My Top 5 WWE Fantasy Matches

With WWE’s Survivor Series event hyping the “fantasy” matchup of Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg II, I thought that this would be a good time to share five fantasy bouts of mine. Some of these matches have a slight chance of happening while others can only take place in the world of WWE video games. For the sake of variety, I will not repeat wrestlers for this post. Without any further ado, here are my top five WWE fantasy matches.

5. Brian Pillman vs. Dean Ambrose

Being a Greater Cincinnati native, I would love to see the two most famous wrestlers from the Queen City square off in the middle of the ring. Pillman’s high flying maneuvers that earned him the nickname of “Flyin’ Brian” combined with his “loose cannon” gimmick would make for a very interesting wrestling mash up with Ambrose’s hardcore reputation and “lunatic fringe” character. As I said in my introduction, some of these matches can only take place in video games, and this match is one of them as Pillman tragically passed away in 1997.

4. Randy Orton vs. The Rock

This is a bout that I have played many times on my WWE video games. The “Viper” and the “Brahma Bull” would no doubt tear the house down if they ever met in a ring for a one-on-one match. They did have a previous encounter at Wrestlemania 20 in a 3-on-2 tag team match when Evolution took on the Rock ‘n Sock Connection, but these two third generation wrestlers have never battled each other in a singles match. Orton’s slow and calculating approach would clash wonderfully with the charismatic and electrifying tactics of the Rock. This match has a pretty good chance of taking place as Orton is still an active wrestler, and the Rock usually comes back to the WWE once a year.

3. John Cena vs. Hulk Hogan

I think this match is a no brainer as Cena, the self-proclaimed “face that runs the place,” is today’s version of Hulk Hogan. The similarities between their two characters are obvious as Cena’s mantra of “hustle, loyalty, and respect” is a modern twist on Hogan’s motto of “training, saying your prayers, and eating your vitamins.” Both are notorious for turning matches around in their favor with Hogan “hulking” up and Cena utilizing what have become known as the “five moves of doom.” These two teamed up with Shawn Michaels in 2005 on an episode of Monday Night Raw with Hogan going on to face Michaels instead of Cena later that year at Summerslam. A matchup between these two wrestling titans likely will not happen due to Hogan’s back issues and the fact that he is currently not with WWE.

2. Goldberg vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin

Two of the biggest names to come out of the Monday Night Wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s have never exchanged fists inside the squared circle. Goldberg was arguably the biggest star in WCW, and the same can easily be said about Austin in WWE. Both of their onscreen characters were legitimate tough guys, and their look, wrestling style, and appeal to wrestling fans are eerily similar. Unfortunately, Austin’s history with neck injuries has made this matchup impossible to happen. These two just missed squaring off in 2003 as Goldberg made his WWE debut the night after Austin had his final match at Wrestlemania 19.

1. Sting vs. The Undertaker

To me, this is the ultimate dream match. Sting and the Undertaker were the two cornerstones for their respective companies during the Monday Night War. The stinger never left WCW, and the dead man remained loyal to WWE. Both of their characters evolved during this era of professional wrestling with Sting transitioning from a colorful surfer like wrestler to a silent vigilante reminiscent of “the Crow,” and the Undertaker morphing into the sinister leader of the “Ministry of Darkness” and eventually the intimidating reaper who rode motorcycles to the ring. After WCW was bought out by WWE in 2001, everybody thought that Sting and the Undertaker would finally meet. However, Sting would not appear in a WWE ring until 2014 when he made his WWE debut as the silent vigilante at Survivor Series. During Sting’s absence, the Undertaker had gone back to his dead man character, and these two wrestlers with similar gimmicks seemed destined to clash at the “Showcase of the Immortals.” It looked like the dream match between the Undertaker and Sting was on the verge of becoming a reality at Wrestlemania 31, but Sting faced Triple H and the Undertaker battled Bray Wyatt. A neck injury then forced Sting into early retirement, making this dream match just that, a dream. Sting has hinted that may have one more match left in him, but a bout between the icon and the phenom will most likely never happen.

Those are my top five WWE fantasy matches. I think that each match would be an exciting bout to watch and would easily be a match of the year candidate. There are more dream matches that I would like to see such as D-Generation X taking on the New World Order or Austin and Hogan meeting for the first time, but as I said in the introduction to this post, I was only listing one wrestler per match for the sake of variety. Hopefully one of these matches does indeed happen in the future, but until then, I will continue to play out these bouts in the form of video games.

Wrestlemania 31 Blu-Ray Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Blu-Ray edition of Wrestlemania 31.

Wrestlemania 31 Two-Disc Blu-Ray Set Review

Wrestlemania is the biggest wrestling event of all time. It features high profile matches, celebrity involvement, and showcases World Wrestling Entertainment’s product on a global stage. An event this big only happens once a year, but that does not mean you only have to watch it once every 365 days. WWE has released every Wrestlemania on some sort of home video format whether it be on VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray. Over the course of the next few weeks, I will review the different home video editions of Wrestlemania that I own.

In this week’s post, I will review the two-disc Blu-ray version of Wrestlemania 31. Aside from seeing it live on television when it aired last year, I have only seen it on Blu-ray on a 16:9 television screen. Therefore I have no idea how the DVD version of Wrestlemania 31 is presented on a 16:9 or a 4:3 television.

Like my other Wrestlemanias on Blu-ray that I previously reviewed, the entire wrestling event is on the first disc. It starts with Aloe Blacc performing “America the Beautiful” and ends with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match. There are three bonus features included on the first disc. They are the Fatal 4-Way WWE Tag Team Championship match between the Usos, Los Matadores, the New Day, and Tyson Kidd and Cesaro that aired on the Wrestlemania 31 Kickoff Show, and videos showing how Seth Rollins is the “future” and how John Cena prepared for Rusev.

The second disc features the entire 2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony. While the 2015 hall of fame class was not as star-studded as year’s past, it was still a pretty decent group of inductees. The biggest wrestling personalities to be inducted were Alundra Blayze, Rikishi, Kevin Nash, and the most legendary of the group, the “Macho Man” Randy Savage. It is a real shame that Savage was inducted posthumously as his induction was long overdue, and I can honestly say that he was one of my most favorite wrestlers of all time. His induction is the main reason every wrestling fan should watch this induction ceremony. Like the first disc, disc two has three bonus features. These include the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal that aired on the Wrestlemania 31 Kickoff Show, and two videos that center on Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan.

The packaging for this Wrestlemania is okay. The front is very simple as it showcases the Wrestlemania 31 logo and some of the more popular wrestlers who competed that night. The back of the packaging features some of the matches, a list of the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame inductees, and a collage of Wrestlemania 31’s biggest moments.

The inside of the packaging looks great as it is a panoramic picture of Levi’s Stadium as the show went off the air. There are fireworks exploding all over the place, and it makes for an epic looking picture.

In conclusion, this is a great home video version of an amazing Wrestlemania. This is my second favorite Wrestlemania of all time behind only Wrestlemania 17. Wrestlemania 31 featured great matches, epic encounters, and an ending that was almost as shocking as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon joining forces at the end of Wrestlemania 17. You are doing yourself an injustice if you do not purchase this Blu-ray set. It should be in every wrestling fan’s collection.

Stay tuned for the Wrestlemania 32 Blu-ray review!

Sayonara Sting?

Last Sunday, World Wrestling Entertainment presented the pay-per-view wrestling event known as Night of Champions. This is the only night during the WWE calendar year in which every title in the company is guaranteed to be up for grabs. The biggest and most prestigious of these titles is the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Since Wrestlemania 31, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship has been held by Seth Rollins, and his most recent title defense came against the vigilante and former cornerstone of World Championship Wrestling, Sting. Rollins retained the belt after his pretty good match with the icon was abruptly halted and seemingly rushed to completion. The reason for this awkward ending was because apparently Sting was legitimately injured during the bout.

For those of you who do not know, WWE was, is, and always will be scripted. The outcomes of the matches are predetermined, and the wrestlers already know who will win before the bout begins because at its core, professional wrestling is more entertainment than it is sport. However, just because the results are scripted does not mean that it is safe. Professional wrestling is arguably one of the most dangerous professions in the world. The wrestlers take huge risks every time they step into the squared circle, and injuries are always possible no matter how trained and cautious the wrestlers are.

What happened to Sting is an unfortunate example of what can occur inside a wrestling ring. During the match, Rollins delivered a “buckle bomb,” a maneuver in which a wrestler throws another wrestler into the corner of the ring, to Sting. After the move had been completed, you could tell that there was something wrong with Sting. He could barely stand and moments later, he collapsed to the mat. The ringside doctor came into the ring immediately to check on the vigilante, and the bout stopped for a few minutes. During this time, the camera was focused only on Rollins, which was a huge clue for everybody watching on television that this injury was not scripted. Sting managed to finish the match with Rollins reversing the Scorpion Death Lock into a rollup pin, but it was obvious that the ending was rushed. After the match, the camera immediately focused only on Rollins and Sting was never seen on the broadcast again.

The next day, numerous sites reported that Sting had suffered a legitimate neck injury that was possibly career threatening. If the match was truly the end of Sting’s time in the ring, it will be a sad ending to what was an illustrious pro wrestling career. He won many world championships during his time in World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and his feuds with the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and the New World Order were legendary. It was only last year when the icon finally signed with WWE. Fans had been waiting 13 years for the Stinger to make his presence known in the biggest professional wrestling company on the planet. Unfortunately, his time in WWE could be short-lived should this injury indeed end his career. All we wrestling fans can do is hope that this is not the last time we have seen Sting distribute his iconic form of justice in a wrestling ring.

Night of Champions 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Night of Champions 2015.

Sting's SummerSlam Surprise

SummerSlam is WWE’s biggest event of the summer and its second biggest event of the year behind Wrestlemania. With this year’s edition being extended to four hours, one has to expect it be at the same level if not better than Wrestlemania. The card is shaping up nicely with matches that should be entertaining to watch but one match stands out from the rest. That bout, of course, is the Wrestlemania 30 rematch between the beast and the phenom.

Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker are set to square off in the main event of SummerSlam and while it looks great on paper, I can’t help but worry that this match will drag like their bout at Wrestlemania 30 did. The only thing memorable about their encounter at the 2014 edition of the showcase of the immortals was the jaw dropping finish in which Lesnar ended the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. So how can WWE salvage the match that is going to headline their second biggest event of the year? Enter Sting.

The vigilante has not been seen since Wrestlemania 31 after he was defeated by Triple H. What better way to reintroduce Sting to the WWE universe by having him interfere in the SummerSlam main event and cost the dead man the match? This is how I would book the ending of the bout.

After a grueling battle between the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, the phenom has gained the upper hand and is about to tombstone the beast and claim the retribution that he has been so desperately craving since Wrestlemania 30. The Undertaker picks up Lesnar and slams his skull into the mat. As the dead man crosses the arms of the beast in rest in piece fashion for the pin, the lights go out as the cry of a crow echoes throughout the arena.

When the lights turn back on, the Undertaker is standing across the ring from the baseball bat-wielding vigilante. The crowd is roaring in shock and excitement as two of the biggest names in wrestling share the same ring for the first time in history. Then Sting makes his move. He swings for the fences and misses, allowing the phenom to pick up the vigilante in preparation for the tombstone. Before he can deliver the blow though, Sting manages to reverse the signature move of the dead man into a scorpion death drop. The vigilante connects and stands up and surveys the carnage in the ring. The lights go out and the cry of the crow echoes throughout the arena as Sting disappears.

When the lights turn back on, Lesnar, having recovered from the tombstone, staggers over to the Undertaker, picks up the limp body of the phenom, and delivers an F5 to the dead man for the pin and the win. This makes the Undertaker look strong in defeat, allows Lesnar to still remain undefeated since 2013, and more importantly, it sets up the long awaited dream match between Sting and the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32.

That is how I would book the ending to the SummerSlam main event. It has shock value, violence, and it tells an intriguing story that will culminate in the biggest dream match in wrestling history. Hopefully this prediction I have for SummerSlam is correct and proves to be more than fantasy booking on my part!