Chapmania!

On Thursday, I got a notification from Twitter that said Aroldis Chapman, the flame throwing closer of the Reds, follows me on Twitter! I'm not too entirely sure if the Twitter account is legit, but based on who he follows and who follows him, it seems real. I got an automated direct message from him saying that he just opened the account so maybe it is actually Chapman's Twitter handle! If he likes it, then you will too! Give me a follow @CincyFanZone!

All-Star Week 2015

For one night in July, Major League Baseball’s best players will gather at Great American Ball Park as the Cincinnati Reds host the 2015 MLB All-Star Game. It should be a fun week that showcases the city of Cincinnati and the surrounding area to rest of the nation. After for what seemed like an eternity of waiting and skyrocketing hype, All-Star week is upon us, and in this post, I will discuss the various events that will be happening in Cincinnati for the Midsummer Classic.

The week of baseball festivities kicks off on Friday, July 10, at the Duke Energy Convention Center. This will be the site of the T-Mobile All-Star FanFest, a big five-day festival in which baseball fans will have the opportunity to get autographs from some of the sport’s greatest legends, participate in various activities, and win tickets to some of the other events happening throughout the week. The FanFest will run from Friday, July 10, to Tuesday, July 14, and the first 2000 guests each day will receive a free giveaway item. The giveaway items vary depending on the day and range from a plush toy of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Red Barry Larkin to a mini bobblehead of a player from the Big Red Machine.

On Saturday, July 11, the Color Run MLB All-Star 5K will take place with the race starting at 9 a.m. Also on Saturday is the Budweiser MLB All-Star Concert. The concert will feature pop star Ariana Grande and will take place at Paul Brown Stadium, the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, at 8 p.m.

On Sunday, July 12, the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which features the best players in the minor leagues, will take place at Great American Ball Park at 3 p.m. Following the Futures game will be the All-Star Legends and Celebrity softball game. The softball game will feature singer Jordin Sparks, Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer, and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton among others. Also on Sunday is the MLB All-Star Summer Pepsi Block Party. This will take place from noon to 8 p.m. and be on East Freedom Way.

On Monday, July 13, the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day will happen at Great American Ball Park, which will feature the Gillette Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. There are new rules for the home run derby this year and with Great American Ball Park being considered a hitter friendly ballpark, it should be a fun event to watch.

Tuesday, July 14, will be the conclusion of the MLB All-Star festivities. The All-Star Game Red Carpet Show will start at 1 p.m. with the 86^th MLB All-Star Game starting at 7 p.m. The entire baseball world will be watching as the best of the American League take on the best of the National League in a game in which the winning league will ensure home field advantage for the 2015 World Series.

If you are a baseball fan, Cincinnati is the place to be from July 10 to July 14. Major League Baseball will take over the city as the MLB All-Star game makes it triumphant return to Cincinnati for the first time since 1988. Hopefully I can snag some tickets to a few events and the All-Star game. If anybody is willing to hook me up, leave a comment!

Happy 4th of July!

Have a great Independence Day everybody!

Bobblehead Page Update

NEW #BOBBLEHEAD @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #Bengals #LetsRoar #WhoDey #Reds #MILvsCIN #GoReds #ATOBTTR #ASG #ASGWorthy pic.twitter.com/pjeROMNp3M

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) July 3, 2015

Boomer Esiason Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Boomer Esiason bobblehead.

Booking Battleground

The beast is back. The champ is in trouble.

WWE's next pay-per-view will give wrestling fans a glimpse at the possible SummerSlam card, and with Battleground being the site of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout between Brock Lesnar and the champ, Seth Rollins, the main event of the biggest wrestling show of the summer hangs on the outcome of the match. So how will Battleground shape SummerSlam's main event? Allow me to explain.

As we all know, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at Wrestlemania 31 and turned the main event title bout between Roman Reigns and Lesnar into a triple threat match before pinning Reigns and walking out as the new champion. The following night on Raw, Lesnar went on a rampage and destroyed everybody in his path, which resulted in him being "suspended" by WWE. Since then, the arrogance of Rollins has escalated, and he has stepped on the toes of the Authority multiple times. As a result, they brought back Lesnar and named him as the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

I believe that Lesnar will defeat Rollins and regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This will allow for WWE to set up two intriguing storylines that could lead to a SummerSlam pay-per-view with two main events: Rollins vs. Triple H and Reigns vs. Lesnar.

Let’s start off with why I think Rollins vs. Triple H will happen. In the summer of 2014, Triple H picked Rollins to be his protégé and the former member of the Shield has become WWE’s top heel. He became arrogant, won matches in dirty ways, and has managed to squirm his way out of big title defenses with his hands still on WWE’s biggest prize. He has essentially become very similar to the Game and in the Authority, there can only be one Triple H. Following his defeat to Lesnar at Battleground, the Authority, tired of Rollins’ attitude and inability to retain his title without their help, will turn on Rollins, resulting in a SummerSlam bout between the Cerebral Assassin and his former student.

Now let’s move on to why I think Reigns and Lesnar will take place at SummerSlam. At the Royal Rumble, Reigns won the Royal Rumble match and earned a main event title shot at Wrestlemania 31 against Lesnar. Fan reception to this booking decision was horrible as Reigns was booed every week leading up to Wrestlemania. This poor reaction is perhaps what prompted WWE to have Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at Wrestlemania and steal the title from Reigns and Lesnar. Since then, Reigns has been garnering better reactions from the crowd and all the boos have seemingly vanished. A combination of having Reigns constantly team up with the insanely over with the crowd Dean Ambrose and WWE gradually feeding Reigns to the crowd instead of forcing him down their throats has allowed Reigns to finally be put in a position to be crowned champion without receiving a terrible reaction. This allows WWE to stage a Wrestlemania rematch between Reigns and Lesnar in the main event of their second biggest event of the year. I think Reigns will then defeat Lesnar and win the title only to suffer a loss to the new Mr. Money in the Bank, Sheamus. This allows Lesnar to stay off TV until Wrestlemania season, and it keeps Reigns busy as he once again tries to capture the WWE Championship.

That is how I think Battleground will shape SummerSlam 2015. It should be an entertaining main event between Lesnar and Rollins and knowing how WWE likes to do things, expect a few surprises throughout the match. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my “Battleground 2015 Thoughts” video.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #Reds #GoReds #CINvsNYM #ATOBTTR #NBA #NBADraft #MLB #MLB #WWE #NFL pic.twitter.com/4mUw4Heg5M

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 26, 2015

Mr. Red Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a rare Mr. Red bobblehead.

Wresltemania 21 3-Disc DVD 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 be reviewing the 3-disc collector’s edition of Wrestlemania 21. With this being an individual Wrestlemania DVD set, all three discs in this set deal with Wrestlemania 21 as opposed to the Wrestlemania anthology series that had one Wrestlemania per disc. Disc 1 contains the first few hours of Wrestlemania 21 as it goes from the start of the event until ending with the sumo match between the Big Show and Akebono.

Disc 2 has the rest of the show on it as it picks up right where the first disc left off and contains the WWE Championship match and the World Heavyweight Championship match. Also on disc 2 are a lot of bonus features such as different promotions for some of the big matches on the card. Another cool bonus feature is the inclusion of the movie parodies that featured various wrestlers. Since Wrestlemania 21 was held in Los Angeles, WWE used wresters to parody famous movie scenes to promote the event. They are entertaining to watch and worth a look. There are also career highlights for a few wrestlers, the Wrestlemania week activities that happened throughout the Los Angeles area, and the preshow Wrestlemania 21 battle royal.

Disc 3 has the entire WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which features the inductions of legends such as the Iron Sheik, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and Hulk Hogan among others. I enjoy watching the Hall of Fame ceremonies as they feature some of the biggest legends from the professional wrestling world, and the Hall of Fame class of 2005 was pretty heavy on star power. 

The packaging for Wrestlemania 21 is very nice and plays up on the event’s tagline of “Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood” as it features various Wrestlers and the Wrestlemania 21 logo above the famous Hollywood sign. Inside the case are of course the discs as well as multiple pictures from the event. The two biggest pictures on the case, however, are of Batista and John Cena as they won the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship, respectively, at the event.

In conclusion, the Wrestlemania 21 3-disc DVD set is a really good home video edition of the WWE’s 21^st installment of the showcase of the immortals. The packaging is very nice, there are a lot of bonus features, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony is included, and the Wrestlemania 21 event itself was pretty good. There were some great matches and a very entertaining “Piper’s Pit” segment that featured Stone Cold Steve Austin. Since the event happened a decade ago, (which really makes me feel old!), you can easily find it for a few bucks online. That’s a really good deal for a really good Wrestlemania. 

Keep an eye out for the Wrestlemania 22 DVD review!

Double Posts and Videos This Week

How's it going Cincy Fan Zone fans? You may have noticed that there have been two blog posts and two videos published this week. Usually I only publish one post and one video a week, but I will not be able to publish anything next week so to make up for that, I have published two videos and two blog posts. I hope this makes up for not being able to publish anything next week!

Here is what was published:

Out of Left Field

Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume IV Review

Ken Griffey Jr. Cincinnati Jungle Kats Bobblehead Unboxing

Money in the Bank 2015 Thoughts

Feel free to click the links or scroll down the page to check out the latest posts and videos from Cincy Fan Zone!

Money in the Bank 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2015.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #Reds #Bengals #NBAFinals #StanleyCup #CINvsCHC #WWE #MITB #ATOBTTR pic.twitter.com/mxSKCao5hF

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 14, 2015

Ken Griffey Jr. Cincinnati Jungle Kats Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a Ken Griffey Jr. Cincinnati Jungle Kats bobblehead.

Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume IV 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.

The anthology portion of this series of posts finally concludes this week as I review Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume IV. This is the last volume of the Wrestlemania anthology DVD set that WWE released. Contained within this volume are Wrestlemanias 16-20. The editing for these discs are only on Wrestlemanias 16, 17, and 18 and are the same as the edits for Wrestlemania 15 in that there are musical changes, the muting of the letter “F” when WWF is said, and the blurring of the WWF scratch logo. Wrestlemania 19 and Wrestlemania 20 are not as edited since most of the musical licenses had not expired when these DVDs were released, and WWF had changed its name to WWE when these two Wrestlemanias took place meaning there are no logo blurs.

This is the only volume in which every disc is double sided meaning you will have to flip the DVD when the first side finishes in order to continue watching. If you are a couch potato, then avoid this volume like the plague.

The packing for this volume is the same as the first three volumes except for the pictures on the inside as they feature legendary moments from Wrestlemanias 16-20.

Also included is a program that lists all of the matches and segments that take place at each Wrestlemania. The picture that they chose for the faceoff on this program is very obvious as it features the two biggest stars of the era who were engaged in the best rivalry of the era. The faceoff is of the Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

This is my favorite volume of the four as it contains five great Wrestlemania events. Wrestlemania 16 has the breathtaking triangle ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship, Wrestlemania 17 is the greatest Wrestlemania of all time and features fantastic matches throughout the entire card, Wrestlemania 18 turns a dream match into a reality as the Rock and Hulk Hogan had an electrifying bout, Wresltmania 19 was almost as good as Wrestlemania 17 as it too featured many incredible matches, and Wrestlemania 20 brings the event back to where it began in Madison Square Garden.

If you only buy one volume of the Wrestlemania anthology series, then I recommend you buy this one. Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume IV has a ton of great matches and segments that will keep any wrestling fan entertained for hours.

You can also purchase all four of the Wrestlemania anthology volumes as a boxed set. If you do, make sure you get the 2006 version as it contains Wrestlemanias 21 and 22 packaged in with it. The 2005 version only adds Wrestlemania 21.

The anthology as a whole is a great way to start your Wrestlemania collection. It contains fantastic pieces of wrestling history, epic Wrestlemania moments, and will have the inner wrestling fan inside of you jumping for joy.

Stay tuned for the Wrestlemania 21 DVD set review!

Out of Left Field

If you are a member of Reds Country, then you already know that the 2015 campaign of the Cincinnati Redlegs has been less than stellar. Pitchers have underperformed, the bullpen has been mostly a mess the entire year, and at times it seems like the bats of the Reds are almost nonexistent. Injuries have also played a role as Homer Bailey underwent Tommy John surgery, Marlon Byrd has a fractured wrist, and Devin Mesoraco has a hip impingement. However, Mesoraco still might play this year, but he will not be behind the dish. At the time I write this post, the plan of the Reds for Mesoraco, which seemingly came from out of nowhere, is to have him be the new left fielder.

The hip impingement Mesoraco has prevents him from crouching in the catcher’s position behind home plate, and he has not caught since April 12. The Reds tried to use him as a pinch hitter when they played in National League stadiums and as a designated hitter when they played in American League stadiums before finally placing him on the disabled list on May 25. When the team pulled the trigger and put Mesoraco on the DL, I thought that meant he would have surgery on his hip and start rehabbing so that he would be good to go for the 2016 season. That is not the case however, as the Reds sent him to Columbus to play with the Louisville Bats on June 8. The Bats are the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the Reds.

I do not know how I feel about this decision. Part of me is thrilled at the possibility that Mesoraco could rejoin the team in a starting role and bring his slugging ability to the lineup on a fulltime basis. However, another part of me is concerned that Mesoraco could further injure his hip or another part of his body that could set him back even further. In my opinion, this is a high risk high reward gamble for the Reds, and if I were in charge, I would have already shut him down and told him to get ready for next season.

Mesoraco is one of my favorite players on the team and is the best Reds catcher that I have ever seen. (Please note that I was not born until 1992 and therefore have never seen Johnny Bench play.) He calls good games, he hits well, and most importantly and what I like best about him, he is the definition of hustle for this Reds team. Every time I have watched him play, it seems that Mesoraco is always giving it his all and is constantly in high gear. That is why his presence is so important to the Reds. However, is having him on a team who, at the time this post was written, is currently 13 games out of first place and seven games under .500 worth the gamble of further injury?

I say no, but the Reds and Mesoraco say yes. In fact, Mesoraco was open to the idea of playing left field since he cannot catch this year. (If that does not show his hustle and how determined he is to help this team win, then I don’t know what does.) It is no secret that left field has been a huge hole for the Reds over the past few seasons. Will Mesoraco’s presence in that position be enough to turn it around for the Redlegs? Only time will tell. All us members of Reds country can do is hope and pray that Mesoraco does not suffer a debilitating injury and that his new position for the 2015 season is what ignites this Reds team and sends them on a playoff run.

Go Redlegs!

Billy Hatcher Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 Billy Hatcher bobblehead from the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE WITH NEW #REDS NODDER @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu #SDvsCIN #MLB #NBA #NHL #ATOBTTR #Sports #NFL pic.twitter.com/afTdH1FXKi

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 6, 2015

Photo Page Update

PHOTO PAGE UPDATE WITH #REDS PICS from #FireworkFridays and REDS HALL OF FAME @ http://t.co/yzF6TznxxM #MLB #NBA #NHL pic.twitter.com/YyN5Ui8Gby

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 6, 2015

All Good Things...

The friendship between Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns has been well documented by WWE. Ever since the Shield broke up last year, Reigns and Ambrose have remained friends and have even teamed up on a few occasions. Most recently, Reigns has served as the wingman of Ambrose and has helped him seemingly get into the head of the Authority and make a fool out of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins. This comradery between the two former hounds of justice is too good to be true in the world that is WWE and has to lead to a dissolution of their friendship and give birth to a rivalry between these two men.

On the June 1, 2015, edition of Monday Night Raw, Reigns spoke to the Authority on behalf of Ambrose to open up the show. He told them that Ambrose wanted a ladder match for the belt at Money in the Bank. Rollins agreed to it and since Ambrose was not there, the Authority decided to punish Reigns by making him defend his spot in the Money in Bank ladder match three times. Reigns emerged victorious in each match and kept his spot, and at the end of the night, Ambrose showed up to help Reigns beat up the Authority before once again leaving the arena with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. All seems to be perfect but as WWE has shown us before, all good things must come to an end and for Ambrose and Reigns, and that could happen at Money in the Bank.

I have two predictions as to how this feud between Ambrose and Reigns will start. I originally thought these two would feud earlier as I predicted that Reigns would turn on Ambrose at Elimination Chamber. I was wrong then, but I have more confidence in these predictions for Money in the Bank. I think that if Reigns wins the Money in the Bank briefcase earlier in the night, then Ambrose will win the WWE Championship ladder match only to drop the belt to Reigns as he cashes in the contract inside the briefcase. If Reigns does not win the Money in the Bank ladder match, then I think Ambrose will be a fingertip away from grabbing the belt only to have Reigns inadvertently knock him off the ladder in perhaps a failed attempt to combat interference from the Authority. Either way, I believe that the friendship between Ambrose and Reigns will end at Money in the Bank.

This would allow both men to have a high profile rivalry while WWE builds up feud between Rollins and a returning Brock Lesnar for SummerSlam. From there, all three former members of the Shield could possibly become intertwined in a rivalry that could culminate at Wrestlemania 32. WWE has teased this triple threat match for a while, and I think they will give it to wrestling fans at their biggest show of the year. Until that day though, WWE must focus on SummerSlam and a Reigns versus Ambrose battle could be on the card.

Elimination Chamber 2015 Thoughts

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on Elimination Chamber 2015.