Triple H
1. TRIPLE H IS THE NEW WWE Champion
Last night Triple H became the WWE champion for the 14th time. He entered the Rumble as the 30th entrant and eliminated Bray Wyatt, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose. This makes sense if you've followed the storyline. Roman has been a thorn in the side to The McMahon family for months and he even beat Triple H down with a chair in December before winning the WWE title on Raw the next night. Vince McMahon makes a match where Roman has to defend the title in the Royal Rumble. Triple H comes back and wins the Rumble eliminating Reigns in the process.This all sets up the main event at Wrestlemania where Triple H will defend against Roman Reigns.This proves that WWE can still tell a long-form story when they want to.
A.J. STYLES
2. A.J STYLES MAKES HIS DEBUT IN WWE
A.J. Styles made his debut in WWE as entrant # 3 in the Royal Rumble. The former TNA and IWGP champion had an impressive showing but was eliminated by Kevin Owens. This could be the beginning of a feud for Styles but I think the bigger deal is that Styles did not debut in NXT. NXT has been the place that many wrestlers who made their name on the independents and other wrestling companies make their debuts for WWE. This shows WWE wants to do something with A.J. Styles. A.J. is in his late 30's so the time is now if WWE wants to get the most out of him.
Class Dismissed
THE PROFESSOR
Sting
WWE announced last Monday that Sting would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend.
The first time I saw Sting, I was in second or third grade and we were all in the auditorium for recess because it was raining. Usually if it rained the school would show a movie or maybe some WWF wrestling. On this particular day they showed WCW Battlebowl '91 but at that time, I didn't know the event's name or any of the wrestlers. I had only seen WWF shows so the idea of another promotion was amazing to me. Sting would go on to win Battlebowl '91 and I would go on to remember the big, muscular, guy with the blonde flat top haircut, colorful facepaint, and colorful attire.
As I began to get into wrestling more and more in the early 90's I watched both WWE and WCW even before the Monday Night Wars. Sting was always a great hero and I enjoyed his feuds with Vader, Jake the Snake Roberts, and Rick Rude.
By the mid to late 90's names from WWE like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall came to WCW and formed the NWO (New World Order) a super heel faction that destroyed everything in it's path. WCW needed a hero to take on the NWO. That hero would be Sting.
As wrestling developed a much edgier attitude in the late 90's Sting would also evolve from the blonde California Surfer personality to a dark avenger based off of the movie "The Crow". With baseball bat in hand he took on the NWO and defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW Championship at Starrcade'97 and took his place as an icon of the sport.
After WCW was bought by WWE in 2001 Sting worked the indy scene and worked for TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling from 2002-2014. At Wrestlemania 31 he wrestled a match with Triple H and even this past October wrestled Seth Rollins for the WWE World title.
Sting deserves this honor for the three decades of wrestling and entertainment that he provided to fans like myself. Thank you Sting. Congratulations!
Class Dismissed
THE PROFESSOR
Pat Harrington Jr.
TV Line reports (read the article here) that Pat Harrington has died. The star of the sitcom "One Day at A Time" was 86. Harrington got his start on Television working with Steve Allen on The Tonight Show. During that time he got to work with other greats such as Tom Poston and Don Knotts before they were stars.
He was a fixture during the golden age of television appearing on such classic hits like The Munsters, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and McHale's Navy.
Harrington is most well known for playing building superintendent Schneider on One Day at A Time with Bonnie Franklin, McKenzie Phillips, and Valerie Berinelli about a divorced single mother raising her two daughters. As a fan I watched the show and was impressed how they blended dramatic and comedic elements so smoothly.
Thank you Mr. Harrington for your enormous contribution to TV.
THE PROFESSOR
