Tag: observations

Mercedes Mone and the inevitable journey back to Sasha Banks

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

When the news broke that Sasha Banks and Naomi stormed out of the WWE, I thought it was all a work (read: wrestling speak for scripted).  Usually if it’s ever mentioned on the air, it is done so deliberately, but in the ever-shifting and moving machine that is the professional wrestling industry, it turned out to be something a little more real, regardless of the fact that they had acknowledged it on the air.

Long story short, the two of them walked out citing poor opportunities and just generally disagreeing with how Creative was going to be using them for the foreseeable future.  And although it was never confirmed, and probably will never be admitted, the whole thing really sounds more like it echoes the beliefs of Sasha Banks than it does Naomi. 

Naomi had been around long enough to have eaten her fair share of shit sandwiches and understand that everyone in history is going to have to deal with them on the menu from time to time, but Sasha on the other hand had already walked out once, on her own, stating a convoluted burnout excuse before, so it didn’t seem far-fetched for someone like me to think that it was happening again, but with an accomplice.

As time passed and news and the rumor mill churned, the general sentiment was that Sasha left because she didn’t think the company was taking the women’s division seriously, regardless of the evolutions and revolutions they’ve spouted throughout the last decade.  Frankly, I thought she was just salty over not being in a world title storyline, because it very much seemed like with her, she’s either in a world title picture, or she’s walked out; she hasn’t been around long enough for her history to show too contrary to this logic.

Eventually, when old man Vince stepped down and Triple H basically took over operations, there was a lot of speculation that Sasha would be back, because Trips didn’t waste much time undoing a lot of the bad for business choices that Vince had made over the last year.  But then there still was no Sasha, or Naomi for that matter. 

Eventually, news broke that Mercedes Varnado was going to be appearing at New Japan’s Wrestle Kingdom 17; confirming that there really was a separation between Sasha and the WWE.  Further news revealed that during attempts to renegotiate a return, Sasha wanted Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch money, and the WWE was unwilling to acquiesce, and therefore Mercedes decided to take her talents elsewhere.

Here’s the thing though about the wrestling industry, especially in the WWE: this is a narrative that is hardly unique to Sasha Banks, and I think too many people are getting clouded by gender and the manner in which she ceased to be on television.  Respect and treatment of women’s wrestling aside, when it came time to come back, it fell through, due to money.  The WWE felt that Sasha Banks wasn’t worth the money she was asking for, so Sasha Banks formally left the company, and took her trade somewhere else.

Continue reading “Mercedes Mone and the inevitable journey back to Sasha Banks” →

Wrestle Kingdom 17 and the greatest dunk in history

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Despite my criticism of the ugliest blet in the industry and my oft-criticisms of Kenny Omega, I still thought that the card for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 looked completely stacked, and if not for the whole eastern hemisphere timezone thing, I most definitely would have loved to have seen the show live.  I’m still interested in watching it after the fact, but only time will tell on if I can even find out how to watch it, much less actually have the available time in order to.

So like most wrestling on the other side of the world, I’m left with written results and YouTube clips to piece together how things went.  For the most part, as stacked as the show was, professional wrestling is still professional wrestling, and for the names and narratives that I was aware of going into the event, few things were really any surprises as far as the results went.

All jokes aside, Zack Sabre, Jr. winning the ugliest blet in the industry NJPW Television Championship seemed like a layup of a prediction, as did Kairi retaining the IWPG Women’s Championship.  FTR is clearly wrapping up the blet collector gimmick and were obviously dropping the IWGP Tag Team championships, presumably so that Cash Wheeler can actually heal up from whatever has been hampering him over the last six months.  And it was very obvious that Karl Anderson was going to drop the NEVER championship to Tama Tonga, considering he’s a contracted WWE talent, clearly loaned to the event solely to exchange the strap.

Kazuchika Okada winning the IWGP World Championship was also fairly predictable in my opinion, because NJPW’s formula seems to be, when in doubt, Okada, because he’s basically their Hulk Hogan, and will always draw no matter what, regardless of the fact that I think they could’ve gotten some more mileage out of Jay White being the guy.

The only real surprises of the night were, when Sasha Banks was going to show up, and the fact that Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay for the IWGP US Championship.  Obviously, Sasha, now going under Mercedes Mone showed up in the aftermath of Kairi’s match, because why wouldn’t she be immediately thrust into the World title picture?  But I’ve got lots of thoughts and words about Sasha Mercedes that I’ll get to in a separate post, but the rest of this one is basically going to be about Ospreay and Omega.

Firstly, I didn’t think there was chance that Omega was going to go over Ospreay, considering the fact that Omega is contractually obligated to another company, regardless of the positive working relationship between AEW and NJPW.  For the second time now, the IWGP US championship will be taken back to the United States, where it will get more screen time on another promotion’s television time than its own, and it may as well be rechristened the AEW US championship [which they can maybe exchange for the IWGP All-Atlantic Championship which gets equally no domestic television screen timeWill Ospreay is also one of NJPW’s top guys, but he’s still not necessarily a household name to the global audience, and a rub from Kenny Omega would definitely have helped him out tremendously.  Now the loss could very well be a promotion disguised as a demotion, and Ospreay could be positioned for a World title storyline, but considering the post-match press conference, it looks more like a potential character reset is impending, seeing as how he’s now lost the IWGP US and the RevPro championship over the span of the last four months.

But speaking of the post-match press conference, what happened during it is what spawned this entire post coming to fruition.  And as much as I’ve blathered tons of words questioning Kenny Omega the performer, I will have to give credit to him for delivering possibly the greatest verbal dunking on an adversary in the history of the business:

Don Callis: Will Ospreay, you wanted to be Michael Jordan, you wanted to be the man, you wanted to be the GOAT.

Kenny Omega (mumbling): you’ll have to settle for being scottie pippen

DC: Tonight, you’re Scottie Pippen.  That’s what you are, right now.

I legitimately had one of those OHHHHHHHHH moments when I heard that line.  Followed by raucous laughter, and replaying the quip about 15 times.  And then another 15 times with the volume cranked up so that I could actually make out Kenny Omega’s precise words so that I could meme-ify caption the above image to immortalize it and hope it shows up in Google images when people search for “Ospreay Omega Wrestle Kingdom.”

I just don’t think anyone other than me understands just how insulting it is to be called Scottie Pippen.  It’s not just being called a metaphor for being a #2 guy.  A silver medalist.  B+ performer.  It’s not entirely accurate to compare it to being called a Robin to Batman or a Luigi to Mario.  Those are guys that are content and know their role as being sidekicks, second-in-commands.

Scottie Pippen is a guy who believed in his heart that he was on the same level as Michael Jordan.  He thought he didn’t need MJ to win a championship, and on multiple instances, had his chance, and failed.  He’s the living totem of being supremely talented, but not THE man, not QB1, not the first pick in the draft.  He’s just Scottie Pippen, the guy that’s not the best, not the GOAT, and the guy that falls short when it really matters the most.

I’ve said a lot of things about how I don’t think Kenny Omega isn’t as complete of a package as he and the rest of the internet might think.  I think his in-ring work is amazing, but still has some struggles connecting to American audiences.   I think his mic work is average at best, and there’s a reason why he is paired with Don Callis, so he can do the heavy lifting in promos for him.  I still don’t think his heart will ever truly be with AEW in spite of being one of the foundation blocks of the company.

But as far as delivering an atom bomb of a strike in a promo goes, short of the instances where people have crossed lines in digging into the personal, real-lives of their opponents, I don’t think anyone has ever dropped such a devastating, legendary dunking-on, than Kenny Omega did to Will Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom 17.  I’m hard pressed to believe anyone ever will surpass it, unless they make a better, harder comparison to Scottie Pippen.

Gym etiquette talk, feat. Showering

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time of the year in which gyms all across America and presumably around the world, have an influx of new goers, all mentally pumped up to get physically pumped up and begin a journey to physical improvement.  In years past, I would be one of the many regular gym goers who opined annoyance and made all sorts of observations of the new year’s gym noob trope, but when it really comes down to it, I still have a modicum of respect for those who actually get off their asses and successfully take a step into their gyms, and at least take a stab at it. 

Some might last a week, others two, some a month, and then there are millions of people around the world who ultimately quit, but regardless, I will still say that those who at least try to embark on the journey, are better than those who talk shit, judge, but don’t, content to be tubby lumps of humanity, pock-marking the planet with their sedentary existence.

So, no longer am I among those who bemoan the influx of gym noobs, because there is something to be said about them trying.  However, I do remain someone who observes and judges the behavior of the gym goers I see, new or old, and opine onto an internet brog nobody reads about them.

For context, for the better part of the last decade, I have had the luxury of being able to hit the gym during lunch time while at the office.  Three of my last real office jobs have had gyms either inside or attached to the workplace, and it’s been the ultimate luxury to be able to pop into the gym during my lunch break and work out.  It helps chew up the clock on slow days, it helps me alleviate frustration on stressful days, and it affords me to not have to do it after work, freeing up my evenings.

That being said, as important as it is to execute regular workouts, the shower after them is just as just as essential, and if I don’t have time for a shower, then it goes without saying that I’m not working out, full stop.  For all sorts of obvious reasons, the shower is absolutely essential, and is basically the final lift of a workout agenda, it’s that mandatory.  Aside from the obvious cleansing nature of taking them, they’re also therapeutic and relaxing, and there’s absolutely no better way to cap off a workout than with a nice shower.

I will modify workouts and reduce the number of sets and/or lifts to accommodate time for a shower, or if I can’t factor in the time it takes to get a shower in, then I just cancel the workout outright.  For me, there is no option to workout, and putting my office clothes back on over my sweaty body, and risk going back to the workplace feeling and looking gross and possibly smelling.

If there is no possibility of getting the shower in, then the workout simply does. Not. Happen.  For me.

However, it’s abundantly clear that not everyone is on the same page as my ideals.  What spawned this diatribe is the fact that while at the gym today, I witnessed not just one, but two different men wrap up their workouts, get dressed in their preppy office clothes and head straight back to the elevators towards the offices.  And this is not just an isolated incident, I’ve taken note of the guys who do this regularly, and I’m kind of disgusted with the behavior, because I’ve seen some of these people in the locker room, they’re sometimes drenched with sweat and/or they give off that sour BO waft. 

There this one guy who regularly goes hiking on the trails adjacent to the building and regardless of if it were in July or October, he’s not showering before returning to work, much to my horrified dismay.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, I’ve done it before a handful of times.  There was a very brief period where I thought I could get away with doing two-a-days, where I’d do weights during lunch time, but slowly and carefully as to minimize perspiration and then cardio after work, so my body could recover somewhat, but I didn’t shower after weights, and those were the most uncomfortably icky feeling days in the office.  Or there was an instance where some building plumbing went awry, and suddenly I was in a position where showering was off the table, and I had to suffer another miserable day of feeling gross and concerned over if I were smelling or not.

The bottom line is that if I can’t shower after my workout, I’m just not going to work out in the first place.  And those who embark on behavior contrary to this, this is what I will remain critically judgmental of, and hope that these are the gross motherfuckers who throw in the towel on New Year’s resolution gym going after a week and not the few who manage to stick.  Or if you’re already a regular gym goer, hope that we never cross paths in the arena of iron, lest you prepare for a lot of stink eyes for when you inevitably will stink from not washing off after exercising.

Year’s End: Was 2022 a bad year?

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

My fantastic mother-in-law signed me up for some virtual races that give medals for Christmas, but among them was a run called F*CK 2022.  The medal of the run is a middle finger which of course I’m cool with, but what got my brain churning was the idea that there being a race with this theme, there has to be some overwhelming sentiment that 2022 was anything but a good year.

Which brings us to the question in the subject of this post, was 2022 a bad year?

Honest question, because I’ve been living in a pretty small bubble since 2022, and my exposure to the news and happenings of the world outside of it are more limited than ever, and I’ve become one of those grownups who lets theFacebook feed me curated news and really only hear of things from that, Apple News and the shit that my friends talk about in a group chat. 

I don’t watch any television beyond the specific things I want to watch, which most certainly does not include any form of television news and I don’t venture out on the internet to all the news websites and Atlanta-centric sites I used to, so I’m going blind to even local things.

In the past, I felt it was important to be well informed and knowledgeable of news and current events, because if anything at all, that could make me better at conversation, but I really just like being in the know of things.  But after the rise of COVID and having kids and having kids in the age of COVID, it’s just not as important, and far behind the priority of making sure my kids are safe and fed every day.

Needless to say, my bubble has shrunken to where I have to ask other people if they think a year was bad or not, because I don’t really think my opinion holds any weight.  Because within my bubble exists pretty much just my kids, mythical wife, sports, wrestling and working for the sake of making money in order to live, and just about everything else exists outside of it.

Throughout the last few years, I’ve created living documents for every year, where I’ve literally narrated a tiny blurb to summarize every single day, of notable things and happenings, because I’m of the mindset that something important happens every single day, be it as small as one of my kids successfully eating something new, or as momentous as Russia invading the Ukraine and daring the rest of the world into another World War.

Some years have been really sad to look back through, because there’s a mass shooting every single month, or the deaths of notable people in the world, but as far as my interests and explorations of the world via the internet go, combined with the happenings of my daily life, I don’t think I’m wrong in thinking that something important does happen, every single day.

Continue reading “Year’s End: Was 2022 a bad year?” →

I don’t think the WWE realizes the Christmas gift they’ve just been given

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

SSDD – WWE superstar under fire for unpopular opinions on social media, feat. Lacey Evans

I don’t particularly care to go too in depth on what Lacey Evans said or supported on social media, I’m sure anyone interested could simply google it and find it with relative ease, but basically it has something to do with her basically being a believer in some conspiracies about how autism and ADD are fake or something of the sort, and the internet coming down on her like Hulkamania, forcing her into internet defense mode, and last I checked, she’s deactivated all her shit and gone dark, as one really should do when the heat gets a little hot.

The point of this post is though, that if there were ever one small sliver of an advantage that Lacey Evans has in her life right now, is the fact that she’s a professional wrestler, an occupation oft-seen as carny and not to be taken too seriously, and if she and interested parties play their cards right, I feel like there’s a hell of a gift to be found and cashed in upon, and Evans can be absolved of dumb doing, and the WWE can possibly make some money in the process.

Long story short, the WWE hasn’t had much luck in finding a working formula, creatively, for Lacey Evans.  And Lacey Evans, personal beliefs notwithstanding, is one of those talents that actually excels more on the physical spectrum than character work, which is kind of a rarity these days, as lots of wrestlers have realized that it’s more important to be able to entertaining versus demonstrating technical ability.

We had the, kind of Rosie the Riveter She Can Do It version of Lacey Evans when she was still in NXT, she was called up to the main roster to be the sassy southern belle, which had a little bit of success, but her personal life derailed her career just when things were getting interesting in a program with Charlotte Flair when she got pregnant and had to go off television.  But to her credit, she had a kid, got back into shape, but has been spinning wheels trying to get back on television, even trying to lean into the usual layup of All-American veteran-turned pro wrestler.

Just when things were seemingly trying to get back on course again, by pairing Evans up with the hall of fame Sgt. Slaughter, she had to get in her own way by spouting off on Twitter, which frankly social media should be avoided by all celebrities if they know what’s good for them, and the internet is all over her because her opinions are not popular, regardless of the fact that I think they’re dumb too personally.

But the thing is, as Eric Bischoff once said, controversy creates cash, and whether Lacey Evans and the WWE realize it or not, they’ve been given a tremendous gift right now, in the form of an extremely effective emotion-eliciting potential persona for Lacey Evans:

Lacey Evans: the Karen of the WWE.

Continue reading “I don’t think the WWE realizes the Christmas gift they’ve just been given” →

This story jacks me up HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Stories tailor-made for me: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan holds home invader at gunpoint until authorities arrive

Man, y’all have no idea how much of a high this story puts me in.  As a kid, I was a fan of Hacksaw Jim Duggan and his over-the-top patriotism; the 2×4, the way he waved Old Glory with such exuberance, and the constant calling out of HOOOOOO!!  He was the ultimate babyface, and regardless of his actual win-loss track record, it was impossible to root against him.  Against Earthquake, Sgt. Slaughter, Yokozuna, Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the ultimate paragon to root for, without any of the bullshit baggage that guys like Hulk Hogan were notorious for dragging along.

As an adult, I had the privilege of meeting Hacksaw Jim Duggan at a minor league baseball game one time.  My friends and I made a trip to Frederick, Maryland primarily because Hacksaw was going to be there.  I got him to sign my replica of the WCW United States championship, and he brings wholesome balance to the fact it’s also signed by a pre-murderous Chris Benoit.  But the best part of the visit was that Hacksaw was just cool as hell, and spent more time than was necessary just chatting and hanging out with one of my friends and I who didn’t really care about the baseball game itself.

Needless to say, there’s always soft spot in my heart for Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and when I read this story about how he thwarted a home invader, it just got me all sorts of jacked up excited.

Of course a paltry home invader was going to do the job to Hacksaw Jim Duggan.  The guy is the first ever Royal Rumble winner.  A former WCW United States champion.  Former WCW Television champion.  Made wrestling fans turn on Goldberg, when they squared off.  A WWE Hall of Famer.  Defeated cancer.  Twice.

The crook clearly had to not have known the property he was trying to break into.  Or if he did, he chose very, very poorly.  All embellishing aside, Hacksaw Jim Duggan is still a relative tank of a man, and I would think twice about engaging a man of his stature, even if he were unarmed.

But speaking of arms, I really am curious to know what kind of firearm that Hacksaw whipped out to subdue the intruder.  As I said, the guy is a beast physically and I’ve shaken Hacksaw’s hand.  He’s not Andre the Giant, but he definitely has big meaty hands from a life of sports and entertainment, and I would imagine a Glock would feel pretty inadequate in his grip.  I feel like a guy like Hacksaw probably had a Magnum or a handgun with some rather large caliber rounds, because I can’t imagine a guy like him is interested in a tiny pew pew gun to protect his home.

Really though, I think I speak for all fans who’ve heard this story, we all really wish the news broke that he subdued the intruder with his 2×4.  Just smashed it over the crook who broke into his home, and then pointed it like a shotgun at the guy on the ground until the cops arrived.  Or better yet, if it was dark, he actually held the piece of wood like a shotgun claiming it was a real shotgun and kept him docile with a fake gun.

Honestly, the crook probably doesn’t realize how lucky he is to not be dead.  Hacksaw comes from an era where he’s one of the fortunate ones to have made it out alive for starters, but to be of sound mind and body to where he had the self-control to not just blow the fucking head off of an intruder in the first place.

And in true paragon Hacksaw Jim Duggan manner, he didn’t press charges, on account of the crook claiming he was running from danger.  In more ways than one, the crook was granted way more generosity and leniency than he deserved, but that’s just the kind of guy that Hacksaw was and is, in and out of the ring – a true babyface that does the good things, regardless of if the heels in the world deserve it or not.

Man, the world is so lucky to have people like Hacksaw Jim Duggan in it.

The World Cup summed up in one picture

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

  • No booze allowed in stadiums
  • Players and attendees expected to adhere to Islamic laws, primarily abstaining from sex, alcohol and consumption of meat
  • Allegations of people paid to be fans
  • News then broke of said payment to said fans were reneged upon
  • Controversy over the disallowing of rainbow armbands, threatening actual in-game punishment for those who defy, resulting in players all not wearing them in fear of yellow card penalties
  • Qatar was the first host country team in World Cup history to lose their opener, mostly because they had no business participating in the first place
  • Argentina also lost their opener, to Saudi Arabia, in a highly speculated (by me) fixed match
  • The World Cup app used for attendees to access stadiums crashed, resulting in hundreds of fans unable to get into games
  • Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing with a Saudi club for a gozillion dollars overshadowed Portugal, resulting in him falling out with the team and getting benched
  • Argentina and the Netherlands had a battle royale disguised as a futbol match where there were 18 yellow cards issued and a player kicking a ball full force into the Netherlands’ bench, erupting in a fight
  • American sports journalist, Grant Wahl, has an aneurism and dies, in the middle of the Argentina/Netherlands match
  • Underdogs Croatia and the first-ever African and Arab nation, Morocco, advanced to the semi-finals
  • But got bounced by powerhouses, Argentina and France
  • And despite ugly matches against Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, Argentina ends up winning the World Cup
  • Where goalkeeper Emi Martinez immediately makes an ass of himself and his country with this meme-worthy photo that will plague the rest of his career and Argentinian futbol until the end of time

However, despite all of my criticisms and snarky tone in regard to the Qatar World Cup that shouldn’t have happened, even I have to admit that it was one of the most exciting tournaments, like ever.  At least as long as I’ve had any interest in World Cup futbol.

In spite of the typical powerhouse final between Argentina and France, there was a level of parity shown by a lot of the world, saying they’re catching up in terms of skill.  Even Korea made my entire tournament by winning a critical match against Portugal in dramatic fashion.

Goalkeepers stole the show in my opinion, with numerous GKs throughout the field demonstrating all sorts of ice water in their veins, stopping shots and looking like gods throughout the numerous shootouts that occurred once the knockouts began.  Croatia and  Morocco’s especially did yeoman’s work for their countries en route to their path to the semis, and had either of their semi matches went to PKs, the ending might’ve been a different story.

So it’s kind of an unsurprising irony that Emi Martinez ends up winning the Golden Glove award for best GK of the tournament.  He won it solely because he was basically the last GK standing for the winning club, but not because he really deserved it.  Sure, he stopped France twice in the shootout that decided the game, but the reality is that he still let Mbappe and even the Saudi club eat his lunch numerous times beforehand.

And maybe it’s because he’s aware of the irony that he decides to act like a clown with his award, but more likely because the fact that he’s just a dumb jock, lucking into success at a children’s game.  Either way, as funny as I do think the photo is, I have this feeling that this is a shot that will lead to a lot more regret than it will entertainment for him.  Not only is going to be immortalized in countless memes in coming years and generations, it’s going to be the poster image of any and all goalkeeper fuckups, Martinez’s, Argentina’s, Liverpool’s or anyone else’s.

Championship glory lasts forever, especially for those who experience it first-hand, but a good mocking meme not only also lasts forever, but it has greater reach to those among the casuals and those just looking on the internet for people to pile on to.  The glory of Messi’s triumph will live for those who love futbol, but the goofiness of Martinez will reach far beyond and define the entire tournament for the unofficial wrath of the internet.