Widro’s Daily Pulse

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I hope everyone’s been having a great holiday season. This week, Coogan is in the Hot Seat, we have more Wrestlemania thoughts and a look at what InsidePulse 2005 has to offer.

Wrestling



Raw last night was well executed on all levels. The show itself was laid out in a manner so that all matches had meanings and implications. Plus, along with the six elimination chamber qualifying matches, there were 2 other matches for an insane total of 8 matches on the 2 hour raw broadcast. That’s more than 2 or 3 Raws combined some months! And more than some PPVs.

The HHH/Batista build has more heat and interest than HHH/Orton has had since Orton turned. The subtle writing has really laid some great groundwork, and I don’t see how WWE isn’t going to do something to integrate Batista into the main event at Wrestlemania 21. I’ll have more on my WM21 thoughts later in the column.

It was cool to read about Ring Of Honor’s title change and storylines this week. One has to wonder whether WWE has some kind of limited working arrangement with ROH, or is laying the groundwork. Mick Foley and Ricky Steamboat are involved in a feud, that has now added Samoa Joe, a wrestler Foley has reportedly recommended that WWE add to its roster. With Steamboat recently added as a WWE agent, and both Foley and Steamboat having connections with Flair for some kind of upcoming angle possibility, I could see WWE leveraging the hardcore audience to create a feud tailor-made for historical and internet fans.

I reached out to all the writers on the Pulse to put together end of year features, and tons of people responded.

Check out Hyatte’s Best of Midnight News covers everything BUT 2004 as well as Grutman’s Best In Junk News Part 1.

In the next week or so, Pulse Wrestling also has a 2005 Predictions feature, a Top 50 wrestlers of 2004 feature and the end of Year awards! Not to mention the upcoming Pick ‘Em games for WWE PPVs that will pit Inside Pulse readers against each other and IWC writers in PPV prediction games — for prizes! RumbleMania season starts at Royal Rumble, so check it out.

Movies



I might be a little late, but I just have to comment a bit on Ocean’s Twelve. It was horrible.

Setting aside that the plot was very weak and didn’t really come together at the end (I should warn you that I’ll probably have some spoilers here), but the trump card had to be the Tess storyline to steal the egg. It was like the whole movie broke kayfabe for no reason, or the reason that the writer’s had no ideas. I was squirming at every part of that scene, which might be the worst example of movie writing in any movie ever.

On top of things, it was like the 11 star actors from the first movie, as well as Andy Garcia, weren’t enough to build a new plot. Instead the “writers” chose three brand new characters to build most of the plot around — Catherine Zeta Jones’ Isabel Lahiri, The French guy – François Toulour, and the older master thief. The writer’s tried to establish a weak history of theivary and a rivalry and all this complication. Along the way, they focused on the wrong characters and removed everything that made the first movie cool.

Cool actors doing cool things? Nah, we’ll just have them look like idiots and arrested and fail constantly.

Witty banter between the coolest stars? Nope.

Huge stakes? Not really, the first heist was for like $2 million. I wouldn’t think Ocean’s 11 gets out of bed for anything les than $100 million if they are the top thieves in the world.

But seriously, I didn’t even hate the movie. I just was baffled by how cliché the production ended up. When I first heard about the this movie, I groaned at the idea but figured that so many stars wouldn’t be involved if it was horrible. Well I was wrong. I guess I did hate it.

Games



It’s amazing that with 2004 in the books, there are some major titles coming out in January and February.

OddWorld: Stranger’s Wrath — I’m a huge fan of the Oddworld series, and the 4th console version is the weirdest yet. Totally eschewing the platforming elements of the first three games, along with Abe and Munch, the Oddworld developers have created a new genre-defying game that is now an Xbox exclusive.

Tork — Another $19.99 platformer reject coming out on Xbox. I was once excited for this title, but after Malice, I’m worried that once-hyped platformers that were canceled and released as value games aren’t worth my time. I guess I’ll find out in a couple weeks.

Resident Evil 4 is finally coming out in the second week of January, and while it’s not totally a Gamecube exclusive, and wasn’t released in time for the Xmas season (and couldn’t move any systems), but that doesn’t mean it wont be a huge release. I got to check it out at E3 and it seems to have progressed quite nicely since then.

Banjo Pilot — Rare has been so quiet in recent years, its hard to remember when each Rare release was a huge deal. It still is for me, but I’m apparently in the minority because there is NO buzz for this game. It was originally going to be a Diddy Kong Pilot sequel, but with the Rare/Nintendo issue, it seemed to have been canceled. Now its back, with the Banjo universe, and it looks pretty fun.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap – Folks, there is an an all new 2D Zelda coming to Gameboy Advance in a couple of weeks. The last time there was a new Gameboy Zelda was the Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons for GBC like 5 years ago. This game is going to be awesome. Plus we have a review already up for those who can’t wait – Misha’s Zelda Review

Animaniacs: The Great Hunt — This game is listed on ebgames.com but I can’t find anything on it. I’m a huge Animaniacs fan, and would love to see some kind of 3D platformer or something with Wacko, Yacko and Dot or any of the other characters too.

Also on the site this week”¦

If you’re a NCAA fan, Slayer and the boys in Pulse Sports have done a huge feature previewing every bowl game, including the ones already passed. And not to be too much of a bummer, but I have a sinking feeling about the next 10-20 years in sports, because if guys like Reggie White are dying at age 43, I cant help but wonder what will happen to a generation of athletes abusing steroids and drugs at an alarming level. We’ve already seen the aftermath in wrestling, and I fear the same is coming to baseball and others.

I’ll have more of my year end Music picks next week and with my Essentials (going up sometime soon), but in the meantime you should check out the end of year festivities already underway! First, Aaron has a great look at the year in hip hop. Also, new-ish Pulse Music writer Greg Wind has his Year End Essentials

Beth put together a career retrospective on Bon Jovi but didn’t put anything on this year’s box set! 50 unreleased songs, including 12 rarities and 38 never released ever songs? That is awesome! Plus they have a new “rock” album coming out this spring, but U2’s new CD was supposed to be rock too, so you never know.

As huge as American Idol is in the US, Canadian Idol is in Canada. Murtz conducted a huge interview with Canadian Idol runner-up Theresa Sokyrka. Check out this exclusive interview with Theresa Sokyrka and see if she has what it takes to become the next Idol runner up to see success!

Wrestlemania 21 Countdown


So I opened up the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last night, and low and behold they had news on WWE’s plan for WM21. Paraphrasing Dave Meltzer, WWE plans on having both John Cena and Randy Orton win the titles at Wrestlemania, similar to what I suggested last week.

It’s odd, but there hasn’t been much over the last few weeks to indicate any new concrete matches WWE has in the works for WM21. They might have a card in mind, but they have a ways to go to establish anything for ‘mania just yet.

With the continued HHH/Batista issue on Raw, there seems to be strong evidence they are building towards a three-way implosion of Evolution at Wrestlemania 21. JBL looks to hang on to the title through a winter feud with the Big Show, and head into ‘mania to face Cena to complete the double coronation of the cornerstones of Raw and Smackdown for 2005. Of course the rumor now is that they will be switched, with Cena moving to Raw and Orton to Smackdown, but that is far too advanced for WWE these days.

However, that leaves The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero without matches on the Smackdown side, and Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge and

There are also some wildcards still out there, like The Rock, Steve Austin, Mick Foley and others. It would be incredible if WWE could get Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan on the card somehow, as the likelihood of that dream match gets more slim each year. Also the Rock could be a major factor, depending on his schedule.

With so much up in the air, there isn’t much we can report as set in stone, but we can guess some matches, and have some creative thoughts on other possibilities.

So here is my card:

Raw World Title
Triple H vs. Randy Orton vs. Batista

Smackdown World Title
JBL vs. John Cena

Kane vs. Matt Hardy

Chris Benoit vs. Eddy Guerrero

The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle

Special Ref: Ricky Steamboat
Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair

Shawn Michaels vs. Edge

Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan

The Rock vs. ???

Comment on this if you have thoughts!


It wasn’t a proud day for the Hot Seat last time we were here, as Daniels tore his way to an incredible 4 out of 5. This week the Hot Seat is mad and it doesn’t bode well for Steve Coogan. He not only writes a bunch of columns over on the TV Zone but is also the head honcho of Movies Zone! Does he have what it takes to conquer the Hot Seat? Let’s get to it.

1. We always start with geometry — What is the frustum of a cone or any other geometric shape defined as?

Coogan: My physics teacher always told me if there was one thing I should remember from his class, it’s Net Force=mass*acceleration.

Unfortunately, we’re talking about geometry here and I don’t know.

Judges: That is wrong. 0 for 1

2. Just having tasted Holiday Spice Pepsi, it made me remember all the fun types of Pepsi there have been over the years. Please rank these Pepsi types in order of deliciousness, starting with most delicious: a) Pepsi Blue b) Crystal Pepsi c) Pepsi Twist d) Holiday Spice Pepsi e) Wild Cherry Pepsi

Coogan: Well, first off, Pepsi Twist tastes like Pledge, so that immediately gets moved down the list.

Pepsi Blue tasted like potpurri if I remember correctly, so that’s far down too.

Crysytal Pepsi was an amazing invention and I’m not sure why people didn’t take to it. Don’t people realize soda is brown? Ugh. So, that’ll be 2nd.

But if there’s anything the soft drink companies get right, it’s cherry. So, that’ll be my top choice.

So….

1) Wild Cherry Pepsi
2) Crystal Pepsi
3) Holiday Spice Pepsi
4) Pepsi Blue
5) Pepsi Twist

Judges: Good placement of all Pepsi’s. Crystal is a massively underrated treat. 1 for 2

3. Movies Trivia — What is the highest grossing comedy in Theatrical Box Office History?

Coogan: I’m going to go “far far away” with this one….Shrek 2

Judges: We were easy on you with this one”¦ 2 out of 3

4. We like to give everyone a fair opportunity to speak their mind on the Hot Seat. What are your TRUE feelings on one Michael Huckaby?

Coogan: HAHAHA!

Wow….Well, let’s get this done and over with right away, I don’t really know the lad at all. I’ve never met him and only really communicated with him over email, IM and various staff message boards.

From what I do know, I think he’s a ridiculously arrogant punk who likes to instigate s*it for the sake of instigating s*it. That’s what started whatever little feud we ever had to begin with. I said some things on a message board and he responded in a way that only a true asshole would. From there, it got worse and not better. I even apologized to him once in a private message about pissing him off but he never responded. Instead, he decided to take a shot at me in that 411 100 Movies column. Real f*cking classy…

Oh yeah…and when he writes, he thinks that the more hits one receives for a column means the better writer he is. He couldn’t be morw wrong no matter how many hits he gets.

Judges: Way to be, Coogs 3 out of 4

5. In 40 words or less, please try to explain again why Jackie from Roseanne was the #2 character on TV in the last 25 years, according to Your Top 25 earlier this year

Coogan: The bottom line to me is that she was absolutely hilarious, not only in her crazy thoughts and the dopey way she talked, but in her physical mannerisms as well. And she’s much deeper of a character that people give her credit for.

Judges: This was a loaded question. There was no answer that could get credit outside of a total recintion of the list and having Jackie on the list at all. 3 out of 5

Coogan actually fared better than average! Kudos to Steve and the Movies Zone, which is pumping out some awesome stuff despite being the Baby Zone at IP.

Looking Back”¦



Looking back at 2004, it would have been difficult to predict everything that went down in the world of wrestling, video games, music and all the other topics covered here at Inside Pulse. But I don’t think I could have predicted that 411mania would spawn InsidePulse, and I just wanted to thank everyone who came along for the ride. It has been a crazy ride over the first few months of the life of this website, and we have some incredible plans for 2005.

For everyone who has been talking about the “death” of the IWC, don’t be fooled. WWE still has millions of fans and there are still plenty of independents. Things are certainly not as strong as they once were, but WWE is one major breakout star away from rebounding huge — and it could happen in 2005. Inside Pulse will be there.

In the world of video games, E3 2005 is poised to be the biggest show in gaming history, with the rest of the decade’s roadmap planned out with three new consoles. Inside Pulse will be there.

Summer 2005 has some of the biggest blockbusters ever, including Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins and King Kong. Inside Pulse will be there.

Wherever the most diehard fanatics are, Inside Pulse will be there to cover it. Stick with us— we’ve got a long way to go and the ride is going to be incredible.

Jonathan Widro is the owner and founder of Inside Pulse. Over a decade ago he burst onto the scene with a pro-WCW reporting style that earned him the nickname WCWidro. Check him out on Twitter for mostly inane non sequiturs