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Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1316, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1315, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1314, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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Tags: shut up less 2009: movies

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Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1313, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/23/christmas-holiday-time/

OK, although I’ve sent my UFC 15 review to Heavy.com, I won’t have interest access to post the link, so check back at that site on Wednesday afternoon for when it goes up. 

I’m going out of town for Christmas for a few days and won’t be back until Saturday, but it seems like activity here is pretty minimal with the holiday season in full swing right now anyway so I haven’t been posting much as a result. 

So anyway, I hope everyone here has a Merry Christmas, and we’ll back on the 26th for the annual Christmas Haul thread and maybe the new Hulk Hogan DVD review one of these days.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/22/michaels-extreme-review-22/

Michael's Extreme Review

December 22, 2009

Orlando, Florida

-For the first time since, I don't know when, I missed Raw completely last night.  So I read a review of the show.  Then I scratched my head and thought it all had to be fiction, because WWE couldn't have put on that kind of bull shit.  Then I read a second Raw recap and, sure enough, it said the same results.  Really?!?  A woman chasing a tiger?  Really?!? Slaughter Claus?  Really?!?  Johnny Damon?  Sorry I am in a foul mood, but I chose ECW over the Blackhawks game.  Onto some taped show you guys probably already know the results from, but I refuse to read spoilers.  Let's head down to the ring!

-Opening video hyping Yoshi Tatsu vs, Jack Swagger and PYRO in high definition.  Your hosts are Byron Saxton and Josh Matthews. 

-Let's kick it off with Jack Swagger lisping on the mic.  He said finally the show is worth watching again.  I feel his sentiments.  He says a lot of things have changed, but a lot of things are the same.  Christian is still a chump.  Tommy Dreamer is still fat!  Haha, ok it is getting old.  Somebody hit my Jack Swagger video on the Titantron.  Says he is Jack Swagger, future ECW Champion.

1.  Zack Ryder (with Rosa "Like, oh my god!" Mendes) vs.  Tommy Dreamer

-So after years of eating hair, never winning, and countless fat jokes; this is how Tommy will end it with WWE.  Dreamer starts with a headlock into a shoulderblock.  Armdrag and Dreamer works the arm until Ryder escapes and pounds the back.  Dreamer has had enough and tosses him out.  Dreamer heading out and Ryder pulls him off the apron.  Stiff shots on Dreamer's back and Ryder rolls him back in for a 2.  Chinlock and WOO WOO WOO.  Dreamer escapes and sunset flip gets 2.  FANTASTIC FLYING LEG LARIAT gets 2.  He dumps Dreamer into the corner and Dreamer, EAT SOME BOOT!  Dreamer no-sells and hellacious superplex on Ryder.  Both men down.  Dreamer with rights and HIGH back body drop.  Powerslam gets 2.  Ryder catches him low and jumps into a catapult into the corner.  TREE 'O WOE on Ryder and "ECW!".  Big dropkick on Ryder and Dreamer takes his shirt off?  Nice man-tits.  Ryder sees a charge and moves out of the way, ZACK ATTACK!  That will do it @ 3:49.  (C-.  Fast paced all the way through.  Happy trails to Dreamer and a nice burial on the way out too.) 

-Vance Archer faces Goldust and Jack Swagger vs. Yoshi Tatsu still to come tonight.

It's the Abraham Washington Show starring Abraham Washington.  And now, herrrrrre's Abe!  Short changed the "Abe welcome", but anyways here we go.  Washington is gonna start in with Tiger Woods too?  It's gonna be a long night.  Says Woods needs to get back his "pimp hand" and "there's nothing wrong with playing 18 holes".  Oh shit, that was edgy.  TV-PG no more.  Out comes Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft, dressed to compete.  Washington doesn't like them jumping onto his couch.  Baretta starts in with the "we are better than all the tag teams out here".  They go for a cup to drink and it's empty.  Washington says he can't afford any drinks, "This ain't Monday Night RAW!".  Nice line.  Croft says they will be tag team champions by next year.  Atlas butts in with how he used to be tag team champions with Rocky Johnson.  Baretta and Croft get up to start something and Washington stands up for him.  Then he calls him a dummy and to end the show.

-In the back, it is Jack Swagger and Tiffany.  Clearly, they hate each other.  Flying in, is the Hurricane.  He calls him Citizen Sthwagger.  Swagger gets pissed and walks off. 

-Tribute to the Troops recap video.  Great concept, but they need to hype up a mach or two on there.

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match

.24 Karat Pictures Presents

2.  Vance Archer vs. Goldust

-Archer back Goldust to start and misses a forearm and Goldust takes the offense.  Archer no-sells and HARD Irish whip send Goldust down and gets 2 out of it.  Goldust battles out of a chinlock until Archer hits a forearm to the back.  Archer continues kicking him and applies a chinlock.  Goldust uses crowd support and Archer clubs him and irish whip into the ropes, ducked and a Goldust clothesline.  Basement uppercut and he gets 2.  Archer jumps out of a suplex attempt and spears him into the corner.  Bodyslam into a snap inverted DDT will finish off Goldust @ 2:50.  (D-.  Horrible, just horrible.)

-Backstage is Christian giving pointers to Yoshi Tatsu.  In walks Swagger and Christian and Yoshi call him a dork.  Swagger says at the Royal Rumble, Christian is his.  Yoshi calls him a jackass.

Main Event

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match

3.  Jack Swagger vs. Yoshi Tatsu

-ON YOUR KNEES!  Gay push-up + more pyro and we are ready for action.  Evan Bourne and Matt Hardy next week.  Yoshi comes out real excited to job, tonight.  Here we go....Swagger brings him down and does some amateur wrestling, including a waistlock takedown.  Yoshi elbows out and Swagger takes him back down.  Brutal forearms by Swagger.  Irish whip and Yoshi answers with kick to the face and schoolboy on Swagger gets 2.  Swagger catches a Yoshi kick and carries him into the corner and hard Irish whip into a clothesline.  Swagger clamps down on an overhead wrist lock.  Gutwrench powerbomb attempted and Yoshi flips out of it.  Swagger is confused down in the corner and at 3:23, WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!

Back on ECW at the 7:25 mark and Yoshi is down in an armbar.  During the break, a Chris Benoit-type German suplex.  Yoshi makes it to the ropes and Swagger sends him to the other side and works the ribs.  Cover gets 2.  Swagger with a HARD back suplex and gets 2.  Swagger with a belly to belly.  Now more push ups, how Steiner.  Swagger goes back to the overhead armbar.  Yoshi pulls up and Swagger slings him into the ropes and works the ribs again.  Yoshi flips out of a suplex and starts in with Buzzsaw-like kicks.  Swagger drops him.  Swagger misses a charge and here come those kicks and finally Swagger goes down.  Yoshi rides a bulldog out and gets 2.  Yoshi with a double knee to the sternum and sit down gets 2.  Yoshi goes up top and fights Swagger off the top rope and hits a spinning heel kick and gets 2.7!!!  Both men blown up.  Swagger grabs Yoshi and schoolboys him for 2.8!  Swagger with a CRUSHING forearm to the back of the head and gets 2.8!  Swagger scoops up Yoshi and hits a running powerslam.  Swagger doesn't cover and hits a running Vader bomb for 2.9!  Swagger real cocky as he picks up Yoshi and BLAM-O, *STIFF* kick right to Swagger's head.  And Tatsu wins it @ 14:14!!! (B-.  I really like Swagger and this match came together well.)

Final thoughts...

I saw this match and was very surprised.  On paper, it looked like a Superstars main event, at best.  But these two came together quite well.  Them blown up at the end took away from a solid B+ rating.  Kinda sour on the way they finished off Dreamer, but not much more to say about that one.  Next week should be good though, as it will be my final ECW report.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/22/xmas-plug-2/

Hey, I know you plug things on your blog from time to time. So I was wondering if you could plug my house for me.  I hung some christmas lights on my house, and this year I decided to set them to music as well.  This is my first year doing this, so I'm trying to get as many people to see them as possible.  Here's the links to the four songs I did:
http://www.vimeo.com/8305013 (A Last Sleighride by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
http://www.vimeo.com/8305212 (Angels We Have Heard on High by Mannheim Steamroller)
http://www.vimeo.com/8305383 (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Mannheim Steamroller)
http://www.vimeo.com/8305546 (Nutrocker by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
It'd be awesome if you could post these and help me spread some christmas cheer.
Thanks for your time,
Brandon

 

Ho ho ho!

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http://apelad.blogspot.com/2009/12/laugh-out-loud-cats-1312.html

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1312, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/20/fantasy-booking-plug/

Hey Scott,
I write you every year or so, usually asking you to pimp one of my "arm-chair bookings". This time is no different, with this new entry running 18 months, and ending at "WrestleMania 27".
http://www.aspiringwwewriter.com/10-bp-09-thru-wm27.html
Of course, if you don't want to actually read through all the details, you can just look at the list of PPVs here:
http://www.aspiringwwewriter.com/-10-ppv-cards-only.html
Also, with Bret supposedly all but signed at this point, do you think there's anything they could do with him OTHER than to have him try to "settle the score" with Shawn and/or Vince? Personally, I think it'd be great if he and Shawn were to make-up, via a hand-shake in the middle of the ring and Shawn apologizing for "screwing" him; Vince, of course, would find that absolutely nauseating, setting-up "DX" and a face-turned "Hart Dynasty" feuding with four heels of Vince's choosing. I mean, if everybody truly wants to see "closure" in the whole Bret/Shawn/Vince mess, surely having Bret and Shawn make amends (and then align to take out the Devil himself) and move past everything that happened would provide more closure than Bret getting revenge on Shawn (and thus showing that he's still bitter and unable to let go), right?
Of course, I'm not saying that Bret and Shawn have to be best buddies in real-life, but from a storyline perspective, wouldn't that prove Bret and Shawn as being bigger men than the grudge-holding, "I'm-always-right" Vince? Or do you think they should go with the more obvious - and marketable/profitable - path of having Bret lead "Hart Dynasty" against "DX" in some form?

 

I think that Vince may be stubborn and short-sighted at times, but he’s not a total moron and thus DX v. Hart Dynasty is the logical and obvious path to go.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/20/fight-of-the-year/

Man, last night was a tough one, as Sasktel now has a free preview of SuperChannel HD up, which meant I could actually watch StrikeForce live, plus TSN2 was showing WEC at the same time.  And since I was already recording another show at that time and couldn’t watch live, I had to choose which to record and hope for the best.  Apparently either choice would have been fine, but I went with the star power of StrikeForce and holy SHIT was that the right call.  Josh Thomson v. Gilbert Melendez may have been the best fight I’ve seen all year, as finally we get a 5-round title fight this year that isn’t a total squash (ala BJ Penn) or with two guys who gas out after 3 rounds (like on the last CBS SF show).   I don’t know if it’s better than Ben Henderson’s title win earlier this year on WEC, but when they were trading in the second round and then doing the crazy armbar reverals, I was going nuts, and they kept up the pace all the way through.  Absolutely check out the replay if you can, and I’m hoping TSN replays the WEC show so I can catch that one, too.  I was also very close to ordering the ROH Final Battle internet broadcast too because I was very curious to see Wolves v. Briscoes and how they’d weasel out of a title change in the main event, but apparently it was plagued by technical problems and a bad crowd and will be better served on DVD.  That being said, the issues for the matches were actually built on the TV show quite well, so if that’s the direction they’re going with it, bravo.  I would have been well aware of the main matches and the reasons why they were happening, and normally I can’t say that with an ROH show.

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Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1311, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/19/psych-101/

Hi Scott,
A question for you and your readers. In your opinion, what is the definition of ring psychology? I often read internet reviews and TV reports that suggest psychology is about focusing on a certain body part during a match. Now I'm in no way an expert, but to me this is just sound technical wrestling. I've never heard anyone define the term, but there does seem to be a consensus amongst both fans and wrestlers that Jake Roberts was the best ever at ring psychology. Given that, it seems to me that psychology is about conveying a certain message or emotion(s) to the audience using a number of different means - words, tone of voice, facial expressions, body movements, actions etc.
If that's the case, then I would say that currently, Randy Orton is streets ahead of any other performer when it comes to ring psychology and is a big reason why he gets so much heat (I also happen to think he's a decent wrestler but I know a lot of fans disagree).
Your thoughts?

 

To me, ring psychology is the art of making a worked match into a “real” match.  I don’t mean real like a shoot, but real in the sense that you force the audience to suspend their disbelief.  So for instance, if someone comes into a match with “injured” ribs and the other guy completely ignores that, then that takes me out of the match a lot.  If one guy works on the arm for 10 minutes and then the other guy just forgets about it, that takes me out of the match even more. 

I think overall, though, ring psychology is making the audience react how you want them to react.  My favorite example is the Great Muta v. Barry Windham match from an early 1993 WCW PPV.  Basically Muta is always cheered by old-school fans and people had no reason to dislike Windham so they were just kind of cheering for both people, until Windham had a chinlock and simply put his feet on the ropes, which is the universal signal for nefarious deeds.  Suddenly the crowd now had a clear babyface and heel and the match got much better as a result. 

So it encompasses a lot of things (selling, working a body part, facials, timing the comebacks) and it’s hard to say who’s really better at it these days because everyone wrestles such a bland style now.  Orton’s great at certain apsects of it to be sure.  Shawn’s still the best right now, though.

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• On Albert near University Ave; across street from WLU (but quiet!) and 5 minute walk from UW
  
• Near GRT Route 7//8/9/12/iXpress stops
  
• House shared with three clean, responsible, and quiet girls
  
• Utilities, laundry facilities, and high speed internet included
  
• Newly renovated kitchen
  
• Bathroom shared with only one person
  
• Helpful landlord
  
• $400/month (negotiable)
  
• Room is available to girls only; landlord would prefer to keep house single-sex (but overnight guests are fine)
  

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http://apelad.blogspot.com/2009/12/laugh-out-loud-cats-1310.html

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1310, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://apelad.blogspot.com/2009/12/laugh-out-loud-cats-1309.html

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1309, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/17/ufc-71-liddell-vs-jackson/

http://www.rspwfaq.com/?p=2193

This was the first UFC card I’d ever seen live or really in full. It was a couples “playdate” and somehow our husbands convinced us that watching this event would be the only way they would agree to do this. I really don’t believe women are as smart as we think we are albeit still much smarter than most men think we are. Anyway I became a fan after this night. Not a huge fan but part of the growing nation.

The Princess Rant for UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson

Originally aired May 26, 2007 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV.

This card took place a couple of months after UFC acquired PRIDE and many of their top fighters were starting to get booked and acclimated to the Octagon. The promotion was pushing Chuck Liddell as THE face of the promotion. Before this fight Liddell went on a crazy promotional tour and even got on the cover of ESPN The Magazine – a major accomplishment for the sport. The hype for the fight was surrounding Liddell’s desire for revenge against the last guy to beat him.

Let’s Roll.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Wilson Gouveia vs. Carmelo Marrero

This is Marrero’s light heavyweight debut as he was getting his ass stomped in heavyweights. They are actually airing all of the pre-fight promos which they hadn’t done on any of the discs I’ve seen so far. They would do it for the main event and maybe the uppercard bout but that’s it. Gouveia says “I wanna kill the sonofabitch”. Ok.

The tale of the tape is even with the exception of Gouveia’s 4.5-inch reach advantage. The referee is Mario Yamasaki.

Marrero is in a defensive stance and goes for the shoot but fails. The crowd is already giving these guys shit and we’re 40 seconds in. Geez. Marrero tries again and gets pecked with a jab. Gouveia gets the best of an exchange and BUCKLES Marrero with two nasty leg kicks. Gouveia wants to stand and nails another nasty leg kick that puts Marrero down. Running knee and a guillotine choke with the mount finishes this one at 3:06.

Lightweight Bout: Din Thomas vs. Jeremy Stephens

Ok, I’m a UFC novice and even *I* saw a major experience mismatch here. Stephens is turning 21 on this night, it’s his UFC debut and he looks fresh out of junior high school.

Thomas has a 9-year age advantage and a 3.5-inch reach advantage. Your referee is none other than Big John McCarthy.

Stephens has that annoying frat boy red streak in his haircut. Who would have thought that The Red Rooster would be a visionary for wanna be cool boys around college campuses? Right away Thomas hits a combination and executes the take down. Stephens assumes full guard but Thomas passes the guard and goes into side control like the kid isn’t even there. He goes for the kimora but Stephens defended it pretty well. Thomas hits a couple elbows. He looks like he’s just trying to wait the youngster out and force him to use all that wild energy in defense. Thomas goes for the kimora again and while Stephens tried to defend Thomas calmly gets on his back. Stephens is game with the defense, I’ll give him that. Thomas has a half-assed anaconda on him but nothing too dangerous. Out of nowhere Stephens escapes the grip and starts throwing wild punches! Holy crap! A huge overhand hits but the superman punch misses and Stephens throws down Thomas’ punk card and makes him stand up as the round ends. Nice effort at the end but this was all Thomas.

Stephens has confidence going into the second round and Thomas appears to be willing to stand and exchange. Stephens hits a solid spinning backfist and Thomas paws away with the jab. Stephens hits a left hook but takes a body shot in return. Inside leg kick by Thomas always sends Stephens down. Thomas shoots but Stephens sprawls and ends up on top with Thomas in a full guard. Stephens isn’t sure what to do here so Thomas calmly switches from guard to the armbar to force a tap out at 2:44. He totally lulled the kid to sleep there.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Alan Belcher vs. Sean Salmon

Salmon is fresh off of getting his head kicked off by Rashad Evans and says he’ll need to win or possibly think of a new career. Belcher has nothing as interesting to say. Belcher is moving up from middleweight and taking the fight as an injury replacement on short notice.

Belcher has a four-inch height and four-inch reach advantage. Steve Mazzagatti is your ref.

Rogan says Salmon needs to go for the takedown immediately and I say there’s no way in hell that chubby boy can go three rounds. Salmon attempts a sloppy shoot and Belcher catches him in a standing guillotine, takes him down and makes him tap. Yeah Sean, you should be thinking of a career in…anything but cage fighting.

Light Heavyweight Bout: James Irvin vs. Thiago Silva

Ooo, I love me some Silvas. Irvin describes Silva as a “crazy Chute Boxe guy”. This is Silva’s UFC debut.

Irvin’s four-year age advantage is the only noticeable different on the tale of the tape. Herb Dean is your referee.

Irvin hits big right and a leg kick to knock down Silva right away. Irvin adds two more punches and Silva locks in and fights to his feet. Irvin goes for the guillotine but Silva takes him down and Irvin’s knee buckled. OUCH! Silva’s team celebrates like a bunch of morons. Looked promising but never materialized.

Middleweight Bout: Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes

Neither guy says much in the video preview other than this was a must win for both guys. Mario Yamasaki is the ref. Starnes has la five or six-inch height advantage.

Leben comes out with a high kick and bounces around. Starnes working hard to clinch and get the take down but Leben fights out and hits a knee. Body shot by Starnes and an inside kick. Leben misses a high kick and falls but he gets up quickly. Leben chases Starnes around the octagon swinging wildly and occasionally connecting. Starnes finally gets the fight at close quarters and hits a couple of soft knees but at capitalized. Big left uppercut by Leben was partially blocked. Leben misses a spinning back kick and Starnes finally gets the take down. Leben goes into a full guard and as the round comes to a close Starnes connects on several combinations. Still I give that round to the busier Leben.

In the second round Starnes is using his length advantage to keep Leben from getting in with a punch. Starnes hits Leben flush with a right hand and takes him down. Leben is in control, however, on the ground with his full guard. Starnes gets to his feet and strikes Leben before letting him get back up. With two minutes left in the round it’s clear both these guys are gassed. Nice inside leg kick by Starnes but he’s too tired to follow up. Starnes is defending himself against Leben’s big shots but he looks like he’s going to pass out due to lack of oxygen so he’s spend the last two minutes with little offense. Hard to say with that round but Starnes landed the closer shots. I think the fight is on the table either way.

Third round and both guys look content to hug it out. Leben goes real aggressive but none of the punches look particularly hard. Leben rocks Starnes with a body kick that collapses him but Leben doesn’t follow up and lets Starnes get to full guard. Hmm he could have easily finished it there. Instead this is where Starnes wants this fight – on the ground. Starnes tries for the armbar but Leben escapes and hits a overhand punch. Leben tries to fight through Starnes half guard and Starnes smoothly switches but can’t pass Leben’s full guard. HUGE power punch by Starnes but he’s not getting out of Leben’s full guard. Starnes gets up and clocks Leben again. He goes for side control but Leben gets a half guard. Starnes lands more crushing blows to end the round. Easy round for Starnes which tells me he’ll win 29-28.

Buffer announces all three cards, Starnes wins on one card 30-27 and the other 29-28.

Light Heavyweight Bout: Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine

The pre-fight promo stuff here is good. Alexander is happy to make his UFC debut and Jardine is insulted he’s in the ring with Alexander when he should be getting a title shot.

Tale of the tape says Houston is 35 and Jardine has a height, weight and reach advantage. Steve Mazzagatti is your official.

Jardine comes out in some stupid stance; Rogan calls it a chimpanzee approach. He hits Alexander flush but Houston powers Jardine to the fence and goes complete apeshit with right hands. Houston NAILS him with an uppercut. A second uppercut lifts Jardine off his feet; a knee to the head a third massive uppercut leaves Jardine a quivering mass of jelly. Mazzagatti damn near had to tackle Alexander to stop him from killing the poor guy at :48. That was pretty cool.

Houston stands over the fallen Jardine and lets out a huge scream to extend the awesome of this segment. Alexander became an instant favorite after this knockout and the fact that he is a single father of five made him that much more likeable. I think he, not Rampage, was the big story of this show to the hard core fans. Unfortunately his age and lack of ground skills kept him from making a real impact and he was recently cut after losing to Kimbo Slice. Surely he’ll be on the next Fedor card. Meanwhile I’m wondering why White never booked a rematch between these two.

Middleweight Bout: Ivan Salaberry vs. Terry Martin

Martin is a dead ringer for Floyd “Money” Mayweather in the face. Salaberry is making his return to the octagon after two years. He was 10 years older than Martin and has a three-inch height and reach advantage. Your referee is Mario Yamasaki.

Salaberry goes for the high kick right away but Martin gets on the inside and lands a punch. Strong inside leg kick by Salaberry but Martin walks through a body kick and hits Salaberry with a punch right in the chest. Martin has a clinch and gets the big takedown where he lands repeated hammer punches and gets the stoppage at 2:04.

Welterweight Bout: Karo Parisyan vs. Josh Burkman

Karo predicts a judo exhibition and Burkman says that it will be a hell of a fight and being a world champion is his destiny. The tale of the tape is almost identical and the referee is Herb Dean.

Slugfest right away as Parisyan shows he isn’t afraid to stand up. He catches Burkman’s leg kick and hammers away. Burkman powers Karo to the fence and they stand. Big right hand by Burkman but his shoot attempt is foiled. Overhand right by Karo connects and Burkman comes back with a flurry. Nice leg kick by Karo but Burkman gets the take down. Burkman stands and catches the grounded Karo with a right. Huge combination by Karo and a massive judo throw gets the crowd popping. Karo has Burkman on his back and he’s going to the choke. Burkman, however, fights out and we’re back to the standing game. Counter punch by Karo connects. He also hits a lead right but misses the high kick. Burkman powers Karo to the fence again as the round comes to an end. Karo gets the nod from me.

Round two starts a little slower as Karo hits another lead right. Burkman hits a leg kick but is missing all of his big punches. The fight has slowed considerably. Karo snaps a high kick but Burkman lands a big right. Karo responds with a wicked short right. Karo with another combination as Burkman is gassed and trying to survive the round. Big knee and combination from Karo scores big. Burkman’s punches are coming slower and weaker and he’s trying to clinch but Karo is keeping a good distance. Three-punch combo by Karo and two connect. Karo goes for the big Judo throw but Burkman defends so Karo lands a couple of blows while Burkman is on the fence. Huge right from Karo to punctuate the round. That might have been of the 10-8 variety.

We go to Round 3 and Burkman comes out strong surely getting his final burst of adrenaline. Karo goes back to those strong lead rights and right hook combinations. Burkman goes for the clinch and pushes Karo up against the cage. Burkman actually fights out of a guillotine and gets the takedown. But he’s a little tired and Karo is successfully defending against the pass as Karo takes a full guard. Karo explodes out and executes another sweet judo throw. Back to the feet and Karo gets the body lock and lands a punch. We’re back standing and every time Burkman comes forward he gets hit. Karo misses the high kick and Burkman unsuccessfully shoots. They grapple along the cage until the fight ends. I say Karo 30-27.

The scores are: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Karo.

Main Event Time!

Light Heavyweight Championship: Chuck Liddell vs. Quentin Jackson

The pre-fight promo stuff is pretty funny and the one thing the two can agree on is that this will definitely end with a knockout. For the Main Event they do the full introductions. Rampage’s music isn’t dubbed over because it’s an original track composed for him. Liddell’s music, however, is dubbed due to rights fee.

The tale of the tape sees Liddell as much older (37 to 28) and Liddell has a 4.5 inch reach advantage. Height and weight are fairly even. Your referee is Big John McCarthy. Jackson’s facial expressions are somewhere between silly and hilarious.

Liddell starts out circling the octagon and pawing at Rampage with his jab. After a minute Rampage drops his hands begging for action and Liddell lands a glancing left hook, nothing noticeable. Liddell tries to sneak inside and gets caught with a left hook. It’s easy to see that Liddell is beyond respectful of Rampage’s power. Left hook to the body by Liddell leads to a huge right for Jackson that sends Liddell crumbling to the mat. Five hammer punches later and this one is over at 1:53! I guess it was a shocking defeat but Randy Couture predicted it and you could see that Liddell was extremely cautious of being caught with a one punch. And naturally, he got caught with one punch.

They set up the Dan Henderson-Quenton Jackson fight as Jackson is not at all modest about his latest victory. Rogan mentions that Liddell was upset with the stoppage and Jackson demands they fight again…until he sees the replay and agrees with the ref. Rampage doing his own commentary on the knockout is good stuff. Liddell, somber and quiet, says he got caught.

The aftermath was interesting. Safe to say Liddell wasn’t the same and lost four of five (three by knockout) before Dana White basically demanded he retire. Still Liddell wanted to fight so White has relented and will make him do Ultimate Fighter 11 before fighting Tito Ortiz a third time.

Meanwhile Rampage went on to defeat Henderson before losing an impressive battle to Forrest Griffin. A knockout of Wanderlei Silva and decision over Jardine followed before he “retired” to film The A-Team. Filming is over and he’s back, expected to face Rashad Evans.

The Bottom Line: This was a very fun card with a couple of shocking knockouts on the main program and two pretty decent brawls.

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http://apelad.blogspot.com/2009/12/laugh-out-loud-cats-1308.html

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1308, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/16/bret-returns/

Scott,
We're going to need a thread for what the Torch is reporting.
http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_37438.shtml
This is going to blow up.  Wonder if they'll put him up against TNA and Hogan on Jan. 4th?

 

I’m still not sure why everyone’s making such a big deal out of the January 4 Impact.  I’m sure Vince would want to crush them just out of spite, but it’s not like he needs to load up the show with big guests and title changes to prove anything.  A show that draws three times the rating that Impact normally gets is considered a disaster by WWE standards. 

Anyway, I hope Bret and Vince go over the terms of the contract REALLY closely beforehand this time around.  But really, I don’t want to see Bret wrestle again.  Let him be the manager/mouthpiece for an Anti-Vince group, sure, but getting in the ring again would just tarnish his legacy for an audience that doesn’t really know who he is beyond the name and the screwjob anyway.

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/15/tv-talk/

Hey Scott, theres been a lot of wrestling talk lately, but lack of love for TV. Have you had a chance to catch any of the fourth season of Dexter. It just wrapped up this past Sunday and dare I say, it was the best season thus far. John Lithgow was absolutely awesome as the guest star this season. Season Three totally sucked IMO, but Season Four totally redeemed it. Also, any House? Family Guy? American Dad? Cleveland Show? The Cleveland Show is actually a lot funnier than I expected it to be and Famly Guy started out really slow this year, but has actually had some really funny eps as of late. Carter Pewterschmidt getting hooked on the Big Bang Theory this past week was hilarious, I thought. Thoughts?

I have downloaded and not yet watched season 4 of Dexter, so please no spoilerage about it, y’all, and we’ll discuss it at a later date, I promise. 

House I daresay I’m giving up on.  The season premiere was so awesome and then it was right back to the same formula.  I’m about 5 episodes backlogged on the DVR now and it’s way down the priority list for catching up on. 

Family Guy is what it is.  I watch it because I watch it, sometimes I laugh, mostly I don’t.  House/Roadhouse, though, was fantastic.

Cleveland Show I’m giving chance after chance to see if they go somewhere with it, but it’s never more than pleasantly funny, unlike American Dad which frequently hits the heights of insanely hilarious.  Like Steve’s Vietnam recreation flashbacks and Roger tripping to Barbra Streisand’s Celine Dion concert?  AD is truly on another level. 

Big Bang Theory might be my favorite show on TV right now because I not only get all the super-geeky physics jokes, but I get all the super-super-geeky comic book jokes, and they’re obviously written by people who know and love the source material enough to treat it with respect.  When they make a Green Lantern joke and have Sheldon go off about it, they make sure that he’s equipped with all the background needed. 

Glee has basically replaced House in my heart, as Jane Lynch can now play the Jane Lynch-iest character ever and gets paid to do it.  It’s a wonderful television program with wit, heart, great songs and JOY, something lacking from all the cookie cutter procedurals and sci-fi clones. 

Other shows on my DVR for those wondering what gets recorded every week:

- Diners Drive-Ins and Dives.

- Food Detectives

- 30 Rock

- The Office (barely hanging on)

- Parks and Recreation (shooting up the list every week!)

- Scrubs (yeah yeah…)

- Better Off Ted

- Cops

- Glee

- The Vampire Diaries (It’s GOOD, OK?)

- 90210 (I’m married, what can I do?)

- Dragon’s Den (and the Americanized Shark Tank if it gets a second season)

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http://www.rspwfaq.com/2009/12/15/michaels-extreme-review-21/

Michael's Extreme Review #23

December 15, 2009

Laredo, Texas

-Well I gotta say that the Slammys last night were a huge waste of time.  The DX skits are getting really old and the merchandise is getting out of hand.  I think at the beginning of the new year I am going with TNA reports, starting with the January 4th show.  It's time to shake things up, again.  Onto the ring tonight, where Kane is scheduled to appear.

-We open with Kane saying tonight, "I'M BAAAACK!".

-Pyro in high definition and your hosts are Josh Matthews and Byron Saxton.

-Let's kick off ECW with Tiffany in the ring.  She wants to pay homage to Shelton Benjamin and Christian's performance from Sunday.  Shelton makes his way down making sure to sell his injuries a night after he was fine on RAW.  Out comes Christian and he sporting an old school shiner.  A lot of ass-kissing between Shelton and Christian.  Shelton wants a rematch.  Enter William Regal and Jack-Ov.  Regal has had enough of this poppy-cocking something.  He says Tiffany sounds like a goose blowing a kazoo.  Nice, Regal.  He says Shelton is selfish and wants to know why Kane is here.  Tiffany says Kane has been invited as part of a new idea called ECW Homecoming.  Old ECW stars will show up for the next couple of weeks with the final winner getting to face Christian for the ECW Championship at the Royal Rumble.  Kane faces Zack Ryder and Ezekial Jackson will take on Vladimir Kozlov, TONIGHT!  But first, it's the Ripper headed to the ring to face the Hurricane, NEXT!

1.  The Hurricane vs. The Ripper (with "The Nightmare")

-Wow, Katie Lea is the Nightmare, huh?  Before we get underway we get the back story  Ripper's mask looked like Kwang threw up.  Lock up immediately and Hurricane gets a headlock.  Hiptoss by Hurricane and Ripper no-sells and tosses the Hurricane out.  Back suplex across the guardrail by the Ripper.  Hurricane suplexed back in and it gets 2.  Chinlock by the Ripper and Hurricane escapes and hits a high cross body for 2.  Ripper gets up an slams the Hurricane down.  Ripper headed up top and takes to long and Hurricane catches him.  Hurricane fights back and hits a Hurricane-rana for 2.  Hurricane going for the Shining Wizard and Ripper ducks and brings him down across his knee for a 2.    Ripper misses a blind charge into the corner and Hurricane hits a Tornado DDT. Hurricane going for the mask and takes off the Ripper's mask to reveal.......OH MY GOD, PAUL BURCHILL!  Shining Wizard connects for the win @ 3:55.  (Short match, but cute.  D.)

-RAW Rebound complete with Dennis Miller jokes that are still flying over the heads of everyone in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

-Backstage, Burchills are upset and Gregory Helms wants to know how things worked out for him.  Helms walks off with his cape on.

It's the Abraham Washington Show staring Abraham Washington.  Tonight Abe welcome Slammy award winning Maria.  And now, herrrrrre's Abe!  APPLAUSE  Washington said he was robbed of winning a Slammy last night.  He thinks he should have won all the awards.  Atlas says he should have won Diva of the Year too.  Haha.  Out comes Maria.  They replay Batista interrupting Maria's speech.  I have nothing.  Washington says it must have been embarrassing and Maria says at least she won an award.  Atlas screams out that his show stinks.  I like the new Tourette's Atlas.  Atlas and Washington go back in forth while the crowd boos REAL LOUD.  Washington ends the show.  Pointless. 

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match

2.  Vladimir Kozlov (With William Regal) vs. Ezekial Jackson

-  Damn, is Regal gonna cry?  Jackson punks Kozlov and Kozlov comes back with a big right hand.  Big Slam by Jackson.  Jackson growls and Kozlov comes back with a thrust to the throat.  Elbow by Kozlov gets 2.  Al Snow headbutts to Jackson.  Kozlov hits the ropes and Regal grabs his leg.  Jackson with a Standing Uranage and the win @ 1:34.  (I'm gonna DUD it.)

-Kozlov grabs Regal and Jackson attacks from behind.  They half assed throw him into the side of the announce table.  Regal yells at the fans and Kozlov is still laid out. 

-Backstage Croft and Baretta play R vs. SD 2k10.  Apparently Shawn Michaels just jobbed to them.  Exploding fist and they are headed to the ring. 

3.  Trent Baretta and Caylen Croft vs. Julio Cruz and Jorge Arias

-  Not sure which is which, but one looks like a young Ricky Santana.  He starts with Baretta and Baretta knees him low.  Julio Cruz is his name.  He hits a drop kick and Baretta no-sells.  Croft in and works the knee.  Baretta back in and Cruz hits a boot in the corner and a spinning heel kick.  Baretta cuts off a tag and nails Arias to the floor.  Croft back in and Suplex into a Sitdown Powerbomb will finish it @ 1:55.  (DUD)

-Backstage Goldust is talking to Yoshi Tatsu.  Kane joins them and Tatsu yells at him in Japanese.  Kane calls them both freaks and heads to the ring.

Main Event

ECW Homecoming Qualifying Match

4. Kane vs. Zack Ryder (With Rosa Mendes)

-Next week, Jack Swagger returns!  Ryder could be soiling himself on the way to the ring.  Bell rings and Ryder tries to out run Kane, but Kane hammers away and throws him away.  Basement dropkick by Kane gets 2.  Kane catches Ryder ccomingoff the ropes and slams him down.  He misses an elbow and Ryder grabs a chinlock.  Kane hits a back suplex to get out.  Sidewalk slam and Ryder flips out.  Kane catches him in a chokeslam and Ryder holds onto the ropes.  He grounds Kane and works the leg.  Kane has enough and strikes him down.  FANTASTIC FLYING LEG LARIAT gets 2. Goes for another one and Kane throws him down and CHOKESLAM!  That will do it at 3:49. (Interesting match up here and each guy made the other look good.  D+)

Final Thoughts...

Well apparently, after 8 qualifying matches, the final 8 meet in 5 weeks to deem a number one contender.  Tiffany, great job on messing that up for me in the opening of the show!!!  So maybe ECW does have a little life left in them for the new year. 

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