The Brothers of Destruction

WWE's Kane and The Undertaker – all Brothers, all the time!


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22 November 2015: PPV digitals – Brothers of Destruction

From WWE.com:

The Brothers of Destruction def. The Wyatt Family
BY ANTHONY BENIGNO

ATLANTA— Thunderbolts and lightning are very, very frightening, but all the pilfered powers and sinister incantations in the world couldn’t save Bray Wyatt from his own personal reapers, The Brothers of Destruction, in a Survivor Series confrontation that’s been brewing and brewing since WrestleMania 31. There, a solo Wyatt had called out the then-MIA Undertaker and expected to win in a walk, paying the price when The Phenom showed up and reclaimed his honor at The Show of Shows.

The New Face of Fear only waited to strike back once his Family had been both reunited and expanded, but was his mistake targeting Kane as well, replenishing the devil’s ranks to their full strength as well? Was it a strategic error for Wyatt, who had his pick of family members to pit against The Brothers, to pair himself alongside his most battle-tested lieutenant Luke instead of newfound colossus Braun Strowman? Or did The Eater of Worlds simply bite off more than he can chew from the outset in his attempt to depose the devil?

It was apparent, given the pomp and circumstance with which The Phenom was introduced, that The Wyatts were eager — perhaps too eager — to ruin The Deadman’s anniversary. Erick Rowan rushed the ring after The Phenom’s legendary entrance, was immediately met with a double-chokeslam from The Deadman and The Demon, and was not seen again. Harper stepped up in his partner’s place, and Wyatt, looking to finish his war himself, called Strowman off and stepped onto the apron to team with Harper.

Apart from a few moments in which The Eater of Worlds tried his hand against the storied Superstars, Wyatt largely left The New Face of Desolation to shoulder the battle against The Brothers. That, unfortunately, led to an Old School and apron legdrop to Luke Harper that The Phenom delivered with the agility of a Superstar celebrating his 25th day in the ring, not 25th year.

Given the momentum of The Undertaker, it didn’t take long for Strowman to turn from spectator to participant. After Kane tagged in and found himself forced to the outside, The New Face of Destruction hurled The Devil’s Favorite Demon over the commentary table, instigating an ominous face-to-face with big brother that indicated payback would be served for the assault against Kane.With Kane weakened, Wyatt made like his buzzards and went to pick the bones, setting The Demon up for Sister Abigail. The Big Red Monster had some fire left burning in him; he Chokeslammed his way out of The Eater of Worlds’ signature maneuver, leading both spent Superstars to summon their partners for relief. Unfortunately for Wyatt, Harper didn’t fare better against The Phenom.

The New Face of Desolation found himself put so hard on his heels that Wyatt had to come to the rescue. That landed both men’s throats in The Phenom’s hands, at which point Strowman interfered again, breaking up the double chokeslam in a moment of vindication that was short-lived. The Wyatts sent Undertaker tumbling over the ropes but he landed on his feet and immediately turned his attention to Strowman. After dispatching Wyatt & Harper, Kane joined his sibling for a double-chokeslam to The New Face of Destruction through the commentary table. Payback had been served.

The aftermath of that earth-shaking attack was as impressive a performance as any four of the Superstars involved had put together, and for a moment, it really was either team’s match. While the referee attempted to restore order, Wyatt pounced with a Sister Abigail to The Deadman and Harper, the legal man, went for the pin. Kane broke the count up, but found himself cut down by the former Intercontinental Champion’s discus clothesline as a result.

The end result was The Brothers of Destruction laid out side-by-side, immobile and spent, as The Wyatts circled their victims. Harper slithered towards The Devil’s Favorite Demon and The Eater of Worlds contorted himself into an ominous spider-walk toward The Phenom. In a ghastly echo of WrestleMania, both Brothers sat up in sync and dispatched the stunned Wyatts with a pair of simultaneous chokeslams. Only one thing remained, and as Harper reeled with one foot in his grave, The Phenom took hold of The New Face of Desolation and put him all the way in with a Tombstone.

One, two, three. The Deadman lives. The Brothers of Destruction roll on. What’s next for The Wyatt Family?

And that’s how you celebrate ‘Taker’s incredible 25 year anniversary at Survivor Series!

Brothers of Destruction 22 November 2015 – The Undertaker & Kane vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper: Photos

“The Wyatt Family enters Survivor Series ready to battle The Undertaker & Kane on The Deadman’s 25th Anniversary.”

And the “fireflies” were awesome in that big venue!

“Kane leads the charge for his own family.”

It made me happy that Kane got to use his own entrance music.

It made me even happier that, after ‘Taker’s gong sounded, it was Kane who summoned the flames and brought forth his big brother.

Those big symbols ablaze were awesome! And I totally love the pillars at the front of the stage, with the flaming urns on top.

25 years after his debut at Survivor Series. Happy anniversary, ‘Taker.

And still looking damned good!

See what I mean about the pillars and urns of fire?

“The arrival of The Undertaker completes The Brothers of Destruction.”

Wait, is that like when Kane told Big Show that he completed him? 😉

“Erick Rowan rushes the legendary Superstars and is dispatched for his hastiness.”

And go me, got my prediction part right – thought it would be Rowan and Harper tossed to the Brothers!

So long, Rowan – thanks for playing! 😉

Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you! 😉

Next!

“Bray Wyatt himself joins Luke Harper to form The Brothers of Destruction’s opponents for Survivor Series.”

Leaving Braun “razor brand, mouthful of random consonants” Strowman to twiddle his thumbs ringside.

Harper is the first one to join in the ass-whupping party. 🙂

And yes, this match was a little bit of a spot-fest, but hell, I didn’t care! Seeing Kane hit this dropkick made me all kinds of happy!

And holy hells, ‘Taker has not lost a goddamned step in 25 years!

“The Phenom climbs the turnbuckle for his legendary Old School.”

Yep, all kinds of happy!!

Looking real good, Deadman!

Aw, Harper doesn’t look like he’s having a good time! 😉

Setting Harper up for that running leg drop!

This guy’s been wrestling for 25 years? Who could tell that, watching him? Love seeing him looking so good!

Making sure Wyatt doesn’t feel left out!

“Harper sends Kane over the ropes …”

… and we pause and give thanks for the Kane fangirl who chose this shot for the website. Because that is a thing of upside down beauty! 😉

And Kane lands on his feet. Because even after his 18 years, he is still a phenomenal athlete.

“… And into the path of Strowman, who sends The Devil’s Favorite Demon tumbling over the commentary table.”

Giving us a view of one of the best asses in the company in the process! 😉

And fucking up the headsets of half the commentary team in the process – oops?

But I loved how this attack on his little brother brought ‘Taker storming around the ring with murder in his eyes at Strowman!

Mike Chioda was trying very hard to make ‘Taker behave … and ‘Taker was having none of it! Not while his baby brother was in danger! Gods, love this so much!

And then he was smacking the turnbuckle and stomping on the steps in desperate attempts to get Kane to their corner and tag him in … ❤

Once he did, though, he roared back into kicking ass and taking names! Leg drop!

“When The Phenom rejoins the fray, Wyatt and Harper find themselves both in his clutches.”

YES!

“Another spill outside the ropes allows The Phenom and Kane to dispose of Strowman, plunging him through the commentary table.”

Buh-bye, Spanish announce table!

‘Taker and Kane both down – oh noes!

Mmmm, shoulderporn! 😉

Well, there’s a luscious pair of hunks all laid out there … and Bray Wyatt doing that creepy damn spider walk in the background!

“The Wyatts circle the reeling Brothers, only to be met with a last-second resurrection.”

Was I the only one counting down to that simultaneous sit up? 😉

-gigglesnort- I love how surprised Harper and Wyatt look. Even Mike Chioda’s in on the surprise in the background! I mean, ‘Taker’s only been doing this for 25 years

Yep, roar back to life and kick ass – classic ‘Taker!

“A simultaneous chokeslam to The Wyatts and a Tombstone to Harper seals the contest.”

YES!

Kudos, Kane, you got Harper up nice and high for that one! 😉

I’m not gonna lie, I got emotional at the end of this match. I want Kane and ‘Taker to team up forever.

Because I want the chance to see this on my TV every damn week!

And this about kills me. Because I remember seeing Kane and ‘Taker team up live at a show here in Australia, way back in 2009. Seeing them do this in person is a very special memory. I still want to see it on my TV forever ❤

No video, of course, since it’s a PPV. But hey, you can catch the replay on the WWE Network any time! (Love the WWE Network – saving me a fortune in PPV fees!)

But WWE.com does have video of ‘Taker’s entrance, seeing as it’s his 25th anniversary. Check it out here!

And remember that the special for ‘Taker’s 25 years is on demand on the Network now. Planning on catching that myself!

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16 November 2015: RAW digitals – Brothers of Destruction

From WWE.com:

The Wyatt Family confronted The Brothers of Destruction

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The Brothers of Destruction are back from Hell, but it may just turn out that they’ve gone from the frying pan to the fire. Addressing their torment at the hands of The Wyatt Family over the last month, The Undertaker and Kane promised an eternity of torment for The New Face of Fear and his flock, only to be confronted by the man himself. Flanked by the Family atop the entrance ramp, Bray Wyatt threw the brothers’ mysticism right back in their faces, demonstrating his lingering control over their powers by turning Undertaker and Kane’s druids against them. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champions managed to fend the minions off, though given that Wyatt has yet to reveal his trump card — which two of his brothers will face The Brothers of Destruction — it may not be so easy for them come Sunday.

Brothers of Destruction 16 November 2015 – The Brothers of Destruction battle Bray Wyatt’s “Flock”: Photos

“The Brothers of Destruction’s Druids stalk to ringside.”

Now, two issues with this. Not with the druids per se – I dig how they’re like the good china, only dragged out on special occasions.

But they’re not the Brothers’ druids – they’re the ‘Taker’s druids.

And holy crap, are there some short-ass druids in there! What, they can’t find enough guys backstage over 5’10” any more? One of those dudes had his robes hoiked up around a foot at his waist so he didn’t trip over them!

Not getting tired of this any time soon!

“Kane and The Undertaker arrive.”

Yep, happy little fanbrat here! #BRSG and #BIGBRO – day made!

And blown away by how good ‘Taker looks – he’s in terrific shape!

Audio porn! Happy happy fanbrat!

Man rules on the mic. That is all.

“They’re ready to face two members of The Wyatt Family Sunday at Survivor Series, live on WWE Network.”

Stereo audio porn! I can die a happy fanbrat! 😉

Bray Wyatt – making rocking chairs relevant again 😉

Still loving the “fireflies”.

-le sigh-

“But Bray Wyatt is not afraid.”

He should be!

“He reveals that the Creatures of the Night are in his command.”

Did not see that coming! Brilliant!

Not that the Brothers of Destruction are going to be bothered much by a pack of druids. Specially these two under-sized ones! 😉

Holy hand clapping tap-dancing Jesus H. Christ! The height of that chokeslam from ‘Taker! He very nearly put that druid into orbit! (Kane, letting the side down there a little, buddy – you can’t let your big brother upstage you like that! 😉 )

“The druids pounce on The Brothers of Destruction, but Kane and Undertaker turn away their attacks.”

“Pounce”? “Pounce“? This is the best descriptive verb you can come up with, WWE? Sheesh!

But hey, #BRSG and #BIGBRO standing there all dominant and such … what was the question again? 😉

Happy place.

Aww man, loving this so hard.

And this is just … ❤

WWE.com has video of the audioporn encounter here – enjoy! 😉

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9 November 2015: RAW digitals – Brothers of Destruction

Well hell, it’s been a while since I’ve even been here, but colour me happy to be back! Because, as I’ve hoped and hoped for ever since I started this community a fuck of a long time back, the Brothers of Destruction have re-united!

I’m as rusty as hell at doing this, so please bear with me while I try to remember how I used to do this, but oh hell yeah – Brothers of Destruction RULE!

From WWE.com:

Bray Wyatt eulogized The Undertaker and Kane

Rest in peace? Not quite. Despite Bray Wyatt’s attempt to bury The Undertaker and Kane once and for all after consuming their powers, the demonic Superstars returned from the void to give The Eater of Worlds a taste of his own medicine. The Brothers of Destruction surrounded Wyatt right after he had finished his “eulogy” for the former WWE World Heavyweight Champions, and even the arrival of The Wyatt Family wasn’t enough to stymie the resurrected Superstars. They dispatched the Family, planted The New Face of Fear with a double chokeslam and struck their signature pose, fully revitalized and ready to roll. Now it’s the Wyatts’ turn to run.

Now, the whole of RAW was worth (fast forwarding through) watching for the video vignettes of Kane and ‘Taker’s history. (And hey, this week is Undertaker week on the WWE Network, so there’s sure to be some more great stuff to see!)

But I did like this segment – I dig Bray Wyatt, and his creepy band of Neanderthals. But come on, we all knew that he wasn’t going to be able to defeat The Deadman and the Devil’s Favourite Demon like that. Jeez, how many before have tried and failed?

Enough of my babbling (and my jealousy for the crowd in England who got to see this live!) – onto the digitals!

Brothers of Destruction 9 November 2015 – Bray Wyatt eulogizes the Brothers of Destruction

“Bray Wyatt stalks to the ring on RAW.”

And on the subject of digging Wyatt, the “fireflies”? Are fucking awesome!

“Wyatt wants to eulogize the fallen Brothers of Destruction.”

Can’t kill what’s already dead, man.

“He calls them relics and says their time has come and gone.”

Harsh, man – way harsh. Please to not be reminding me that they might just … -gulp- retire.

“But fire mysteriously hits the ring.”

And the roof about comes off!!

“Kane and The Undertaker have re-surfaced.”

And looking too fucking fine for mortal women, lemme tell ya!

Jeez, the happy this gives me, seeing them together!

Yep, so fucking happy!

Honestly, after WrestleMania last year, with them breaking The Streak? And then the absolute bullshit Kane has had to do since then? I just found precious little joy in wrestling.

Even ‘Taker coming back to fuck with Lesnar wasn’t exactly happy making – I mean, sure, delighted to see him back on my screen. Ecstatic to see him looking in such great shape, absolutely. But jeez, did that program with Lesnar accomplish anything much? Except making him look “strong” to take on The Rock at ‘Mania next year.

Whoop-de-doo. Two part timers, yeah, we’re all going to be SO invested in that match.

That being said, the moment after the Hell in a Cell match with Lesnar, where ‘Taker gave him that wry smirk and a tip of the finger? Yeah, I grok.

Having the Wyatts carry him off after that? Well okay, I was screaming for Demon Kane to do a run in and save the day, because finally I could see where the whole “Corporate Kane doesn’t know about Demon Kane” schtick was going.

Creative actually were, for a change. It was a way to extricate Kane from The Authority storyline so he could team back up with ‘Taker.

I was hoping, but denied. When the Wyatts took Kane the following night? Hoping even harder.

And now? Yes. Thank you.

Worth the wait. Definitely worth the wait. Cannot tell you how happy this makes me!

“Before they can get ahold of Wyatt, The Wyatt Family arrives.”

Now we got us a party!

Said it before, will say it again – two best asses in the company! 😉

Aw jeez, yeah – this was almost worth the very long wait!

Okay, yeah, they aren’t the newest guys on the roster, but they haven’t missed many damn steps. And they could still teach the young pups a thing or two about professionalism and playing your role well.

“Braun Strowman lays out The Brothers of Destruction.”

“Braun Strowman”? The fuck kind of name is that? Seriously, it sounds like Creative threw a bunch of magnetised letters against the break room refrigerator door and decided to name their next character whatever stuck.

On the other hand, the guy looks like a legit beast, and if the feud is to get the Wyatts over (eventually!) I can be cool with that.

Yep, I’d be cool with the Brothers of Destruction feuding with Bray for a good long while. Taking him out behind the woodshed to teach him who’s boss of the undead/soul-less types around here. 😉

Yep, just flipping guys out of the ring like it’s nothing – sure they’re “relics”!

Yep, I’d be good with this feud going on for a good long while!

“But they ultimately stand tall and chokeslam The Eater of Worlds.”

YUS!

Happy place. Happy fucking place!!

Ahem.

Okay, I’m good now!

This has been a damn long time coming, but happy fucking days!

If you didn’t see it, and you don’t have the WWE Network to go back and see it again, then the video is here.

In fact, WWE.com have even helpfully put together all the vignette clips in one – you’ll find that one here. So many amazing memories in that six minutes, let me tell you!

As we know after SmackDown, at Survivor Series, it will be the Brothers of Destruction versus two members of the Wyatt Family.

If I were booking it, the Brothers would go over Harper and Rowan at Survivor Series, setting up for Bray and “mouthful of random consonants” Braun Strowman at the next PPV (is that TLC? Or have they changed it?).

Whatever. I just look forward to some Brothers of Destruction action coming my way!!


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I’m back! And other stuff …

Well good morning campers! (Actually, it’s not morning, but you know … besides, it may be afternoon or evening where you are when you read this so, whatever floats your boat in your current time zone!)

Been pretty damn quiet around here, huh? -hand up- That’s on me, of course.

See, it’s been kind of hard to get enthusiastic as a Brothers of Destruction fan in the wake of WrestleMania.

That felt like not one but two kicks in the teeth.

First, Kane has a “blink and you’ll miss it” showing.

Not that those can’t be good – hell, his eight second match against Chavo Guerrero was all kinds of good, given he walked out with a grin a mile wide as ECW Champion. (Plus, he’d been in the pre-show Battle royal, although I didn’t see it.)

This year, though? Forget any and all bullshit about how they were there to “build up” The Shield – the New Age Outlaws were in a match at ‘Mania to satisfy their egos, and Triple H’s.

So the spotlight was theirs, and Kane was just in it to make up the numbers.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, they broke The Streak.

Yes, I know that ‘Taker had to be on board with that decision, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch.

Plus it was a monumentally crappy and half-assed build to a major match – again, due largely in part to Triple H’s ego. After all, gods forbid that anything take the spotlight away from his match in any way, shape or form.

Post-‘Mania, it seemed Kane was at least going to get a decent storyline in destroying DBryan at The Authority’s behest.

A run that was screwed up by bad writing. Kane was suddenly inexplicably back in the mask. No one really explained why – there was some bullshit about Stephanie “raising the monster within”, but hell, they never adequately explained why Kane took the mask off in the first place, so why would we expect any different now?

We were “treated” to Kane as a couple-terrorising monster for a few weeks.

Which we’ve already seen. Numerous times. And with female wrestlers who could act, at least. Brie Bella, sadly, cannot.

Then the bad news that DBryan had to have surgery and was going to be gone for real and … screeching halt again for Kane.

After that? A hopeless bloody mish-mash of Kane not being on TV, and when he was on TV, jobbing to guys he should be destroying … all the stuff that just sucks the joy out of wrestling – for me, anyway.

The background to all of this was WWE’s financial woes. Not cracking that magic one million subscribers for the WWE Network, making TV deals for less money, and the stock price plummeted.

Cue the immediate rush to cut costs – a rash of wrestler releases, and staffing cuts in Corporate. Half a dozen writers were let go in Creative – not that anyone probably noticed. Hell, we likely never saw any of their work, since it appears Vince is still re-writing the RAW script in its entirety the afternoon of the broadcast. If someone were doing that to my work on a regular basis? I’d be glad to be let go!

Worse, the WWE Network continued to disappoint shareholders. Coming up to the mark when folks’ initial six month commitment ran out, it soon became apparent that great swathes of them were choosing not to re-up. And new subscribers weren’t quite filling the gap. A situation likely to continue in coming months.

The solution? Turn RAW into a three hour commercial for the Network. With breaks for an occasional wrestling match. Where the commentary continues to harp on the Network.

Considering a large segment of the audience have, until recently, had no access to the Network (myself included), it’s particularly unappealing.

I do have access now – yay? But it’s only via the WWE App and over my devices. If I could find a way to stream from my tablet to my big screen TV … I still wouldn’t be interested. Because, yes, the PPVs would be cheap, but would blow out my data limit with my ISP – see, lots of folk don’t have unlimited data, so this really isn’t a viable option.

I foresee unhappy shareholders for years to come. And more and more budget cuts.

All of this to say … yeah, my interest in wading through three hours of RAW for two minutes of Kane has been limited. Trawling WWE.com for paltry digitals and then mustering the enthusiasm to post them has likewise been missing.

There is however a bright spot on the horizon.

Kane has inexplicably unmasked again. So we’re back to Corporate Kane.

 photo corporateKane_zpsbad45445.jpg

Corporate Kane who comes with bonus stripping.

Man, I loves me some Stripping!Kane!

Even better, Corporate Kane is right back to Wrestling!Kane – because he’s a hands-on Director of Operations, doncha know?

Wrestling!Kane. In dress pants. Bare-chested … you have my attention.

I’m prepared to be disappointed again. Cynically, I suspect extra TV time and unmasking is due to the fact they’ve finally set a release date for See No Evil 2 (21 October – YAY!).

But that comes with teaser clips like this one, courtesy of the See No Evil 2 facebook page:

http://dai.ly/x24brkf

 

… HolyMaryMotherOFGodPrayForUsSinnersNow!

Talk about going to my happy place!

So yes, I’m back!

Corporate Kane is back!

I’m not going to attempt any kind of catch up. Hell, I may not even post every single appearance.

But I am committed to celebrating the pornographic loveliness that’s finally returned!

You have been warned!

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6 April 2014: WrestleMania XXX digitals – Undertaker

From WWE.com:

Brock Lesnar def. The Undertaker BY Ryan Murphy

NEW ORLEANS — Records are made to be broken.

Heroes fall. Legends fade. History is rewritten.

We’ve learned to accept these truths about many things in this world, but not The Undertaker’s Streak. It was WWE’s one constant — a decades-long unbeaten WrestleMania run that had never been done before, and will never be done again. Every year, The Deadman would face down a worthy adversary — be it Triple H, Shawn Michaels, his brother Kane — and every year he would add another number to his win column until it stood at a towering 21-0.

The Undertaker’s match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania was meant to make it 22-0. The Phenom would conquer The Beast — although he’d suffer a tremendous beating in the process— and he’d return at WrestleMania 31 to do it all over again.

However, stories don’t always end the way we want them to. And numbers never lie.

On April 6, 2014, Brock Lesnar did the very thing his T-shirt promised he would do: He beat The Streak.

It took countless punishing blows, multiple wrenching submissions and three F5’s, but Paul Heyman’s manmade monster became the first competitor to pin The Undertaker on The Grandest Stage Them All, and mark a 1 in The Deadman’s loss column.

There’s a story about the night Bruno Sammartino lost the WWE Title to Ivan Koloff in Madison Square Garden to end his eight-year reign as champion. The crowd was so quiet you could hear the whoosh of the cars passing on the street outside. A new generation of WWE fans will talk about the night The Undertaker lost with the same reverence. The sound of 75,167 rowdy people going silent all at once? It’s indescribable.

To see The Streak end was the single most shocking moment in the grand history of WWE. No one imagined it could happen. Even The Undertaker himself had made his victory all but guaranteed by preparing a specially made casket for Lesnar, which sat at the top of the entrance ramp next to a long row of coffins — one for each of The Deadman’s WrestleMania victims.

If Brock was intimidated by this psychological freak-out, he didn’t show it. As an athlete who fist fought the world’s most dangerous men inside cages for a living, Lesnar doesn’t scare easily, and he went at The Undertaker from the opening bell with an unbridled rage that has become his trademark.

The Deadman’s choice to immediately stand and bang with the former UFC Champion proved to be a mistake as Lesnar battered him with fists and elbows before launching him out of the ring. The Phenom couldn’t outfight The Beast Incarnate — the amount of men who could would fit comfortably inside a midsized sedan — but he had a chance to outmaneuver him.

Employing his underrated technical abilities, The Phenom dissected The Beast by focusing on the vulnerable joints and tendons in his elbows and shoulders. Old favorites worked just as well — chokeslams, the guillotine legdrop on the ring apron and Snake Eyes all rattled Brock. But Lesnar has always been the type of Superstar you’d have to hit with a Buick if you wanted to beat him on sheer force alone.

Lesnar’s fighter’s mind quickly adapted to The Deadman’s gameplan as he began to target The Undertaker’s knees, which had been weakened by decades of Tombstones. Brock took pleasure in picking The Deadman apart, even running up behind The Phenom and kicking him in the back of the knee with all the recklessness of a kid trying to boot a football.

Yet Brock’s arrogance would often get the better of him and he spent too much time taunting The Undertaker in a way a schoolyard bully like Lesnar just can’t resist. The crowd saw The Deadman’s chance to recuperate in those brief moments of gloating in-between Brock’s debilitating strikes, and The Phenom nearly did it.

When he kicked out of a pin attempt after getting blasted with an F5 and locked in Hell’s Gate, The Phenom seemed to be in control. But Brock countered the submission (and a second) by picking the icon up and slamming him back down. An attempt at Old School — always one of The Deadman’s riskiest maneuvers — was countered into a second F5, but again The Undertaker found his way back to the surface before the count of three.

In the thick of the match, each competitor was overwhelmed by the feeling of “What do I have to do to beat this guy?” Paul Heyman’s cry of “You’re Brock Lesnar!” seemed to inspire The Beast Incarnate to bash his opponent further, but Undertaker managed to counter his physical flurry with a Last Ride. When he followed up with a Tombstone, Lesnar kicked out at two. Even Heyman seemed shocked by that.

And then the final seconds of The Undertaker’s Streak played out like the slow-motion footage of a car accident that could have been avoided had the driver only known what lay ahead. The Deadman went for the Tombstone again, Brock reversed, powered the unearthly icon onto his shoulders and hit a third F5.

He went for the cover. The official counted one, two and The Undertaker kicked out. Didn’t he? He had to have. He always does. Every time.

But he didn’t. Not this time.

Seconds of mass confusion inside the Mercedes Benz Superdome felt like minutes. A bell rang. A graphic flashed on the massive screens reading “21-1.” Heyman’s jaw dropped. WWE cameras panned across fans who wore expressions of horror on their faces like the rubber masks in a Halloween store.

They said no man could break The Undertaker’s vaunted WrestleMania Streak, but what about a Beast?

Lesnar was the Superstar who did what everyone from Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka to Randy Orton couldn’t do, but his victory celebration didn’t last long. Soon, Brock and Heyman were gone and The Undertaker was alone in the ring in front of 75,167 WWE fans whose shared sense of shock was quickly giving way to adoration. People stood on their feet and cheered the single most enduring Superstar in WWE history.

He rose, too, but he barely acknowledged the scene. His mind was elsewhere. On broken Streaks. On a friend who once stood at ringside. On a career in the ring that may have just ended.

It took a long time for The Undertaker to make that long walk up the ramp as every step literally took him further away from a WWE Universe that thought he’d always be there.

And then he was gone.

A Streak had been broken, yes, but the legend lived on.

There’s a lot been said about this, on all sides, and Paul Heyman continues to troll everyone quite amusingly about how Bork broke The Streak. It is what it is.

For what it’s worth, I was gutted. I wasn’t ready, but then selfishly I don’t think I was ever going to be ready for it. I guess my days of watching WrestleMania with my ‘Taker rosaries clutched in my hand and around my neck as I watched another match in his incredible legacy are over.

But they were some damn great times – so #ThankYouTaker.

Undertaker 6 April 2014 – The Undertaker vs, Brock Lesnar: Photos

An entrance to do The Phenom proud.

Maybe some foreshadowing? But an awesome visual representation of The Streak.

Looking good! And playing mind games – always a legend!

Like this coat WAY better than the one he was wearing on TV leading up to ‘Mania – it’s bad-ass!

Don’t know that ‘Mania will ever be the same without The Streak being on the line and Undertaker stealing the show.

One hell of a match from the start.

Any doubts I had about Bork’s ability to be professional in this match were thankfully put to rest.

Someone – as in a wrestler or former wrestler [EDIT: it was Chris Jericho, interview with Digital Spy posted on his Facebook page] – just in the last week or so talked about how much tougher it must have been for ‘Taker to wrestle one match a year because his body’s not used to it, like it is when you wrestle every week.

Even with that, man, ‘Taker did not miss a step in this match to my eyes.

Okay, got to give Bork his dues – ‘Taker’s no lightweight, so picking him up like that from the Hell’s Gate is impressive! It’s also impressive how flexible ‘Taker is for a man his size!

And kudos to ‘Taker for throwing in an MMA move of his own with this arm lock!

Last Ride!

Stunned.

No words.

#ThankYouTaker

The faces say it all.

Truly, this is the end of an era.

Some extra photos from a “Best of WrestleMania XXX Feature”:

These last two break my heart.

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6 April 2014: WrestleMania XXX digitals – Kane

From WWE.com:

The Shield def. Kane & The New Age Outlaws BY Zach Linder

NEW ORLEANS — Everybody needs a hero. And sometimes those heroes come from the unlikeliest of places. For the last year and a half, the entire WWE roster has incurred the wrath of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns. But a lot can change from one Show of Shows to the next, and inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday night, these Hounds of Justice stood victorious as lauded heroes for this post-Attitude Era.

For some, it feels like just yesterday that The New Age Outlaws and Kane — along with X-Pac — represented a cadre of beloved competitors. During the late 1990s, few grapplers were as popular as Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and The Big Red Monster. But with their true degenerative and rebellious spirits long gone, it was The Shield that took to Spearing these three veterans out of their suits and as far from the boardroom as possible.

The Shield wasted no time, interrupting the D-O-Double-G’s familiar spiel and descending from amongst the capacity crowd. Once the bell rang, it was all about the men in black. Kane did his best to unload on his opponents with furious punches, but the bout quickly evolved into a chaotic brawl. Few could envy the referee assigned to officiating the contest.

Reigns sprang from the floor to nail a dropkick to both Outlaws at the same time as they were draped over the ring apron. Moments later, the powerhouse of The Shield landed a Superman Punch, which Rollins followed by coming off the turnbuckle onto Kane with a spectacular diving somersault over the top rope to the ringside floor.

With momentum decidedly against them, the corporate posse attempted to retreat to the locker room area. But before Kane and his partners could make their way up the ramp, Ambrose and Rollins sailed through the ropes and onto their rivals outside. From there, it was Reigns’ time to shine, not an uncommon sight over the past few months.

The Shield’s enforcer unleashed massive simultaneous Spears onto Dogg and Gunn before turning his attention to Corporate Kane, sending the Director of Operations soaring out of his slacks. From there, a pinfall was all but inevitable. Rollins and Ambrose hoisted an Outlaw each to Reigns’ arms, and the trio executed what can only be referred to as a “double-Triple Powerbomb.” It was Rollins who scored the one-two-three, but this was a win felt by all in attendance.

Blink and you missed it, but this was as impressive and decisive a victory as ever by The Shield. And on The Grandest Stage of Them All, to boot. On this night in New Orleans, Rollins, Ambrose & Reigns proved to be more than just Hounds. They’re bona fide heroes. And you can believe that.

Kane 6 April 2014 – The Shield vs. Kane & The New Age Outlaws: Photos

Bare-chested Kane!

Those are his rasslin’ dress pants, doncha know 😉

Couple of acres of rippling back muscles – yep!

Followed closely by shoulderporn!

Incoming! Notice Kane did a lot of the heavy lifting in this match? Because he’s in better shape than both of Te New Age Outlaws combined! 😉

Dear lord, love it when Kane wrestles bare-chested in the dress pants (even if they are the rasslin’ ones) – it’s damn near pornographic!

And come on, let’s give it up for DDP Yoga – because between what he did for Jake The Snake Roberts and Scott Hall, and the shape Kane is in? He deserves a Hall of Fame spot of his own!

More rippling back muscles!

… -whimper-

Here’s to the Kane fangirl, who turned Kane’s fairly limited involvement in a super-short match to this set of photos! Thanks chica! 😉

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6 April 2014 – PPV digitals: WWE Hall of Fame 2014 Kane and Undertaker

6 April 2014 – Paul Bearer is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame: Photos

“Kane takes the stage to speak a few words about Paul Bearer.”

“The Devil’s Favorite Demon introduces Michael and Daniel Mooney, Bearer’s sons, to accept the induction on behalf of their father.”

Those boys are the image of their dad …

“The two men accept with a hearty “Oooohh, yes!!!” and exit stage left.”

“The Undertaker arrives to pay a final tribute to The Father of Destruction.”

No words.

WWE.com has video of The Undertaker’s tribute here … I haven’t seen the Hall of Fame ceremony, and won’t until the DVD is released. But if this one minute of video is anything to go by, I’ll be in tears for sure.

Just going to round this out with this picture, courtesy #TeamBestie, of Trish Stratus and Kane. Because yeah, it’s kind of adorable!

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26 April 2014: Happy birthday Glenn!

So, John Cena and I celebrated our birthdays this week – happy birthday to my not-twin from another family! – so that must mean that … I’m running WAY behind and it’s the second red-letter day around here!

(Way way WAY behind – I swear, the plan is to catch up soon!)

So, celebrating the birthday of the sexiest Taurean man on the planet, I proudly present this year’s celebratory picspam!

Happy birthday Glenn!

So, in my usual quest through the thousands of images I saved this year, I was struck by something.

The folks over at WWE.com wax lyrical from time to time over how The Undertaker has re-invented himself over the years. How come they never talk about how Kane has done the same thing?

Because he has, and just as successfully. I’d even argue that it’s more successfully, as he’s still appearing on weekly TV and re-making his character in that way is a lot tougher than going off TV and coming back with a new gimmick.

I thought I’d explore a little of that, and the wild ride we’ve had with Kane this year, as the theme for this year’s picspam.

But first, as a little apology for not being on the ball and ready with this picspam right on the dot of midnight as I usually am, let’s take a quick trip back to Glenn’s last birthday, and the … unique in-ring celebrations in Moscow!

I love the expression on his face! Two goofy Russian hats, and a banana – what more could a guy want for what I think may have been his first-ever in-ring birthday celebration! (Let’s face it, monsters from Parts Unknown usually don’t celebrate birthdays!)

I do recall he had to close his eyes and hold out his hand for the banana, giving us this wonderful image before that first one! (And yes, you all know why I chose it!)

But this sneak hug attack from his tag team partner DBryan and fellow Taurean birthday boy John Cena was priceless!

Group birthday hug! Let’s hope many Russian beers were consumed later!

So, back to that character re-invention theme. There’s been a lot of graphics circulating this year, showing the many incarnations of Kane’s character, but I rather like this one.

(Let’s not get into a pissing contest in the comments about how “they” should bring back one or other of the earlier Kane incarnations, shall we? That drives me batshit on Facebook!)

But before he was Kane, Glenn wrestled in the WWF (as it was) under a few other gimmicks, including the one that shall not be named. Apparently, there was a stir this year as Glenn hung up on a radio interview when they mentioned Isaac Yankem. I suspect he’d laid the ground rules in advance that there were things he wanted to talk about – or that WWE wanted him to talk about – and when they saw fit to ignore that, he terminated the interview. The man’s too nice – and too professional – for it to have been anything else.

I personally think he made a way sexier “Diesel” that Kevin Nash, but I may well be biased!

Mick Foley makes a point in one of his books that it can take time for a wrestler to get the gimmick that suits best, and will go on to draw money and have longevity. Which was the case for Glenn.

The build to the reveal of The Undertaker’s brother, Kane, was masterful, thanks in no small part to the brilliant work of the late, great Paul Bearer.

But this isn’t a grand serious career retrospective – let’s just have some fun! Who can forget Kane’s unfortunate obsession over the years with Pete Rose?

Oh yeah, my personal favourite old school Kane, with the half-mask! And in the Elimination Chamber yet! (Please ignore any and all watermarks – Facebook fan pages are worse thieves than Tumblr people.)

But let’s not forget the see-through flames. Now that was some sexy re-invented shit! 😉

Seriously sexy!

First un-masking. First round of outrage that “they” have made Kane weak, not a monster, yadda yadda yadda.

Like Kane cares!

It’s not every guy who gets to electrocute the boss’s son’s testicles on live TV, after all!

Wearing tights and boots to a pool party is a bit extreme though!

The first unmasking led to the first feature film, “See No Evil”. All kinds of good there!

We had some damn good years with unmasked Kane, and then for the first time in a long time, Glenn took some time off to recuperate, and deal with some knee problems before they got worse.

And he came back … oh yeah!

Even within this newest masked run, we got some re-invention.

Not that Kane’s never been a ladies man before, but this whole angle with AJ was a trip! Especially when it’s Kane who breaks up with her, explaining that while he’s disturbed, she’s just plain nuts, and he’s not “boyfriend material”!!

The whole anger management angle was supposed to be a lead in for Charlie Sheen as Twitter Ambassador, and might well have been shit-canned when Sheen quit Twitter (-facepalm-), except that DBryan, Kane and Dr Shelby made it work.

Team Hell No were a raging success!

“Kaniel” gives a whole new meaning to “raging” success … or should that be “flaming”? -snickering-

AJ was still around, though, with her “not boyfriend material” friend Kane, meeting the troops.

If that’s DBryan showing Kane some “Kaniel” fanfic on his tablet, I can only surmise the next moment either had them both in hysterics or running for the mental bleach! 😉

Along the way, we got some great “masked Kane in civvies” moments too.

Lord have mercy, no one rocks a pair of blue jeans quite the way he does!

And oh my, masked Kane with kids? My ovaries ache just looking at these!

Kane in a boy scout uniform? Causes an ache of another kind! -fans self-

Bad photoshop, great idea – and a little foreshadowing, as it turns out! 😉

One thing that has to be said though, is that Kane came back in amazing shape! -drools-

Not shaving his chest under that singlet? Bonus!

Another awesome bonus was that Glenn grew his hair back under the mask! Glee!

Here he is in the airport in my hometown last year … ponytail. Glasses. -drools-

I am including this one specially for Pats – she’ll know why! 😉

Then, sadly, we had to bid Kane a farewell from our screens for a bit. But all in a good cause, as he was off filming “See No Evil 2” with the Soska sisters in Vancouver! This photo, courtesy of the movie’s Facebook page, is from the first table read.

Sadly, making the movie meant losing his ponytail (waaaaaah! They couldn’t spring for a bald cap?) but I think we can forgive the Soska sisters, because they obviously took damn good care of him!

Kane returned to TV after the movie … and almost as promptly un-masked again for Stephanie McMahon and The Authority.

Cue another round of “Waaah! Bring back old masked Kane! This guy’s a pussy!”

Me? Well, I kinda like Corporate Kane. You work those glasses, geek boy.

Even if he did win Jerk of the Month award at WWE Magazine (thanks to Sevenfoot Monster on Facebook for this one)!

Plus, corporate Kane and kids is still ovary-aching!

What was even better was when Kane started kicking ass in the ring, and we still got re-invention!

We got Kane in a business shirt and dress pants …

We got Kane in a wifebeater

And then, lord have mercy, we got Kane bare-chested in dress pants. The single leading cause of ovary a’splosion all year! -fans self-

Now, just before his birthday (and mine!), Kane re-masks and goes back to being a monster. Sadly, this particular night, it was so that DBryan could leave the show early and go home to be with his family after the sad death of his father, but knowing Kane, and DBryan, this will go on to be one hell of a feud.

We can’t leave this birthday spam without paying respect to the late, great Paul Bearer. Paul said of Glenn that he was, “the nicest guy in the world, too nice for his own good.”

Now, we didn’t get the Hall of Fame televised down under, and we also don’t get access to the WWE Network, so I’m going on what I’ve seen reported, but it is fair to say that without Paul Bearer, there would not have been an Undertaker, and without them, there would not have been a Kane.

I do know from what Bill Moody used to have on his website that he regarded both Mark and Glenn as brothers, and he loved them both dearly. A fact very evident in this photo, taken backstage at the Hall of Fame when Kane inducted Drew Carey.

It does make sense then, that they asked Glenn, as Kane, to induct Paul Bearer into the Hall of Fame this year. An honour I’m sure he was only too happy to accept.

A fitting farewell to Paul Bearer, gone but never forgotten.

As they saying goes, another year older, another year better looking … no, wait, that’s not how it goes! Another year of Kane on our TV screens sounds pretty good to me!

Happy birthday, Glenn – thanks for bringing Kane back to our screens again in new ways, for entertaining us, and for being one hell of a performer!

Here’s to a wonderful year, from all of us!

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31 March 2014: RAW digitals – Kane

From WWE.com:

Kane def. Roman Reigns via Disqualification

(From Kane’s Official Facebook page)

Despite the WWE Universe picking Roman Reigns as Kane’s Shield-allegiant opponent of the night via the WWE App – and despite the Director of Operations’ disqualification win – the bout ended in indecisive, if tantalizing, fashion mere days before The Shield’s battle against their latest, and most seasoned, opponents. The former and current record holders for most Royal Rumble Match eliminations didn’t so much wrestle each other as engage in a monster-movie style collision, though the arrival of The New Age Outlaws left Reigns outnumbered at the moment of truth.

Happily, The Hounds of Justice run together, and no sooner had Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins arrived to neutralize the threat than Reigns struck Kane down with the Superman Punch. The Shield swarmed The Devil’s Favorite Director of Operations to shut down the match, though Kane eluded the Triple Powerbomb with the help of The Outlaws. Sunday he may not be so lucky.

Kane 31 March 2014 – Roman Reigns vs. Kane – WWE App Vote Match: Photos

So how come the vote wasn’t to determine if Kane would wear those pants, huh? I don’t care who he’s wrestling, but I care passionately about whether there could be a catastrophic wardrobe malfunction on live TV that could result from wearing those pants in the ring! 😉

However, bare-chested is good! We likes bare-chested, the abs, the precioussssssss!

See? That’s a wardrobe malfunction just waiting to happen, if Kane was wearing those pants! 😉

That said? Holy crap, thank you DDP yoga for that flexibility, it’s awesome!

Got some old school Kane moves in this match! Hadn’t seen that sidewalk slam in a while!

Actually, Kane going one on one with Reigns was a good pick, WWE Universe.

And yeah, I know, people are sick of seeing Kane “lose” but come on, guys – he’s not going to be around forever. Much as we’d like him to be, eventually, he’s going to stop wrestling. Best thing he can do now is help build up the younger guys to take over when he, and others, step down.

He’s doing a damn fine job of it, too!

Damn, that Superman punch of Reigns is awesome!

Kane’s abs are likewise awesome! 😉

Love that hint of body hair on Kane – that shit is HAWT!

Proving once again that quality control is something that happens to other people’s websites, here’s another angle on that Superman punch. Now with added rippling back muscles! 😉

No words.

Let’s just appreciate the Kane fangirl who selects these photos! 😉

Kane’s expression says it all – the man is so non-verbally articulate!

Plus hawt as fuck flat on his back. I’m just saying is all.

😉

Reigns has got some mad skills. But yeah, not a big fan of him kicking Kane in the head!

Also not a fan of The Shield and their ass-kicking parties when Kane is the only guest of honour!

Thank heavens The New Age Outlaws were there to save the day … and that is a sentence I never thought I’d be writing, trust me! 😉

Mmmmm, furry chest …

WWE.com has the video here – enjoy!

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31 March 2014: RAW digitals – Undertaker

Sorry folks, been a hectic few weeks here and I’m running way behind! So far behind I didn’t even post this Raw preview graphic I snagged from WWE on Facebook:

From WWE.com:

The Undertaker delivered his final message to Brock Lesnar

(From The Undertaker’s Official Facebook page)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For one last time before The Show of Shows, The Deadman rose on Monday Night Raw to deliver one final message to his WrestleMania opponent, Brock Lesnar. Much has been made of The Undertaker’s supposed vulnerability leading into his 22nd defense of the vaunted Streak in New Orleans. Despite the mounting whispers of his doubters, The Phenom remained steadfast in his promise to stave off The Beast Incarnate in six days’ time and maintain one of life’s three guarantees: Death, taxes and The Streak.

Actions, ultimately, proved The Demon of Death Valley to be more fallible than he let on; Lesnar and Paul Heyman not only interrupted Undertaker’s final message to The Anomaly, but Lesnar himself left The Deadman down when he stormed the ring and laid out the former WWE Champion with an F-5 that would have made the Devil himself cringe.

Undertaker 31 March 2014 – Brock Lesnar F-5s The Undertaker: Photos

“The Undertaker makes his final stop along The Road to WrestleMania, coming to Raw to address his Show of Shows foe, Brock Lesnar.”

And finally, in this incredibly lack-lustre ‘Mania build, we get a proper ‘Taker promo!

“The Deadman addresses The Beast Incarnate: “What’s going to happen when I take out to the deep water, and when your feet can no longer touch the bottom … what are you going to do?” ”

… no words

“According to The Undertaker, there are three things that cannot be beat: Death, taxes and The Streak.”

-sigh-

“With Paul Heyman in tow, Brock Lesnar arrives to interrupt The Deadman.”

“Paul Heyman: “This is not a match that Brock Lesnar has to win. This is a match The Undertaker must not lose.” ”

-sigh-

-double sigh-

“The Anomaly approaches the ring … with caution.”

Seeing The Deadman strip for action was damn fine!

Bork is wise to be wary – The Phenom is a wily competitor.

t

“Thanks to a distraction by Heyman, Lesnar is able to take the fight to The Undertaker.”

Damnit!

Nope, didn’t want to see this happen!

“The Beast Incarnate delivers a shocking F-5 to The Deadman!”

Nope, can’t even enjoy the sight of The Deadman flat on his back … -sigh-

“Is this a prelude of things to come when Lesnar and The Undertaker square off on The Grandest Stage of Them All?”

As it turns out, yes. And I thought they weren’t calling ‘Mania ” the grandest stage of them all” anymore? Some bullshit about how Vince thought it made WrestleMania sound dated?

WWE.com has video here – enjoy the promo, if nothing else.

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