Weekend Recap (2/12/16 - 2/14/16)

Friday (2/12):

Made Valentine's Day signs for the bagels and pastries we got at work.

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Feb 12, 2016 at 3:12pm PST



• My work treated us to bagels and pastries for VDay treats. I made signs for it.
• Vince and I ate at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. They had Red Velvet Lava Cake. So damn good.
• Played some Overwatch for a bit. Oh! I also got Vince's post-Anniversary/pre-Valentine's Day gift, which was an Overwatch hooded jacket. He loves it :D And he got me a knitted burger plushie, earrings, and a jade necklace.

Saturday (2/13):

Best way to celebrate our 12 Year Anniversary: Watch an ultra violent action comic book movie and end up in a food coma at an all-you-can-eat steakhouse.

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Feb 13, 2016 at 9:28pm PST

• We decided to celebrated VDay early. Started by watching Deadpool, which was such a good movie. Kudos to Ryan Reynolds for fighting so hard to make this movie happen.
• After the movie, we went to Via Brasil, an all-you-can-eat steakhouse. We went all out and went for the Sterling Dinner. Problem is that we don't eat as much as we used to so we were pretty stuffed.
• Walked around Downtown Summerlin to fight the food coma. I bought myself a Sailor Moon tanktop and an Evee lanyard.
• Played some Diablo III while Vince played Destiny.

Valentine's Day / Sunday (2/14):

T-Rex doing last minute shopping at at Costco. He bought roses!

A photo posted by sheila antonio (@sajcfan) on Feb 14, 2016 at 3:29pm PST

• We just treated this day as a regular Sunday and did some grocery shopping at Costco. And yes, someone was walking around in that inflatable T-Rex costume. It was so funny to see him picking out roses and then checking out. It made everybody smile.
• Went home and played even more Diablo III. First I played with Dan and Corrine. Then Vince and I played with Josh. We stopped playing around 9:00 pm to catch the season premiere of The Walking Dead.
• Speaking of Walking Dead, HOLY SHIT IT WAS THE BEST EPISODE OF THE SERIES. STUFF FROM THE COMICS HAPPENED.
• Afterwards, I decided to catch up and read up on our graphic novels, Saga and The Walking Dead. Ever since Vince was furloughed last year, we stopped buying comic book issues. It sucks but it was an expensive habit. Looks like we'll be going back to collecting paperback versions instead.
• Watched ROH before going to bed. They confirmed the card for the 14th Anniversary Show, which we're not going to. We're doing the TV taping on Saturday.

What to expect for Monday Night RAW:

This is a new section I'm adding to the weekend recaps since I do it on Mondays. It's a nice transition to the RAW recaps I do on Tuesdays.

Anyways, tonight is the go home show and there is a lot of anticipation building up for Fastlane. The last 2 weeks have been heavily focusing Ambrose and Lesnar, while Reigns has remained suspiciously quiet and less involved in their upcoming triple threat match to be the #1 contender. There are several predicted outcomes for Fastlane:

• Wyatt family interferes and takes out Lesnar. Reigns pins Ambrose to be the #1 contender.
• Wyatt family interferes and takes out Lesnar. Ambrose turns heel and pins Reigns to be the #1 contender.
• Not sure how it plays out between Ambrose and Reigns but Lesnar wins and becomes the #1 contender
• Due to Authority shenanigans, Ambrose AND Reigns become #1 contenders, turning the main event at Wrestlemania into a triple threat
  
  

Ideally, I would have love to see Ambrose, current IC champ, be the #1 contender and face off against HHH at Wrestlemania. If WWE is looking to recreate their Daniel Bryan moment, they would go with this scenario instead of forcing it with Reigns. However, seeing how this PPV is taking place in Ambrose's home state, and knowing WWE's tendency to make wrestlers lose in their hometown and/or homestate (see Reigns getting booed during Royal Rumble in Florida), I'm expecting the predictable outcome of Reigns winning so that he gets his Wrestlemania moment. I'm more excited for NXT: Takeover Dallas than Wrestlemania itself.

"Gratitude": Monday Night RAW (2/8/16)

Due to medical reasons, effective immediately, I am announcing my retirement. Tonight on Raw, I'll have a chance to elaborate. #gratitude

— Daniel Bryan (@WWEDanielBryan) February 8, 2016

This is the tweet that shocked the wrestling world this morning. Daniel Bryan, who vacated his IC title 9 months ago due to medical reasons, has announced his retirement. For a while, Vince and I thought this has to be a work. Maybe he'll pull a Mark Henry, who announced that he was retiring and later fooled everybody (this is where the infamous "Y'ALL A BUNCH OF PUPPETS!" came from). Maybe he might come back as a heel, to help create excitement on the Road to Wrestlemania. The point is, like everyone else, we thought that Bryan will finally return to WWE. We just didn't expect him to return in this manner.
It's not a work. It's not an angle. It's real. And that is the hardest part of Bryan's announcement to accept. However, Bryan did something more than just say goodbye; he chose his home state to announce his retirement, he thanked the people in the back as well as Kane and William Regal for being his mentors, he cheesily joked about Brie saying "YES! YES! YES! every night (prompting a "That's what she said!" chant), and most importantly, he thanked the fans for behind him the whole time.

Not since Edge's retirement speech in 2011 had the WWE Universe seen a young wrestler who was forced to retire due to medical reasons. In the long run, this was the right call for him to make. Bryan admitted that he had sustained many concussions over the course of his career. If anything, this is bringing to light of WWE's priority in putting their employees health above anything else. All of the injuries that have put a lot of current superstars out - Rollins, Orton, Cena, Cesaro, to name a few - has been devastating and difficult for booking their shows and PPVs but it's better that they take time off to recover rather than wrestle through the injuries and ignore their doctors (which is sadly what Bryan also did, as mentioned in his book). Bryan broke the mold for professional wrestling, is highly respected across other wrestling promotions, and has accomplished so much in WWE before even turning 35. There won't be another wrestler like him.
Aside from the somber tone, Monday Night RAW saw a few major developments leading to Fastlane:

• Ambrose, Reigns, and Lesnar's contract signing for the main event devolved into chaos as Ambrose repeatedly taunting Lesnar, begging for more F5s, and low-blowing him. This is the second week where the focus is on Ambrose and Lesnar while Reigns is just being the silent third wheel.
• The Divas storyline is back on track with showcasing more of Charlotte, Becky, and Sasha. Becky and Sasha have reluctantly teamed up to go against "Naomina."
• The Dudleyz have turned heel and are targeting the Usos. Vince and I both cheered for this
• There's probably going to be a Kevin Owens vs Ziggler match for Fastlane
• That goes double for AJ Styles vs Jericho. I just wish they would make AJ talk!

With over a week left, Fastlane is the only PPV left to set up storylines and matches leading to Wrestlemania. It feels like some rewriting is being done at the last minute - notably with Ambrose - so here's hoping that whatever plans they have in mind will not get sidetracked with another injury moving forward.

THANK YOU DANIEL BRYAN

Weekend Recap (2/5/16 - 2/7/16)

Friday (2/5):

• Good god, it's February already
• Ate at Omoide with Josh, Tanisha, their daughter Nix, Andrew and Joanna. Nix had red bean ice cream for the first time. Her expression was great!
• I went home while Vince went to Andrew's place to pick up the extra copy of Destiny
• Vince spent the rest of the night playing Helldivers

Saturday (2/6):

• Went to Seafood City to do some grocery shopping. Vince got a Ferraro Rocher slush and I got a Tareo boba slush.
• We also went around that area, like to the new 99 Ranch market, Goodwill, John's Incredible Pizza (where you need to pay an admission fee to eat and play), and then to Boulevard Mall.
• At Goodwill, we bought 3 slightly used games - Scrabble, Cranium, and Battleship - for under $11. We traded the old clay from another Cranium game and Vince wanted the classic Scrabble board so we had to switch that too. He almost bought a cheer Champion jacket.
• I played a bit of Destiny while Vince was cooking. I'm HORRIBLE at FPS on a console controller. 
• Went home to get started on the Beef Mechado. It was delicious!
• I played some Diablo III by myself while Vince played Helldivers

Super Bowl Sunday (2/7):

• Went to Vince's parent's place for lunch
• Vince and his dad spent about an hour trying to return a propane tank because the one they bought was leaking, so we had lunch a lot later but around the time the Super Bowl started
• I guess it wasn't a good game. We left and went to visit Joel and Pam.
• I played a bit of Helldivers and was Sorsha's seat. Right as we were leaving, I accidentally knocked over Sorsha with my feet. This now makes 2 of their kids I have accidentally/gently injured O_O
• We finished up season 4 of Breaking Bad. Walter White is horrible.

"Take me to Suplex City, baby!": Monday Night RAW (2/2/16)

What a freaking opening. Rather than get treated to another opening monologue from The Authority, out comes Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. Heyman briefly mentions the Wyatt Family taking on Lesnar and removing him from the Royal Rumble. He then mentions the main even of Fastlane which sees Brother vs Brother vs Beast, that Lesnar will F5 both of them and go on to take on HHH at Wrestlemania. Heyman then proceeds to talk down about Ambrose, which prompted him to come out and stand toe-to-toe with Lesnar. He cuts the most confidant, passionate, and defiant promo, almost never taking his eyes off from Lesnar. Ambrose knows he doesn't stand a chance but it's not going to stop the "Iron Man of WWE."

And from there, RAW somewhat falls apart. The results can be found here.

The few highlights for me were:

• Stephanie planting the seeds of dissension between Reigns and Ambrose in a backstage segment, where the WWE WHC belt ("BELT!" THEY SAID "BELT!") was on display and not being carried about by HHH. WWE seems to be teasing a heel turn between the two again. Also, godammit Reigns, would it kill you to be at least UPSET that you lost your title to The Authority again?
• Kevin Owens and Ziggler had a match again. Thank to 50/50 booking, Ziggler gets a win over Owens this week. It's a great match but it felt so directionless, especially for Owens.
• The MizTV segment consisted of The Miz completely taking over and now allowing AJ to speak. He put AJ over so much that he got the crowd to cheer for him until he started talking him down. AJ gets back and beats the crap out of Miz, setting up a match for them on Smack Down.
• Team BAD officially broke up, which was odd considering the breakup happened on Smack Down last week in a backstage segment. They repeated the breakup again, this time with Naomi and Tamina getting mic time. They interfered in Sasha's match, causing her AND Becky fighting off Tamina and Naomi (and their match resulting in a DQ). This was a badly scripted but it allowed Sasha to be herself again.
• NEW DAY HAS ACKNOWLEDGED AMBREIGNS ON TUMBLR. TUMBLR MELTDOWN COMMENCE. I'm aware of this fandom and I block that smut when I tag lurk. I did laugh at the fact that Ambrose got spanked by Big E during the abdominal stretch (he usually hits them on their sides) and Ambrose looked pretty angry.

Overrall, this was an all right episode of RAW. It focused a lot more on Ambrose and Lesnar while Reigns is being significantly downplayed. It seems like WWE might be trying to cool off on Reigns a bit (he was replaced by HHH on the cover for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Royal Rumble), which might be a good thing for now. I had no interest in the main event because it felt like it was already decided; that Lesnar would be taken out by the Wyatt Family and Ambrose will get pinned by Reigns, who would go on to face HHH. Throwing Ambrose in just adds the possibility of a different ending... or is that false hope?

BIG E SPANKING THE AMBOOTY

Weekend Recap (1/29/16 - 1/31/16)

Friday (1/29):

• Vince and I went to Sushi Neko, an All You Can Eat Sushi restaurant that replaced Shuseki, which was also a Japanese restaurant that we've been going to for the last few years. We had a horrible experience and I left a negative Yelp review.
• We went to get some Gelato at Vivido afterwards to quell our anger
• Played some Diablo III
• Stayed up late to watch the farewell NJPW match of Shinsuke Nakamura. He'll be making his debut at NXT: Takeover Dallas at Wrestlemania weekend. This is fucking surreal.

Saturday (1/30):

• We watched "Kung Fu Panda 3." I loved it and I'm really hoping Dreamworks doesn't try to milk it like "Shrek" and make more movies out of it.
• We ate at SkinnyFat for lunch
• Went around Wal-Mart and Best Buy for a bit
• Went over to Andrew's place for board game night. Vince bought a new board game, Codenames, and we also played Blood Bound and Exploding Kittens. Michael and their cousins Justin and Sandra came by too. Didn't see Joanna because she had a serious stomach ache.

Sunday (1/31):

• Went to Las Vegas Premium Outlet to use the $25 Nike Gift card. I bought myself new workout tops and Vince got socks and a workout bag.
• Also, it was freaking raining that day
• Played Diablo III the rest of the night. We also caught up with X-Files and I laughed at the fact that the show never updated its opening credits, probably to avoid the fans getting upset at a new intro for a show that ended over 13 years ago.
• There have been so much talk about the main event for Fastlane. Initially, it seemed like people accepted the fact that Ambrose was added to take the pin. The fact that people are talking about the possibility of Ambrose winning Fastlane and Reigns turning heel actually sparked more interest. Way to got WWE, you're giving us more false hope. Also, the poster for it is fucking weird with Eva Marie in the middle. They also photoshopped Ambrose's head on another body (of course, it was when he was muscular 2 years ago).

"Nobody can do what I do"

4 months ago, Ambrose was noticeably put on the backburner and kept away from the World Heavyweight Title picture. I was worried about how he seems to have straggled behind as WWE continued to push Roman "Captain Recap Tater Tots SON" Reigns. Ambrose, however, didn't seem worried himself and was simply content with just wrestling and putting on a great show for fans every single night. Since then, a number of things have happened that have opened a new door for him:

• Seth Rollins got injured and was forced to vacate the title
• Said title was put in a tournament at Survivor Series to determine the new WWE Champion
• Reigns defeated Ambrose to become the new WWE Champion, only to lose it to Sheamus
• Ambrose became a #1 contender for Owens' IC title
• Ambrose defeated Owens to become the new IC Champion
• Ambrose retained against Owens in a Last Man Standing Match at the Royal Rumble
• Ambrose was in the final 2 and was eliminated by HHH in the Royal Rumble
• Ambrose, Reigns, and Lesnar are the main event for Fastlane, where the winner will be #1contender to face off against HHH at Wrestlemania Star
  

Looking back, it's great to see that his patience and reliability has greatly paid off and it certainly elevated his status as WWE's utility player. And now it looks like Ambrose is being put to the test again as it was announced that he, Reigns, and Lesnar are the main event for Fastlane. Putting creative and booking decisions aside, the fact that they're throwing him, the current IC champ, into the World Heavyweight Title is huge. Still, no one was convinced on the possibility that Ambrose could go against HHH, let alone headline Wrestlemania, and that he's simply there to take the pin from Reigns. His recent sit-down interview with Cole pretty much erased all doubts. 

This is not the content Ambrose from 4 months ago. Hell, this is not even the same Ambrose from last month, where he was a chill IC champ beaming with pride. This is Ambrose in PPV mode, where he's all fired up, fearless, and loud. He's not the least bit scared about Brock Lesnar and he certainly isn't worried about his friendship with Reigns affecting his goal; which is to prove to everyone that he's one of the best in this game. That promo sold me. If WWE is going to pull the trigger on Ambrose, it needs to happen at his home town.

"This makes no sense": Monday Night RAW (1/26/16)

I STILL CAN'T PROCESS THIS.

It's been 24 hours since the Royal Rumble, the PPV that had entertaining title defense matches and where the main event didn't end up with poster boy Roman Reigns retaining his title. It got everybody pumped for the fallout on RAW.

RAW opened up with a typical Authority promo but this time it came from "The Game" HHH wearing his suit and the title. He cut a long promo where he praised Reigns but also talked him down, saying he doesn't deserve the title because of his lack of respect. Stephanie then announced that tonight, they'll be evaluating all the superstar matches and announce the main event for Fastlane on 2/21. The winner for that main event will face against HHH at Wrestlemania. Sounds like this will be a great follow-up show right? Sadly, it wasn't. The results can be found here.

The few highlights for me were:

• Kevin Owens, still selling his injuries from his Last Man Standing match, defeated Ziggler. This match is no different from their previous matches but it was still great to see Owens get a win. As for Ziggler, I really don't know what they're doing with him. Even with updated his look, he's still pretty much directionless.
• AJ Styles defeated Jericho! This was a good match, mostly because Styles is learning to adapt to the WWE style on the fly with fellow veteran Jericho helping him along. Interesting enough, Styles keeps teasing the Styles Clash but has not actually pulled it off yet. And Jericho didn't seem happy with losing to him either.
• Sasha and Becky had a short match due to Charlotte interrupting. I'm incredibly happy that the Divas storyline is focusing on the the NXT Horsewomen, while the Total Divas Brie, Alicia, Paige, and Natalya, have their own pointless match.
• The special guest for tonight was The Rock, who went on a super long and hyped up promo about coming home, making fun of Miz, Big Show, Lana and Rusev, and calling The New Day's unicorn horns "Llama penises." He got the Usos to come out and take out New Day. I didn't like this segment with The Rock but god damn can he get your attention.

The main event match was Reigns and Ambrose vs Sheamus and Rusev. As usual, Ambrose takes the brunt of the offenses from League of Nations while Reigns only gets in for the hot tag. Reigns wins with a spear to Sheamus. After the match ended, Ambrose started angrily clearing the announcer's table while Reigns throws Rusev to the stairs. The "Brothers-in-Arms" got Rusev up to set up for a powerbomb through the table. This was retaliation for what happened with Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Stephanie suddenly comes out and announces that after much evaluation the main event for Fastlane will be Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar.

And this is where RAW leading up to this announcement made the last 3 hours frustrating to process. Why did they announce that they were evaluating ALL the superstars when it came down to the last 2 faces from the Royal Rumble and a guy who didn't even appear on the show? Why did the Authority give Reigns another title shot after making a big deal about taking the title away from him? And why are they throwing IC Champ Ambrose into the title picture? It makes no sense at all.

The 3 possible outcomes don't scream Wrestlemania main event either. Lesnar vs HHH would be a repeat, considering that HHH defeated Lesnar a few years ago. Reigns vs HHH won't be as exciting because Reigns will obviously get his title back and become a 3-time WWE Champ. And Ambrose vs HHH wouldn't work at all because of the current booking, where Ambrose always comes close but never wins the big title. A part of me is holding out hope that, judging from the audience reaction to Ambrose being in the final two against HHH, he might just win Fastlane, which is taking place in his home state of Ohio. Then again, he didn't even win in his hometown on an episode of Smackdown last year. Realistically, he's probably there to take the pin to advance the storyline of Reigns vs The Authority, even though the real story of an organic fan movement like Daniel Bryan is happening with Ambrose.