I guess I could talk about the new job a little bit.
I just realized I have been there about two months now. Surprisingly, I don't hate it. Then again, I don't love it. What I do love about it though is that, in a way, I'm my own boss. Sure, I have people to answer to, but I'm out in my truck, all day, doing my thing. No one is looking over my shoulder all day, telling me what to do, or how to do this or that; it's just me and the job at hand. Also, since the weather is getting nicer, it is truly amazing to be in God's house, just enjoying each day, working hard and getting done extremely early...like, 2 o'clock early. That is truly amazing.
See, the flipside of that is, of course, having to start work at 6 am every day. Then again, it hasn't even been difficult for me. All those years of working afternoons were harder on me than this. I love knowing that I have a certain amount of goals to complete to finish the day, and then, on average, I am home anywhere between 3 and 4 o'clock every day. You can't beat it.
The job itself isn't ideal; I mean, no way at (almost) 27 did I think that I'd be filling vending machines for a living, but having any kind of gainful employment at this time is a blessing and I don't question it: EVER! Also, I know who's fault it is that I don't have a "career." I know who screwed around and let life get the best of him way too many times in the past. I know who made the excuses for not finishing a degree and moving forward on what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.
The pay is good, I have benefits for the first time in my adult life (and they don't kill us financially), and we (collectively, and I, myself) are happy. Isn't that all that really matters?
I'm not coming home anywhere between 10 and midnight, I'm not trying to please the implacable; and best of all, I don't have to work for someone who does not EVER, EVER think you're good enough, respect you, or treat you like a human being. That's probably the best part of this job: it isn't anything like my last one.
18 April 2009
04 April 2009
All right. I meant to post this a while back
But needless to say, I got distracted.
Once again, THQ and the WWE have tried to capitalize on the huge "fighting game" market and released and "old school" wrestling game called "Legends of Wrestlemania." Well, like most smarks, I was genuinely excited for this game. It looked good (graphics and such), and the original rosters looked good, but then something happened.
Well, first of all, THQ decided to use the same game engine that it has been using in it's "Smackdown vs RAW" games. That's ok, I guess, but if this is an old school wrestling game, then button mashing to do moves should have reigned supreme. Supposedly, that's what this game offers, four button control, but maybe it should incorporate a little more difficulty. (A quick aside, I'm talking about games like: WWF Wrestlemania Challenge for NES, WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game for Genesis/Playstation, WWF Wrestlemania for NES, WWF Wrestlefest for Arcade--also by far the best ever, WWF War Zone for N64/Playstation and WWF Raw for Genesis/SNES. Yes, I know there are more, but these arcade style games were the best for me and others when it came to wrestling games.) Secondly, when you take a closer look at the roster, you realize, "wait a minute, something is missing."
Here's what's missing:
*Tito Santana: Santana is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and two-time WWF Tag Team Champion (in eras where BOTH of those titles still meant something), a WWF King of the Ring (1989), and is a WWE Hall of Famer (class of 2004). Also, he wrestled in Wrestlemanias 1-8, including the first ever match at Wrestlemania where he beat the Executioner (Buddy Rose). There is no justifiable reason to not have Tito Santana in this game (not even the fact that for a while he wrestled as El Matador; that's Vince McMahon's fault--something I will discuss in length later in this blog.)
*Rick Martel: Martel, like Santana, was an early pioneer of what is known as the mid-card level. Granted, he never really held a World Title (the AWA Championship he held was impressive, but I'm focusing on the WWE), but he is a former 3-time WWF Tag Team Champion. Martel wrestled in Wrestlemanias 3-7. Also, even though it was one of the worst gimmick matches of all time, Martel lost to Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the infamous "Blindfold Match" at Wrestlemania VII.
*Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: This is an atrocity. Downright atrocity. Steamboat is a former NWA Heavyweight Champion (beating Ric Flair) and is also a former WWF Intercontinental Champion (which he won at Wrestlemania III, beating Randy Savage...who we'll get to in a minute.) The previously mentioned match has been voted the greatest Wrestlemania match numerous times, and has won greatest match honors in general for years. Steamboat wrestled in the first four Wrestlemanias, but admittedly did go on to have success in WCW, so maybe that played a role here...No wait. The WWE is inducting him into the Hall of Fame this year at Wrestlemania weekend AND he has a match at this year's Wrestlemania. What the heck? He's not a Legend of Wrestlemania, but he's wrestling as a legend at this year's event.
*Randy "Macho Man" Savage: I don't care what Vince McMahon's beef is with Macho. I don't care if Randy raped Vince's daughter while Vince videotaped it and then showed it at Christmas' for the last ten years (I know, it's gross, but I'm tired of Vince McMahon), Savage is the ULTIMATE Wrestlemania guy. He was his generation's Shawn Michaels (or perhaps Shawn is his generation's Macho Man). Savage appeared at Wrestlemanias 2-8, and then again at Wrestlemania 10. The guy is a former 2-time WWF Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and King of the Ring (1987). The guy INVENTED the big match in the WWF. Honestly, personal demons aside and all that junk, Savage was the man for a good, long time. Not having him in this game is a mockery of the title "Legends of Wrestlemania."
*Owen Hart: "The King of Harts," "The Black Hart," "The Rocket," "The Slammy Award Winning," the taken-before-his time...Owen Hart was the best wrestler the Hart family ever produced. There. I said it. He was better than Bret ever was. Deal with it. He was more charismatic, he was funnier, he had a better move set, he was smarter and most of all, he died before he could ever realize his full potential. Owen was a 3-time WWF Tag Team Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, European Champion and of course, the 1994 King of the Ring. And do you want to know the most surprising fact? Owen wrestled at eight Wrestlemanias and he isn't in this game. Wrestlemania 5 (as the Blue Blazer), 8, then 10-15. I can understand if the fact that the WWF killed him makes it so that they didn't want to include him, but not having Owen is a travesty only surpassed by the fact that he died doing what he loved, but in a way no man should have to die.
*Mick Foley: I'm not a huge fan of Mick Foley; in fact, I can't stand him. He sucked as a wrestler, but made his name as a hardcore legend. You can't ignore that, no matter how hard you try. He is a seven time former WWF Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion (a belt INVENTED for him), and two-time WWF Champion (both times beating The Rock, a guy who is in the game.) Mick wrestled at Wrestlemanias 13-16, 20 and 22. If the guy hadn't defected to TNA last year, he probably would be in this game. Another reason Vince McMahon should be drawn and quartered (I'm getting to that, I promise.)
*Razor Ramon: I'm not talking about Scott Hall. Scott Hall is funny, but he's not the same guy he used to be. I'm talking about his character Razor Ramon. This guy was awesome for a short time. He was charismatic, strong, and had a decent move set. He is also a former 4-time Intercontinental Champion. He wrestled at Wrestlemanias 9-13 (his appearance at 18 doesn't really count, because he wasn't Razor at that one, but I'll include it for a basic appearance arguement.) and had one of the defining matches in Wrestlemania history: The Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania X, where he beat Shawn Michaels. That match alone should have got him into this game, especially with the only innovative thing in this game being Wrestlemania Tour Mode, where you can relive, rewrite or redefine classic matches.
*I have a couple of other gripes, but they aren't as pointed as the previous. Demolition (3-time WWF Tag Team Champions and wrestled at WM 4-7, including winning the titles at 4 and 6, and successfully defending them at 7. Even LOD, who is in the game, can't claim that.) John Tenta (the man known as Earthquake). Tenta is a former WWF Tag Team Champion (with Typhoon/Tugboat/Shockmaster/Fred Ottman) and wrestled at WM 6-8. The One Man Gang/Akeem: OMG wasn't the best. He never held a major title in the WWF, but was entertaining, got a lot of main event attention and wrestled at WM 4-6. Don Muraco, The Dynamite Kid, and Dino Bravo. Muraco is a former 2-time Intercontinental Champion and WWE Hall of Famer (2004) who wrestled at WM 2-4. The Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington) is best known for being the other half of the British Bulldogs with Davey Boy Smith (who is in the game). Billington is a former WWF Tag Team Champion and wrestled at WM 2-4 as one half of the British Bulldogs (winning the titles at WM 2). Lastly, Dino Bravo. Dino Bravo wasn't much. He was known as "Canada's Strong Man" and had some brief feuds with Hogan, Bret Hart and the Ultimate Warrior. He wrestled at WM 4-7. (Brief aside: Since Bravo was murdered in real life for possibly being linked to organized crime, the WWE might have made a smart move by not including him.) The only reason I listed these guys was because some of the "legends" in the game probably shouldn't be in there either.
"Legends" in the game that probably should have been excluded:
*Koko B. Ware: The Birdman did indeed appear at WM 3, 4 and 6, but it's still Koko B. Ware. The guy never held a single title in the WWF, and as far as I can remember, never even competed for one. Oh, and the icing on the cake: he's being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. This is what you get for staying on Vince's good side (I'm getting to that).
*Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow: Granted, Bigelow appeared at numerous Wrestlemanias (4, 10 and 11 to be exact), but again, what did he do? I'll tell you what he did. He lost to a football player in one of the dumbest, yet most hyped, matches ever (WM XI where it was the MAIN EVENT over the WWF Title match that year). Bigelow is another wrestler we lost before his time, but he did more in ECW and even WCW than in WWF.
*"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan: Duggan wrestled at WM 4-6, and again at 8. He's been around forever and is quite frankly, one of the good guys in this business. But again, no major titles in his WWF career (other than winning the first ever Royal Rumble and was also a dubious King when the WWF wanted to embarrass Harley Race).
*Michael "PS" Hayes, Arn Anderson, and Kamala: Hayes and Anderson are somewhat understandable. Both work for the WWE now as road agents, so their inclusion again stems to McMahon rewarding those who work for him. But, Hayes never wrestled at a Wrestlemania. His main success came in World Class Championship Wrestling as part of the Fabulous Freebirds. Anderson wrestled in one Wrestlemania (WM V) and is a former WWF Tag Team Champion (with Tully Blanchard), but as good as Double A is, he's no Legend of Wrestlemania, since he only competed in one. His success came in the NWA/WCW as a member of the IV Horsemen. As for Kamala, again, no Wrestlemanias (excluding the Gimmick Battle Royal at X-7) and the guy was just that: a gimmick wrestler.
*Dusty Rhodes and Big John Studd: Rhodes is another guy who works for the WWE and is also better known for his work outside of WWE. He is a former NWA Heavyweight Champion, but never won a title in the WWF. His only WM appearance was at WM 6, where he wrestled in a mix tag team match against Savage and Sheri. Not exactly memorable or legendary for that matter. Big John Studd was a cool big man back in the day. He appeared at Wrestlemania (where he lost his own Body Slam Challenge when Andre the Giant bodyslammed him), Wrestlemania II (where he lost a gimmick battle royal involving NFL players), and Wrestlemania 5, where he was the referee for the match of Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant. Studd was a cool big man, but he never actually WRESTLED at any Wrestlemania and if you aren't going to include recent big men, like Diesel or Kane, why have Studd?
*Legion of Doom: Hawk and Animal are one of the best teams in wrestling history. They had it all: charisma, a great look, and could just run roughshod over anyone. They are a 2-time WWF Tag Team Champion, but only competed in two Wrestlemanias (7 and 14). Legendary team, yes. Legends of Wrestlemania, not exactly. At Wrestlemania 7, they beat Power and Glory (Hercules Hernandez and Paul Roma); they weren't even the major tag team match on the card (that would be the Nasty Boys beating the Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Titles) and at WM XIV, they won a tag team battle royal. This battle royal featured some decent teams, but was the start of the decline of tag team wrestling in WWE.
*Hunter Hearst Helmsley: Triple H is the Game. The guy is the Hulk Hogan of today, to an extent. But as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Trips lost to the Ultimate Warrior in a squash match at WM 12, beat Goldust at WM 13, and had morphed into Triple H by WM 14. Bottom line, put him in the damn game as Triple H. Hunter Hearst Helmsley was a fag.
Now, my final rant. Vince McMahon is the worst thing going in wrestling today. When THQ decided to put this game out with it being the "25th Anniversary" of Wrestlemania, what do you think designers and video game buffs thought when McMahon said, "Love the idea, but here are some guys you have to put in it and here are some guys that shouldn't be in it."? Um, ok Vince. But we're talking about guys who MADE your business. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just because you run the most successful wrestling organization EVER doesn't necessarily mean you know what your fans want ALL of the time. A legends video game with all the legends (regardless of what their relationship is to you) is what the fans want. Get down off of your high geriatric horse and INCLUDE those guys as downloadable content in the future or you will feel the wrath you stupid sonofabitch.
All right. I'm done. Enjoy the read and tell me what you think.
Once again, THQ and the WWE have tried to capitalize on the huge "fighting game" market and released and "old school" wrestling game called "Legends of Wrestlemania." Well, like most smarks, I was genuinely excited for this game. It looked good (graphics and such), and the original rosters looked good, but then something happened.
Well, first of all, THQ decided to use the same game engine that it has been using in it's "Smackdown vs RAW" games. That's ok, I guess, but if this is an old school wrestling game, then button mashing to do moves should have reigned supreme. Supposedly, that's what this game offers, four button control, but maybe it should incorporate a little more difficulty. (A quick aside, I'm talking about games like: WWF Wrestlemania Challenge for NES, WWF Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game for Genesis/Playstation, WWF Wrestlemania for NES, WWF Wrestlefest for Arcade--also by far the best ever, WWF War Zone for N64/Playstation and WWF Raw for Genesis/SNES. Yes, I know there are more, but these arcade style games were the best for me and others when it came to wrestling games.) Secondly, when you take a closer look at the roster, you realize, "wait a minute, something is missing."
Here's what's missing:
*Tito Santana: Santana is a two-time Intercontinental Champion and two-time WWF Tag Team Champion (in eras where BOTH of those titles still meant something), a WWF King of the Ring (1989), and is a WWE Hall of Famer (class of 2004). Also, he wrestled in Wrestlemanias 1-8, including the first ever match at Wrestlemania where he beat the Executioner (Buddy Rose). There is no justifiable reason to not have Tito Santana in this game (not even the fact that for a while he wrestled as El Matador; that's Vince McMahon's fault--something I will discuss in length later in this blog.)
*Rick Martel: Martel, like Santana, was an early pioneer of what is known as the mid-card level. Granted, he never really held a World Title (the AWA Championship he held was impressive, but I'm focusing on the WWE), but he is a former 3-time WWF Tag Team Champion. Martel wrestled in Wrestlemanias 3-7. Also, even though it was one of the worst gimmick matches of all time, Martel lost to Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the infamous "Blindfold Match" at Wrestlemania VII.
*Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat: This is an atrocity. Downright atrocity. Steamboat is a former NWA Heavyweight Champion (beating Ric Flair) and is also a former WWF Intercontinental Champion (which he won at Wrestlemania III, beating Randy Savage...who we'll get to in a minute.) The previously mentioned match has been voted the greatest Wrestlemania match numerous times, and has won greatest match honors in general for years. Steamboat wrestled in the first four Wrestlemanias, but admittedly did go on to have success in WCW, so maybe that played a role here...No wait. The WWE is inducting him into the Hall of Fame this year at Wrestlemania weekend AND he has a match at this year's Wrestlemania. What the heck? He's not a Legend of Wrestlemania, but he's wrestling as a legend at this year's event.
*Randy "Macho Man" Savage: I don't care what Vince McMahon's beef is with Macho. I don't care if Randy raped Vince's daughter while Vince videotaped it and then showed it at Christmas' for the last ten years (I know, it's gross, but I'm tired of Vince McMahon), Savage is the ULTIMATE Wrestlemania guy. He was his generation's Shawn Michaels (or perhaps Shawn is his generation's Macho Man). Savage appeared at Wrestlemanias 2-8, and then again at Wrestlemania 10. The guy is a former 2-time WWF Champion, Intercontinental Champion, and King of the Ring (1987). The guy INVENTED the big match in the WWF. Honestly, personal demons aside and all that junk, Savage was the man for a good, long time. Not having him in this game is a mockery of the title "Legends of Wrestlemania."
*Owen Hart: "The King of Harts," "The Black Hart," "The Rocket," "The Slammy Award Winning," the taken-before-his time...Owen Hart was the best wrestler the Hart family ever produced. There. I said it. He was better than Bret ever was. Deal with it. He was more charismatic, he was funnier, he had a better move set, he was smarter and most of all, he died before he could ever realize his full potential. Owen was a 3-time WWF Tag Team Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, European Champion and of course, the 1994 King of the Ring. And do you want to know the most surprising fact? Owen wrestled at eight Wrestlemanias and he isn't in this game. Wrestlemania 5 (as the Blue Blazer), 8, then 10-15. I can understand if the fact that the WWF killed him makes it so that they didn't want to include him, but not having Owen is a travesty only surpassed by the fact that he died doing what he loved, but in a way no man should have to die.
*Mick Foley: I'm not a huge fan of Mick Foley; in fact, I can't stand him. He sucked as a wrestler, but made his name as a hardcore legend. You can't ignore that, no matter how hard you try. He is a seven time former WWF Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion (a belt INVENTED for him), and two-time WWF Champion (both times beating The Rock, a guy who is in the game.) Mick wrestled at Wrestlemanias 13-16, 20 and 22. If the guy hadn't defected to TNA last year, he probably would be in this game. Another reason Vince McMahon should be drawn and quartered (I'm getting to that, I promise.)
*Razor Ramon: I'm not talking about Scott Hall. Scott Hall is funny, but he's not the same guy he used to be. I'm talking about his character Razor Ramon. This guy was awesome for a short time. He was charismatic, strong, and had a decent move set. He is also a former 4-time Intercontinental Champion. He wrestled at Wrestlemanias 9-13 (his appearance at 18 doesn't really count, because he wasn't Razor at that one, but I'll include it for a basic appearance arguement.) and had one of the defining matches in Wrestlemania history: The Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania X, where he beat Shawn Michaels. That match alone should have got him into this game, especially with the only innovative thing in this game being Wrestlemania Tour Mode, where you can relive, rewrite or redefine classic matches.
*I have a couple of other gripes, but they aren't as pointed as the previous. Demolition (3-time WWF Tag Team Champions and wrestled at WM 4-7, including winning the titles at 4 and 6, and successfully defending them at 7. Even LOD, who is in the game, can't claim that.) John Tenta (the man known as Earthquake). Tenta is a former WWF Tag Team Champion (with Typhoon/Tugboat/Shockmaster/Fred Ottman) and wrestled at WM 6-8. The One Man Gang/Akeem: OMG wasn't the best. He never held a major title in the WWF, but was entertaining, got a lot of main event attention and wrestled at WM 4-6. Don Muraco, The Dynamite Kid, and Dino Bravo. Muraco is a former 2-time Intercontinental Champion and WWE Hall of Famer (2004) who wrestled at WM 2-4. The Dynamite Kid (Tom Billington) is best known for being the other half of the British Bulldogs with Davey Boy Smith (who is in the game). Billington is a former WWF Tag Team Champion and wrestled at WM 2-4 as one half of the British Bulldogs (winning the titles at WM 2). Lastly, Dino Bravo. Dino Bravo wasn't much. He was known as "Canada's Strong Man" and had some brief feuds with Hogan, Bret Hart and the Ultimate Warrior. He wrestled at WM 4-7. (Brief aside: Since Bravo was murdered in real life for possibly being linked to organized crime, the WWE might have made a smart move by not including him.) The only reason I listed these guys was because some of the "legends" in the game probably shouldn't be in there either.
"Legends" in the game that probably should have been excluded:
*Koko B. Ware: The Birdman did indeed appear at WM 3, 4 and 6, but it's still Koko B. Ware. The guy never held a single title in the WWF, and as far as I can remember, never even competed for one. Oh, and the icing on the cake: he's being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. This is what you get for staying on Vince's good side (I'm getting to that).
*Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow: Granted, Bigelow appeared at numerous Wrestlemanias (4, 10 and 11 to be exact), but again, what did he do? I'll tell you what he did. He lost to a football player in one of the dumbest, yet most hyped, matches ever (WM XI where it was the MAIN EVENT over the WWF Title match that year). Bigelow is another wrestler we lost before his time, but he did more in ECW and even WCW than in WWF.
*"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan: Duggan wrestled at WM 4-6, and again at 8. He's been around forever and is quite frankly, one of the good guys in this business. But again, no major titles in his WWF career (other than winning the first ever Royal Rumble and was also a dubious King when the WWF wanted to embarrass Harley Race).
*Michael "PS" Hayes, Arn Anderson, and Kamala: Hayes and Anderson are somewhat understandable. Both work for the WWE now as road agents, so their inclusion again stems to McMahon rewarding those who work for him. But, Hayes never wrestled at a Wrestlemania. His main success came in World Class Championship Wrestling as part of the Fabulous Freebirds. Anderson wrestled in one Wrestlemania (WM V) and is a former WWF Tag Team Champion (with Tully Blanchard), but as good as Double A is, he's no Legend of Wrestlemania, since he only competed in one. His success came in the NWA/WCW as a member of the IV Horsemen. As for Kamala, again, no Wrestlemanias (excluding the Gimmick Battle Royal at X-7) and the guy was just that: a gimmick wrestler.
*Dusty Rhodes and Big John Studd: Rhodes is another guy who works for the WWE and is also better known for his work outside of WWE. He is a former NWA Heavyweight Champion, but never won a title in the WWF. His only WM appearance was at WM 6, where he wrestled in a mix tag team match against Savage and Sheri. Not exactly memorable or legendary for that matter. Big John Studd was a cool big man back in the day. He appeared at Wrestlemania (where he lost his own Body Slam Challenge when Andre the Giant bodyslammed him), Wrestlemania II (where he lost a gimmick battle royal involving NFL players), and Wrestlemania 5, where he was the referee for the match of Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant. Studd was a cool big man, but he never actually WRESTLED at any Wrestlemania and if you aren't going to include recent big men, like Diesel or Kane, why have Studd?
*Legion of Doom: Hawk and Animal are one of the best teams in wrestling history. They had it all: charisma, a great look, and could just run roughshod over anyone. They are a 2-time WWF Tag Team Champion, but only competed in two Wrestlemanias (7 and 14). Legendary team, yes. Legends of Wrestlemania, not exactly. At Wrestlemania 7, they beat Power and Glory (Hercules Hernandez and Paul Roma); they weren't even the major tag team match on the card (that would be the Nasty Boys beating the Hart Foundation for the WWF Tag Titles) and at WM XIV, they won a tag team battle royal. This battle royal featured some decent teams, but was the start of the decline of tag team wrestling in WWE.
*Hunter Hearst Helmsley: Triple H is the Game. The guy is the Hulk Hogan of today, to an extent. But as Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Trips lost to the Ultimate Warrior in a squash match at WM 12, beat Goldust at WM 13, and had morphed into Triple H by WM 14. Bottom line, put him in the damn game as Triple H. Hunter Hearst Helmsley was a fag.
Now, my final rant. Vince McMahon is the worst thing going in wrestling today. When THQ decided to put this game out with it being the "25th Anniversary" of Wrestlemania, what do you think designers and video game buffs thought when McMahon said, "Love the idea, but here are some guys you have to put in it and here are some guys that shouldn't be in it."? Um, ok Vince. But we're talking about guys who MADE your business. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Just because you run the most successful wrestling organization EVER doesn't necessarily mean you know what your fans want ALL of the time. A legends video game with all the legends (regardless of what their relationship is to you) is what the fans want. Get down off of your high geriatric horse and INCLUDE those guys as downloadable content in the future or you will feel the wrath you stupid sonofabitch.
All right. I'm done. Enjoy the read and tell me what you think.
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