HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS

For all of you that read this blog, THANK YOU!. I hope you have a great Christmas and a joyous New Year.

THE PROFESSOR

UFC NEWS: GEORGE ST-PIERRE VACATES TITLE AND TAKES SABBATICAL FROM MMA

GEORGE ST. PIERRE

On Saturday, December 14th George St. Pierre vacated his UFC Welterweight championship and announced he was leaving MMA for the time being according to an article on The Province (read the article here). For seven years GSP has been the welterweight champion and the UFC's biggest drawing card to date.

There were many that were anticipating a fight between Anderson Silva and GSP to prove who the best fighter in the world really is. That fight may never happen.

GSP did not say how long he would be gone from MMA, or if he would return but just said, "I need to have a normal life for a bit." As a fan I can respect that and after seven years as a champion I think he deserves a normal life.

GSP is 32 years old so he can come back when ever he feels ready. He is a superstar of the sport. MMA fans will receive him with open arms and will eagerly await his match with the current Welterweight champion if he decides to return to MMA.

I wish him well in whatever path he decides to take. Enjoy your rest GSP. You earned it.

THE PROFESSOR

INDEPENDENT WRESTLING: WHERE THE ACTION IS

Matt Morgan as NWA FUW Pro Champion


As a longtime wrestling fan I've noticed that as WWE and TNA try to think of new ways to attract fans, independent promotions such as NWA FUW(Florida Underground Wrestling) and FWE (Family Wrestling Entertainment)  are using the basic aspects of the business to draw crowds.

For example, NWA FUW had a villain wrestler named "The Grease" hold the title for a couple months and the fans were waiting for a conquering hero to take the title from him. Enter Matt Morgan. He won the title in October after "The Grease" had held it since August 31st. Fans in the Florida area loved it and are still attending the monthly shows.




John Hennigan was FWE Champion

FWE is a promotion based out of New York City and until recently John Hennigan (fka John Morrison in WWE) was the champion. FWE uses an 8-man tournament as it's main attraction while having other matches on the undercard. Fans are loving the monthly shows.

Two different promotions using two different but effective tactics to draw fans in. I wish TNA or WWE would pay attention. They might learn something.

THE PROFESSOR

THE TERMINATOR RETURNS IN 2015

In 2015 there will be many summer blockbusters centered around comic book and sci-fi concepts. The two most anticipated movies for that summer will be Avengers 2 and the Batman/Superman movies. But now you can add the Terminator Franchise to that list.

According to Bleeding Cool(read the article here) there are plans for a Terminator reboot movie trilogy and a TV show in 2015. The TV show and movie will take a pivotal moment from the 1984 movie and explore that plot point in a totally different directions. Also the new movie trilogy and the TV show will sync up in some surprising ways.

It looks like Paramount is taking a page from Marvel's playbook after seeing the success they've had with Avengers and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  If Paramount can pull this off then this could be a historic media event. Marvel has not crossed many of their characters from Avengers into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the disappointment of some fans.

Hopefully this new trilogy and TV show will reinvigorate the Terminator franchise.

THE PROFESSOR 

GAL GADOT CAST AS WONDER WOMAN IN SUPERMAN/BATMAN MOVIE

Gal Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman. She will play Diana Prince in the sequel to "Man of Steel" as reported by many news outlets including USA TODAY. Gadot is most widely known for her role as 'Gisele' in the "Fast and The Furious" franchise.

I think Gadot is a good choice for Wonder Woman. She has the beauty being a former model and a 2004 Miss Universe contestant. She is 5'9 so she definitely fits the physical requirement. I look forward to seeing her interpretation of Wonder Woman.


THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. PAUL WALKER

Millions of fans are saddened by the loss of Paul Walker. PEOPLE Magazine reports that he died in a single car crash on Saturday. He was 40 years old. Walker was best known as Brian O'Conner in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise. Walker was in the middle of shooting the seventh installment of this series when he died.

He is survived by his 15-year old daughter Meadow Walker.


THE PROFESSOR

TOMMY DREAMER'S HOUSE OF HARDCORE: A TRIP BACK TO THE FUTURE

TAZ FROM THE ORIGINAL ECW


In 1993 Paul Heyman started ECW(Extreme Championship Wrestling) and brought about a revolution that changed the wrestling business for the next decade. Heyman made stars out of independent wrestlers who had until then, no national coverage in WWE or WCW. He also went with more realistic story lines and edgy programming that WWE and WCW wouldn't start emulating until the late 90's.
 
Heyman wanted to make stars out of those people who had no name on a national level. He created stars like Raven, Taz, The Sandman, and The Dudley Boyz, and Rob Van Dam.
 
Now Tommy Dreamer, another one of ECW's stars has decided to start a wrestling promotion to give wrestlers a break that they might not get in WWE or TNA. He has started HOUSE OF HARDCORE in Poughkeepsie, NY in the Mid-Hudson Civic Center.
 

HOUSE OF HARDCORE had a very successful card last Saturday (you can read the results here)  where Dreamer and his mentor Terry Funk took on Sean "X-PAC" Waltman and Lance Storm.


Tommy Dreamer

Wrestling is in a similar place that it was in 1993. WWE is the industry leader but has very few fresh or new ideas.

TNA could have been the alternative but chooses to copy WWE story lines and due to many factors including financial and marketing errors they have not had a significant impact on the industry in their 10+ year existence.

Tommy Dreamer has the knowledge and the heart to run a successful promotion. Hopefully, he gets a good money backer and can make HOUSE OF HARDCORE a regional, if not national success. The wrestling business and fans need an alternative to WWE.

THE PROFESSOR

FOX IN TALKS FOR A SEQUEL TO "THE WOLVERINE"

Bleeding Cool reports (read the article here) that Fox have begun negotiations with Hugh Jackman and James Mangold (director of "The Wolverine) for another installment.

In a few weeks "The Wolverine" will be on DVD and Blu-Ray so this is welcome news.

It does make sense as people love Hugh Jackman in this role no matter what issues fans and critics may have had with  "The Wolverine."

In May of 2014 we'll get to see Jackman reprise his role in X-Men: Days of Future Past as Wolverine travels through time to stop a mutant disaster and unite X-Men from the past and the future.

THE PROFESSOR

MATT MORGAN WINS NWA FUW PRO TITLE

Image Courtesy of Google Images

Matt Morgan won the NWA FUW(Florida Underground Wrestling) Heavyweight Title from a wrestler named The GREASE on October 26, 2013 according to FUW's website which you can check out HERE .



This is the first title Morgan has won since leaving TNA in July of this year. There are rumors that WWE is interested in the 7-Foot 330-pound star according to WRESTLEZONE (read the article HERE). It will be very interesting to see if or when the former TNA star is brought in.



Congratulations to Matt Morgan on his title victory!



THE PROFESSOR

MAINSTREAM NETWORKS AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VIEWING AUDIENCE



Kerry Washington

Over 40 Million African Americans watch television on a daily basis according to the Cynopsis Newsletter. Half of those people are under the age of 35.  BET (Black Entertainment Television) is still the number one cable network for African-Americans despie competition from new networks such as TVOne.

The three most popular shows for African Americans this year have been the 2013 BET Awards, Scandal, and American Idol. Mainstream networks are also trying to take advantage of this important demographic.




Halle Berry

With the success of Scandal on ABC, CBS wants to attract the African-American audience as well. Recently it was announced that Halle Berry will star in a sci-fi show called Extant about an astronaut that returns to earth and tries to reconnect with her husband and son. The summer mini series will be produced by Steven Speilberg's Amblin TV according to Deadline (read the article here).

As an African-American male I'm glad to see more attention paid to the African-American community. I hope one day mainstream networks will have more people of color in all genres of television like it was in  the 70's and 80's.

THE PROFESSOR

THE TERMINATOR IS BACK...IN COMICS

The Terminator is back...in comics. Newsarama reports(read the article here) that next year Dark Horse Comics will put out a 6-issue miniseries called, "Terminator: Enemy of My Enemy." In this miniseries the Terminator returns to 1985 after the events of the first Terrminator movie in 1984. The twist is that the resistance can't send anyone back to stop this Terminator. So there's no Kyle Reese to save the people of 1985.  Even Sarah Connor won't know the true reason why the Terminator has returned. The question is: What is this Terminator's mission?

If this comic book is successful then it could be a great way to reboot the Terminator franchise. I will certainly put it on my list of books to pick up in 2014.

THE PROFESSOR

THE 80'S ARE BACK...IN COMICS

The 80's are back...in comics. According to Comic Book Resources(read the article here) Lion Forge Comics' has teamed up with NBC Universal to release digital comic books based on successful NBC shows. Two comics were released this week and they are Knight Rider and Airwolf:























Michael Knight and KITT(Knight Industries Two Thousand) as apart of F.L.A.G.(The Foundation for Law and Government) solve crimes and protect the innocent.

A renegade pilot goes on missions for an intelligence agency with an advanced battle helicopter. This comic should be a new take on the classic series.


The downloads are available on iVerse Media’s Comics Plus app.


Lion Force plans on releasing digital comics on Punky Brewster, Miami Vice, and Saved By The Bell.


The Professor

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD PICKED UP FOR A FULL SEASON

MARVEL's Agents of Shield has gotten a full season order from ABC according to Variety(read the article here). That means that the show will feature 22 Episodes for the season.

The show is holding strong in the coveted male demo and even scored a higher rating in the coveted 18-49 demo this past Thursday. It is still going strong against major competition including CBS' "NCIS" and NBC's "The Voice"

In the second episode Samuel L. Jackson made a cameo as Nick Fury. I can't wait to see where this season takes us.

THE PROFESSOR

If you like this blog or the article please let me know on twitter @semscorpio

WRESTLING MATTERS THIS SATURDAY IN BROOKLYN IN FWE

This Saturday night night Family Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) presents the Open Weight Grand Prix tournament. In the main event, "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan will face FWE Champion John Hennigan (fka John Morrsion). Also, Tommy Dreamer will face Carlito and Ted Dibiase Jr. will face Colt Cabana. The event takes place at 9511 4th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY with the bell time at 8PM.

The main event is very intriguing as Morgan will face Hennigan for the title. Matt Morgan is very athletic as well as Hennigan. Morgan  is 7 feet and 330 while Hennigan is 6 feet 2 and 220. It should be a great "Big Man VS. Small Man" match.

FWE is providing a very basic but effective formula using a tournament filled with notable wrestling stars that makes this event very anticipated amongst fans.

Personally I think this will be an incredible event and show that wrestling can still sell tickets without all the soap opera drama.

If you like this article let me know @semscorpio

The Professor

NBC'S CAMP IS CANCELLED AFTER ONE SEASON

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Summer dramedy Camp has been cancelled (read the story here). Camp was a fun, summer series on NBC that focused on a fictional summer camp and the relationships that happen there. It wasn't an over serialized drama like most teen-centric shows and that was the joy of it.

NBC placed it on Wednesday night at 10pm for most of its run and ran into competition from the local news shows and other dramas on Wednesday nights.

I wish NBC would've kept it on at Fridays at 8pm where I think it could've grown an audience. The audience for that show would be tweens and teenagers.

Thanks for one great Summer "Camp."

THE PROFESSOR

UFC COULD TEACH PRO WRESTLING A LOT ABOUT PRO WRESTLING

JON JONES AND ALEXANDER GUSTAFSSON

At UFC 165 Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson put on an incredible fight that show both men's love, passion and desire for the sport. Eventhough Jones won the fight by unanimous decision, a rematch is already being talked about.
 
This fight reminded me of what's missing in wrestling: two men entering a ring fighting for a title and wanting to be the best. I think this is the reason that more people have turned away from wrestling and turned to UFC and MMA.
 

JIM CORNETTE

Jim Cornette said it best in an interview on what UFC does better than WWE when he said, "They build the champion and the challenger up as the two baddest assholes on the planet and they are going to fight for a belt and for some money and we are going to see who wins that used to be wrestling, now its UFC and now wresting has become sports-entertainment where: 'What’s going to happen in the soap opera?' The passion has been rung out of it and the emotion has been rung out of it.
 
Hopefully WWE or TNA will realize that they don't need gimmicks and soap opera storylines to keep fans invested.
 
THE PROFESSOR

SUPERMAN KILLING ZOD: NECESSITY OR SENSATIONALISM?

HENRY CAVILL AS SUPERMAN

In "Man of Steel" Superman kills Zod at the end of the movie. This has stirred controversy amongst Superman fans that believe Superman shouldn't kill no matter what the situation.

DAVID GOYER

In an article by Digital Spy(read it here) David Goyer the film's writer, explains the decision for Superman to kill Zod by saying, "So the situation was, Zod says 'I'm not going to stop until you kill me or I kill you.' The reality is no prison on the planet could hold him and in our film Superman can't fly to the moon, and we didn't want to come up with that crutch."

Goyer says that he knew that the ending was going to be controversial and that they didn't do it to be "cool".

Personally, I disagree. If they really wanted to get rid of Zod they would have had Superman send him back to the Phantom Zone like he did his other soldiers.

They chose for Superman to kill Zod at the end of the movie. He didn't need to. They wanted a controversial ending and they got it. Instead of a story on Superman we're getting a gimmick for both movies:

MAN OF STEEL= WATCH THE NEW GUY PLAYING SUPERMAN

BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN= COME SEE BEN AFFLECK AS BATMAN

As a Superman fan, I don't like it but there's still Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited if you want some great Superman characterization.

THE PROFESSOR

A TRUE TEST FOR FLOYD MAYWEATHER : ANDRE WARD

Floyd "Money" Mayweather is the king of boxing. After his defeat of Saul Alvarez he is set to make 100 million dollars in pay-per-view revenue according to YAHOO SPORTS. Floyd is currently 44-0 in his boxing record and has four more fights on his contract for Showtime and then many speculate he will retire.

Many critics of Mayweather say that he doesn't test himself against a top caliber opponent. Saul Alvarez eventhough he had 23 fights was out classed by Mayweather's skill and experience. Mayweather needs an opponent that is in his prime and can fight in a smart fashion much like Mayweather himself.

Enter Andre Ward.



Andre Ward is the current Super Middleweight Champion with 26 wins and no losses. Ward is 29 years old and won the Super Six World Classic tournament in 2011. He also beat light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson in 2012.

This fight won't happen mainly because Mayweather is under contract to Showtime while Dawson is under contract to HBO. Also Floyd likes to fight at 147 pounds while Andre fights at 168. They both could come down to a catch weight of 160 but I doubt that would happen.

Also Floyd is looking for big money matches with guys that have a popular fanbase. That's why he picked Alvarez. Alvarez is huge in Mexico and Floyd knew the PPV would do huge numbers which it did.

Andre is a future star and by the time he gets there Floyd will probably be retired. Although, I think Andre would be a great fight for Floyd.

THE PROFESSOR

MARVEL'S PEGGY CARTER: SECRET AGENT MAY BE HEADING TO ABC

Marvel may just trump DC and Warner Brothers at delivering a superhero TV show with a female lead. Deadline (you can read the article here) that Marvel and ABC are developing a TV show around Peggy Carter from the Captain America movie series.

If this show happens, then Marvel would have moved ahead of DC and Warner Brothers and established a TV franchise with a female lead. DC and WB have tried unsuccessfully to adapt Wonder Woman over the last few years.

THE PROFESSOR

FAMILY WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT REMINDS ME WHY I LOVE WRESTLING

In October Family Wrestling Entertainment will have an event in New York City. It features a 16-man single elimination tournament for the FWE Heavyweight championship currently held by John Hennigan (FKA John Morrison). The tournament features some of the best pro wrestlers in the world including Jay Lethal, Matt Morgan, and Colt Cabana.



When I heard about this tournament it reminded me of why I love wrestling in the first place. I've always loved the pure one-on-one battle for the championship and the desire for one man to be the best.



Lately, I've been disenfranchised with wrestling in WWE and TNA. I guess I just miss the days when two guys got in the ring only to find out who was the best. Those days of legendary battles such as, Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair, Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels, and Rock vs. Austin where people battled for number one.



Family Wrestling Entertainment is presenting wrestling in an old-school manner using the personalities of the wrestlers to attract a crowd. It's a novel concept that WWE and TNA could use more of.



THE PROFESSOR

BEN AFFLECK IS BATMAN AND I WON'T HATE

There are those that are outraged over the fact that Ben Affleck will be Batman. I have to admit that I don't like the idea but I'll wait until I see the movie before I judge his performance. As of now, we don't know what type of Batman Affleck will play.

Will he be brooding and angry like Christian Bale or a detective like Michael Keaton?

The one thing that we do know is that auduiences will come in droves just to see how Affleck does as Batman in the Summer of 2015, and that means millions of dollars for Warner Brothers.

The Professor

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11: THE PERFECT IMPERFECT COMIC FOR EVERY SUPERMAN FAN

As a Superman fan, I was a little dejected when I heard about the tone of the new Superman movie, "MAN OF STEEL." I haven't really gotten into THE NEW 52 either so I wondered where a fan like me can go if he wants something new but familiar.

SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 is that comic book. The book is based off of the TV Series that ran for 10 seasons. It has all the familiar elements such as the romance with Lois Lane, and his greatest rival, Lex Luthor, but with a Superman that's still young and learning. It also features guest stars like BATMAN and for this month, WONDER WOMAN.

I know that it's not a perfect comic and sometimes it has plot holes but it is something that comforts a long-time fan such as myself who likes it. I would recommend it to any Superman fan.

THE PROFESSOR

RAMPAGE JACKSON WILL FIGHT TITO ORTIZ FOR BELLATOR ON NOV. 2ND

          



















RAMPAGE JACKSON

It was announced at BELLATOR 97 that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will fight Tito Ortiz on November 2nd on BELLATOR's first Pay-Per View according to MMAFIGHTING(you can read the article here).


TITO ORTIZ

For weeks everyone in the media thought it would be Roy Jones Jr. fighting "Rampage" in a boxing match.

Last night Jackson expressed his admiration and respect for Roy Jones but said that he wanted his first fight in Bellator to be an MMA fight. Tito Ortiz then came to the ring and the two MMA legends had a staredown.

BELLATOR is using two veterans that both hardcore and casual fans know to attract attention to their product. From a marketing standpoint, it's a smart decision. Both Tito and Rampage can sell this fight. The actual encounter may not be great but BELLATOR needed something to attract the attention of the media and the fans and they have.

Hopefully, BELLATOR will feature a strong undercard to showcase their young talent so that they grow their fanbase.

If not, then BELLATOR may lose a lot of money on this Pay-Per-View.

THE PROFESSOR