Monthly Archives: September 2012

POP CULTURE

I Got 99 Problems and My Fanbase is One…

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And so it goes as music, the music festival, and social media get jumbled up when things happen on stage.

Jay-Z’s Made in America music festival played Philadephia’s Fairmount Park September 1st and 2nd. It was widely promoted through some vague Nike-esque Budweiser (the concert’s main sponsor) commercials, but the real show continued online long after the performers had come and gone.

Seattle rockers Pearl Jam co-headlined the festival with Jigga, and it wasn’t long after the festival closed that the former’s crazy fanbase came out of the woodwork to bash the band for its performance of Jay’s “99 Problems.”

One of the more hilarious responses from Pearl Jam’s community forum:

Although the song is allegedly about being stopped by cops, the fact that he clearly says “if you’re having GIRL problems…i got 99 problems but the BITCH ain’t one” clearly suggests he’s talking about a woman not a female dog. No matter what the verses are about, the hook is what everyone sings/remembers and most people assume based on that alone that the song is about women. Was this an accident? I think not. And anyway I don’t think that the song is any better if it’s just another song where Jay-Z glorifies drug dealing. The line where he basically accuses the cops of racial profiling kills me-he’s a DRUG DEALER that’s why he’s getting pulled over.

Disregarding the fact that PJ led into the song with a version of their Malice Green-inspired “WMA”—a song itself about police brutality and racial profiling—Pearl Jam fans, for some strange reason, take their favorite band so seriously as to be nearly deranged about the band they love.

Some fans love the band so much, they wrote letters to them expressing their disgust and disappointment in the band playing “99 Problems” with Jay-Z onstage. One open letter, beginning with a reference Abigail Adams about the rights of women, espouses that the song is about “sexual profiling,” despite Jay’s insistence that the “bitch” in the song refers to a police dog.

What these ornery—and reactionary—Pearl Jam fans are missing is that musical collaboration is one thing that makes contemporary music fun, (not to mention listenable). Obviously, they never got down to The Grey Album or Max Tannone’s Jaydiohead project. To top it all off, Pearl Jam’s M.O. has always been political and social disruption since their inception, from their legal battles with Ticketmaster to Eddie Vedder wearing masks in public to avoid the press. (Not that this collaboration has anything to do with protest or social unrest; it’s just that the reaction of some fans make it seem like it.)

Sure, now that Pearl Jam are all in their 40s they might have lost a bit of that edge. But if the band you love wants to perform a song you find vile or offensive, that shouldn’t be cause for alarm; instead of lashing out, it should warrant some consideration of the fact that maybe a politically active, socially-minded band like Pearl Jam simply wants to get up on stage and have a good time every once in a while.

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Comic Rack: Avengers Lineup Grows, Marvel NOW Teasers Baffle Me, & Superman’s H’el on Earth

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Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

DC New 52 Resets All First Appearances

For a while now, fans have been asking DC just exactly what the new timeline in the NewDCu is, and how it’ll directly unfold. This month, a bevy of “Zero” issues came out, all meant to explain, or give origins to the current DC lineup. Included in these issues is a series of “Who’s Who” listings, giving out character information, backstories, and of course, listing their first appearances. Way back when, for Superman, this would have said Action Comics #1, it now lists Justice League #1 (2011).

via [The Source]

[This] marks the release of the first week of DC Comics’ #0 issues. Each of these special issues is filled with everything from secrets to revelations to origin stories. These will both explain what happened before the launch of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 last summer, as well as plant seeds for future story arcs!

If you’ve already picked up your #0 issues today, you’ve probably noticed that in the back of each book (and now online!) is a Who’s Who entry on a major character in DC COMICS-THE NEW 52. These pages share information such as each character’s first appearance, base of operations, powers, history, and other appearances. Below, check out the list of which character is being spotlighted on each of this week’s releases and be sure to click on their names to read up on who they are!

via [Newsarama]

DC Comics has a new take on their classic “Who’s Who” listings, giving basic details on their characters, teams and concepts. Power Sets, basic origin stories, current affiliations and recent appearances are all included, as they were in the old “Who’s Who” sets. For example, Superman’s entry in Action Comics #0 looks like this:

First Appearance:

Justice League #1 (2011)

Base of Operations:

Metropolis

Powers:

Under a yellow sun Superman is extraordinarily strong in addition to being nearly invulnerable. He can run and fly at incredible speeds and possesses other abilities such as super-hearing, heat vision, x-ray vision, and much more!

Other Appearances:

Batman: The Dark Knight #5-7

Swamp Thing #1

Supergirl #1-3

O.M.A.C. #7

History:

As the planet Krypton exploded and a civilization died, baby Kal-El was rocketed to safety by his parents…

Well, at least they’re committed to going whole hog, and saying that yep, they’re all brand new, and their first appearances were in the books we labeled as #1. Deal with it. I know there’s probably still some old DC fans out there who are hurt, or feel betrayed, or just plain don’t like the New 52. Frankly, I think they ought just get used to it, or keep reading their old stuff. Clearly the New 52 is here to stay, and we just have to hope that everything can be as interesting and cool as Animal Man, Swamp Thing, or Batman.

New Avengers Lineup Grows In Numbers!

Marvel NOW! expands the roster of the Avengers, as lead scribe Jonathan Hickman teases Marvel fans with the full list of Avengers. When will they assemble? WHEN?

via [Newsarama]

Three interlocking covers for Avengers #1-#3 show all six of the movie Avengers — Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye — plus Brian Michael Bendis-era additions Spider-Man, Wolverine and Spider-Woman; along with frequent team members Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) and Falcon.

New to the squad is Cannonball of the New Mutants, along with two unconfirmed characters: One that looks Human Torch-esque (Johnny Storm? Jim Hammond? Or perhaps a slightly tweaked look for Cannonball’s New Mutant buddy Sunspot? [This has since been confirmed]) and a shadowed figure between Captain America and Captain Marvel likely intended to remain a mystery for now (though feel free to speculate — the chest symbols bring to mind Ikaris of the Eternals, maybe?)

In a July interview with Newsarama, Avengers editor Tom Brevoort said that by issue #12 of the relaunched Avengers, the team has an “an active roster of about 18,” indicating that there are around four more members to come not seen in this image. Upon the original announcement of Marvel NOW! two months ago, Entertainment Weekly reported that Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, would be on the team.

Dustin Weaver, who is scheduled to draw an upcoming Avengers arc, illustrated all three covers. Current Fantastic Four and FF writer Jonathan Hickman is launching the new twice-monthly Avengers series in December, and New Avengers with artist Steve Epting in January.

Update: Jonathan Hickman has commented on the covers on Twitter, writing, “Image released today is not the complete roster, we intentionally left off new characters for spoiler reasons.” and “And the roster starts at 18, grows to more.” In later tweets, he disclosed that there are eight more members still to come.

I love Jonathan Hickman. He’s an amazing writer, and one of my favorites of all time. I think his work elevates the medium to heights it’s never been, and captures ideas, concepts and thoughts that utterly fascinate and baffle me in turn. So I’m very conflicted on his tenure at Marvel, because he IS writing great Superhero stories, man, I’d rather he work on his independent, original work. In my opinion it’s more important, in every sense. That’s not to say that his Marvel work isn’t important, I just really REALLY like his original work, and crave it day and night like heroin. Yummy heroin.

Marvel Releases A Series Of New Marvel NOW! Related Teasers

To promote new books, sometimes they’ll pop a teaser ad in the middle of a book that’s popular. It’s a quick way to get people talking and speculating, and it generally creates a buzz for the project, and what it could be. Go on and click each one of the teasers for links back to Newsarama, where people much more knowledgeable than I, give far better analysis and guesses as to their meaning.

Teasers via [Newsarama]

Holy crap there’s a writer whose pen name is HOPELESS? I don’t know if that’s foreboding, ominous, or just badass. Probably all three. Who do I think this teaser is for? I’ve no clue actually. I’ll take a guess and say… Ant-Man? Yep. Ant-Man. Ahem.

People think this one is Deadpool, from the red crosshairs, and they’d have a solid point. An astute reader connect Lightning>Thunder, and come up with Thunderbolts. Who may be persecuted, and thusly have a target on their heads? Since they’re villains? Maybe Deadpool is gonna fight them? In a cage? On fire? During a storm? Brb, writing awesome superhero cage match fanfic.

These two are allegedly linked to the same project, so they’re going together. On my gut instinct alone, this makes me think Punisher. I know folks think that the Lightning one is for Punisher [EDITORS NOTE: My thoughts are of the Thunderbolts for this one], but the words WANTED and KILLER(s) make me think of ol’ Frank. The only thing throwing me off is the plural of KILLERS, so chances are I’m probably wrong.

So while all of my speculation is probably wrong, I’m allowed to dammit. You should go check out each teaser’s article over at Newsarama, if you’re putting money down on this sort of thing. Also, go see someone for your gambling problem.

Geoff Johns Talks About New Arab-American Green Lantern’s Creation.

Considering today is a very important day, I found this interview enlightening and relevant. I think the choice made here to portray an Arab-American by Geoff Johns is gutsy, but bold. It’s also notable that we get just a quick snippet of background history for Baz, who so far we know very little about.

via [SpeakEasy]

Did 9/11 inspire you to introduce a Arab-Muslim character, considering that it plays an important part of Simon Baz’ life?

When we re-launched our universe last year, diversity was a very important of the thinking when introducing characters. When I thought of the story, I had to introduce a new character into the “Green Latern” Corps. There was a lot of thought about his background, and that’s when I came up with the Arab-American “Green Lantern.”

What parts of your own life did you use when creating Baz?

My father is Lebanese so I have some of the cultural experience. I also worked with the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn on the script to make sure it had the authenticity of an Arab-American.

An Arab protagonist seems timely since there is this swirl of social issues that Muslims in post 9/11 America have to deal with.

True. As fantastic as the concept of “Green Lantern” is of an intergalactic police force, the comic has had a history of grounding in the now and dealing with modern characters and concepts and Simon Baz is that. I wanted to create a character that everyday Americans have to deal with.

When 9/11 hit, he was 10-years-old. His family was devastated, just like every other American. He’s grown up in that world. It’s just part of the daily life, the new normal.

The fact that the color green has a historical connection with Islam is probably coincidental but will religion play any part in future stories?

The background is in the DNA of who he is but it doesn’t define who he is. It’s more about a compelling character than anything else.

Geoff Johns is a writer you either love or hate. I’ve heard plenty of hate for him from friends, in real life and on the internet. Fortunately, I love him, and his work. I think he makes great, fun to read, yet not retardedly simple popcorn comics. He’s exactly the kind of guy I think should be working on superhero titles, rather than the Hickman’s of the world. This character he’s created, is a potentially risky step in a good direction, and follows through with the theme of diversity that DC execs touted at the beginning of the reboot of the DCU. I look forward to seeing the new stories with Baz, and hope his lineage, faith, and back story are written respectfully and tastefully by Johns, and any other who will be handling this character. It’s a great opportunity to reach out to the large muslim comics audience that’s out there, who I’m sure are craving some representation on the page.

New Writer For Superman, Introduces New Kryptonian Villain!

Even if it was hell for George Perez, his run on Superman was pretty goddamned boring. So boring, I stopped reading it. Being a big fan of Supes, I’ve been looking for a good point to jump back in, and start reading good Superman stories again. Hearing about a new Kryptonian villain, definitely sounds like the main foundation for the building blocks of a great Superman story.

via [Newsarama]

 Lobdell — already one of the most prolific writers at DC — will take over the Superman title, launching the second year of the iconic hero’s New 52 story with a new villainous threat.

Working with Kenneth Rocafort on art, Lobdell will start his run with this month’s Superman #0, then will take the title into November’s “H’el on Earth” event with Supergirl andSuperboy. The three “Super” characters will deal with a new Kryptonian supervillain named H’el, which Lobdell is introducing.

They then go on to conduct a LONG interview with Lobdell, who goes into detail about his plans, Superman, and what’s coming in store for him come issue #14, with the introduction of H’el. Here’s a choice snippet from the interview:

“Nrama: The “H’el on Earth” storyline that we’re seeing in the Super-books in November features what appears to be a new villain, but he’s got a Bizarro look about him. Is H’el a new take on Bizarro, or something new that you guys created for this story?

Lobdell: In my effort to re-imagine Superman’s villains, I went so far afield in re-imagining Bizarro with Kenneth, that editorial started saying “Um, Scott — this character is so not-Bizarro any more; he’s a whole new character, with new motivation, new history, new look, new origin.  You’re at the point where it doesn’t make any sense to call him Bizarro any more.”

And they were right.  

And for everyone who wonders about the “S” on his chest? It is so far removed from Bizarro or Prime or anyone else that you can relax: By the time this story is over, you’ll see that H’el and Bizarro can exist in the same world.”

You should go and read the whole thing over at Newsarama, because it’s fascinating, and worth the read.

MOVIES

Craptastic Review: Riki-Oh (The Story of Ricky)

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“It’s Evil Dead 2, Braindead, and the Matrix…times ten, turned up to eleven!” (DVD tagline)

After watching the first half of the Chinese film Riki-Oh, I contemplated not being able to appropriately label a review of the film as “craptastic”. Also, I contemplated not being able to hold my bowels. I found myself through the duration incredulously gasping “Holy shit!” and thus, could not decide if it was a fair that such a strong visceral reaction could warrant a review that would fit into the same category as those of Grizzly Park, DIEner, and Mega Piranha. However, after the title character Ricky (Riki) punched through yet another face as if it were made of wedding cake, I realized that this film was a redefinition of ‘craptastic’: loose plot, campy acting, and grotesque physical effects combine to deliver a highly entertaining romp through a futuristic 2001 (remember, the film is from 1991) Chinese prison.

The plot revolves around Ricky (Fan Siu-wong), sentenced to who-cares how many years for murdering the crap out of a guy who gave Ricky’s girlfriend the drugs that eventually led to her suicide. While rushing at said murdered guy, Ricky takes five bullets in the chest. No big deal. Did I mention that Ricky has super human abilities? No? Well let me explain…

Ricky is a bad mother. Through the movie, he routinely calls on supernatural forces that are never explained besides some references to the devil inside him. This results in punching through body parts, reattaching, then using, severed arteries, and, well, I don’t want to give up too much. Depending on the cut you can find (I found it on Netflix instant stream), the movie is rated NC-17 or R. Netflix has the R version, which obviously means I missed out on more ridiculous gore. ‘Tis a shame. ‘Tis indeed.

http://youtu.be/Vxd08Sp_FdI

The plot continues as Ricky realizes the injustices of the prison he occupies, and he sets out to make changes to the order and mistreatment to his fellow, weak, inmates. (Side note: except for Ricky and the antagonists—the Gang of Four and the Assistant Warden—every other character would be someone’s girlfriend in the US prison system) The result is an explosion of outlandish fight scenes and visual effects that have surpassed the film in fame. At points the make-up and transformations made me directly think of 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China. You know the guy that puffs up and explodes? Yep. Delightful.

For those of you old enough to remember someone other than Jon Stewart as the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, you may remember that Craig Kilborn’s version of the show routinely used a head smashing scene from the movie, seen here:

If that isn’t enough to motivate you, try this stellar use of dialogue:

After Ricky disembowels an enemy, the same guy uses his intestines to strangle Ricky (no, disembowelment is not enough to kill him silly) and the assistant warden cheerily yells, “You’ve got a lot of guts, Oscar!”  I hope that was just poor translation.

Anyway, I give this Craptastic movie a three out of five g-bears.



Movie News & Opinions

What We Know About ‘Red 2’

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After the critical and box office smash that was 2010’s Red, fans of the original film are getting excited about the upcoming 2013 sequel, Red 2. Bringing back most of the original cast plus some excellent additions, the Red series is turning out to be a geriatric version of The Expendables, which is pretty geriatric on its own.

The sequel was announced in January of 2011, with the entire original cast settling negotiations by later that year. Since then, numerous actors have been signed on to the project including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Lee Byung-hun, David Thewlis (Professor Lupin from the Harry Potter movies), and even Anthony Hopkins. Dean Parisot, who directed the brilliant Galaxy Quest but the so-so Fun With Dick and Jane, signed on to direct, which both increased and decreased the film’s potential simultaneously. If science proves to be true, that means absolutely no change was made to the film’s potential. Moving on.

As of right now, not much is known about the film except that the gang reunites to face new enemies in Europe. With that being said, I doubt the setting and plot of the film will play much of a factor into its level of adrenaline-fueled fun. I’ll admit, I was one of the people who was initially disappointed by Red when I first saw it in theaters back in 2010. Maybe the humongous age gap between me and the central characters played a part in it, but I can honestly say I walked out before Helen Mirren made it on-screen.

But after re-watching it, Red proved to be quality action cinema. The Expendables with a little more brain and about 50 collective years of age added to its cast. Red is a fun flick that will hopefully spawn a halfway decent sequel. I’m a huge Dean Parisot fan and I’m sure that, unlike Simon West’s directorial contribution to The Expendables 2, he’ll find a great way to either improve or reinvent the material of the original film, which rested mostly in the surprise that came from Helen Mirren shooting a .50 cal, among other things.

Sadly, Ernest Borgnine’s passing will prevent him from participating in the film, but I’m interested to see how the recent additions to the cast will play against the original members of the group. One thing that really relieved me was how the casting focused on talent as opposed to the biggest names in Hollywood. Ladies, I’m sorry to say that one of the Hemsworth bros will, in fact, not be participating in Red 2. As talented as they both are, Liam felt really out-of-place in Expendables 2, and he successfully out acted everyone in the cast except for Jason Statham.

Getting back on track, Red 2 is probably going to be a cool flick. Though somewhere deep down I hoped to see Richard Jenkins attached to this somehow. Anything that guy touches turns to old, I mean, gold. Thinking about it, wouldn’t it be funny if the cast of Red and the cast of The Expendables 2 teamed up for one giant movie. It’d be almost too much for one screen to handle. Then again, Bruce Willis would literally have to play Frank Moses and Mr. Church in the same movie. Double the Willis, double the disdain for humanity. I can see it now.

Check out the first Red 2 poster below:

THE INTERWEBS

Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Get Your Austen On

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Here at Grizzly Bomb, we know that many of our readers are men. Most of you are not married, don’t have kids, and are under age 35. Based on all these criteria, I’m going to take a wild guess and say many of you don’t read. Those of you who do read probably grab the latest Tom Clancy novel or at the very least a comic book.

I highly doubt any of you have or want to read Jane Austen.

In some sense, I don’t disagree with you. I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time in my life last month and there were times I wished I didn’t have to keep flipping back to the chapter notes to figure out what that word meant in Austen’s time. However, in the end, I felt like I had not wasted any time and felt deeply satisfied, even rewarded, with finishing a classic story.

I don’t blame you for wanting to watch her.

But how often do your mothers or sisters reference Austen, and they brush you aside as illiterate because you don’t know what they’re talking about? What about your girlfriend who keeps nagging you to watch the 5-hour BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, but you’d rather prefer watching Keira Knightley if you had to watch a version at all? Don’t worry; I know how to save you from further situations like these.

Now I’m not here to argue that you must sit down and read Pride and Prejudice (though it really wouldn’t hurt); what I am proposing is you give at least the basic Austen storyline a chance by watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube.

The Lizzie Bennett Diaries takes the characters, concept, and plot of Austen’s much-beloved classic and converts it into modern-day, relevant videos. That’s right – you won’t need to read about how the word engaged actually means busy because the Diaries use updated language to explain the same themes of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, the web series is written in the form of vlogs, where Lizzie reports on the goings-about of her life, just like we’re used to seeing with people like iJustine.

Lizzie can’t help if her sister Lydia jumps in on her vlog to high-five the audience sometimes.

Here are some other perks to watching the Lizzie Bennett Diaries:

1. There are attractive actresses playing the roles of the three sisters, Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia.  Not to mention they are just plain good actresses, too.

2. The videos are short, around five minutes long at maximum, which is way easier time to commit than a whole 5-hour sitting.

3. Like the modern-day language used, references are made to popular culture to help make the series even more relevant.  For example, in episode 45, George Wickham calls himself Batman.  You can’t get much more relevant than that.

4. If you’re on Twitter, the show creators have set up Twitter accounts for the characters, who regularly interact with each other outside of the show to make the experience more realistic.  Yes, you can tweet to Lizzie if you want to.

5. And as already mentioned, of course, you’ll have gained knowledge so you can get your female friends and family off your back.

Sure, there is some drama involved because when it’s a young woman’s vlog based on Austen it’s pretty hard to leave out her hatred of Mr. Darcy or her little sister’s boisterous, sometimes obnoxious, party attitude. However, each show does tend to cover only what is necessary to follow the storyline, and each episode tends to leave you with a “what will happen next?” moment.

Now it’s time for you to go watch the Lizzie Bennett Diaries instead of just reading about them. The worst that can happen is that you feel that you wasted five minutes of your life. The best that can happen is that you can get some personal satisfaction knowing you can now beguile women with your Austen smarts (or, like I said before, just get them off your back).

SPORTS

Monday Night Raw: 9/10/12

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Normally in this column I’d open up with a paragraph or two, denouncing some aspect of the WWE and its strange habit of recapping things endlessly, or what have you, but tonight is a very different night than usual, for reasons all of you who watch WWE,already know. Usually, I watch Raw live, and during that viewing I take notes, and then format them all into the article you’re currently reading. Which means my notes tend to be very spur of the moment, and generally can range anywhere from serious, to joking, and all spectrums in between. Well during the last 1/3 of tonight’s show, something happened that took me by shock, and suddenly the page full of notes criticizing Jerry Lawler’s character, and his commentary seemed wildly inappropriate.

So for those of you who read this column but don’t watch Raw, (who are you?), during the middle of a match between Daniel Bryan and Kane, and The Primetime Players, Jerry Lawler seemed to pass out, seemingly suffering from some unknown condition. As of this moment, 8:56 PM (west coast time), there are no further updates on his condition, other than he’s responsive, stable, and breathing on his own. He was assisted onto a gurney and wheeled out of the Montreal stadium and taken to a local healthcare facility, where they’re administering CAT scans and what have you, in an attempt to diagnose how serious his condition is. Right now, that’s all the info that is known from watching Raw and from WWE.Com.

Times like these make it difficult as a fan, and as a writer, to determine what’s appropriate when such an event so greatly overshadows almost everything else that happened on the show. Suddenly all of the story lines and feuds lose all meaning, in the wake of a tragedy befalling such an esteemed, long lasting, established person in Raw and WWE history as Jerry Lawler. I know, I know as recently as last week I was giving him tons of shit, but as a fan, there’s a crucial distinction between “going along with kayfabe”, and being a true fan of this sport. Of course I’m aware that Jerry Lawler is supposed to be a master of propaganda, and is supposed to say dumb things, because that’s his character now, and he does it well. So well in fact, I sometimes forget that it’s all just a show. Things like that are a testament to just how good they are at making us care about these characters, and having them really develop into superstars and legends we care about, or love to hate.

This incident with Jerry Lawler is a shocking way to be reminded that it is in fact, all just a show, and these people are literally out there killing themselves for our entertainment, day in and day out. There isn’t enough thanks I can give all of them, especially Jerry Lawler, for providing us with the entertainment, sport, and past time we all love and enjoy. I can only hope that Jerry Lawler turns out okay from all this, and this night will be remembered as an unfortunate moment in The King’s career, rather than a dark moment in the WWE, as yet another life tragically lost.

Normally I’d post several videos, following with my criticism or praise of their content, but unfortunately after tonight, I don’t believe it would be respectful, to try to ignore the significance of tonight, nor lessen the true impact that these events have had on the WWE Universe. Respect is a word that’s been ballyhooed around a lot in the WWE, and tonight, Jerry Lawler gets mine. Writing a series of snarky jokes about the matches tonight, the story segments, and anything in between seems incredibly petty. As much as I’d have loved to be able to sit down, and write everything I was thinking during the first 2 hours of tonight’s show, I’m not the one who’s going to sit back and try to pretend like what happened didn’t matter, or worse, as I’ve seen on twitter, some suggest it’s all a work, which I find insulting, and ridiculous.

I’ve just recently lost my father, and have had to report a lot of bad news, to a lot of people I cared about. Seeing Michael Cole have to do the same, on a national level, to millions of people,  was excruciating, and brought up a lot of emotions that are still very much active within me. To suggest it’s not real, is to not understand the pain, fear, worry, and self doubt that comes with having to directly and confront the terrible in front of you, and worse yet, tell others, and have to watch them react the same way in turn, as they process and deal with that information themselves. It’s this that I saw tonight, in Michael Cole’s eyes as he relayed the terrible news of what happened to Lawler, and explain why his and Lawler’s commentary suddenly dropped to a standstill.

Worse than that, was rewinding the broadcast, and watching Lawler hunched over, clearly receiving aid from a stage hand nearby, and the fast footwork of many officials and medical technicians rushing to help Lawler, all the while a wrestling match went on, with the cameras doing their best to avoid any sensationalization of what was going on around the match being shown. One look at the audience in the background told the tale, as everyones eyes were transfixed on the Announcer’s Table, and not the match happening in front of them. I found myself doing the same, too troubled and shocked to continue my normal barrage of WWE related tweets, or even taking any further notes on the show. Hearing all of the outpourings of opinion amongst the myriad sources of social media, has been massively cathartic and reassuring, as the WWE Universe collectively stands back in shock at tonight’s events. A notable Facebook Community I visit and comment on frequently, is Facebook’s We Hate John Cena Page, a page that shares the shocked sentiment of the WWE Universe tonight, as we all stand back, hope and pray that Lawler turns out okay.

Needless to say the last half hour of the show was resolutely quiet, and as I anxiously waited to hear any updates on his condition, suddenly the feud between John Cena and CM Punk seemed a bit less important. You could notice the seriousness in their eyes, and the emotion on their faces, as they, and all the others who unfortunately had to perform after such an event, made sure the show would go on, as I’m positive Lawler would have preferred. Personally, seeing Michael Cole’s reaction brought  up memories of Owen Hart’s death, and the gravely serious tone in which Lawler and JR spoke about Owen Hart’s tragically fatal condition. Michael Cole’s words seemed grimly reminiscent, and all the while until the very last shot of the show, I kept expecting that update to come, and we’d receive the dire news of Jerry Lawler’s fate. Fortunately it seems as of yet, Lawler is still stable. All of my, and the WWE Universe’s wishes, prayers, and hopes are with him, his friends, and family for a full recovery.