Chad C has a super early Suicide Squad review to hold you over for the next couple weeks and throws in Jungle Cruise and The Green Night because he’s a decent guy.
Chad C has lots to say about his man-crush on Jon Hamm in Beirut, the scary funny faces in Truth or Dare, and why Rampage will be the Law household’s favorite movie of ever. Again. Until next week.
This week’s BingeCast was a first, as we recorded the whole thing in three different segments. How does this affect your listening pleasure? By fucking enhancing it, that’s how. The show isn’t linear as all of our other BingeCasts, but we feel that adds to the looseness of this episode.
Law, Ammon and myself decide to break up the recording of this because of life shit, but it actually turned out pretty fun as we got to bullshit about other shit than movies and TV, although there’s PLENTY of that. Law and I talk about getting drunk and tripping on acid as young assholes. Ammon and I talk about Halloween decorations. We all get drunk and yell.
The format is a little up in the air this week but What Did You Watch has reviews of Colonia, Central Intelligence, Jason Bourne, The Homesman, Zombeavers, Pay the Ghost, Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension, Cold in July and an amazing accent review of The Puuuuurge: Election Year.
TV Round Up features American Horror Story, South Park, Baskets, Quarry, Vice Principals and your mom.
More talk of Emmys, Howard Stern shitting on Windsor, Google Voice with Macho Man and review of Riot Fest by Kupka, whether or not Monster Squad should be shown to kids and Rolling Stones Top 100 TV Shows of all time.
I am also doing a 31 Days of Halloween but only the best of the best. Comment below with your choices. I’ll watch that shit. Shut up.
Eons ago on the Binge Cast, Jim Law challenged me to write up a list of unofficial sequels to established films. It only took me almost two months, but here he finally gets his wish. This list was much harder to do than I originally thought. Reason being is how many times have you said to yourself, ‘ahhh, (fill in the blank) could very easily be a sequel to (fill in the blank),’ and then processed what you just said. Of course, it doesn’t help that I watch movies drunk 90% of the time.
Anyway, let’s get on with the list that Law was so adamant on me doing. Ok, he wasn’t. But if this list completely sucks, I have to lay the blame on someone, don’t I?
Here we go:
10) Gran Torino – Dirty Harry
When I originally watched Gran Torino in its original release at the tail end of 2008, I had not seen one Dirty Harry film. Ok, I take that back. My father would always take me to the drive-in to see them. But if it did not have aliens or special effects, I wouldn’t pay attention. So in essence, I had seen three out of the five Dirty Harry films. However, in recently watching the entire Dirty Harry series and then following that up with Gran Torino, you can take away Walt’s backstory of being a Korean War veteran, and you could have Harry Callahan in retirement, angry at what the world around him has become after spending years defending it.
9) The Rock – Sean Connery’s Bond Films.
This one is gaining a bit of traction as the result of a Yahoo article that explored the question of whether now retired curmudgeon Sean Connery was using The Rock to play an older version of his characterization of Ian Fleming’s spy he played throughout the 60s and early 70s (and the 80s if you must include Never Say Never Again). The theory holds a lot of water, as The Rock makes lots of references to Connery’s character of Mason’s checkered spy past, with this bit of exposition spewed to say what happened for Mason to have ended up imprisoned in Alcatraz: “Of course the British claimed they’d never heard of him. And we held him without trial, until he gave up the microfilm. But he never did.” Say what you will about Michael Bay. The man knows cinematic history, and I think all references to Bond made in The Rock are far from coincidental.
8) Manhattan Murder Mystery – Annie Hall.
Say what you will, but I am a fan of Woody Allen’s late 80s – early 90s work. I started getting into his stuff while still an employee of a video store. With three free rentals at my disposal, I figured I had nothing to lose by renting at least one Allen film a week. That one became two a week. Progression took its course, and I was eventually renting three a night. His ‘nebbish caught in situations he cannot control’ schtick worked with me for years. It has only been in the last decade or so where I have found myself not getting as hooked on his writing as before. Getting back to this part of Allen’s career (and the essence of this list), when I watch Manhattan Murder Mystery, I like to pretend Woody Allen and Diane Keaton are playing Annie and Alvey from Annie Hall, having gotten back together over the last 20 years. It would seem to be a natural progression, and it wouldn’t surprise me, especially given Allen’s original intentions of making Annie Hall revolve around a mystery, if it had some shard of truth in it.
7)Election – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
I’ll go ahead and say it: I have never been a fan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I think it pales in comparison to John Hughes’ teen fare. But its biggest flaw is that its main character is nothing short of an asshole. While you can say that about the majority of Hughes’ characters, Ferris did not have one endearing quality which made me root for him. Even as a kid, I wanted his parents to get home in time so that his ruse for a day off could be completely broken. So when I finally laid eyes on Alexander Payne’s Election a couple years ago (yes, I was late to that party) I couldn’t help but feel that little asshole was finally getting his comeuppance in the form of Reese Witherspoon’s shenanigans.
6) My Blue Heaven – Goodfellas
This is an odd one. Coming out the same year as Goodfellas, My Blue Heaven was written by Nora Ephron, who was the wife of Nicholas Pileggi. Of course, Pileggi wrote the book Wiseguy, on which Goodfellas was based. Not a coincidence. My Blue Heaven stars Steve Martin and Rick Moranis as men leading different lifestyles but share similar life altering situations. IE: Their wives leave them and they both deal with the Witness Protection Program. Of course, we all know about Goodfellas, which tells of Henry Hill’s induction and obsession into the world of mobster life. Heaven‘s witty script is helped by Martin’s hilarious portrayal of Vinnie, a mobster who does not want to give up ‘the life.’ I guess when played side by side, these two films can be seen as a single episode of ‘Crimes in Conjunction with Lifestyles.’
5) Enemy of the State – The Conversation
I didn’t notice this one until rewatching both of these films in close conjunction with one another. There are quite a few similarities between Gene Hackman’s NSA agent Edward Lyle from Enemy of the State and his freelancer Henry Caul from The Conversation. From their trench coat filled wardrobe all the way to their all-consuming paranoia, the two characters are one of the same. Proving not to be indignant to the similarities, director Tony Scott uses a picture of Henry Caul from The Conversation as the image to represent the younger version of Edward Lyle.
4) E.T. – Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
In my experience, there are two types of people. Those who love E.T. and those who love Close Encounters. There are no two ways about it. You either go with Richard Dreyfuss living his dream of going up in an alien space ship. Or you go with Henry Thomas watching his best friend go up in his. Me, I have always been an E.T. guy. And when watched back to back, both films act as well done acts of projection. Where E.T. gets it right is in its innocence and vulnerability. Dreyfuss playing with his mashed potatoes did nothing to make me like him. So, is Elliott Steven Spielberg’s mirror image, or is he the son of Dreyfuss who, much like Elliott’s dad, left his family without a father? Perhaps not coincidentally, 23 years later Spielberg would revolve a remake of Wells’ War of the Worlds around the story of a father trying to make ado before he loses his family.
3) Hard Eight – Midnight Run
Paul Thomas Anderson is another modern filmmaker whose work I am not up & over the moon over, but his love for the art form is not to be ignored. Hard Eight is probably my favorite work by him, and it was only in recently rewatching Midnight Run where I made this connection: Hard Eight is built around Philip Baker Hall’s burnt-out gangster, who may or may not be the same man from Midnight Run. However you feel about either, you cannot ignore one similarity: both characters are named Sydney and played by the same actor. Ohhh Anderson, you sly devil you.
2) This is 40 – Knocked Up
Judd Apatow has spent the better part of a decade building his own comedy universe. Both behind the scenes and his cinematic universe, Apatow has done a nice job of weaving characters and their lives just to his liking. Almost as if all his Freaks & Geeks characters have gotten their own bit of screen time. Some people like these characters. Others (me) do not. But however you feel about his comedic style, Apatow takes his good ol’ time with each character he creates. Almost as if this is how Ron Howard would have handled his Parenthood universe had he decided to stick with it. These two films, when watched back to back, work just as well when looked at as a four hour movie. In fact, I would argue one could not be watched without the other in order for either to work.
1) Unforgiven – All of Clint Eastwood’s Spaghetti Westerns
I start with Clint, I end with Clint. Hey, it’s my list. I can do what I want. In any event, this connection is quite obvious in watching Unforgiven today. A dark film written by David Peoples (Blade Runner) with no leeway in sight, Unforgiven is an unrelenting foray into the world of prostitution in the Old West. When given the opportunity for a reward, Eastwood’s character of William Munny can be seen taking on ‘one more job,’ and seems to be a perfect cap-off to all his other -less dark- spaghetti western films. Eastwood hasn’t taken the genre on again in the 23 years since The Unforgiven was released. And much like Gran Torino did for Dirty Harry, I see it as a perfect conclusion to what he started.
Do you have any more? There are so many I wanted to include but didn’t. For example, I think Black Rain and Basic Instinct go very well together as one story. Both films have Michael Douglas playing a cop dealing with vice issues, and they are both named Nick, albeit with different last names. Nonetheless, Douglas’s character in Basic Instinct gets a lot more interesting if you look at Black Rain as his backstory.
Anymore? Let me know either here or on our Facebook page.
Damn, it’s been a while since I’ve put that logo up, so it’s nice to be able to say welcome back to Working the Weekend with Luke. For the last few weeks, there’s been so much going on in the sports world that my Binge Sports columns have been substituting for this one in my normal Sunday slot. Don’t get me wrong. I love writing about sports, but it’s nice to branch out from time to time, and I do have some Binge Sports info for you, but we’ll get to that in a little while. But before I get to that announcement, I’d hate myself if I didn’t once again mention how sad I am about the death of Lauren Hill. I’ve been following her inspirational story from the start and I can never say enough about how this courageous young woman impacted me. If you missed my story on Friday afternoon, click HERE. RIP Lauren.
But what else have I been up to lately? I’m so happy you asked.
FURIOUS 7
This is exactly what an action movie is supposed to be….and more. Yeah, I know most of the guys have hit on it at one point or another over the past week, but I just couldn’t help but commenting on it. I’ll admit that when the series first started, I basically refused to see it. I don’t even think I saw the first one until maybe five years after it came out. But all of a sudden, they started to become guilty pleasures that I just couldn’t turn off. Was the acting the greatest? Come on…it was Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. But I was entertained. Give me Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez to boot. Yeah, I’m in. Then we throw in Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, and Eva Mendes in the sequel. A little more comedy and well…Eva Mendes. Sure, Tokyo Drift was the weakest in the series, but when the main cast reunited for the fourth installment, I was intrigued so I checked it out. And once again I was back in. And then you throw in The Rock and Gal Gadot and Gina Carano in the next couple flicks. Yeah, I’m in.
Then I hear that Kurt Russell has joined in. Jason Statham shows up as the new villain. Djimon Hounsou comes on board. Ronda Rousey gets a chick fight with Michelle Rodriguez. Yes please! And then tragedy strikes. In a cruel and way too ironic accident, Paul Walker dies in a freaking car crash. Wait, seriously? Now, whether or not you were a fan of Paul Walker is irrelevant. Was he the best actor in the world? Certainly not. But I’ll make the same point that Jack made on Tuesday. He was perfect for this franchise. His on-screen chemistry with Vin Diesel was fantastic. And if they had been a real life couple, he and Jordana Brewster could seriously have made some of the prettiest babies ever. On screen, this is where some of the great drama was in this film. There’s a real family element here now. Not just the “familia” stuff that Vin spouts about, but an actual man, woman, and children (minor spoiler) family. And this is really where the story gets you.
But before we get to that, let me get to the action without giving away too much. The first big fight scene between Statham and The Rock is just awesome, and I will tell you that Statham gets a Rock Bottom through a table. For you non-wrestling folks, you may not understand the reference, but as a fan, it was nice. Keep it real Dwayne! Were some of the stunts over the top? Of course they were. Did it work? Of course it did. Yeah, I know you’re all skeptical about the cars dropping out of a plane scene, but the ridiculousness is overshadowed by the brilliant comedy of Tyrese in this scene. Seriously, I don’t know what day he decided to not just be a singer, but I’m happy about the decision. He brings a different element to these movies and it’s been great. The back and forth between he and Luda is phenomenal and has been for a few movies now.
There’s almost too much to get to. There’s Kurt Russell, who you sometimes forget just how awesome he is until he pops up in movies from time to time these days. But he’s Kurt Russell, so you know it’s good. Fun fact: they tried to get Denzel but he declined. Of course, there’s the revenge story of Han. And kudos to Lucas Black for making an appearance. Then you’ve got the Dom-Leti relationship and her memory loss. Yes, the result is pretty much impossible, but it’s a nice ride (pun intended) to get where we get to with that.
But the end is really what the movie is about. After Walker’s death, I was so curious on how they could finish things up, but I don’t think it could have gone any more perfectly. Before I give the ending away, I’m going to stop and just say that you’re not supposed to get emotional at anything having to do with this franchise. You’re supposed to go to the movies for a couple hours and just have some fun and not think about anything. But knowing what you know when you go in, you can’t help but get choked up at certain points. And the very end…forget about it. It’s the perfect tribute with some perfect words from Vin Diesel. I never thought I’d write that sentence, but it’s the truth. Now I know the plan is to make three more, but I wish they would leave it alone. For a blockbuster, it really does give you everything. It would be the perfect ending to one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history.
Wow, where do I go from there?
Well, I finally made the jump. DirecTV is gone and I’m now for the most part a streaming-only kind of guy.
I went out and bought the Roku 3 and it’s what I run just about everything through. You’d think they were paying me, but they’re not, but I highly recommend this for anyone who’s not using the smart TV. It’s got the ability to run all the channels and services that you’re looking for, but I’ve found that I really don’t need that much.
As of right now, these are really the only ones that I need. Netflix is well….Netflix. I wish they had more newer movies to stream, but if you’re looking to binge a television show, this is the place for you. They’ve got just about everything you’re looking for on that end, not to mention their own original programming like The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which was absolutely fantastic.
Hulu Plus lets me keep up with some of the broadcast stations, which I can still get with a little in-house antennae that I bought. But if I’m looking for Saturday Night Live or The Last Man on Earth (which is great), then I can find them here. You do have to deal with a few ads, but it’s really not that bad.
Sling TV gives me the rest. This is where I can get my ESPN, TBS, TNT, and AMC. You know I need my sports and my Better Call Saul. The original package is only $20 per month, but you can add more channels if you want to pay a little more. Overall, though, it’s really worth the price.
Overall, I’ve cut my bill by more than half every month. I have all the content I really need and I don’t have to worry about a storm screwing up my dish. I should have done this a long time ago. Welcome to 2015 Luke. Idiot.
Now, I know this one isn’t for everybody, but I also pay the $9.99 per month for my WWE Network. If you’re a wrestling guy or gal, just do yourself a favor and sign up already. I’ve had it for a few months now, and I’ve been kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Not only do you get every single pay-per-view that comes up, but they have every single one from the past. Every. Single. One. Just get on it. It’s worth it.
And that leads me to the big announcement.
Well, due to the great response from the Wrestlemania podcast, the Binge Sportscast will now be a regular thing here at Binge Media. I know, how many more can we fit in, right? But I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to do this. I can’t tell you that it will be a weekly thing on a certain day, but when big events are happening, I’ll be there to cover it. One definite is that Batch and I will be doing a monthly wrestling podcast right around PPV time. I’m not sure whether we’re going to do it before or after each show, but we’re working on the format now. I don’t have a definite date just yet, but Kupka and I will be bringing you constant coverage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so we’re excited about that. I’m also working on finding a co-host for the NBA Playoffs podcast, so stay tuned for that as well. Since I started doing the Better Call Saul show with Kupka and Jack, I’ve been having a blast. Throw in the fun that I had with Batch for the premiere of the Binge Sportscast, and I can see why all these guys want to do it all the time. So that’s the big news, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
Wow. That was a lot to get to. But hey, I had to make up for the last few weeks. I’m sure you understand. So what do you think about all of what I just talked about? Did you love Furious 7 as much as I did? Do you have stories about cutting the cord? Are you on board with the new Binge Sportscast? Is there something coming up you’d like me to cover? Let me know below or find and follow me on Twitter @THElukenorris and @BingeSports. Believe me, you’ll be seeing a lot of me coming up as the NBA and NHL Playoffs get underway this week. I’ll see you soon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you’re probably sick of me and my wrestling by now, but with the good response I’ve gotten from the preview article on Saturday and the podcast on Sunday, I figured I’d go for the trifecta. So with that being said, welcome back to Binge Sports and our coverage of the “showcase of the immortals”, Wrestlemania.
First off, let me touch on the Hall of Fame ceremony that happened on Saturday night. Overall, it was a decent show, but it ran really long. There were a few of the speeches that didn’t really interest me, but the ones that were good were really good. By the way, I think The Bushwhackers are still talking. Good lord, that was way too long and terrible. But here’s a few of the highlights.
Alundra Blayze was amazing. She told some great stories and still has a ton of charisma. And yes, she did get to the controversial trashing of the Women’s Championship from twenty years ago. It was nice to see her make light of the situation, and it’s nice to see that it can be put to rest. Certainly one of the best speeches of the night. Her intro from Natalya was pretty solid as well.
Shawn Michaels introduction was pretty solid. Probably his best line was saying that he actually needed a bodyguard because nobody in the back really liked him. I was waiting for the director to move right to a shot of Bret Hart, but it didn’t. Too obvious, I guess. Pretty good stuff as usual from HBK, but then we were on to the man being inducted. “Big Daddy Cool”. “Big Sexy”. Whichever nickname you feel like using today.
Kevin Nash’s speech was pretty solid. This was a guy whose career I’ve been able to watch from start to finish, so hearing some of the stories was pretty cool. And who knew he’s been married for 27 years? Very nice comments about keeping his wife away from the business. All in all, it was a pretty good close to the ceremony.
And, of course, the obligatory picture of The Kliq. Sure, they’re all friends on Saturday night.
Watching Hulk Hogan induct Randy “Macho Man” Savage into the HOF was a very cool thing for me. These were the two guys when I was a kid that really brought me into wrestling. Whether they were friends or enemies (on the show or in real life), there’s no denying that these two will be linked to one another forever. Pretty good speech by the Hulkster.
Call him “The Genius”. Call him “Leapin’ Lanny”. Call him whatever you want, but Lanny Poffo still knows how to work that microphone. As I was hoping and praying for, he went right into character for a little bit and read some poetry he’d written about his brother. While I obviously still wish that they had inducted Savage before he died (just to hear that speech), I suppose we got the next best thing. But none of those moments could even come close to this….
The first ever Warrior Award was given out on Saturday night and it was absolutely amazing. The Ultimate Warrior’s widow, Dana Warrior (yes, that’s her actual name) came out first and talked about the legacy of her late husband, who died just a few days after Wrestlemania last year. That whole situation is still really creepy, but her speech was solid and her offer to run the ramp and shake the ropes if people could raise one million dollars for Connor’s Cure was pretty cool. Especially when she brought up who she wanted her opponent to be, “brother”. Obviously a jab at Hogan, but it came off pretty funny. From there, we were treated to a wonderful speech by Connor’s hero.
Daniel Bryan owned that crowd on Saturday night. Listening to him talk about Connor and all of the fun he had with the wrestlers was truly great, especially the story of Connor punching Triple H in the face. It was just awesome. He laughed. He cried. I laughed. I cried. You wouldn’t think that things could get any better until he introduced Connor’s father, Steve Michalek.
It was easy to see that he was nervous, but listening to this father talk about his son and the legacy he’s left behind was truly inspiring. He used so much wrestling vocabulary to relate to these guys, and the audience as well. He talked about how Connor told him that he was going to be famous one day, and that with this induction, it turned out to be true. From start to finish, the crowd was captivated. Honestly, if you can watch this and not start crying, you probably don’t have a soul. But just when you thought things couldn’t get more emotional than they were already, he brought out Connor’s little brother, Jackson, who only had one thing to say to his brother.
“I love you, Connor.” Oh, I freaking lost it, and I think everybody that was in attendance did as well. There didn’t have to be a ring. There didn’t have to be a match. There didn’t have to be anything else. This was a Wrestlemania moment.
Before I start tearing up again, let’s get to the action from last night.
The Fatal Four Way tag match went just about how I expected it too. It wasn’t the most fluent match, which is hard with eight guys anyway, but there were some decent spots. As I figured would happen, Tyson Kidd & Cesaro retained the titles, which is the way to go for right now. At some point, as it usually happens, somebody will turn on the other and they’ll split. But for now, they’ve got a good thing going, so we’ll probably see them with the belts for a while.
There’s three stories that came out of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The first one happened about ten seconds in. They’ve officially buried Curtis Axel. They really dropped the ball on this one. Axelmania is so freaking over right now, and they’ve completely embarrassed him in the last seven days. They let a celebrity throw him out of the ring last week, and then he was eliminated from the battle royal by every other superstar within 10 seconds of the match starting. Dreadful. Hopefully, they rectify this on RAW tonight, but I don’t know if Axel can recover from this.
As I predicted, the split between The Miz and Mizdow is now official. Along with Big Show, they were two of the last three in the match. Miz was hoping for some help, but Mizdow had finally had enough and eliminated his boss. It had to happen sometime, so we’ll see when the match between these two officially happens.
I guess I never realized that Big Show had never won a battle royal. Well, you figured he had to get one at some point. Might as well be here. This just gives The Authority something else to brag about on RAW tonight. And there’s plenty more for them to be happy about. I’m okay with this choice. Big Show has always done what’s asked of him, so it’s actually nice to see him get a decent win.
On to the main show.
The ladder match for the Intercontinental Title was pretty solid. It didn’t have as many big spots as maybe we’re used to, but it was still pretty good. In my preview, I said it was one of my two options to open the show, and it was a really good way to get the crowd going. Everybody looked really good in this match, and really helped each other. The picture you see above was one of the spots that almost went bad. They were a lot closer to the ropes than I think they thought they were, but Cody was able to keep his legs in to avoid hitting them, and the spot looked really nice. Ziggler almost got caught in the end as well.
Barrett got some really nice bullhammers in towards the finish. The spot of the match, however, was probably the Ambrose through the ladder on the outside.
As usual, Ambrose had a good overall showing, but the finish went about as I expected it to. Ziggler and Bryan battled at the top of the ladder. I don’t care what you say, the flurry of headbutts was awesome. But in the end, the favorite won.
I think they’re really looking to put the IC title back into play, so putting it on one of the company’s top stars will do that. A program with Bryan and Ziggler or Bryan and Barrett could be really good, so let’s hope they go in that direction. Good match to start.
Randy Orton and Seth Rollins basically came out and said “FOLLOW THAT!” I knew this was going to be a good match, but this was even better than I thought. From start to finish, these guys went all out.
We had some nice false finishes, with Rollins and Orton both kicking out of each other’s finishers (a normal thing for Wrestlemania). I’ve always said that everyone drinks their “Wrestlemania juice” before the show. But this match was really, really good. I know that the storyline is that Rollins is “the future of the WWE”, but it’s actually the truth. This guy can go, and being in the ring with Orton, who still puts on some of the best matches when he feels like it, did nothing but good things for him. But in the end, we were treated to one of the best RKO’s of all freaking time.
If you didn’t see it, spend the ten bucks to watch the replay just for this. Rollins goes for the curb stomp, but Orton lifts, Rollins springboards up, and comes down right into the RKO. It was definitely one of the highlights of the show. The match of the night by far.
HHH v. Sting. If you read the preview, then you know I wasn’t crazy about this match to begin with. But before I get to the match, just let me talk about the entrances. Sting’s was bad, but HHH’s was ten times worse. Come on, man. You’re better than this. I know that the new Terminator flick sponsored the show, but this was absolutely ridiculous. I could go on, but just look at the picture. If I were HHH, the only way I’d have agreed to this is if they let me take one of the robots home. Dreadful.
And then there’s the match itself. Painful. Just plain painful to watch. Sting is 56 and looked every bit of it. I thought HHH might be able to carry him, but this was just not good. And apparently I wasn’t aware that this was a No-DQ match (it wasn’t), but we got run-ins galore anyway. It started with DX.
Okay, sure. Not a bad idea, but it was all leading to this.
The nWo. I know we still see them from time to time, but I still mark out for this. Not sure why they’d be helping Sting, but whatever. We got nWo v. DX. Unfortunately, just like this match, it’s fifteen years too late. But just when you think we couldn’t get anybody else involved….
BAM! Shawn Michaels superkicks Sting to the freaking face. Why the hell not? I’m a Shawn Michaels guy and have never been a Sting guy, so this made me happy.
The finish did surprise me. I didn’t think there was any way that HHH would go over, but I’ve been wrong before. With Sting not sticking around, I suppose it’s just another thing for The Authority to brag about. The match was garbage, but the moments afterward (besides the stupid handshake) were pretty cool for nostalgia’s sake.
All of these guys from DX and the nWo in the same ring was awesome. Do you think there was a “we don’t want Waltman, you take him” argument in the back? But honestly, for anyone who watched wrestling in the late 90’s, this was great.
I was really hoping for a little more from the Divas this time around. You had two of the best teaming up against the Bellas, who know how to at least get under your skin. But then AJ spends 3/4 of the match outside on the floor. Paige looked good, but if they want to make something out of this division like they’ve been talking about, we need more than this. Paige and AJ win. Moving on.
Now that’s how you do an entrance. Rusev came in on a freaking tank. Good stuff there.
This match was about as good as it could be. A lot of back and forth between the two. We saw Cena’s usual stuff, but he did add on the back springboard kinda stunner (that’s what I’m calling it), which actually looked decent. I don’t think it’s something he’s going to do every week, but it worked here. Super Cena finally broke out of the Accolade, which led to our finish.
Lana jumps up to distract, gets hit by Rusev (who’s then distracted himself), Cena finishes it and begins a U.S. title reign. I’m sure there are some who say that Cena didn’t need this one, but Rusev didn’t come out of this looking weak. He already beat Cena once. He’ll just blame this on Lana and go back after Cena, which will ultimately lead to a match at Extreme Rules, which could be decent if done right.
Give me anything involving Stephanie and I’m good to go. No, seriously. So when she comes out to announce the attendance of 76,976 people (you couldn’t sell 24 more tickets), I’m okay with just that. But then she goes into how it’s all about….ME! She’s so good at what she does. But then she gets rudely interrupted.
Oh, joy. It’s Dwayne. I’m seriously done with this guy.
But I suppose that once again for nostalgia’s sake, we’ve got The Rock and Triple H at Wrestlemania. Perhaps a hint for things to come next year? But then my girl Stephanie puts him in his place.
She’s so freaking hot. So Rock leaves, but who’s sitting ringside?
It’s Ronda Rousey. For those who don’t know, she’s in UFC and the ultimate badass chick. So she gets in and Stephanie continues her brilliance saying that they’re friends and this and that until we get the inevitable brawl.
There really wasn’t a point to this entire segment, but it was entertaining enough for me. Like I said, I’ll take as much of Stephanie as I can get.
Boring!
Boring!
Bray Wyatt really took care of The Undertaker last night. While ‘Taker certainly looked to be in better shape than he was last year, he’s just not able to go like we all want him to. It’s a shame that this match didn’t happen a year ago when it could have done something for Bray. Instead, we got only one cool moment out of this match.
Bray Wyatt made this entire match and moment possible. His facial expressions and body language sold everything. But as I expected, what shouldn’t have happened….happened.
Undertaker wins. 22-1. YAY! (It’s hard to type sarcastically). Where does Bray Wyatt go from here? All they can maybe do is have him destroy The Undertaker tonight on RAW if he’s there. Then he can go away for another year and waste our time next Wrestlemania as well. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing but the utmost respect for The Undertaker. He’s an icon. But the streak is over. What’s next? Undertaker v. Sting. Who in the hell wants to see that now? Especially with the performances we got from them last night. It’s a shame that Bray’s brilliance went to waste last night.
And here we go with the finish.
And it starts just like I thought it would. This is one of multiple suplexes that led to the line of the night: “SUPLEX CITY BITCH!”
I knew this match was going to be physical, but damn. Seriously, that clothesline on the apron was sick. These guys were hitting each other HARD.
One of quite a few F-5’s of the night. As I said, these guys really got into it. It was quite a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from these two. I certainly never expected a technical match, but it wasn’t bad. Well, except for some of this.
Reigns didn’t come off looking that horrible, minus that Superman punch. That thing is just atrocious. But he came off that he could actually hurt Brock Lesnar, something that’s been hard to accomplish in the past year.
And we had blood. And plenty of it. It didn’t look to be planned that way, as Brock got opened up “the hard way” on a few different occasions, but it certainly added to the overall brutality that they were trying to get across.
As we get toward the close of the match, Brock hits another F-5 but can’t quite make the cover. Both men are exhausted, creating the perfect opportunity for what I was hoping would happen.
Seth Rollins cashes in the MITB briefcase and we’ve now got a triple threat for the title, setting up a great scenario, which was done to perfection. After a great sequence of curb stomps, F-5’s, and spears, the end result is awesome.
Seth Rollins walks out of Wrestlemania as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. He comes off as the ultimate heel making the most of his opportunity. Lesnar looks strong because he pummeled Reigns from pillar to post and didn’t even get pinned to lose his title. Reigns got pinned, but took everything Lesnar threw at him and kept on coming. He just got caught in a bad situation. Everybody comes out of this just fine. And finally, we get the big cash-in at Wrestlemania. And we kind of got the double turn we thought might happen. Reigns basically got booed out of the stadium. Lesnar got possibly the biggest pop of the night. And now Lesnar has to chase the title while dealing with The Authority. Hell yeah. There’s a ton of ways that they can continue this.
Overall, I thought it was a good show. Not a great show, but better than what they’ve been doing, so I’ll take it. What was your favorite match? Did you like the finish? Let me know below or follow me on Twitter @BingeSports and/or @THElukenorris. I’ll be back later this week with more Binge Sports as I preview the Final Four. Until next time.
Did you notice how clever I got with the title? I’m hilarious. But that aside, welcome back to Binge Sports and our continuing coverage of the best time of the year in sports. By the time this weekend is over, we’ll be down to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament, and there’s so many more big events on the way. For more on that, CLICK HERE. But today, I’m here to indulge in my guiltiest pleasure, professional wrestling.
I’ve been watching wrestling since I was five years old, and thirty years later, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m still hooked. Sure, it’s been hokey from time to time, but when they get it right, it’s still so much fun to watch. This weekend is one of those times where I hope they get it right. WWE’s version of the Super Bowl is this weekend. It’s the biggest stage. It’s the brightest starts. It’s the “granddaddy of ’em all”. It’s Wrestlemania.
Since its inception in 1985, Wrestlemania has given us some of the greatest moments and matches in wrestling history, none of which are bigger than my favorite moment.
93,173 fans roared in the Pontiac Silverdome at Wrestlemania III as Hulk Hogan slammed Andre The Giant and made Wrestlemania a global phenomenon. Having been to one of these events (Wrestlemania XXIV in Orlando), I can tell you that it is an amazing time. Everything is just amped up and it was truly a great experience. This Sunday, we get the 31st installment and the show is bigger than ever. But before we get to the card, let’s take a look at what’s become another staple of Wrestlemania weekend, the Hall of Fame ceremony, which comes to you in its entirety on Saturday night on the WWE Network at 8 p.m. Eastern.
WWE HALL OF FAME 2015 INDUCTEES
“MACHO MAN” RANDY SAVAGE
My understanding is that they plan to close the ceremony with Kevin Nash, but there is nobody bigger in this class than Randy Savage. Believe me, I could write and write on what he did for the business, but I’ll save that for another time. The fact is that this is long overdue. It’s a shame that he won’t be at the ceremony as we all know he passed away a few years ago, because his speech would have been awesome. Not only was he a good worker, but he was one of the best talkers in the business as well. I imagine his brother, Lanny Poffo, will do most of the talking on Saturday night. And I’m okay with that. It will be nice to hear some great “Macho Man” stories. He’ll be inducted by none other than Hulk Hogan.
KEVIN NASH
This is another guy that deserves to be here. Not only was he great in WWE as Diesel, but he helped transcend the business when he jumped ship to WCW. I know that WWE won the Monday Night wars with the Attitude Era, but without Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan forming the nWo, that entire era wouldn’t have happened. At a time when wrestling needed a kick in the ass, Nash was one of the guys who made it cool again. I thought that Scott Hall would be the one to induct him, but it looks like they’re going with Shawn Michaels.
ALUNDRA BLAYZE
This one shocked me a little bit. I’m certainly not saying that she doesn’t deserve this, but I guess the WWE really is trying to make things right with everybody. If you don’t know, her biggest claim to fame is showing up on WCW Monday Nitro with the WWF Women’s Championship and throwing it in the trash. Truly one of the most controversial moments of the Monday Night wars. I really hope somebody brings it up on Saturday night.
THE BUSHWHACKERS
This is getting out of hand. Sure, these guys were fun to watch and gave you a good laugh from time to time, but are they really Hall of Famers? Who’s next, the Killer Bees?
RIKISHI
See above. Rikishi? This is a time I actually need The Miz. REALLY?
LARRY ZBYSZKO
I didn’t have the chance to see Zbyszko in his prime, but you can’t discount the things that he did back in the day. People of my generation mainly know him as an announcer in WCW. He must have been one hell of a wrestler to get into the Hall of Fame, because he annoyed the hell out of me as a commentator.
TATSUMI FUJINAMI
Fujinami made his name as one of the founding fathers of one of the biggest promotions in the world, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). He came to America in the late 70’s, working for Crocket and worked for the McMahon family in the WWWF, actually winning the Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would later win the NJPW Heavyweight Championship and in 1990, he defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and became the first man to hold both titles simultaneously. Now THAT is a Hall of Famer.
CELEBRITY INDUCTEE-ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
It brings more mainstream attention. That’s it.
INAUGURAL WARRIOR AWARD RECIPIENT
CONNOR “THE CRUSHER” MICHALEK
This is amazing. If you don’t know the story of this kid, just do a little research and read up on it. In a nutshell, this kid battled spine and brain cancer, which ultimately led to his death last April. But before that, WWE fulfilled his dream of hanging out with his wrestling hero, Daniel Bryan.
True to the storyline that saw Daniel Bryan battling The Authority, Connor even got in the ring and pinned Triple H.
The story, while heartbreaking, is truly amazing. For those who always want to knock WWE and the violence and all of that, maybe they should pay attention when they found and fund a charity for this young man. Connor’s Cure was started last year in Pittsburgh. I’m sure I’ll have something in my eye when this portion of the ceremony airs on Saturday night.
Let’s get to the card.
WRESTLEMANIA XXXI KICKOFF SHOW
FATAL FOUR WAY-WWE TAG TEAM TITLES
TYSON KIDD & CESARO (CHAMPS) v. THE NEW DAY v. LOS MATADORES v. THE USOS
Remember when the tag titles were a big deal? Remember when Cesaro was the next big thing? Now they’ve both been put on the pre-show. Tragic. But hey, at least The New Day is working out like they hoped it would. Oh, wait. Well, at least they’re all getting a check. I do like Cesaro and Kidd together, though. It’s nice to finally see Tyson Kidd getting some TV time. This guy can work, and even though this is only the pre-show, I’m thinking he’ll be looking to make a statement. Throw him in with some of the other high flyers in this match, and we should get a few decent spots. Somebody just remind Kofi that he can still do cool stuff besides avoiding elimination at the Royal Rumble. He would have been a good fit for the ladder match. As for the outcome, I don’t see anybody taking the titles from Cesaro and Kidd right now. They need some more time to build up to the eventual split, which we all know is going to happen at some point.
WRESTLEMANIA XXXI KICKOFF SHOW
ANDRE THE GIANT MEMORIAL BATTLE ROYAL
Welcome to the “we don’t have anything else for you to do” battle royal. This was originally on the main card, but it was just announced a few days ago that this has been moved to the kickoff show. With only seven matches on the main show, I’ve got to believe that something happens here that leads to a match later in the night. Is this where Miz and Mizdow finally go at it? Does Sheamus come back here? Do Kane and Big Show have an agenda? Does anybody really care about Ryback? Feed me more. I usually use that advice when he comes on, because that’s when I leave for the kitchen for snacks.
RANDY ORTON v. SETH ROLLINS
I think this is one of the two options for opening the show. You always want to get the crowd into it very early, and I think these two are going to put on a really great match. Orton is still my favorite guy in the company and like it or not, he can still go. Rollins has been putting on great matches for years, and he finally gets his solo shot on the big stage. He’ll also need a little rest if they plan on using him later on in the show to cash in that briefcase, but I’ll get to that later. This should be a very high-quality match that would get the crowd really jacked up. The other option is….
LADDER MATCH FOR THE INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
WADE BARRETT (CHAMP) v. R-TRUTH v. DEAN AMBROSE v. LUKE HARPER v. DOLPH ZIGGLER v. STARDUST v. DANIEL BRYAN
Since they made Money in the Bank its own PPV, something has been missing from Wrestlemania. Thankfully, we’ve been given this match. While the whole thing with the IC belt being passed around from person to person has been dreadful, this match is going to be amazing. Every single person in this match has the ability to do something crazy, so there will certainly be no shortage of high risk spots here. And there’s big names in here too. Yeah, I know you’re still upset about the whole Daniel Bryan thing, but I think this is the perfect spot for him right now. With Lesnar signing the new deal, you’ll get your chance to see him throw Bryan around in the future, so let’s just enjoy this. You’ve got him. You’ve got the hardest worker in the company in Dolph Ziggler. You’ve got Ambrose and Cody (yes, I still call him Cody) and Harper. Barrett’s fantastic and I, for one, actually like R-Truth. His gimmick is a little off, but that guy can wrestle. I’m happy they put him in here. He’s been working his ass off for years, so I think it’s great he’s being rewarded with a spot in this match. The logical sense here is Bryan or Ziggler walking away with the title. I think they want the IC Title to mean something again, so putting it on somebody like Bryan would do that. They could also bring Sheamus back here too. I hear he’s been written into the script somewhere, so that could be an option as well. If they want to get him over as a heel, have him screw Bryan out of winning the match. That’s immediate heat. Just ask Roman Reigns.
AJ LEE & PAIGE v. THE BELLA TWINS
This could be a decent match. The Bellas have actually figured out how to wrestle. While they still might not be the most talented women on the roster (Natalya is stuck on the kickoff show as basically a manager), they’ll be in the ring with two of the best in the company. We know that AJ can work, and Paige just keeps getting better and better. Throw in the riff between those two and we’ve actually got a decent story for Sunday.
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
RUSEV (CHAMP) v. JOHN CENA
Let’s see…how can we get people to stop booing John Cena? Oh, I’ve got it. Let’s make him the spokesman for the United States. You can’t boo the guy that’s defending our country, right? Like him or not, John Cena shows up every night to work. It may not look pretty, but the guy is capable of putting on great matches. Hopefully we can get one on Sunday night. I’m still on the fence with Rusev. This is obviously the biggest feud he’s ever been a part of, and I will say that he’s done a decent job thus far. It will be interesting to see where this one goes. Much like they’re doing with the IC belt, I think they want the U.S. Title to be relevant again. Again, like it or not, John Cena is still the face of this company, so would putting the belt on him give that title some visibility? Absolutely. But then everyone would be pissed about Cena winning another big match and ending the “undefeated” streak of Rusev. I think this is very similar to what they were doing last year with Bray Wyatt. He gets under Cena’s skin, but ultimately loses at Wrestlemania. I’m thinking they could do something similar here. I suppose it depends on how far they want to take it. I’m doubting the feud ends here. I could see Cena winning this one and continuing their battle at Extreme Rules. But I could also see Rusev sneaking one out (maybe Lana comes back), but they’d still probably go again at Extreme Rules. And maybe this is just me, but I still think they could have involved Hulk Hogan in this. Hogan and Cena are buddies. Hogan’s theme song is called “Real American” for God’s sake. I think they could have had Rusev rough him up a little, with Cena making the save of course. Maybe it’s my love for the Hulkster, but to see Cena and Hogan celebrate after a big win could have made for a great Wrestlemania moment.
THE UNDERTAKER v. BRAY WYATT
I can’t say whether or not this will be a good match. We haven’t seen Taker in a year. The streak is gone, so what’s the real motivation here? Sure, the Bray promos have been stellar, but what exactly is the point? And where does this go? This is the match that should have happened a year ago. Lesnar didn’t need the victory last year. He shouldn’t even have been in that match. You don’t think Bray Wyatt ending the streak would have taken him to a completely different level? You really want him to be the new face of fear? Then let him beat Taker a year ago. Oh damn, that guy ended the streak. We should be scared of him. He can do anything. Nope. Now, if Bray wins, then it’s nothing overly special. Sure, you beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, which is still a big deal, but somebody already did that. And what if Taker wins (which he probably will)? Where does Bray go from there? I’m sure the match will be fine, because they both know how to work and work well. I just think it’s a year too late.
STING v. TRIPLE H
Snooze. Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I’m just not as excited about this as everyone else seems to be. I’ve really just never been a Sting guy. That’s not a knock on him. He’s a legend in the business, but I’ve just never gotten wrapped up in him. And the build-up has been lackluster. Sting’s been waiting for 14 years to get his hands on Triple H? Then why’d you go to TNA in the first place? A match like this could have been epic when the whole invasion angle was taking place. Throw this match in back in the day and you could have possibly gotten a Hogan v. Rock reaction. Half of the crowd these days doesn’t even really know who Sting is. Is it cool that Sting is at Wrestlemania? Sure. Could the match be decent? Sure. Triple H still knows how to go out and tell a great story, but I’m just not that into this. But hey, I call anytime I get to watch Stephanie a win, so at least I’ve got that going for me.
WWE WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
BROCK LESNAR (CHAMP) v. ROMAN REIGNS
This is the one we’ve all been waiting for. Is it? Is it really? Look, the match will probably be okay, but I’m not expecting an instant classic. It will be physical. There’s no getting around that, but unless they’re planning something I don’t know about, then this certainly won’t be the best match on the card. I know what they’re trying to do with Roman Reigns. But the WWE Universe has spoken. Roman Reigns is not built for this. He doesn’t have or doesn’t need to be the “everybody loves me” babyface. Look at him. The guy is a tank. He doesn’t need and right now just can’t come out every week and cut the John Cena type promo. So don’t try and turn him into John Cena. We already have a John Cena type. His name is John Cena. So let Roman Reigns be the other guy. He’s got a good look as a badass. He’s dressed in all black with the long hair and the goatee. He’s the guy in the bar that you don’t mess with. So just let him be that. At some point, he may be ready to be the man, but now isn’t the time. And with Lesnar signing the new contract, I think Vince is thinking the same thing. I think Lesnar continues his run for a while. I think the only way Lesnar doesn’t leave as champion is if they decide to let Rollins cash in. I know that Wrestlemania isn’t usually the place for the big swerve, but this is a great opportunity. These two are going to beat the hell out of each other. So Roman takes Brock to the limit, but Brock somehow wins (not sure if it would be clean or not). But Roman is pissed and beats the hell out of Lesnar after the match. Rollins comes down and takes advantage. Do you know how many storylines could come out of that? Lesnar was taken advantage of so he’s pissed. Reigns just inadvertently helped the guy that stabbed him in the back. The Authority now has the belt. More promos with Stephanie and Heyman? Yes please. This sets up a possible three-way at Extreme Rules. Holy shit, would that match be amazing. And does the Rock somehow get involved with the whole angle? There’s been rumors flying about Brock v. Rock at next year’s Wrestlemania, so does the angle start here? There’s so much that could be accomplished with this one match. I just hope they get it right.
There you have it. Almost everything you need for Wrestlemania weekend. The only thing that would be better would be a podcast preview as well. Have no fear. This is actually going to happen. We’re recording tonight and it should be available tomorrow before the show gets started, so be on the lookout for that. And don’t forget that you can see all of it on the WWE Network for only……$9.99. What match are you looking forward to? What’s your favorite all-time Wrestlemania match or moment? Let me know below or hit me up on Twitter @BingeSports and/or @THElukenorris. Binge Sports will be back soon with a look at the Final Four and the start of the baseball season. Until then, let’s all hope that we get a good show on Sunday night.
I know so many of you that were brokenhearted last weekend when you came to Binge Media and didn’t see your normal Sunday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. Blame Comcast for that. But not to worry. I promised you five November columns, so in addition to this special Saturday edition, I’ll be back tomorrow as well. But for today, I give you what I was going to write about last weekend. Sequels, sequels, and more sequels.
DUMB AND DUMBER TO
I’ll start with Dumb & Dumber To, only because it was released yesterday. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a fan of the original. I had become a fan of Jim Carrey over the years, mainly due to his work on In Living Color. I loved Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and I was fifteen years old. I thought he was awesome. He was funny and charismatic and really got your attention when he was onscreen. I wasn’t sure how the Jeff Daniels pairing would work out, but they really seemed to have a good chemistry and the movie just worked. Lauren Holly was pretty hot at the time (remember when she was in movies) and there was a good supporting cast to boot. There were a ton of hysterical moments, ones that actually made you laugh out loud. But over the last twenty years, how many times have you actually wished for a sequel? In my opinion, the story had wrapped itself up nicely and I’ve never thought that the movie necessitated one. But after a lackluster decade, I guess the Farrelly brothers thought differently. I’m not saying I won’t ever watch it, but I certainly won’t be rushing to the theater to give them any money, especially after the trailer left me less than impressed.
JOE DIRT 2
Again, is this really necessary? I enjoyed the original. The role fit David Spade nicely and even more so than Dumb & Dumber, the supporting cast was crazy strong here. You had Dennis Miller, Kid Rock, Jaime Pressly, Fred Ward, Brittany Daniel, and of course, Christopher Walken. I can’t say I was blown away the first time I saw Joe Dirt, but over the years I’ve come to really enjoy it. It’s got a lot of funny moments, but also actually has more heart to it than you might think. But once again, the story had wrapped up and I’ve never felt that I needed more Joe Dirt in my life. But word came down recently that the sequel is just about ready to go and will be produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company. Seeing as this movie may never actually make it to the theatre, but instead only to Crackle, basically an online TV station, I won’t feel too bad about not spending money to see this one either.
SUPER TROOPERS 2
The boys at Broken Lizard are basically the M. Night Shyamalan of comedy. You come out of the gate with an amazing piece of work and continue to decline as you go forward. Outside of Beerfest, there hasn’t been anything in the past thirteen years that Broken Lizard has put out that I’ve liked, except for Bill Paxton in Club Dread. Come on, you know “PinaColadaburg” was hysterical. So I’m not quite sure how to feel about the fact that Super Troopers 2 is a go. There’s no doubting that the original is great. I will admit that I’ve wanted a sequel to be done, because there actually is somewhere to go with these characters, especially with the way that the first one ended. Who wouldn’t want more of this?
FURIOUS 7
When The Fast and the Furious franchise started thirteen years ago, I really wasn’t as excited as some people were. I don’t pretend to know a damn thing about cars, and a movie with Paul Walker and Vin Diesel as the headliners didn’t do anything at all for me. To me, Vin Diesel was basically a robot and with all due respect, it’s not like Paul Walker was ever going to win an Oscar. So I avoided the franchise for years. But I specifically remember one Sunday afternoon being hungover like crazy with nothing of substance on television and seeing that the first two movies were playing back to back. With a “what the hell, I’ll give it a shot” attitude, I sat and watched fast cars and bad acting and the under-appreciated on the hot girl scale Jordana Brewster and I was hooked. Hell, I’ll admit that it just watched 2 Fast 2 Furious just this morning on Spike. The movies kept coming and while the third wasn’t that great, the franchise has grown into this crazy phenomenon. With all the people they’ve added to the movies, such as “The Rock” (I won’t call him Dwayne) and Gal Gadot and others, I’ve loved each and every sequel since they got the original crew back together. They’re movies that you can just sit back for two hours and enjoy. You don’t have to think or over-analyze anything. You can just enjoy some fast-paced action flicks and move on with your day. Add Jason Statham as the villain for Furious 7 and Kurt Russell as well and I’m in for what will probably be the last entry in this extremely fun franchise.
TOY STORY 4
Honestly, I don’t quite know how to feel about Toy Story 4. If you’re familiar with my recent trilogy countdown, then you know exactly how much I enjoy the current trilogy. If you haven’t read it, click HERE to check it out and then come back.
Welcome back…see what I mean. I love the Toy Story franchise. They’re not just good animated movies. They’re just damn good movies. The writing is absolutely brilliant and in my opinion, the movies improved each time. While Toy Story was great, Toy Story 2 was amazing, and Toy Story 3 is arguably one of the best movies ever made. So it stands to reason that Toy Story 4 will be better than the previous three. But I just don’t know how that’s possible. The ending of Toy Story 3 is one of the best endings to a franchise and in my humble opinion should just be left alone. But who am I to tell anyone not to go ahead and make a billion dollars? Because that’s what the next movie will do. Whether you like it or not, this movie is happening. We can only hope that the legacy isn’t tarnished. But don’t worry. We’ve got three more years to argue about it.
That will do it for the special Saturday edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. I’ll be back tomorrow for another entry, so until then, feel free to give me your thoughts on all of these sequels. How many will you be watching? Comment below or follow me on Twitter @THElukenorris. And to show you that not all sequels are a good idea, here’s a clip from the insanely awful 90210 that the CW attempted.