Welcome to the 980th Edition of my series. I hope everyone is still hanging in there in these crazy times. Next weekend, Guilty By Affiliation Wrestling returns to the Boys and Girls Club in Muncie. I will be the ring announcer. Also, the first two weekends in May is GEORGE WASHINGTON ATE MY HOMEWORK at the Imagine Performing Arts in Connersville. With this being WRESTLEMANIA weekend, I decided base some of my selections around people in wrestling. For those who have not seen night one yet, I will not post any spoilers no matter how big or small. I have a section for wrestling movies, tv shows, and books. I did a little bit in this section as well so I will shut up now and get on with my selections.
Seven Psychopaths (2012): This is part two of my Christopher Walken trilogy. Martin McDonagh directed and wrote this dark comedy. Colin Farrell stars as the struggling screenwriter Marty who inadvertently becomes part of a criminal underworld scheme when his friends Hans, played by Christopher Walken, and Billy, played by Sam Rockwell, when they kidnap the beloved dog of gangster Charlie, played by Woody Harrelson. Michael Pitt, Michael Stuhlberg, Abbie Cornish, Helena Mattson, Harry Dean Stanton, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Kevin Corrigan, Gabourney Sidibe, Zeljko Ivanek, Long Nguyen, Tom Waits, Brendan Sexton III, Olga Kurylenko, and many others co-star in this crime comedy. Laughs and violence ensue in this comedy. There are lots of very well written characters and a good script to keep thing going.
The Enchanted Square (1947): This is my animated short for the week which was directed by Seymour Kneitel and Orestes Calpini. This centers around a blind little girl named Billie who is given a Raggedy Ann doll and told she can see it if she uses her imagination. When doing so, she finds herself in an enchanted fairyland full of bright colors and music. This was originally a character in children's books and I don't know a lot of the animated background. This was pretty fun and one of better ones from Noveltoons. This can be seen on Youtube.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): Steven Spielberg directed and co-wrote this sci-fi classic. Richard Dreyfuss stars as Roy Neary who has an encounter with a UFO and becomes obsessed in finding answers. There is a second story going on French scientist Claude Lacombe, played by Francois Truffaut, tries to use a method of music education to communicate with the help of cartographer David Laughlin, played by Bob Balaban. Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, J. Patrick McNamara, Warren J. Kemmerling, Roberts Blossom, Philip Dodds, Cary Guffey, Lance Henrikson, and many others co-star in this classic sci-fi film. This actually takes place in my town of Muncie, Indiana so there is that. It was not filmed directly there but a production team went for information and bought some Ball State merchandise that appears in the film. There are a lot of very memorable scenes like the finale and that melody. There are also very good special effects that hold up today. There is not much more that can be said.
Rough Night (2017): I go from a classic sci-fi film to a very raunchy comedy. Lucia Aniello directed this comedy and co-wrote with Paul W. Downs who also co-stars. Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Zoe Kravitz, Jillian Bell, and Ilana Glazer star as a group of friends who reunite ten years after college for a bachelorette party. Things go very wrong for them when hiring a male stripper. Ryan Cooper, Demi Moore, Ty Burrell, Enrique Murciano, Dean Winters, Colton Haynes, Patrick Carlyle, Eric Andre, Bo Burnham, Hasan Minhaj, Karan Soni, Laura Grey, and many others co-star in this comedy. I thought Burrell and Moore were very amusing as the couple next-door to their vacation place. The movie is pretty ridiculous but sometimes that is just what we need and they did a good job of it. This could be a good double feature to go along with THE HANGOVER.
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928): This is my silent film for the week and Joan of Arc who is featured in my upcoming play. Carl Theodore Dreyer directed this historical film. This features the trial of Joan of Arc, played by Maria Falconetti, where she faces charges of heresy. She is clearly not having a very fair trial. This was based on some trial documentation was found. This has some very surreal images and close-up shots. I watched the version on HBO Max and has a very surreal opera score. I know there are different ones and various prints as it was lost for a long time as it was lost at one point. This still holds up very well and is worth a look. This is also available to watch on TUBI.
The Smashing Machine (2025): I feature "The People's Champ" and "The Final Boss" The Rock in this selection who is very synonymous with WRESTLEMANIA. Benny Safdie wrote and directed this biopic. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as MMA and UFC fighter Mark Kerr who had quite a rise in the MMA world. His career would be derailed by an opioid addiction and a difficult relationship with his girlfriend Dawn, played by Emily Blunt. Ryan Bader co-stars as Mark's coach and friend Mark Coleman who is a legendary fighter in his own right. Andre Tricoteux, Ilan Rosenberg, Nick Toren, Jill Basey, and many others co-star in this film. Johnson wanted to try something a little different. He plays a lot more vulnerable than usual. This might not have had the success that was envisioned but it was good to see Johnson go outside his comfort zone. It also takes a look at the much earlier days of UFC before it became the big spectacle that it is today. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
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The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967): Roger Corman directed this docudrama of the gangster world. This takes a look at the rivalry between Al Capone, played by Jason Robards, and Bugs Moran, played by Ralph Meeker. This takes a look at the events that lead to the infamous title event which happened on Valentine's Day of course. George Segal, Jean Hale, Clint Ritchie, Frank Silvera, Joseph Campanella, Richard Bakalyan, David Canary, Bruce Dern, Harold J. Stone, Kurt Kreuger, Paul Richards, Joe Turkel, Milton Frome, and many others co-star in this mafia film. Look for a young Jack Nicholson in a bit role early in his career. There is a lot of action as well and this was a very well-researched film. Corman did a good job bring us something a little different.
Sold (2014): This features former WCW champion David Arquette who got it in very controversial fashion at time when he was in WCW to promote READY TO RUMBLE. Years later, Arquette would enter the world of independent wrestling in hopes of achieving redemption. This is documented in the documentary YOU CANNOT KILL DAVID ARQUETTE. Jeffrey D. Brown directed this film which is based on the novel by Joseph Kwong. Niyar Saikia stars as the young Nepalese girl Lakshmi who sold to a brothel in India under the belief that she will have a job as a maid but learns the very dark truth. Gillian Anderson co-stars as Sophia who is a photographer working for an anti-trafficking group and sees Lakshmi calling for help. David Arquette, Priyanka Bose, Tillotma Shome, Seema Biswas, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Sushmita Mukherjee, Neerja Naik, and many others co-star in this film. This is a movie meant to open our eyes and really make us cringe at times. There are a lot of very disturbing but unfortunately very realistic scenes in this movie about sex slavery.
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Lili (1953): Charles Walters directed this film which is based on a story by Paul Gallico. Leslie Caron stars as the orphaned Lili who has just lost her father. She is taken in by a circus troupe and slowly finds work there. She also forms a relationship with the bitter puppeteer Paul who has trouble expressing himself and has to use the puppets for communication. Jean-Pierre Aumont, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kurt Kaszner, Amanda Blake, Alex Gerry, Amanda Blake, and many others co-star in this film. This is a nice feel-good film. This even has some fun musical numbers and great puppetry. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
The Last Outlaw (1993): Mickey Rourke was the star of the movie THE WRESTLER and afterwards, he was about to have a match with Chris Jericho. I understand that Rourke's PR guys talked him out of it but he still made an appearance on a WRESTLEMANIA 25 where he punches out Jericho. Geoff Murphy directed this very violent western. Mickey Rourke stars as Graff who is the leader of a bank robbing gang and is left for dead. Graff survives and joins posse to target them for vengeance. Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine, John C. McGinley, Steve Buscemi, Keith David, Daniel Quinn, Gavan O'Herlihy, Richard Fancy, Paul Ben-Victor, and many others co-star in this film. This was in a period of time where Rourke mostly walked away from acting but would return sometimes. I really liked the understated performance from Rourke. This movie holds nothing back and is available to watch on HBO Max. I also met Jeff Jarrett at the Squared Circle Expo who had the moniker of "The Last Outlaw" and maybe we could see him take on Mickey Rourke sometime.
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Well, that is all for this one but continue on for Wrestling Madness, Tube Time, and the Bookworm Corner. I will be back in a couple weeks which so far includes Christopher Walken, Claudette Colbert, Will Smith, Jennifer Connelly, and many others.
WRESTLING MADNESS
All my selections for this include wrestlers, and people who are in the WWE Hall of Fame.
The Fist of Death (1982): I start with the Mexican wrestling legend El Santo who made a lot of movies wearing his wrestling mask. Santo must retrieve something called the Star of Great Power which was stolen by an ambitious woman jealous of Jungle Girl. There is not much more I can say. This was a lot later in El Santo's career. Blue Demon would team with Santo a lot but is not in this one. People should know about this legend though and B-movie lovers will love some of his work. This can be found on Prime, Tubi, and Plex.
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Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows (1998): Paul Jay directed this wrestling documentary. This takes a look at about the last year that Bret Hart would be in the WWF. He discusses his past at times and how the fans are changing in who the like to root for and against. This is most notably in Bret's feud with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and how the fans came to side with him and his problems with authority. This would also take a look at what lead up to the infamous "Montreal Screwjob" which would be his exit from the WWF. Most people know what that event is and if not, just google it. Below is a photo of his sister Diana Smith who is the widowed wife of "The British Bulldog" David Boy Smith and their son Davey Boy Smith Jr. which was at Squared Circle Expo. This is available to watch on TUBI.
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Bounty Hunters (2011): This features WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus in her movie debut. She was also in the short-lived reality tv series ARMED AND FAMOUS which was shot in my own town of Muncie, Indiana and unfortunately never got to meet her until Squared Circle Expo. Patrick McBrearty directed this action movie about a team of bounty hunters. Trish stars as Jules who risks everything for a higher bounty reward with her friends. Frank J. Zupancic, Boomer Phillips, Christian Bako, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Marc-Andre Boulanger, and many others co-star in this action movie. This is mostly of worth to see Trish Stratus and she does have a pretty cool fight scene in there. The photo below is the Pro Op photo I got with Trish along with Lita.
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DC League of Super-pets (2022): I include this one on account of Dwayne Johnson who we know as the Rock, and he did okay in life. Sam J. Levine and Jered Stern directed this animated dc movie which centers around the animals. Krypto the Super-Dog, voiced by Johnson, looks to rescue his best friend Superman and the rest of the Justice League. He gets together a group of animals from the pet store who have been affected by the orange kryptonite. Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Keanu Reeves, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, Olivia Wilde, Maya Erskine, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jameela Jamil, Jermaine Clement, John Early, Dascha Polanco, and many others provide their voice in this animated film. This was a great animated movie and very enjoyable. It also pays some good homage to the 1978 film SUPERMAN. It was also good to see Krypto get his due and hope they have more with these characters. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
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The Fifth Element (1997): This sci-fi film includes Tiny Lister who would play the wrestler Zeus in the wrestling movie NO HOLDS BARRED. He would go onto play Zeus in the WWF for a time where he would mainly feud with Hulk Hogan. Luc Besson directed and co-wrote this futuristic sci-fi film. Bruce Willis stars as cab driver Korben Dallas who has an unexpected unusual being in Leeloo, played by Milla Jovovich. He learns that Leeloo is the key to saving the world from evil lead by Zorg, played by Gary Oldman. Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry, Brion James, Lee Evans, Charlie Creed-Miles, Tricky, John Neville, and many others co-star in this sci-fi film. This is a lot of fun and has a great looking future environment. Willis shows up very well where he must become the unexpected hero. The other characters in this film are very well done.
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Surf's Up 2: Wavemania (2016): I believe this is the only one I have from WWE Films. Henry Yu directed this animated sequel to the 2007 animated movie SURF'S UP. Cody Maverick, voiced by Jeremy Shada, Chicken Joe, voiced by Jon Heder, Lani, voiced by Melissa Sturm, and Tank Evans, voiced by Diedrich Bader, are still living in Pen Gu Island. They meet a group called the Hang 5 which is lead by an otter named Mr. McMahon and yes, he is voiced by Vince McMahon. The other four are Hunter, voiced by Paul "Triple H" Levesque, The Undertaker, voiced by Taker himself, J.C., voiced by John Cena, and Paige, voiced by Saraya-Jade Bevis who went by the name Paige at the time. They mostly play their wrestling personas but as animals who surf and take big risks. I'm not sure what was going on in their minds when this was made. It is mostly going to appeal to wrestling fans.
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023): I follow up with John Cena who provides the voice of Rocksteady in this animated selection. Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears directed this animated film of the timeless story. The turtles Leonardo, voiced by Nicolas Cantu, Michaelangelo, voiced by Shamon Brown Jr., Raphael, voiced by Brady Noon, and Donatello, voiced by Micah Abbey, live under the sewers with their rat father Splinter, voiced by Jackie Chan. Splinter tries to shelter the turtles from the outside world of humans, but they wanted to be in the outside world in hopes of winning over the humans. When meeting the reporter April O'Neil, she helps them with socialization and to overcome the mutant Superfly, voiced by Ice Cube. Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Rudd, Post Malone, and many others provide their voices. This has a really cool animated style to it. It also has a really good storyline around it. This is more of a coming-of-age story for the turtles than other stories I have seen. This led to an animated series which lasted a couple seasons. This is available to watch on Paramount Plus and is a must for turtle fans.
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Kindergarten Cop (1990): This one is not for a conventional wrestler but I chose WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger who has made some appearances through the years like when he clocked Triple H. Ivan Reitman directed this action comedy. Arnold stars as Detective Richard Kimble who is after the drug kingpin Cullen Crisp, played by Richard Tyson who is trying to find his son and ex-wife. This leads to Kimble having to be a Kindergarten teacher which could prove to be his most difficult job yet. Penelope Ann Miller co-stars as Joyce who becomes Kimble's love interest. Pamela Reed, Linda Hunt, Caroll Baker, Joseph Cousins, Christian Cousins, Cathy Moriarty, Park Overall, Jayne Brook, Richard Portnow, Alix Koromzay, Heidi Swedberg, Angela Bassett, Jason Reitman, Miko Hughes, Adam Wylie, Odette Annable, and many others co-star in this film. This has a few of the '90s tv kids without the kindergarten class. While this is pretty funny and the kids are cute, it is not really a family film with all the rather violent scenes. Arnold is a lot of fun in one of his comedic roles and was perfect as the hard-nosed cop trying to be a teacher. This is available to watch on Netflix.
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Central Intelligence (2016): I'm bringing back the Rock, I suppose he's my most used wrestler. Rawson Marshall Thurber directed and co-wrote this buddy comedy. Kevin Hart stars as mild-mannered accountant Calvin Joyner who reconnects with an old high school classmate in Bob Stone, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Calvin finds himself in way over his head when he encounters the CIA saying that Bob is a rogue agent. Danielle Nicolet, Amy Ryan, Jason Bateman, Aaron Paul, Ryan Hansen, Tim Griffin, Timothy John Smith, Thomas Kretschmann, and many others co-star in this comedy. Johnson and Hart prove to be quite to comedy duo in this film. They both have great comedic timing in this film. There are also lots of great pop culture references along with some good action. This has one of the greatest taglines of all time in "Saving the world takes a little Hart and a big Johnson."
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Dysfunctional Friends (2012): I decided to take WWE Hall of Famer Stacy Keibler for this selection. Corey Grant wrote and directed this movie on a reunion of college friends after a few years when they attend the funeral for their very wealthy friend. The friend has an inheritance ready for them all but they must all stay at his estate for five days in order to get it and learn what they are getting. They all try to reconnect where the secrets come out. Stacey Dash, Wesley Jonathan, Jason Weaver, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Stacy Keibler, Persia White, Hosea Chanchez, Datari Turner, Christian Keyes, Terrell Owens, Tatyana Ali, Vanessa Simmons, Essence Atkins, Meagan Good, Keith D. Robinson, and many others co-star in this movie. Where else do we get Stacy Keiber, Terrell Owens, and Tatyana Ali. This has an interesting enough concept and I was engaged enough. Lots of dysfunction and even working through the problems. This is available to watch on TUBI, the Roku Channel, and ALLBLK which requires a subscription through Prime.
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Muppets Most Wanted (2014): For this one I chose former WWE wrestler Hornswoggle who plays one of the Russian prisoners. James Bobin directed this Muppet movie which mostly continues from where the 2011 film THE MUPPETS left off. While on a world tour, a Kermit look-a-like named Constantine, voiced by Matt Vogel, and his henchmen Dominic Badguy, played by Ricky Gervais, manages to frame Kermit for a theft which puts Kermit, voiced by Steve Whitmire, in a Russian prison while Constantine impersonates Kermit to the group. Walter, voiced by Peter Linz, Fozzie, voiced by Eric Jacobson, and Animal, also voiced by Jacobson, are the ones who figure out the truth and look to take some action. Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman, Tony Bennett, Hugh Bonneville, Jemaine Clement, Rob Corddry, Mackenzie Crook, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Zach Galifianakis, Josh Groban, Salma Hayek, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hollander, Toby Jones, Frank Langella, Ray Liotta, James McAvoy, Chloe Grace Moretz, Usher, Miranda Richardson, Saoirse Ronan, Danny Trejo, Stanley Tucci, Christoph Waltz, and many others co-star or have cameos. I always enjoy hanging out with the Muppets and this is no exception. It may not beat the 2011 movie for me but still very enjoyable in my opinion. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
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Sherlock Holmes (2009): For this one, I chose former WWE wrestler Robert Maillet who is most known as Kurrgan in the '90s and was part of the faction the Oddities. Guy Ritchie directed this installment of the famed detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Robert Downey Jr. takes the helm as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law co-stars as Dr. Watson. They catch serial killer Lord Blackwood, played by Mark Strong, and as far as they know he was hung but soon learn he is still alive. Rachel McAdams, Eddie Marsan, Geraldine James, Kelly Reilly, William Houston, Hans Matheson, James Fox, and many others co-star in this film. This was a rather different portrayal with Downey portraying Holmes as more of drug addict needing a fix for his detective skills. I liked how Watson is portrayed as more of a partner than a sidekick and Holmes needed him more than Watson needed Holmes. This is available to watch on Prime.
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Gnomeo and Juliet (2011): Hulk Hogan has a cameo for the voiceover of the Terrafirminator which was an extreme lawnmower that was being advertised. Kelly Asbury directed this animated film that takes Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET to a new level. This centers around neighboring gnomes who are feuding with one another. Gnomeo, voiced by James McAvoy, is one of the blue gnomes and Juliet, voiced by Emily Blunt, is one of the red gnomes. The unthinkable happens where they fall in love, much to the dismay of the families. Maggie Smith, Ashley Jenson, Michael Caine, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings, Jason Statham, Ozzy Osbourne, Stephen Merchant, Patrick Stewart, Julie Walters, Kelly Asbury, Richard Wilson, Dolly Parton, and many others co-star in this animated film. I am 99% sure that is Shakespeare saw all of his adaptations to R and J, that this would be his favorite. TROMEO AND JULIET might rank up there as well. This is also helped by the soundtrack of Elton John whose classic songs fit this movie very well. I think the one thing we missed was a duet between Ozzy Osbourne and Dolly Parton who were both in this movie. Otherwise, this was a lot of fun and deserves a look. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022): For this one, I chose the WWE Hall of Famer Batista, now Dave Bautista, who is one of the people invited to a billionaire's island home. Rian Johnson wrote and directed this murder mystery which follows KNIVES OUT. Daniel Craig reprises his role of the world's greatest detective Benoit Blanc who is one of the people invited to the island of billionaire Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton. Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline were the others invited to what was supposed to be a theatrical sort of murder mystery until a real murder happens putting Blanc in charge of the investigation. Noah Segan, Jackie Hoffman, Hugh Grant, Stephen Sondheim, Natasha Lyonne, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Yo-Yo Ma, Joseph Gordan-Levitt and Angela Lansbury co-star or have cameo appearances as themselves. I don't feel this is really a sequel to KNIVES OUT, just a continuation for Benoit Blanc. This has a lot of murder, comedy, and some twists. This is available to watch on Netflix.
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Happy Gilmore 2 (2025): This might be the first movie to cast both active AEW and WWE wrestlers. AEW superstar Maxwell Jacob Friedman co-stars as one of Happy's sons and WWE superstars Becky Lynch and Nikki Bella co-star in this comedy. I could be wrong so if I am, feel free to point it out to me, I don't feel like googling. Kyle Newacheck directed this comedy sequel which was written by Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy. Sandler reprises his role as the title character who is now retired from golfing following an accident that resulted in the tragic death of his wife Virginia, played by Julie Bowen. When learning that his daughter could go to a prestigious dance school, he tries to pick up the golf clubs again to raise the money necessary. Christopher McDonald, Benny Safdie, Ben Stiller, Bad Bunny, John Daly, Dennis Dugan, Haley Joel Osment, Lavell Crawford, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Philip Schneider, Ethan Cutkosky, Conor Sherry, Steve Buscemi, Kevin Nealon, Kym Whitley, John Farley, Eric Andre, Margaret Qualley, Post Malone, Travis Kelce, Eminem, Jon Lovitz, Rob Schneider, Oliver Hudson, Reggie Bush, Jena Sims, and many others co-star or have cameos. Many people from the golf world and the broadcasters play themselves including John Daly who is very amusing as Happy's neighbor. This has quite the array for a cast and I feel is you like the first one, you'll enjoy this one. It was unfortunate that Carl Weathers died in 2024, so he was not able to reprise his role.
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TUBE TIME
Peacemaker (2022-2025): This is a spinoff of the 2021 film THE SUICIDE SQUAD which was created by James Gunn. WWE legend John Cena reprises his role of Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker who is recruited to take on an alien invasion and finds his freedom comes at a price. With the help of goverment agents Emilia Harcourt, played by Jennifer Holland, and John Economos, played by Steve Agee, as well as the self-proclaimed superhero Vigilante, played by Freddie Stroma, and his bald eagle Eagly. Robert Patrick, Lochlyn Munro, Nhut Le, Chukwudi Iwuji, Frank Grillo, Annie Chang, Sol Rodriguez, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, Tim Meadows, Brandon Stanley, Rochelle Greenwood, Michael Rooker, and many others co-star in this series along with some cameos from the DC Extended Universe that THE SUICIDE SQUAD started. It starts with that one, Season one of this series, the 2025 SUPERMAN, and ends with season two of this series. This has two seasons to it as indicated and is very raunchy and politically incorrect at times. There are a lot of laughs and violence. Eagly was my favorite part of this show I think. The ending gives more of a season ending which apparently will be continued in other parts of the DCEU instead of having a third season.
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Heels (2021-2023): Michael Waldron created this fictional series about a small-town wrestling promotion. Stephen Amell stars wrestler Jack Spade who inherits his late father's wrestling promotion. Jack tries to balance his family life and work life but finds it to be quite the struggle. Alexander Ludwig co-stars as Jack's brother Ace Spade where they have a very uneasy relationship and are rivals in and out of the ring. Jack also has to deal with a rival promotion in the next town which is run by the eccentric Charlie Gully, played by Mike O'Malley. Allison Luff, Mary McCormack, Kelli Berglund, Allen Maldenado, Roxton Garcia, Robby Ramos, Trey Tucker, Chris Bauer, Marcia DeBonis, Duke Davis Roberts, Joel Murray, Eliza Coyle, Alice Barrett-Mitchell, Larry Clarke, Scott Hunter, David James Elliott, Luke Hawx, C.M. Punk, A.J. Lee, Aron Stevens, Mick Foley, and many others co-star in this series. This has two seasons of about eight episodes each season. This was a very compelling series and is pretty realistic towards the world of independent wrestling. This might have been the start of C.M. Punk and A.J. Lee getting back into the wrestling industry. The photo below is of Mike O'Malley and Kelli Berglund who are at Squared Circle Expo and told me to tell my friends to watch this on Netflix in hopes of getting a season three.
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Black Bird (2022): The selection on this one if for Paul Walter Hauser who is an actor and is now an independent wrestler. Dennis Lehane created this mini-series which is based on the book IN WITH THE DEVIL by James Keene and Hillel Levin. Taron Egerton stars as James Keene who has been sentenced to ten years in prison. He agrees to a deal with the FBI to be transferred by a maximum security prison where he would try to get a confession from suspected serial killer Larry Hall, played by Hauser, in exchange for his freedom. Greg Kinnear, Sepideh Moafi, Ray Liotta, Joe Williamson, Robert Wisdom, Robyn Malcolm, Tony Amendola, Melanie Nicholls-King, Jake McLaughlin, Laney Taylor, Cecelia Leal, Trazi Lashawn, Carlo Alban, Christopher B. Duncan, Cullen Moss, Lee Tergesen, and many others co-starred in this mini-series. Hauser played the role of Hall to perfection in this series. The crimes committed by Hall took part rather close to home for me. There are a lot of references to Marion which I have drove through many times, as well as attend many wrestling shows and performed in a few plays. Also, right after Marion is Wabash which I have driven through to see family up north. This is not easy to watch but is a very compelling and a very popular topic these days. This is available to watch on Apple +.
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Tag Team (1991): This is actually a pilot episode that never went any further and I suppose for good reason. Wrestling legends Roddy Piper and Jesse Ventura star as wrestlers Tricky Rick MacDonald and Billy "The Body" Youngblood who are a tag team and get blackballed by a crooked wrestling promoter when they would not take a dive. They decide to become cops after having a rough time trying to find work after wrestling. Phill Lewis, Raymond O'Connor, Robin Curtis, Mike Genovese, Jennifer Runyon, and Shannon Tweed co-star in this pilot episode. The highlight of this is when Roddy and Jesse go grocery shopping and stop a grocery store robbery. Them going shopping together was funny enough but then making such a scene in the store. I believe this might be the only time Ventura played a wrestler who was a babyface, otherwise known as a good guy. This can be seen on Youtube and it does entertain to say the least.
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THE BOOKWORM CORNER
Irresistable Force: The Life and Times of Gorilla Monsoon by Brian R. Solomon (2025): I was listening to the podcast STORIES WITH BRISCO AND BRADSHAW when they had author Brian R. Solomon on there to promote this book. I decided to give this a shot as Gorilla was really the voice of my youth as the iconic WWF play-by-play commentator. However, I understood that there was a lot more to Gorilla that being a commentator. This talks about his early life and his time in athletics in both high school and college. Obviously, we learn about him getting into the world of wrestling. Something I did not know was that in the '60s, he had a gimmick where he would sing opera during a match. Solomon clearly put a lot of effort into putting together this book on the iconic announcer who was also a really good family man. This takes a great look into the ups and downs of his life including the last few years after his son Joey Morella died and he was never the same after that.
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Earl Hebner: The Official Story by Earl Hebner and Kenny Casanova (2023): Earl Hebner is one of the most famous referees in the wrestling industry. He is known for the "Win Ref" storyline along with his twin brother Dave as he screwed over Hulk Hogan for Andre the Giant to become champion. He was also the referee for the even more infamous "Montreal Screwjob", just google it if you don't already know. That was a moment that would eat away at Earl for many years. This goes some into his childhood and times with Dave and how they got into wrestling. His son Brian would go onto become a very good referee and now listen to his podcast REFIN' IT UP with Jimmy Korderas and Daniel Spencer. This is a very good read for a ref's point of view and did not hold a lot back.
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The Woman Who Would Be King: The Madusa Story by Debrah Miceli and Greg Oliver (2023): This is about Debrah Miceli who would enter the wrestling world as Madusa and Alundra Blayze in her time in the WWF. This talks a lot about her family life and how her choices were affected. She would also make quite a career for herself in a world that was very difficult for women. She would spend a lot of time in Japan while making a name for herself in the WWF and WCW her in the United States. She would also make a name for herself in the monster truck world. She was very ahead of her time in her respective professions and would help for what we have today in the way of women's wrestling as well as helping to get more women involved with the monster truck industry. This takes a look at the ups and downs in her life and had led a very compelling life.
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