[VIDEO] Yesterday, the YouTube channel Wrestlelamia discusses the probable member part of the wrestling stable Retribution that debuted on SmackDown in dramatic fashion last month. Retribution are a group of nameless so far talent and its rumored that many of these talents are from NXT the developmental brand. Some of the nameless talent are people we may know.
Social media sleuths have been able to identify a few. And since they started making promos within the last few weeks I can safely identify a few of them especially with whatever social media posts or videos about Retribution that may exist out there on this topic.
Either way I can't wait until things start to settle down and we'll know more about who Retribution is in the coming weeks. That's assuming Vince McMahon who really controls creative doesn't just pull the plug with no explanation.
BTW, three members of Retribution debuted in the ring last nite on Raw. You will see three names in the above video that I think were part of that main event last nite, the six man tag between Tmar, Mace, & Slapjack of Retribution vs. The Hurt Business of Bobby Lashley, Shelton Benjamin, & Cedric Alexander. Well now Retribution isn't so nameless, however, I just know these are aliases.
[VIDEO] Count this as another train I've yet to take at least along the whole route, Texas Eagle. Actually I've taken this train from Chicago, Ill to Dallas, TX over the years but I've never taken it past Dallas. Years ago YouTuuba took this trip from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles, Calif. Duration for video above is just over three hours.
Well you know Texas Eagle seems as if it's two trains. The segment from Chicago gets attached to another Amtrak train Sunset Limited which terminates in Los Angeles. It was not a memorable journey for YouTuuba so he has no plans to take the trip.
For myself one consideration is that would I want to get to my destination in the wee hours of the morning or at about 5:35 AM. Well when it comes to traveling when you get there isn't going to be at the perfect time.
Starting Sept. 29, Los Angeles County residents will be given the opportunity to book a stay at the home in a group of up to two. The five available dates, which will only cost $30 in honor of the show’s 30th anniversary, are Oct. 2, Oct. 5, Oct. 8, Oct. 11 and Oct. 14.
During each one-night stay, guests will have access to the wing of the house where Smith’s character crashed, as well as a poolside lounge area and a dining room. The bedroom includes a basketball net, and there will be turntables to spin classic songs on. Other perks include access to Will’s wardrobe and a virtual welcome by DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Due to COVID-19, those selected must prove residency in L.A. County and be from the same household. The rental will be compliant with CDC rules and follow the enhanced cleaning protocol made by Airbnb as well.
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And as part of the celebration, Airbnb is making a one-time donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. See the Airbnb page for the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” house here.
Well it was cool until I found out it's available for a limited time and perhaps if I go to LA in the future it wouldn't be available to rent.
[VIDEO] Casey Neistat had a streak of three straight vlogs starting on Friday and took a break on Monday. Then he comes back on Tuesday morning where he explains that he's trying to figure out the next chapter of his career as a filmmaker and a YouTuber.
Neistat is one escape I had discovered in the last few years and had largely missed out on the height of his daily vlogs while he remained in NYC. Basically I've spent some time over the years catching up to what he has done. In catching up lately I forgot his favorite mode of transport was a Boosted Board which unfortunately is no longer in business.
Though I noted Neistat's vlog is an escape he did wade into current events a few months ago with his video on the George Floyd protests. I find myself disagreeing with some of his conclusions, however, this is what YouTube is for as it's something of a soapbox.
RELATED: Do what you can't over at Shedd school - I just had to highlight a Neistat video with a message I could relate to. Also anyone can relate to.
[VIDEO] In all the times I took the train due south on Amtrak via the City of New Orleans train my travels have never taken me further than Memphis, Tennessee. If my travels took me further south into Mississippi then the second stop after Memphis would be Greenwood, Mississippi. This is a great look at an Amtrak station in the state of Mississippi.
Perhaps one day my travels will take me south towards New Orleans, Louisiana which is the final destination of the City of New Orleans.
[VIDEO] I saw this video a while ago a trip from New York to Los Angeles on Amtrak. This surely was shot before coronavirus, social distancing, etc. This video is a different world from the one we're still living in. Even worse it seems as we head into summer some parts of the country is suffering some setbacks as far as coronavirus cases.
Still it's cool to see his trip aboard Amtrak's Cardinal and Southwest Chief trains with his critique of the services and amenities aboard the train. It makes me nostalgic for my trip to Los Angeles just about four years ago.
When we finally beat this dreaded disease and the world fully reopens, I look forward to hopping on the train again in the near future. I'm very sure we'll beat a virus with a relatively low death rate, however, communicable it may be.
[VIDEO] Honestly I've only see All Elite Wrestling on TNT a handful of times. I got some catching up to do on that program.
I had the chance to view the most recent edition the main event is Dustin Rhodes taking on Brodie Lee for the TNT TV title in a losing effort and sorry for the spoiler. It was a different show than of course any programming from WWE.
I like the interviews they do during the course of their two hour broadcast. Wednesday night they interviewed separately the former AEW tag team champs of Cowboy Adam Page and Kenny Omega by Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross respectively. Of course the interviews will go according to whatever angle their running at any given time. It's one feature that is different from WWE and something that's missing on all their brands from Raw to SmackDown to even NXT.
The production of the program seems very high definition and the character work is outstanding. One edition I saw in the last few months showed the legendary Tully Blanchard yelling at Tye Dillinger errr I mean Shawn Spears trying to get him fired up as his manager. Although at this moment I have no idea where Spears is going as a character and I see Tully has taken on new clients the new AEW tag team champs which changed at the recent All Out PPV the Revival.....errrr I mean FTR.
Perhaps what holds me back is the so-called Wednesday nite wars between AEW and NXT from WWE. I will admit to being a WWE mark and spend most of my Wednesdays watching NXT. However in light of some sports programming which has shifted NXT - hopefully temporarily - to Tuesday nights while USA Network airs the long pandemic delayed 2020 NHL playoffs.
Another thing about AEW is I'm trying to decide their styles. WWE is about sports entertainment. The old WCW in the early days was more or less southern style wrestling. ECW was more hardcore in their presentation. AEW seems to be going for more edge in their programming however there isn't a hook that causes me to want to tune into their programming.
So the video you see above is one woman's opinion on AEW and why she no longer watches Dynamite. And she started off with how she hates the direction of the women's division for example. I'm going to guess it'll take some time before AEW goes in a direction where fans will pay attention to them.
When you think about it, it took time for WCW to become a solid competitor to the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. It also took time for ECW to gain enough traction to be brought up in the same sentence with WWE or WCW in the 1990s. Perhaps it'll take the same amount of time for All Elite Wrestling.
They were off to a great start close to a year ago, it's hard to say they're in a much better position compared to WWE a year later.
[VIDEO] This is the first Grilling J.R. podcast where Conrad Thompson and Jim Ross - the legendary voice of WWF Monday Night Raw. In this episode we hear J.R.'s account of the events surrounding his departure from World Championship Wrestling owned at that point by Ted Turner and his Turner Broadcasting properties.
I think he compared what was going on at WCW back during his time with them back in the early 1990s to a terminal medical condition. As happened WCW is now a property of Ross' former employe WWF now WWE. Whatever afflicted WCW proved to be terminal as WCW no longer exists as an entity.
He also couples what happened back then to him meeting his wife Jan. Ross already had two marriages under his belt and he was working on his next one. Unfortunately Jan died in 2017 after a vehicular accident so there are quite a few stories from Ross as far as his relationship with her back then.
And then of course, he talks about the situation within the Turner organization. It's very fascinating.
BTW, these days you can catch up with Jim Ross as the voice of All Elite Wrestling which currently airs on Turner Network Television aka TNA every Wednesday night on their program Dynamite.
One of my favorite YouTuber's is known as YouTuuba who goes to Mansfield, Ohio to not only visit the Ohio State Reformatory he also drives along The Shawshank Redemption trail. The trail shows sites where the movie was filmed which includes the Ohio State Reformatory.
Actually I always thought the movie was filmed in Maine which is where Shawshank was filmed. I never before knew that the film was mostly produced in Ohio in or around the Mansfield area.
The one thing I do like about YouTube - yeah being a bit childish here - is that it takes you places you never knew existed. It takes you places you're not likely to visit although now that you see it, you might want to visit these places.
A walk through the Ohio State Reformatory: Shawshank prison about an 1 hr 25 mins [VIDEO]
A drive along the Shawshank trail: In and near Mansfield, Ohio about a 20 mins [VIDEO]
Amongst other things that give me an escape, it's movies like Shawshank. I never saw it in it's initial theatrical run over 25 years ago, however, seen it on TV enough times to enjoy the movie. It's one of those films I should've had in my VHS or DVD collection. Perhaps at some point in the future I should just download it through iTunes.
