Dan's Top 9: Batman Actors

by Dan Moore
@SouthieDanimal

DAN'S TOP

Batman v Superman gets released this Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing this flick with a mixture of awe and bewilderment. Part of me thinks it could be great but a bigger part of me thinks it's more likely to be a flaming shit burger. With this new chapter in the Bruce Wayne mythos coming out, I've come up with my list of the top Batman performances in screen history, with #9 being reserved for the worst.

9. George Clooney (Batman & Robin)

Nevermind the myriad of problems with this legendarily putrid film ("Hey we cast Arnold, known for his bulgy muscles, lets stick him in a garbage can for the whole movie!"). The fact that George Clooney decided to just play George Clooney in this movie is baffling to me. He did nothing in this flick to make himself a memorable Batman. I wanted a dark knight and all I got was Danny fuckin' Ocean.

8. Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman)

Yeah that's right, I haven't even seen Benny play this role yet and the son of a bitch is better than Clooney. Christ, he was bad.

Regardless if this movie is any good, the armored Batman is BOSS

7. Val Kilmer (Batman Forever)

In this shitty Batman movie, Mad Martigan plays a less crappy Bruce Wayne than Clooney. He's not bad in this but he's completely forgettable. And the movie SUCKS.

6. Clark Bartram (Batman: Dead End)

This one is based solely on visuals. In this fan film, Bats chases the escaped Joker and runs into some more trouble.  The Batman in this flick looks like he jumped straight out of an Alex Ross comic book cover.  Such a striking depiction of the Dark Knight detective.

The History of NXT TakeOver: R Evolution

R Evolution - Full Sail - 12.11.14

Aside from a really dumb name ("R Evolution?" Like "Our Evolution?" O-U-R, as opposed to A-R-E?), this TakeOver special was a pretty freakin' good show.

The festivities started with the in-ring debut of Kevin Owens (formerly Steen) against CJ Parker.  This was about as good a three-minute match as you're likely to see. Owens got in most of his big moves, which the audience exploded for, and Parker accidentally broke Owens' nose with a palm strike before falling to the pop-up powerbomb.  Helluva debut, and the visual of Owens standing triumphant with blood gushing from his face added to his ultra-tough persona.

That's gotta hurt

The Tag Titles were up next as Lucha Dragons defended against The Vaudvillains (love this goofy gimmick) in a fun little seven-minute battle.  This was fast-paced and both teams got decent time to show off their movesets.  Kalisto got the pin with Salida del Sol after a back-and-forth affair.  Nothing mindblowing but a fun little match.

Another Baron Corbin squash was next as he killed Tye Dillinger in under a minute, with the crowd counting the seconds.  I'd still have given these Corbin squashes a good two minutes to get in all his stuff.

The Ascension's last hurrah in NXT was fourth as they faced Hideo Itami and vaunted newcomer Finn Balor (formerly Prince Devitt).  Balor had appeared on NXT TV but this was the NXT debut of his alter-ego The Demon, and it was an absolutely spectacular entrance.  Balor's theme music is probably my favorite in all of WWE right now.  The match itself was middling, with not enough offense from Itami and way too much from The Ascension.  Sorry, I just find Konnor and Viktor's movesets totally generic and not very intimidating.  The third act had some nice false finishes and Balor looked great.  This match gets a pass for Balor's entrance, the hot crowd, and the last few minutes.

Best entrance since The Undertaker

Monday Night RAW: Poor Dolph....

More unpleasant WrestleMania takeaways from last night's RAW....


1. The Undertaker once again confirmed he's fine with being Vince's bitch.  Shane literally pointed out as much to his face, and yeah, Taker chokeslammed him, but he's still going through with the match, isn't he?  I've asked the question before, but why in the name of Jeebus would Taker agree to participate in this nonsense, onscreen or off?  In the storyline, why would Taker want to work on behalf of Vince and The Authority?  Does Taker fundamentally agree with their management style at all?  Is Taker a believer in the idea of a ruling class?  Does he like their constant screwing over of all the babyfaces?  From a storyline perspective nothing about this makes sense.  From a backstage perspective it makes even less.  Why would Mark Calaway, who in recent years has prided himself on having potential show-stealing matches at WrestleMania, agree to fight Vince's non-wrestling son?  And yeah, I know Shane has a history of crazy stunts and all that crap, but let's be real.  The man is 46 years old, and WWE is not the company it used to be.  The days of Shane flying through windows and jumping off the Titantron are over.  What we're left with is likely a very tame, unnecessary Hell in a Cell match with pretend-control of the company at stake.  I keep seeing people posting stuff like "I can't wait for Shane to take control and fix RAW!"  Guys, you realize he's not actually taking over the company if he wins, right?  This is all an angle.  Vince will still actually be in charge, making the same stupid decisions he's making now.  So this debacle is all for nothing.  Remember the last time The Authority was ousted from power?  How long did that last again?  Two months maybe?  I'm also seeing rumors that Shane vs. Taker could CLOSE THE SHOW.  So lemme get this straight: CM Punk wasn't good enough to main event WrestleMania, but Vince's kid is?  Fuck off.

2. Roman Reigns is back!  And as unpopular as ever.  Reigns returned to RAW last night to get himself a little payback for Triple H's beatdown a few weeks ago, by doing the exact same thing to Triple H.  And once again the crowd didn't care for Roman's shenanigans.  I can't ever remember a less popular top babyface.  Diesel is about the only one who comes close, and even he had fairly solid crowd support once he reunited with the white-hot Shawn Michaels.  Reigns got justifiably violent revenge on the top heel in the land, and no one cared.  Also, this echoes something WWE did in the lead-up to WrestleMania 25, when babyface Champion Triple H broke into Randy Orton's house and beat the piss out of him in front of his wife.  This just three weeks before the biggest show of the year, for which fans were expected to shell out $55 to see Triple H get his hands on the dastardly Orton.  Except we already saw it.  On free television.  Triple H kicked Orton's ass literally all over his house and then threw him out the front window.  So what could Hunter possibly do in a sanctioned, traditional wrestling match three weeks later?  WWE followed up a savage home invasion with a tame wrestling contest in which Triple H would lose the WWE Title if disqualified.  Boy, now I'm on the edge of my seat.  And this is exactly what we have here.  Roman Reigns already got revenge for Hunter beating him up three weeks ago, by beating up Hunter.  So the match at WrestleMania is more or less superfluous except for the fact that Hunter's still the Champion.  But as booked, this feud has mostly been about a personal vendetta, not the Title.  So what are we tuning in for in three weeks?  A civilized athletic contest?  This approach to hyping a big PPV match is totally backwards.  The babyface should get beaten down and then attempt to get revenge for weeks only for the heel to escape unscathed.  OR, the babyface should say "I could kick your ass all over this arena tonight but I'm gonna wait till WrestleMania when the Title's on the line."  It's pretty simple 101 booking formula, and it's only ever worked ALWAYS.  Stop trying to reinvent the wheel, for Chrissake.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Talk Show (1997 Album)

By Dan Moore
@SouthieDanimal

Back in the 90s, Stone Temple Pilots were one of the most popular bands around. Their biggest song “Plush” was impossible to run away from.  They had a huge hit with “The Big Empty” from The Crow soundtrack. They were everywhere…and then the band got sick of dealing with Scott Weiland’s drug problems and got themselves a new singer.

In 1997, Dean DeLeo (guitar), his brother Robert (bass), and Eric Kretz (drums) formed the band Talk Show with lead singer Dave Coutts, formerly of Ten Inch Men. They released their first (and only) album in late 1997. Being a devout STP fan, I felt this was a complete betrayal from the band and didn’t buy the album. Years later at Nuggets, a used CD shop near Fenway Park, I saw the disc for $2. By this point I was A FUCKING GROWN UP and realized that, yes, musicians can make music with different music-making people. So I bought it.

The album is very much Stone Temple Pilots with a different guy singing. The DeLeo brothers were at the height of their catchy tune writing. After STP’s albums Purple and Tiny Music, this album essentially perfects the sound they were going for on both those albums. The music is incredibly pop-sounding but also quite good. The lead single “Hello Hello” is hella catchy and is the highlight of the album.

Coutts is a very capable singer. He’s got a raspy crooner-type voice, very reminiscent of the vocal style Weiland went with in Tiny Music. With Coutts leading STP, they have a real Spacehog-esque sound to them. But…it just doesn’t gel completely. The biggest problem is that it sounds just like a Stone Temple Pilots album without the trademark Weiland singing. If STP hadn’t existed, this wouldn’t be a problem. The album and band would’ve been able to stand on their own. But it’s such a jarring difference from their former musical stylings. It never completely feels like its own thing. The album seems like a space-filler until Scott Weiland could get his shit together and the band could go back to their full-time gig. The DeLeos would form another band years later, Army of Anyone, with a new singer Richard Patrick from Filter, minus Kretz on the drums. That to me is a much more successful “STP without Weiland” album than this one.

Not to say this is a bad album. It’s a fine example of where alternative rock music was back in the late 90s.  It still gets some play in my house on my CD player (Yeah, I still got one, fuck you, I’m old). But without the esteemable vocals of Scott Weiland, the album and band have been lost in the annals of time. In fact, my friend and site founder Justin Ballard didn’t even know this band existed, and this is a man who made music FOR A LIVING. What a loser.

Pro Wrestling: A Mark's History, part 27 (An-gle! An-gle! An-gle! An-gle!)

Early 2006 saw a couple big shakeups in WWE.  World Champion Dave Batista went down with a torn tricep, forcing him to vacate the Title, and the company held a Battle Royal on Smackdown to determine the new Champ.  In general I find Battle Royals a pretty lame way to fill a Title vacancy but on this occasion I was thrilled to see Kurt Angle jump to Smackdown and claim the Big Gold Belt.  Immediately the SD Title picture became intriguing, until I realized they were proceeding with their original plan of Mark Henry being the top challenger.  Batista vs. Henry was yet another Hogan vs. SuperHeavyweight Heel-type matchup, but Angle and Henry had no chemistry together and their resulting match at the Royal Rumble was a big ol' stinker.

The other shakeup that month was John Cena losing the WWE Title to brand new main eventer Edge, after the latter became the first man to cash in Money in the Bank.  Now, when this concept was invented in 2005 everyone assumed the man holding the briefcase would simply come out on RAW, announce he was challenging for the Title at the next PPV, and there would be your next main event feud.  Instead though, in a stroke of genius rare for this era, Edge waited until after Cena had just won an Elimination Chamber match and cashed in the briefcase then, leaving Cena easy prey.  This fit Edge's "ultimate opportunist" character perfectly, and I was over the moon for a lengthy Honky Tonk Man-esque Title run for Mr. Copeland.  But once again prior plans got in the way.  WWE had long ago penciled in Cena vs. Triple H as the main event of WrestleMania 22, and by God that's what we were gonna get.  Edge was treated as a totally undeserving transitional Champ, and dropped the Title after only three weeks.  Fucking yawn....

This was all kinds of awesome

The 2006 Rumble PPV was pretty goddamn awful, featuring two phoned-in Title matches, both of which took place AFTER the Rumble itself.  The Rumble was of course won by the diminutive Rey Mysterio, who turned in a fantastic record-breaking performance (his 62:12 ring time still holds today).  Unfortunately WWE saddled him with a horribly tasteless "I'm doing this for Eddie" theme, and implied that every stroke of luck Mysterio had on his way to WrestleMania was through Guerrero's mischievous, beyond-the-grave intervention.  I was however psyched that the 'Mania World Title match would pit Angle vs. Mysterio.

But wait, WWE had to ruin that too, by shoehorning Randy Orton into the fold.  After beating Rey Mysterio for his World Title shot at No Way Out (in what was, to be fair, a pretty great little match), Rey was only reinserted after Smackdown GM Teddy Long felt bad for him.  Yeah, there's a great way to get your underdog hero over; he loses his Title shot but gets it back anyway out of pity.  No Way Out also featured a stellar Angle vs. Undertaker main event, that outclassed everything at WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 22 was on paper a cobbled-together mess, with almost nothing that excited me.  Aside from Angle vs. Rey vs. Orton, which got criminally shortchanged at 9 minutes (I'm still baffled by this horseshit), and the remote possibility that Edge and Mick Foley might have a solid outing (which turned out to be an early MOTY candidate - goddamn that match was brutal), I found very little to look forward to about this show.  In reality though it was most certainly watchable, and the Cena vs. Triple H main event was fascinating if underwhelming, due to the rabid Chicago crowd being split down the middle.  Cena had been getting some audible boos for several months, both against Chris Jericho and against Kurt Angle, but 'Mania 22 was on another level.  Easily half that crowd HATED John Cena, and it led to some of the earliest "Let's go Cena," "Cena sucks" chants I can remember.  As it turned out Edge was the only top heel in 2006 able to keep the live crowds in Cena's corner, which in hindsight was quite an accomplishment.

This could've been all kinds of awesome but they fucked it up

Monday Night RAW: Taker Will Beat Up Vince's Kid

And the Road to Shitsville continues.  Sorry, did I say "Shitsville?"  I meant "What Passes for  WrestleMania These Days."  This week's RAW featured two events of significance, noteworthy for very different reasons.

The first involved The Undertaker, who appeared on RAW to respond to the news last week that his match at WrestleMania this year would be against The Boss's Kid.  After an interminably long entrance, Taker listened to Vince prattle on for a few seconds before grabbing him by the throat and essentially saying, "Sure, whatever, I'll beat up your son at 'Mania.  But if I kill him it's on you, not me."  Really?  That's all the vaunted legend has to say about being forced into a match and used as a hired goon to do Vince's bidding?  No scruples about beating up a clearly lesser opponent?  No issues with his 'Mania match generally being a fairly epic encounter, or at the very least settling some sort of personal issue (Personal to Taker himself I mean)?  Nope, Taker's just gonna go along with this because he's got nothing else planned that day.  Not only that, this beloved hero to millions won't even take personal responsibility for whatever he does to Shane?  He's already absolving himself of any wrongdoing.  "Fine boss.  If your son never walks again it's your fault."  Not, "I'm not gonna break your son's spine just to settle your personal vendetta.  You got a problem with Shane, you deal with it."  What a fuckin' hero.  "But," you may be saying, "perhaps this is how they turn Undertaker heel."  To that I reply, "Hey dumbass, it's the fucking Undertaker in his home state.  Remember that other time they tried to turn a universally loved Texan wrestler heel - IN TEXAS - by aligning him with Vince McMahon?  How'd that turn out again?"

Nothing about this angle makes a single bit of sense.  None.  WWE is actually banking on a sold-out AT&T Stadium cheering like hell for a 46-year-old businessman to become the "2" in 22 and 2, joining Brock goddamn Lesnar in the I Beat Taker at 'Mania club.  If people were pissed about a legit MMA fighter and freak of nature like Lesnar beating Taker at WrestleMania, how do you think they'll react when Taker has to lay down for Vince's kid?  Did Vince and the creative team forget to take their pills this month?

The other bit of significant business from RAW was Dean Ambrose getting all up in Triple H's grill and challenging him to a WWE Title match.  Hunter responded by beating a rain check into Dean's ass, and for the second week in a row the Cerebral Assassin laid out a top babyface.  Only difference is, when said babyface was WWE's top hero Roman Reigns, the crowd cheered Hunter like he'd just announced the Beatles were back together.  This week, Hunter's assault on Reigns' sidekick Ambrose was met with the appropriate crowd hatred.  So WWE.....what have we learned here, hmm?  Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, you're pushing the wrong goddamn guy as the company's flag bearer for the next decade?

Post-beatdown Hunter accepted Ambrose's challenge, and it was announced today that the two will meet on March 12th, at the newest WWE Network special, Roadblock.  So in other words, we're getting the WrestleMania main event we all wanted....three weeks early.  Now I'm as intrigued by this matchup as anyone, but it raises this question: What does WWE think is going to happen when Ambrose fails to close the deal on March 12th but Reigns gets the job done on April 3rd?  I once again fail to see the logic behind "The fans prefer Ambrose so let's get his WWE Title shot outta the way.  Then at 'Mania everyone will have forgotten about him and they'll love Reigns again."  How little does Vince McMahon think of his audience?  We're not stupid, sir.  When Hunter is still the WWE Champion at 'Mania and Roman Reigns is still the #1 contender, everyone's still going to react with apathy or scorn for Reigns.  WWE really just refuses to accept that the fans simply don't like Roman Reigns.  Vince lives in this fantasy bubble where things just magically work themselves out.  He's like a spoiled little kid who's so used to getting his own way he can't fathom that anything would ever not go as planned.

Oscars Recap

Welcome to the official Enuffa.com Oscars recap!  Mike Drinan and I will break down the show a little and talk about what we liked, didn't like, what surprised us, etc.  Here we go....


Justin: So Mike, impressions about the 88th Oscars?


Mike: Overall, I thought it was a really good Oscars show. Chris Rock killed it as the host, there were surprises and upsets in the categories, and there wasn't much to make fun of at the end of the night. But let's start with the host. I loved how Chris Rock handled the role with all the controversy this Oscars contained. He didn't shy away from it, went right in head first and gave what I think is one of the best opening monologues in Oscar history. I loved his crack about the In Memoriam segment should be all the black people killed by police. Way to wake up the room to the controversy and connect it to events in the real world. But he also didn't seem to fully take a side either. He also took jabs at the boycott, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, which I can also appreciate. I also loved his sketches.  The Compton theater bit was fantastic and hilarious. I loved how he kept referring to Suge Knight, and the girl scout cookie sale was awesome. "Leo you made $30 million dollars so you better bring it!" So good. One of the best Oscar hosting jobs in a while.

Justin: Yeah I wasn't expecting to like Chris Rock much as a host - I've never been a huge fan of his - but he knocked it outta the park here.  Loved that he kept bringing it back to the controversy without pandering to either side of it.  It's a strange phenomenon but I've noticed over the years that the Oscar hosts I expect to love, like Neil Patrick Harris, Seth McFarlane, etc. end up pretty underwhelming, while Chris Rock, Ellen Degeneres and Whoopi Goldberg have all been fantastic.


Mike: Yeah, I agree. The common denominator is those three are career stand-up comics and I feel that person is best suited for hosting a show like the Oscars. They know how to play and handle the crowd in their own way. Unlike Anne Hathaway and James Franco....yikes.

Any winners/losers that pissed you off?


Justin: Franco was awful.  Deer in headlights.  Hathaway was clearly just trying to get through it while carrying Franco.  I really liked when David Letterman hosted 20 years ago.  Apparently I was in the minority.  One guy I always wanted to see host is Jim Carrey.

Nothing pissed me off per se, though I was bummed that George Miller didn't win.  Not surprised, just bummed.  Spotlight winning was truly a shock, although strangely when it came out I thought "I could see this winning Best Picture."  Like Argo it seemed like one of those "spoiler" pics the Academy loves.  But then The Revenant came out and took everyone by storm, so I figured that was a lock.

How 'bout you?

Music Review: Anthrax - For All Kings

Of the vaunted Big Four of thrash metal, Anthrax just might be the band that's aged the most gracefully over the last thirty-plus years.  Often viewed as a forgotten little brother of sorts to mainstream metal titans Metallica and well-respected elder statesmen Slayer and Megadeth, Anthrax seemingly has more to prove with their late-career releases.  After the last two albums there's no doubt they're up to the challenge.

This New York-based quintet formed around the same time as their thrash brethren but instead of embracing gloom & doom, Anthrax imbued their high-energy metal with a sense of merriment, finding lyrical inspiration from comic books, movies, and Stephen King novels.  Even their more serious material possesses a tongue-in-cheek quality, which for me has always made Anthrax one of the more likable bands of that ilk; they never take themselves too seriously.

After a pretty radical change in vocalists in the early 90s - Joey Belladonna's clean delivery was replaced with John Bush's raspy, dark vocal timbre - Belladonna made a triumphant return on 2011's Worship Music, sounding better than he ever had during the group's heyday.  Despite being in his 50s, Joey's vocals seem to be emanating from someone at least twenty years younger.  Worship Music proved to be the band's strongest album since their 1990 masterpiece Persistence of Time, and one gets the sense they're having a (headbanger's) ball on that album.  Anthrax had rediscovered itself after an eight-year absence and delivered a good ol' fashioned thrash metal powderkeg; rarely has an aging band shown such vitality this deep into their career.

And that brings us to their latest release For All Kings.  Anthrax has taken everything that worked on Worship Music (in other words, basically everything), and given the headbanging faithful more of the same.  For All Kings sounds very much like a more-than-welcome sequel, with Scott Ian's jackhammer guitar riffing providing the spine of the songs over Charlie Benante's signature driving thrash beats (What a fantastic drummer Charlie is by the way) and Frank Bello's bass rumblings.  Belladonna once again delivers career-high vocal stylings, and with every note I'm astonished how much better a singer he is at 55 than he was at 30.  Lead guitar is supplied by newcomer Jonathan Donais (formerly of Shadows Fall), and while I do miss Rob Caggiano's distinctive touch, the solos on this album are first-rate.

Being essentially a continuation of a previous album does have its drawbacks, as overall the songs aren't quite as strong this time around.  But there are some real standouts like the anthemic "Breathing Lightning," an uptempo groover that feels like it bestows the listener with invincibility.  This is one of Anthrax's most instantly memorable songs and would fit right in on a Best Of compilation.  Other notable tracks include the breakneck opener "You Gotta Believe," the super hooky "Monster at the End," the Dio-esque title track, and the blistering closer "Zero Tolerance."  For me the first half of the album sets an incredible pace which the second can't quite maintain.  By track 9, the 8-minute "Blood Eagle Wings," I found myself not quite as engaged as I'd been during the first five or six tracks.  However there's certainly nothing bad on this album and things pick up again with the last two songs.

In contrast to Slayer and Megadeth's most recent releases, which to me sound somewhat phoned-in, Anthrax is demonstratively a band at the top of its game.  Not all the songs on For All Kings achieve greatness, but the individual performers sound as good as they ever have.  In recent years Anthrax has attained an ageless quality, creating speed metal that puts to shame many of their disciples and never once feels disingenuous.  Of the current slate of Big Four albums, Anthrax has set the bar the highest, and the ball is now in Metallica's court to top it.

I give the album ***1/2 out of *****

88th Academy Awards Preview & Predictions

Welcome to the official Enuffa.com Oscar Predictions, with Mike Drinan and myself.  We'll each go through the major categories (plus a tiebreaker) and offer our predictions for who'll be taking home the statuettes.  Seems like a fairly predictable show this year but you never know.  So let's get to it....

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies

Brooklyn

Mad Max: Fury Road

The Martian

The Revenant

Room

Spotlight

Mike: This year I was able to see 5 of the 8 nominees.  Not terrible but I decided to not watch Mad Max: Fury Road (even though it was free on HBO) because I’m not into the Mad Max movies. I could’ve rented Bridge Of Spies but I was just flat out not interested. The previews for that movie looked so cheesy and overdone. I still have questions as to why it’s even nominated in the first place. The movie Brooklyn was the only one of the nominees that I wanted to see but didn’t get a chance to, however I’m confident that I was able to watch the eventual Best Picture winner. Both Room and The Martian were excellent movies, intelligent movies, that had interesting, complex characters with plots that allowed the audience to see them and dissect, even question their motives (in the case of Room). But this race narrowed late in the year and if you would’ve asked me Thanksgiving weekend which film I thought would be Best Picture, I’d have told you Spotlight. It was dramatic, insightful, subtle with its tension and certainly controversial. The acting was tremendous. The screenplay damn near spotless. BUT...then came The Revenant and just sealed the deal. I don’t think it was a better movie than Spotlight, I just feel that the Leo for Best Actor campaign has reached such a fever pitch that it will transfer over to the Best Picture category. Plus, that bear attack scene was pretty dope. I also don’t count out The Big Short either. It’s a topical film, tied closely to the country and times we live in now and we’re all well aware that Hollywood loves a good cause. The Big Short and Spotlight are prime contenders to play spoiler.

Prediction: The Revenant


Justin: I've also seen five of the nominees but I'm hoping to watch at least Spotlight before Sunday.  Bridge of Spies is pretty low on my to-do list as well.  With a lot of these awards there'll be a discrepancy between what I'd like to see win and what I think actually will (which is not at all uncommon).  Of the five nominees I've seen (The Big Short, Mad Max, The Martianm, Room & The Revenant) I'd say The Big Short was my favorite overall.  Mad Max is my sentimental favorite because I love that franchise and it's so refreshing to see a movie like that get this kind of critical recognition.  The Martian was really well done and surprisingly light and upbeat given the subject matter.  Room was haunting, disturbing, heartbreaking, and yet ultimately hopeful, even buoyant.  Now, about The Revenant.  Visually The Revenant is unlike anything I've ever seen.  Innaritu has taken a timeworn film genre and made it look completely different that what you'd expect, from the intimate wide-angle shots that place the emphasis squarely on the subject, to the meditative landscape montages, this movie should absolutely win Best Cinematography (I'll actually be angry if it doesn't).  It's gorgeous.  However, the story doesn't quite sustain itself for the 150+ minutes.  This film really needed about twenty minutes trimmed to keep things moving a little faster.  By the time the story reached its climax I found myself emotionally disengaged, and that's not where the viewer should be at this point in a film about revenge.  I watched a video review of this film (at RedLetterMedia.com) where one sentence really summed it up for me: I appreciated The Revenant more than I enjoyed it.  That said, this movie is a mortal lock to win Best Picture.

Prediction: The Revenant

Best Director

Adam McKay - The Big Short

George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro G. Inarritu - The Revenant

Lenny Abrahamson - Room

Tom McCarthy - Spotlight

Mike: I go back and forth on this category. Originally, I thought Inarritu was all but assured for this award. Then Adam McKay had to remind me he actually made a very serious film and it was so...fucking...good. Then there’s Tom McCarthy and that whole story with its great cast. Lenny Abrahamson also did a great job but there’s somewhat unfinished business I felt at the end of Room that doesn’t make me confident he’s in the running here. George Miller comes to mind quickly. He’s 70 and a first-time nominee and the consistently great reviews for Mad Max lead me to believe that this race is between him and Inarritu. What Miller has going for him is Inarritu won this category last year and I think people might be kind of tired of him. However, Innarritu did win the Director’s Guild Award and historically the winner of that award usually goes on to win the Oscar. (In 67 years, only 7 winners of the DGA have not won the Oscar) I think I’m going chalk here.

Prediction: Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant


Justin: I agree with Mike's take, it's clearly between Inarritu and Miller.  I'd love for Adam McKay to win, particularly since he's a screwball comedy director who clearly stretched his legs with The Big Short.  It's funny but also deals with a heavy topic, and visually it's completely different from McKay's previous work.  But yeah it'll either be Inarritu, to rack up the awards for The Revenant (He'd be the first director to ever win back-to-back Oscars), or George Miller for reinventing Mad Max for the 21st Century (not to mention a pretty darn good overall career).  Just to keep things interesting I'll go with Miller, as the Academy loves to give out unofficial Lifetime Achievement awards.

Prediction: George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road

Monday Night RAW: The Great Disconnect

So two things.  The first is about Roman Reigns.  After watching the crowd reaction to Triple H straight-up MURDERING Vince's Chosen One, all I can say is "Man, I'm tired of being right."

I for one can't wait to see Reigns NOT get revenge.

Last night Triple H became the most popular star in WWE, for annihilating the top babyface in the company.  I'd like to repeat that: The HEEL WWE Champion got cheered like the second coming of Daniel Bryan as he attempted to end the life of the company's #1 hero.  What's wrong with this picture?  I'm sorry, I have nothing against him, and I don't really blame him for the cosmic ineptitude with which he's been handled, but there's no getting around this: Roman Reigns is NOT The Guy.  Period.  No other top babyface - not Hogan, not Warrior, not Bret, not Shawn, not Austin, not Cena; hell, not even Diesel - was this hated when his time came.  The fans simply, emphatically, do not like Roman Reigns.  They don't want to cheer him, they aren't invested in his journey; they frankly want to see him get mauled.  He's edging dangerously close to "X-Pac Heat."  Making WrestleMania 32 his big coronation will result in an absolutely disdainful crowd, and a miserably awful post-Mania season.

I know Vince still thinks the "casual fans" want to see guys like Reigns as the top stars.  Only one problem with that line of thinking (and Dave Meltzer said this the other night): casual wrestling fans don't exist anymore.  They're gone.  WWE chased them off by expecting them to commit to five hours or more every week.  What you have left is a group of diehard fans who will watch the show religiously, and guess what....a guy's "look" isn't nearly as important to them as it is to Vince.  What they want is a guy they can emotionally connect with who can deliver good promos and matches consistently.  That's it.  What he looks like is completely secondary.

So figure out a Plan B, folks.  Turn Reigns heel, have Rollins come back and be WWE's savior, do something.  Your big Roman-fest isn't gonna pan out like you want it to.  End of story.

Jeezus fuckin' Christ, what year is this??

Sadly, the Reigns situation isn't even the most dire thing to come out of last night's show.  Let me preface this next paragraph by saying I was actually excited for WrestleMania from about 5pm till about 8:30pm.  At 5pm WWE.com posted a video of Brock Lesnar attacking Dean Ambrose in the arena parking lot, setting up what's sure to be a fascinating, exciting semi-main event for the big PPV.  Lesnar vs. Ambrose - the unstoppable bully vs. the loose cannon.  I love it.  This match is already more intriguing to me than ANYTHING at WrestleMania 31.  So for a few hours I was optimistic about 'Mania.  And then WWE took a giant, Taco Bell-esque dump all over it.  Two words: Shane fucking McMahon.

PPV Showdown: WrestleMania 30 vs. WrestleMania 31

Hello, and welcome to a new variation on my Showdown series!  In the past I've pitted two similar films head-to-head (Superman Returns vs. Man of Steel; Hulk vs. Hulk; Manhunter vs. Red Dragon) and examined in detail which film I thought was superior.  Today though I'll be pairing up the last two editions of WWE's annual flagship WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 30 took place on April 6, 2014 and was primarily built around the against-all-odds Championship quest of Daniel Bryan, who unexpectedly captured the hearts and imagination of WWE fans across the globe as the little guy being screwed by WWE's corporate machine.  WWE's holding Bryan down both onscreen and to a certain extent behind the scenes led to a massive fan backlash, and the company restructured their intended 'Mania card to make Bryan the centerpiece.  Thus Bryan would face COO Triple H, with the winner being added to the Randy Orton-Batista WWE Title match.  Elsewhere on the card, John Cena faced the mysterious Bray Wyatt, The Undertaker defended his undefeated streak against Brock Lesnar, and 20 men competed in the first Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.  The card was met with very positive feedback, particularly due to the two Daniel Bryan matches, but fans were also appalled by the shocking Undertaker loss at the hands of Lesnar.

WrestleMania 31 followed nearly a year later, on March 29, 2015, and the big story this time was the ascent of Roman Reigns, whom Vince McMahon had picked to be the next big star in the company.  Sadly the fans didn't share Vince's enthusiasm for the young Samoan, offering Reigns a cold-at-best reaction at just about every turn.  Reigns had won the Royal Rumble to a barrage of irate crowd boos, earning him the right to challenge WWE Champ Brock Lesnar at 'Mania.  The card also featured The Undertaker facing Bray Wyatt, John Cena challenging US Champ Rusev, a seven-man Intercontinental Title Ladder Match, and the WWE debut match for Sting, against Triple H.  Despite an infamously poor buildup, this show was an immense crowd-pleaser and received glowing praise from most reviewers, many of whom considered it one of the best WrestleManias of all time.

But which show was superior?  Let's take a look, shall we?

Pre-Show Tag Team Title Match

WM30's in-ring festivities kicked off with a Fatal Four-Way Tag Match as The Usos defended the straps against The Real Americans, Los Matadores, and RybAxel.  The bout was a fast-paced, enjoyable elimination match showcasing The Usos' considerable talent and also brought about the long-overdue split between Cesaro and Jack Swagger.  Cesaro was hugely over, and this was one of two big moments for him on this card.

WM31 featured a similar pre-show tag match but without the elimination rules.  This time it was Champions Cesaro & Tyson Kidd vs. The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores in a blazing ten-minute melee.  Cesaro & Kidd were just coming into their own as a killer tandem and this helped build their momentum.

Despite the latter bout involving superior talent, the WM30 opener had more time to breathe and the elimination rules made it a bit more fun.

Point: WrestleMania 30

WWE FastLane Review: Sigh....Here We Go Again.....

I saw an amusing Facebook post after last night's FastLane PPV that read "Apparently FastLane should be renamed MakeRomanLookStrong."  We're back in familiar, depressing territory regarding the build to WrestleMania.  Once again Vince McMahon is hell-bent on Roman being the man to carry the brand through the next decade, but just like last year there's one major problem: He's the only one excited by the idea.  It's really staggering how willfully ignorant Vince is of the crowd response to this guy.  Literally the only time Reigns was over in a way befitting the top babyface was last December, when he'd been screwed over one time too many and snapped, beating the everlovin' shite out of Triple H and regaining the WWE Title the next night on RAW.  For that 24-hour period Reigns went back to being the taciturn, asskicking machine in whom the fans were emotionally invested.

From there Reigns should have gone on a year-long Championship tear, destroying every heel in sight and saying very little.  Instead though, within a month it was back to awkward promos and an overly vulnerable character presentation.  Roman Reigns is not John Cena and therefore can't cut strong WWE-style promos.  Nor is he Daniel Bryan, whom the fans rallied behind no matter how long the odds against him.  Shoehorning Reigns into either of these babyface archetypes hasn't and will never work.  The fans don't see him that way and have no desire to.  Need further proof?  Look at the crowd reaction he got last night after defeating Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose (both infinitely more popular than Reigns).  It was a lackluster, mixed-at-best reaction with at least a couple dozen fans visibly throwing thumbs-down signs.  What world does Vince live in where this looks like the conquering hero just won the big match on the way to his defining WrestleMania moment?

It didn't help that Reigns was in there with the two most popular active wrestlers in the company.  Vince is delusional if he thinks Reigns' crowd support was ever strong enough to withstand that situation.  They probably should've booked Sheamus stronger over the past six months so it could've been Reigns vs. Lesnar vs. Sheamus.  Then at least the one heel Reigns actually got cheered against would've been present.  Hell, they could've even set up Lesnar vs. Sheamus at 'Mania.  But no, let's keep Ambrose close to the situation so everyone's reminded how much more exciting the product would be if Vince's trousers grew tight over Dean instead of Roman.  The phrase "tone-deaf" gets thrown around a lot when talking about WWE's booking, but it really is like Vince is living inside a bubble.  Literally all he sees when he watches his own show is Roman punching and spearing people.  He ignores the crowd response, the ratings, the choice of opponent (Christ, even Triple H is gonna get cheered over Reigns at 'Mania, and he's the company's top heel) and just sees MUSCLES.  I wish I could sit in on some of these booking meetings; does not one single person question the guy?

WWE FastLane 2016 Predictions

Welcome to another season finale of Enuffa.com PPV Predictions!!  The annual battle between myself and Dan Moore has come down to this event.  Currently Dan's leading by 2 correct picks.  Can I close the gap?  We shall see.  

The Road to WrestleMania is about to stop in Cleveland, OH this Sunday, and by the end of the night we should have a much clearer picture of the WrestleMania 32 card (Spoiler Alert: It ain't lookin' good so far).  FastLane does have a handful of intriguing matchups, one of which had to be bumped to the PreShow to make room for a talk show segment.  Because it wouldn't be a WWE PPV unless the company did something stupid.

Let's get to the picks....

PreShow 2/3 Falls US Championship Match: Kalisto vs. Alberto Del Rio

Looks like this will be the blowoff to this feud.  These two have delivered some solid work over the past several weeks and traded the belt back and forth.  I'm a sucker for 2/3 Falls matches, so this should be quite good if given time.  Too bad the company deemed a US Title match less important than Edge & Christian plugging their upcoming WWE Network series (Hey guys, if you need to plug a new TV show, there's this great free television platform called Monday Night RAW.  Fuckin' idiots.).  Undoubtedly we'll be subjected to at least one commercial break during this bout since that's what they do on the PreShow.  Nevermind that the PreShow itself is a full hour and there's no reason to save a commercial break for "during a match."  Anyway this should be fine.

Justin's pick: I don't see the point of this match happening again unless Del Rio wins back the belt, thus relegating Kalisto back to the tag division (where Sin Cara is waiting to be given a purpose)
Dan's pick: I think this will be the one match we differ on in this utterly predictable PPV offering. Bumping a championship match to the pre-show is never a good move. Kalisto retaining is.

The Wyatts vs. Ryback, Kane & Big Show

This should be hyped as a Who Gives a Shit Match.  Bray Wyatt will not be wrestling here; instead it's Harper, Rowan & Vince McMahon's handpicked breakout superstar Braun Strowman (Yeah, good luck with that, Vinny).  Anyone else find it just wrong that the long-irrelevant Big Show and Kane are still active wrestlers at age 44 and 48 respectively, but Daniel Bryan's retired at 34?  Anywho, this is likely (by "likely" I mean "a mortal lock") to be ten pounds of suck in a five-pound bag.

Justin's pick: The Wyatts, obviously.  Gotta start making Mr. Strowman the next Ultimate fucking Warrior
Dan's pick: Those filthy hillbillies take it. Also, I'm shocked that the Big Show is younger than Kane. I don't know why, I just am.

I'd Like to Introduce You To......Big Bad Wolves

Evening everyone!  Welcome to another piece  from my good friend Michael Drinan.  It's a series dealing with lesser-known cinematic gems that you should go out of your way to find.  Without further ado, here's Mike......

I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO......

Welcome to the series “I’d Like to Introduce You To…” which will focus on independent and foreign films that aren’t widely known but are high in quality.  Let’s face it, big budget, big name Hollywood films are everywhere and are usually uninteresting, formulaic and unoriginal.
  
Sometimes you really want to watch a film that will actually make you have an emotional response to it, something out of left field, unique that leave you considering how you felt and what you thought about the film.  We all need something different from time to time to strengthen our love and appreciation for movies and the independent movie scene is prime real estate for just that very thing.  So, without further ado…let me introduce you to Big Bad Wolves.  

Mike Drinan Looks at the 2016 Grammys

by Michael Drinan
@mdrinan380

The Grammys happened this past Monday night to much fanfare and people like me, who hope the trainwreck has to end sometime, tuned in. As a whole the Grammys were not a success, pulling in some of the lowest ratings since 2009. There were sound issues, weird performances, and “wrong” winners. Not all of it was bad, there were a few good moments but some pretty ugly ones as well. Let’s run through it together shall we?


THE GOOD

• Kendrick Lamar - I’m starting off with THE reason I tuned in to the ceremony. I wanted to see Kendrick and his 11-time nominated powerhouse album To Pimp A Butterfly clean up. I wanted to see this event be the culmination of his album being considered a modern day classic. It didn’t happen. The album didn’t clean up as I’d hope. Kendrick did walk away with five Grammys including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Performance and Rap Song for “Alright” along with his collaboration on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video. The real reason I started off with him was his performance. Expected to put on a politically-charged show, he came out onstage wearing chains and prison clothes in a stage set that resembled a prison and kicked things off with his emotionally, racially-charged song “The Blacker the Berry”, a song inspired by the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin and the protests that followed that tragic event. A shot of the audience during this performance showed people (a lot of white faces) watching as if they were unsure how to feel or think about what they were seeing. Before they could come to grips with it, Kendrick switched into his song “Alright” before launching into a what ended being his third performance of an untitled (aka unreleased) song (The first untitled was performed on The Colbert Report shortly before Colbert took on duties of his new late night show, and the second was on The Tonight Show a couple of months ago). The performance ended and immediately triggered a huge response. I was on Twitter that night and saw reactions like “Kendrick just asked 'Kanye who?' and “Kendrick giving out lessons every time he steps on stage.” Even BET made a bold statement saying “Kendrick Lamar is Everything We Hoped Kanye West Would Be”. It's his second Grammy performance that has been considered a classic.  His performance two years ago with Imagine Dragons had so much intensity and power and this year’s performance followed suit. It certainly was one of, if not THE highlight of the night.

• Lady Gaga’s tribute to David Bowie - After she wowed me and the world with her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl with her gorgeous voice that makes you ask the question “Why doesn’t she do that more often?”, Lady Gaga performed a medley of songs in tribute to one of her idols and inspirations, David Bowie. Her tribute has been catching a lot of criticism because, well, it’s dealing with Bowie. Whatever she did wouldn’t have been good enough for Bowie fans so, whatever. She was introduced by having a lot of references to Bowie projected on to her face. The famous lightning bolt dripped its way over her eye as a spider traversed her face. She then began a medley of Bowie’s hits and popular songs. I’ve never been a fan of Bowie’s music. I’m in that category of “not a fan but I get why he’s great” and this medley was perfect for someone like me. Diehard fans are always going to have a problem but most of the people watching the Grammys are young people watching their favorite artists win awards, so it was a fitting tribute in my opinion. People need to relax, including Bowie’s son.

• Demi Lovato Brings the Fire - One of the few moments that I thought was going to end up as a disappointment was the Lionel Richie tribute. John Legend started things off because John Legend has never had a bad performance (I’m convinced). He was great as usual. Then Demi Lovato came out and, like Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance, unleashed this voice that makes you question the decisions most of these performers make regarding their albums. WHY DON”T YOU PUT THAT VOICE ON YOUR ALBUMS!?!?!? It was spectacular even though she took it a little too far and hammed it up a bit but still, it was the most impressive thing Lovato has done or will ever do, as far as I’m concerned. She was the highlight of what turned out to be a rather disappointing Lionel Richie tribute.

Music Review: David Bowie - Blackstar

For years and years I essentially had no opinion of David Bowie's music.  My parents didn't really listen to him when I was kid, so aside from a few radio singles like "Changes" and the Let's Dance stuff that was new at the time (which I frankly didn't and still don't think much of), I was never much exposed to Bowie.  As with bands like Led Zeppelin and Rush, I was almost totally ignorant of Bowie's work until much later (Thank you again, Mr. iPod!).  But after his unexpected death of cancer last month at age 69 I decided it was time to start exploring.  And since his latest album Blackstar came out just two days before he died and was getting rave reviews, why not give that one a listen?  Why not indeed?

The album is pretty short at 41 minutes and only seven tracks, but given that he was probably very ill while recording it that's perfectly understandable.

Blackstar opens with the title track, a ten-minute funeral dirge with a stuttering jazz beat.  Bowie's harmonized lyrics almost sound like a Gregorian chant, lending an overwhelming bleakness to the song.  This track, like many on the album, carry a "last words" kinda vibe.  Midway through the song everything shifts to a more positive tone, evoking images of a spirit rising from its spent body.  The second act then transitions seamlessly into the third, a slower refrain of the first section.  This marathon track's ten minutes fly by and I consider "Blackstar" to be the strongest song on the record.

Probably the weakest song is #2, "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore," a bass-driven, rather repetitious piece lamenting an ill-advised romantic attachment.  With this one there just isn't enough going on for me and the song feels unfinished.

Next up is another death-themed tune in "Lazarus," with its mellow alt-rock guitar and sick-bed lyrics about having "nothing left to lose" and being "so high it makes my brain whirl."  The main hook here is a simple saxophone melody in the intro that lends itself to the song's exhausted tone.  This is the anthem of a man who's prepared himself to say goodbye: "This way or no way/You know I'll be free."

The fourth track "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" is built on a Tom Morello-esque guitar riff and syncopated Stewart Copeland-type drum pattern, over which Bowie's vocals float, bidding farewell to a dying spouse, who it's later revealed had chosen another man.  This is probably the darkest song as far as subject matter goes.

My second favorite song on here is track 5, "Girl Loves Me," in which Bowie makes use of Nadsat, the fictional dialect created by author Anthony Burgess in A Clockwork Orange.  Bowie's syncopated vocals bounce over a sparse, dark-sounding guitar/bass/keyboard riff, and the chorus has a very cool call & answer structure.  I like this one a lot.

"Dollar Days" is the airiest song on the album, with its sweet piano and bright acoustic guitars.  This one feels like an old classic rock tune that would maybe fit on one of Bowie's 70s albums.  It took me a few listens to appreciate "Dollar Days" but it's grown on me.

The album's final track feels like one last goodbye.  "I Can't Give Everything Away" sounds very 1980s, between the light soprano sax noodling over a bass/synth pad and Bowie's weary, sparse vocals.  There's even a flighty guitar solo in the middle that reminds me of Mark Knopfler.  The lyrical content to me reads like an attempt to sum up Bowie's career in as few words as possible but realizing such an endeavor would be futile.  "Seeing more and feeling less/Saying no but meaning yes/This is all I ever meant/That's the message that I sent..."  In the end it sums up Bowie's swan song nicely - how can you reduce the career of such an important artist to a few lines?  We all just have to take away from it whatever we can.

Since hearing Blackstar I've become pretty fascinated with Bowie; it's been a strong gateway to discovering his much-varied work, spanning 45 years (I was shocked by how many albums the guy recorded - that is one prolific dude) and covering virtually every genre of rock/pop.  Few artists have such a thirst for exploring new territory once they become famous; they tend to find a comfort zone after a while and stick to it.  But Bowie continually took risks and seemingly never apologized for it.  The seven tracks on this album are all completely different and adventurous in their own way, but the underlying message seems to be one of finding peace with this being the end of it all.  Blackstar is a fitting cap to a truly legendary career.


I give the album ***1/2 out of *****

NJPW The New Beginning, or The Arrival of Kenny Omega

Just got finished watching the Niigata half of NJPW The New Beginning, and wanted to throw in my two cents about this double PPV.  While neither show was necessarily an amazing PPV as a whole, both nights delivered some absolute instant classics and quelled some doubts about the future of NJPW, post-WWE talent raid.

The Osaka portion opened with a really wonderful little Young Lions bout, as Jay White and David Finlay brought some excellent European grappling to the proceeding.  I'd seen both these guys in tag matches before but I'm really impressed with their singles skills, particularly Mr. White's.  Jay has a fantastic look and is already mastering the same intricate mat style that Bryan Danielson pioneered a decade ago.  After enduring one of the most heartbreaking weeks in my time as a wrestling fan this match served as a reassuring reminder that life goes on and there's always exciting, fresh talent waiting to step up and fill the void left by our fallen heroes (Once again, #ThankYouDanielBryan).  I can't wait to see White and Finlay grow into full-fledged members of the New Japan roster.

Another peak was the Jr. Heavyweight Tag match pitting The Young Bucks against reDRagon and Sydal/Ricochet.  This was everything the WK10 opener was and more.  Having one fewer team meant this could be less of a spotfest and tell more of a clear story, and yet this still had almost non-stop offense.  Just an incredible display of Cruiserweight wrestling and I'm thrilled Sydal & Ricochet are the new champs.  Can't wait to see them defend in traditional tag bouts.

The showstopper in Osaka though was the NEVER Openweight match, as Shibata and Ishii built on last month's encounter and somehow managed to top the vicious brutality of that classic.  Instead of trading kicks to the back, this time it was traded suplexes.  Instead of uncomfortable, clunking headbutts (though there were a couple of those too), this time it was traded headbutts to the chest (Which is safer but actually looks more painful).  And of course there was that moment where Shibata swung a backfist that sounded like it shattered Ishii's eye socket.  These two just beat the absolute crap out of each other and set a new bar for the NEVER Openweight division.  Easily a ****1/2 match, and possibly the best NEVER match I've seen.

The main event was a bit underwhelming, as Kazuchika Okada defended against Hirooki Goto (sporting some pretty cool silver body paint covered with Japanese characters reminiscent of Hakushi).  There wasn't anything wrong with this match but it was nowhere near the level of the Openweight bout, and Goto doesn't quite have the chemistry with Okada that he and Nakamura had.  Okada obviously retained the Title and will presumably move on to a new challenger.

The Niigata card had some fun filler tag matches, including Naito & Evil vs. Michael Elgin and Jay White, and a return Six-Man Title match from Osaka (The Bullet Club won the first match and the Titles but lost the rematch in Niigata), but it was the final three bouts that made this show.

Jr. Heavyweight Champ Kushida defended against Bushi in a freaking fantastic match full of crazy highspots but tempered enough to make every move meaningful.  Naito and Evil repeatedly interfered and Bushi TWICE sprayed mist in Kushida's face, but Kushida eventually finished Bushi off with the Kimura.  Kushida is becoming one of the best things about New Japan and it'd be great to see him move into the Heavyweight division after a lengthy run with this belt.  I kinda liked this match better than the Jr. match at WK10.

Another match that seemingly upstaged its WrestleKingdom counterpart was the Heavyweight Tag rematch.  Anderson & Gallows finished their lucrative New Japan run on a high note, with possibly the best match I've seen from them.  Tag Champs Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma wrestled like they were ready to be the company's go-to team, and all four worked hard to make this a fitting sendoff for the former champs.

But the main event...sweet, merciful Christ that main event.  Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant I-C Title was a damn-near perfect match.  Omega, sporting new gear and carrying himself like a true main event star, targeted Tanahashi's injured shoulder early and made it the match's main story thread.  After early interference by Cody Hall and Takahashi, Omega banished them from ringside, apparently determined to win clean.  The match then settled into five-star mode, with Omega pulling out new high-risk moves and even stealing the Styles Clash.  Tanahashi on the other hand aped a couple of Nakamura's mannerisms, and worked Omega's leg.  The leg vs. shoulder battle added a fascinating layer and both guys sold like masters.  Late in the match though, The Young Bucks emerged from under the ring to wreak havoc, and Cody even showed up again to distract the official.  But none of the shenanigans got the job done (which I appreciated), especially after Michael Elgin ran in to even the odds, eventually carrying both Young Bucks back to the locker room.  Omega then attempted to finish Tanahashi with multiple Boma Ye knees but Tanahashi simply wouldn't stay down.  Eventually though Omega hit the One-Winged Angel for the win and the Championship.  This match was fucking incredible.

It's hard to pick between the NEVER match and the I-C.  They were totally different but both ****1/2 classics.  Suffice it to say though, both Titles are in very capable hands.  The underlying theme of these two PPVs was that, despite the loss of four members of the roster, New Japan can still deliver the goods.  Kenny Omega has arrived as the company's new top heel, Shibata and Kushida are both good enough to become Heavyweight Title contenders, and Jay White and David Finlay are two shining examples of the company's bright future.  Things are gonna be just fine.

NJPW The New Beginning Predictions, part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the official Enuffa.com NJPW New Beginning predictions!

**In case you missed Part 1, click HERE**

The second half of this double-shot PPV is all about the final three matches, all of which are for major championships.  Sadly the rest of this show consists of mostly filler tag bouts to continue the various feuds.  So I may get a lot of those wrong.  But here we go...

The Young Bucks & Cody Hall vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan

After losting the Jr. Tag belts in Osaka (really psyched Sydal & Ricochet won the straps), Matt & Nick Jackson will be teaming with fellow Bullet Club member Cody Hall against the three masked men.  This is little more than a fast-paced opener, but should be fun.

My pick: Bullet Club

reDRagon vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo

This one is clearly to keep reDRagon's momentum up after Thursday's loss.  They'll get an easy victory here over the aging members of Chaos.

My pick: reDRagon

Matt Sydal, Ricochet & Tencozy vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay

This'll be a wild clusterfuck-type match and I expect new Jr. Tag Champs Sydal & Ricochet to carry most of the workload.  Not much importance at all, but should be entertaining.

My pick: Team Tencozy

Los Ingobernables vs. Michael Elgin & Jay White

The rebuilding of Naito's stable continues as they face ROH favorite Elgin and rising Young Lion Jay White (who is really impressing me thus far - has shades of Bryan Danielson).  Naito should have some great exchanges with both opponents on his way to another win.

My pick: Los Ingobernables

NJPW The New Beginning Predictions, part 1

Welcome to another set of Enuffa.com PPV Predictions!  This'll be a two-part piece, as NJPW is presenting their annual double-shot The New Beginning!  The New Beginning in Osaka is the first New Japan PPV post-Nakamura, and while his absence leaves a sizeable hole in the roster, both of these shows should still present some good matchups.  So let's take a look at the Osaka card....

David Finlay vs. Jay White

Both these young lions have loads of potential and this should be a solid opener if it gets enough time.  The company needs to elevate some young talent in a hurry, so this could be a great showcase for both guys.

My pick: Jay White

Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo, Kazushi Sakuraba & Yoshi-Hashi

Another one of those filler six-man tags, there's not much at stake here.  I imagine the Liger team picks up the win as usual.

My pick: Team Liger

Tencozy vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

A tag battle of four veterans but not a lot going on with any of these fellas lately.  I'm guessing Tencozy wins here to keep them relevant as Tag Title challengers since Anderson & Gallows are about to head west.

My pick: Tencozy

Los Ingobernables vs. Kushida, Michael Elgin & Juice Robinson

This match should re-esablish Naito's stable as rising heel stars, particularly since The Bullet Club is losing three of its top members.  Plus this will be a preview of the Kushida-Bushi match on the other show.

My pick: Los Ingobernables gets a much-needed win

NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship: Toru Yano & The Briscoes vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi

A rematch from WrestleKingdom 10, this is the first of two times these two trios will face off at New Beginning.  For some reason the second PPV will feature the same match but not for the belts, which leads me to believe they're splitting the wins.  I'm guessing that means The Bullet Club wins the belts here and then loses the non-title match so The Briscoes can look strong for when they come back to New Japan.

My pick: Bullet Club

Daniel Bryan's Retirement

Well the thing I feared has come to pass.  Daniel Bryan's wrestling career is over, cut short at the age of 34.  No two ways about it, this fucking sucks.  Bryan's been my favorite wrestler in the world since 2007 when I first popped in the DVD of Ring of Honor's Fight of the Century and watched this diminutive grappler go a full hour with the monstrous Samoa Joe.  Here was a wrestler I'd heard so much buzz about as a true in-ring artist.  I'd attended a live ROH event that January and bought a handful of DVDs, most of which featured Bryan Danielson, and when I sat down to watch Fight of the Century I was shocked to learn this man wasn't a flashy high-flier but a grounded, technical wizard.  It was so refreshing to see the fluid, European style made famous by William Regal but turned up several notches.  From then on I sought out every Danielson match I could get my hands on, and marveled at his numerous bouts against Nigel McGuinness, whom I still consider Danielson's greatest opponent.  If you haven't seen Danielson in ROH, you simply must seek out shows like Driven, Unified (the two best Danielson-McGuinness matches), Dissension (vs. AJ Styles), and the aforementioned Fight of the Century.  The stuff he did in ROH was completely different from his strike-based WWE style, and for me even more compelling.

Daniel Bryan was a guy I'd resigned myself to believing would never be picked up by the 'E.  He was small and didn't have the look or the in-ring style Vince likes.  So I was shocked in late 2009 when Bryan and McGuinness were both signed (Nigel failed the medical screening unfortunately and went to TNA instead), but even then I figured "Ok Bryan'll be a tag team or I-C division guy for a while and then he can go back to ROH but make more money."  Not in my wildest dreams did I think Bryan would get to headline WrestleMania and leave as the company's top Champion.  Of course he mostly succeeded despite the company's best efforts, as they first stuck him on NXT with 7 rookies, booked him to go 0-10, bumped him from his first WrestleMania, had him lose in 18 seconds at his next one, and after becoming the company's hottest star in summer 2013 they attempted to dump him back to the midcard, making him all but an afterthought for WrestleMania 30.  Two things changed their plans: CM Punk, who was scheduled to face Triple H at WM30, walked out of the company; and Vince's plan to use the returning Dave Batista as that year's mainstream WWE Champion backfired horribly.  The fans would not accept anyone but Daniel Bryan as the company's central figure, and Vince begrudgingly shuffled the card around.