“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is the focal-point for wrestling fans at the Armageddon Expo this weekend. Who on the Gimme Five panel is going?
Will it be Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins, or John Cena vs. Randy Orton that main events Hell in a Cell? And, should that be the case?
WWE 2K15 is due out next week. Is it worth picking up on release day?
We discuss these—and more—questions in this week’s Gimme Five.
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1. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan has touched down in New Zealand, and will be speaking and wrestling at the Armageddon Pop Culture Expo in Auckland this weekend. Are you off to see the WWE Hall of Famer?
David:
It’s been great to see Hacksaw making the most of his time in Auckland, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the ring with IPW this weekend. With Headlocked artist Michel Mulipola appearing at the Arkham City Comics booth, and WWE DVD NZ being represented at the Madman Entertainment booth too, this year’s Armageddon is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory for wrestling fans.
Craig:
100 per cent I’m going to see him. I acknowledge that I have been extremely fortunate in my career to have met some of the most famous names in the history of sport and can count on world and Olympic champions as personal friends. However, Duggan is going to be the first person I’ve ever paid to have a photo with and it will be money well spent. Hoooooooooo!
Blake:
I hope to and would love to see the first ever Royal Rumble winner up close and in person, but time will tell…
Corey:
I will be at Armageddon this weekend but am unsure as to if I will be able to see and or meet the winner of the inaugural Royal Rumble. Hopefully the wrestling gods are in my favor.
Steve:
I’m stuck here in Wellington but I hope everyone has a great time up there. Hoooooooooo!
2. Hell in a Cell is live on SKY ARENA and WWE Network this Monday. Which match are you treating as the main event? And which do you think will headline the card?
David:
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins has got my interest. Those two turned my idea of a lumberjack match on its head at SummerSlam, so I’m very interested to see how they go locked inside Hell in a Cell. John Cena and Randy Orton are most likely to go on last though, especially with the added stipulation of a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match for the winner.
Craig:
I may watch because I’ve subscribed to the Network and it’s a public holiday. There is absolutely no way I would pay for it if it was a regular Monday and I had to pay for it on SKY. WWE is insulting my intelligence putting Cena vs. Orton up again. It is an absolute disgrace and brainless matchmaking. I suspect Orton is about to do a face turn but even that is awful. He was a neutered dog the last time he was a face (which was barely 12 months ago) and is a natural heel.
Blake:
I will be treating Ambrose/Rollins as the main event seeing as this was the match in which contention was fought for. However, WWE cannot resist a Cena/Orton headline.
Corey:
The indie fan-boy side of me wants Rollins vs. Ambrose to be the main event, but being that Orton vs. Cena has a future World Heavyweight Championship match on the line makes this match the main event in the absence of a world title match.
Steve:
Ambrose/Rollins is the main event, the story that has played out in front of us over the last few months. But they’ll put Cena/Orton on as the main, I assume. Which is a shame. Especially as the loser of the Contract on a Pole match is now in line for a WWE title shot. Ambrose should try harder to lose matches, it seems.
3. WWE 2K15 is available for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as of next week. Will you be picking up the game once it hits shelves?
David:
I’ll grab WWE 2K15 some time next week. I still have parts of WWE 2K14 I need to finish, but I always enjoy the WWE video games, and with 2K Sports having much more influence on the game this year—last year’s was largely still a THQ release—I’m interested to see what sort of changes have been made.
Craig:
No; I have wasted enough of my life playing video games and just don’t have enough time in my hectic schedule.
Blake:
I probably won’t be getting it straight away, but I haven’t missed a game since 2005; I won’t be starting now.
Corey:
As someone who just made the jump to a next-gen console I still have another month to wait till I can get my hands on WWE 2K15. I will try and get a hold of it on release day.
Steve:
I’ll be waiting on the Xbox One version of the game in three weeks. Interesting marketing so far, with little game information out there. Fingers crossed this edition makes the leap the series has needed for a long time.
4. Chris Jericho’s third book, The Best in the World: At What I Have Absolutely No Idea, was released last week. What’s your favourite wrestling read?
David:
Jericho is one of my favourite writers – along with Mick Foley. The fact those two actually write their books themselves, rather than telling their stories to a ghost-writer, really adds something to the finished project. Having said that, Walking a Golden Mile by William Regal (and a ghost-writer) is a particularly interesting read.
Craig:
I am currently reading Bret Hart’s book and thoroughly enjoying it because I just remember every aspect of his career. Brock Lesnar’s book is sitting by my bed and is next on my list and I’m really looking forward to it too. I would love to read Jericho’s third book because that’s when I really dug his character but it would have to be incredibly special to beat Mick Foley’s Have A Nice Day. Brilliant from page one and thoroughly entertaining – which is saying something because I only remember his WWE career and have never really rated Al Snow or Terry Funk who feature prominently. It’s just a great read. But if you want an amazing book try Mike Tyson’s. I finished that last month and it is the best book I’ve ever read.
Blake:
I haven’t read a lot of wrestling books, but of the ones I have read, Jericho’s first was my favourite.
Corey:
With the release of Jericho’s latest book my list of wrestling items to purchase has just gotten bigger. I really enjoyed Jericho’s last two books, his first book, A Lion’s Tale is probably my favourite book, not just my favourite wrestling book. A couple of honorable mentions would be Eddie Guerrero’s Cheating Death, Stealing Life, as well as Edge’s Adam Copeland on Edge.
Steve:
Chris Jericho’s first book was really entertaining, his second one was less so for me. I’m looking forward to checking out the third. Nobody can beat Foley’s first book though. It set the standard.
5. Who will be the next member of the NXT roster to make the move from Full Sail University to Raw and/or SmackDown?
David:
Smart money would be on the NXT Champion, Adrian Neville, considering all the other men to hold the title—Seth Rollins, Big E, and Bo Dallas—were called up to the main roster shortly after losing the belt. I don’t see Neville losing it any time soon though, so I’ll back the NXT Women’s Champion, Charlotte, to be the next name added to WWE’s main roster.
Craig:
I don’t have enough time, or interest, to watch NXT.
Blake:
It’s no secret that The Ascension are making waves at WWE live events, and I expect to see them sooner rather than later on the main roster.
Corey:
After losing the NXT tag titles to the Lucha Dragons, I’m thinking it’s time for The Ascension to ascend to the main roster and become serious contenders in the WWE tag team division.
Steve:
It’ll be The Ascension. But I wish it was Bayley. She’s got everything you need to be a star and role model in the eyes of young kids. Also, she’s got wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men.
