Happy New Year! Let’s get this first Monday of the year started off right.
If you are a long time reader, it seems like I never finish anything. But, I did this past week! I finished:
What I’m watching:
What I’m reading:
My latest podcast offerings:
55. Gut Punch: SNME January 1986. Joey receives some Gut Punches, Hogan makes some shakes, Jesse wrestles, Funk is middle aged and crazy, Volkoff wins a “Peace Match”, Dean Malenko refs, and the Superstars visit a water park as Joey looks at the Saturday Night’s Main Event from January 1986.
Happy Monday, everyone. I hope that you are enjoying this weird time between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
What I’ve watched this past week:
It was okay. A little too long and drawn out, but it gave me that 80’s vibe of some of the Superman sequels.
What I’m reading:
My latest podcast offerings:
54. George Lucas had nothing to do with this: Christmas Star Wars ’81
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Cup of Joe Wrestling Show Episodes that occurred in July and August:
10. Razors, Blades, and a Bag of Money: The Great American Bash 1988. In the midst of Social Distancing, Joey learns about Nikita Koloff’s hair, Lex Luger’s blading skills, and Ronnie Garvin’s get rich quick plan as he looks at The Great American Bash 1988.
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12. Absolutely, I want both Iced Coffee’s:- SummerSlam 88. Joey gets over caffeinated, learns his limits with Social Distancing, and has it with Virtual Meetings as he takes a look at SummerSlam 88. The Mega Powers take on The Mega Bucks, Randy Savage starts a subtle heel turn, and The Ultimate Warrior makes the first turn into becoming a superstar and legend.
29. Now that’s what I call an entrance: Great American Bash ’86-Charlotte. Ric Flair arrives in style, Ricky Morton wears a protective device, Baby Doll Slaps Cornette, Shaska gets shaved, Garvin gets revived, and JJ gets ticked off as Joey watches The Great American Bash ’86-Charlotte.
36. Blood and Mist and Muta too: The Great American Bash ’89. Ric Flair and Terry Funk battle, the TV title is held up, The Skyscrapers make an impression, Sid Vicious is over, the War Games is hot, Bob Caudle wants to see some clothes torn off, Michael Hayes doesn’t want to go in the cage, and Ricky Steamboat uses a chair as Joey takes a look at The Great American Bash ’89 from the NWA and WCW.
38. The Man with the Z on his Head: SNME July 1989. Hulk Hogan puts his title on the line, The Honky Tonk Man is one hit away from a championship, Ronnie Garvin is a punching ref, Macho Man is intense, Brutus Beefcake puts on a great performance, Zeus makes an appearance, and we crown new tag champions as Joey takes a look at the Saturday Night’s Main Event from July 1989.
39. As long as it’s outside the ring: SummerSlam ’89. Zeus and Randy Savage have a Cauldron of Madness, Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake have a secret weapon, Mean Gene has a blooper, Rick Rude doesn’t care who he has to go through, Jim Duggan has a mask, The Brain Busters have the titles but don’t put them up, and Jesse has a point.
5. Gone to Canada for a burger, be back later: SNME March 1988. All Joey wants is a Burger, fries, and a Root Beer, but he has to go to Canada to get it. Hulk Hogan wants his title back, Harley Race wants to not get injured on a table, Andre wants to be in DiBiase’s corner. DiBiase wants to just have the belt, and Randy is still Savage as Joey looks at the Saturday Night’s Main Event from March 1988.
6. Former NWA Star Pet: Clash 1 March 1988. JCP presents the first Clash of the Champions opposite WrestleMania IV, the Midnight Rider angle has just begun, Flair makes Sting’s career, and Sandy Scott gets an unfortunate introduction.
7. Should Have Shot the Snake: WrestleMania IV. Joey talks about one of his comfortable shoe podcasts, Donald Trump, swimming, Hulk Hogan not thinking through a promo, who Ric Flair was wrestling on the day Joey was born, and tells about his fear of snakes while looking at WrestleMania IV.
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What I’m watching:
I was on vacation last week and didn’t watch much of anything.
44. Five Letters, Two Words: Clash IX. Joey has a tough week, Solie utters an immortal line, Lex destroys trophies, Sting wants Lex, Starrcade is coming up, Flair/Funk I Quit, Funk is a man of his word, The Midnight Express come back from the edge, and the NWA is peak 1989 as Joey takes a look at Clash of the Champions IX.
What strange science made Nameless who he is? What catastrophes have been erased from his memories? In the stunning conclusion of this series, the dark past comes flooding back, and Nameless must decide how much he really wants to know.
In Indiana, a murderous psycho has kidnapped his own six-year-old stepson, Jamie, and secreted him away in a subterranean cave. It’s become their bunker. For Nameless, the case is breaking down his defenses, and it may force him to face his memories.
You get a little closure and some, but not all, of the answers in this conclusion.
31. No promotion, no crowd, and the names are misspelled: Clash VI April 1989
Ric Flair has his name misspelled, Ricky Steamboat has his name misspelled and a son dressed as a cut rate Yoshi, JYD and Butch Reed return to The Superdome, George Scott is lost, Jim Ross and Michael Hayes reunite, and Terry Funk is not retired as Joey takes a look at Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin’ Cajun.
A deadly black widow has eliminated three husbands and counting. But Nameless knows her one weakness. To bring truth and its consequences to her crimes, the vigilante must spin a web of his own in part three of the Nameless series.
Lucia—current last name, Rickenbah—has made a fortune by marrying rich men who tend to drop dead. But the superstitious blonde believes in more than money and murder. Nameless’s job is to scare a confession out of Lucia, and as the psychological warfare escalates, even he may be in for a shock. I did not like this one as much as the other one’s, but it held my interest for about an hour. Still hope that we get some clue as to what is going on as well as what happened to Nameless before this started.
Writers Barbara and Max Allan Collins have teamed up again for another Trash ‘N’ Treasure novel. From Amazon: When a series of creepy crimes plagues an ill-fated Edgar Allan Poe festival, newly elected county sheriff Vivian Borne, along with her reluctant deputy daughter Brandy and spunky shih tzu Sushi, springs into action. A purloined tome, a black cat, a musty mausoleum, and mysterious disappearances—these tell the tale of a heartless murderer. But Vivian and Brandy Borne are determined to decipher the cryptic clues to make sure a ravin’-mad killer strikes “nevermore”! “Barbara Allan” has another hit. Brandy and Vivian are a hoot, and the mystery was well played. A perfect beach read!
From Amazon: A bloodthirsty sheriff is terrorizing a small Texas town where justice has been buried with his victims. Until Nameless arrives—a vigilante whose past is a mystery and whose future is written in blood.
Anyone who crosses Sheriff Russell Soakes is dead, missing, or warned. One of them is a single mother trying to protect her children but bracing herself for the worst. Nameless fears the outcome. He’s seen it in his visions. Now it’s time to teach the depraved Soakes a lesson in fear. But in turning predators into prey, will Nameless unearth a few secrets of his own?
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes In the Heart of the Fire, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be read or listened to in a single sitting. Intriguing concept. I like the character Nameless, and the story entertained me for 90 minutes.
I enjoyed this third Mycroft Holmes mystery by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse. From the Amazon book description: It is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession.
Mycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin–the woman he is still in love with–needs his aid. Her fiancé has been kidnapped, and the only man who might know his fate is a ruthless arms dealer with a reputation for killing those who cross him. Mycroft persuades his friend Cyrus Douglas to help find the young man, but Douglas himself is put in harm’s way.
As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for the Fire Four Eleven murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth…
I wish Mycroft and Sherlock would work together more or that the cases overlapped in some way. I did enjoy Sherlock’s pairing with and interactions with Huan. Highly recommended.
