The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly – Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

This weekend I saw the highly anticipated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and while I thought it was going to be a great summer flick, I was not prepared for just how much of a summer blockbuster it was going to be. By that I mean it had tons of action, little focus on plot consistency, and humor. If you mindlessly watch Fallen Kingdom, you’ll think it’s a great film, but if you dig a little deeper this movie is a bit of a mess. This film gave me the inspiration for my new series: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Instead of being a full on review, it’s going to focus on what went right and wrong, and what was just head shakingly bad. It won’t always be for movies, and I can’t say how frequently I’ll write one of these, but just remember these are only my opinions! Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

***************OBVIOUS SPOILERS FOR FALLEN KINGDOM AHEAD***************

 

The Good

The Opening Scene

Honestly this was the best part of the whole film in my opinion.  It was flat out scary! Men are underwater searching for the remains of the Indominus Rex that the Mosasaurus munched on in the first film. The one man is worried for his safety and the other reassures him “Anything that’s in here is dead,” and that’s when we see the shadow of the Mosasaurus right behind them. On land, the rest of the crew is trying to close the gate in the ocean but they are attacked by the infamous T-Rex! One man hanging from a helicopter ladder barely escapes the T-Rex but is then eaten by the Mosasaurus. It was intense, scary, and a hell of a lot of fun! Honestly one of the best openings I’ve seen in recent memory.

Blue

Everyone’s favorite character in the first Jurassic World was Blue, and if you tell me differently then you’re wrong. Blue once again is the show stealer this time around. It’s amazing how much personality these films can give to dinosaurs. This time around we learn more about her upbringing and relationship with Owen and once again she ends up being the real hero saving the people that will apparently never learn their lesson. Blue is the perfect example of why people love the Jurassic Park films in the first place.

The Action 

Like I said in the introduction, the film has some great action sequences. The opening sequence, the stampede during the volcano eruption, and the chaos in the mansion at the end. All are fun and memorable action sequences that’ll entertain anyone looking for some pure dino action this summer. There’s a lot of action, but it’s definitely not overbearing like the Transformers films or other similar big summer blockbusters. If there’s one setback about the action it’s that basically all the big scenes were in the trailer so if you saw that, it takes away from seeing the whole film.

The Bad

Plot holes

There are quite a few of them, friends have pointed out more than I caught myself so I’m just going to go down the list

1. Why would a company that loves dinosaurs so much, make their home be where an active volcano is? The film says the volcano became since the events of the first film but I’m pretty sure that’s not how volcanoes work! They had to have known that the volcano would be a HUGE threat to the park over time… right!?
2. When the “dinosaur traffickers” go to Isla Nublar to capture dinosaurs, their #1 priority was Blue. When Owen and the traffickers attempt to kidnap her, Blue gets shot and is dying. The traffickers then take Claire’s paleovet Zia hostage and force her to save Blue. Owen and Claire sneak upon the trafficker’s boat and find Zia trying to heal Blue. She says she needs to do a blood transfusion and the only dinosaur with the right blood is the T-Rex so Owen and Claire sneak around the boat to get it. If Blue’s survival is that important, why not just ask the traffickers for help!? The only reason Owen and Claire HAD to get it was so we could get that intense scene with the sleeping T-Rex. There was literally no other point.
3. At the end of the film, the “dinosaur traffickers” capture Owen and Claire and throw them in a prison cell next to the dinosaurs. The one soldier asks the main villain, Eli “What should we do with these two?” Eli replies saying, “As far as the world knows, they died when the volcano erupted.” THEN THEY LEAVE OWEN AND CLAIRE IN THE CELL. WHY!? You just said yourselves that everyone assumes they’re dead, why not just kill them!? You have a T-REX that’ll eat them in two seconds!

The Villain’s Motivation

The villain motivation in Jurassic World: “Let’s turn the dinosaurs into weapons!” The villain motivation in Fallen Kingdom: “Let’s sell the dinosaurs to criminals that’ll turn them into weapons!” It’s hidden underneath the “save the dinosaurs” plot but in the end the villain’s motivations are the same as last time. To the point that the genetically modified dinosaur almost has the same exact name (more on that later).

The Ending

They were sooooooooooooooooooo close to having a great, powerful ending! At the end of the film, the Indo-Raptor is dead, most of the criminals have been mauled by dinosaurs, and our heroes are alive! But the dinosaurs are trapped in their cages and poisonous gas is filling in. Claire and the others are in the control room and have the ability to free the dinosaurs. Owen though says that freeing the dinosaurs would endanger humanity and Claire with tears in her eyes decides to let the dinosaurs die. The End. At least, that’s how it should’ve ended BUT NO. Maisie decides to free them all because they’re alive “just like her” because we found out earlier she was created in a lab by Lockwood who missed her daughter. So now the dinosaurs are running free and are going to go on a killing spree… which doesn’t fit the feel of Jurassic Park at all. Ugh, they were so close to ending it right.

The Ugly

The Indo-Raptor

As if the plot of this film wasn’t already close enough to the plot of the first, they couldn’t even bother changing the name of the new genetically modified dinosaur! It went from the Indominus Rex to the Indo-Raptor. That’s just flat out lazy! Also this is the second time a genetically advance dinosaur has been beaten, when are these people going to learn!? There better not be an Indo-anything in the inevitable third film. Also side note, I thought the auction where the Indo-Raptor was revealed was hilarious. The auctioneer was miraculously somehow able to see people bidding behind the massive dinosaur cage blocking his view. Maybe he has genetically modified to have X-Ray vision.

Poor Claire

Bryce Dallas Howard never heard the end of it after outrunning the T-Rex while wearing heels in the first film, and this film didn’t do much better to improve her character. There are A LOT of shameless shots that have Claire’s butt or chest at the perfect angle. She’s already pretty she doesn’t have to be exploited. Then, when the film isn’t trying to emphasize how pretty she is by having her lose layers of clothes as the movie continues, she spends the rest of her time screaming like a damsel in distress. She also says the hilariously bad line of “these dinosaurs are dying and nobody cares.” She isn’t awful throughout the entire movie, but they really need to figure out what to do with her in the future because right now it’s just not working.

 

So there you have it! Fallen Kingdom is kind of an absolute mess, but if you go into it just looking for some dinosaur action then you’ll leave the film satisfied. If you’re looking for an actual plot though you will be severely disappointed. But that’s just my take on it. I’ll probably end up seeing the third one anyways because I’m just that big of a dinosaur nerd.

WWE Money In The Bank 2018 Recap

This is one of my absolute favorite PPVs WWE has! Anything that involves ladders gets me excited because that usually means craziness is going to be involved! This year’s Money In The Bank (MITB) has some really exciting matchups and some that are destined to be disasters, but as always I’m here to recap them and give my personal opinion of them all! So who walked away from MITB with their head held high? Let’s find out!

Bludgeon Brothers (Champs) vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson – Smackdown Tag Team Championships

When was the last time Gallows and Anderson got to be in any type of match with importance? I honestly can’t remember and that’s sad because they’re an excellent tag team! From time to time I’ve enjoyed the fact that Luke Harper finally has a title too, but I think it’s time Gallows and Anderson got some type of a push. Their match in the kickoff show was pretty decent. Nothing too flashy, but it definitely wasn’t boring. Gallows and Anderson got to show off some of their moves but ultimately the Bludgeon Brothers came out on top. I’m not surprised, I just wish there was a little more meat to this fight and I think it’s always bad to put a title fight on the kickoff show. It just undermines the importance of the title belt! If it’s not good enough to be on the actual PPV why should we care? Hopefully Gallows and Anderson get more title opportunities in the future. The Bludgeon Brothers retain via pinfall 7.5/10.

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

Remember my recap for WWE Backlash? I said unfortunately I didn’t think it was the end of the Big Cass and Daniel Bryan feud? *Sigh* well here we are again. The story is supposed to make Daniel Bryan look like he has a disadvantage because he’s “a little guy,” but this is Daniel Freakin’ Bryan we’re talking about! He’s never at a disadvantage! And that’s exactly what ended up happening for a majority of the match! Bryan just made a fool out of Big Cass countering everything Big Cass threw at him. Big Cass had a few moments to shine but they were always ultimately overshadowed by Daniel Bryan. At no point did you ever think Cass was going to win and ultimately he didn’t. Bryan hit him with the running knee then put him in the Yes Lock which made Cass tap out yet again. There was no final attack by Cass though so maybe this is the last we’ve seen of this feud? At least they got this fight out of the way first thing! Daniel Bryan wins via tap out 6.75/10.

Bobby Lashley vs. Sami Zayn

Two great wrestlers in an incredibly stupid feud! I’m digging the fact that the matches people don’t care about are getting done first though. This story has been so stupid. Sami has constantly antagonized Lashley with tactics such as painfully bad interviews with his sisters and making Lashley run through an idiotic obstacle course. These two deserve a lot better. Their match was as lackluster as their feud. Sami used hit and run tactics while Lashley didn’t do anything overly flashy besides his vertical suplex. It was a surprisingly slow match for how quick both wrestlers can be. It wasn’t even a close contest, Lashley threw Sami around like a rag doll and then pinned him using one hand. Hopefully they’re making Lashley look tough so he can get some better opportunities in the future. Hopefully they also begin giving Sami the types of matches HE deserves as well! Definitely a lowpoint of the night in my humber opinion. Bobby Lashley wins via pinfall 5.5/10

Seth Rollins (Champ) vs. Elias – Intercontinental Championship

Now that the garbage is out of the way we can get to the good stuff! Elias and Seth Rollins are two of my favorite wrestlers in WWE so there was no way it was going to be bad. Elias called Chicago scumbags and the “WE ARE SCUMBAGS” chants returned!! I’m proud to say I was part of the original “We are scumbags” chants, but I love that other cities can get into it! This was a great fight both going at each other full speed. Elias focused on the multiple injuries he had given Rollins over the past few weeks, but the Architect seemed to have an answer for every attack. There were so many moments I thought Elias was actually going to steal the title from Rollins, but in the end it wasn’t meant to be (yet). Elias was in good health and had the size advantage, but just as it seemed like Rollins was completely broken, he managed to steal the victory when the two where rolling each other in and out of pins. It was the first truly great match of the night and I expected no less from these two! Rollins retains via pinfall 8.5/10. 

Sasha Banks vs. Natalya vs. Charlotte vs. Ember Moon vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Lana – Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Last year was the first MITB match for the Women’s Division and it was wasted on that goof with the weird nose Ellsworth, because that’s what we wanted in the first Women’s MITB Ladder match; a guy to basically win it. The lineup for this match was pretty stacked with multiple women having legitimate chances of winning the briefcase. Ember Moon had the first great move of the match body slamming Sasha Banks into a ladder, the ladder attacks continued through the match with just about everyone getting a taste of steel. In the first few minutes alone this was already an improvement from last year. At one point there were six women at once on two ladders going at it for the briefcase! Even Lana was surprisingly decent and had a cool moment when she put Bliss in the Accolade (the signature move of her husband Rusev). It was clear from the beginning who the crowd wanted to win, fans went nuts any time Becky Lynch or Lana climbed the ladder, but just about everyone came close to winning. There was a pretty bad botch at the end though, Becky Lynch was at the top, had the briefcase essentially unhooked and Bliss was WAY late to knocking her off. But she did, and Alexa Bliss ended up becoming the 2nd Women’s MITB winner! What I appreciated most about this match was just how vicious some of the hits were. A lot of bodies were slammed into a lot of ladders proving (once again) that the women are just as tough as the men! Alexa Bliss wins the Money In The Bank Briefcase 8.75/10.

Roman Reigns vs. Jinder Mahal

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *wipes tear from eye* oh boy I can’t believe this is actually happened. Last year Jinder Mahal was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and DEFEATED Randy Orton AGAIN! What is it with Jinder Mahal and this PPV!? How does he keep getting these PPV matches!? It’s like Vince McMahon looked at this PPV and thought, “Last year’s match with Jinder was pretty bad… how can we make this even worse?” Then Roman Reigns stepped in and said, “Hold my beer.” These are two of the most hated people on the entire WWE Roster, who do you even root for in this match!? I think for the first time in his career, Jinder got LESS boos than his opponent! They hate Roman that much! The crowds chanted just about everything including “Boring,” “NXT,” “Johnny Wrestling,” “This is awful,” and (of course) “CM Punk.” Every time WWE comes to Chicago there’s CM Punk. I think one point they were chanting “Let’s Go Cena” too. I’m surprised I didn’t see any beach balls. The biggest boos came whenever Jinder started the submissions and Roman began his classic “miraculous second wind.” We’ve seen this a million times, it’s not miraculous anymore!!! Jinder’s moves are so generic and Roman does literally the same thing every single fight. He does the Superman punch, yells OOOH, spears his opponent and gets obliterated and miraculously comes back and wins. And let me tell you, all those happened tonight. The crowd reaction was more entertaining than the fight but to be honest, it was better than Sami Zayn vs. Bobby Lashley. Please WWE, never do this again. Roman Reigns wins via pinfall 6/10. 

Carmella (Champ) vs. Asuka – Smackdown Women’s Championship

I had a very bad feeling about this one. I didn’t think Carmella had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning, and I wasn’t convinced it was time yet for Asuka to win. I expected a pretty mediocre match ending with a DQ either by Carmella herself or by the Iconics. The match was OK but to be honest I was impressed that Carmella actually followed through and wasn’t afraid of Asuka. With Charlotte she ran away for half the fight but Carmella fought Asuka head on. Then the absolute unexpected happened. An Asuka lookalike showed up and everyone was confused. Who could that be!? IT WAS THAT GOOF WITH THE WEIRD NOSE I MENTIONED EARLIER JAMES ELLSWORTH. He’s back. Dear God why is he back!? He distracted Asuka long enough to get hit by a super kick via Carmella. Carmella pinned Asuka and now Carmella has officially defeated the Empress of Tomorrow. Thanks to Ellsworth. Why… just why!? Carmella retains via pinfall 6/10. 

AJ Styles (Champ) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – Last Man Standing Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Title

We can all agree that their last match’s ending was an absolute disaster right? I couldn’t believe it ended that way. If something like that happened again this time around there was going to be hell to pay. For a match where the point is beating your opponent to the point they can’t stand, this one took awhile to get going. How is it that two of the best superstars on the roster can be so boring at times. Things picked up though once they made their way out of the ring. Nakamura hit Styles with the Kinshasa on the announce table and threw him through another table in ring. Styles played it well making us all think he was about to lose on the 10 count multiple times. He timed it to the very last second. Styles then retaliated by targeting Nakamura’s knee and even began hitting it with a steel chair. Just when you thought Styles was going to finish off Nakamura, he retaliated with yet ANOTHER punch to the balls. Styles’ balls refused to give up though which led to another Kinshasa to the face. Styles though nailed Nakamura with a Styles Clash of the steel clash which was epic. Nakamura wouldn’t give up though and the match continued. Nakamura even begged for more so Styles basically punted Nakamura’s balls. Believe me, I’m tired of low blows but THAT was pretty legit. Then as if decimating Nakamura’s balls wasn’t enough, Styles hit him with the phenomenal forearm so hard that Nakamura flew through the table! It had moments where it dragged, but you can’t deny how great the finale was! We got an ending that wasn’t garbage! Both put on solid performances and the match was good, but not great. So is this rivalry over? Styles beat Nakamura clean so who knows if we’ll be seeing these two fight again. Styles wins via Last Man Standing 8.25/10. 

Ronda Rousey vs. Nia Jax (Champ) – RAW Women’s Championship

This was another match I wasn’t sure of. Ronda Rousey will obviously become champion someday, but this was her first singles match; is she really ready to be champion? On the other hand though, do you want her to lose her first singles match? Rousey was surprisingly good in her first fight at Wrestlemania so it was interesting to see how she could hold up on her own. Nia came in like a wrecking ball and instantly began pulverizing Rousey who quickly retaliated with a signature lock of hers. Nia dominated most of the match though and Rousey took way more of a beating this time than she did at her Wrestlemania debut. We got a first for Rousey and she did her first jump from the top rope and hit Nia with a lateral press (our girl is coming into her own!) Then somehow she lifts Nia and does a judo throw! Rousey was on the verge of victory then out of NOWHERE Bliss showed up with her newly won MITB briefcase and beat the crap out of both Nia and Rousey! BLISS THEN CASHED IN AND PINNED NIA TO WIN THE BELT!!! I wasn’t sure about this match in the beginning but this was a PERFECT finish! Rousey still looked strong and is (probably) heading into a feud with Bliss and the Goddess is champion once again!! Couldn’t have written that any better myself! Alexa Bliss cashes in her MITB contract and wins via pinfall to become the new RAW Women’s Champion 9/10.

Kevin Owens vs. Bobby Roode vs. The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Braun Strowman vs. Rusev vs. Samoa Joe vs. Kofi Kingston – Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

This lineup of superstars is STACKED! Honestly I wouldn’t be upset if any of these guys won, they’re all deserving in their own way. The New Day ended up choosing Kofi Kingston to represent them, and the match was underway. To nobody’s surprise, seven of the superstars ganged up on Braun. This is the Monster Among Men we’re talking about though and he brushed them off as if they were made of paper. The match almost got formulaic. The superstars ganged up on Strowman, beat the crap out of each other, went back to Strowman, then back to each other. Rinse. Repeat. Samoa Joe showed himself to be the biggest individual threat to Strowman but watching everyone put their power against him was great. Strowman though rose to the occasion and threw Kevin Owens at least 30 feet off a ladder and then made quick work of the rest of his opponents.  He even bulldozed himself through a ladder like it was made out of paper. Miz ingeniously tried to sneak his way to the briefcase multiple times through the match while everyone else was distracted by Braun. Of course his opponents were too smart to be fooled by that and a new strategy was in order. In the meantime, Balor hit Bobby Roode with a vicious coup de gras from the top of a ladder, and Kofi made a super cool jump onto Strowman’s back. In the end it was the Miz vs. Braun with Kofi on his back duking it out for the belt. The Monster (of course) overpowered the Miz and Kofi and won the MITB briefcase! Maybe we will FINALLY see Strowman rip the Universal Title from Brock Lesnar!!! Like I said, anyone could’ve won this match and I would’ve been happy! That being said, I feel like this was a little short for a MITB match. It had a lot of highly entertaining spots but I wish it lasted a little longer since there were so many talented superstars in this match! Irregardless, it was a great match and a solid end of the night! Braun Strowman wins the Money In The Bank Briefcase 8.75/10. 

Final Thoughts

This year’s Money In The Bank was full of highs and lows. It started out REALLY rough, but once those duds got out of the way, the show finally picked up with the IC Title match and there weren’t as many rough patches after that. The MITB ladder matches, and at one point the briefcase, were the highlights of the night and that’s what matters most for this PPV! It definitely could’ve been better, but honestly there were some great story progressions tonight and that’s one of the things I want the most from a PPV! The next WWE coverage from me will be coming from Extreme Rules, which I’ll be attending!! Until then, let’s all hope the stories go in the right direction! Final Score: 7.5/10

NXT Takeover: Chicago Recap

I love NXT. The roster, the matches, and the storylines are everything that the main roster ought to be. Although NXT is technically the “developmental show” for WWE, I think it goes without saying that almost every weekend there’s an NXT Takeover and a main roster PPV, NXT Takeover is the better show. It’s Money In The Bank weekend, but Saturday night belongs to NXT! Here’s a recap of NXT Takeover Chicago II! Although I give a score for each individual match, it’s only my personal opinion, I’m definitely not a wrestling guru just a guy that loves wrestling!

The Undisputed Era (Champs) vs. Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan – NXT Tag Team Championships

When this feud first began I was disappointed that Pete Dunne didn’t seem to be playing a part in it. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch hadn’t really made a name for themselves yet in NXT, but holy Hell did they bring it tonight! I’m definitely an Oney Lorcan guy now! Both him and Burch put on an incredible fight against the Undisputed Era who were represented by Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch have a pretty sweet signature move and I love the fact that Danny Burch headbutts his opponents. That all being said, The Undisputed Era are one of the best tag teams in the world for a reason. As always they showed perfect synchronicity and having Adam Cole at ringside gave them an unfair advantage, but Lorcan and Burch put up a great fight. Lorcan took a nasty fall where he hit his back off ringside, and the moment he came back I was in disbelief. Though they were close to victory, the Undisputed Era came out on top. It was way more entertaining than I thought it’d be. Excellent opening fight! 9/10 The Undisputed Era wins via pinfall. 

Ricochet vs. Velveteen Dream

 

NXT Takeover: New Orleans gave us one of the greatest ladder matches in recent memory, and these two stars were a big part of that. They had many spots in that match that were absolutely incredible so these two feuding is a dream (puns) come true. The feud began with Velveteen telling Ricochet that anything he can do, the Dream can do better and that story played through the match. Velveteen Dream read Ricochet like a book and was his usual psychological self. Early in the match he began copying Ricochet and doing moves nobody had seen him do before (literally proving he can do anything Ricochet does), but whenever Ricochet starts flying he becomes unstoppable and an absolute blast to watch. Velveteen Dream hits Ricochet with the same Death Valley Bomb he used during the Takeover: New Orleans ladder match and even suplexes Ricochet off the top rope onto the floor which looked PAINFUL. Ricochet then got revenge and used the Death Valley Bomb on Velveteen dream and even mocked him with Velveteen’s signature pose. The ending was a series of 1-Ups from the two, Ricochet did a Shooting Star Press from halfway across the ring, Velveteen Dream attempted an elbow drop from the entire length of the ring, but then Ricochet ended the contest with an INSANE 630. Two amazing wrestlers proving why they’re some of the best in the world. It didn’t matter who won this one, we got the amazing show we were promised! 10/10. Ricochet wins via pinfall.

Shayna Baszler vs. Nikki Cross – NXT Women’s Championship

These two aren’t my favorites in the Women’s Division, but Shayna Baszler has grown on me as a champion. She’s definitely gotten better with time, and Nikki Cross does the “crazy” persona better than anyone I can think of. This match had a bit of humor with how Cross essentially wanted Baszler to beat the crap out of her. After the beginning though there wasn’t much to this match. None of the spots really stuck out, and the finisher where Baszler held Cross in the submission definitely dragged out longer than it should’ve. I didn’t have high expectations for this, and sadly I was right to think so. Definitely the low point of the night, but I’m still excited to see who will be the first genuine threat to Baszler. 6.5/10 Baszler wins via submission.

Aleister Black (Champ) vs. Lars Sullivan – NXT Championship

Takeover continued with NXT Champion Aleister Black defending his belt against Diet Braun Strowman aka Lars Sullivan! Both of these guys always put on a hell of a show so my hopes were high for this one. Black came in hot and began a fast paced assault on Sullivan bringing the monster down fast, but Sullivan easily retaliated to gain the upper hand. The first big spot came when Sullivan climbed the top rope and body slammed Black. Black quickly put up his knee in defense but Sullivan’s massive size just crushed it. That injury played a role the rest of the match, but unlike most “injury stories” in matches, this one looked believably painful. Also, it’s amazing how Black can go from 0 to 100 in just a second. He’s so fast, and Sullivan is surprisingly quick for his size as well. It dragged on a little in the middle but the ending was phenomenal. Black hit Sullivan in the face with his knee then followed up with a Black Mass. Sullivan though shook it off and looked Black in the eye saying “I’m not finished yet.” To which Black yelled out a battle cry and hit Sullivan with another Black Mass to finish the beast off for good. A good, not great match with a very cool ending! Can’t wait to see who challenges the champ next! 8.5/10 Black wins via pinfall.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa – Chicago Street Fight 

Gargano vs. Ciampa at Takeover: New Orleans was one for the history books and the feud continued tonight in Chicago where it all began! In the first NXT Takeover: Chicago, Ciampa ended their tag team DIY and betrayed his best friend Gargano starting a blood feud that would last for months due to Ciampa’s injury. That time though only added to the heat between these two and has led to an absolutely amazing feud. Gargano was out for blood this time around leading William Regal to make their match a Chicago Street Fight so they could go all out. The match almost immediately went to the “streets” though with Gargano throwing Ciampa into the announce table (which wrecked poor Nigel McGuinness) and then into the stands. Ciampa though returned the favor with a trip to Suplex City for Gargano and a brutal spot where Ciampa put a chair around Gargano’s neck and threw him into the steel steps. Things started getting kinky though when Ciampa tried to handcuff Gargano, but Gargano defended himself and started whipping his old friend with his belt. Jokes aside, this match made excellent use of weapons and the “everything is legal” stipulation. The two just tore into each other and you really felt these two HATED each other. Things began spiraling further out of control when Ciampa ripped the ring apart exposing the wood underneath (something I have never seen before). Gargano luckily escaped that, but he didn’t escape the trash can lid to the face soon after. Ciampa then dragged Gargano to the entrance ramp and essentially reenacted the moment at the last Takeover Chicago where Ciampa initially turned heel. To rub salt into the wound though, Ciampa took Gargano’s wedding ring, spat on it, then threw it into the crowd. That gave Gargano a second wind which ended up with him putting Ciampa through a table. Ciampa was then getting put on a stretcher and you could see the insanity on Gargano’s face. Gargano snapped and took Ciampa from the medical staff, beat down the WWE staff and unleashed hell on Ciampa. Just when you thought Gargano was going to win, Ciampa somehow with his hands cuffed slammed Gargano head first into the exposed wood of the ring. Ciampa then got the pinfall and won what was a hellacious second chapter to this insane feud. The crowd was shocked and absolutely silent. Nobody could believe the way it ended. I don’t know how they managed to top the first match between these two, but they did. We all know Gargano vs. Ciampa III is coming, and I have NO IDEA how they’re going to top this! 10/10 Ciampa wins via pinfall. 

Final Thoughts 

This PPV was another amazing show WWE should be proud of. With exception to the Women’s Championship, every match was incredible! I wasn’t sure if anything could top Velveteen Dream and Ricochet’s match but then Ciampa vs. Gargano happened. Both were absolute show stealers and to be able to see both in the same night just goes to show how strong the NXT roster is. Gargano vs. Ciampa III will be a must see (whenever that may be) and I’d love to see Ricochet get a title shot in the near future whether it be the North American or NXT Championship Title. Also, I hope Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch don’t get completely overshadowed in the future because they really proved their worth tonight. And for the Women’s Division? I’d love to see someone like Kairi Zayn get a shot against Baszler or even to see Dakota Kai get some sweet revenge. Either way, the future for NXT continues to look as bright as ever! Final Score: 9/10

Ten Songs That Shaped My Music Taste

Everyone’s music taste is completely different. One of my closest friends listens to artists like Nicki Minaj and Harry Styles on a daily basis, while one of my other friends is a pure metalhead who likes bands such as Kreator and Trivium. How’d they get to be fans of those genres? It always starts with a handful of songs. This list is for that handful of songs; the songs that helped shape my taste in music to what it is today. This isn’t my top ten favorite songs, just some of the most influential. It’s a pretty weird group of songs from multiple genres, and while it was hard to limit myself to ten choices, here are the ten songs that shaped my taste in music in the order I experienced them chronologically. Also, if you haven’t heard of any of these songs (most you have, I’m sure) there’s a link at the end of each segment to give the song a try!

“Be Prepared” – Jeremy Irons (Lion King Soundtrack)

Honestly there were a lot of Disney songs I considered to put on this list (a future list maybe?), but I decided to go with my favorite song from the first Disney film I ever saw. “Be Prepared” I think pulled me in at first just because of how cool I thought Scar was. The way he sung it, the comical interlude with the hyenas, and the imagery all only enhanced the song. People always say that Jeremy Irons can’t sing, but when your character is that cool who cares? Then the music itself is so ominous sounding it always stuck with me after the first time I saw the film. This was what made me addicted to not only Disney songs, but musicals in general. The thought of people spontaneously breaking out into song has always brought me joy and I can basically trace the reason all the way back to when I first started watching Disney movies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkU23m6yX04

“Mambo #5” – Lou Bega

This was my absolute favorite song as a little kid. This was the first song I was genuinely addicted to. Looking back on it now it’s pretty hilarious considering what the song is actually about. First grade me didn’t know ALL the lyrics and had no idea it was actually about a guy partying it up with multiple women at once. First grade me just thought the song was really catchy and was fun to dance to. There are a lot of great party/dance songs these days, but none still make me go nuts quite like Mambo #5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_LN3XEcnw

“Amish Paradise” – Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al was the first artist I got really into. Before Weird Al I only knew individual songs by different singers/bands, but “Bad Hair Day” changed everything. When I first heard Amish Paradise and the rest of “Bad Hair Day,” I got my parents to buy me the CD. It was the first CD I ever bought and it started my obsession with buying CDs. Amish Paradise is hilarious turning Gangsta’s Paradise into a song about how “great” the Amish life is. It was the song that taught me what a parody was and was the first time I had a favorite artist. I owe a lot to Weird Al and I’d kill to see him live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg

“In The End” – Linkin Park

So for years all I listened to was Weird Al, and I was pretty content with that. Then, I started noticing the bands my older brother was into. The first band he bought multiple albums from was this band I never heard of called Linkin Park. The one song you couldn’t seem to escape was “In The End.” It was this weird hybrid (ha) of rock and rap and I couldn’t get enough of it. I’d probably attribute this song to my love for strange combos of music. The Pop Goes Punk albums are something I look forward to every year because there’s nothing quite like hearing a Katy Perry song get turned into metalcore. Many bands have tried to copy Linkin Park’s mix of sound but none ever come close. That hasn’t stopped me though from searching for other bands with great combinations of genres (another is referenced a little later!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4

Behind Closed Doors – Rise Against

Eventually my brother grew out of his Linkin Park phase (I never did), and eventually his taste in music became very apparent: he liked whatever his girlfriend at the time liked. And by liked I mean he acted like he enjoyed them. When I was in 8th grade my brother would drive us to school and he’d listen to this mix CD his girlfriend made and it was pretty much the CD that helped establish what my favorite genre was. Hilariously though whenever I first heard “Behind Closed Doors” I asked my brother what band that was and he had no clue whatsoever. So I googled some of the lyrics to find the band. I went to the CD store and eventually bought the album Sufferer and the Witness and I will never forget that experience. The store clerk took one look at the album then said “This is an awesome album.” Good Lord was he right. It to this day is still my favorite album and the one I’ve listened to the most from start to finish. I gotta find my brother’s old girlfriend and thank her for making that Mix CD. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkPCb-uEjaI

“I Write Sins Not Tragedies” – Panic! At the Disco

That magical mix CD consisted primarily of four artists: Rise Against, My Chemical Romance, Social Distortion, and Panic! At the Disco. For this part of the musical journey I was going to choose either My Chemical Romance’s “The Black Parade” or “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” by Panic! At the Disco. Both made albums that are some of my all time favorites, but I heard “I Write Sins” first so it gets the spot. I blame this band for me still liking “emo music,” and I have no shame admitting that! Panic! and MCR have written some incredibly catching songs over the years and I always enjoyed the emotion displayed in their tracks. Emo fans are still secretly hiding all over the world they just don’t like to come out and say it. I will wave the emo music fan flag proudly though! (I just saw Panic! last year and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy0mqXuBMY4

“Fight Fire With Fire” – Metallica

My brother eventually dumped that girl with the magical CD, and he eventually went back to actually deciding for himself what music he liked. I’ll never forget the one trip home where he put in this CD I never saw before. The opening song was this super mellow guitar and I thought “Oh God what is this going to be?!” Then out of nowhere it turned into this insanely heavy and fast metal song! I legit asked him if he switched songs and he said it was the same song with the slow guitar opening. That was the day I learned of Metallica and became a big metal fan. Nothing quite compares to the speed and intensity of metal. It always hits the spot whenever in a bad mood. Fight Fire With Fire is one my favorite metal songs to this day and I will never forget how blown away I was by it’s plot twist opener. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeK1E1HaMdY

Tears Don’t Fall – Bullet For My Valentine

This was the last time my brother had an influence on my music choice. As he continued being the one that drove me to things my music education expanded. What I loved about “Tears Don’t Fall” is that it combined pretty much everything I had grown to like about music (with exception to Weird Al of course). First it had the incredible technical skill and solos of heavy metal, it had the mix of clean vocals and screams that Rise Against had, and it was some deep EMOtional shit like Panic! and MCR. They were the band that kind of solidified my opinion of screaming in songs. Before them I only enjoyed it in Rise Against, but BFMV changed my perspective. After hearing Tears Don’t Fall I got into other bands like Breaking Benjamin, Avenged Sevenfold, and System Of A Down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkEb1vj6ssY

Domination – Symphony X

This discovery came completely out of the blue. It was Christmas morning, I was 14 years old and I had gotten a ton of iTunes gift cards. I was on the music store searching for new music to buy when a name popped out to me in the “Suggested” section. “Symphony X” sounded like the coolest band name I ever heard so I selected the suggested song to give it a listen and it was like I had gotten one final extra Christmas gift! The combination of metal and orchestra was incredible, Domination (and the rest of the album) was simply epic. It sounded like the Final Boss music you’d hear in a video game but it had LYRICS! The singer is still to this day one of my all time favorites, and Symphony X never fails to let me down. Symphonic metal has since then become one of my favorite subgenres to listen to and has helped me to find other great bands like Kamelot, Epica, and Alestorm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hayYZguCt_c

Holy Diver – Killswitch Engage

The final stop in my musical journey (for this list) is dedicated to what started my love for covers. I tend to be pretty picky about covers because a majority of the time they’re either boring, uninspired, or just flat out suck. Killswitch Engage’s cover of “Holy Diver” was the first song to show me that not all covers are bad. Sometimes they can even actually be better! Call it blasphemy but I think this version is infinitely better than the original. Ronnie James Dio would be proud of this cover for sure, it’s just exploding with energy and the vocals are a step above the original. And the added metal breakdowns just bring the whole thing over the top! Since then I’ve found plenty of other great covers (mainly in rock) from bands like Disturbed, We Came As Romans, and Bodycount, but I never would’ve really started looking if I hadn’t listened to this one in the first place. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR7dG_m3MsI

There are tons of other great songs that helped shape my taste in music over the years but these ten have been the most influential. Music is such a huge part of my everyday lifestyle now I couldn’t imagine life without it. It’d be so boring!! To anyone reading this though, what’re some of the songs you remember being obsessed with over the years??