At UFC 214, a new chapter will be written in the long history of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
Cormier, the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion will defend his title against his rival and former champ Jon Jones.
The history between these two dates all the way back to when Cormier, then in the heavyweight division, made the choice to move down to lightweight.
Many questioned Cormier’s ability to cut down to 205 after his 2008 Olympic cut disaster.
Jones, who had surged to the top of the lightweight division and cemented himself as one of the division’s top fighters, was a scary threat in the Octagon.
At 6’4″ with a 7 foot wingspan, Jones knew how to deal punishment with his assortment of kicks, punches, and spinning elbows making him a lethal opponent.
https://giphy.com/gifs/LHqfpNhP3hHdC
Cormier said in an interview,
“Jones beat eight guys in a row, and I think five of them were U.F.C. champions. It’s ridiculous. “
A fight between Cormier and Jones was inevitable. The fight was scheduled for UFC 178 but Jones pulled out of the fight due to injury.
Whereas Cormier is a phenomenal wrestler and ground technician. He’s also well versed in jiu-jitsu, Muy Thai, and Kickboxing.
For Cormier, this fight is not all about the win. It’s about redemption for the loss at UFC 182. Cormier stated after the UFC 214 press conference,
“What I saw in Jon Jones was he’s a confident man. But he’s putting on a little bit more than people will ever recognize until their two inches from his face like I saw. He may be confident, but in those eyes I see more doubt than I’ve ever seen and I believe their are a number of reasons for that”
Cormier, with his newfound determination, as well as his fighting skills inside the Octagon, should be able to beat Jones and redeem the dark spot that has haunted him for two years.
Wrestlemania is one of the biggest events in WWE history.
Copying the idea of Starrcade from WCW (dig that suckaaaas), WWE put on a huge show capitalizing on the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection as well as wrestling’s growing popularity.
Matches at Wrestlemania are make or break moments in a superstar’s career.
Moments like Hogan body slamming Andre the Giant, Shawn Michaels winning his first world title after a 60 minute Ironman match, Stone Cold vs. the Rock, Cena toppling the Rock, and Brock breaking the legendary Undertaker’s Wrestlemania Streak define Wrestlemania.
Many young superstars have a shot to achieve their “Wrestlemania Moment” that will stick with generations of fans.
Fans always fantasy book matches for Mania, myself included hoping that some of these dream matches really do happen at Mania.
Even though Wrestlemania 34 is still far off, I’m already booking dream matches that I want to see at the grandest stage of them all.
On the Raw roster…
The Revival vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Hardy Boyz (TLC Match for the Raw Tag Titles)
Cesaro and Sheamus, after being rivals in an awesome Best of 7 series, were made an uneasy tag team by then Raw GM Mick Foley and they soon turned into something incredible, going on to win the Raw Tag Titles twice and at this time are the current Raw Tag Team Champions.
The Hardy Boyz lost the Raw Tag Titles to Cesaro and Sheamus after a Steel Cage Match and are looking for the chance to cement their legacy as the greatest tag team “in all of space and time.”
https://giphy.com/gifs/hardy-wOSeqyE3nR8XK
The Revival don’t really have any direction at this point but they are a superbly talented tag team (check out their series with DIY in NXT it’s simply stunning) and could really breathe life and young blood into this feud.
The TLC stipulation gives all three teams a dangerous playground to experiment with. With the right build, this match will be simply DELIGHTFUL.
Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar No Holds Barred for Universal Championship
Braun Strowman is one the the most impressive specimens in wrestling today.
A large man whom Vince absolutely adores (prolly more than his Big Dog), the “Monster Among Men” was seemingly on his way to a World Title feud with Brock Lesnar however he suffered a minor shoulder injury therefore changing plans.
Brock Lesnar is a physical specimen.
A former UFC heavyweight champion (JBL says it all the damn time) Lesnar won the Universal Championship at Mania 33 by defeating Goldberg.
This story writes itself. Let Strowman finish Roman Reigns off (please god no one wants Lesnar v Roman II much to Vince’s disappointment) and remind Brock that he challenged him to a Universal Title Match on Raw and let Heyman accept on Brock’s behalf.
Keep the appearances few but make the few times they do meet an absolute sparkfest with Heyman carrying the feud with his stellar promo work.
Braun is still limited in the ring and the No Holds Barred stipulation gives both men room to make their confrontation a brutal and physical affair as well as cover up Braun’s fixed moveset.
Brock should drop the title to Braun Strowman as it would hugely put Braun over as a dominant champion as Brock rarely loses clean and start to build the Universal Championship as a credible title.
Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins II?
WWE
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins are currently embroiled in a storyline where Seth is trying to get Dean to forgive him.
The only reason is that he’s trying to win over his old Shield brethren. Roman is the next logical target when he wins Ambrose over.
They trust Rollins and reform into the Shield and go after titles but fail to win. They lose a six man tag match because one member walks out on the other two. They confront each other in the ring and implode with Dean emerging as a heel.
We did see this match at Battleground last year but again the fact that Battleground is a B show (sorry again b shows) made the encounter seem lackluster.
Wrestlemania is the perfect stage to find out who the best in the Shield really is.
Miz vs. Samoa Joe for the Intercontinental Belt
Miz is a truly despicable heel and one of the best workers in the WWE right now.
Yeah I know we all don’t like him because he’s “Hollywood” and didn’t start out wrestling but you cannot deny the solid impact he’s had on the upper midcard and the Intercontinental Title.
He’s also one of the best sniveling heels and with the addition of the Miztourage, he’s got a commanding grip on the IC Belt.
Enter Samoa Joe, a bonafide main eventer coming off a run for the Universal Championship. Let the story start off with Miz costing Joe a number 1 contendership spot and make Joe obsessed with getting his hands on destroying everything Miz holds dear including his IC reign.
If you’ve been watching both AJ and Shinsuke, they put on an absolute classic in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 10 for the IWGP Intercontinental Title.
Once the Superstar Shakeup occurred and Shinsuke debuted for Smackdown Live, fans have been licking their chops anxiously awaiting a Styles/Nakamura match.
This story should not be rushed or put on some lame ass B show (sorry b shows) but this has money written all over it and Vince, who wipes his cheeks with money, will be slobbering over the idea of a Nakamura/Styles match.
The stars will shine, the planets will align, and this match will be freaking spectacular. Let the feud build on mutual respect and have both men save face. This match has the potential to be a 5 star match if given the time and booked right.
John Cena vs. Undertaker
This was one of the most rumored matches to happen for last year’s Mania in Orlando but since Vince McMahon’s ego is bigger than the Superdome, he reshuffled the card and cancelled the match.
Since the birth of the internet, many plans have been leaked and Vince hates when people figure out his plans.
The card was reshuffled as we saw Cena in a mixed tag match with Nikki Bella and Undertaker got mauled by Roman Reigns.
‘Taker did leave his coat and hat in the ring signaling that it may be his last match.
Even in his 50’s, Undertaker is still able to draw both casual and hardcore fans and Cena is a polarizing figure in wrestling.
These two would definitely put on a crazy match and put butts in the seats for Mania 33.
Sami Zayn vs. Finn Balor vs. Luke Harper Triple Threat for US Title
The US title is in a terrible place right now. Considering it next to the Intercontinental Title, the once prestigious US Title is buried deeper than many careers.
The Intercontinental Title feels worth holding and important while the US title exists and takes up space like a bad habit.
The title hasn’t had any meaningful matches and they seem to be trying to save the very fast sinking ship by putting the strap around AJ Styles.
However, the title needs meaningful and hard hitting matches to restore prestige to the belt.
The US title was seen as a workhorse title which guys would hold on their way to World Title. Let Balor come over to Smackdown Live as he has no current direction on Raw.
Let the three of them feud over the US title as we head towards Mania 34.
Finn and Sami are both extremely fast-paced and Luke Harper is quite agile for a big man. Let the three of them have time to work and we could have a potential match of the night and begin the US Title’s resurgence.
With the company high on Corbin because Vince McMahon has a thing for big men, it’s only a matter of time before he cashes in his Money in the Bank and wins his first world title.
The fans are loving Tye Dillinger and WWE needs to capitalize on his insane popularity instead of letting it fade away.
Even when he isn’t wrestling, fans are chanting “10” during counts. Tye is a great wrestler and some of his work in NXT is impeccable.
Seriously, check out his matches against guys like Bobby Roode, Eric Young, and Andrade Almas. Baron will need a credible opponent to cement his title reign as well as cover his shortcomings in the ring.
Kevin Owens vs. Kassius Ohno
Kevin Owens is one of the most entertaining wrestlers on the planet with his mic skills mixed in with his seemingly limitless ring ability.
Currently after losing his United States title he needs a new direction in the company. Kassius Ohno, a superb ring worker with mic skills to stand toe to toe with Owens.
Ohno doesn’t need to stay in NXT for long as he’s an accomplished star outside of WWE (under the Chris Hero moniker) and the current NXT male roster with the likes of Drew McIntyre, Eric Young, and Roderick Strong who can all carry the brand into the future.
The time is now (damn you badly placed Cena references) for Ohno to get his call up and feud with Owens.
The mic work on this feud alone would be remarkable and the match itself would be a display of Ohno’s skills to the casual fan and Owens at his most heelish trying to make sure he escapes with a win.
At San Diego Comic-Con, Tyler, the Creator promoted his animated series The Jellies.
During a Q&A, someone asked why the main character, Cornell Jelly became black after being white during the first season. Tyler replied,
“’Why you make him black?’ Why can’t niggas have anything, man?… How many fuckin’ black cartoon characters is it on TV right now? Name five. I’ll give you time. It is none… We don’t got shit.”
Well Tyler, you’re actually quite incorrect. There are many cartoons with more than 5 black characters like the Boondocks.
Since you don’t believe that we can name 5 black cartoon characters, I’ve got you right now bro.
Steven from Steven Universe
Steven Universe is one of the best shows on Cartoon Network right now. The story centers around Steven, a boy with a magical gem placed where his naval should be.
He has companions called the Crystal Gems, who fight to protect the world from evil gem creatures.
The story follows Steven as he goes on adventures with the Crystal Gems and learns more about himself as well as the duties of a Crystal Gem.
I do not in any way, shape, or form like the new Teen Titans Go series. I grew up on the original Teen Titans and this felt like a major bullet to the franchise.
However, Cyborg has always provided light-hearted comedy and boasts an IQ of 170.
Born to scientists, he was experimented on at a young age. After a freak accident his father, attempting to save his son’s life, experimented on his son using a cyborg suit meant for soldiers blown to bits from war.
Victor was shunned by society until he got the invite from Raven to join the Teen Titans.
Cyborg uses his intelligence, as well as his skill with machinery, to aid the Titans in their fight against evil.
Kiawe from Pokemon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GlKr_0NZ-s
Pokemon has had its fair share of black characters such as Brock, Archie, and Iris. Kiawe is part of the new season of Pokemon based out of brand new Alola region.
He’s the oldest in the class as well as the voice of reason for the group. Kiawe works on his parents’ ranch and uses his Charizard to help deliver supplies and other goods across the Alola region.
He’s also a skilled Pokemon trainer, boasting the likes of Turtonator and Alolan Marowak.
Jerome from Family Guy was brought into the series after Cleveland left Quahog to go back to his childhood home in Virginia.
He is Lois’ ex boyfriend and they dated 20 years before Lois married Peter. Jerome appears after Peter accidentally burns down Jerome’s house and needs a place to stay.
Lois invites him to stay with them. He ends up accidentally killing Horace during a baseball game after the ball Jerome hits ends up striking Horace in the face.
He apologizes after killing Horace and becomes the owner of the Drunken Clam once run by Horace.
21 Savage has a mini cartoon series and it is hilarious. It may not be a conventional cartoon series like the others above but it is an animated cartoon starring 21.
21 burst on to the scene with hits like “X,” “No Heart,” and “No Advance.”
He recently released this cartoon series with WeBuyGold and it chronicles the saga of a villainous 21 Savage trying to retake the world over with his music.
It also gives a glimpse into criticism 21 received for not dropping any music for awhile after his Savage Mode Project.
21 recently released a banger in Issa Album and surely enough “Bank Account” off the album debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100.
“Bank Account” was 21’s highest charting single. Go on Young Savage…
Let’s remember the Brawl for All, a shootfight boxing tournament with a prize of $100,000 concocted by the mad mind of one Vince Russo.
Seen on WWF Raw in the late 90s, the tournament was an opportunity for many underutilized guys to get TV time.
Today marks 19 years since the favorite in the Brawl for all Tournament, “Dr Death” Steve Williams, was surprisingly defeated by Bart Gunn in the second round via TKO.
During the match, Williams tore his hamstring muscle and was soon knocked out by Gunn. Williams was slated as the favorite to win the tournament and enter into a profitable PPV program with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
The Brawl for All was a mess of a tournament made to give some underused midcard talent something to do.
Instead, it created a filler between programming that fans just weren’t interested in. Here’s how it came to be.
Vince Russo created the idea as a result of John Bradshaw Layfield saying he could knock anyone out in a bar fight.
The tournament consisted of three one-minute rounds.
At the end of a round, whichever wrestler connected with the most punches per round scored 5 points.
In addition, a takedown scored 5 points and a knockdown was worth 10. If a wrestler could not answer an 8 count, instead of the standard 10, the match was ended
Bob Holly claims that Dr. Death, being the favorite to win, was already paid $100k before the grisly fight against Bart Gunn.
Bart Gunn went on to beat Bradshaw and win the tournament and $75k. Bradshaw received $25k.
Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock, two of the toughest men in the promotion at the time, did not participate in the tournament as Severn was removed after defeating the Godfather in the first round.
Severn was displeased with the rules and having to wear gloves. Shamrock straight up refused. Smart move Shamrock…
Along with Dr. Death, many other wrestlers such as Godfather, Savio Vega, Steve Blackman, Road Warrior Hawk, and Brakkus sustained injuries.
Jim Cornette criticized Vince McMahon for risking injury to his roster in order to put on such a dangerous tournament as well as not capitalizing on Bart’s win to build a new star.
Thankfully, WWE never hosted another Brawl For All after this one.
I love MMA. People getting their heads kicked off, brutal knockouts, blood everywhere, triumphant wins, and crushing defeats.
A few years back, when I heard that Brock Lesnar, a WWE guy, had signed with UFC, I knew I had to check him out.
The first UFC PPV I ever watched was UFC 91 when Brock defeated Randy Couture to become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_GhVsEPt0M
It was wild seeing Lesnar achieve success in only his third fight. I’ve only recently started to dig deeper into MMA, learning about legends and watching Bellator on a weekly basis. Tuning into UFC Fight Nights has been a whole new, fresh experience.
Brock’s returning win against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 was clouded by Lesnar’s testing positive for hydroxy-clomiphene: a substance banned by the USADA.
He was fined 10% of his purse and suspended for a year. This was seemingly swept under the rug by WWE as he returned to the competition shortly after UFC 200.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xQ9SQqmJYE
On the other hand, Jon Jones has been on a long road back to the top after hitting rock bottom these past couple of years. Still, he is at the prime of his abilities.
“Bones” Jones also tested positive for hydroxy-clomiphene at UFC 200 and was suspended for a year and stripped of the interim Lightweight title.
Jones is scheduled to fight Daniel Cormier on Saturday at UFC 214 to try and reclaim his Light Heavyweight crown, however he’s already entertaining the idea of fighting one of the sport’s biggest names.
Jones said in a Facebook Live video:
“I would love to fight Brock Lesnar. He’s a massive dude. I mean, it would be a massive draw. Really big for the sport. It’d be a great challenge. That’s a big ole’ boy. I doubt Brock Lesnar would take that fight, though.”
This comes off the heels of a denied report that Lesnar was re-entering the USADA testing pool after testing positive twice for clomiphene back during UFC 200.
Today, Lesnar responded,
“Would I fight Jon Jones? Anytime, anywhere. Right now he should be worried about D.C. on Saturday night.”
Since Lesnar seems down for the proposed fight, UFC would have to figure out how to bridge the 50 pound weight difference between the two men.
Brock is still a popular star in MMA and with Jones touted as one of the best in MMA today, this fight has the potential to be a great one.
Brock already possesses great wrestling skills and his ground game is fantastic, while Jones is well-versed in Jiu-Jitsu and boxing and much faster than Lesnar
I would be down to see these two men beat the living hell out of each other.
First and foremost, it’d be a hard-hitting encounter with two of arguably the biggest stars in recent UFC history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIJfTZMIZKU
Conor McGregor trying to cross over into the world of boxing with his match against Floyd Mayweather would be nowhere near the success of a possible Lesnar/Jones bout.
Lesnar vs Jones could go down as one of the greatest fights in recent memory.
Many wrestling promotions such as ROH, GFW/Impact, and WWE are trying to gain a foothold in India, where there is a rabid wrestling fanbase.
GFW and ROH did an Indian tour appealing to the wrestling fans in the country. WWE launched the WWE Network in India in 2015 and Wrestlemania 33 was the first Mania live in India on the network.
Heading into Mania 33, WWE launched a WWE Shop in India targeting the 1.2 billion fans. Soon WWE realized it would need a “hometown hero” of sorts to further push the India Market agenda.
Jinder Mahal, a man who before the Superstar Shakeup was a relative jobber putting over guys like Finn Balor, rocketed to the number one contendership spot to the richest prize in all of sports entertainment.
Jinder Mahal wasn’t anything special to be really honest with you.
He was a weird looking guy that never really broke the glass ceiling as he was relegated to comedy with 3MB.
When he returned, he had a whole new muscular, veiny physique (surely to Vince’s delight) and was still relegated to the back as Rusev’s lackey and was still a jobber.
Due to the Superstar Shakeup he was sent to Smackdown Live, where personally I thought “once a jobber, always a jobber” he’ll put over guys like Shinsuke and Tye Dillinger.
Jinder shocked the wrestling world (me included) by beating five other guys in a Six Pack Elimination Match to determine the number one contender for Randy Orton’s WWE Title at Backlash.
While Jinder is Canadian, he has Indian origins, making him India’s star. Leading up to Backlash, Jinder hired the Singh Brothers (formerly the Bollywood Boyz) as goons to help him win the title at all costs.
I believed that it was a great swerve (even though I wanted Luke Harper to win) but I didn’t believe Randy would drop the title to a jobber turned number one contender. So Backlash main event time, the Singh Brothers go through tables and everyone’s screaming “Holy Shit.”
Then came the real “Holy Shit” moment. Jinder uses the Khallis and pins Orton clean. The crowd is stunned.
I’m at my friend’s house looking at the TV in straight disbelief. Sure enough, this once low-tier talent had just beat the 13-time World Champion to become WWE Champion.
A smart ploy on WWE’s part to have Jinder carry Smackdown’s richest prize to further their agenda in India and appeal to the more than 1.2 billion fans. Vince is always looking to make money and his use of Jinder as a marketing tool in India is ingenious.
From a wrestling perspective, I think that the push is complete bollocks. To his credit, Jinder is a way better wrestler than Great Khali (oh poor 2007) but he’s still a bit limited in the ring.
He’s got great promo skills and draws heat everywhere he goes, especially with the Singh Brothers being his bodyguards/insurance policy to make sure he holds on to the WWE Title for all the people of India he has on his back.
However, I question his ability to put on great matches with his limited ring ability as well as his credibility as champion.
As of last night’s Battleground pay-per-view, Great Khali returned and assisted Mahal in retaining his WWE Title against Randy Orton inside the Punjabi Prison (a Khali innovation).
Khali stated in an interview,
“It is a proud moment for India that Jinder Mahal has made it big in this company and this can be an inspiration for the youngsters to aspire to be a WWE superstar.”
WWE is hosting tryouts in Dubai later this month and with Jinder as champion, it gives younger Indian wrestlers hope that they too can make it in the wrestling business.
Jinder seems poised to lead an all-Indian faction of sorts with him, Khali, and the Singh Brothers.
Will Jinder rise and cement his reign as a memorable champion, or will he fail to impress and be another grime spot on the history of the WWE Title?
We’ll just have to keep tuning in to Smackdown to find out if Jinder is a success or a bust.
