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Against The Grain 10.04.09: Smackdown 2003 – What A Great Year
(10.04.2009)
In the wake of the recent Decade of Smackdown celebration and Best of Smackdown DVD, I wanted to take a look back at arguably one of their best years with 2003. Brock Lesnar…Eddie Guerrero…Matt Hardy version 1.0…oh what a year. |
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Against The Grain 9.05.09: A Simple Fan’s View of WCW
(09.05.2009)
When a fan usually speaks of WCW, they tend to naturally speak either of its highs of highs or its lows of lows. But I instead just wanted to talk about the “in-between” items that I personally loved in WCW as a good ol’ casual fan in the late 90s. |
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Against The Grain 8.09.09: The Love/Hate Relationship With Jeff Jarrett
(08.09.2009)
With all of the rumored recent backstage drama with Jeff Jarrett taking a leave of absence from TNA, I wanted to take a look back at the man’s past history and discuss why I and possibly many others have always had a love/hate relationship with good ol’ Double J. |
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Against The Grain 7.11.09: CM Punk in ROH: Best Heel Turn Ever?
(07.11.2009)
In preparation for a possible and highly anticipated heel turn by now-face CM Punk, I want to revisit the man’s much earlier run as a bad guy in ROH a few years ago and talk about why I think that his sudden turn on the crowd was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Also check out my new “WTF?!?” section and a small tribute to good ol' MJ. |
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Against The Grain 6.06.09: TNA vs. Heroes – A Comparison In Frustration
(06.06.2009)
Heroes is a TV show about the life of “super-heroes”. TNA Wrestling is a weekly wrestling show trying to compete with the WWE. Two totally different programs. Two totally similar images of frustrations suffered by fans. I will share why this is the case here and why I strangely compare the direction of the popular Samoa Joe to that of the popular “Heroes” villain Sylar. |
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Please…Don’t Hate 5.24.09: TNA Wrestling (Part II)
(05.24.2009)
Goodbyes are so much harder the second time around, but this is the conclusion of 3-part comeback special for “Please…Don’t Hate”. Last year at this time, I defended TNA Wrestling from the extreme amounts of “hating” that they usually receive. But now, while I still want to stick behind the brand, I am now also slowly losing my patience with the company’s recent actions. See why I’m thinking this now and also a few words on the crazy reader response from my last topic here, Triple H. |
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Please…Don’t Hate 5.10.09: Triple H (Part II)
(05.10.2009)
Don’t call it a comeback…Please Don’t Hate is back and alive kicking. This week I take a look back at another controversial figure currently wrestling today in the form of good ol’ Triple H. Read on for the craziness. |
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Please...Don't Hate 4.26.09: John Cena (part II)
(04.26.2009)
Back for a limited time…the one…the only…”Please…Don’t Hate”!! My column of the past which tackles the question of why people horribly dislike some things in wrestling while I reply back with my plead to fans to try and not to “hate” so much. I return with my most controversial topic that I received a lot of response from…John Cena. |
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Against The Grain 4.12.09: My Discovery of Ric Flair
(04.12.2009)
The man. The myth. The legend. One word. Whooo! “The Nature Boy” Ric freakin’ Flair. I honestly admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of the guy and didn’t really know of all of his past work. But after a year of going back and watching his history, I have seen the light and officially become a true blue, jet-flyin’, limousine ridin’, kiss stealin’, huge fan of his. So let me explain why… |
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411’s Countdown to WrestleMania 25: Living Through a Decade of WrestleMania
(03.27.2009)
From watching it in a friend’s cold ghetto basement in the middle of nowhere to missing the event altogether due to a “deathly” illness, I want to share with you all some of my unique experiences with watching WrestleMania every year during the last decade! |
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Against The Grain 3.15.09: The Curious Case of Mr. Kennedy
(03.15.2009)
The wrestler known as Mr. Kennedy seemed he was on top of the world. He debuted to much fan-fare with his unique “man with his personal microphone” gimmick. He’s feuded with main-eventers like Batista, Shawn Michaels, and the Undertaker. And he even won the now coveted “Money In The Bank” suitcase, which has resulted in World Titles for its winners. Now the man with the loud voice and infamous last name is now barely on fans’ radars. I will discuss the timeline of how this came to be. |
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Against The Grain 2.28.09: Is “TV-PG” Good for The WWE?
(02.28.2009)
When WWE fans started seeing the once well-known “TV-14” magically morph into the dreaded “TV-PG” rating, the thought of the company “watering down” their content in an attempt to reach a bigger audience immediately came to everyone’s mind. So here I will express my case on why I think the opposite on why it may actually be a good thing. |
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Against The Grain 2.16.09: Mysterio vs. Guererro - 2005
(02.16.2009)
The 2005 feud between long-time friends Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guererro. A lot of people have witnessed it and a lot of people have favored it…but could it possibly be considered one of the best feuds in WWE history? I will argue my case for this and discuss why I think the specific storyline behind it was much deeper and well-thought out than many give it credit for. |
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Against The Grain 01.31.09: WCW Souled Out 2000
(01.31.2009)
The nWo 2000. Terry Funk vs. Kevin Nash. Billy Kidman fighting three specialty bouts in one night. These are just some of the weird and odd occurrences that happened on one of the most memorable, messed-up, and worst PPVs that I have ever seen. I will take everyone back in time to revisit the craziness during and surrounding the event that was WCW’s Souled Out 2000. |
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Against The Grain 1.18.09: A Night In The Life of A TNA Fan
(01.18.2009)
My name is Julian Bond and I am a TNA fan. With the company constantly being hated on for multiple hiccups in their booking, I would like to take a minute to present what it’s like to spend a night being a true-blue fan of the promotion and how we fans may collectively feel about some of TNA’s current “up and down” condition. |
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Against The Grain 01.04.09: Detroit…It Ain’t So Bad
(01.04.2009)
In light of recent negative events in the past year, mainly the now groundbreaking record just set by the football team Detroit Lions, I would like to shed a positive light on my good ol’ hometown of Detroit, Michigan in the form of its tons of wrestling milestones. A lot of crap has been talked about my city, but I want to instead talk about why Detroit is considered one of the best wrestling places in the nation and why I’m proud to be a part of it. |
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Against The Grain 12.21.08: The WWE Universe
(12.21.2008)
“The WWE Universe”. The mere mention of the term that the company has recently coined to describe its wrestlers and its fans will either make you jump up for joy or make you want to instantly vomit. I will talk about why I don’t think that it’s such a bad thing and why the WWE is actually smart for making the new move. |
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Against The Grain 11.23.08: Johnny Devine
(11.23.2008)
I want to present a pondering question to TNA watchers (and non-TNA viewers alike). Who was the one wrestler on their roster who has been in four different stables/teams, been a former X-Division champion, and has participated in, what most fans have agreed, one of the best feuds ever put on in TNA history, but yet has barely been given the mic for a promo nor has had the spotlight put on them? The answer rests in the recently released TNA grappler, Johnny Devine. I talk about why I’ve always liked his in-ring work, his short but interesting run in TNA and the reasons why I believe that he was the most underrated wrestler TNA had ever looked over. |
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Against The Grain 11.09.08: Brock Lesnar's WWE Career...and Departure
(11.09.2008)
With all the eyes of UFC fans and some wrestling fans alike on next week’s upcoming heavyweight title bout between the infamous Randy Couture and former WWE megastar Brock Lesnar, I wanted to take the time to reflect on the career of the once-dubbed “Next Big Thing”. I will discuss his insane rise to superstardom, break down the backlash he received once he decided to leave the wrestling business, and express why I think that his short WWE stint is now horribly overshadowed and somewhat crapped on due to his untimely exit. |
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Against The Grain 10.26.08: The Heel Turn of Stone Cold
(10.26.2008)
With the anticipated participation of this man in tonight’s Cyber Sunday PPV, this week’s topic is about the 2001 heel turn from the legendary Stone Cold Steve Austin. What?!? I, like many others, have fond memories of the rare, crazed and hilarious reign of the Texas Rattlesnake. What?!? So I will reflect on these moments and break down why I think that the true appreciation of this time was unintentionally overshadowed and underrated by the comedic uprising of the one word that was spoken (maybe a little too often) by Austin himself. What?!? |
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