It seems as if my last post on here was wayyyyy back in April? Sweet cream on an ice-cream sammich! Where in the blue-est of blue hell have i been?

HANGIN' OUT WITH THE GREAT ONE?

Nope! As awesome as that would be i haven't been swapping catchphrases with The Rock. I've just had a very busy few months where i decided to focus my time on life rather than rasslin' or my other hobbies. I would've been back sooner, but unfortunately - as life so often does - it threw me a curveball...well, actually it threw my immediate family a curveball which we're all still trying to cope with.

KEEP HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS

My step-father, a fantastic gentleman by the name of Steve, has recently had an operation to remove the most of a tumor from the left side of his brain. Although i don't officially call him "Dad", i will always class this man as such. Because between him and the 'biological' guy that helped to 'create' me, Steve has been the one who actually gave a shit about me. He was there when i was growing up, helping my mom pretty much raise me into the man i am today. I know i would say this, but everybody who knows him knows that Steve does not deserve what he's going through right now. He's still battling to remove the remains of the tumor (radiotherapy) and hopefully things will be alright. He's got a long road of treatment yet though and he isn't quite himself (understandably). But i hope and i pray that he'll fully recover and as hard as it is right now for him to see a light at the end of the tunnel, i believe that light will come. I have to.

So as you can see, wrestling hasn't exactly been a priority lately...

All that was asked of me was that i kept going and got on with my life as normal. So i focused on my new promotion at work and on my driving lessons. Both are going really well and my driving test is just over a week away on October 21st. A massive weight will be lifted for me personally if i become able to drive a car so keep your fingers crossed.

BACK TO THE SQUARED CIRCLE...

I have been sorta keeping tabs on things in the world of Wrestling/Sports Entertainment (delete as applicable). Thing is, its all been a bit depressing and possibly scary at times. What i read about Kurt Angle these days worries me...then there's the wrestlers getting suspended from the usual, or getting arrested for DUI or starting fights at airports or something.

I guess kayfabe truly is dead.

SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Well i finished reading Bret Hart's book. Probably the best book i've ever read. Couldn't put the damn thing down. I picked up a handful of wrestling books recently while i was on holiday. These books include;

The Death of WCW - R.D.Reynolds and Bryan Alvarez (of "WrestleCrap" fame).

Controversy Creates Cash - Eric Bischoff with Jeremy Roberts (WWE book).

The Rise & Fall of ECW - Thom Loverro (WWE book).

Benoit - Essays by Steven Johnson, Heath McCoy, Irvin Muchnick and Greg Oliver.

And my lovely girlfriend bought me the following;

Dungeon of Death - Chris Benoit and The Hart Family Curse - Scott Keith.

Broken Harts: The Life and Death of Owen Hart - Martha Hart.

So i have plenty of reading to do. You'd be forgiven for believing that i only read about all the bad stuff! The Chris Benoit saga is something that i still struggle to deal with today, and i was just a fan of him. God only knows how this affected his poor family. I pray for them all.

I read The Death of WCW within 3 days. Again, couldn't put it down! The things that company achieved were phenomenal, the things that company did to throw all those achievements in the bin were even MORE phenomenal...

Currently reading the ECW book. Will keep you posted on all the books i read in more detail at some point. The Benoit Essays book was decent but left me with a bitter-sweet feeling afterward. It pretty much questions whether we should all be fans of wrestling because of all this behind the scenes turmoil and such. I dunno man, but i don't feel that its fair to question that just by reading one book about one very dreadful incident that involved a wrestler. Or maybe i missed the point they were trying to make, i really don't know. Interesting stuff though and if you like to know your facts then it's got you covered in that respect.

GAME ON!

WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2010 looks to be quite the fantastic piece of kit don't you think? I say "piece of kit" because that's essentially what it is! As they say in the tagline, "It's your world now!" You get to create virtually everything. I personally can't wait to get stuck into story designer mode. Before the game was announced i mentioned to people that the next WWE game should have a mode where you create your own stories based on 2009's Highlight Reel concept. Created wrestlers not looking like their ring attire is painted on? Great stuff. It could very well be the best of the series. Looking forward to it.

My last journal stated that i would talk about WWE Legends of Wrestlemania, which came out back at the time of Wrestlemania 25. Briefly i'll say that i did enjoy that game. The controls were cool but difficult to learn at first because i was so used to Smackdown's. Decent roster and game modes. I hope they release a sequel, although with THQ losing the rights to create WWE games it's doubtful (and the end of a successful era at that). No Macho Man, Ricky Steamboat and a few other omissions kinda spoiled it for me though.

Speaking of Wrestlemania 25, i bought the DVD set a while back. I enjoyed the Hall of Fame disc and HBK vs Taker. That was about it. The triple threat between Edge, Cena and Big Show was decent also i guess.

I'm collecting the WWE Tagged Classics DVD sets right now. Recently bought Royal Rumble 1991/1992 and the Wrestlemania 15/Hell Yeah (SCSA) sets. I plan on getting the new Wrestlemania X-Seven double pack soon (my fave WM event). I also plan on buying the Decade of Smackdown DVD set.

Anyways time to go, just keep Steve in your thoughts and prayers.

Take care.

W.H.