Mick Foley Chucked Off Hell in the Cell 14 Years On

“With that one move, everything I had accomplished in my 13 years of wrestling had instantly become obsolete.”- Mick Foley from his ‘Greatest Hits and Misses’ DVD.

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This article you’re reading today is conjured up on the 14th anniversary of the most infamous match in WWE history.

It occurred at the 1998 King of the Ring at The Igloo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Mick Foley as Mankind took on The Undertaker inside and outside of Hell in the Cell.

It’s one of those matches that most everyone loves because of the sheer bravery put forth by both men. Not just Foley, but both men.

And to think, this match shouldn’t have happened in the first place…

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In his initial autobiography ‘Have a Nice Day’, Foley described the events leading up to KOTR 1998 in great detail.

If you don’t own the book, then you MUST purchase this.

For the rest of you, this will be a summary of how this all played out.

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Mick was led to believe that his hot program with Steve Austin would continue on another month. It was supposed to be Austin fighting Foley inside the Cell with Mick being the Dude Love alter-ego.

A booking change led to Mickster getting a ring on the telephone. Instead of Foley getting another crack at Austin, it would be Kane getting the nod in a First Blood encounter. As a consolation prize, Mankind would face Undertaker.

Again.

Mick had numerous programs with Undertaker by this point, with as many matches on PPV to show for it. To Foley, this seemed like a rehash of an already past due occurrence. Add in Undertaker’s unhealed broken foot, and there was even more dread abound.

Foley in addition had the unfortunate luck to have Terry Funk as his travelling buddy. In a brainstorm of what to do in order to top the magnificent HBK/Taker match from the year before (read the recap of that sucker here), Funk gave Foley the idea to be chucked off the Cell.

Even Undertaker didn’t want to do this!!!

However, when the time came to calling, Undertaker and his broken foot scaled that Cell faster than the slowest man in Ward Melville High School.

In this opening sequence, a DANGEROUS piece of foreshadowing occurred as while walking on top of the Cell, both men nearly fell through because the ceiling gave. This got a loud gasp in Pittsburgh. None the wiser, both men went on truckin’.

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“What’s gonna happen here?”

“Undertaker’s fightin’ back, he’s fightin’ back! No doubt about it folks, and I don’t like it a damn bit!”

Jim Ross, with that as his expository, then utters the greatest call in wrestling history as Mick Foley made his leap of faith.

“GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY, THAT KILLED HIM! WITH GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE IS BROKEN IN HALF!”

The Igloo is hot with excitement, then went cold as ice when they realize, “Gee, the guy isn’t moving!”

It takes a while before Mankind’s wheels start to turn again. Meanwhile the crazy monster wants to go back up!

AND SO HE DOES!

Undertaker is more than happy to deliver some more punishment.

Only this time, the crescendo of this tightrope action leads to a climax of a chokeslam…

THROUGH THE FUCKING CAGE!

“WILL SOMEONE STOP THE DAMN MATCH,” cries Ross, who may or may not have suffered multiple heart attacks.

Terry Funk, as Terry Funk (and not Chainsaw Charlie), comes down to try to end this, but Undertaker chokes the Funker right out of his sneakers!

From this point on, everything else feels supplementary.

Undertaker blades, and this is hardly a footnote in this damn match.

Mankind gets a shiny present in the form of multiple thumbtack drops, but even THAT doesn’t deliver the initial shock value those two big bumps did.

Undertaker Tombstones Mankind into the canvas, and wins the war. Not a match or wrestling contest, but a WAR!

This is a match EVERYONE knows of and remembers. The shock value alone ranks it up there, but then the gall of these two to plow through the match with more injuries than multiple foreign disputes is a miracle in and of itself.

Leaving here today, I just want to thank Mick Foley and Undertaker for putting on a show that no one shall never dare to duplicate. It truly left a mark on this business, a mark that will never be touched.

Now for a moment of zen: the new Hall of Famer with the blogger himself!

 

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That Crippling Crossface: Chris Benoit Five Years On

 

 

 

 

Notice there's no picture here. There won't be any YouTube videos or other miscellany links. There's nothing to celebrate or make fun of in this what is sure to be somber blog post.

Instead of making a passé entry on what happened, I'll take you on a journey of my life through a five day span. Starting on June 22nd, 2007, and ending on the 26^th, you'll see how this unspeakable tragedy unfolded as if this was a horrible remake of 'Ragtime'.

June 22^nd: Finally, this day was my HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION! Conquering through special education to ending up being a regular mainstream student, I received my New York Regents diploma. With dress rehearsals starting at nine in the morning, the ceremony at 6, and then the all-night graduation party, damn am I tired! Sadly the footage is lost, but there is a frame on the video my parents recorded of a house principal doing a face palm as my diploma was accepted. I think the guy had a headache, but the proof is in the pudding!

June 23^rd: I'm getting ready to go. NHRA's in town for the annual extravaganza at the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. What a better way to celebrate being done with school than going to see 7,000 horsepower freaks of nature burn some rubber on a drag strip?

June 24^th: Yee-haw, just got home from the festivities! Not that hot of a day, and it was pretty damn fast. Don Prudhomme scored two wins in Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) and Tommy Johnson Jr. (Funny Car), while Andrew Hines won Pro Stock Motorcycle, and Greg Anderson shook off 'The Curse”* to win Pro Stock Car. Juan Montoya won the Cup race out in Sonoma, a nice little surprise. Wait, a Dodge winning a fuel mileage race? THAT'S GARBAGE!

(Goes to lordsofpain.net. I's want to know backstage newz dammit!)

Um.... what in the living hell?

Chris Benoit isn't at the Vengeance (ahem, Night of Champions) event? They say it's a family emergency, so it's gotta be just a one night absence, right?!?!?!?

Johnny Nitro has been named as Benoit's substitute against CM Punk for the ECW Championship. Nitro won the championship, but that's not the big story. That would be: what happened to Benoit and/or his family?

June 25^th: Haven't heard any new rumors yet this particular morning, I think thankfully. Tonight's RAW is supposed to be about who blew up Vince's limo. 3 hours in length, oh boy is THIS gonna suck. June of 2007 wasn't a good month at all to be a wrestling fan, as every PPV and TV show between WWE and TNA has been drizzling shits so far.

Around 4PMish, I pop the Chris Benoit DVD into my brand new laptop, a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4577. It's the fifth or sixth time I watched this documentary in total, mainly because it's a feel good story about a kid who overcame the odds to make his dreams come true...

5:00PM Lordsofpain.net confirmed it.

Then WWE.com confirmed it.

I told my sister who had started work at IBM that day, and she was dumbfounded. That's not a word to describe her at all.

“CHRIS BENOIT DEAD AT 38”

I was steadfast in silence, as I started to read the details.

Nancy and Daniel, wife and son of the grappler, were also found deceased.

In a stunning turn of events, everyone who had tickets for the night's RAW had been turned away. The opening segment of RAW saw Vince, in uncomfortably casual attire, standing dead center of the ring explaining how tonight should have been centered on his 'demise'. Instead, it will be a tribute show to someone who has actually passed on. Since this was a 3 hour RAW, the program started at 8 PM on the East Coast.

As 9:30 rolled around, disturbing details came in about the crime scene. Apparently, it was figured out that Chris killed Daniel, Nancy, then himself. Since the show was already balls deep into the airwaves, WWE didn't have time to yank or apologize for the images. This wasn't the first time WWE had bad timing concerning programming, as an angle with Muhammad Hassan and Undertaker in 2005 aired the same day as the London bombings. Just 3 days before that monstrosity of a Great American Bash...

I digress.

I had the unfortunate responsibility of posting a new thread in the WrestleCrap forums, under the sub-forum 'ASK RD (Reynolds) & BLADE (Braxton)”. It roared to nine pages within a couple of hours. Then the forum moderator, Madison Carter, made probably the smartest move that night of shutting down the whole works temporarily. That being said, I thought at the time to sleep it off, thinking I misread something.

June 26^th: The shit hit the fan.

Every media outlet, from CBS to CNN, from FOX to FOX NEWS, and from NBC to MS(C)NBC had this story as a top-leading headline. “PRO WRESTLER KILLED HIS FAMILY”. Professional Wrestling as a whole was coming under attack during this media hailstorm. Nancy Grace wanted the WWE as a company dead, and so did many others.

Hell, I even questioned my loyalty as a fan. The programming shown lately was atrocious, and quite frankly, this may have been the final straw. A grizzly scene, and worse yet, a grim prognosis for the WWE.

While more angles to the murders were drawn out (like the texts to Chavo Guerrero and the fact that the murders happened on Saturday), it seemed as if WWE was getting blasted from all angles. Some rightfully so, and some not rightfully so.

Chris, from what I have gathered, is that one guy who would perform through crippling endeavors. He had sustained concussion after concussion, but kept on trucking. After his autopsy, it was revealed that Benoit's brain was so badly deteriorated that it resembled an 81 year old man instead of a healthy nearly-40-year-old man he was.

The DVD I had playing in my laptop the day before? Every copy from every retailer was ordered to be yanked, and destroyed. Suddenly, a DVD not worth more than $19 brand new now commands three or four times the price.

Insanity was at a fever pitch, and wrestling as a whole has not still, and never will, recover from this.

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Like terrorist attacks or major political shenanigans, this is one of those events where everyone knew where they were when they found out.

As a young man who graduated high school looking forward to the rest of his life, this was an extremely shaky way to start. It seemed like one of the few things I truly loved was under attack, and it was up to me to decide to say, “Should I stay or should I go?”

Time went on, and I stuck with it.

WWE was in a badly dark spot at this point. When you combine multiple injured big stars with the Benoit atrocities, the ratings plummeted and the faith in the company as a whole plunged almost as bad as a stock market crash.

I wanted to see WWE come out on the other end though, and by the time the 2008 Royal Rumble rolled around, I was seemingly convinced that WWE had overcome some of its demons.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this piece of literature. This was some sad therapy.

*: 'The Curse'. When I first when to E-Town in 2003, Greg Anderson was one of the first people I met. I took a picture with him, my then fourteen year-old self towered over this guy. Anderson, in Superman mode at the time, won a lot of races in 2003, but went out first round at that event from the first seed!

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Will ‘The Viper’ RKO Himself out of the WWE?

Randy Orton was suspended for 60 days as he violated the WWE’s Wellness Policy for a second time.

At the time of the drug test, he was found to have marijuana and Dianabol in his system. While marijuana only enforces a $2,500 fine under ‘Wellness’, Dianabol is a controlled substance banned by the United States Congress.

Orton is no stranger to being in trouble with the WWE.

A well-known muckraker backstage, Orton has been suspended many times in his tenure with the promotion.

One instance in 2006 saw him suspended for behavioral/drug problems. He was written out at the time by having him stay in Kurt Angle’s Angle Lock a big too long.

Another instance in 2007 saw Orton trash a hotel room during an overseas tour. Orton was sent home early from that tour. He also worked the next little while without pay.

Orton would also suffer his first strike with ‘Wellness’ that year by his involvement in the Signature Pharmacy scandal. As you may recall, Signature was an online pharmaceutical that distributed illegal anabolic steroids amongst other drugs to clients via the mail. Orton was one amongst many names leaked in the investigation.

This current suspension however is a very uncomfortable time for both WWE and Orton.

With the suspension, WWE is temporarily losing one of their biggest draws. On a roster thin of main event talent, this will allow somewhat-lower tier superstars to step up. The problem is that Orton is a big enough name where if the man was advertised, and he didn’t show up (even if the subject to change clause was enforced), refunds would be handed out. This happened with John Cena just over a year ago when he was injured for a short time, and many people walked out on Live events due to this inability to appear.

For Orton, it’s another in a long list of setbacks. After his first ‘Wellness’ violation, it seemed as if Orton was finally getting his act together. He had won multiple world championships with the organization, headlined Wrestlemania multiple times, and is even one of the more respected veterans in the locker room. In addition, Orton will not be paid during this down time, which has to affect his family back at home.

With news coming out about Orton’s future in the WWE being in jeopardy, it must be noted that this is the absolute definition of ‘a rock and a hard place’.

Randy is a top-drawing superstar in the WWE wherever they go. He consistently puts on top-tier matches, and gets the reactions to match. WWE on the other hand can’t trust a man who not only has had issues in the past, but only has one more strike until he is released per policy.

What do you think of this ‘venomous’ issue? Do you think Orton is done with WWE, or will he come back as if nothing ever happened? Comment below, or even bring the talk to Twitter or Facebook!

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Triple H/Shawn Michaels Summerslam 2002: Bad Booking’s 20,000th View Post

 

Well folks, this blog is one year old. It has done more than I ever could have dreamed.

Today, I’ll be capping a match that pretty much started my WWE fandom.

My first episode of RAW was the July 22nd, 2002 edition (as of this writing, Monday’s RAW will mark 11 years exactly I became a full-time fan). It was the night after Vengeance, where The Rock became Undisputed WWE Champion.

Also occurring at Vengeance was Triple H signing a contract with RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff after a friendly persuasion from Shawn Michaels.

Eric tried to stir some crap up with The Game and The Heartbreak Kid by making HBK Triple H’s “manager”, HBK quit, then came back, with the notion that the old band D-Generation X would surface.

Only that didn’t happen.

Triple H delivered the world’s worst Pedigree to his best friend.

 

Yes, one that looked worse than Marty Garner’s.

The week later, Triple H was explaining his actions while he got news that someone had their head rammed through a car window.

That man was Michaels.

A “whodunit” unfolded. It resulted with Triple H taking blame after the security camera cleared showed the malevolence of The Game. Triple H only admitted it because he wanted to prove to the world that Shawn was weak and was vulnerable.

On a satellite camera, with bandages and cuts all over, Shawn vowed to return for Summerslam to a MASSIVE POP.

So the road to Long Island was paved, and the two brawled their way to SummerSlam.

August 25th, 2002 was indeed a hot and humid day as I remember it in New York State.

A huge card of action surrounding this match ensued. Kurt Angle made Rey Mysterio tap in the best opener of all 2002. Edge defeated Eddie Guerrero in a decent match, ditto for Ric Flair on Chris Jericho. Lance Storm & Christian used devious means to retain their tag gold against Booker T & Goldust. RVD defeated Chris Benoit in a underrated classic to win the Intercontinental Championship. Undertaker defeated Test in a battle of big men. Lastly, Brock Lesnar became Undisputed WWE Champion after shockingly defeating The Rock clean as a sheet.

The match covered today was just before the Rock/Brock main event.

A match so epic it should have been the main event!

So here we go!

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The chapter from the Summerslam 2002 DVD kicks off with Jim Ross and Jerry “the King” Lawler discussing how Shawn’s been away for four years leading up to this encounter. Most people watching today (or at that point) may not have seen HBK perform either live or on the soon-to-be-developed YouTube.

As usual, the video package is A+. Anything less would be utter failure if WWE had a college with a course solely dedicated to video production. The main summary shows Shawn and Hunter as friends closer to brothers. However, that brotherhood was shattered by the evilness and the ego by a man who believes his time is here and now.

Shawn comes out first to an epic introduction. Shades of Undertaker’s King of the Ring 1998 entrance as pyro shoots off every time HBK takes a step. JR hopes that this match is not a decision Shawn will regret for the rest of his life.

Up next is Triple H, fresh off of bone chip removal in right arm. Ridiculously jacked, fitting of what the character had at the time. For some odd reason, HBK made his entrance, then the bell sounded for Howard to do ONLY HHH’S ENTRANCE! If this was Lillian Garcia, both men would have had botched intros!

As Motorhead blares, another thing blares: Shawn’s ego. Not afraid to stand off against his former best friend, he jumps over to the top rope in a corner and tells him figuratively to bring it!

Shawn throws first shirt and here we go!

The first few minutes are split between the two, with Shawn getting a little more offense in. Like the good ol’ days, Shawn does a crossbody over the top and onto The Game! Huge moment, and it shows HBK hasn’t missed a step in four years.

Want more proof? Hunter, after averting trash can lid disaster a first time, tries to grab Shawn by the hair back into the ring. Shawn then smacks the lid against Hunter’s head, and skins the cat back in! HOLY MOLY BATMAN!

Shawn makes Hunter eat more trash can, and follows it up with a shot from the top rope. Sensing superkick time, Shawn tunes up.

“Derp.”

Like the Cerebral Assassin he is, Hunter sidesteps the danger, and gives Shawn a backbreaker!

The next couple of minutes sees Trips completely bitch out Shawn. Focusing on the back, Triple H throws Shawn into turnbuckles like a little child. To add insult to injury, Hunter tells Shawn to “SUCK IT” then kicks him back down. The heat for this part was incredible!

Triple H zones in even further on the back, with multiple elbow drops on the area, maybe even hitting the plate surgically embedded in there. This gets a near-fall, and this prompts The Game to get a chair.

Hunter doesn’t give Shawn’s back one moment to rest. Like Jason Giambi, Hunter swings for the fences with the chair.

After almost getting pinned again, Shawn tries to fight his way out of this predicament, adding in a near-fall of his own! Hunter quickly resumes control with a face-buster.

Despite the objections of referee Earl Hebner, Hunter DDT’s Shawn onto a chair for a near-fall. Oh lookie, BLOOD!

Shawn’s been busted open, with just enough blood to look like a crayon was coloring outside the lines.

Hunter pretends he’s a daddy with a score to settle, so he takes off HBK’s own belt and whips him like a government mule! Creatively, Hunter wraps that belt around his fist so when he decks out Shawn, the buckle is striking the cut! BRUTAL!

Shawn attempts to get to a vertical base while Hunter is looking outside the ring area for something.

That something would turn out to be your friend and mine, MR. SLEDGIE!

Earl tries to stop it, but Shawn has the whereto to get out of trouble. Hunter quickly gets back his momentum into an abdominal stretch. Tsk tsk, we got a rest-hold!

Hunter grabs the rope for additional leverage, which makes Hebner seethe. I mean, Hebner gets into Hunter’s face, pushing him around showing whose boss!

“BIGGER DERP!”

The confrontation allows Shawn to try to get some groove back. Instead, Hunter positions Shawn for a superplex. Shawn may have pushed Triple H off, but Hunter pushes Hebner into the ropes, which in turn crotches Michaels.

Michaels loses some balance and winds up in the ‘tree of woe’ position. This allows Triple H, with the chair in hand, to get another free shot in on Michaels! Once again, that back shot is the equivalent of a Major Leaguer getting a home run deep into the stands!

Hunter sets up the chair middle of the ring, and delivers yet another backbreaker to Shawn! This time, the sitting portion of the chair is more mangled than a victim of Dr. Hannibal Lecter!

After another failed series of near-falls, Hunter stomps down the chair, and gives his old buddy a sidewalk slam on the steel apparatus! ANOTHER mini-series of near-falls ensues!

Hunter’s yelling at Shawn to STAY DOWN! Frustrated at his inability to put him away, Game puts the chair down again. Potential Pedigree coming up, but the only thing that happens is a low-blow from Shawn straight to Hunter’s Netherlands!

Once again, Shawn is trying to gain some momentum. Only Hunter’s got that chair again. Will it connect?

It did connect, but not in the way nature intended! Shawn managed to kick that chair back into Hunter’s face! What’s the result?

 

Ughhh…..

More crimson than red ink on a failed test!

Shawn is finally turning the tide! The elbow to the face followed by a kip-up ensues, and this crowd on Long Island is ESTATIC! After a back body drop, Shawn winds up the chair for some Sweet Skull Music! THAT HIT WITH A BULLET!

After getting whipped over the ropes, Hunter is now getting what is due to him. Some lid shots, some belt shots, it feels like a little bit of everything!

As Shawn is raping Triple H of his dignity (or whatever he may have had left), the crowd is chanting for TABLES! Keep in mind there are mini rivulets of blood all over the ringside area!

Michael Cole and Tazz make a go for it after Shawn whacks Triple H so hard in the head with the lid that Hunter goes flying! Hugo “kindly” lets Shawn take his boot for another dose of cranial carnage. I tell you what, Shawn’s racking up the fines in Wellness isn’t he?

“A heel for a heel!” Nice work King!

Hunter tries to get up only to get a nasty-looking Bulldog on the bottom half of the steel steps! GNARLY!

Okay, this just got real: Shawn pulls out the LADDER! We’ve had chairs, garbage cans, and belts up to this point, but now we’ve got the big time piece of metal that made HBK famous!

Triple H met the ladder in person as HBK rammed it into his head!

After shoving the ladder deep into the solar plexus of The Game, Shawn then successfully catapulted Hunter right into it! Since he was busted open, the only thing that’s being assassinated is Triple H’s blood supply! As this point, Gordon Solie would salute from the grave saying that this is indeed a crimson mask!

Lawler made a note on commentary that Hunter would never have imagined being massacred like he is against Shawn. See kids, this was when King made valid and astute comments on commentary!

After failing a near-fall, Shawn tried to get that ladder into the ring. He failed again as Hunter had the synapses to do a baseball slide.  As HBK lies hurt to the outside, Hunter’s face is telling a story, with little drops of blood going to the mat.

Hunter got some free shots in and tried to go upstairs. Shawn however met up with him and delivered a superplex! Shawn covered Hunter to a 2, and then met a high knee courtesy of Hunter channeling Harley Race.

With conclusion in his sights, Hunter gets the top half of the steel steps chucked away from earlier. It looks like a free shot, but instead, Shawn delivers a drop-toe-hold to Hunter on the steps! YIKES!

Both men get up and Shawn clotheslines Hunter right over the top, onto the ladder! Hunter’s left knee got jammed in the ladder while the right one caught a metal edge. I’m sure he’s thankful he got knee pads!

Finally, Shawn unveils the table from under the ring! While setting it up, he takes down Hunter with one punch. Although H would get right back up, he was then met with a fire extinguisher. Gee, he lands on the table.

HBK rolls back in the ring.

HBK climbs the top rope!

HBK LOOKS ARROGANT!

HBK TAKES FLIGHT!

TOUCHDOWN!

Jim Ross says something very true here. If this was a Falls Count Anywhere match, the bout would have ended right here! The crowd was LOUD, and the carnage was poetic justice. But no, the show must go on!

Shawn slowly gets the ladder in the ring, and Hunter just as slowly rolls into the ring himself. HBK sets that ladder up, and climbs up it!

Mouthing, “I love each and every one of you,” he elbows The Game from the top!

Instead of being down though, it gives Shawn a big jolt of adrenaline.

The crowd is calling for it, and the commentators are calling for it.

SWEET…CHIN…MUSIC!

Shawn tunes up the band (which I might add might be measured in sixteenth notes), gets sidestepped into a Pedigree, but Shawn counters out into a pinning predicament!

1

2

3!

BAH GAWD SHAWN HAS DONE IT! THE FANS HAVE THROWN THEIR ARMS UP! JIM ROSS IS NECK-FATTING LIKE CRAZY! LAWLER’S SPAZZING OUT LIKE A GIRL!

Howard announces Shawn as the victor as Shawn gives Earl a little kiss on the forehead.

There is a little bit of irony here: The picture of Shawn before WrestleMania XIV was an image taken after he said his match was for Earl. Hebner had a brain aneurysm just before the big show, and was laid up for a while. While Hebner should have ref’ed what could have been Shawn’s last match, he instead refs the first match Shawn would have from the comeback!

As HBK has his hand raised, he simultaneously gets another kiss: from a sledgehammer!

Hunter, with his face still caked in blood, goes into unholy evil mode with the sledge. Taking liberties, he delivers a parting blow to his fallen foe.

The scene of a still very-well-bloodied Hunter laughing after Shawn is put on a stretcher is some of the most horrifying imagery in WWE history.

It’s a Pyrrhic victory for Shawn, and a redemption spell for The Game.

---

While they would fight again, and with bigger stakes in tow, this is the one match that truly defines their feud.

Shawn Michaels in his autobiography admitted this match should have been with Vince McMahon. The implication being that Shawn was going to avenge his injuries, and the injuries done to all of his friends (like Steve Austin, Triple H, Kevin Nash, amongst others). Vince would be the slave-driving boss while Shawn would be the savior.

Instead, Hunter wanted the match with Shawn, and the rest is history.

Shawn and Hunter would feud on-and-off for nearly four years. Ironically, they would reunite to take down the one man who originally should have faced Shawn in the first place. Also, the man who would be Hunter’s real-life father-in-law!

Instead of wrapping this up, think of it as a new beginning. Here’s to 20,000 more (actually, 40K as of this revision) views and another year of great things to come!

Revised: 7/21/13

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Bad Booking’s Blog 1 Year Down Post

I can’t believe it’s been a year already.

Approximately one year ago, this blog was hatched out of desperation.

Unemployment is a bitch people.

A hairy, ugly, slanted, depressing bitch.

“Make a wish. Take a bite!”

At that point, I was accruing debt quickly.  While I was putting in applications everywhere I could, nothing was coming through. Call back after call back, all I got was either, “We’ll be with you shortly,” or, “Sorry you’re not qualified for this position.”

Depression was quickly setting in. One thing did save me as I had imagination and wanted to write stuff.

Thus this blog was born.

Originally just that, a way to cure depression, it’s primary purpose was supposed to be an eclectic mix of odds and ends making for entertaining pieces.

Top ten song lists on the likes of ‘Weird Al’ and Billy Joel were what got me the most views at first.

That initial ‘Weird Al’ bitty was popular enough where the album reviews were spun off. Heck, I even made a sub-page for them on the top!

Another piece that got attention early was the Blu-ray guide. Thought up because of a forum I frequent, BD (as in short for Blu-ray Disc) is still a confusing medium. The purpose of that dialogue was to educate people on the format without going over their heads. While I know I screwed up on some things and corrected most of them, it is refreshing to post that piece somewhere and a person appreciates your effort.

Speaking of appreciation, this is what leads me to wrestling, namely the WWE.

After starting a badly botched ‘Challenge’ page, there were posts made about various topics like the TV content, a certain wrestler becoming #1 in the PWI list, and multiple countdowns on matches of different varieties/eras.

The traffic really started to racket much to my surprise. I was lucky to get 10 views in a week, but now its upwards of 200 views a week consistently, with spikes not withstanding. Now you know why I steered so swiftly off the original path.

Speaking of spikes (no not the horrible channel), two pieces in particular really got people reading.

A post made on WWE’s PG actually spread to other forums, and they got them debating. What’s more affirming is that people read it, and realized it wasn’t the same old only-complaints that had been the norm for quite some time. A refreshing view on things is always appreciated, and that was my goal. Some counterpoints notwithstanding, mission accomplished!

Also, a countdown list I made on the best 1990’s matches made some people water. Apparently every match was agreeable to a point, and it was the second post to reach individually over 1,000 unique views (after the PG one).

Lately however, my creative juices have been slowed due to steady high production at work. It’s not so much that I get home late every night (to be honest I get home late 2 days a week and early 3 days), but I throw myself so hard at what I do that sometimes this blog will be getting dust while I try to recover and do the grind again.

Even with infrequent posts, I’m happy that this blog still gets regular visits, and I’m still getting comments on things I forgot I wrote about! It’s cool to think with a keyboard and an imagination, you could potentially influence one’s view on a subject. Even on a rant, it’s easy to see people agreeing or disagreeing depending on bias or affiliation.

It’s been a blast over the last year, and it’s been a blessing in disguise. There’s been a lot of words written, a lot of different topics discussed, and a lot of different opinions on certain ideas. In the end, it’s a great thing about a blog: at least people are reading. I also want to thank Freakin’ Awesome Network for giving me consistent traffic and talkback in the last year!

Speaking of reading: If you are a Twitter follower, please follow the following:

@Marks4Life, @HeymanHustle, @SteveAustinBSR, @JRSBBQ, @CMPunk, @BadBooking

 

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Speaking of my next blog topic…

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