as the streak ending was completely unexpected.  Undertaker also suffered a major concussion in that match, that even Vince McMahon left Wrestlemania to go with Undertaker to the hospital.


Undertaker

Bray Wyatt - Having debuted in 2012, very few talents have had the run that Wyatt has had to this point in his WWE tenure.  He made his Wrestlemania debut last year losing to John Cena, who is one of the few wrestlers to defeat Wyatt since debuting.  Many have already drawn parallels between Wyatt and the Undertaker and think he may take his role as the "supernatural" character once Undertaker hangs up his boots.


Bray Wyatt

While wrestling is a crazy business, few things are crazier than the fact that Sting, who has been wrestling as long as I've been alive, has never wrestled a match in a WWE ring.  That is until Sunday, if there's no other reason to be interested in Wrestlemania to this point, this is it.

Sting - He may be 56 years of age, but Sting is making his WWE wrestling debut at Wrestlemania, which is crazy.  Considered "The Franchise of WCW" he stayed with the company until they were purchased in 2001 by WWE.  After the sale, he stayed on the sidelines until his contract was over and then signed with upstart company TNA in 2003 for a few appearances before starting a more consistent run there in 2005.  After his contract expired in early 2014, Sting began doing appearances on WWE documentaries and DVDs until making his debut at Survivor Series 2014, costing Team Authority the win and starting a war with Triple H.

Triple H - For Triple H's career retrospect, watch Wrestling Isn't Wrestling if you haven't yet.  Seriously, what are you waiting for.  That being said, Triple H has been one of the top guys in the company since debuting in 1995 and continues his run today, taking over as the COO of the company and running the NXT brand amongst various other ventures in the company.  Eventually, the plan is for him to take over running the wrestling portion of the company when Vince McMahon passes the torch.

To wrap up the night, the 1 in The Undertaker's 21-1, Brock Lesnar, has been an unstoppable machine in the past year and will defend the WWE Championship against the winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, Roman Reigns.

Brock Lesnar - There's only one man that has won the NCAA wrestling championship, the WWE championship, and the UFC championship and that man is Brrrroooocckk Leeessssnnnnarrrr.  Not only has he done that but after his first run in the WWE, he went to the Minnesota Vikings and almost made their football team after not even playing college football.  After he moved on from football, he went to Japan and won the IWGP Heavyweight title.  He returned to WWE in 2012 and reclaimed the WWE title from John Cena at Summerslam this past August.  It was announced this week that despite being wanted to return to UFC, Brock has re-signed with WWE and will be working for them at least another 3 years.


Brock's Advocate Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar

Roman Reigns - There is no denying that Roman Reigns is the future of the WWE and should be a top guy for years to come.  Right now however, many feel that it's too much too soon.  Reigns made his WWE debut in 2012 as a member of The Shield, but was largely protected by the more experienced Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in matches, with most of their matches being 3-on-3 tag team matches.  Reigns has looked strong eliminated a record 12 contestants in the 2014 Royal Rumble before being the last man thrown out last year.  He also tied the record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series match with 4 in 2013.  After The Shield split up, he began his singles run until he was sidelined 3 months after having to have an emergency hernia surgery until he returned in December.  He won the Royal Rumble and defeated Daniel Bryan last month to determine who would face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.  He has two pay-per-view singles matches under his belt at this point and many feel that this it's too soon for him to be the franchise guy in the WWE and defeat Brock Lesnar but we'll have to wait on Sunday to see what's in store as Roman strive to prove everyone wrong.


Roman Reigns

So that is this year's Wrestlemania in an enlarged nutshell.  I wrote this to serve as a primer for those that really don't watch wrestling and as somewhat of a refresher for those that do.  I am super excited to see what the WWE has in store not only for us at Wrestlemania, but what they have coming up in the next few months.  Wrestlemania serves as kind of a season finale in a lot of ways and the Raw the night after Wrestlemania is the new season premiere, where storylines for the next year leading up to the next Wrestlemania are born.  Brock Lesnar made his return to the WWE on the night after Wrestlemania in 2012 for example.  These are truly the most exciting days to be a wrestling fan and let's hope that the new season is going to be amazing.  Thanks for reading!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Episode 147 Notes

Here are the official show notes for Episode 147- Unbreakable Brenty Strassburg.



Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Contest: The Boxtrolls on iTunes

I've been wanting to do more giveaways and stuff on the podcast and this is the first of hopefully many more to come.  Over on our facebook page, we are giving away an iTunes copy of the movie The Boxtrolls.  That's right a free movie for liking and sharing a post on Facebook, yes please!  Also, if you send an e-mail to abconvo27@hotmail.com with the subject line "The Boxtrolls" you will earn a bonus entry into this contest as well.

If this contest goes well, I plan on giving away more stuff like this in the future.  So help spread the word now and be rewarded!

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Random Rasslin Rant: The Ascension Sucks

Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE Is Failing the Ascension

Viktor: We are going to cut the same promo for the 12th week in a row.
Konnor:  Then we are going to beat up these jobbers.
Viktor: We are probably the most overrated tag team in the WWE and getting pushed for no reason.
Konnor: We are way worse than the Road Warriors.
Viktor: We aren't even as good as Demolition.
Konnor: I don't even think we could be the Powers of Pain.
Viktor: So we are The Ascension.
Konnor: Welcome to a waste of time.

The reason I am ranting today is about The Ascension.  I hate The Ascension and am thoroughly confused by WWE's pushing of this tag team unit.  For those that don't know The Ascension consists of two slightly facepainted individuals, Konnor and Viktor.  Their names were originally Connor and Victor but that's not nearly as hardkore as it kould be so they had to put k's in their instead.  They were in WWE's developmental territory NXT for the past few years, where they were NXT's longest running tag team champions.  Much like their matches so far on TV, they spent most of that title rain defeating enhancement talent.  In all of their title reign, I can't think of one single good tag team match they've had.  Recently, they've had some good matches against newcomers Hideo Itami and Finn Balor, in which they've lost.  So, how can a team that hasn't ever looked good, mostly defeated jobbers, and when finally getting real competition they lose come to the main WWE roster and be taken seriously.  Plus, most people I know that watch NXT, are glad The Ascension is off the roster because they aren't fun to watch unlike pretty much every other wrestler/tag team on the roster.

So, how in the WWE where enhancement talent hasn't been used since Ryback made his debut and was squashing 2 or 3 guys at the same time like 3 years ago, they all of a sudden choose to use enhancement talent again to make The Ascension look strong on a nightly basis instead of their current talent.  Is that a bad thing?  I think for a change this is actually a good thing, kind of.  I miss the days of watching Barry Horowitz and the Brooklyn Brawler doing the J-O-B on a nightly basis.  I think it's a good way to get some of your talent over.  I would like to see this happen on a more regular basis, but not just for some new hot shot superstar(s) that they want to get over.  What would be so bad about seeing Cesaro and Tyson Kidd take on DYSfunciton and "Psycho" Chase McCoy or a guy like Jack Swagger getting his swagger back in a match against Joey "Jet" Avalon.  I get that WWE wants to use the contracted talent they are already paying for, but wouldn't it be a good thing to get some of these guys a night off.  While this isn't the point of the article, I think some of the overexposure of the talent is draining people's interest.  I am sick of seeing the same guys and matches on Smackdown and Raw week after week.  When I watch Smackdown and then see the exact same match on Raw 3 days later, I begin to wonder what's the point of watching Smackdown.  Maybe this will change with Smackdown's move to Thursday, but I'm fairly certain not much is going to change.

What was the point of all of this again, oh yeah, The Ascension sucking.  Is the reason they are making the comparisons to the Road Warriors, Demolition, and Powers of Pain because everyone was making jokes about them being the re-hashing combination of those 3 teams?  Probably.  Are we actually going to see The Ascension put together a good match on WWE TV? Maybe.  How many times are they going to cut the same promo on Raw and Smackdown?  As long as it takes to get over.  How long will that?  At this rate, a long time.  Nobody cares about them.  The announcers are not getting the team over, despite Booker T saying that fans were tweeting him saying he needed to get them over as he literally said on Raw.  If the announcers are not getting your talent over and making fun of them like JBL is, what is the point of your announce team.  Their job should be to tell you how dominant and great The Ascension is, but instead they'd rather joke about how bad their opponents are.  We will see how the WWE plans to ascend The Ascension into the tag team title picture (I'm totally thinking they'll have The Ascension win the belts at Wrestlemania) but will anyone care.  If they have a 200 day reign as tag team champions in the WWE is anyone that a good thing?  Is that going to hurt the already suffering tag team division more or help it?  I can't help but feel that without something changing, this is going to hurt tag team wrestling in the WWE and that's a shame because tag teams deserve better.

Ok, this is a pretty random post on this site.  I've had the desire to write more about wrestling but never really spent the time to do so.  I also would like to podcast more about wrestling on Slobbeknocker Radio, but I'm still looking for a consistent co-host(s).  Maybe in the future.  In the meantime, maybe I'll do more posts like this.  I love pro wrestling, but usually fill all of my free time watching the product which doesn't allow for much time to write about it, but we'll see.