Geek Asylum Weekend Round-Up #2

Well it's been a packed week here at Geek Asylum. We released a new podcast, made some new friends, and show you our continued affection for the Avengers.

There may have been some things you missed this week, but do not fret, we've got you covered.

Check out The Geek Asylum's new podcast "Completely Random", heck you can even subscribe to it on iTunes  now.

Chris Catanzarite spends some alone time with Diablo 3 in his Diablo 3 Beta Impressions post.

We have some new affiliates and friends that have joined Geek Asylum in our Geek Asylum and Friends post

Joe helps you get prepared for The Avengers on May 4th with our exclusive Avengers Movie Primer series. Check the first two parts of the series: The Incredible Hulk and Iron man 1&2

Rob Richburg of EnthusReviews gets hands-on time with Google Drive in his First Thoughts: Google Drive post.

Chris Deloose gets nostalgic in his post Gaming Nostalgia: Atari 2600

Steve spends some hands-on time with Viggle in  Bees Knees Apps: Viggle for iOS

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Avengers Movie Primer: Iron Man & Iron Man 2

Are you ready for The Avengers on May 4th? We are, but you might need some help (And if you do, you might need some serious help).

We're going to tackle each movie leading up to the Avengers, and while we've already tackled The Incredible Hulk, it's time to tackle The Invincible Iron Man.

Iron Man is the movie that started the buzz, although you wouldn't know that until the end of Iron Man 1. Like the Hulk, the information from the first movie is irrelevant outside of three things you should know before sitting down to watch Iron Man 2.

1) Tony Stark, son of Howard Stark, is a playboy billionaire who owns a technological business developing many advancements on technology, including weapons and the Iron Man armor.

2) Tony Stark has an artificial heart, powered by the arc reactor in his chest which is one of the largest sources of power known in the Marvel Universe.

3) Tony Stark and his super hero identity, Iron Man, is known to the public.

There's also that bit I mentioned earlier about the buzz of the Avengers. Like most Marvel movies, after the credits there is a minute or two of extra footage. For Iron Man, it involves Samuel Jackson appearing in Tony's room, dressed from head to toe as Nick Fury, and proposing to Tony the idea about the Avengers Initiative. This one minute scene sets the Avengers into motion, and gives you a little bit of an expectation when and if you sat down to watch The Incredible Hulk later that year.

Iron Man 2 picks up where Iron Man left off, opening with the Stark Expo, a yearly show that showcases the newest technological advancement by Stark Industries. Of course there is a small introduction, showing a Russian Ivan Vanko and his dying father, completely disgusted in Tony Stark and his Iron Man moniker, and even more disgusted in the arc reactor technology.

We learn several things about Iron Man in these opening scenes, the first being that the government wants to seize control of the Iron Man armor, calling it a weapon. Secondly, we learn that the arc reactor in Stark's chest is slowly poisoning him. Finally, we learn that Ivan's father helped design the arc reactor, with Ivan being able to create his own version of the arc reactor and channel it's energy into large electrical whips. (Us comic readers know that is Whiplash)

So let's jump right into the action- Stark goes to a car race, and competes. During the race, Whiplash appears, nearly killing Stark before getting defeated. The realization that an arc reactor can be duplicated pushes the government's opinion that the Iron Man armor is a weapon, Whiplash is taken into custody. A visit from Stark reveals that Ivan knows about the poisoning, pushing Stark to the further realization that he may die and soon. While in custody, Justine Hammer kidnaps Ivan and forces him to make drones of armor as weapons to be displayed at the next Stark Expo, to gain the financial support of the military and force Stark out of the business.

Believing his life to be cut unexpectedly short, Stark has a farewell birthday party, showing up in his armor and getting drunk. During the fiasco, his friend Rhodes, a military officer, tries to get Tony to stop his recklessness as a drunk and ends up hijacking an earlier version of the Iron Man armor to stop him, taking off in the armor and hand-delivering it to the military. Hammer is called, and asked to upgrade the stolen armor to become a weapon of equal caliber to the Iron Man armor.


Now we can get to the good stuff. Nick Fury. SHIELD. The Black Widow. They are all introduced RIGHT NOW. Well, if you weren't paying attention already, that is. A defeated Stark can be found munching on some doughnuts in a giant doughnut sign. Nick Fury calls him down, and the three of them sit down in a diner to discuss some things.

First thing- Black Widow injects something into Stark to reduce the effects of the poison temporarily. Secondly, Fury insists that the first goal Stark needs to do is solve this poison problem, and he is to resort to his father's records as he does so. Left to babysit him is agent Phil Coulson, a SHIELD agent that seems to be higher up in rank. Initially, Coulson keeps a close watch, but after some breakthroughs in what he is researching, he leaves Stark alone until getting re-assigned...

Stark ends up finding something, plans hidden within plans set by his father, and creates a new element to serve as the core for his miniature arc reactor that won't poison him. At this time, Rhodes and Hammer are at the Stark Expo, showing off the Ivan-made drones and the new model of the War Machine, which is what happened after the older Iron Man armor was upgraded.

However, things go screwy as Ivan takes over, changing all of the drones to attack weapons and compromising the War Machine Armor. Iron Man arrives, taking out most of the drones while avoiding the War Machine Armor.

The Black Widow chases down the room where Ivan was, brutally taking down roughly 12 men in her path in combat, and eventually overrides the War Machine armor and gives control of it back to Rhodes. Ivan appears in front of the two, equipped with his own armor and the electrical whips as Whiplash. He is quickly defeated, and self-destructs, with Stark and Rhodes escaping just in time.

The movie wraps up with two more scenes. The first is Nick Fury telling Tony that while the Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the Avengers Initiative, Tony Stark himself is not. What that means, exactly, even I'm not sure of but they'll probably clear that up in the Avengers movie. The second scene, which occurs after the credits, shows us where Agent Coulson was reassigned to. He's looking down at the ground in the middle of the desert, and says to Nick Fury over the phone what he's found- Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor (Well, we know what it is, he doesn't)

So what does this tell us about future movies? Well there will be an Iron Man 3, and as we already know Iron Man will appear in the Avengers movie. So here's what we can expect in the Avengers movie;

First, we can expect Iron Man to not run out of power or have any "problems" with the armor, as he fixed everything in this movie. Secondly, we can most likely expect more on that new element he's developed. If you read any comics, you're probably guessing what I am, and that is that he's probably created this Marvel Universe's Vibranium. Lastly, Whiplash is dead and War Machine is now a possible character for cameo. Additionally, we know the Black Widow and Nick Fury are in the movie, if not from the trailer then from here, and that Black Widow is quite the fighter in hand to hand combat.

Be sure to look out for our other articles covering The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor! Think you know all there is to know? Check out the wrap up with Fury's Big Week!

The Avengers is OUT! Go see it, or read about it!!!

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[Video] FRINGE SEASON 5 First Look

HOLY CRAP! If you are like me with your television then you know that FOX’s Fringe has unfortunately taken a turn for the worst lately. What with all the rumors of the show going to be cancelled; and are they going to return for another season? Well, good news folks, FOX has just announced that they renewed Fringe for their 5^th and final season.

FOX said that they want to give the fans an ending season that they deserve. I couldn’t agree with them more on that. There isn’t really much else to report on at the moment but I do have a special treat for you guys…the video below is the first season 5 trailer. Enjoy.

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Bees Knees Apps: Viggle for iOS

Today we take a look at a mobile app that is indeed not related to birds, pigs or joyrides in jetpacks - That's right, it's not a game.  We're going to have a quick look at Viggle, a free "get free stuff" app for iOS, with a possible Android release in the near future.

Viggle lets you earn points for the television you already watch (and admit it, you watch plenty).  A simple 15 second process when a show starts sets you down the path to free giftcards and prizes.  The process is very similar to GetGlue, but instead of virtual stickers, you'll earn points to cash in.

Upon opening the app the first time, you'll be prompted to enter a username and email address to link to the app, and that's about all the set up required.  Once you've signed in, you're ready to start earning.  The process is as simple as clicking the giant V button in the middle of the screen and allowing your iPhone or iPad (Sorry iPad 1 owners - without a mic, you won't be able to use the app) to listen to what you're watching.

The app will then match the sound to a show, even if it's mid-commercial and then prompt you to check-in.  That's it - you'll earn points when the show ends.  On top of check ins, there are some commercials you can opt to watch (but never be forced to view) for some bonus points, as well as occasional polls or "play along" questions with featured shows.  Speaking of featured shows, many prime-time shows will offer bonus points just for checking in.

Above, you see +400 bonus points for checking into American Idol - you'll receive those points on top of the normal check-in period points when the show ends.  You're able to set reminders for bonus point shows or shows you really like, as well.

Now, on to what everyone cares about:  The available prizes.  On a given day, you'll have a choice between many gift cards, including Starbucks, iTunes, RedBox, Best Buy and more.  There are also featured prizes, such as iPod touches and Kindle Fires in the rotation.  Some gift cards are 'featured' and appear for a limited time, most often for Amazon and Target.

Personally, I've earned $50 in Target gift cards in a pretty short time, considering I was already watching all that TV anyway.  A very diligent friend of mine cashed in for enough Amazon gift cards to get himself a Galaxy Tab 2.  Since the app has launched, Viggle has cycled through quite a few prize choices and continually rotate items in and out.

So, for 15 seconds at a time, you can mindlessly earn points towards some free prizes - You really can't beat that.  Anyone who already uses something like GetGlue could really consider swapping to Viggle or running it alongside, as it offers actual prizes.  It's really hard not to stress that if you already watch a few hours of TV a day and have an iPhone sitting anywhere near you, there's no good reason not to download and enjoy the benefits of Viggle.

If you should ever experience an issue with the app, they have responsive customer support, especially via twitter ( @viggle and @vigglesupport ), whom I've chatted with a few times myself.  In the latest update, you can now see your points history broken down, which is a nice feature.  Even if you don't use it too often, you can get yourself a small gift card every couple of weeks for a free coffee with a colleague or a quick lunch.

Definitely a strong recommendation from me - there may not be any high scores to compare with your friends, but being at the top of the leader board won't buy you a Kindle Fire, now will it?

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Gaming Nostalgia: Atari 2600

With Spring starting, I decided to go digging through a few boxes, organizing and cleaning out my old stuff. Well, what I found between old school papers and random bags of Legos was something I hadn't thought about for quite some time. My Atari 2600.

Released in 1977, the Atari 2600 quickly became the most popular gaming console for nearly a decade and ultimately became the foundation for every single video console to come.

While the 2600 had been dated for well over a decade when we finally picked it up at a garage sale, we marveled at its simplicity and spent hours and hours playing Pitfall!, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Barnstorming, Asteroids and Space Invaders. While the Atari 2600 was a bit before my time, I grew up playing those same titles on a rival system, Mattel's Intellivision, so naturally I was stoked to find everything I needed to play the system in a few cardboard boxes marked at an outrageously low price.

Almost forgotten at the bottom of a box, I dusted off the controls and worked to attach it to my high-definition television. I crossed my fingers as I turned the thing on. A few years back I tried and failed to get this working properly, figuring that the circuits had finally fried. As I plugged in the system and changed my TV to “Channel 3,” I was elated to find that not only did the system still work, but that it still played games. I am a bit miffed that the analog system isn't exactly compatible with today's digital technology.

Much to my surprise, I stumbled across some history I was completely unaware of until I began writing this article. A company named Mystique produced a number of pornographic video games for the 2600, such as Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em, Bachelor Party and Custer's Revenge.

Lots of fuzz, but enough picture clarity for me to bask in some nostalgia for a few minutes and relive a bygone era of gaming where games often didn't have any ending, no ultimate goal other than to just play. If there actually happened to actually be a finite ending, the game simply restarted without much, if any, fanfare to note.

Much to my surprise, I stumbled across some history I was completely unaware of until I began writing this article. A company named Mystique produced a number of pornographic video games for the 2600, such as Beat 'Em & Eat 'Em, Bachelor Party and Custer's Revenge. Crude, but doubly so for Custer's Revenge, which depicted both racism and rape. These are considered some of the most offensive games ever produced, and for good reason.

The 2600's market share, along with virtually every other second generation video game console, virtually ceased to exist when the North American video game crash occurred in 1983, eventually making way for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Now, is anyone interested in a road trip to New Mexico to find the mass grave of millions of unsold 2600 cartridges of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Pac-Man?

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Otaku Gamer: Digital Manga Services Review--Kodansha Comics

  This post was originally written  by Michael Camacho aka Gnitro of Otaku Gamer right here.  

Kodansha launched their digital manga app during New York Comic Con of last year. I had no idea they were looking in to the digital arena, so this was a welcome surprise. Considering they took over the Del Rey label, they were working with a good size catalog of titles to release to their readers digitally. While Viz Manga and Yen Press have you create an account, Kodansha just lets you download the manga without the need for one. This worries me a little as this will limit the ways I can read the content I purchase.

Kodansha released its digital app with a decent selection. Currently it is only four series, which are Arisa, Fairy Tail, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, and Until the Full Moon. Arisa only has about four volume available currently, and Until the Full Moon has two volumes. What was surprising was the amount of volumes Fairy Tail and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei had available at launch, which were fifteen and ten respectively.

Unfortunately there is no release schedule, considering outside of launch nothing has been added. I saw a banner advertising Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei volume eleven at one point, but it failed to materialize. With all the hope I have for more, I have many concerns about Kodansha having launched this app and already giving up on it. To not have any more releases six months later is disheartening.

Browsing of titles is very easy, and I feel that their app is the fastest out of all of them to maneuver around. The quality of the pages and artwork is what one would expect. Each page and the artwork look crisp and clear, but Kodansha’s titles suffer from each page having the need to come in to focus. This really is bothersome at times as it breaks up the pace while reading. Considering you download these titles directly to the iPad, there is no excuse for this. Kodansha needs to fix this issue as it really does hinder the experience.

The pricing of the manga is right on par with Viz Manga, at $4.99 per volume. They even launched with a special on all Fairy Tail volumes at only $2.99 each. As I stated in the Viz Manga review, $4.99 a volume helps to make it easier to sway me in to an impulse purchase. This price point will also make it easier to re-buy a series like Negima! that I own physically but would rather own digitally and downsize my physical media collection. Each series also has a preview volume of each series that is available for free.

Kodansha overall has done a good job with the initial launch of their app when it comes down to a decent library of titles, and the quality of the pages. The major issues at this point are the lack of a further additions to their catalog, personal account and the brief loading of each page. I still hold hope that Kodansha will renew interest and commitment in expanding the number of titles available in the future. Kodansha’s app is only a few upgrades and some commitment away from being an excellent experience overall.
Top 3 Recommended Manga (Almost by default):

1. Fairy Tail
2. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
3. Arisa

Top 3 Most Wanted Manga:

1. Sailor Moon
2. Negima!
3. Love Hina

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Crysis 3 brings the awesome

Okay boys and girls, the fantastical world of Crysis is back with another installment into the franchise with Crysis 3. It still takes place in New York City, however there is a twist this time around. While the once booming city is still absolutely flooded with the Seph (the alien life form that has invaded the city) there is now a jungle where a thriving metropolis used to be. I’m not talking about the urban jungle that was featured in Crysis 2; I’m talking about a full on Amazonian, trees, brush, and poison ivy all over your nether regions jungle. 

One of the coolest features that I have been drooling over ever since the rumors came about was the fact that you can hunt your enemies with a bow and arrow. How cool is that? All the standard features that Crysis is renowned for have returned, I.E super strength, invisibility, and the ability to armor yourself at a moment’s notice...pretty much the badass nanosuit we have all come to know and love.

Another huge gameplay mechanic that will heavily influence the story is the introduction of the NYC Liberty Dome. In the beginning of the trailer you hear Prophet explaining that the government forced every living person that was left in Manhattan out and into this “Liberty Dome” where I’m assuming there will be an apparent presence of government oppression. With the introduction of this I really think it’s safe to say that you will be playing in and out of the dome. 

I really can’t wait for people to be uploading videos to YouTube of themselves no scoping with the Bow. The game will return with the CryEngine 3 and will once again blow our socks off, which Crytek prides themselves on. In the mean time, check out the new trailer below.

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First Thoughts: Google Drive

I guess I should have wrote and posted this sooner. I was apparently in Google Drive a couple days before anyone else. Yes, I'm special and yes, I'm typing this up on my Cr-48 Chromebook, but I assure you that this chromepuff will keep it real and tell it like it is.

Design:
It's a pretty straight forward, modern Google interface. If you are using Google+ and Gmail, the look shouldn't surprise you. If you didn't know any better you would think its Google Docs. Well, lets be honest, it pretty much is, but thats not a bad thing. Its familiar, simple, and easy to use and navigate around.

It seems like they took my advice and rehashed Google Docs to house ALL your stuff and make it easy to share for collaboration. I was actually surprised to find that my Google Docs link in the upper black bar was gone. It's a sensible move that forces users into the program without changing what they already do.  The setup sports the classic left side menu/navigation list, with new options, paired with a centered list of all your files in the folders of your choosing.

Protip: If you click on "shared with me" you can see all the documents you were collaborating on with friends before the system went live. Yay!

Functionality:
It works just like all the other online disk drives, you upload your files, view them online, and you can download them later. Pretty standard stuff, however, Drive differentiates itself by allowing you to view and edit your MS Word and Open Office file type documents online. You can even share these documents between peers and edit them together in real time. You can share these files out using the same tactics you have in Google+. Only those with a particular link, or those you've specifically chosen can see and access the files you allow.

Usability:
I have not tried the desktop applications yet, so I can only speak on the online side of things. As far as I can tell, its the same old Google Docs with a bit more power and leniency on file types. You can upload virtually anything to it for consumption later. Google offers payment options to extend your storage, but they give everyone 5 Gigs for free. This is more than Dropbox and most other cloud-based services offer.

Cons?: 
I don't have much in the way of cons, it's the standard Google fare. Upload your files accordingly. I personally trust Google with a lot of my files, but I know that their safety and availability is never guaranteed (examples: Sony & Amazon). Online backups tend to come in handy for me as I'm usually high on bandwidth and low on physical storage, so I tend to jump back and forth between distros and setups.

Security is always an issue; where do my files go to bed at night? What is "The Cloud" doing under the cover of darkness? When and why did Google stop saying "Don't be evil"? Also, you can't edit PDF files, which you couldn't before, so I guess its not that big of a con.

Summary:
Drive is free, so it won't hurt to check it out. Go ahead and back up some of your music, or upload and share your stuff with your friends (legally). Have at it... there isn't an easier and cheaper service out there. Of course, be mindful of what you put on the Internet as you always take the risk of having it possibly being ogled by Google eyes, and there is the ever present danger of not getting back what you put in. Google Drive gets the Big Rob stamp of approval.

As Usual:

The website- TheGeekAsylum.net

The twitters- @thegeekasylum, @ortizsays

The facebook- Friend, Like, Poke, then Join

New!:

The website- EnthusReviews 

The twitters- @EnthusReviews, @BigRob029, @MajorLinux

The GooglePlus - EnthusReviews+

The digital magazine - Exclusive Beta Access

Shoutouts:
@majorlinux & @enterthequann interweb gurus.

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Avengers Movie Primer: The Incredible Hulk

Are you ready for The Avengers on May 4th? We are, but you might need some help (And if you do, you might need some serious help).

We're going to tackle each movie leading up to the Avengers, and to start off, we're going to take a look at the Hulk.

Now if you want to be technical, and I know many people are, you're going to have to start with "The Hulk", a movie that came out way back in 2003. If you saw it, I'm sorry but you're not getting those 2 hours back. Yes, for all those lucky to have missed it, it was quite possibly one of the worst movies of all time. Whether it be Eric Bana's acting,the shaky Hulk-less plot, or the terrible quality, there is just something about the movie that makes you very glad it is not one of the reasons The Avengers is going to be made.

For all intents and purposes, The Avengers is starting off from "The Incredible Hulk"- the much better 'sequel' from 2008. Since they are starting from there, so will we. Let's begin, shall we?

The Incredible Hulk picks up where the shitstorm left off. You're expected to know three things going into the movie, at least things that matter, which you can get from the movie's opening:

1) Dr. Bruce Banner is a scientist who was studying Gamma radiation, was caught in an explosion and periodically becomes the Hulk when angry.

2) He is pursued by the Government, more specifically General Thunderbolt Ross, for the violence and destruction left in the Hulk's wake.

3) Bruce Banner is on the run, having left Betty Ross in New York and is currently in hiding in Brazil, trying to find a cure for his "problem".

So the movie begins in Brazil, with Bruce coping with living and controlling his heart rate. After an accident at a bottling plant, the government learns of his position and is en route to capture him. Leading the mission is Emil Blonsky, a soldier who witnesses the Hulk's form and power on the mission and is anxious to have another go at him. The Hulk escapes, leaving Bruce nearly naked and looking for a ride.

Bruce escapes to New York, finds Betty, and is trying to retrieve the data on his Gamma testing (I know I skipped a lot, but seriously this is a brief recap and you should just spend the $5 to get the DVD at Target or something). The Government finds him there too, and a confrontation occurs. Blonsky, now injected with a form of the Super Soldier Serum, faces off against the Hulk and gets Smashed. Yes, every pun intended, as Blonsky collides with a tree and the Hulk escapes again, Betty in arms.

With Betty, Bruce travels to meet Dr Samuel Sterns to cure him of the Hulk problem. While mostly successful, the trio are attacked again by a group led by a healed Blonsky, and Bruce is taken into custody by Ross on-board a helicopter. Meanwhile, Blonsky threatens Sterns, forcing him to infuse the gamma radiation into Blonsky. Mixing with the super soldier serum already in his blood, Blonsky transforms into an Abomination and begins terrorizing the city. Important to note here: in the transformation, Sterns is knocked into a wall, with drops of Bruce's gamma blood dripping into a head wound and causing his head to begin to swell.

The Abomination is very similar to Hulk, and is confused with the Hulk at first sight. Upon hearing of the Hulk attack, a confused Ross looks to Bruce and comes to the agreement of letting Bruce become the Hulk to fight Blonsky. This happens, and after a street battle, several rooftop moments, and a chain fight later, the Hulk stands victorious. Roaring loudly, we see the Hulk leap away. The movie comes to a conclusion with Bruce living in a cabin in the mountains, coming to a controlled change of eye color the Gamma-green. We are left wondering if he changed into the Hulk willingly or not.

After the credits (Or the very next scene if you have the DVD) shows Ross in a bar, drinking in shame, with Tony Stark approaching him. He inquires about putting a team together (The Avengers?) and the movie ends.

So where does all this leave us with The Avengers? Well we know that Ross is involved with Tony Stark (Iron Man) and that the Hulk is left undefeated and left alone, for now. We can expect the Hulk to bring his superior strength to the team, and that his nature of wanting to be left alone will most likely lead to a resistant recruitment at first. The Hulk has regenerative capabilities, immense strength, and stamina that most others can't even wink at. Additionally, his strength opens him up to many other abilities, including very high and long leaps, force blasting claps, and ground pounds that will shake up the ground and create fissures. If you don't believe me, watch him do all three against the Abomination in The Incredible Hulk!

Be sure to look out for our other articles covering Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Thor! Think you know all there is to know? Check out the wrap up with Fury's Big Week!

The Avengers is OUT! Go see it, or read about it!!!

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Completely Random Episode 1: Turdsh*t

They said it couldn't be done. They said it would never happen. Well they were wrong, and The Geek Asylum is proud to present the first episode of our bi-weekly podcast "Completely Random" with hosts Jon Ortiz, Chad Wherry, and Drew Brown.

Follow these guys on a journey of complete madness and laughter as they discuss video game nostalgia, one ticket one movie for the Summer, Mass Effect 3 ending fiasco, what an Apple smart TV could be like, reading comics while on the toilet, blu-ray vs HD streaming, The Avengers, Stallone as a director, Tupac at Coachella, the importance of turdshit, and much more. Pepare to be enlightened.

Completely Random is rated NSFW, so use good judgement and wear headphones if you're at work. If you're at home, blast the speakers and tell the world about it. Completely Random is also in the process of being submitted to iTunes and the Zune Marketplace, so bear with us. We promise we'll make it easier for you to digest the show in the coming weeks. In the meantime we'll have a page dedicated to the podcast where you can directly download all future episodes. Thanks for your patience and your support.

Direct Download of Episode 1

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WWE Raw Wrapup 4/23/12

Monday Night Raw – April 23^rd, 2012

Tonight is a theme-less three hour Raw.  It was originally supposed to be the draft, but that has been pushed back to June, at least for now.  The show opens with Teddy Long in the ring, prepared to present the not-at-all anticipated contract signing between John Cena and Brock Lesnar.  Long calls Cena out, who enters to a chorus of boos from the Detroit crowd.  John Lauranaitis comes out on the ramp and tells Teddy Long he’s incompetent , because Brock has not arrived yet, so how can we have the signing yet?  Johnny got an impressively long sustained boo from the crowd.  He’s not getting the “we hate you because you’re a jerk character” boos; he’s getting the “get the FUCK off of my TV” boos.  Not the good boos.  

Johnny welcomes everyone to Raw and People Power, since People Power is apparently a thing you can be welcomed to.  Johnny tells Long to tell Cena to leave his ring.  Instead, we are all treated to “You think you know me…” and Edge comes out to a ludicrous welcome from the crowd.  Edge’s contract is ending soon, but he had to come out and talk to Cena.  This isn’t the Cena Edge knows – he wants the Cena who beat him in a TLC, the Cena who threw him in the Long Island Sound.  Edge seems to think the loss to the Rock may have broken Cena.  He tells Cena that he cannot lose.  He and Cena love “this” (the wrestling world).  Brock loves money; he doesn’t care about the business or the company.  Brock left, but we stayed!  Edge tells Cena to beat Lesnar.  Cena stands borderline comatose, with very little reaction, which for once is actually a good thing.  Once Edge broke down Lesnar being about the money and Cena being about “this” the only chant heard was just a “Cena” chant – Not “Cena Sucks” or “Let’s go Cena”.  Just “Cena”.  Good use of Edge here.  His intensity in the promo makes you want to see someone who loves wrestling win.

Match 1 – Chris Jericho vs Kofi Kingston

Jericho opens aggressively on Kofi with strikes.  Kofi reverses an Irish whip and gives Jericho a monkey flip.  Kofi lands armdrags and a dropkick.  Kofi then clotheslines Jericho over the top rope to the outside and feints a dive as Jericho makes his way around the ring.  Sliding back in the ring, Kofi lands a drop toe hold and settles into an armbar.  Jericho gets the ropes and lands a thumb to the eye over the ref’s back as he broke them apart.  Jericho chops Kofi and whips him to the opposite corner, following with a clothesline.  Jericho begs the crowd for boos, which they deliver, then slaps on a headlock.  Kofi fights out and hits his double leapfrog and back elbow for a two count.  Kofi runs into a flapjack from Jericho, which he follows with a kick to the ribs.  Jericho whips Kofi to the corner and follows in, but Kofi dodges and Jericho ends up outside the ring.  Kofi hits the ropes and lands a tope con hilo on Jericho outside the ring, leading to a break.  Back, Jericho has a headlock but Kofi fights up and rolls into a schoolboy for two.  Jericho responds with a quick enzuigiri for a two count.  Jericho lands rights and a surfboard stretch.  Kofi fights up to his feet, but Jericho knees him in the gut, lands his one handed bulldog then goes for the Lionsault, which Kofi dodges.  Kofi answers back with a standing hurricanrana pin for two, then follows with signature chops and a back kick.  Kofi hits the ropes, but Jericho nails him with a clothesline and a chop.  Kofi is whipped to the corner again, but he sneaks out the corner and kicks Jericho then scales the top rope.  Kofi lands a cross body, but Jericho rolls through for two.  Back on their feet, Kofi hits the SOS for another two.  Kofi hops on the middle rope and splashes the back of Jericho as he is bent over.  Kofi follows with the Boomdrop.  Kofi readies for the Trouble in Paradise, but Jericho catches the foot and goes for the Walls of Jericho.  Kofi spins out and heads to the apron.  Kofi springboards at Jericho, but gets caught in the Codebreaker.  Jericho follows with a Walls of Jericho (Liontamer style) for the win.

Winner: Chris Jericho via submission

Jericho screams into a mic for people to pay attention to what he’s done.  He will be the WWE Champion.  Jericho says Punk’s family is extreme – Dad is an extreme drunk, sister is an extreme drug addict, etc.  Punk is an extreme disappointment and he will get an extreme beating.  Jericho says he has had a gift sent to Punk tonight to help him cope with his impending loss.  Jericho says that he alone is the best in the world at everything he does.  Glad to see that verbiage back in the mix.

Lesnar night begins:  Lesnar’s debut at Backlash 2002, demolishing Jeff Hardy, is played.

John Lauranaitis is on the phone in the back, apparently excited (but who can tell with Johnny).  Eve enters and Johnny makes her an Executive Admin.  Apparently being a wrestler in WWE isn’t good enough for her. 

Lesnar’s sit down interview from last week is replayed – This is the point at which I start getting annoyed by time filling.  This interview actually gets shown AGAIN later in the night.  This is 6 minutes that could have been given to some up and comers, some younger guys, some high energy guys or ANYONE on the roster to get some TV time.

CM Punk is in the back and his Jerigift was a liquor basket, which he happily gives to Josh Matthews, but takes a bottle of Jack Daniels and holds it in his hand.

A replay of Lord Tensai defeating John Cena last week is played.

Match 2 – R-Truth vs Lord Tensai

Tensai has an inset promo, entirely in Japanese.  We’re long past the point in wrestling where this gets a guy attention or heat.  Be much better to have him just cut the promo in English and explain his time in Japan.  Truth does his damndest to land some offense, but we get the usual extended squash from Tensai: Body attack in the corner, repeated headbutts in the corner (Which the crowd “YES”s for with each hit), a stalling butterfly suplex, a senton and the still-unnamed Chokebomb/Derailer.  As a slight change of pace, Tensai goes to the corner and sprays green mist on his hand, then applies a head claw to Truth, leans him across his knee to pose, then stands Truth back up and delivers a Head Claw STO for the pin.

Winner: Lord Tensai via pinfall

Kane is out, telling us that Extreme Rules is his favorite night of the year.  Yes we get it, you’re a monster raaaaar.   Kane proved at Wrestlemania that Orton can’t beat him with rules, so what chance does he have without them?  Kane tells Orton that he is struggling with his humanity and that he’s no man; he’s just a scared little boy.  Orton appears on the Titantron with Paul Bearer tied to a wheelchair.  Orton rolls Bearer into a walk in freezer and slams the door.  Kane says the Devil is his real father, so Orton can do what he wants to Paul Bearer.  Orton ends up on the ramp and they fight.  Orton throws Kane into the barrier, the ringpost and the steel steps, then grabs a pipe from under the ring and thwacks him a couple times, then once more over the barrier.  Kane hightails it up through the crowd.

Paul Bearer has died on WWE TV enough times.  This ends up as nothing more than a silly spot and making a fat man look like a prop.  Typical fare from Orton; he’s much better talking with his hands and I think we’ve heard about enough out of Kane on this.  Hopefully this is resolved on Sunday. 

A recap of Edge’s speech to Cena from earlier is shown.  Normally, I hate when they do this within the same show, as it’s just a time filler, but as it happened in the 8PM hour, which many fans may not have seen, it makes sense.

Jericho sees Alex Riley in the back, who tells him that Punk kicked him out of the locker room because he was drinking.  Jericho peeks into the locker room and sees Punk drinking from a cup with the Jack Daniels bottle on a table in front of him.  No indication of it even being opened.

Match 3 – Alberto Del Rio and Cody Rhodes vs Big Show (Intercontinental Champion) and Great Khali

Khali limps to the ring, selling the attack on his leg from Friday better than he’s ever sold anything.  The announcers interject that Rhodes will get his Intercontinental Championship rematch at Extreme Rules, but the stipulation has not been chosen yet.  Rhodes and Khali start the match.  Rhodes tries to kick Khali, but each attempt is caught and Rhodes’ knee is clubbed.  Rhodes bails to the outside and then heads back in to tag Alberto.  Del Rio kicks Khali in the leg, but takes an overhand right and a chop in the corner.  He bails to the outside and as the heels regroup, we go to break.  Back in, Del Rio and Khali are both grounded.  Show takes the tag and delivers clotheslines.  He whips Del Rio to the corner and follows with a running ass attack.  Show goes to hit the ropes to follow up like normal, but Rhodes grabs the top rope and pulls down on it, causing Show to tumble to the outside.  Show sells his leg, but clambers into the ring at a nine count.  Del Rio lands a jumping stomp and Rhodes tags in, delivering a chop block from the middle rope; never seen that before.  Rhodes continues working the leg and Del Rio tags back in.  He boots the Big Show in the head repeatedly and drops an elbow for two.  Rhodes tags back in and goes right back after the leg.  More quick tags leads to Del Rio stomping Show’s knee.  He drops an elbow on Show’s knee and grapevines it.  Show drops his other foot across Del Rio’s head to escape.  Rhodes tags in, escapes the Chokeslam and chopblocks Show.  Rhodes puts Show in the figure four, but Show chops his way out.  Rhodes quickly responds with a knee drop for two.  Del Rio runs in (no tag) and gets hit, then bails to the outside.  Rhodes goes to make the tag, but Del Rio has decided he’s had enough and leaves up the ramp.  Rhodes walks into a Brain Chop from Khali on the apron and then a Chokeslam from Big Show.

Winners: Big Show and Great Khali

Six days before his rematch, Cody gets his ass handed to him.  I sincerely hope this means he’s getting his win back at the pay per view, because Cody is a great young talent.

The Miz vs Santino Marella for the US Title is announced as the ‘pre-show’ match, to be shown on Youtube 30 minutes prior to Extreme Rules.  Sucks for Miz.

Jericho, Eve, Johnny and Teddy are in the back.  Eve apparently read the entirety of WWE policy in the 45 minutes since she was made Executive Admin and says that if Punk has had a drink within 12 hours of a show, he will be stripped of the WWE title.  Jericho of course wants Punk to be stripped, and Teddy is made to conduct a field sobriety test.    Easy to predict what happens later on, so it’s worth dealing with the awful set up.

Lesnar arrives and scares Josh Matthews by shoving him against a trailer.  Matthews mumbles that he was just trying to do his job which prompts Lesnar to jettison him through a well-placed fence.  Michael Cole makes a good call for once and mentions that Sheamus was fined for something just like that two weeks ago.  Lesnar doesn’t give a damn.

Match 4 – Nikki Bella vs Beth Phoenix (c), WWE Divas Championship match

Eve enters to “Hoeski” chants and says she’ll improve the show.  Since the Bellas are known for “twin magic” switches mid match, this will be a lumberjill match.  The sparse Divas division enters, including Kaitlyn who is barely ever on TV but not AJ, who is one of the most prominent Diva characters at the moment.

Beth dominates the early match as expected.  After escaping a chin lock, Nikki walks into a pendulum backbreaker.  Beth applies a surfboard stretch, but Nikki fights up to her feet.  She escapes the Glam Slam and hits an awkward face buster (but not the Bella Buster) for two.  Beth knocks Nikki to the floor and goes to follow, but sells her ankle in huge pain after landing.  Brie  Bella gets in her face, so Beth tosses her down, resulting in a huge dog pile (diva pile? Whatever) at ringside.   Both women get rolled in, and due to her hurt leg, Nikki is able to roll Beth up with a schoolgirl for the win.

Winner:  Your new Divas champion, Nikki Bella, via pinfall

So Nikki got a title match for pinning Beth in a non-title match three weeks ago, but AJ gets nothing for pinning both Bellas over a two week span.  That makes sense; definitely motivates the women to fight for those wins. 

Punk is informed of his impending field sobriety test and goes ballistic in the back, the stumbles and falls into one of the lockers.  Uh oh.

Teddy is in the ring and calls Punk out.  Jericho enters first, tells Teddy he doesn’t trust him and will oversee the proceedings.  Punk is a tad wobbly on his entrance and drops the title belt in the ring.  Punk tells the men in the ring that this is ridiculous and they’re not cool.  Punk must recite the alphabet backwards.  He asks if anyone in the history of the alphabet has ever done this, sober or not.  “Z, X Y…there’s a V in there somewhere.”  Punk says this is stupid.  Now he’s made to walk a line conveniently taped in the ring.  Punk’s seen Cops so he knows what to do.  

He strikes a pose and says “What movie is this from?  Yes! Karate Kid!  Thank you!”  Then he shushes Jericho so he can concentrate.  Punk repeatedly fails to walk the line and cop #2 declares him intoxicated.  Punk must hand over the WWE title.  He asks for one more chance.  He then does the alphabet backwards, while walking the line forward and back, including a Ric Flair strut.  As he winds down to “C…B…” he pops Jericho in the head with the mic and pummels him.  He takes him outside and throws him into the barrier and stairs, then kicks Jericho on the ramp.  Jericho runs for his life.

This was one of those “expected but appreciated” segments.  Nobody expected Punk to actually be drunk, so we knew how this would end, but it was entertaining, so that’s ok.  A little bit of predictability is a good thing.  Give us what we want.

Lesnar video #2 plays: Lesnar vs Hogan.  Lesnar is shown F5’ing Hogan and bearhugging the life out of him to end a match.

Match 5 – Sheamus (World Heavyweight Champion) vs Mark Henry, non-title

No ref is in the ring.  The special guest referee is introduced: Daniel Bryan!  Sheamus is not allowed to strike a ref or he’ll be fired, remember.  Sheamus puts Henry in a headlock, but is sent to the ropes and shouldered down.  Henry lands rights and sends Sheamus into the corner, but he gets his boots up.  Bryan breaks them apart and begs Sheamus to punch him in the face.  Sheamus has enough taunting and turns around, only to be leveled by a clothesline.  Henry covers and Bryan counts three in about a second flat.

Winner: Mark Henry via pinfall

Bryan leaves and throws the ref shirt at Sheamus.  Apparently this ends Bryan’s tenure as a ref for the night and Sheamus goes after him.  In the ring, Sheamus delivers a Brough Kick to Henry, leaving him open to a leg takedown from Bryan, who then delivers a kick to head and the Yeslock.  Sheamus struggles and Bryan yells “YES YES YES” as he has it locked in.  Bryan got the best of Sheamus here, so wrestling logic dictates an ass whooping in his PPV future.

Matt Striker interviews Sheamus in the back, who says Bryan proved he’s a sniveling coward and a snake in the grass.  Sheamus reminds us of what happened to all the snakes in Ireland.  Sheamus is no saint, but Bryan better start praying.

Match 6 – Primo and Epico (Tag Team Champions) vs Zack Ryder and Santino Marella (United States Champion)

Ryder and Epico open up and Ryder lands an armdrag.   Epico dodges the next and rolls Ryder up, who gets up and lands a second armdrag.  Epico then walks into a pancake from Ryder.  Ryder hits a running elbow in the corner and follows with the Broski Boot.  Ryder is on all cylinders tonight.  Primo lures Ryder outside and Epico shoves him into the ringpost.  Back in the ring, it’s a one count.  Boots are laid and Primo tags in.  He gives Ryder a snapmare, rakes his face with his boots and then kicks the back.  He settles into a chinlock, but Ryder fights up and gives Primo a sunset flip for two.  Primo tries a springboard twisting senton, but comes up empty, letting Ryder tag in Santino.  Santino opens right up with jabs, a split dodge, a hip toss and a headbutt.  The Cobra emerges and Ryder backdrops Epico from the inside out to the floor.  Santino turns around into a dropkick from Primo, but rolls right back to his feet and strikes with the Cobra for the win.

Winners: Zack Ryder and Santino Marella via pinfall

A replay of Lesnar ruining Josh Matthews’ night shows.

Kane walks by the freezer that houses Paul Bearer and goes in for him.  Paul exclaims that Kane came to save him, but Kane says he’s here to save him…from Kane.  Then he rolls him back into the freezer and closes the door.  That was a splendid waste of time.

Abraham Washington is shown and gives the Colons his business card.  He asks why their entrance was during a commercial.  Funny, we ask why champions get that treatment all the time.  Maybe we’ll get an answer eventually.

Match 7 – Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle vs Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler

This match is brought to us by Doritos Locos Tacos.  Great.  Ziggler and Clay start, but Ziggler hits his knees and asks for ‘swoggle to start.  Hornswoggle dropkicks Ziggler in the face, who answers with a boot to his tiny face.  Ziggler stomps away then lifts Hornswoggle who gives him a headscissors to the outside.  Swagger and Clay end up in the ring and Clay lands a clothesline and a headbutt.  He follows with a t-bone suplex and Vickie enters the ring and slaps him.  Way to cost your guys the match.

Winners: Brodus Clay and Hornswoggle via DQ

Vickie is apologetic once she’s surrounded and puts Clay’s hat on his head for him.  Hornswoggle bites her in the ass and everyone dances.  Yay I guess.

Lesnar video #3: Wrestlemania 19 vs Kurt Angle.  Three F5’s to finish the man and capture the title.

Lesnar’s sit down is shown in a shortened form.  This did not need to be shown twice in one night.  There’s more than enough Lesnar footage playing tonight.  Why not give some young, new talent a chance with a five minute match instead?

Johnny comes out for the contract signing.  He announces that Lensar/Cena will be the ER main event.  Once again, the world titles play second and third fiddle.  Even though Punk is from Chicago…in a Chicago street fight…IN CHICAGO.  Lesnar comes out; the reaction is mixed but strong.  Cena’s music hits, prompting the boo-chorus, but Cena does not come out.  Lesnar is mad that he had to be flown to Detroit just for Cena to no-show due to fear.  That’s fine, because Lesnar has some things to discuss with Johnny anyway.  He has a list of demands and changes.  He’s not happy with the way things are at the moment.  He’s an enterprise and WWE needs him.  From here on out, all major decisions are to be run by Lesnar.  He also wants use of Vince McMahon’s private jet.  He doesn’t like people, especially stupid people and he’s going to come and go as he pleases.  Concerning his attack earlier tonight, Brock is not to be fined; in fact, he wants a raise.  While he’s around, the show is to be called “Monday Night Raw starring Brock Lesnar”.  Johnny agrees to satiate the big baby, prompting Brock to sign the contract.  Cena’s music hits again.  Cena enters, wearing his old chain and padlock.  The dueling chants immediately start.   Cena wraps the chain around his hand and is very tentative in the ring.  Lesnar tells Cena that he can sense his fear.  Calling him a coward was enough, and Cena signs the contract and tosses it at Lesnar. 

Lesnar flips the table and the men circle it, then Lesnar leaves.  Cena does not speak a word and barely changes his expression.  No smug smile, no grin, no happy-go-lucky Cena.  He’s threatened.

One of the better contract signing segments in a long time – Brock is a primadonna and makes ridiculous demands, but gets what he wants from the heel boss.  Cena appears to be sincerely scared of him; maybe he really was broken after the loss to the Rock.  As is typical with a 3-hour Raw, a bit too much time filling, but they solidified where Cena and Lesnar stand.  Both guys seem confident that Lesnar is going to kick Cena’s ass, which is really what has to happen for this to go anywhere.  Sheamus and Bryan, as well as Cody and Show got a little too physical tonight.  Sheamus and Bryan have a 2/3 falls match on Sunday – there’s going to be a ton of physicality there.  Nikki Bella, who is supposedly leaving the company, wins the title; I’ll hold out hope that this is a way to get it in AJ’s direction sometime soon.  Punk got the best of Jericho, which does not bode well for him leading into a WWE Title match.  He won in Chicago last year at Money in the Bank, and with Rock claiming he’ll be WWE Champion this year, now seems like the time for Jericho to screw Punk out of the title.  Compared to most 3-hour Raws, this was strong, and at the least, we got to see CM Punk do a Ric Flair strut.

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Galaxy Next Door: Kotobukiya brings Harley Quinn to DC Bishoujo line-up

Mike Torres over at Galaxy Next Door spotted this gem. For more pics head to the original post here.

Kotobukiya is known for quality figures and the next in their DC Bishoujo line-up is fan favorite Harley Quinn. Approximately 10 inches tall, Harley will be available to sexify your desk this September.

 

 

 

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Diablo 3 Beta Impressions

                      

Diablo 3 Beta weekend has come to a close and left me quite satisfied with what I have seen so far. There were many questions about one of the most anticipated PC titles in a few years. Had blizzard waited too long? What was the game going to play like? Please don’t let them turn this into World of Warcraft. Well in my humble opinion, Blizzard got it right. The decade plus wait was worth it and I think when I get to enjoy the full game it will be even better.

Gameplay

Gameplay is obviously the most important thing about any game, especially with a game that has had a legacy like Diablo. The original Diablo was released over 16 years ago in 1996, and Diablo 2 in 2001. The delay no doubt due to Blizzards intense focus on the WoW franchise and subsequent expansions, as well as Starcraft 2. But the gameplay and formula that blizzard came up with in the original has maintained its simplicity and functionality and received a bit of a face lift.


People were saying in the time leading up to it that they hoped they didn’t make the game a World of Diablo. Well many forget that WoW received many of its play style cues from the Diablo series. From the skill development all the way down to inventory management and hotkeys. I can say with certainty that Blizzard held true to the formula and made all of the elements even smoother and easier to use. I was extremely pleased that Blizzard kept the game in the same viewpoint as the others instead of with the top down view.






Environments   

This is what I was most pleased with in the game, at least what I was able to experience in such a limited beta. The environments in the Diablo series have been key to the games replay value. The environments are constantly changing, so each time you play, no dungeon is exactly the same. Sadly, in the beta we only get to experience New Tristram and the ruins of Old Tristram, both of which are done beautifully. The graphics really shine in this game and create a rich environment that I imagine is going to be incredibly fun to explore in full.

Mood

The key to what made previous Diablo games so gripping was the mood. The overall aura created with the environments, atmosphere, the sense of dread, doom, and urgency. It’s something that is so difficult to create and balance. Many games get this element completely wrong or just not good enough. What blizzard has managed to do again is suck you into the world of Tristram and make you feel that their struggle is your struggle.


From the perpetual darkness you’re in to the ambient music and sound effects, Blizzard has once again created a world you want to escape to. The music in particular is just as pleasing as the old ones. It’s not a constant score playing on loop. It can be as simple as a few guitar cords played just as the right time or a real theme going on. It just adds to the game,  it doesn’t take it over.

Concern

My biggest concern I noticed so far was the new skill development because I found it a bit confusing. It seems as though they may have simplified it adding fewer skills and easier ways to manage their upgrades with skill runes. I’m sure I just don’t completely understand it yet as I am used to the more complex system offered in previous versions.

Seeing how you can only play until level 13, you don’t get much of a chance to experience upgrading. Also,the game more or less guides you in the skills you can choose. I’m not sure if this is just an element in the beta or if it will also be done in the full game to aid you in learning the new system.

Things I’m excited to see in the full game are the cinematic scenes. None of the cut scenes were included in the beta, and from the clips I’ve seen from blizzard, they appear to be truly epic. It will only help to further enrich the story of Tristram. The auction house is the most exciting thing for me, if anyone remembers trying to play and trade fairly with others in Diablo 2 was a nightmare.

You couldn’t trust anyone and it was easy to fool somebody or rip them off. Well this problem has been solved. With the auction house you’ll be able to buy, sell or trade your precious items for real cash or in game currency as well. And it’s all monitored by Blizzard. Ah, a sigh of relief that my rare magic items will be safe from assholes trying to screw me over.

Wrap Up

Overall this beta has just made me even more excited for the hours of my life that I will spend playing this game and getting sucked into the world of New Tristram. From the beta alone I can strongly recommend this game. It appears to me that it will be worth every penny and will create years of enjoyment and loyal fans all over again.

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WWE Smackdown Lowdown 4/20/2012

 WWE Smackdown - April 20th, 2012

A week out from Extreme Rules and the card is slowly coming together.  There's still a bit more to hammer out, but WWE has no qualms about waiting until the last minute...or just not announcing stuff.  Awful practice, but we all come crawling back anyway.

Daniel Bryan is out to open, so this episode is already looking good.  The crowd is shown gleefully chanting YES YES YES, but the audio is completely altered to be moderate booing.  Ludicrous, as we can SEE the people chanting and all of their signs.  WWE is deliberately trying to teach people how to 'properly' react to someone; the guy is getting over of his own volition, so just embrace it.  Meanwhile, a YES YES YES t-shirt is on sale at wweshop.com.  Hypocrites.

Bryan tells us that at Wrestlemania, Sheamus took the easy way out.  It's a pretty typical heel excuse, but it's kind of true; Sheamus did blindside him.  At Extreme Rules, there will be no distractions, now that ties with AJ have been cut.  Bryan also points out that ER is in Chicago; the same city where he won Money in the Bank, which helped get him to where he is now.  Bryan says he will shock the world again.  Bryan can and will beat Sheamus twice in one night to reclaim the World Heavyweight Title.  Bryan will show everyone how he wins - By wrestling.  Did Sheamus take the coward's way out?  YES.  Does Bryan have the advantage?  YES.  Will he walk out the World Heavyweight Champion?  YES! YES! YES!

AJ comes out on the stage and approaches the ring.  Bryan tells her to go away and she tells him "No."  This is the only way she can see him and work on their problems.  Bryan tells her that he got rid of his problem.  She wishes Bryan good luck at Extreme Rules and Bryan proceeds to wish that AJ hadn't come out...that he had never met her...that he had never said "YES" to her...and that she had never been born.  He tells her there is no chance of them getting back together.

Brutal come down on the poor girl, but I'm encouraged by more TV and mic time for her, as she's a bit more solid in the ring and on the mic than most of the divas.

Match 1 - AJ vs Natalya

Natalya comes out and when the bell rings, she attempts to console AJ, who has basically shut down on her feet.  A bit more consoling and AJ thwacks Nattie in the face with a slap and proceeds to go ballistic on her in the corner.  After a couple of pull off attempts, the ref disqualifies AJ, who has left Natalya a bruised lump in the corner of the ring.

Winner: Natalya via DQ

This is the aggression, the breakdown, the potential turn that I've been calling for and hoping for from AJ, since at least Wrestlemania.  A bitchy little diva is the character AJ played best in FCW, so a return to a character she plays well (much like Bryan's return to his old indie-days egotist character) could be a driving force behind a push for her.  But this is WWE and she's female, so I'm not holding my breath.

Damien Sandow makes another appearance via video, speaking words written by a moderately intelligent writer trying to sound very intelligent.  That's three weeks now; it's time to debut and do something.

Match 2 - Hunico vs Brodus Clay

Clay asks for the music to be cut and introduces his little brother...Hornswoggle dressed up like Clay.  Michael Cole begins to name dinosaur species because he's an expert paleontologist.  I hate everyone at this point.  Hunico shoves 'Swoggle down, prompting a headbutt and body shots from Big Brodus.  A back body drop, followed by popping Camacho on the apron leads us to the usual T-bone suplex and Splash finish that we all know and yawn at by this point.

Winner: Brodus Clay via pinfall

Dancing ensues and nobody cares.  Introducing Hornswoggle into the mix is not the kind of change I've been asking for, WWE.  Apparently Hornswoggle was a participant, because he is announced as a winner alongside Clay.  Dumb.


Teddy Long is looking for Aksana in the back and is met by Titus O'Neil and Darren Young (Of NXT and Superstars/Smackdown non-fame, respectively) and John Lauranaitis.  Johnny has brought the young men in, when Teddy did not.  This is apparently part of people power, just like anything else Johnny does.  Johnny plunks a Queen's Guard hat on Lon and tells him he's not to speak the rest of the night.  Yes we get it...you're in London.  How about you feature William Regal instead of a hat?

Matt Striker interviews Randy Orton who cuts the same old promo - I can be sick and twisted, Dad's tough.  That's about all he said.

Match 3 - Jimmy and Jey Uso vs Titus O'Neil and Darren Young

Young starts for his team, but the Usos quickly take over.  Chops and quick tags, as expected from a decent tag team.  The Usos land their double team elbow drop for two.  Darren Young gets a boot up and stomps away, then tags in O'Neil.  O'Neil delivers an inverted atomic drop and Darren Young gives the Uso of the moment a drive-by hairpull for a slam and a two count.  O'Neil follows with stomps, forearms and European uppercut.  Young tags back in and delivers a boot and a swinging neckbreaker. 

Young locks in a bodyscissors, leading to Uso fighting up and out, landing a right hand then tagging , allowing a Samoan drop.  This is followed by an ass attack in the corner.  O'Neil breaks the pin attempt, and a blind tag is made.  The new guys debut their double team finisher:  O'Neil lifts the opponent like the Hart Attack and Young jumps off the middle rope with what was either supposed to be a lariat or a neckbreaker - It looked more like a lariat, but we'll see next week.


Winners: Darren Young and Titus O'Neil via pinfall

Pretty standard tag match to introduce O'Neil/Young as a fixture on Smackdown, with a clean win over an established team.  Shame about the sloppy finisher, but these things happen; next week we'll hopefully get another chance to see what exactly they aim for it to be.  With the Colons getting squashed by Big Show/Khali for no reason recently, we may be looking at the next Tag Title contenders.


Raw Rebound to Punk/Jericho, preceded by a "Jerichoholics Anonymous" card.  I guess Jericho has an "in" with the production team.

Match 4 - Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show (Intercontinental Champion), non-title

Del Rio's intro really needs the pyro back - the shower of gold after getting out of a stupidly expensive car was a nice touch.  The Usos get pyro; I'm sure it's in the budget for 'Berto.  Big Show opens strong with a headbutt, then throwing Del Rio into the turnbuckle and delivering a chop.  Show then stands on Del Rio's neck...that cannot possibly be fun.  Show lights up Del Rio's chest with a frying pan chop.

Big Show drops an elbow for a two count.  Don't see that too often.  He then chokes Del Rio in the ropes, followed by a body shot.  Del Rio ducks the next strike and chop blocks Show.  He follows with a jumping stomp, boots to the midsection and a double foot stomp.  Del Rio goes to work on the arm, then kicks Show in the head and drops his leg across the arm.  Del Rio straps on a keylock and then kicks Big Show's elbow.  Then back to the keylock.  Show powers out and attempts a Chokeslam, but Del Rio escapes and delivers another chopblock, then a kick to the back for two. 

More work on the arm, which is nice to see from a submission guy.  Del Rio goes for the spin into the Cross Armbreaker, but Show powers him up in an odd looking belly to back to escape.  Both men are down, and once Del Rio hits his feet, Big Show catches an attempted kick, following with a slap and a clothesline.  Show whips Del Rio to the corner and then gives a body attack, followed by a spear.  Ricardo Rodriguez gets the ref's attention from the apron and Cody Rhodes hits the ring, delivering a Beautiful Disaster to Big Show.  Del Rio gets the three count.


Winner: Alberto Del Rio via pinfall

Cody puts the boots to Show, who gets to his feet, prompting Cody to bail into the crowd and run for his life.  If this leads to a good rematch and Cody getting his title back, I'm okay with it.  If it leads to Big Show whooping his ass again, I'd rather just see this program fall to the wayside.  Cody seems willing to attack giants - maybe there will be a giant-killer gimmick in the running for him?


Match 5 - Danny Lerman vs Ryback

McIntyre and Slater watch in the back; WWE is once again trying to teach everyone how to react to people in the ring.  Stop this; fans can decide for themselves, regardless of how many boos you pipe in for Daniel Bryan.  Lerman delivers a couple of kicks, which Ryback doesn't seem to notice.  Ryback grabs one of the kicks, and delivers a leg trip, then bashes Lerman into the mat.  Ryback then deadlifts Lerman up and delivers a fall away slam, which was cool.  Ryback delivers a brutal lariat, which can only mean his unnamed finisher is to follow - It's still a bit of a cross between a Muscle Buster and a Torture Rack Samoan Drop.


Winner: Ryback via pinfall

Ryback continues to beat local jobbers, which is fine for a time as he establishes his signature moves in the ring and his mannerisms.  New this week: After the match, Ryback yelling at the crowd and camera "FEED ME MORE".  Apparently Ryback eats his opponents.  Good source of protein, I guess.

A replay of Brock Lesnar’s sit down interview from Monday night is shown.  This was a different type of interview for WWE, with a different kind of verbiage from Lesnar.  For once, I’m more than okay with this replaying.

In the back, Teddy Long is now in full Queen’s Guard uniform.  William Regal strolls by and tries to get a rise out of him.  To his credit, Long stays still and stone faced.   It’s nice that Regal appeared on the London show, but some kind of presence outside of NXT from him would be appreciated.  Next to pass Long is Aksana, with Antonio Cesaro (Claudio Castignoli from ROH and other indy feds) on her arm.  Apparently his story in WWE is different than in FCW:  In FCW, he was a Swiss soldier.  In WWE, he is a former rugby player seeking a chance to become a WWE superstar.  Simple, but if it gets him on TV, I’m all for it.  I had predicited Regal would be associated with him, but it looks like that isn’t the route they are taking. 

The six-man tag main event is next, pitting Bryan, Henry and Rhodes against Sheamus, Orton and Khali.  Before the match can really get started, Rhodes sneaks around the ring and clips Khali at the leg, taking him out.  Big Show passes Khali as he is escorted to the back and inserts him into the match.

Match 6 – Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry and Cody Rhodes vs Sheamus(World Heavyweight Champion), Randy Orton and Big Show

Back from the standard “a change happened” commercial break, Orton is opening up on Rhodes with punches in the corner.  Rhodes whips Orton to the opposite corner, but takes a returning clothesline from Orton for a quick one count.  Rhodes is happy to tag out to Bryan, who comes in and takes a hip toss from Orton.  Orton brings in Sheamus to take on his Extreme Rules opponent, but Bryan quickly bails and tags Rhodes back in.  After a break in the corner, Bryan tags in but eats an elbow, some strikes and boots from Sheamus.  Back to Rhodes, who takes a rolling fireman’s carry for one. 

Rhodes answers back with an arm wrench and a knee to the gut, which he follows with a knee drop for two.  Sheamus counters a neck breaker attempt and sends Rhodes out of the ring, but Rhodes skins the cat then takes forearms from Sheamus.  Sheamus follows with a suplex into the ring, but Rhodes lands on his feet and dropkicks Sheamus, sending him to the outside.   With a prone Sheamus on the floor, Bryan drops off the apron and lands a low dropkick (seems like Bryan loves to dropkick Sheamus outside the ring).  With Sheamus weakened, Bryan is more than happy to tag into the match.  Bryan attacks Sheamus on the apron then puts the boots to him.  Henry is tagged in and stomps on Sheamus, the stands on his chest.  Henry clubs Sheamus and chokes him in the ropes.  Rhodes tags in and continues the laying of the boots upon Sheamus.  Rhodes then strikes Sheamus into the corner and, you guessed it, lays boots.

 Rhodes then settles into a hammerlock/chinlock combination.  Sheamus powers up to his feet and backs into the corner to shake Rhodes off, but Rhodes catches him with a drop toe hold into the ropes, then straps on a chancery.  Sheamus powers out again and counters an attempt at the Beautiful Disaster with a shot to Rhodes’ face.  Sheamus makes the tag to bring Randy Orton into the match who delivers clotheslines and a powerslam.  Orton drops Rhodes with the second rope spike DDT, then coils for the RKO.  Bryan hits the ring to run interference, but takes a powerslam from Orton.  Henry is next in the ring and hits Orton with a clothesline.  Rhodes hops on Orton for a two count.  We have a commercial break and Henry tagging in. 

Back from break, Henry has Orton in a neck wrench (seems like anytime we come back from commercial with Henry in the ring, it’s a neck wrench).  Orton fights up to his feet, but takes a Henry headbutt, then Bryan tags back in.  He stomps away at Orton, then whips him to the corner for a signature running dropkick for a two count.  Bryan scoop slams Orton and heads up top, but airballs a diving headbutt.  Both men tag and Henry and Big Show square off.  Big Show clotheslines Henry, then whips him to the corner, followed by a running ass attack, then hitting the ropes for a spear, but Rhodes kicks him in the small of the back as he hits the ropes, leading to Henry landing a clothesline.  Rhodes tags in and attacks Big Show’s arm.  Bryan tags in for some stomps, then Henry tags in for a headbutt.  The quick tags continue with Rhodes back in and attacking Big Show’s legs, followed by a figure four. 

Show doesn’t sit up and takes a two count.  Rhodes tags Henry, who splashes Show while still in the figure four.  Another two count.  Bryan tags back in and DDTs Big Show while he is on his knees for another two.  The fight spills out of the ring.  Sheamus lands clotheslines in the corner and a powerslam for two, which Rhodes breaks up.  Rhodes ends up outside and takes the WMD from Big Show, taking him out of the match.  Sheamus blocks  Bryan’s attempt at the Yeslock and whiffs a Brough Kick attempt.  Bryan scampers to the corner to tag in Henry, who headbutts Sheamus, but ultimately takes a Brough Kick.  Sheamus makes a desperation tag to Orton, who coils up behind Henry who landed neck first across the middle rope.  Big Show tags Henry with the WMD from the outside, and he stumbles into Orton for an RKO and the three.

Winners: Big Show, Sheamus and Randy Orton via pinfall

A standard, but fun six-man tag to close the show.  The faces get the better of the heels who have breaking their balls for weeks and Sheamus is kept relatively apart from Bryan.  A few punches or slams are no big deal, but it’s an excellent call for them to not have landed much offense on one another.  A lot of quick tags from the heels; no egos there, just trying to take their opponents out.

Hopefully next week will continues some of the developments we’ve seen here this week:  AJ’s character has a new facet that should be utilized.  Cody Rhodes is fighting giants.  Antonio Cesaro has had TV time and Damien Sandow continues to cut promos.  I’m sure next week will have some more “Johnny makes Teddy Long miserable” moments, but these are just something we have to deal with at this point.  I’m interested to see if Bryan likes the new crazed AJ or if he’ll continue to rebuke her, causing her to snap further.  Some new life in the divas division is always needed, and AJ is able to back it up in the ring; it would be nice to see her try and impress her submission wrestler ex-boyfriend by strapping on the Octopus on her opponents over a few weeks. 

If WWE is smart, they’ll continue to keep Bryan and Sheamus apart.  I could do without the same old Brodus Clay act next week, but I think at this point we’re guaranteed a Funkasaurus sighting once a week.  As Raw is 3 hours next week, I’d bet that we see him Monday night.  Speaking of three hours Raws, this was supposed to be a draft show, but that has been pushed back a couple of months, so as of now this is a theme-less three hour Raw…I’m not especially excited about that.

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