STVO’s E3 2012 Anticipation Pre-Show

E3 is this week and as a gamer I am pumped.  This year, Nintendo will be revealing more details (except for price point apparently) about their newest console the Wii-U as well as new titles for the 3DS, Microsoft will be showing off Halo 4 and Gears of War: Judgment, and Sony will be showing off their new thriller “The Last of Us”, PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale (their answer to Smash Bros.) among many other new PS3 and PS Vita titles.  I am going to be watching all week for E3 and I can’t wait to hear what new titles (and possibly new consoles?) will be revealed.  In this piece, I am going to discuss my top anticipated known titles from the official list (currently from IGN and I’ll do a little speculation.  I’m going to open up with my top 5 most anticipated titles.

Top 5 Most Anticipated Titles Officially Announced (According to the IGN and E3  Official Website Lists)

5. Double Dragon Neon (PS3, 360)

4. Guacamelee (PS3)

3. PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale (PS3)

2. Pikmin 3 (Wii-U)

1. Resident Evil 6 (360, PS3)

Okay, while I’m a gamer and still love picking up games, I must admit, I am getting old. 20+ years of gaming, multiple consoles, I still play, however I have a lot more interests now than I did as a kid (comics/manga, cosplay, conventions, social networking, movies/Netflix, running, etc.)  Unfortunately with the expansion of my hobbies and working full-time, I don’t devote as many hours towards towards games as I used to. Hell, I still haven’t beat Zelda: Skyward Sword (that’s totally unheard of from me.)  Anyway, there’s a lot of great games I’d like to play here, many that are fairly easy to pick up but many that I just have a hard time turning down. Resident Evil 6 is another sequel in one of my favorite series of all-time!  I love the Resident Evil story (no matter what crazy twist it takes.)  The fact you can play as Leon Sinclair or Chris Redfield is awesome and I like the idea of Sherry Birkin from Resident Evil 2 becoming an adult in the game. I can’t wait for more details and I really can’t wait to play it!

Pikmin 3 on the Wii-U should be amazing! I love the first two Pikmin titles from the Nintendo Gamecube as it’s a simple concept but with very challenging yet strategic gameplay.  Pikmin in 2001 looked amazing for it’s time.  Upgrading it to HD will make it look even more realistic in terms of real life environments. Plus I can’t wait to grow an army of Pikmin and have them attack! PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale (I’ll call it PABR for now) looks like they definitely “borrowed” a lot from Nintendo’s incredibly successful Super Smash Bros. series, but it looks like it will be fun it’s own merit.  As long as it plays like/as close to/better than Super Smash Bros, it should be a fun title! I can’t wait to see more characters announced for this title.

The last two titles look like they are easy to pick up games. For those that don’t know what Guacamelee is, it’s a PSN game featuring a lucha libre Mexican wrestler brawling in a Metroid/Shadow Complex like level setting.  From the video I have seen, its animation is very similar to a cartoon like Samurai Jack. It looks like a lot of fun.  Double Dragon Neon is from Majesco and Wayforward (the makers of Contra 4 for Nintendo DS) and is an enhanced version of the original arcade/NES classic.   It is said to be an all-new title in the series but will retain the classic game play with updated graphics.  At the bottom, I have an honorable mentions list. Many are sequels to series I love while Far Cry 3 (I have never played the originals) just looks amazing from the trailer alone.  The Last of Us is a zombie title from Sony/Naughty Dog (makers of Uncharted) so I expect a very awesome game, however I will be picking up Resident Evil 6 first before I play that title.

Honorable Mentions: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Gears of War: Judgment, Mario Wii-U, The Last of Us, Sly Cooper: Theives in Time, Far Cry 3, New Tomb Raider, WWE 13, and New Super Mario 2 (3DS).

My Prediction and Speculations for E3:

·      Nintendo will show off several titles for Wii-U and 3DS.  I believe a new Zelda title will be revealed for the 3DS however I’m predicting Nintendo won’t yet have an official demo or trailer for a new Wii-U Zelda title as Skyward Sword just came out last year.  I do believe they will have a trailer and new details for the new Super Smash Bros. and I believe they will continue the idea of having it a cross compatible title between the Wii-U and 3DS similar to that of the PlayStation 3 and PSVita.

·      While lots of first party titles will be revealed for the Wii-U, I’m predicting on their main first party launch titles will be at least one new Wii Sports title, possibly another Wii-centric title (either Wii Fit, Wii Play, or an all-new Wii series title), Pikmin 3, and the Mario title that is being talked about being revealed. I believe they will learn from the mediocre 3DS launch that they must have some higher profile titles at launch to sell the system and they will believe that a new Mario title will do it.  While it’s possible, I don’t believe the new Wii-U Mario title will be cross compatible with New Super Mario Bros. 2 for 3DS.

·      I’m thinking Sony or Microsoft will show concepts or at least tease the idea of a new console launching in 2013.  I just can’t see either company waiting too long for Nintendo to launch a new console and they do nothing about it.

·      Microsoft will attempt to regain their hardcore gaming fans this year at E3 by showing off more titles (including the already announced Halo 4 and Gears of War: Judgment) appealing to the core gamer.  They will continue to show off the Xbox Kinect, but the last two years they put a lot more focus on Kinect than the core Xbox gaming. Perhaps some of their first party titles such as Halo and Gears will include modes utilizing the Kinect.

That is all for my E3 speculation and pre-show thoughts! This week I hope to Tweet and possibly Facebook some E3 info as I find out! With that said, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and subscribe to my YouTube channel as I hope to do some new videos after the week is over (might do one this week depending on how things are going.)  Also, I am currently holding a contest on the Facebook STVO Universe page where the 160^th fan on Facebook will receive a free drawing and a shout out by me to you on my next YouTube video!  The count is currently at 148, so tell your friends to spread the word please?!? :D

Also a special shout-out to my cousin SlashAsterisk on Facebook as well our friend’s event tomorrow in LA. Check out the SMOG Facebook page here for more details!  Until then, have an awesome week and enjoy the E3 Coverage!

WWE Over The Limit Predictions

This Sunday, WWE will be holding the PPV “Over the Limit.”  I guess this one has earned its name due to the “Beat the Clock” matches that were held prior to the PPV even though they only did it for the Raw championship match. Oh well. Anyway the PPV is this Sunday and to be honest I am split on how I feel.  On one hand we have a match that could easily steal the show and if allowed the time, could be a match of the year candidate with CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan and then we have John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis. The last match I am NOT looking forward to at all.  My friends and I will be dining and watching the PPV at Fox and the Hound this Sunday, so if you care to join, please RSVPhere! And now onto the predictions!

Over The Limit YouTube Pre-Show Opener - Zack Ryder vs. Kane: Does anyone still remember this feud? Does anyone want to? I was interested to see where the WWE was going with Zack Ryder being affiliated with John Cena in his feud against Kane, which lead to Zack getting “serious injuries” which had him in a wheel chair and more. Then of course this lead to Eve Torres turning heel by proving she’s nothing but a “hoeski” who was manipulating Zack and even attempted to manipulate John Cena during the feud with Kane.  Honestly, I thought they were going to let the Zack-Kane aspect go because Kane started feuding with Randy Orton.  At Extreme Rules during Orton and Kane’s backstage brawl, the “Woo Woo Kid” came out and started attacking Kane during the match.  Personally, I mostly have been watching just Raw lately but I don’t recall much development in their “feud” being developed since the attack at WWE Extreme Rules. Seems to make sense this match is on the Pre-Show instead of the main card.  Kind of disappointing because aside from Cena vs. Laurinaitis, no feuds have been built that entirely well on TV (the tag-team feud has been decent I suppose.)

Anyway, this match could be okay but since it isn’t on the PPV itself I don’t really see the WWE having Zack Ryder pull off an upset victory here.  I wouldn’t object to the idea though only because the mid-card for the WWE has been very weak in recent weeks. Anyway, I’ll go with Kane on this one. I won’t complain either way because I like seeing Kane as a dominant monster but it would be nice to see Ryder get another chance in the higher mid-card.

Who I Want To Win: Zack Ryder               Who I Think Will Win: Kane

WWE Tag Team Championship Match – Kofi Kingston & R-Truth © vs. Jack Swagger/Dolph Ziggler: Kofi and Dolph… These two seem like they’re stuck together for eternity. IMO, one or both should be a lot higher in their careers but on the bright side, at least these two work well together!  Anyway, from a viewer’s stand point I’m very confident this will be a fun to watch match regardless of the time these two teams get.  I’m also happy to see that the WWE Tag-team championship title is being on defended on PPV again as the last time I can remember it happening was WWE TLC. Anyway, I don’t see the “JackDolphs” winning this one as Kofi/R-Truth just won the titles and there are other legitimate teams that can take their belts away including “Tidus O’Neil/Darren Young,” the revamped “Epico/Primo” led by AW, or even the Usos.  One can hope that the WWE will build one of these teams to be a threat?  I’m thinking one or two things will happen following the match: Dolph and Jack Swagger have some tension following the match when they lose or A.W.’s crew (at least Epico/Primo) will run in following the match and attack Kofi/R-Truth saying they want their titles back.

Who I Want To Win: R-Truth/Kofi           Who I Think Will Win: R-Truth/Kofi

WWE Divas Championship Match - Layla © vs. Beth Phoenix: Eh not much to say here really. Both are pretty ladies, they will either put on a decent or boring match.  I’m predicting Beth will win her title back, possibly have a rematch with Layla at No Way Out and hopefully Kharma will return to have the feud we want to see.  Other than that, let’s move on.

Who I Want To Win: Beth Phoenix           Who I Think Will Win: Beth Phoenix

World Heavyweight Championship Fatal Four Way – Sheamus © vs. Randy Orton vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Chris Jericho: Alright, now this is a match I can get behind!  Originally planned to be Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio as Alberto has been getting in altercations with Sheamus prior to his rematch with Daniel Bryan at Extreme Rules.  I suppose the WWE felt that their feud wasn’t exciting enough and decided to add Randy Orton and Chris Jericho to the feud to spice things up when Eve Torres added them to the championship match. Personally, I’m all for this decision.  It should be interesting where they will head with this.  For me, I want Chris Jericho to win this match as he made a big return earlier this year but hasn’t really had any victory to justify his return to the WWE.  If he wins this match, he can establish himself as the top heel on Smackdown and could have a feud with Sheamus and/or Randy Orton taunting himself as the best. After Chris Jericho and Sheamus were the final two in the Royal Rumble match earlier this year I thought to myself “man that would make a great feud.”  Right now it seems like with the confrontations on recent TV that Randy Orton and Sheamus have had that those two may start a feud soon. One that may turn Randy Orton heel once again. I wasn’t a big fan of their feud from 2010, but maybe they’ll deliver this time around?  As for Alberto Del Rio, I like the guy and was a big fan of him when he debuted, but he’s been awfully stale for a while now.  Maybe they can figure something interesting for him to do to make him stand out?

Who I Want To Win: Chris Jericho                                    Who I Think Will Win: Sheamus

WWE Championship Match – CM Punk © vs. Daniel Bryan: Okay, I’ll admit the build for this feud has been relatively weak.  Most of CM Punk’s interaction has been with John Laurinaitis (seriously, Johnny L is conflicting with Big Show/John Cena/Punk, ugh..) and then Daniel Bryan has been more focused on AJ Lee.  They’ll have some altercations on Raw, but where are the promos where they rip into each other? That’s what’s missing! It’s okay though; these two don’t really need a big storyline to tear it up in the ring. They’ve had amazing matches on the indies scene and even on Raw and Smackdown earlier this year they tore it up together with what little time they were given.  WWE, do not make this an “18 second match”, hell give it at least more than 5 minutes. Seriously, if this match doesn’t get more than 5 minutes and there’s more on the card following it, I will be tempted to finish up my food, ask for the check then leave.  I’m really hoping this feud continues beyond this PPV but there is a possibility it won’t so if it doesn’t, please let these two tear up the house! I don’t care who wins, I just want to see them rip it up and put on an awesome show! This match is the main reason I decided to go out to watch this PPV, honestly if it weren’t on the card I’d consider skipping this PPV.  So even if every other match sucks on this card, if WWE at least let these two deliver, I’ll be a happy customer!

Who I Want To Win: Either, I guess more towards Punk though.       

Who I Think Will Win: CM Punk

That’s all for my WWE Over The Limit predictions thread! I can’t wait until Sun…. Aw no! There’s this match… :Groans:

Main Event – John Cena vs. John Laurinaitis: Remember when John Cena said he may be taking time off soon following his match with Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules? No, I don’t either.  Seriously though, I thank god I only pay $3 to $5 to go and watch the PPVs at a sports bar as opposed to paying the full $40 to $50 for a PPV.  Also think of the people who bought their tickets to the Pay-Per-View and hearing this is the main event.  I’m sorry to complain. I know that Vince McMahon vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin was easily one of the most successful/popular feuds of all-time and Vince McMahon was not a wrestler, but trust me, this is no McMahon/Austin.  I will give the WWE credit that they got me and other people hating John Laurinaitis but to me it’s getting towards “Change the Channel” hatred.  Aside from the HHH/Paul Heyman interactions, the fatal four-way match, and thinking about CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, the last few weeks of Raw have been pretty weak and I think I can primarily blame it on this feud.  I respect John Cena the person and he can even tear it up in the ring, but this is nothing more than filler. Honestly, he defeated Brock Lesnar just so we can see him feud with Johnny L? I really think Brock Lesnar should have given Cena a serious injury, have him stay out for two months, have him get in a rematch with Cena when that time passes, and Cena gets his victory back.

Just recently on Raw during the promo that was primarily Cena doing Ace Ventura impersonations on Johnny L, they announced that no current WWE superstars can interfere on behalf of John Laurinaitis and if they do he will be fired.  This sounds like an instant victory for John Cena right? Come on guys, it’s pro wrestling, there’s gotta be a catch! A lot of people are speculating a non-contracted WWE star of Batista to return, personally I just don’t see it.  Others (and myself for awhile) were thinking Brock Lesnar would do the run-in but like what’s been mentioned, he is primarily focusing on HHH at this time.  The other scenario is the recently “fired” Big Show.  Why would the Big Show help the man who fired him? It’s wrestling silly, he’s going to help John Laurinaitis out of an ass-kicking from John Cena and get his job back! Then he’ll either be a giant under the control of Laurinaitis or he’ll just be heel on his own once again.  If this is the scenario, I’m just hoping it will let The Big Show have a legit 2-3 month world title reign otherwise to me this is all just pointless. I watch wrestling to see wrestlers fight wrestlers, not have silly BS like this match likely will be. Anyway, I’ll predict a victory for John Laurinaitis.

Who I Want To Win: John Cena   

Who I Think Will Win: Definitely not the viewers. So John Laurinaitis.

Alright, that is all for my WWE Over The Limit predictions! Please follow me on Facebook and Twitter for more updates! Also if you’re in the area, please join my friends and I for WWE Over The Limit this Sunday atthe Fox & The Hound!

STVO Wire #5 (5/18/12)

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a STVO Wire, but here I am back with an all-new edition! I hope everyone’s week has been going well and I’m sure many of you are looking towards the weekend and probably have heard some news in at least one of  your interests that may delight you or come off as a big story.   I know I sure have!  Before we get to my news and opinions, I have a few things I’d like to talk about including a tribute to a talented singer and a quick recap of Anime Central (sorry, long overdue) as well as the Cosplay Prom.

Let’s start off with my tribute:

In Memory of Donna Summer

For those of you who may not know, Donna Summer, age 63 passed away May 17^th in her home after a battle with cancer.  She performed many hit songs including “Bad Girls”, “Last Dance”, and “She Works Hard for the Money”.  In addition to her talented music career, as a big fan of the sitcom Family Matters, she had a few guest star roles as Steve Urkel’s relative “Aunt Oona…. From Altoona.”  With this passing, may I wish her eternal happiness and bless her family, friends, and fans. While I was already planning, I will be very proud to be participating in the Batavia, IL Bridge Walk for Cancer this Saturday! I will be proud to participate for her and many others who have suffered from Cancer or are currently.

Anime Central and Cosplay Prom Recap

·      Okay, let’s get it started off with my long overdue review of Anime Central 2012.  I’ll keep this short because if you’re a friend of mine on Facebook or if you know me, I can go on for hours of what an awesome time I’ve had (it’s pretty rare you’ll hear me say that I found it just alright or had a bad time.)  There were a lot of great friends, fun events, awesome cosplays, and a lot of laughs!  I had a lot of fun with events such as the Pre-ACen Mitsuwa meet-up, the Late Night Meet Up at Shoeless Joe’s Rosemont, the Mortal Kombat Martial Arts Demonstration (see video below), the Batman Photoshoot, the Crystal Ball (I’ll admit they could have done a little more to justify the $25 price tag, but my group made it fun), and a whole lot more.  Sometimes I hear people complain “Anime Central is no longer about the Anime” or “It’s a Party Con! They don’t care anymore!”  I could not disagree anymore with those statements.  Like many of my good friends and I have discussed “ACen is what you make it! If you can’t have fun, then you probably shouldn’t attend.”  I found plenty of anime-related panels, the 24-hour video room was ALL-ANIME (I happened to watch a little of the Puss N Boots anime film featuring Pero the Cat, classic!), and there were many impressive anime cosplays.  Anyway, we’re 1 year away from next year’s event and I find myself counting down the days.  I want to thank all my friends for making it an awesome time for me and give a big thank you to the staff for putting on an awesome event this year.  I understand many are upset about the Masquerade and many are after the Soap Bubble crew for it being cancelled completely.  While I don’t think the event should have been cancelled, I don’t think the Soap Bubble staff is to blame.  The first person to blame is the person who pulled the fire alarm and I think the panels running prior to the Masquerade event should have been better timed.  I won’t blame them for the person pulling the alarm or the Masquerade being cancelled, however I think next year either they or the Anime Central staff should be more on top of making sure these guys get out on time.  The Masquerade was supposed to start at 4:00 PM but I passed by the area and it was 6:00 PM and people were STILL in line to get in.  I hope this will be resolved for next year. Personally I believe it will. Now to wrap up my piece on ACen, below is a video I made of the Mortal Kombat Panel I went to!

·      Last Saturday, I attended the Cosplay Prom presented by Anime Midwest! I met up with a lot of cool friends and made new ones there as well.  Personally, I preferred this event to the Anime Central Crystal Ball.  My reasons are: 1. It was $10 versus $25, 2. The DJs running the event honored more requests (which at CB they honored… zero), 3. There was a good mix of songs/dances, and 4. The crowd was a little more enthusiastic.  If you’re not buying any of these reasons for why I liked this event, well perhaps it’s because thanks to this event I will be attending Anime Midwest in Lisle, IL for free this July! How did I accomplish this awesome achievement?  Well first, I broke out my “Goofy White Boy Dancing TM” and following that my new friend Matt and I were the last two people on the dance floor picked by the judges. We were the Prom King and Queen and to get our free badges, we had to do a slow dance.  For a free badge to an anime convention, I’d say it was worth it! Can’t wait for July!

Now onto the news….

DA NEWS

·      Movies: From IGN.com (http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/05/17/news-sin-city-sequel-has-a-release-date): Sin City 2 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) has been officially announced for a release date of October 4, 2013.  Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller will be co-directing once again and Rosario Dawson and Mickey Rourke will be returning.

My Take: Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!!! It took 7 years but we are finally getting the details on a second movie!!! I loved the first movie a lot and am pleased they are not cancelling the production of the movie. Also they got two actors I really liked to return.  Here is hoping they will be able to create a solid continuation.

·      Wrestling: From WWE Superstar John Cena’s Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/johncena):  “STARTING Monday Night July 23 @USA_NETWORK WILL BE ADDING A 3RD HOUR TO @WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW - PERMANENTLY. #3hourRaw”. You read correctly,  WWE Monday Night Raw will become a full 3 hours starting July 23^rd

My Take: I love wrestling, but I’m not sure what to make of this move yet. Every now and then the WWE does 3-hour Raw specials but while sometimes they can deliver big (such as Old School Raw) many such as the last one before WWE Extreme Rules failed to deliver.  I know USA Network has been trying to convince WWE to make Raw a three-hour show for a long time now and it looks like the WWE has decided to cave in.  One thing I cannot stand with the current format is the amount of TV time that people such as John Laurinaitis (yeah yeah, he’s the top asshole on Raw we’re supposed to hate him) and John Cena (yeah yeah, we’re supposed to cheer him) are getting. Then we usually have several replays from “earlier in the night” as well as reaps from the previous week. I’m all for them giving a quick synopsis, but they need to lay off (last three hour Raw, they played the Brock Lesnar “I’m an Ass Kicker” promo multiple times.)  Now if the WWE is interested in extending the match length of their top stars and squeezing a few more lower card guys on television, I’m all for this decision.  For right now I’ll cross my fingers and hope for the best!

·      TV: From Adult Swim.com (http://www.adultswim.com/shows/toonami/): On May 16, following up the success of this year’s April Fools joke of Toonami being back on Adult Swim, Adult Swim has announced that “Toonami is Back Bitches on May 26^th!!”

My Take: As a fan of Toonami since about 1997, I am thrilled! I remember watching Voltron and Thunder Cats and the block being hosted by Moltar, yes peeps, I’m that old.  I always appreciated Williams Street’s creativity, interactivity, and freshness of making an action block and of course, the show, promos, and Steve Blum and Peter Cullen doing voice work for the block were phenomenal.  I’m hoping Adult Swim will allow the block start at 8:00 PM Central and go on. I’m also hoping this isn’t just “eh let’s keep everything the same and just paint “Toonami” over it.”  After thinking it over, I think Adult Swim should let whatever anime programs with new episodes remain, bring back a few old shows, and take out Cowboy Bebop and Big O… for now (I love both, but they have aired an on AS multiple times for nearly a decade and they’re not going to leave the channel forever.) Time to have some fun and make a schedule with a repeat hour late at night (trust me, while I’m doubtful AS will let it start at 8PM, I think there’s a better chance of that then letting Toonami have a different show in all hours with no repeat.) Also keep in mind that I’m pretending that Funimation/Viz/etc. is not bound by any contracts to not let any show play. All times are Central.

8:00 PM – Teen Titans/Justice League/Justice League Ulimited Cycled (Hate Teen Titans, but it was popular on Toonami)

8:30 PM – Megas XLR

9:00 PM – Samurai Jack

9:30 PM – Sailor Moon

10:00 PM – Dragon Ball Z

10:30 PM – Yu Yu Hakusho

11:00 PM – Bleach

11:30 PM – Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

12:00 AM - Durarara!!

12:30 AM – Tenchi Muyo! (Pick Any)

1:00 AM-4:59 AM – Repeats of 9PM to 12:30 AM Programming

5:00 AM – Voltron

5:30 AM – Gigantor

Something for fans new and old! Only Toonami!

This Week at The Movies

Now in 6 Words or less, my thoughts on the movies coming out this weekend!

BattleShip: More like Bull Shit.

What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting: Next time, use protection.

The Dicatator: Go away Sacha Baron Cohen.

So What Am I Doing?

Currently Playing:

·      Legend of Zelda – Skyward Sword: Yup… Still playing.

·      Kid Icarus Uprising: Little by Little.

·      Bio-Mass on Facebook: Very addictive puzzle game.

·      Sonic the Hedgehog 4 – Episode 2: Very fun so far!

Watching:

·      Slayers: Old school and funny anime series.

·      Game of Thornes: I haven’t technically started watching yet however a friend has recently loaned me his season 1 box set! Will definitely watch soon!

·      Elfen Lied: A friend told me about it and I’m very interested.

·      Fullmetal Alchemist: I’m going to finish this series! One of these days! It’s so awesome!

·      Trigun: Attempting to re-watch. You see I start to many series at once, use the internet too much, and when I get home late just feel like watching goofy comedies. J

·      Dark Shadows: Okay, I saw this movie for free tonight.  Prior to seeing this movie, I was not impressed by the trailers despite being from Tim Burton! I felt it looked like more of the same from him and it looked too goofy.  Johnny Depp actually did an awesome job as usual and the support cast was pretty good as well.  I loved the cameo by Alice Cooper as well! The evil witch in the movie played by Eva Green was both sexy and an interesting character in how she functioned.  The movie did have some funny moments, it was a decent movie, but by no means a movie I recommend even a hardcore Tim Burton/Johnny Depp fan to rush out to see. From what I’ve heard, if you liked the “Dark Shadows” television series from the 60s-70s, you may want to dodge the movie because this is more of a comedic take instead of the serious horror take of the original series.  Overall, I give this movie a 6 out of 10.

Coming Up:

·      Vacation in LA! Seeing family and friends!!! First week of June!

·      This Saturday, I will be participating in the Batavia, IL Bridge Walk!

·      WWE Over the Limit Prediction Piece Coming Up Later Today! Stay tuned! And also, be sure if you are in the Aurora area or able to go, come join my friends and I for WWE Over the Limit at Fox at the Hound!

·      Anime Midwest in the first week of July!

·      Hopefully other big news on the way! Stay tuned!

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Facebook Goodies

Hello everyone, I know I do my primary marketing of this site on Facebook and I "assume" most of you find the updates for this site on there but in the event you may not and have found me on Twitter, through a friend, or whatever method (to those I say thank you for helping spread the word!) I have created two all-new photo albums on the STVO Universe Facebook Page. 

The first album is all of my cosplays I am currently doing and a few from the past! Please check all of those out on my page at this link: Cosplays I Have Done

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Look, comment, and share! I always like hearing back from what you guys think of my works.  Also if you use Twitter or YouTube, I do stuff on both of those pages too! Here's my Twitter and here is my YouTube Channel. 

Now for some quick outside promotion. These sites are from some very cool people I have met and share some similar interests as myself.  So please give them a look and if you comment or contact them, tell them STVO sent you! :D

The Fan Riot
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WWE Extreme Rules Report from Rosemont

Hello everyone, STVO here! I apologize for the late report of this and Anime Central 2012 (which will be out this week!)  I just want to let you know if I haven’t already that April 26-29^th was one amazing weekend!  I wish it were still going on as for the most part reality can really bite.  Post con-depression did get to me for a while, but it was good to see everyone and it was real nice having a rather exciting wrestling event following the epic weekend. Since it has been over a week since Extreme Rules has moved on, I’m not going to make this report long as there likely have been many other reports that are already on the web, but I’ll give you some of my insight.

 The Pre-Extreme Rules YouTube match of Santino Marella vs. The Miz opened up the show.  It was a decent match and as I predicted Santino would make the Miz lose by performing the Cobra to end the match.  It’s kind of depressing to see The Miz go from WWE Champion/main eventer to “dark match”/pre-show opener.  Santino was pretty over with the Chicago crowd for the most part.

Randy Orton vs. Kane was a very good way to open the show!  Kane and Orton battled all over the arena. My group and I were at the very top, we knew they wouldn’t battle to the top but we were trying to encourage them with “go up top!” chants.  Oh well, we actually had a very good view for the whole event!

 

Back onto the match, I knew Orton would win and am fine with the result, but as a fan of Kane I definitely was rooting on the Big Red Machine.

Brodus Clay’s entrance had the crowd and myself on their feet!  My section and I were dancing and singing “Somebody Call My Mama!” It’s real funny though, while the crowd was hot for Brodus’s entrance, as soon as the match started, there were surprisingly several “Dolph Ziggler” or “Let’s go Dolph!” chants.  Sorry Funkusaurus, I guess we were just using you for your entrance theme. L  Looks like that doesn’t matter though, Brodus won the match anyway.  Honestly, what is with these once main-eventer/future main-eventer heels losing to comedic faces? I like the Brodus Clay character but even I felt that Dolph Ziggler should have won this match, as he is a solid superstar and really should be closer to the main event scene.  I mean he was just feuding with CM Punk at the beginning of this year!!

Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes was for most part unmemorable in my opinion.  There was a real nice spot with Cody pulling off a nice reversal kick off of a table stacked against the ring post to the Big Show.  The ending while it makes sense was real corny.  Big Show came close to land on a table on the outside. He prevented his fall by holding onto the ropes but stepped on the table and broke the table with his weight resulting in Cody Rhodes to win back the Intercontinental Championship.  While the title will likely help Cody more than The Big Show, the fluke victory was a little too cheesy for me.   The crowd and I did root Big Show on for his post-match beating onto Cody by putting him through two tables!

Okay, so I was really tired from the convention and was getting a bit restless and on top of that getting pretty hot from being in cosplay at Extreme Rules.  By the way, I think that will be my last cosplay at a live stadium event (unless it’s more comfortable.) Got many funny looks and one picture request, but other than that, too much work. Because of all this I decided to get a drink and some food to keep me up so I missed a good portion of the Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus match because the people working the concessions were a little slower than I was wishing. Oh, let me show you some pictures of my friends and myself at Extreme Rules. 3 out of 5 of us were in cosplay, haha.

Fortunately I finally was able to watch a replay of this match.  A lot of this should have been what happened in their WrestleMania match.  A very entertaining match but I have one slight nitpick: Why did Daniel Bryan get disqualified in this match? First off Daniel Bryan was only kicking Sheamus (I guess he went against the referee’s orders, but really?) and second off this PPV is called EXTREME RULES!  Wasn’t the original theme of this event supposed to be that every match is under Extreme Rules so anything goes?  I know a slight nit pick, but you might as well call the show Backlash instead of Extreme Rules if you’re going to do that.  Anyway, I enjoyed the match with the fact that they made it seem like Daniel Bryan had the major advantage including making Sheamus pass out during his match.  The crowd leaned more towards Daniel Bryan in cheers but many fans also chanted “18 seconds” in response to “Daniel Bryan.” There were also fans chanting “Yes” followed by other fans chanting “No.”  It was very much a similar “Let’s Go Cena/Cena Sucks” moment for Daniel Bryan.

The next match was hilarious to me.  Hilarious in the sense that you know WWE wants this guy to be massively over but right now it isn’t currently working.  Ryback (Skip Sheffield turned Terminator) squashed two jobbers.  I do have a problem with this match being on the main PPV card because this is something we typically expect only to happen on a show like WWE NXT or perhaps Smackdown.  I actually do like Ryback as he has some very impressive strength and I enjoyed Ryback’s previous character of Skip Sheffield.  The fans were chanting “Goldberg!” during the match, which was seriously hilarious!  Maybe it’s just me, but perhaps before Ryback’s matches, maybe HE should be cutting a promo instead of the jobbers? The jobbers aren’t going to be on the roster full-time, why do they have more personality than Ryback?  Maybe Ryback can say something like “I’ll go easy on you, but I can’t promise you won’t be injured.” It’s not great, but it’s probably better what they’re currently doing.  

CM Punk made the crowd really hot when he came out and went on to defeat Chris Jericho.  Easily the biggest pop of the night.  While I’m perfectly fine with CM Punk continuing his reign as the top champion in the WWE and am happy he has been the longest reigning WWE champion in recent history, I wonder where they are going to go with Chris Jericho?  Is Chris Jericho okay with being in a similar position he was in previously before he decided to take off from the WWE?  As of this Monday night on Raw, both he and Randy Orton were added to the World Heavyweight Championship match at Over the Limit against Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus.  Personally, I hope he gets another world title reign but with the rumored Fozzy concert tour he’ll be doing this summer, I’m not sure how likely that will be.

Layla vs. Nikki Bella was a match that a good majority of the crowd could not care any less about.  I remember that a lot of us were anticipating the return of Kharma to be Nikki’s mystery opponent.  No offense to Layla, she is beautiful and a decent talent, she and most of the other Divas are not very exciting to watch on TV.  In fact, a couple of us started randomly chanting for TNA Knockouts like Gail Kim, Velvet Sky, ODB, and Mickie James. 

Finally, the main event of the night happened.  John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar ended the show.  Brock Lesnar dominated the majority of the match.  While the fans were already chanting “Cena Sucks” and “Let’s Go Cena” most fans weren’t as hyped for Brock when he first came out.  It wasn’t until Brock started manhandling John Cena that more cheers began (I personally was going wild for Brock throughout the whole thing.)  There was one moment where several of us believed Brock had an injury.  Brock jumped up and showed no injury was had and we went wild in cheers for him.  Eventually John Cena came back in the match by using a chain on him and giving him an attitude adjustment in the middle of the ring to win the match. This win lead to my group and I leaving even when Cena gave his post-match speech.

Here’s the problem I have with this.  You sign Brock Lesnar to a limited appearance $5 million contract for one year.  You start off his return as a powerhouse and even have him dominate John Cena in the majority of the match.  Then Cena pulls a “Super Cena,” wins the match, and then talks about how he will be taking time off in the near future possibly.  Look, I get that Cena lost to The Rock earlier in April and could have used a big win, but I think Brock Lesnar could have used this win a lot more than Cena could have.  If it were me booking I would have had Brock win the match, cause Cena to be taken out on a stretcher (this was one of the rumored scenarios for this match allegedly), then they can resume the events of Lesnar attacking HHH on Raw and “quitting WWE” already.  How many of you guys really want to see John Laurinaitis vs. John Cena at Over The Limit? I sure as hell don’t.  I think they should have had Brock injure Cena, give Cena 2 months off, have him return in July and challenge Brock Lesnar to a match at Money in the Bank where Cena could have got his win back and have HHH and Brock Lesnar go at it at Summer Slam.

I don’t think things are doom and gloom for Lesnar, not by a long shot.  They can be however if he continues to lose most of his matches.  I get that WWE hired him to help put over stars and that’s fine but you’re attracting a much wider audience with Brock Lesnar now! When I told former WWE fans that he was back, they had a sparked interest and even some of the UFC never WWE fans were interested in this development.  Again, as long as they use Lesnar right, he doesn’t have to plow through every opponent, but he shouldn’t lose too often, then I think he will be $5 million well spent.  Personally though, if they plan to job him to HHH, Randy Orton, and CM Punk the next few times he wrestles, then I personally think it is time they write Lesnar off as a $5 million loss.

Overall Show Opinion: Even if Extreme Rules didn’t come off as good on TV, going to a live event makes a PPV or even a Raw that much better because you get to join in the cheers, you get to hear/see the pyro and live entrances, and it’s overall a larger than life feel.  But like last year, Extreme Rules is usually a PPV that will deliver the goods.  Aside from a few filler matches, we received three excellent matches of John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar (IMO way better than Cena/Rock), Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho.  Randy Orton vs. Kane was a hot opener to a great show as well.  While the Lesnar losing decision has me puzzled, it still didn’t change me from enjoying the show.  Overall I would say it’s an 8 out of 10.

BTW, I bought a Brock Lesnar and Daniel Bryan Shirt.

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WWE Extreme Rules Predictions

The “Most Extreme Night of the Year” is this Sunday and myself and other cosplayers will be there live! This is the night where there’s allegedly No DQs, no count-outs, and weapons are permitted.  Being there personally, I hope they battle near the cosplayers at this event, as it would be a major honor to be on TV, lol, if not oh well. BTW, if you’re going to be at the event, come to the Pre-Show Huddle!  The current plan is to have us line-up towards the entrance closest to the Target store.

I’m getting ready for ACen so this predictions thread won’t have the fancy picture graphics like I did with WrestleMania, but I do plan on going more out on my live Extreme Rules report. Without further ado, here are my thoughts and predictions!

Pre-Extreme Rules Opener: United States Championship Match - Santino Marella vs. The Miz

So, starting with WrestleMania earlier this month, it appears WWE has now decided to do the free Internet match before a PPV similar to UFC doing that with some of their fights. I for one welcome this approach.  It’s a nice change, as I like seeing people who don’t make the main card have something to do.  WWE used to do this back when they had “Sunday Night Heat” on USA Network.  Anyway about this match, no real build-up to it and sort of surprised they didn’t go with Santino vs. David Otunga as those two have been feuding since the build to WrestleMania 28 with the whole GM vs. GM feud, but whatever.  As far as this match goes, it can be an okay bout.  According to my ticket the event starts at 6:45 PM while the PPV begins at 7:00 PM. I’m predicting we’ll see a 5-10 minute match, no more no less.  I guess I will go with Santino retaining, as I currently don’t see any hints of The Miz being pushed soon. Whatever works I guess.

Who I Want To Win: Either I guess.           Who I Think Will Win: Santino Marella.

Intercontinental Championship Match – The Big Show © vs. Cody Rhodes

One of the first matches in what helps me refer to Extreme Rules/Backlash as “WrestleMania 28.5” or whatever the PPV that year is.  From what I see this match has no stipulation, um, are they going to add one or is it assumed that they can brawl anywhere?  Anyway, the outcome just seems like it’s going to be The Big Show. They had a good match at WrestleMania and I’m glad Big Show had his WrestleMania moment, but to me this is just a match to kill time. It’s fine I guess, but nothing really to get me pumped up. I see no reason for The Big Show to lose the title back.

Who I Want To Win: Big Show                  Who I Think Will Win: Big Show

 Falls Count Anywhere Match: Randy Orton vs. Kane

This is another match that seems to be added just to kill time.  That’s okay, I have enjoyed all of their previous matches they have had. Adding Bob Orton to the storyline has done little to spark my interest, all I ask of this match is for some good weapon usage, for these two men to brawl over the arena, and hopefully come by my fellow cosplayers and I while brawling. Is that too much to ask?  This will end the feud once and for all and despite Orton getting his win back from Kane on a rematch on Smackdown, I see Orton going over as the face beating Kane on a PPV to satisfy him.

Who I Want To Win: Kane              Who I Think Will Win: Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Championship Match – Best 2 of 3 Falls: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus ©

Anyone remember me predicting these two having a great match at Mania? I was so pissed they had no time!  Honestly, the WHC and WWE Championships shouldn’t have that kind of humor in the match. To me it was as bad as them being bumped to dark match last year.  WWE is confusing me with their plan on Daniel Bryan. On one hand, it seems like they’re mostly trying to sweep him under the carpet and have Alberto Del Rio be the top heel on Smackdown but on the other hand they seem to be really trying to make “Yes! Yes! Yes!” a new phenomenon (which my group most definitely will be chanting at Extreme Rules and quite possibly Anime Central as well!)

Anyway, as long as we don’t see Daniel Bryan get screwed in one of the two falls (18 seconds or whatever BS) I’ll be happy. I don’t see him winning the title back at all and that’s perfectly fine, but let’s have him and Sheamus give us an awesome 2 or 3 falls match where they tear it up and deliver! Not sure if this one will fight into the crowds or not, I’m fine either way; just give us some great wrestling please. Sheamus wins and starts his new WHC feud with Alberto Del Rio while Daniel Bryan feuds with someone in the midcard?

Who I Want To Win: Daniel Bryan (No Offense Sheamus)          

Who I Think Will Win: Sheamus

WWE Championship - Chicago Street Fight Match: CM Punk © vs. Chris Jericho

These guys tore the house up at WrestleMania 28! Besides maybe HHH-Undertaker, this was my favorite match at WrestleMania! Overall I have been enjoying the feud but with this week’s Raw with the sobriety test (BORING segment!) and the previous week’s hint of CM Punk drinking at a London pub, it has started to get dull.  None of us believe that Punk is really going to drink; we know those stories that Chris Jericho mentioned are real and mostly have influenced Punk with his real life decisions.  I like the idea of Chris Jericho trying to get CM Punk to drink and get depressed, as he has currently been his only opponent to get inside of Punk’s head. Well regardless of the storyline, it should be another great match.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see CM Punk bring more booze to the match and the two crashing bottles amongst each other’s heads, but we’ll see.

Anyway, a lot of predictions are going around thinking CM Punk will finally lose his belt.  I’m agreeing with these sentiments.  My reasons: 1. Chris Jericho hasn’t done too much in terms of victories since his “epic return” to the WWE. I think he’s going to want to be repaid at one point. 2. CM Punk had his big Chicago hometown victory at last year’s Money in the Bank. WWE doesn’t always allow the hometown hero retain! Chris Jericho will finally get his next WWE Championship victory and hold it either up until WWE Over the Limit or whatever the June PPV is.  That way he can take the time off and tour with his band Fozzy. Anyway, I think this will be the top match on the card if they don’t want to let Sheamus-Daniel Bryan be the one.

Who I Want To Win: CM Punk (It’s Chicago!)      Who I Think Will Win: Jericho

Main Event: Extreme Rules Match – John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has returned to the WWE and they’re milking every opportunity they can with him! Can you blame them? $5 million for one year, limited appearance, a lot of potential mainstream/UFC fan appeal. Of course you have him return ASAP! Yes, I will agree that John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar probably should be saved for a bigger event or have more hype to it, but like they say, you have to strike iron while it’s hot!  It’s going to be interesting to see how Chicago reacts to Brock Lesnar. I was surprised Detroit were chanting “Brock’s a Bitch” and were rooting for John Cena when he came out on the last segment on Raw this Monday.  Chicago each time I have attended has mostly been an anti-Cena crowd.  I personally will root for Lesnar and predict everyone else will do the same.

As far as the match goes, I don’t know if it will be great to be honest. It’s good that it’s Extreme Rules (well that’s the PPV name after all) but with Brock returning to wrestling, it will be interesting to see how well he holds up. I think it would be cool if he uses some of his UFC arsenal to take out Cena.  I’m in belief that Brock will defeat Cena this Sunday, as I just couldn’t see him return just to lose right away.  If I were the WWE, I’d have this match be a storyline reason for Cena to take some time off as he has been working real hard for the company and hardly takes a break. Let Brock take him out, go through others on the roster, and then have Cena return.

Who I Want To Win: Brock Lesnar             Who I Think Will Win: Brock Lesnar

That is all for my predictions, tune in next week as I will try to make a video or at least my thoughts of the show and let you know what I thought about it live!