Post #3620 J

Wrestlemania Review

I tracked the results at a pro wrestling portal I had discovered during my road warrior days and around the turn of the century. A lot of outcomes I thought predictable didn't work out, so they managed to swerve me (so much for my "expert" opinion), including:

• putting Lesnar over Reigns
• having Asuka to job to Charlotte Flair and snap her historic long winning streak
• having Nakamura lose to Styles and turn him heel
• booking Undertaker's return to have Cena lose in a squash match
• Zahn was pinned by Daniel Bryan in their tag match

They also did a very weird thing by booking Strowman's partner as purportedly a kid from the audience. I don't know if this is going to be some sort of ongoing gimmick. [The Raw episode vacated the title.]

I do see the logic of not having Bryan job to Zahn and Owens since my theory in the weekend's prediction segment would have had Bryan turn heel on McMahon. So presumably we see Owens and Zahn return to Raw, possibly to have Owens challenge Lesnar? [I wrote this before yesterday's Raw's episode where general manager Kurt Angle claimed to have just one open spot on the roster and they would fight for it. As great as Owens and Zahn are, I think I've probably seen them in at least a dozen matches together, and for me, it's "been there, done that" boring. WWE scripted this into a no content, meaning that Owens and Zahn are presumably out of WWE. I'm not sure where they will go with this, but there's a brand/show "draft" next week, and perhaps they will do is split the pair into separate brands, claiming the ban was them working together as a pair.]

The Tuesday Smackdown had a dream match between Styles and Bryan. I fully expected them to script new heel Nakamura into the contest, but I don't like the way they are making him a crotch-shot heel. He is dangerous enough without the need for cheap shots.

Whatever Happened To Old-Fashioned Love?

My parents were approaching their 60th anniversary when my dad passed in the aftermath of major back surgery (septic shock unrelated to the surgery itself). My grandparents on both sides married just once (but my paternal grandfather had passed before my dad's teens, and my maternal grandmother died of cancer before I, the oldest, turned 3.) The oldest and youngest paternal uncles' marriages lasted as long or longer than my folks. My 6 younger siblings have also had lifelong marriages, and 3 of 4 of my youngest paternal uncle's kids also have had long marriages. (My eldest cousin from the family is divorced, but  his ex-wife is Australian (I think they met while he was a Marine), and I think where they would live after he retired complicated the relationship. As Franco Americans, typically Catholic, we take marriage very seriously.

Now, of course, a few of my 21 nephews and nieces are very young adults and/or unmarried. But what is dismaying is 3 (2 nephews and a niece)  are divorced, or in the case of my goddaughter, just filed for divorce.  My nephews have kids, which makes things worse, although thankfully my nephews seem to be on good terms with their exes and are actively involved in their sons' lives. I don't know the stories; it's none of my business. I think in one case my niece-in-law found somebody else and no longer wanted to stay in the marriage. She showed at my folks' house shortly after my dad passed--but with a guy. I asked him if he was D's brother. All he said was "Awkward!" When I later found out he was the jerk who broke up my nephew's marriage, I seriously wanted to kick his ass.

It's not just they are divorced, but divorced within 5 years or less of marriage, particularly my goddaughter. (She's actually the middle one; my baby sister is the first, and my baby brother's youngest. I actually have more nephews, but I have a reputation in the family of preferring baby girls: no godsons.)  I have been crazy about my niece all her life; I flew to attend her high school graduation in Colorado. I don't have many disagreements with my niece, but I do recall being shocked by seeing her on Facebook wearing purple hair instead of her perfect natural blond hair: WHY? It breaks my heart she is going through this.