ITVR tomorrow night

A couple quick notes - first we'll be putting ITVR up tomorrow night. It hasn't been an especially newsworthy week other than the death of Chris Kanyon, and having SD to talk about as well will be helpful; the break will also be nice after a 10 hour day out respectively at work (me) and at the Children's Hospital with a dehydrated little tyke (Ari). We'll both do better tomorrow than we would tonight at this point ... especially since I'm hoping my computer will be virus free by then as well.

*Quick note to contest-winner Shane by the way: your DVD will be on its way tomorrow or Monday at the latest depending on how LT is feeling and if I get out tomorrow to send it; I've had it ready as I said last week for awhile, but between Easter and then a sick baby, hitting the post office hasn't fit into the plans. But I will be express-posting it now so early next week should be a done deal. :) Take care.

Sick baby .. :(

If you're wondering where I've been this week, unfortunately Little Tyke has had a virus due to his teething (sores in his gums, etc.) which have led to him being difficult to get to drink and eat, leading of course to some mild dehydration (Pedialyte, water and lots of other fluids are Godsends). Between caring for him and the day or two of work I've gotten as well, unfortunately my hands have been quite full (not to mention my computer currently is also under the weather). This isn't going to be a long entry either -> I'm going to do some marking for my online course and head to bed, I think Ari and I will both have better tomorrows for some more sleep. But in the meantime I just wanted to let y'all know what was up here - LT is going to be doing better, but I sure miss Mr. All-Over Man this week (as much as he tires Momma out! lol). Add that to me getting over a mild tummy bug myself ... hope everyone else is keeping good health. XO

Quick updates

Hi guys - so missed Raw tonight as The Score is showing the finals of March Madness (finally, all will be right with the world as of tomorrow night), and will be watching the TNA Impact episode soon (just got in from an Easter trip to Kitchener). But I wanted to quickly touch on the two bits of wrestling news that came to my attention over the weekend. We'll start with the more light-hearted stuff first.

1. Jack Swagger cashes in his MITB successfully, defeating Chris Jericho for the World Heavyweight Title on Smackdown. OK - so after we talked about this, there were so many more interesting ways to go with this angle. He could have cashed in unsuccessfully, thinking he'd cockily timed his shot right. He could have cashed in successfully after many many false starts like Monday. Monday established a really interesting theme for Swagger, and WWE drops the ball. I'm glad to see someone new in the driver's seat, as I said at the time Sheamus won his world title - but surely it should be someone who's had something of a buildup, and hasn't been depushed and off a roll in recent months - Kofi Kingston or Drew McIntyre would have been excellent examples, or as we said, allow this MITB to build up Jack Swagger again after some months off the rails. We hadn't been given time to care after a long layoff luck-wise.

2. On a much more serious note, our condolences to the family of Chris Kanyon, who died, apparently by his own hand, this weekend. Kanyon was openly gay and often expressed the feeling that his sexual orientation had been a factor in his not being pushed, and ultimately let go by the WWE in 2004. Such a sad situation as yet another wrestler could not overcome both some of his own personal demons, and demons intrinsic, it seems, in the business.

More on both of these stories, of course, and a report on Raw, on ITVR later this week (and of course I will keep blogging as we go!) Hope everyone had a nice Easter.

Oh and look who's turning 30!

Happy Birthday Randy Orton! :)

Thank you Bret

You know, in the midst of Shawn Michaels' career ending, and in light of an admittedly mediocre return (technically speaking), it is easy to forget that Bret Hart likely just made his last appearance in a Wrestlemania ring, and that he, too, accomplished a lot to simply be able to do what he did. As Bret relates in his most recent Facebook blog:

"Although I know it was far from my greatest performance, I can proudly say it was one of my most glorious victories I've ever had. Once upon a time in my wheelchair after suffering my stroke in 2002, thinking how impossible it was to even conceive of such a moment makes me as proud as ever of anything I ever did in a ring. "

True enough Bret - and in all this feting of Shawn Michaels, we should remember to thank you for your incredible 20 years of contributions to this sport as well. He had a lot more to say as well:

On the McMahon family:
"It was sweet seeing the entire Hart Family play a part in giving Vince McMahon the beating of his lifetime. When I briefly saw Linda McMahon afterwards in the hallway, I confessed with a smile that I'd secretly given him a couple of choice chair shots just for her. This drew a burst of laughter and a smile. In truth, I'd like to thank all the McMahons (and that includes Triple H) for their kindness, hospitality, and for a fantastic three-month ride I'll never forget."

On Shawn Michaels:
"I want to take this opportunity to wish Shawn Michaels a great retirement; he certainly earned it. I know we've had our differences, but nobody can ever take away his greatness in the ring and, without him, it will truly never, ever be the same."

Keeping it classy as always Bret. Thank you! :)

And just a reminder to readers it's Easter weekend; I'll do my best to post over the weekend but it might be Monday night before I do. Peace and take care.

*SURPRISE!* Click here for an early post-Wrestlemania IN THIS VERY RING!

Enjoy. And also - check this out to see just WHY I've developed a grudging respect for John Cena of late:

Since I took the time anyway ...

I know I just posted and probably will again re. Raw tonight but I wanted to put this tribute to Shawn Michaels out there that I just wrote.

I usually reserve wrestling comments for my, y'know, Wrestling Blog. But as a wrestling fan for 20 years now, one of my favourites for all of that time was a then-young upstart known as Shawn Michaels, who has gone on to become one of the true legends standing tall above this business. despite being 16 years younger than him, he's probably the main wrestler I feel I've watched grow up, from a kid in a tag team just a year or two into his run with the big leagues, to a single star who had grown too big for said team, but with an uncertain future on his own, to a perennial Intercontinental Champion ('king of the midcard', second only to that upper echelon going for the world belt), to a young, brash, cocky world champion who self-destructed in a haze of arrogance and substance abuse, to a born-again Christian (and one of the few for whom I mean it quite literally when I say Jesus Christ IS his personal saviour), a stand-up husband and Dad who now sees in wrestling more a way to make a living doing something he loves and to teach and elevate younger talent than to win gold, fame and accolades for himself. Perhaps it took Shawn Michaels until his late 30s to become a grown man ... but he did, and there are very few wrestlers I've been more proud of.

He's had many monikers over the years that no longer apply, if they ever did - it seems a stretch to call a weathered 44-year-old "The Heartbreak Kid", and I feel at this point the Undertaker is more worthy of the moniker of "Mr. Wrestlemania". And let's be honest folks, while Shawn has been an excellent worker, he has not consistently been 'The Main Event' for a few years now. However, of all the nicknames applied to him, I feel "Showstopper" is probably the most enduring. Six or seven years removed from his last world title run, and 18 months removed from his last singles world title shot, Shawn has long been the quintessence of putting on a great match simply to prove he can.

More than a certain number of titles to indicate he is the best in this business, what Shawn can take home with him is this; last year's match with the Undertaker marked his sixth Pro Wrestling Illustrated Match of the Year win in a row, meaning he has won that accolade every year but one since he came back from a presumed-career-ending back injury five years earlier. That unprecedented number beat the previous consecutive Match of the Year Record Holder ... SHAWN MICHAELS, at 4 in a row. Between both of those streaks, he holds a record 10 Match of the Year wins. Perhaps they haven't all been for titles ... but they have all been the best, much like Michaels himself.

And the way Shawn went out was pure class, in a rematch with possibly his greatest opponent, the Undertaker, the only man in the company arguably as legendary as Michaels himself at this point, putting HIS unprecedented Wrestlemania win streak of 18-0 up against Shawn's quarter-century-long career. Shawn, spunky to the end, slapped the Undertaker in the face just as the Dead Man was about to show mercy, provoking the aptly-named Tombstone piledriver which ended his career. Uncharacteristic for the Showstopper, he left the ring not in a blaze of dancing and fireworks, but with a subdued hug from his Wrestlemania opponent and some appreciative waving and high-fiving to the crowd, heading humbly to the back and the applause of his peers, to the handshake of perhaps his biggest detractor (Bret Hart, with whom he has finally made amends after a 12-year cold war), but most importantly, to the waiting arms of his wife and children. Congratulations Shawn. You deserve it. And thank you.