Yup.

I was published a total of 46 times in my first year of Creative Communications:

- 26 times by the Manitoba Bisons, writing sports journalism and game recaps. Each of these 26 stories taking up around 4-5 hours of my night. I'll do the math for you, it's 104-130 hours.
- 13 times by The Winnipeg Free Press, the city's most credible and highly regarded newspaper. Some opportunities I asked for, others were offered to me.
- 5 times in various industry magazines: Local Fare, The Manitoba Mining Review, The Ontario Mineral Exploration Review, The Saskatchewan Oil Report, and the Official Publication of the School Plant Officials Society of Alberta (SPOSA).
- 2 times in The Projector.

As an aspiring journalist, I knew that just as important as my school work, was doing everything that I could to get my name out there, and I think I successfully managed to do both. As those who have been through the program know, CreComm itself is hard enough on its own, when you're not working at three journalism-related jobs, have two learning disabilities, are trying to plan your wedding and pay bills for two on a single income.

Unfortunately, talking, even when you don't have anything to say, is apparently far more important in determining your success than anything else.

I was recently informed that I would not be able to select the major of my choice (Journalism, if you haven't been paying attention) because of a low Professionalism grade that has resulted in me landing a mere 4% short of the required grade. I was also informed that this is because I didn't speak enough in class, didn't freelance as much in second semester (I actually freelanced more but hey, what do I know), and just generally lost interest in journalism.

Interesting, especially since I started work this past Monday (the first week of our summer break, my choice) at a magazine publisher, as an intern editor, where I will be working for the entire summer, and will likely be published another 50 times. Meanwhile, I've really enjoyed reading vacation updates from other J majors who are enjoying a nice relaxing summer break. There's truly nothing wrong with that.

But I think there is something wrong with all of these undeniable facts proving my strong interest and hard work in journalism not being enough to add four marks to a section labeled "Professionalism", because, as far as I know, I have taken journalism a lot more seriously and professionally than most other students have. My latest story:

BREAKING NEWS: Some people are just quiet. Look a little deeper.

Sin Cara... Breathe.

If Sin Cara was standing in front of me right now, I would say one thing to the young man: "Breathe." ...err, "Respirar."

I just watched his match from this past Monday, and hot damn, he is a textbook case of someone who is completely overwhelmed in his first few weeks in the "Big Leagues".

He's botched his entrance twice already, and whether that's his fault or the guys who put the trampoline in place, HE is the one who comes out looking bad.

But his biggest problem right now is he is going 150 km/h in his matches. You can tell by his body language that from the moment he comes through the curtain until the time he leaves, he takes one, maybe two breaths. He's not hitting his signature moves cleanly since he's rushing into all of them, and that's a real good way to bury yourself. That moonsault at the end of his match last Monday was downright embarrassing. He was a solid three or four feet off his mark.

So, Sin Cara, Mistico, my dear Mexican friend, PLEASE... Breathe. You're a young guy, and have plenty of time to make your mark in the WWE. You're not helping anyone by trying to force yourself to be phenomenal. All you need to do is remember that it comes naturally, and you'll be just fine.

- WrestleWriter

The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz

The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz is a play written by former CreComm instructor, Armin Wiebe. I, along with my classmates, attended this play and had an alright time. I've not been to very many plays in my lifetime, so I don't really have anything else to compare this to, but I feel like if I did, perhaps I wouldn't have enjoyed this one as much as I did.

As far as the play itself, I could have taken or left it. I don't consider it a waste of an evening or a waste of $12, but I wouldn't be heartbroken to have missed out on the experience.

One thing I didn't like too much about the play was the use of German spattered throughout. I'm all for some good use of a foreign language, but I felt that Armin's use of German in this play was ill-placed and alienated his audience a little bit. I found that sometimes in the play, one of the characters would use a German word in a pretty important place. They would be explaining something for a little while, and then the last word of their entire speech would be a German word, leaving me feeling like I really didn't know the entire context or meaning of everything they had just said. It was rather frustrating sometimes.

Armin actually addressed this issue when he visited us during our Thursday seminar, and said it was a risk he was willing to take. Hey he's the playwright, but I felt that it was really effective at derailing the momentum of a scene at certain parts of the play.

Overall, I thought the play was alright, a little slow moving at times.

I found that during the talkback and also the seminar, Armin could definitely have been a little more enthusiastic about his work or at the very least pretended to be excited to talk to us. The snark and sarcasm in a few of his responses was a little bit unmerited, and a lot of his answers were extremely short where I'm sure he could have gone into much greater detail.

Plays aren't my bag, and after seeing this one and talking to the playwright behind it, I don't imagine that is going to change anytime soon.

Montage

Well, here it is. The almighty montage.

As far as the actual project is concerned, I believe my montage is quite a bit different from most everyone else's. The primary reason being that while most people CREATED a concept, planned it exactly how they wanted and then filmed it, I was completely at the whim of whatever these performers allowed me to capture on camera. I also only had opportunity to get a shot, with no option for a re-do, so it was definitely a frightening risk for me to take to try this, considering it was my very first outing with the ENG camera.

Overall I had a great time at the show, and it was awesome to get some of the shots that I ended up getting. Lots of talent in that company, and I am happy to announce that I will officially be working with Steeltown Pro Wrestling over the next year to create a video documentary on independent pro wrestling in Winnipeg (and area). Stay glued to the blog for any and all updates concerning this next project, and I'll also post more footage.

Hope everyone enjoys the montage.

Thank you, Edge.

13-year veteran.
11-time World Champion.
31 Championships in the WWE.
Mr. Money in the Bank.
Royal Rumble winner.
Tag-Team legend.

To WWE Superstar Edge (Adam Copeland), not a single one of these things means more to him than the fact that he can still walk. And that is the way it should be. In the midst of his eleventh reign as a World Champion in the WWE, Edge has decided to walk away from the business that made him a legend, but is now threatening to make him a cripple.

In 2003, Edge suffered a severe neck injury that put him on the shelf for close to year. There is no such thing as a permanent fix for a broken neck, and while I'm sure he knew that at the time, he is being painfully reminded today. After beginning to lose feeling in his arms, and living with daily chronic pain, Edge has decided to take the advice of his doctors and say goodbye to professional wrestling, and for that, I applaud him louder than ever.

Had Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit been able to make this brave decision years ago, they would still be here with us today. Had Edge not been able to, perhaps it would be him that we buried next.

So to my fellow Canadian, I say I have never had more respect for you. The memories that you are leaving us with will more than suffice, the sacrifices you've made can never be repaid to you, and the legacy you have forged will live forever in the hearts and minds of the millions of Edgeheads around the world. It's time for you to enjoy your life, and nobody is more deserving of that privelege than you. Thank you, Edge.

Montage Teaser!

Finally got a look at some of the footage I shot at the Steeltown Pro Wrestling show over the weekend, and am very pleased. One shot in particular stuck out in my mind, so I checked up on it to see if I captured it the way I wanted to; I did. Yeah this one's makin' the final cut, that's for sure. So here's a VERY brief teaser shot of the type of content you can expect to see in my final montage, which will be up in about a week. Big thanks once again to SPW and all the talent at that show. Enjoy!

As Promised...

A WWW-exclusive (unless WWE shuts me down)... Here is the video package played for The Miz at WrestleMania 27. Awesome, awesome video. If you don't know much about The Miz, I suggest you check out my post on him before watching the video, to fully understand the story it's telling.

Enjoy.


01 by DGenerate

WrestleMania 27 Review

Alright, let's get right into this. I'm sure a lot of folks aren't going to like what I have to say about this disaster of a PPV, but that's what they make a comment box for.

So we open with the World Heavyweight Championship match, whose brilliant idea was that? That was my first thought; then I saw the match, saw a Royal Rumble winner's momentum get thrown in the trash, and the cheap, childish antics that followed, and my thought changed to "Ok, I'm actually glad they got that out of the way, I probably would have been more disappointed if I saw that as the second-last match..."

Rhodes and Mysterio was alright. The match was alright, but don't think I'm praising it. It was a Smackdown-caliber match, not something I would have expected to see on a WrestleMania stage. Sorry Rey and young talent like Cody Rhodes, but in a completely separate but equally idiotic move, the WWE decided to scrap the Money in the Bank match from WrestleMania. That means you guys need to step up and fill the "spot-void" that we are now accustomed to seeing at Mania. Anything less just feels like the bar has been lowered.

Four minutes of Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus probably would have been the best match on the card, it infuriates me to no end that I have to watch eight time-fillers come out and wrestle a four-minute pointless, piece-of-shit match that is literally a slap in the face of everyone who paid their hard-earned money to tune in. Yeah, I'm not writing out everyone's name, hopefully you know which match I'm talking about.

Punk and Orton wasn't bad, but pretty much same issue as with Mysterio/Rhodes. I shouldn't have my ass firmly planted in my seat for an entire WrestleMania match. Shouldn't happen.

Cole and Lawler... Whatever, I didn't really have high expectations for this one, though I still managed to be surprised at just how atrociously abysmal Cole is at wrestling. Like I said, Stunners and a beer party is what the people paid for, and that's what they got.

Triple H and Taker. Sigh... Here's where I get my heat. Hated it. Hot garbage. Opened with the three biggest spots of the entire night and then spammed their finishers for, what, 15 minutes? And people are saying "It told a great story", yeah, well my Grandpa tells some pretty good stories too, but that doesn't mean I'd pay $70 to hear one. Next.

Nice flippies Snooki. Next.

Best part of the entire night came next, and that was The Miz's video package. I'm going to try and post it here later tonight. Absolutely epic. Cena's gospel choir was so random and confusing, I'm glad they got booed. Cena and Miz was good. Too short. Thought Miz was dead after smacking his head, God that was ugly looking. But anyways, it was pretty obvious that the entire show was basically designed around the final five minutes. It was cool, but couldn't save the entire show unfortunately.

Safe to say this is the most disappointed I've been with a show. Not the worst show ever, but I think it had the most hype and most potential to be good, for how bad it turned out to be. Danielson and Sheamus could have put on a clinic too, but they decided to have those garbage tag matches instead.

As a lot of people are saying, and I tend to agree with, WrestleMania 28 already looks better than 27. Very, very interesting development to have that match made a year in advance. I'll be very interested to see what Rock chooses to do between now and then.

Also, REALLY enjoyed seeing Austin wrestle as much as he did last night, damn, he's still got it. Lou Thesz and the Elbow were flawless, granted far from a whole match, but I was surprised at just how well he delivered. He looked match-ready to me.

Sorry this post has been a little random, lots to say, very little time to do it. I may post again tonight, with the Miz video package and maybe some more well-composed thoughts or anything I forgot to say. Anyways, flame away!

The Rock has something to say...

And, I could be wrong, but I don't think it's very "PG"...

WrestleMania 27 Predictions

Before I get into the predictions, a quick note about an interesting development that took place during a house show in Champaign, IL last weekend. Apparently in the finish to a Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus match, Bryan actually took a chair shot to the head. Very interesting and puzzling as well, I'm not sure why they would have decided to do that, and it would be interesting to know whether or not they had permission to do it. Perhaps foreshadowing of events to take place at Mania? We'll see.

So that time of year is almost upon us. A momentous occasion for pro wrestling fans everywhere, and bloggers such as myself; WrestleMania weekend!

It will kick off on Saturday evening, with the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Headlining the class of 2011, is the 'Heartbreak Kid' Shawn Michaels, and I've got to say; I find it unfortunate timing that he is actually involved in an angle with his inductor, Triple H, at the moment. I truly hope that they will decide to put ALL kayfabe aside, and I won't have to see any staged displeasure from Hunter because HBK doesn't believe he can defeat the Undertaker.

If we can avoid that, the Hall of Fame ceremony is always great to watch, just to see the Superstars in a completely genuine atmosphere, and also to see the legends of the business be given the recognition they so deserve.

Now, without further ado, let's get down to the business of WrestleMania 27; which promises to be a big one. For the first time since WrestleMania 19, both The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin will be on the show, and that right there is more than enough to sell out the entire arena. Let's break down the matches.

8-Man Tag Team Match:

Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater)

***

All I can say is: Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Wade Barrett was just recently a main eventer, Marella was a credible wrestler for all of maybe two or three weeks in his entire WWE career (despite being a very talented wrestler), and both Big Show and Kane are multiple-time world champions in the WWE. And they've all washed up on shore to take part in a piss-break match. I've got to give this one to The Corre, since age is at least on their side, and they would get a lot more mileage out of the victory than the other side.

Winner: The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater)

United States Championship Match:

Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan

***

Possibly my personal favourite on the card. At WrestleMania, where all the barriers are removed, talents like Daniel Bryan and Sheamus can steal the show in a heartbeat. This is just a nice, one-on-one matchup with not a lot of angles surrounding it (which makes it hard to predict) that will just be a lot of fun to watch. It reminds me of Chris Benoit vs. MVP from WrestleMania 23, which was also for the US Championship, which was just a great, straightforward wrestling match.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

6-Person Mixed Tag Team Match:

John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi vs. Dolph Ziggler, Layla & Michelle McCool (w/ Vickie Guerrero)

***

First and foremost, who gives a shit? That being said, it's clear that Morrison and Ziggler will have to steal the spotlight on this one. They'll give Snooki her Lou Thesz Press, and I pray that's all they give her. Ziggler and Morrison could actually put on a brilliant match one-on-one, it's a shame they chose to soil that matchup. With Stratus being back, Snooki being a celeb-aspect to the match, this one seems like a no-brainer to me.

Winner: John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi

Singles Match:

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

***

I'd be lying if I said I was up on my Smackdown!. I caught a bit of this feud, when Mysterio had apparently ruined Rhodes' beautiful face with a 6-1-9, but didn't see much after that. Mysterio is on his way out, and especially now that he can pass the torch to Sin Cara, and Rhodes is a talented up-and-coming heel who could use the heat. The question is whether or not they need a match that will just make the fans happy. But I'd be disappointed to see them do that to Rhodes.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Singles Match:

CM Punk vs. Randy Orton

***

Another fine matchup between two competitors that have likely been holding back on network television, and will have a phenomenal match on the big stage. The 'Nexus Factor' in this matchup worries me, and I have visions of a DQ, though I can't decide which side yet. Obviously I'm leaning towards Punk being DQ'd due to interference from all of the recovered 'puntees', but on the other hand I can also see Orton dishing out a handful of RKOs and picking up a pop-worthy win. Orton is a pop-machine these days, even though I find his viper-like demeanor incredibly forced and way over the top, and I don't think they'd pass that up.

Winner: Randy Orton

Singles Match:

Jerry 'The King' Lawler vs. Michael Cole (w/ Jack Swagger)

Special Guest Referee: 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

***

This one is actually posing some problems for me. First there's the issue of the WWE's plans for Michael Cole. If they really want to establish him as a mega-heel, seems to me there's no better way to do it than have him somehow manage to thwart two beloved WWE legends. However, when Austin is on the card, fans are paying to see Stunners. They're paying to see Stunners and a beer party. And the WWE very rarely (if ever these days) denies them of their desire to see that, this is another one that seems fairly obvious to me.

Winner: Jerry 'The King' Lawler

No Holds Barred Match:

Triple H vs. The Undertaker

***

The match of all matches. One that I'm sure a lot of the younger or less knowledgeable fans might think is "years in the making", but it is actually a WrestleMania rematch. Taker and Triple H went one-on-one at WrestleMania 17 and, obviously, Taker reigned supreme. It's nice that it worked out to be not only ten years later, but also that at this point in time, Triple H and The Undertaker are two active wrestlers that have been in the WWE the longest. Whereas previously it was two Superstars going at it, this time it will be two legends. I've said it for years, and I'll say it again: IF the streak is to be ended by someone, it will be an up-and-comer who has a huge amount of potential, and the win will be used to establish his legacy in the business. Nobody benefits from Triple H going over Taker. Not a single person. It is not going to happen. I will be interested to see what sort of role HBK plays in the match, though.

Winner: The Undertaker

World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Edge (w/ Christian) (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio (w/ Brodus Clay)

***

Some interesting elements here. Is it time for an Edge/Christian feud again? It seems like the WWE is high on Del Rio these days, making it hard for me to believe he won't win the strap. And it seems like a convenient option to use Christian as the catalyst to launch Del Rio to the top and also pull Edge out of the picture, since I don't see much potential value in a re-match between the two. It's time for guys like Edge to take on feuds that can still be interesting, while not tying up the main event, in an effort to let some younger talent shine through. And an Edge/Christian feud would still be appealing in my opinion, and could possibly get mileage out of a couple PPV's after Mania.

Winner: Alberto Del Rio

WWE Championship Match:

The Miz (c) vs. John Cena

***

Here we are. The main event. This is very simple: At the conclusion of WrestleMania 27, John Cena will be fully locked into a feud with The Rock. The Rock is not going to be a contender for the WWE Championship, making perhaps the biggest match on the card the most predictable. The Miz deserves to be in the elite group of wrestlers who have retained their world title at WrestleMania, and that's exactly what I think he's going to do. I'm seeing a downed referee and a Rock Bottom, possibly followed up by a People's Elbow. I find it refreshing to think we could have two young, talented Superstars on top of both brands, with wide open feud possibilities at the closing of the show. Cena has had MULTIPLE WrestleMania moments, probably more than he deserves. No way that he is walking out of the Georgia Dome with the WWE Championship.

Winner: The Miz

***

So there it is, my WrestleMania 27 predictions. Questions, comments and insults are always welcome. Happy WrestleMania weekend everybody!