Trashbear

I love the fighting spirit of Akiyama, but he should veer away from the "Mr. Dumpling" defensive strategy. And anyone who knows what crappy mid-90s Jonathan Brandis movie I'm referencing is automatically my new best friend. Not being British, I rather enjoyed the Condit KO. For a free card, I felt the show was solid. Any time I get my fiancee to watch with me, that's a decent indicator that there's enough action on the show.

If we're going with wishful thinking, then can't we all collectively hope for Samoa Joe to come back and win the strap tonight? A fella can dream, can't he? And yeah, Roderick and Tyler are both cases where they can do all the moves and they are tremendous athletes, but neither can talk worth ****, and even in a company where the emphasis is on the action, the top guys simply have to be able to deliver believable promos. Like, the Briscoes aren't good talkers, but they're believable. When Roddy gets mad, he doesn't sound like he's mad, or like he's gonna whup some ass. He sounds whiny, and wimpy, and his facial expressions are comical rather than menacing.

Not a Roddy Strong fan, either...but I'm not sure who else they could go with. I'd love Davey with the belt, but he's done with wrestling soon, isn't he? Just give it to Prince Nana...too awesome for words.

I wanted Chael to win, but I knew that Anderson Silva would dominate him. I couldn't have predicted that Silva would need a fortuitous fifth round submission to steal a victory and keep his win streak intact...it seemed so unlikely. If anyone can ever feel victorious despite a defeat, its Chael Sonnen. And yeah, the last two PPVs have really raised the bar as far as excitement goes. Even my fiancee, who doesn't care for much in the way of sports, is a UFC fan now. She eagerly asked me when the next "big fight" will be.

I get what you're saying, but to me they are one of the best interviews in wrestling because, according to most, they REALLY do talk like that. So they sound legit. Idiots, but legit. To each their own, right?

I seriously love the KoW. Probably my favorite act so far this year in any promotion, and they generally churn out very good matches. Their match against the WGTT is going to be ****-hot.

It's those damn amateur wrestling instincts. All my life I was taught three things when it came to wrestling. 1. Wrist Control 2. Never reach back (because of the half nelson or the wing) 3. Stay off your back So, when I nervously made a few attempts at MMA in a gym setting, as soon as my back hit the mat I popped my hips and rolled over. And then came the choke. Luckily this was just sparring, so I didn't end up with a bruised windpipe.

Yeah, my knowledge of terrible wrestling cards from years past has set me up for a high-paying career in a Fortune 500 company. Back on topic, I feel that the UFC is already the International brand for MMA. I don't know how many times people have said that they "love UFC" instead of saying they "love MMA" because Dana and Co. have done such a great job building their brand over the last decade. It seems like MMA is a term known more to old school fans of the sport, or people who follow sports more closely than other people, but for the casual fan UFC is the only name that matters. My knowledge of Japan is limited pretty much to importing videogames and watching wrestling, so I'm by no means an expert. But I have to think that if there's money to be made, that the organized crime elements would at least entertain the idea of dealing with Zuffa. Their ultimate goal can't be that different from organized crime in America, can it? Namely, making huge piles of green cash money.

That was WrestleMania 2, wasn't it? 3 was the Pontiac Silver Dome, Hogan vs. Andre. 2 was almost utter, utter ****. The goofy "3 Venues, 1 Show" deal didn't hide the fact that there was an Uncle Elmer match on the card.

http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/mmaufcnews/article10012795.shtml I figured this video of JR, Steve Austin, Paul Heyman, and Bill Goldberg being interviewed after last night's event was appropriate for this forum, ya know? Also, I want to point out that I think last night was a great card for people new to MMA. I imagine that at house parties and bars, a lot of new fans were introduced to the sport, and with a card that featured decisive finishes, exciting fights, and intriguing storylines and characters, 116 was very good for the UFC.

I love Brock because: A. I was a successful amateur wrestler (at the lowest possible level), and when he was at his peak in college, everyone on my team thought he was awesome and couldn't believe that a guy who looked the way he did could do the things he does. B. I was a huge mark for him in the WWE. C. I love to see the disappointment on people's faces when he beats whoever they're pulling for. Brock was more mature and humble in his victory speech, which is great. But I sort of hoped that he would stick it right up everyone's ass again. Last night, my heart caught in my throat when Carwin was firing off his bombs. I was positive that it was going to be stopped, even though Brock was defending himself well. And when he got the takedown in Round 2, I breathed easy knowing that once he gets the top, he's almost impossible to stop. It was a great effort by Carwin to do what he does best, and it showed the poise of Lesnar that he didn't allow himself to be put away. I was elated, but the road only becomes more difficult, because Cain Velasquez is, to my mind, a better MMA fighter than Carwin. Brock of course will gameplan and train and he'll be prepared for him, but Velasquez is serious business. I can't wait for them to showdown, because while I don't think he's better than everyone else, I know that Brock can beat Velasquez. But will he? That's a question that has me very excited. On another note...I think Leben may have just made himself a superstar. You wrestling guys know the moments that take a guy and "make" him, right? Last night's choke submission at the tail end of a very hard fought battle was one of those moments. I loved last night's whole show, I was very entertained, and I couldn't be happier that Brock won.

That's a good point about Carwin's stance, if you remember back to Lesnar's victory over Mir, one good leg kick from Brock left a red welt on Mir's inner thigh. Maybe we'll see some leg kicks from Brock tonight? I still like Brock via ground and pound, but I don't think it's a given. So much could happen, that's why MMA is so great.

I was firmly in the 360 camp, despite the fact that I'd gotten two red rings and an E71 failure. Then I actually bought a PS3, and my 360 is collecting dust. I have a good library for it, and there are forthcoming games that I'll certainly play on the 360, but given the choice, I'd say the PS3 is my favorite. The software library has caught up to the capabilities of the hardware, finally. But I'm no fanboy...my motto is, and always has been "Good games is good games." I want to play what's good, what's new, and what's interesting, be it the cornucopia of indie games available on my PC, or the latest big-budget blockbuster for the PS3. If there's fun and intrigue to be had, I'm there. Which is why, much like Remi, I have owned more or less every single console (didn't have a CD-i, 3DO, or a Virtual Boy) and maintained a gaming-quality PC. I have a compulsion to try damn near everything.

Yeah, a lot of the cabs they have in some of the remaining arcades are very cookie-cutter for the reasons you mentioned. It's more cost effective to swap out a board or a disc than to buy a new cabinet for every game. That set-up you linked to is pretty damn nice. I've been in some beautiful home arcades over the years, but as you mentioned, they can get quite expensive. One of my favorite 2D fighter tournies took place in the basement of this guy's house in Maryland. He had a nice place, and his basement was finished and all of that, so it was a pretty cozy set up with sit-down arcade cabinets. I casually asked him how much he'd shelled out over the years to get it to that point. He just smiled and shook his head. "A lot," he replied.

My friends and I still get together and play Street Fighter (well, it's Super Street Fighter II Turbo) or the occasional bout of SSFIV. But then, there was a time when we took those games serious, analyzing frame data and learning move priority and practicing until we were awesome. You know the guy who you played in the arcade who mauled you without letting you get a punch or a fireball in? We were those guys. And as stupid as it sounds, on more than one occasion we traveled great distances (hundreds of miles, maybe even thousands of miles if were flying) to compete in fighting game tournaments for cash prizes. Yes, we were gigantic dorks.