My Random Thoughts on the WWE

 If you know me you know I am a huge wrestling fan, I gained a interest in wrestling when I was 11 years old around the time seeds of the attitude era were being planted before it skyrocketed. I follow all wrestling in some capacity ring of honor, TNA, independents, highlights of New Japan. Of course WWE is the big dog and I wanted to give my random thoughts on some of their relevant current events.
  While I know it's consistently difficult to have interesting 3 hour events every Monday Night, Raw for the most part does a fair job. I’m not a fan of Brock Lesnar at all but I think his match against Samoa Joe has some great potential to be a true knock em down brawl as evident by their pull apart fight last week. With the return of Braun Strowman who should steamroll through Roman Reigns(who I’m a fan of) I would like to see Strowman vs. Brock or even a triple threat between Strowman, Brock, and Joe at Summerslam. With Strowman or Joe taking the WWE universal title for two reasons, first for the sake of something fresh as far as a new intimidating champion. Also for the Universal championship to mean something a champion needs to defend it at all cost and you know actually be around.
   Recently The Miz recruited talented but going nowhere fast guys Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas to join him in his fight against Dean Ambrose. Those two have been going at it for months back and their rivalry should be winding down soon. I’m looking forward to Miz and his entourage which the wwe will probably give a silly name like the “Miz-tourage” but it has potential to be hilarious especially if Curtis and Bo play caricatures of entourage members. Also once The Miz ends his feud with Dean and Goldust is finished with R-truth, a feud between The Miz and Goldust with their respective movie star roles could be really fun and exciting if done right.
   Lastly on Raw I am against the break up of Enzo and Big Cass, both are talented guys but I feel they need each other to really succeed. I hear rumors Big Cass is in line for a big push (mostly due to his size and Vince Mcmahons love of big guys.) I don't think he can pull of it by himself but hopefully I’m wrong. Their act had grown stale but they could have benefitted from a heel turn using their same overbearing in your face personas just dialed up a little. I could be wrong but that move was a big mistake by WWE.
   Over at Smackdown which overall is a consistently better show they have a few hiccups. I like Jinder Mahal and don't mind him being the WWE world champion as it's something different and people always ask for something fresh and complain when the freshness occurs. I like the Singh Brothers being his associates but his anti-American act is hella old and overdone, Kevin Owens pretty much has the same persona with a few tweaks. Speaking of anti-American characters when the hell is Rusev coming back?
   Jinder Mahal may not be a top tier wrestler but he’s decent and is trying. Besides in my opinion his act is holding him back, I could see potential if his act was he's very proud of his heritage but he's so over the top and in your face about his heritage. If making Jinder a star was the plan maybe he should have went against someone who could assist in that aspect. I like Randy Orton but his act is stale as well and he’s not the type of guy who can elevate his opponent and make them look good while teaching him ways to improve at the same time.
    The Woman's division recently had the first ever woman's money in the bank match which was a great match ruined by a horrible finish. Both Raw and Smackdown have great woman wrestlers but right now Smackdown is using their roster better. Each female has their own character and individual personality quirks. In case you didn't know I am a huge fan of Naomi who while still improving has come a long way. Also the WWE needs to grow the hell up, before the woman's money in the bank match they played a video package discussing woman who were trailblazers. Mae Young, Jacqueline, Lisa, Trish Stratus, Alundra Blaze, and Beth Phoenix among others were touted as trailblazers. Left out was none other than Chyna, despite her personal problems and her strained relationship with Triple H she was the true trailblazer and woman of many first in WWE and deserves all the credit in the world.
   The tag team division is doing pretty good right now. The Usos who I love their heel persona and the line “It’s not paranoia..it’s the Usos!!” Btw I’m waiting on a t-shirt with that slogan. I wish they would be given more mic time because they bring a different aspect to their promos. Breezango have resurrected their careers when they were finally given a chance. I don't always catch their type of humor but it works for them. Of course who doesn't love the New Day who can be overly corny but are all talented. Sadly American Alpha and the Colons both talented teams are spinning their wheels at the moment. Poor  Ascension they had a good thing going in Nxt that just hasn't translated on the main stage.
    I can't go without mentioning the current MVP Kevin Owens and the current hands down best wrestler in the WWE and maybe all of wrestling AJ Styles. They look to start a feud over the US title and both should bring out the best in one another. I wouldn't mind seeing a best of 7 series between them much like Booker T. Vs. Chris Benoit for the Tv title back in the WCW days, or Matt Hardy vs MVP during the mid 2000s Smackdown era. Those matches probably would be epic
   For the rest of the Smackdown roster with guys like Dolph  Ziggler, Nakamura, Sami Zayn, and Baron Corbin on their side they’ll have consistent quality matches but it’ll always be against each other. The WWE has to figure out a way to give all of those guys something meaningful to do. Mike and Maria Kanellis just debuted and it looks like their act is over the top, so in love it makes you sick heels. Mike would be a good fresh opponent for Sami or Nakamura, hell even Randy Orton may be a good foil to Mike. With John Cena returning and no one for him to go against maybe Dolph or Baron could benefit from a feud with Cena.
   These are my random thoughts on the WWE at the moment, I’ll surely be offering my thoughts on current events in the future.
 

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My random thoughts on "All eyez on me"

 Tupac’s biopic “All Eyez On Me” was released worldwide yesterday. It’s been getting mixed reviews with some folks outright slamming it. I’ve seen it and just wanted to provide not a traditional review but just my random thoughts as I watched the movie and afterwards as I processed certain parts of the film. ​​​​​​​​​​​First things first Demetrius Shipp Jr. did a great job as Tupac wayyy better than Anthony Mackie's performance in Notorious. Not only does he physically resemble Tupac but he did a wonderful job of emulating Tupac’s mannerisms and personality. During certain parts of the film you may actually believe you’re watching the real Tupac and not just an actor. Dressing him in iconic Tupac attire also helped in drawing you into his performance.​​​​​​​​​​The movie had some time jumps that were a little random and confusing.
     The beginning of the film showing his youth were a little all over the place and rapid fire from this point to that point. Not sure if that was by design to show that his youth wasn’t stable or was just a circumstance of not having enough material to draw from on that part of his life or bad storytelling/editing. They showed the beginning of his career with Digital Underground and how he parlayed being a hype man into getting behind the mic. I wish a little more time had been spent into how he developed his skill and convinced everyone to let him record his solo album “2Pacalypse Now”.​​​​​​​​​
      His friendship with Biggie received more attention which was interesting. They showed that they respected one another and Biggie looked to Tupac for some guidance. The true way their relationship disintegrated off a misunderstanding would have been nice to have been covered more. Tupac has a scene with Faith Evans that goes nowhere and really could have been cut out.  I also wish his relationship with Quincy Jones daughter Kidada could have gotten a little more attention. I would have been interested to see how much she changed him for the better during their relationship as the film portrays he was very happy while he was dating her.​​​​​​ ​
     The music I felt​ was placed evenly throughout the film and at good portions of the movie. The reenactments of actual music videos as well as key scenes from a few of his movies were also nicely done.  Demetrius also embodied Tupac’s stage presence during his concert films. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t play a snippet of one of my favorite Pac songs “Pain” but everyone could honestly have that gripe about which songs were excluded.​​​All in all I felt it was a decent not great biopic.
      Of course it will be compared to “Straight Outta Compton” which was a better overall film, and “Notorious” which I enjoyed but “All Eyez On Me” may have a leg up on only time will tell on that scenario. Only thing I enjoyed was that it showed different personalities of Tupac from his soft side, silly fun side, militant side, gangsta side. The multiple facades of his personality show’s that he was human and even though he accomplished a lot he was still a very young guy trying to find his way in the world. That could explain his radical metamorphosis when he joined Death Row and the film kind of poses the question of was he just desperate for a better situation when he joined Death Row? Some folks love him, some hate him, some question his authenticity but Tupac is a hip hop legend and icon ,this film while skips out on a lot and has its flaws, does give some insight into his mentality of the man and who he may have become had he lived a little longer. ​​​​​​​
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The Orioles Pitching Problem

  The Orioles where oh where do we begin?? They have been in a slump that is quickly erasing any chances or hopes they had of being contenders this season. Before the season started many baseball analyst predicted their starting pitching would be their achilles heel this season as it has been the past several seasons. After a hot start they looked to be proving the analyst wrong, well the analyst were right.
  The starting pitching has become abysmal, but truth be told the Orioles starting pitching has been abysmal for years they’ve somehow found ways to band-aid it and chug along to respectability.
  Therein lies a problem there is a deep rooted problem with the way the Orioles organization develops and handles their pitchers, it needs to be addressed on a global scale from single A to the major leagues. They haven't had a true Ace or successful pitcher that came up through the organization since Mike Mussina, he left nearly two decades ago.
  Since then we’ve had guys like Pat Hentgen, Sidney Ponson, Rodrigo Lopez, Erik Bedard, and Chris Tillman much as I like his talent and skill as our aces. None of them are on Mike Mussinas level but not necessarily their fault.
   We’ve had the next big thing that didn't pan out such as Adam Loewen, Daniel Cabrera, Brian Matusz, and Jake Arrieta who once he was removed from the O's system became the dominant star pitcher everyone knew he could be. The jury's still out on Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman but both have shown several cases of inconsistency.
   Let’s not forget the squandered first round picks that didn't make it to the majors either at all or with the O’s or where a blip once they made it. Matthew Hobgood, Pedro Beato, Garrett Olson, Wade Townsend, Beau Hale.
  Everything combined somewhere along the Orioles train a cog is broken. Either the scouts and evaluators don’t look at other intangibles such as mental capacity, the ability of prospects to learn or if their honestly potential major league caliber talent. Or they just don't know how to properly scout talent.
  Once their drafted and in the Orioles system are these prospects getting the proper attention? Are they getting the proper one on one training to work on their mechanics, their arsenal, their conditioning, their individual personalities and skill sets or does the Orioles have a cookie cutter one size fits all approach?
  One thing that is crystal clear is alot of issues these prospects have that become apparent once they reach the majors were always there. They didn’t materialize out thin air and the major league pitching staff can't fix every band aid.
  Quality, dominant starting pitching is a hefty premium in the major leagues. The Orioles have long been opposed to spending that premium and have looked to developing. That method isn't working so they need to try something else. They got burnt big time on the Ubaldo Jimenz deal so I can't blame them on being hesitant in another big money deal on a pitcher.
  They’ll eventually have to shell it out if their serious about contending and competing with the Yankees and Red Sox while staying within their means. They won't be able to go after the Stephen Strasburg's or Clayton Kershaw's of the world but if they go after a few true tier 2 pitchers who can eat innings and are dependable they may have a shot.
   Right now their talented offense as one dimensional as they may be, wont and cant have a shot when their down 6 or more between the 1st-3rd inning. While they try to turn this season around the Orioles organization needs to look in the mirror and start making that change of better developing pitchers.

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June Movies To Check Out

   We’re heading into the second week of June and it's time for my June movies to check out. I’m a little late in getting this out but as they say better late than never.
   So far this month “Captain Underpants” based on the children's book was released and I heard it was a very funny, engaging family movie with a good story. If you’re looking for a family film I would recommend that.
   Released this past weekend was a reboot of the Mummy, what was suppose to jumpstart a planned Universal Monster Universe may have killed the project before it began. I was really looking forward to this movie and had plans to see if….but reading reviews I changed my mind at the last minute. I’ll wait until it comes on cable.
   I would be remiss without mentioning “Wonder Woman”, if you have not seen it yet I highly recommend it. It was the best film of the DC movie universe released so far. Gal Gadot did a great job as Wonder Woman. The story made you care about the characters and didn't overstay it welcome. It also benefitted from not having to cram nods to the other films planned in the universe. While the nods are fun it can become cumbersome and forced which alot of the Marvel movies suffer from.
  Releasing this week is the biopic of Tupac “All Eyez on me” a legend in the hip hop game this film is highly anticipated. With the backing of his estate and a actor who looks the part hopefully this film does Tupac's legacy right and is one if the better biopics released in recent years. I already have my plans to see it opening night.
  Also dropping this week this time for families is “Cars 3”. I’ve never watched any of the Cars films to judge how the latest one may play. Pixar has a strong track record and Disney is the undisputed king of marketing to families and kids so it’ll probably be worth checking out.
  For the females, releasing this week is “Rough Night” starring Zoe Kravitz, Kate Mckinnon, and Scarlett Johansson. This dark comedy is about a bachelorette party that takes a wrong turn. Its molded in the vain Bridesmaid so it has potential to be hilarious, we shall see.
  Next up released next week is “Transformers: The Last Knight”. I think the less is said the better. The first two while flawed were mindless enjoyable fun, the third one dragged on and tried to be “smart”. The fourth one which was a “reboot” of sorts went far left and I really don't think anyone was asking for this one. With all that being said it’ll probably make alot of money to justify a sixth film.
   “Baby Driver” coming out June 28th starring Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, and Ansel Elgort. It’s a familiar story of someone in the crime business doing one last act to escape the business for good. Ansel Elgort is the star of this film as a getaway driver who listens to certain tunes when driving. We’ll see how the soundtrack helps the film.
   Back to the family side of the spectrum “Despicable Me 3” comes out june 30th. The story sounds interesting villain Gru has to team with long  lost twin brother against a common enemy. This is another franchise the kids love so it’ll probably be decent and make alot of money.
    Last movie to think about checking out this month is “The House” with Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell. The duo are a couple who starts a illegal casino in their home to help pay for their daughter's college education. The basic story seems funny enough and relatable and both stars are very funny individuals by themselves. This film has potential to be highly funny like StepBrothers and Talladega Nights or it could be Get Hard the potential is there but it fails somewhere.
   This are some films to check out in June some heavy hitters, some not sure about, and a dud. Check back next month for my July recommendations.

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