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.

A Dirty Finish?

For the first time since 1990, the city of Cincinnati will have somebody to cheer for in a world championship competition. It is not the Bengals nor the Reds, but a hometown wrestler who is currently tearing it up in World Wrestling Entertainment. That wrestler is Dean Ambrose and this Sunday at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, he will battle the reigning and defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, for the title.

This match should be a great contest as Rollins and Ambrose are always money when competing in the ring against each other. Just take a look at their matches from their rivalry last year and you will see why expectations for this WWE World Heavyweight Championship bout are pretty high. They often stole the show last summer and could do it again on Sunday despite the presence of two elimination chamber matches. The action in the ring should be great, but the finish to the match is what will definately be most intriguing.

If you have not been watching any WWE programming the past few weeks, allow me to fill you in on the factors that could and probably will play a role in the outcome of the match. On one hand you have the Authority, a faction composed of Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, Jamie Noble, Joey Mercury, Kane, and Seth Rollins. Odds are that they will be involved in the match to help their golden boy, Rollins, retain his title. They are heels (which is wrestling lingo for bad guys) and will therefore be a formidable obstacle for Ambrose and his quest for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

On the other hand, you have Roman Reigns who is the most interesting factor of the match. Over the past few weeks, WWE has been playing up the friendship between Ambrose and Reigns that dates back to their days in the Shield. This past Monday night on Raw, Ambrose and Reigns teamed up to take on Rollins and Kane in a tag team match and at the end of the show, Reigns came to the ring and took out the Authority to make sure that they did not rip up the contract for the title match at Elimination Chamber so that Ambrose could sign it. Reigns and Ambrose appear to be on the same page, but I have a hunch that will all change on Sunday.

When Reigns came to the ring, took out the Authority, and grabbed the title match contract on Monday Night Raw, I was expecting him to sign it and perhaps make the match a triple threat. However, that did not happen as Ambrose later made his way to the ring and the two of them proceeded to fight the Authority before Reigns let Ambrose sign the contract. Perhaps WWE is teasing us about not only a future triple threat match between all three former members of the Shield but also a feud between Ambrose and Reigns.

That is why, as much as it pains me to say it, I do not believe that Ambrose will walk out of Elimination Chamber with the belt. I think that Reigns will somehow cost Ambrose the title. I could see it being accidental as Reigns was being built to be the next top guy of the company, and WWE will most likely will be keeping him as a face (which is wrestling lingo for good guy). Although, WWE could also throw a curveball our way and have Reigns purposefully cost Ambrose the match and turn him heel which would add some much needed depth to his character. A third option would have Reigns cost Ambrose the title on accident then have Ambrose give Reigns a beatdown after the match which would make Ambrose a heel.

If i had to pick any of these options, I would go with Reigns turning heel as I think he could thrive as a bad guy. Insulting fans is much easier than kissing their butts, and Reigns could just unleash the anger on the WWE Universe that has been building up in him ever since his Royal Rumble victory in which he was nearly booed out of the building. Ambrose however needs to stay a face as he is already way over with the crowd and his character is currently hotter than ever.

So what will happen on Sunday as Ambrose and Rollins clash in the ring? Will Reigns cost Ambrose the match? Will Ambrose win the title? Tune into Elimination Chamber on Sunday to find out, and keep an eye out for my Elimination Chamber 2015 Thoughts video to see what I think of the event.

Help Get Me to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game!

Help me get to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game! Click this link, check out my profile, and give me a 5 star rating! If I manage to get to the game, I will vlog about it and share my experience with you guys! Thank you!

Bobblehead Page Update

#BOBBLEHEAD PAGE UPDATE @ http://t.co/7szAEAxyiu with a NEW #REDS NODDER! #GoReds #CINvsCLE #OhioCup #MLB #baseball pic.twitter.com/mugk9k7NSM

— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) May 22, 2015

Joe Oliver Bobblehead Unboxing

Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes a 2015 Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum Joe Oliver bobblehead.

Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume III 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 post, I will take a look at Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume III. On the anthology’s third installment are Wrestlemanias 11-15 on five separate DVDs. The unique thing about this volume is that it is the only volume of the four volume set that has no double sided discs. WWE was able to fit each Wrestlemania onto one disc, which means that you will not have to flip the disc in order to continue watching. For couch potatoes, this is the volume you want to get. The edits are the same as the first two volumes except for the blurring of the WWF scratch logo, which is not really noticeable until Wrestlemania 15.

The packaging for Volume III mirrors that of the first two volumes except for the pictures on the inside. Since Volume III contains Wrestlemanias 11-15, all the pictures are of iconic moments from those Wrestlemanias and if you are a fan of the “Attitude Era,” then you will definitely enjoy looking at these pictures.

A program is also packaged with this volume that contains every segment and match from Wrestlemanias 11-15 as well as another faceoff from an epic Wrestlemania moment. In my opinion, WWE could have gone with a number of options here for the faceoff picture as Volume III contains a lot of great Wrestlemania moments to choose from, but you cannot really argue with the choice that WWE ultimately made. They chose to feature the main event from Wrestlemania 12 as the faceoff picture, which really makes a lot of sense.

The Wrestlemanias in this volume are all generally good and fun to watch. Wrestlemania 11 featured a pretty good WWE Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Diesel, Wrestlemania 12 has the very entertaining Hollywood Back Lot Brawl and the 60 minute WWE Championship Iron Man masterpiece, Wrestlemania 13 features the epic submission match between “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Bret “Hit Man” Hart, Wrestlemania 14 has an all-around solid card headlined by the WWE Championship match between Austin and Shawn Michaels, and Wrestlemania 15 has the first epic Wrestlemania match between the Rock and Austin.

If you are a wrestling fan who grew up during or loved the “Attitude Era,” then Wrestlemania: The Complete Anthology Volume III is a necessity for your collection. It features some of my personal favorite Wrestlemanias, and you really get to watch WWE evolve as it sheds the last remaining aspects that characterized it during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s while it embraces the edgier content that put WWE back on top of the wrestling world.

Payback 2015 Thoughts

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