Saturday, August 28 1:00-3:00 PM

Saturday, August 28 1:00-3:00 PM
New York State Fair, Syracuse, NY

Come meet WWE Diva "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix at the New York State Fair on behalf of Time Warner Cable starting at 1:00 PM!

Saturday, August 28 1:00-3:00 PM

Saturday, August 28 1:00-3:00 PM
New York State Fair, Syracuse, NY

Come meet WWE Diva "The Glamazon" Beth Phoenix at the New York State Fair on behalf of Time Warner Cable starting at 1:00 PM!

WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011

L’été il fait chaud, et l’actualité du jeu vidéo est bouillante. Pendant que l’action bat son plein à Cologne, c’est sous le soleil californien que nous sommes allés voir le nouveau Smackdown VS Raw développé conjointement par le studio nippon de Yuke’s et THQ aux États-Unis. Des modes de jeu améliorés, un peu de technique et des options de création de personnages plus poussées sont au menu de cette nouvelle mouture. Suivez le guide..

Lorsque l’on édite un jeu de catch salué d’année en année par la critique et adulé par des fans de plus en plus nombreux à se passionner pour ce type de spectacle, chaque nouvelle version se doit de proposer plus de contenu que la mouture précédente. Logique implacable et pourtant pas si évident à réaliser, surtout lorsqu’il s’agit d’un jeu de sport next-gen. Mais contrairement à PES, WWE ne souffre pas d’une concurrence acharnée et les développeurs peuvent donc à loisir se concentrer sur les améliorations intrinsèques plutôt que d’essayer de s’aligner sur le contenu de l’outsider. Ainsi le jeu de catch de THQ poursuit son petit bonhomme de chemin et nous propose cette année de concevoir dans leurs moindres détails les « moments » qui font le succès des shows télévisés, savant mélange de combats chorégraphiés et d'embrouilles entre les stars sur le devant de la scène.

A table !

Le mode WWE Universe, à mi-chemin entre carrière et exhibition, vous proposera de façonner à votre guise votre spectacle. A commencer par votre catcheur ou votre diva, que vous pourrez une nouvelle fois créer de toutes pièces. Son physique, son costume, ses accessoires et ses coups, mais aussi sont fameux finish signature. Ces possibilités de création déjà présentes dans le précédent volet ont été améliorées. Il sera notamment possible de débuter son enchaînement ultime après avoir assis son adversaire au coin du ring sur la troisième corde. Avec plus de 600 nouvelles animations, les combinaisons les plus folles seront permises. Une fois votre personnage fin prêt, le jeu simulera un calendrier qui s’adaptera à votre façon de jouer. A vous de définir les règles des combats et les histoires que vivra votre avatar. Il sera même possible de gérer ses alliances, ainsi que l’entourage de chacun des protagonistes.

Que penses-tu de mes nouvelles bottes ?

Road to Wrestlemania, comme son nom l’indique, vous offrira la possibilité de vivre l’intensité d’une saison d’une superstar avec en ligne de mire l’événement star de la WWE. A l’instar du show télévisé, l’action se déroulera autant sur le ring que dans les coulisses. Le jeu vous donnera en effet accès au backstage avec les pièces les plus visitées par les catcheurs ; salle de maquillage des divas, parking, bureau du boss, salle de pause, salle de musculation... Vous y croiserez les autres stars de la WWE avec lesquelles vous pourrez interagir. Répondre à des insultes ou accepter un combat par téléphone, le jeu proposera une immersion complète dans cet univers haut en couleur. Lors de la présentation du jeu, nous avons été témoins d’un incident dans le parking. Un catcheur s’était mis en bien mauvaise posture en montant sur le toit d’un camion à l’aide d’une échelle. Votre personnage avait alors le choix de l’aider ou non. De vos actions dépendront les alliances que vous serez à même de concrétiser pendant le mode Carrière. Si vous souhaitez la jouer façon loup solitaire, libre à vous...

Attends Roger, j'ai pas fini de changer l'ampoule !

Côté technique, le jeu tire parti de l’emploi d’une gestion physique des objets, auparavant entièrement soumis aux animations classiques. Il en résulte une plus grande variété d’événements imprévisibles. Ainsi lors de la démo, nous avons eu l’occasion de découvrir une pléthore de manières de briser les fameuses tables. En outre, les développeurs ont prêté une oreille attentive aux retours de la communauté de joueurs puisqu’ils ont remanié quelques modes de jeu. C’est notamment le cas du mode Hell in a Cell, qui se déroule dans une cage. Dans la précédente version, les parois de la cage étaient situées trop près de l’arène, ne permettant pas les habituelles sorties de ring. Désormais l’espace est suffisant pour permettre aux catcheurs les plus teigneux de se pencher pour attraper des armes planquées sous l’aire de comba

WWE Smackdown Results – August 27, 2010

Kane defeated Rey Mysterio in No Disqualification match by pinfall.
Kofi Kingston defeated Dolph Ziggler by countout.
CM Punk defeated JTG.
Alberto Del Rio defeated a local athlete by submission.
Jack Swagger defeated MVP by Disqualification in a takedown challenge.
Big Show defeated Luke Gallows by pinfall. Show hit Gallows with a knockout punch to get the win.
The Undertaker returns to Smackdown.

TNA House Show Results from Fayetteville, North Carolina 7/31/10

I went to my very first TNA house show tonight. I’d heard that they were very fan-friendly, but I was genuinely shocked at just how accesible everyone was, with one notable exception that I’ll talk about later.

Regarding the attendance, Jeff Hardy said on Twitter it was sold out. There was an entire row of empty chairs in the fifth row across the aisle from where my little sister and I were (fourth row ringside right by the ring entrance). But, the place was 98 percent packed. (Editor’s Note: TNA reportedly had a turn-away crowd, so it was a sell-out based on turning away fans at the door.)

The $20 grab bags went very fast, as did the programs, and I have to commend TNA on being so efficient with hustling their merch to the crowd and keeping the long lines moving quickly. Don West was on the mic all night, screaming at us to shell out our cash, and he hyped up the crowd very well before the first match of the night.

Mick Foley was signing programs for people up until the start of the show. I noticed TNA was using a Mac ringside to play entrance themes via iTunes, which made my sister lose it laughing. WWE isn’t the only promotion with a MacBook involved during their shows.

(1) Ink, Inc. (Shannon Moore & Jesse Neal) beat Beer Money (Robert Roode & James Storm). Beer Money got a ton of heel heat for demanding that no fans be given backstage passes. We may have been the only people in the building who decided to cheer for them, as they did a great job getting the crowd to hate them. Of note, Shannon Moore’s pants are quite sparkly in person.

(2) X Division champion Douglas Williams beat Jay Lethal to retain the X Division Title. Pretty lame match. Lethal did a lot of Flair gestures throughout to pop the crowd, but three minutes in, we were bored with the act.

(3) Knockouts champion Madison Rayne beat Angelina Love to retain the Knockouts Title. This one was pretty fun. Angelina got a huge ovation, and Madison did a great job of heeling it up, screaming at two guys on the front who were loudly supporting Angelina. During the match, Madison got in Earl Hebner’s face and he kissed her, which earned a big cheer.

(4) Jeff Jarrett beat Desmond Wolfe. Good match. Not outstanding, but for a house show, pretty good. Desmond looks great in person, and it looked to me that he was carrying the load of the match.

After the match, Jarrett thanked the fans for coming. He then brought out some new Army recruits and had them take the Army oath in the middle of the ring, since Fayetteville is a military town. This is when intermission started. Hebner was signing his t-shirt (why a ref needs his own t-shirt is beyond me) at the sales booth, and Madison Rayne was signing programs. I managed to get a free picture with Madison Rayne just for smiling and waving without having to shell out $25 for a program. Sweet!

(5) Jeff Hardy beat Matt Morgan. “Hometown” Hardy got the biggest pop of the night. The place was deafening, and my sister got to squeeze his hand as he walked past us, much to her joy. I think Jeff blew up in the first minute or so of the match, because he got out of the ring and took a knee by the barricade. I was right there looking at him, and it seemed like he was struggling to catch his breath. Whether this was selling or not, I don’t know. His weight gain is very noticeable, and he was pretty sloppy, though he nailed the Swanton. Morgan was the most hated man in the building for beating up on the hometown boy.

After the match, Hardy got on the mic and thanked the hometown crowd for their support. He declared that next time TNA came to Fayetteville, they’d be in the Crown Coliseum, which can seat about 13,000, and not the Expo Center, which had maybe 2,000 tops tonight. Fat chance.

(6) TNA World Hvt. champion Rob Van Dam beat A.J. Styles to retain the TNA World Title, with Mick Foley as special referee. This was the match of the night by far. RVD was the best athlete in the ring tonight, bar none. It was ridiculous how much he put into the match. I was very impressed by him, and the crowd loved him. He was second to Jeff Hardy for biggest pop. A.J. acted like a hilarious brat, talking about how stupid RVD’s entrance theme is. For the record, I think he’s right. Foley asked for RVD’s music to play again, and he concluded that the music was “really, really awesome.” A.J. was heeling it up like mad, shoving Foley around when a count didn’t go his way. This led to Foley pulling out Socko and threatening him with it. At one point, A.J. looked directly at us from the ring apron and called us, “stupid people,” for screaming at him. Great heel work. RVD hit the frog splash and that was that.

The show ended, but TNA wasn’t done yet. They let fans get into the ring with a very sweaty RVD for photo-ops ($20 a pop, no thanks), while some TNA stars went around signing programs. Now, I have to call out some people. Robert Roode from Beer Money seemed very disinterested. There was a gaggle of little boys with programs, and he scribbled on them as quickly as humanly possible before bee-lining to the back. A kid had the program turned to the wrong page and Roode refused to sign for him. It was really abrupt, but the other kids were too happy about getting signatures to care. Desmond Wolfe was a little better, but stayed for only a few minutes before booking it out of there. Jay Lethal was much better, signing programs, hats, even the back of a kid’s Rey Mysterio t-shirt.

July 30th 2010, WWE Smackdown Results

1. The show starts with another promo from Kane that is similar to the one he did last week. Same red lighting and background music. Kane says that The Undertaker finally opened his eyes and managed to speak the name of his attacker. Kane then says that Rey Mysterio was the attacker. He says that he will destroy Mysterio at SummerSlam because victory won’t be enough for him.

2. Christian VS Drew McIntyre – Christian starts by hammering on McIntyre and attempts a pin, but McIntyre counters with a series of punches. McIntyre hit’s a knee to the midsection and runs at Christian, but Christian sends him flying out of the ring. Christian misses a baseball slide, but comes back with a dropkick. McIntyre crawls under the ring and pulls Christian into the side of the ring when he goes to get him. Back in the ring, McIntyre puts Christian in an arm hold. Christian fights out, but McIntyre hits him with a shoulder block and a clothesline which sends Christian out of the ring as we go to commercial. We come back to see Christian get back in the ring at a 9 count. McIntyre then puts Christian back in the arm hold. Before he can fight out, McIntyre slams him for a near fall and then goes back to the arm hold. McIntyre then hit’s another slam and lands a few clubbing blows outside the ring. Another near fall for McIntyre. Christian fights back and hit’s a dropkick from the middle rope. Christian hit’s a series of shots, and lands a reverse choke using the ropes. Christian climbs to the top rope and hit’s a flying cross body, but McIntyre rolls through and gets a near fall. Christian goes for the Kill Switch, but McIntyre counters only to be hit with a reverse DDT instead. McIntyre then counters by slamming the now injured arm of Christian for a near fall. McIntyre stands on the injured arm and attempts a stomp from the middle rope. Christian counters by getting his foot up and gets a near fall. Christian hit’s a flying elbow from the middle rope and sets up for the Kill Switch again. McIntyre counters and throws Christian into the ring post. Christian rolls up McIntyre with a small package to get the win. B Good all around match with plenty of action and a unexpected finish. We now see CM Punk in a locker room yelling at the SES.

3. Big Show VS Luke Gallows – Show dodges a few punches and hit’s a knee to the midsection of Gallows followed by a headbutt and a chop. Show holds him in the corner and demands that a microphone be brought up so everyone can hear the chop better. Show then throws Gallows across the ring and sends him out of the ring by his neck. Show goes out to get him and the rest of the SES immediately attack him and the referee calls for a DQ. They throw Show into the steps and hold his hand on the top step while Punk stomps on it. Show passes out and Matt Striker says that he passed out from the pain. That’s stupid. I hope they don’t have Big Show come out next week with a cast on his hand. He just did that as recently as January 2006 in his feud with Triple H. No rating.

4. Kofi Kingston VS Dolph Ziggler – Ziggler starts by hammering on Kofi. Kofi fights back and hit’s a money flip on Ziggler. It looked like Ziggler tried to land on his feet, but missed. Ziggler counters and hit’s a series of slams on Kofi for a near fall. Kofi counters with a head scissors that sends Ziggler out of the ring. Ziggler then hit’s a reverse choke on Kofi using the ropes. Ziggler now puts Kofi in a chin lock. Kofi fights out, but Ziggler hits him with a knee and throws him in the corner. Kofi counters with a dropkick, but misses a splash in the corner. Ziggler comes back with a reverse slam for a near fall. Todd Grisham now compares Ziggler and Vickie to Tom and Roseanne Arnold. I’m sure all the 10 year old kids watching will understand that reference. Ziggler hit’s a jumping elbow for a near fall as we go to commercial. We come back to see Ziggler holding Kofi in an arm and chin lock. Kofi fights out, but Ziggler hits him with a neck breaker for a near fall. Kofi counters and hit’s a jawbreaker, but Ziggler comes back with a series of shots. Kofi counters again and slingshots Ziggler into the corner. Kofi hit’s a dropkick and a clothesline, but Ziggler counters with a kick to the knee and a fameasser. Ziggler then chokes Kofi using the ropes and Vickie slaps him while the referee is distracted. This enrages Kofi, who starts hammering on Ziggler. Kofi refuses to listen to the referees orders and gets disqualified. C Not a bad match, but it was slow in spots and had a confusing end. After the match, Kofi continues to hammer on Ziggler at the announce table. Eventually, several referees pull Kofi off of Ziggler. We now see a recap of Cena’s team fighting on Raw.

5. Layla VS Tiffany – Before the match, Vickie Guerrero comes out and says that Michelle McCool will defend the title and not Layla. Tiffany dropkicks McCool while she does some pushups and sets her on the top rope. They exchange forearms and Tiffany hit’s a superplex on McCool for a near fall. Layla then grabs Tiffany’s leg and Kelly attacks her. McCool then hits her face breaker on Tiffany for the win. D Not a complete waste of time, but still a long way from good. We now see Teddy Long on the big screen. He says that there is only 1 women’s champion in WWE. He says that they must decide who the champion will be by next week or else he will decide for them.

6. Rey Mysterio VS Jack Swagger – No DQ Match – Swagger starts by hammering on Mysterio in the corner and attempts a Vader Bomb, but Mysterio moves out of the way and sets up for a 619. Swagger rolls out of the ring and puts Mysterio in the ankle lock when he comes out after him. Mysterio counters by throwing Swagger into the steel steps as we go to commercial. We come back to see Swagger attempting a superplex on Mysterio. Mysterio counters with a headbutt that sends Swagger off the ropes. Rey hit’s a senton, but misses a rebound cross body. Swagger runs at Mysterio, but Mysterio pulls down the top rope sending Swagger out of the ring. Swagger counters and sends Mysterio into the guard rail and follows by throwing him over it. The continue to fight into the crowd. They eventually find their way to a merchandise stand and fight there for a while. Swagger throws Mysterio out of the arena where there just happen to be cameras set up waiting for them. They fight across the street while cars pass and continue into the parking lot. Swagger carries Mysterio’s apparently lifeless body a few hundred yards until they get near a body of water. Swagger throws him over the rail and Mysterio now starts to fight back. Mysterio hit’s a senton and a series of kicks until Swagger counters and hammers on him. Swagger puts Mysterio on his back and walks toward the water. Swagger tries to throw Mysterio in, but Mysterio counters with a head scissors and Swagger takes a few steps and flips himself into the water. Swagger starts screaming for help saying that he is drowning. Kane then shows up and grabs Mysterio by the throat. He chokeslams Mysterio into the water and the camera does a close up on his face as the show ends. C Not bad, but it was pretty tame and slow for a no DQ match. The whole thing just built toward Swagger being thrown in the water. Plus Swagger botched his being thrown into the water. He looked almost as bad as Batista when he was shoved by Mark Henry and took 2 steps back and jumped into the air.

Summary
Christian defeated Drew McIntyre – B
Big Show defeated Luke Gallows by DQ – No rating
Dolph Ziggler defeated Kofi Kingston by DQ – C
Michelle McCool defeated Tiffany – D
Rey Mysterio VS Jack Swagger ended in a no contest – C

Overall this was a decent episode of Smackdown. A very good opening match followed by a few decent matches. Hopefully it wasn’t a one time deal and Christian will really get pushed to the top.

Thanks for reading. Peace.