Wrestling Review: WWE
I haven't done one of these in a while. Probably the biggest change since then is they booked WWE Kofi Kingston into a squash match with Brock Lesnar (an obvious mismatch of David-Goliath proportions). They've occasionally done that, notably the Diesel (Kevin Nash )/Bob Backlund match in the 90's and more recently the Sheamus/Daniel Bryan match. I never really bought into the Kingston reign and his related New Day comic group with pancake-flipping, cereal chugging, hips gyrating promos. On the other hand, Seth Rollins, the "Universal Champion", who unlike Lesnar makes weekly television appearances, and Lesnar had fought so many times it was getting stale. And Rollins had to engage in cheap tactics, like low blows to protect Lesnar's "beast image". So it was time to move Lesnar from Raw to Smackdown.Don't get me wrong; the WWE did a good job portraying Kingston as someone who had paid his dues and prevailing against all odds (rather like Daniel Bryan's unlikely Cinderella Wrestlemania (30) ) to win a shot at the title. But at 6 feet and 212 lbs, Kofi is undersized in a business of big or strong men, and to be honest, I just never cared for his wrestling style, and the matches bored me. I'm not sure how I would have booked Kofi, but I thought it might be interesting to turn him heel (he's been a career babyface) or least have his New Day partners interfere on his behalf. I also thought they might tease, say, Big E going rogue and turning on Kofi, claiming he had done all the work while Kofi got all the glory. Recently going onto Twitter and seeing some black fans argue booking Kofi into a squash championship match against Lesnar was racist-motivated; seriously, dude? The WWE has put belts on the Rock, Booker T, Mark Henry, Sheldon Benjamin, Bobby Lashley and the New Day, among others, not to mention Asians and Latinos. As I mentioned earlier, there were precedents for squash matches and obvious physical mismatches. Not to mention I've seen little fan interest in the seemingly inevitable rematch; nobody believes Kingston has a legitimate shot to regain the championship from Lesnar.
As for the plotline to introduce Cain Velasquez, a former UFC fighter who legitimately beat Lesnat nearly 10 years ago with superior boxing skills, via Lesnar's brutal, inexplicable attacks on the undersized Latino star Rey Mysterio and his taller young son Dominick, posing a story of a connection with Mysterio's family is really contrived and phony. Now at 6'1" , 245 lbs, Cain is still smaller than Lesnar but is a credible opponent, more so than Kingston. Lesnar may have more trouble sending him to Suplex City. But Sheldon Benjamin perfectly summarized the problem on Raw, by pushing Rey Mysterio around, saying, "The way to get to a championship match is to push you around?" Velasquez hadn't even been in one televised WWE wrestling match, and he's going for the championship in his first match? Because he beat Lesnar in an MMA match 9 years ago? It almost reminds me of the invincible Zeus character from the late 80's coming out of a forgettable Hogan flick. All Velasquez has shown us to date are his MMA skills, not any wrestling moves. Could the WWE put the belt on Velasquez with a limited track record? Well, they did a similar thing with Ronda Rousey. It would put an interesting wrinkle into Lesnar's character, dealing with someone who is able to hurt him. But they have to be careful with his image; a squash match against Lesnar would undermine his credibility. It's not clear how they will book this match; my guess is they have Lesnar lose the match (but keep the title) by disqualification.
The recent "draft" between Raw and Smackdown was pretty ludicrous; did anyone notice that Raw always got an extra pick at the end of each round? Not to mention Stephanie, the presumptive Raw general manager, was announcing each pick for both rounds. The bookings didn't make much sense, e.g., Kevin Owens wins a Smackdown loser-gets-fired match against Shayn McMahon, just to reappear on Raw (and seemingly booked into an angle to contest AJ Styles' US belt). Similarly Charlotte Flair had just won the Smackdown women's title with Bayley, only to immediately job it before the draft and find herself on Raw..
On the other hand, arguably the best female wrestler, in terms of skill, mike work, and charisma, Sasha Banks, is back, but for some reason she's been jobbing, e.g., to Becky Lynch. (Granted, Lynch has somehow reignited her career as the current babyface champion.) Banks was in the doghouse when she and Bayley were forced to job the inaugural women's tag team title to the less talented Australian tag team the Iiconics (who seem to have disappeared off TV recently).
Bayley quickly resumed her alliance with heel Sasha, which never seemed consistent with her perpetual babyface image. WWE finally turned her heel with a modified appearance (notably her hairstyle) and a bizarre attack on her "buddies", her signature air dancers at her entrance. (You know, those goofy inflatables you often see at auto dealerships.) And the Kabuki Warriors (especially Asuka, arguable pound for pound the best wrestler of either gender in WWE) now rightly hold the women's tag team titles. So at least the women's wrestlers seem to have improved storylines.
Enough for me to reinstate my WWE network membership? No. I'm not quite sure what would, but I haven't seen a decent faction like the Horsemen or the N.W.O. since the Nexus. The Shield came close. Maybe the Crown Jewel contest between Team Hogan and Team Flair is a hint in the right direction. But I need to see better, more creative storylines.
Well, Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas Is About to Start
I don't recall seeing promos for it, but it looks like sister station Hallmark Movies and Mysteries started playing holiday movies over last weekend. I had to groan when I saw "The Christmas Card" play twice over 2-3 days. (This movie, a good one for cable, focuses on an Afghanistan veteran on leave lured to a California town by a homemade Christmas card by a blonde who works for her family's lumber business. He quickly takes an interest in the woman and her family, but she's in a serious relationship with a wine broker who hasn't popped the question yet. Her Vietnam vet dad connects with him; he agrees to work at the lumber company for the duration of his leave, etc. A predictable storyline; you wonder mostly how the romantic conflict plays out.) I believe it officially starts Friday on Hallmark Channel with some new flicks starting this weekend. I think it starts out with a limited schedule and transitions to a 24x7 movie schedule by mid-November. (From what I see, they will be running their "Home and Family" programming in the late morning and early afternoon on weekdays over the first few weeks. (Consult the published schedule for specifics.) See here and here.BEB Status Update
Btuce Breeding is my former UH PhD student office mate who suffered multiple strokes at the beginning of July.I think I pick up a few nuggets in spouse Susan's nearly daily posts. Susan did say (after my confusion over his Presbyterian affiliation) they have attended services in other denominations; apparently they went to a Bible church this past weekend which did not set well with Susan (too much of a focus on rock music; she didn't get expected spiritual connection). More to the point, she revealed that Bruce had considered becoming a minister and/or going to law school. (Our dissertation chair, Richard Scamell, also suggested that he might have considered a religious vocation if he hadn't become a professor.) This is an interesting coincidence because I had considered becoming a Catholic priest when starting college, and I briefly considered going to law school while my academic career was collapsing--not for the usual interests. I had more of an interest in intellectual property law.)
Bruce is still having issues with nourishment/keeping his food down. He got just over 1 more week in Irving before returning to Austin and 3 weeks at a skilled nursing facility.
Finally, Susan on multiple occasions has said Bruce loves singing the doxology. More out of curiosity I did a search on Youtube and found the gem embedded below (which may not be Bruce's preferred version bur I found compelling.
