W.W.W. featuring Mark Lewin and Scott Bowden

On Wednesdays, we here at LOL, Wresslin' like to really pull out the stops and offer up a double shot of righteously killer content. Why Wednesday? Well, we could impress you with market research, work habit studies, and human psychology tendencies to show you there's a scientific reason the middle of the week is the best time to bring your A-game. However, truth be told, we don't have any of that stuff and settled on Wednesday because that was the only day that didn't have any content scheduled.

So, here you have "Watch Wresslin' Wednesdays." Please feel free to suggest a better title, because we are woefully uncreative when it comes to naming stuff.

Better at naming stuff than us.

The idea of W.W.W. is we each send the other a video that is related to wrestling (a match, promo, interview, guest starring spot, etc.). The only restriction is that it cannot be user-created, so setting the Steve Austin/Bret Hart match to the Platoon soundtrack ain't going to fly here, pal. Neither of us know what kind of video we're going to get that day.

After viewing, we each write a response. This could be anything we choose: a straight commentary, a philosophical enlightenment, or classless ridicule. Just as we don't know what kind of video the other will select, neither do we know what the other will write or how they will write it. What you end up with is a mash-up of styles, which in our book equates to two-blogs-in-one, and we can take the rest of the day off.

Matt's video to Adam- Mark Lewin is a wrestling god!

Adam's response...

There's been a lot of talk lately about the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Oh sure, there was the noticeable low light of inducting Koko B. Ware (really?), but the night on the overall was rather magical. After all, Stone Cold Steve Austin is a sure bet, as were Steamboat, the Funks, and Howard Finkle. So with such an illustrious class you would have to assume that the WWE Hall of Fame is the Valhalla of pro wrestling.

Well you know what happens when you assume?

"Something something you ass me"

Turns out, there is another hall of fame. The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, based out of Amsterdam, New York (luxurious, I know). This place honors the many men and women who applied their craft diligently, and not just those who sold a lot of tee shirts to fat guys. Oh don't get me wrong. They're there. Hogan is in it. Piper, Flair, Bret Hart, and Steamboat are all in it. So it has its cred.

Side note: Macho Man Randy Savage was inducted this year, so although at the time he wrote "Remember Me" he was lying, the H in "Macho" can now, in fact, stand for "Honor" because he is in the Hall of Fame.

Of course, what does any of this have to do with the above lunacy? Well, using the finest research tools at my disposal, I was able to deduce (and by that I mean, read it on wikipedia) that this very year Mark Lewin was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. And why not? He posed while doing a bad mummy impression all the while some Saudi gentleman screamed at Gordan Solie. And who can ever forget his amazing work rate as he almost killed some poor jobber with a pile driver only Owen Hart and Steve Austin could love?

This ain't going to end well...

In fairness to Mr. Lewin, this is just one comical clip Matt sent me. He had an illustrious career wrestling for such prestigious promotions like NWA Detroit, World Championship Wrestling (Australia), and All-Star Pro wrestling, where it is foretold that that's where all the stars wrestled.

So in a lot of ways, The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is far superior to the WWE Hall of Fame, just because it respects all who bleed for us and not just those who made money for Vince, and in turn make more money for Vince by having a fancy ceremony in a fancy pants arena. But then again, the WWE Hall of Fame has this:

Game. Set. Match.

Adam's video to Matt - Scott Bowden could have been a contender





Matt's response...

Lance Russell, you're an affront to all to all things wrestling. Being a long-time Memphis Wrestling announcer, I expected better from you, but I guess I was mistaken. We all know, and so should you, that Scott Bowden is not one to brag on himself. Hell, he even says so! The man is so humble, he hasn't even bothered to start his own Wikipedia page.

The man is a visionary in the wrestling business, but he'd never tell you that. And obviously you refuse to admit it. Is it so unbelievable that he'd be the number 8 contender in Pro Wrestling Illustrated? Why must you assume that this is some fake printing? And just where are all these phony newspapers you keep talking about? A Germantown boy would never have to stoop to such a level. I'm ashamed of you.

Despite your incredulity at his status in this business, I'd like you to consider at just how far he's gone and how much he's accomplished since you belittled him in front of the fans and his peers. He writes column for Comics 101, and formerly wrote for Movie Poop Shoot. When's the last time you had a poop shoot gig?

So zany!

He wrote a screenplay about a Memphis tag-team. Sure, it got passed on, but at least he tried.

But this got made.

He's also been on two series that were cancelled by the Sci-Fi (SyFy?) network. Not even Bruce Campbell can say that.

The man also has an impressive YouTube resume, with him teaming up with Jerry Lawler to take on Mark Henry, and also brawling with "Retarded" Randy Hales. What are your YouTube credits, Mr. Russell? Oh, here are some interview bloopers. And you and Jerry Lawler team up as well, but not to fight Mark Henry. No, you two prank A DOCTOR. A medical professional. Shame, sir. Shame.

At the end of the day, it seems like you may be the one who thinks rather highly of himself. I mean, Scott never wrote a book about how great he was in bed.

I can't prove it's the same person, but prove to me it's not.

LOL, Wresslin' recommends: TNA iPhone app.

Phew, that giant Mania recap really sucked out all of our creative juices. We could really just take a few minutes and veg out, if you know what we're saying? Maybe listen to some tunes on the ole' iPod and-


Yes, yes of course. Well believe it or not, TNA did something right. They developed a pretty awesome iPhone application. It's a game, but not a conventional wrestling game. It's more of an RPG, a'la Final Fantasy. Sure, there aren't androgynous teens battling corrupt androgynous governments, and we can't imagine Asian teens blowing off school to play it, but the game still has it's merits.

Anyway, we aren't ones for "grades" here, so let's just run down some of the good and bad points.

The Good:

Surprisingly fun and simple gameplay-

Your wrestler has a hit point meter and does damage with various attacks he unlocks. He also has three defensive manuevers that can be used once per match, but can be refilled if you're awesome enough. Manuvers use the touch screen to good effect.

Fun, cartoony graphics-

Seriously, look at this and tell us you don't want to at least try it.

We wonder if digital Kevin Nash is injured just walking.

Is that ref presenting himself?

We love how everyone is ridiculously jacked except for Samoa Joe

Sound-

Real audio clips of entrance music and crowd chants. Nothing amazing, but certainly a nice touch.

Dry sense of humor-

There is a story mode where you build a jobber into a champion. And you can be a face or heel, depending on the story options you choose. So there will be instances where your character will cut a promo in the ring, when the crowd will react with the most markish responses. For example, if your character is a heel, he may call Christy Hemme a "dog." The crowd will heckle back "Boo!!!" and "A dog is a terrible thing to compare her too!"

It could be Engrish. It could be intentional. All we know is that it cracks us up.

Price-

Five bucks can't be beat.

And for The Bad:

Majority of roster needs to be unlocked-

Seriously, who wants to play an exhibition match between Abyss and Eric Young?

Game crashs about half the time.

Yea, so except for the fact that the game doesn't work, we whole heartedly recommend it! It's kind of like TNA in real life!

The Granddaddy of them all! The Legacy Killer

Wrestlemania was last night, so rather then have one "Oh Baby I like it RAW!" updating the entire night we're going to periodically update the blog today, highlighting each match with its own post. We will follow the order of the show.

Randy Orton vs HHH for the WWE Championship

For a theme song to accompany this post, please press play and enjoy...



It's not secret that Mr. Orton is rather popular around the LOL, Wresslin' office. And even for non-hog related reasons. Orton's character as of late has been one of the single most compelling characters the WWE has ever produced. The medical condition reason for his violence, although a little hokey, made him the WWE's own version of the Incredible Hulk; a monster who is a victim of his own emotion. Thus, the build up has been predominately interesting, especially with the on screen acknowledgment that Stephanie McMahon is HHH's wife. Although weird to see McMahons as faces, this match was certainly one of the more anticipated at this year's Mania.

Unfortunately, it was all kind of underwhelming.

Let's start with the good. Cool entrances, for sure.

Hot and angry

Cool and calm

The bad is pretty much everything else. We aren't running a lot of pictures here, because honestly, nothing was that interesting.


There was a ref bump which lead to Orton hitting and RKO and not getting the pin.

"I'll count the three myself! Good show, Randal!"

And then of course, the obligatory sledgehammer, except in a stunning twist, Randy Orton got it!



But relax, all is fine because HHH got it back.

No matter the angle it's still a spectacle

Seems kinda of academic for a Wrestlemania main event, right? And HHH won, despite not really having the upper hand at all during the feud. And no McMahons or Legacy got involved? We don't fantasy book here, but things could have gone smoother.

But hey, at least a face got his big win to end Mania and now Raw has a champion again. What would we do without the face celebrating with fireworks.

Just like that.

Anyway, let's see where Raw takes us. Tune in tonight, 9/8c to the USA network!

The Granddaddy of them all! The champ takes back his gold

Wrestlemania was last night, so rather then have one "Oh Baby I like it RAW!" updating the entire night we're going to periodically update the blog today, highlighting each match with its own post. We will follow the order of the show.

John Cena vs The Big Show vs Edge for the World Heavyweight Title

For a theme song to accompany this post, please press play and enjoy...



There are certain traditions that come with Wrestlemania. One of the most recent ones is John Cena's lame entrance every year. Here's some evidence:

Wrestlemania 22

Wrestlemania 23

Wrestlemania 24

This year was obviously no different, as about...well see for yourself.






Yup, these guys had the unenviable task of following the Undertaker/Shawn match, and thing's didn't help that the buildup was lackluster. Essentially, they were feuding over Vickie Guerrero. Yea, HER. Not much mention of the world title that was also on the line. So forgive the Laugh Twins if they took a little nap during this one. But know one thing.







Word life.

Next up: HHH vs Randy Orton

The Granddaddy of them all! Pheonomnal accomplishment.

Wrestlemania was last night, so rather then have one "Oh Baby I like it RAW!" updating the entire night we're going to periodically update the blog today, highlighting each match with its own post. We will follow the order of the show.

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker.

For a theme song to accompany this post, please press play and enjoy...



Hands down the most hyped match on the card. And for good reason. Both men are legendary Wrestlemania performers. Shawn is "Mr Wrestlemania" (not to be confused with Miss Wrestlemania) and the Undertaker has his fabled 16-0 streak.

Anyway, even from the ring entrances this one had classic written all over. Shawn, dressed in white, descended from the heavens (hey, lightning can't strike twice, right?) while the Undertaker rose from the depths of Hell.





Anyway, Michaels pulled out every stop to try and take down the Deadman. He moonsaulted out of the ring.


And he even used Ric Flair's old tricks.

Mega Man logic dictates that when you defeat someone you gain his powers.

Things were going pretty well, until the Undertaker's sheer strength advantage began to take over. And he was just about to go for the kill when




Jesus! Is he still alive? You know what we mean! It looks like he broke his neck! And wait..now Shawn is using the...Crippler Crossface!? We thought that move was banned after the ....unpleasantness.

Using Mega Man logic it's probably safe to assume that Chris Benoit was set up.

But alas, sometimes somethings just don't pan out and destiny takes over. Case in a point, one bad move leads to a chokeslam, and Shawn's staring at the lights.

"Glurp glub"

"Aaa..the smell of a streak..."

Also, we in no way did this match justice. It was thirty minutes of pure awesome.

Next up: Edge vs Big Show vs John Cena.

The Granddaddy of them all! 21-second victory.

Wrestlemania was last night, so rather then have one "Oh Baby I like it RAW!" updating the entire night we're going to periodically update the blog today, highlighting each match with its own post. We will follow the order of the show.

Rey Mysterio vs John Bradshaw Layfield for the Intercontinental Championship.

For a theme song to accompany this post, please press play and enjoy...



This article recently popped up to promote Wrestlemania. As has become an annual treat, Rey Mysterio comes to Wrestlemania dressed as some comic character. Marvel Comics was thrilled to show off some of Rey's past Marvel inspired threads, so what does he show up as?

"Mi padre was a drinker...and a fiend."

That's right! Jeff Hardy!

Anyway, JBL missed a punch and this happened:

619 sounds so dirty.

Then JBL quit the WWE because he was so ashamed that a Mexican he worked so hard to block from the border beat him for a title.

"I'm off to sell more boner juice!" (seriously)

Next up: Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker

The Granddaddy of them all! Brother over brother

Wrestlemania was last night, so rather then have one "Oh Baby I like it RAW!" updating the entire night we're going to periodically update the blog today, highlighting each match with its own post. We will follow the order of the show.

Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy in an Extreme Rules match.

For a theme song to accompany this post, please press play and enjoy...




First off, extreme rules is just a fancy way of saying "No Disqualification." It's essentially a No DQ match after drinking two liters of Mountain Dew. So now that that's out of the way, let's get into the crazyness.

Essentially, the WWE wanted to recreate the Owen/Bret Hart feud from 14 years ago because they had great matches and a compelling, logical storyline. This doesn't have that. Matt is jealous of Jeff for some reason and rather then talk to him about it, he decided to commit several attempts of murder. Those didn't pan out, so now they're going to wrestle at Wrestlemania.

Also, Jeff and Matt aren't anywhere near the same caliber of wrestler that Owen and Bret were.

Although, a big thumbs up to Matt's new tights.

Still, what Matt and Jeff may lack in charisma and chemistry with each other (seriously, look at this match from Vengeance 2001) they more then make up with their bat-shit crazyness. We'll let the photos do the talking:

Wasn't it Vince who said that their violence comes from things not found in the home?

Wrong match, you "adrenaline" addict.

Ok, all those props are unnecessary, but it looks cool, so....AWESOME!

Seriously. That's sick.

"Arrr matey!"

So that happened.

Next up: Rey Mysterio vs JBL