Betting On Mania

5Dimes - an American sportsbook - is taking bets on WrestleMania.

So you know I have to have a flutter, right?

Here are the matches with the approximate odds in parenthesis:

Edge (7/4) vs Alberto Del Rio (2/5)

The Miz (13/2) vs John Cena (1/13)

The Undertaker (1/26) vs Triple H (12/1)

Randy Orton  (8/13) vs CM Punk (6/5)

Jerry Lawler (1/59) vs Michael Cole (20/1)

Rey Mysterio (11/8) vs Cody Rhodes (4/7)

Trish Stratus, "Snooki", & John Morrison (1/13) vs Dolph Ziggler, Layla, & Michelle McCool (13/2)

Sheamus (2/7) vs Daniel Bryan (5/2)

I adopted a method to my bets. I ensured The Undertaker and Stratus, Snooki & Morrison were added alongside another selection as it's fairly safe to assume that The Undertaker will keep his WrestleMania win streak alive and that the bout involving a celebrity (Snooki from Jersey Shore) will also lead to the famous name being victorious.

Alberto Del Rio should also win his match against Edge. With that in mind, I am considering doing four-fold bets with Taker, Snooki, Del Rio and a fourth selection.

Who Will Induct Shawn Michaels?

There seems to be a lot of speculation on who will induct Shawn Michaels at Saturday night's Hall of Fame ceremony.

Michaels himself noted that he had two names in mind when he was asked during a recent radio interview.

Here are a number of names, not in any particular order, who would be ideal:

Kevin Nash
Is good friends with Michaels after the pair were on-screen accomplices/enemies from 1993-1996. The two were also key members of the notorious backstage group 'The Clique' that had Vince McMahon's ear and had a strong influence on the way the company booked matches during that period.
Chance - Never say never. Nash did return for one night only at the most recent Royal Rumble.

Scott Hall
Another Clique buddy. Had one of Michaels' most outstanding matches at a WrestleMania when the pair wrestled in a ladder match in 1994.
Chance - Unlikely.

Triple H
Was also a member of The Clique but has had an even longer on-screen partnership with Michaels. The two were original members of D-Generation X, have feuded and have reformed DX in recent years.
Chance - The most likely choice.

Ric Flair
Michaels' hero, friend and also the wrestler that Michaels retired at WrestleMania XXIV. He has since returned to the ring in TNA and is therefore employed by a different company.
Chance - Would be good but I can't see it happening due to his ties with TNA.

Bret 'Hitman' Hart
One of Shawn Michaels' most famous rivals. Both hated one another during the years when both were the top guys in the then known WWF. Michaels and Hart will always be remembered for the Montreal Screwjob when Vince McMahon 'screwed' Hart out of the title after the Canadian refused to drop the belt in his home country.
Chance - Michaels did say years ago that he would like Hart to induct him because it would be an honest induction. It is likely as well when you consider the two made peace in January of 2010.

The Undertaker
Another of Michaels' famous foes. The pair competed in back-to-back classics in the previous two WrestleManias. They also wrestled an amazing match in the first ever Hell in a Cell match in October of 1997.
Chance - No way whatsoever. The Undertaker gimmick is protected and he has never appeared out of character in any of the current day Hall of Fame ceremonies.

If I had to make one pick out of this list, I'd go with Triple H. It's the safest option.

The Go Home Show

I was in my living room yesterday afternoon and was scrolling through the on-screen cable TV guide looking to set it to record a television show I liked the look of when a thought crossed my mind:

I had better record Raw down here just in case the computer decided not to.

And how right I was.

I woke up early, went to the paper shop, returned home, made my breakfast ascended the stairs to sit at the PC ready to watch last night's episode of Raw - possibly the most important show of the year as it is the final one before WrestleMania - and the computer hadn't recorded it.

So, it was the living room for me.

The episode wasn't wrestling heavy but it was great in that it built up the main matches on the Mania card.

The segment between The Undertaker and Triple H did an excellent job in readiness for their encounter this Sunday. When Shawn Michaels' music hit and The Heartbreak Kid appeared, I was thinking 'isn't it too late to have him announced as a referee?' Apparently that was the plan from the start. Ultimately, he wasn't brought in as ref but was there to show that he doubted Hunter would end The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak.

I don't think Michaels is alone on that one.

The final angle to end the show featuring The Rock, John Cena and The Miz was, to steal a line from Miz, awesome.

It was great seeing The Rock interact face-to-face with these two. Sure, the entire Rock versus Cena war of words has been confusing over the past number of weeks as it seemed to leave The Miz as the third wheel going in to WrestleMania.

Cena left the angle the stronger as he did the F.U. (I refuse to call it anything else) to The Rock as the show went off the air.

I am very much looking forward to how this one plays out. I can see The Miz retaining on Sunday but The Rock will certainly be involved in the finish somehow. I guess it all depends on what plans they have going forward with The Rock.

Cena versus Rock at next year's WrestleMania? I wouldn't bet against it!

Auntie Mame

I entered a competition to win a copy of Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis some time last summer and had made the decision at the point of entry that, if I didn't win, I would still buy it.

It sounded like something that would make me laugh.

Well, I did win it and it was placed in my 'to read' queue. I have finally finished reading and I closed it up thinking that it was one of the best books I have read.

Auntie Mame was originally published in the 1950s but I had never heard of it until I saw it in the competition. The book spanned Broadway plays and movies but still, it didn't pass my consciousness until last summer.

The story - or stories - involve the interaction between a young boy who is sent to live with his aunt after he because orphaned following the passing of his father. The pair share a unique bond that always leads to a comedic conclusion.

The book is pieced together like a collection of short stories with each chapter chronicling another adventure - or rather misadventure - between the pair and the people they are in immediate contact with.

My favourite story within the novel is the chapter titled 'Auntie Mame on a Mission of Mercy' and is about how Mame sets up home in a hotel near Patrick's boarding school so he can secretly help her assist in the pregnancy of her secretary - Miss Gooch. It leads to some hysterical moments that the reader is led to by the great build-up work by the author.

There are other stories that I laughed out loud at but the aforementioned story is the one I loved the most.

I am aware that there was a sequel and I'll definitely buy a copy of it. I am also hoping to see the film version of Auntie Mame - I want to see how it looks on screen.

Cover Story

EA Sports and ESPN are holding a vote to determine which player - or 'players' - will feature on the cover of the Madden NFL 2012 game which is due out in August.

The vote started off earlier this week and it has a player from each team facing off in a tournament bracket. The fans will decide which player they prefer in each match-up and then, after four weeks, the winner will be decided.

I'm guessing the Super Bowl MVP - Aaron Rodgers - will end up securing overall victory although there is one 'player' that I would love to see grace the cover.

The Seattle Seahawks' representative in this vote is their noisy '12th Man'.

It would be an interesting to see Seattle Seahawks fans instead of a regular player on the shelves. It may also be a message to the owners and players bearing in mind the current labour stoppage that is putting the season in jeopardy.

So, bearing that in mind - they're going to continue getting my vote. I hope they do it.

The Big Game

It's the big game between Wales and England today.

I'm not going to claim that Wales have a chance, nor am I going to say that I'm going to put a bet on them to win.

What I will do, though, is hope that they can get a result.

Stranger things have happened.

I'll also add this - I hope Wales don't get slaughtered. The papers will have a field day if they do.

Stocking Up

There is a spring sale going on at Silver Vision's website and I've stocked up on some WWE titles that I've been waiting to be on offer.

I ended up buying three DVDs:

Chris Jericho
The Hart Family
WrestleMania XXVI

I didn't expect the Jericho one to be in a sale this soon. It was only released late last year.

The other two were out last summer and I was awaiting the day they were going to be on offer (I was anticipating them appearing in the Wild Wednesday 24-hour sale that I mentioned on here recently).

There are plenty more titles on offer but I either have them already or simply not interested.

Gone To The (Virtual) Dogs

I was bored yesterday evening so was scrolling through the betting websites and decided to have a look at the names of the virtual dogs that were running this morning.

The monikers were just as ridiculous as the real-life ones.

Here are four that I decided to have a flutter on. All because their name stood out to me.

Dagenham Dave (Morrissey song)

Angie's Den (isn't that what Sharon Watts named the nightclub in Eastenders?)

The Queen Vic (isn't that what the pub... you see what I did there?)

Spaghetti Hoops (I had to pick this because the last time I saw spaghetti hoops they were down my front after my baby nephew had thrown up all over me!)

Ten Days Of The Hitman & Groberman Show

A few weeks ago, I noted how Bret Hart had started doing a ten-date radio show with a broadcaster named Josh Groberman titled The Hitman & Groberman Show.

The initial run is now over and I think it would be fair for me to write another review of it.

As I mentioned in the post two weeks ago, one of the things they did on the show was have a number of fake guests and thought the idea was lame especially taking into account the audience were never informed that some of these voices were mimicked.

With that said, the joke rubbed off on me and I did find myself looking forward to the 'feud' the hosts had with an angry - yet fake - Ric Flair.

The show did have a number of real interviewees, however. Jim Duggan, Sergeant Slaughter, Sean Waltman and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper all made appearances.

As the days wore on, there was another thing that niggled me and that was the callers.

It seemed to me that the same people were ringing in each day. I understand that the idea of having Bret Hart as a radio host was unique and people wanted to grasp the chance when they could but it got a little repetitive. It got me wondering about those who maybe couldn't get through.

All in all, it was an interesting ten days and the only thing I was truly concerned about was how Hart being involved with a fake Ric Flair would spoil the concept and - like I mentioned - it ended up being a fun subplot to the two week run.

I hear the show may be brought back in the near future and will definitely be listening again.

I just hope a lot of other Hitman fans get the opportunity to call in next time.

Security Breach At Play.com

I've just been reading an email from Play.com warning me that the company they use for marketing communication has had a security breach and some customers' names and email addresses may have been compromised.

But, Play would like to point out that they 'take privacy and security very seriously and ensure all sensitive data is protected. Please be assured this situation has occurred outside of Play.com'.

Isn't that a slight contradiction?

I know my card details are safe but them trying to pass the buck to the other company is laughable when it was Play.com who gave our names and email addresses to them in the first place.

Legit LOL

There is only one show on TV that makes me laugh out loud and that is Raising Hope.

The story is about a lad who fathers a baby to a convict who ends up being sentenced to death. So the father - and his family - become responsible for the baby named Hope.

The family are all wacky in their own way and it makes for some funny storylines.

It's totally unrealistic but I think that is what makes it so hysterical.

World W******** Entertainment

It has been a well-known fact amongst pro wrestling fans and journalists that the people at WWE have been trying their hardest to distance the company away from being regarded as a wrestling company.

No kidding.

TV Week in America found this out the other day after they ran a story about WWE's latest Hall of Fame announcement.

On Monday, or maybe Tuesday, the TV Week website ran an article noting how World Wrestling Entertainment were going to induct comedian and TV game show host - Drew Carey - into its Hall of Fame on the evening before WrestleMania.

The story was later pulled due to one reason.

WWE complained.

In a follow-up article, Chuck Ross explained that he received word from one of WWE's publicists asking for the headline - Drew Carey inducted into Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Huh? Drew Carey??!! - to be amended because, according to the publicist, WWE 'are no longer a wrestling company but rather a global entertainment company with a movie studio, international licensing deals, publisher of three magazines, consumer good distributor and more.'

Seriously.

And it gets even better.

Ross called her back to inform her that he was not changing the headline and backed it up by referring to the WWE press release which noted that Drew Carey had appeared as an entrant in the 2001 Royal Rumble. Kellie Baldyga, the publicist in question, responded with 'No, we don't do wrestling events. They're entertainments. And we don't call them wrestlers. They're superstars and divas',

Ross told her he wasn't going to change the headline and gave her two choices - stick with it or he'll remove it.

She chose the latter after seemingly being surprised that he wouldn't meet her demand.

Good for him, I say.

I've followed professional wrestling since I was a child and feel this is quite insulting.

It's even more of a kick in the teeth to the people who placed their bodies, and lives, on the line for the WWF or WWE over the years. They were the backbone and took that company to a position where it could become the brand that it is today.

It was achieved by one thing and for WWE to want to rid themselves of it is a shame.

It's WRESTLEMania in two weeks, by the way.

'Reverse Psychology'

There is a thing I do when I have a bet on and it is not working in my favour.

I turn the TV or computer off and don't look until the result is in. I then send a text message to a friend of mine and more or less give up anticipating a win.

We call it 'Reverse Psychology' because there have been times when things have turned around.

It did yesterday.

I did the giving up spiel on this very blog after a loss in the second race at Cheltenham. I turned the television off and didn't look at the results until well after they had raced.

I won around £57 in one of the Super Heinz bets after I had four winners out of seven. I also had one or two winning singles which brought my total return for yesterday at around £64.

It means that I finished the week only £1 down.

Yes, I am a loser but I'm a lucky one!

Cheltenham 2011 : Day Four

It's 2:20pm on day four, there has been two races and I've had enough already.

My second horse of the day did that thing where it was near the front throughout the beginning and middle of the race only to end up nowhere when it's time to finish.

I've ripped up the sheet of paper with my selections on. I truly am the worst horse racing bettor alive!

I'm a little over £65 down over the four days and yes, there are a few races left, but I'm not going to bother looking until tonight. My TV is staying off for the rest of the afternoon.

I'll stick to what I know in future.

Even though I've said that before and always seem to come back when Cheltenham is on.

Cheltenham 2011 : Day Three

It was another bad day at the office even though I did have a few horses win for me.

I spent £21.80 and managed to return only £5.77.

Terrible!

What annoyed me the most was I had a 50/1 and a 28/1 in two separate races. They both ran identical to each other. They were leading near the start and up to the mid-way point only to fall into fourth place.

I have one final day to turn things around.

I need a miracle.

Cheltenham 2011 : Day Two

If yesterday was a bad one, today was an utter disaster.

I had two winners, two horses came second place but I had them all mixed together in different multiple bets and only managed to get £5.49 back from the £20.68 I has spent.

That's a loss of £15.19 for the day.

The worst moment of the day was when I noticed that Carlito Brigante was running and was in two minds on whether to back it or not. I decided to stick with what the tipsters had predicted only for Carlito to go on and win.

I'm a terrible horse bettor.

And I can only see things getting worse before Friday evening.

Cheltenham 2011 : Day One

I had a few bets on the Cheltenham Festival this afternoon and finished in the red.

It could have been a lot worse, though.

I spent £18.80 on a series of bets - I had one winner, three 2nd place finishers, one third place and one fourth.

All the others lost.

I walked away only £4.60 down.

See, it really could have been worse.

That Finish

I caught the finish to last night's TNA Victory Road pay-per-view last night and all I can think of are three initials.

W.

C.

W.

I'm not sure whether it was a work (wouldn't bet against it) but what it was was similar to how things were done in World Championship Wrestling.

And we all know how that story ended.

For those that don't follow TNA, here is what went down:

Jeff Hardy was challenging Sting for the world title. Before the match got underway, Eric Bischoff came out to say that he had changed the stipulations. As he was doing this he whispered something to both wrestlers whilst ensuring the microphone was behind his back. The bout started and Sting won within a minute. As Sting was walking up the ramp he was shouting 'I agree' to the crowd who must have been angry at the quick match and were shouting their disapproval.

There are rumours circulating that Jeff Hardy was 'in no condition to perform' and they did this finish on the fly.

It wouldn't surprise me if this information was accurate but - on the other hand - neither would I be shocked to find out that this was a worked finish to get some attention.

Well, TNA did get my attention.

But so did WCW when they pulled stunts like this.

Troll

I was reading an article about documentaries a number of days ago and there was one film that I thought I would like. It was about the movie Troll 2 which has gained the recognition of being one of the worse films ever.

The documentary is titled Best Worst Movie and I have plans on seeing it but thought I would watch Troll 2 first.

Only, I hadn't seen Troll.

Or so I thought.

I remember a few friends at junior school and a girl I met in Greece going on about Troll and that is all I can recall. I didn't remember seeing it myself so I bought a double DVD with both movies on it.

As soon as I saw a few of the opening scenes I realised - yes, I had seen it when I was a child.

I'm guessing that - when we were kids - we loved it but this film was terrible.

To explain the film to you, I have the web browser on IMDB.com to copy the synopsis. I wouldn't do the story (if you can call it that) any justice:

A wicked troll king in search of a mystical ring that will return him to his human form invades a San Francisco apartment complex where a powerful witch lives.

Oh boy.

I have copied this word-for-word and this is not as accurate as I had planned. In this film, he isn't in search of a ring as it is already in his possession.

Unless there is a second ring, of course.

It truly is one of the worst films I have seen and this is before I have even seen Troll 2. You know, the one I earlier typed is apparently the worst film that has ever been made.

There is one interesting thing about Troll, though.

The young boy in it who befriends the witch and wants to be a wizard is known as Harry Potter. Troll was released long before the bespectacled boy wizard came along.

I'm now going to battle my way through the sequel. You're going to have to wait to see how I found it, though.

It will be set to publish on Halloween to keep in with my run of reviewing lame horror films on that day.

2 Lucky 63s

As noted earlier this week, here are two Lucky 63s for this weekend.

I've picked twelve teams along with their most frequent scores, split them into two sets of six and put them in two Lucky 63 bets for 63p each (1p a line):

1) Auxerre to draw 1-1
2) Northampton 2-1
3) QPR 3-0
4) Almeria to draw 1-1
5) Colchester 2-1
6) Wycombe 1-0

1) Watford 1-0
2) Thun 1-1
3) Roda 1-1
4) Bournemouth 3-0
5) Real Madrid 3-0
6) Alax to draw 2-2

Where Men Win Glory

I've just finished reading Jon Krakauer's book - Where Men Win Glory - and I cannot tell you how much I respect Pat Tillman for what he did.

Then, on the other hand, I cannot tell you how much respect I lost for the US Government and its propaganda machine.

For those people who don't know Tillman - he was an American footballer who, after the 9/11 attacks, decided to give his career up to fight for his country.

A little under two years later, Tillman was killed in action during an attack while he was on tour in Afghanistan.

As he was a well-known name, the people of the United States of America took even more interest in the war and hailed Tillman for his heroics against their nation's foe.

Only, Tillman didn't die at the hands of the Taliban.

The Army and Government tried their hardest to cover-up the friendly fire actuality of Tillman's death by hiding evidence and fabricating a story to ensure that this truth was not revealed in the days following the announcement of his passing.

Krakauer did a great job chronicling Tillman's upbringing and also covering his college and NFL career.

It was done so well that I was feeling extremely saddened at the part where Pat Tillman died and his wife and mother were told of the death. Even though I knew there was no happy ending, it still hit me how devastating the entire tragedy and its aftermath was.

Pat Tillman didn't just die a hero. He lived as one as well.

Bret Hart : Radio Host

When I learned that Bret Hart was going to be a radio host, I was somewhat surprised. As far as I was concerned he didn't come across as a person who would be comfortable in the position. I guess it was because I've grown used to seeing him on the other end of an interview and - more importantly - in an environment he was acclimated to.

The Hitman & Groberman Show debuted on Monday night and I have mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, Hart did seem okay in the role he played. It's just that he wasn't a host as such. He was more like a - if I can grab a perfect category - I would place him as a 'glorified guest'. Josh Groberman, his sidekick, seems to do all the radio stuff with Bret alongside for the ride.

The majority of the calls, emails and Twitter tweets are dedicated to asking questions to the former wrestler. This assists my point of view that he is nothing more than a glorified interviewee.

In episode one, the pair prank called Ric Flair.

Okay, I don't know how many people bought it. It was a guy putting on Flair's voice (possibly Jason Sensation). The audience weren't let in on the gag so I'd guess there were some out there believing it was the real Ric Flair.

They had a fake 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin on in episode two. Furthering the lameness of this radio experiment.

Bret Hart on the radio was something that intrigued me but I feel these phone calls is a detriment to the show and I'm not sure whether I will be able to last the ten episode run that has already been set.

It was an interesting idea but is one that may be a regrettable choice for Hart in the long-run.

A New Betting Idea (Only For Fun, Though!)

If you read Saturday's post, you would have noticed that I have been doing silly Lucky 63 bets to pass the time before the end of the football season.

I'm only doing 1p a line stakes as the chances of me hitting all six selections is unlikely.

But - it would be incredible if they did come in.

I had another go last night by looking at all the teams in the Championship all the way down to League Two.

I checked out the previous scores and tried to find frequent results for each team. For instance; if Southend had more than four one-all draws at home I would make a note of it and go on to the next team in the league table.

When I had a shortlist of teams with their common away and home scores, I selected six games and had a bet on the correct scores.

I managed to predict two out of six (Leeds to win 2-1 and MK Dons to win 2-0).

It's probably a case of beginner's luck but I might give it another go this weekend and will post my predictions on Saturday.

Like I said, I'm only doing this for fun as I can't see there being any major returns from it. It's only a gimmicky way of betting that I have thought up of to pass the time through the latter stages of the season.

Another Forward Step Towards WrestleMania

I thought last night's episode of WWE Monday Night Raw was another good step in the right direction in the lead-in to WrestleMania XXVII.

I was concerned that The Miz was being overshadowed due to the mini feud between The Rock and John Cena but he managed to get some of the attention at the end of the show.

The Rock/Cena stuff is good, however. It's great in fact. It seems a waste that there is no match for the two in the end of it, though.

Steve Austin was brilliant as per usual. I look forward to his involvement in the Jerry Lawler versus Michael Cole at Mania.

G.I. Joe

I watched the G.I. Joe movie last night and thought it was sort of okay. There was one thing that I was thinking throughout it, though.

Did the story stay true to the comic books, cartoons or toys that the film stemmed from?

I cannot answer that question as G.I. Joe - or Action Force as it was known over here - was not one of the toys or cartoons that I was interested in as a child.

My favourite was a similar type of cartoon and toy series called MASK.

I'm quite sure that I've dedicated a post to that show on here in the past and am still wondering whether the Hollywood people would ever consider making a MASK movie.

I'm sure they've considered it.

And then changed their minds.

The Rumoured WrestleMania XXVII Card

There is a rumoured WrestleMania line-up floating around the Internet after a podcast titled 'Smart Wrestling Fan' gave away the card on one of its shows.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has been able to confirm that this is the current plotted out card for April's event:

The Undertaker vs Triple H

Edge vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Championship

The Miz vs John Cena for the WWE Championship

C.M. Punk vs Randy Orton

John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Kelly Kelly vs LayCool & Dolph Ziggler

The Corre vs Kofi Kingston, Kane, Christian & Big Show

Rey Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes (with possibly Dusty Rhodes in his corner)

Daniel Bryan (with Gail Kim in his corner) vs Sheamus (with the Bella Twins in his corner)

Jerry Lawler vs Michael Cole (with Steve Austin as referee)

Unlucky 63

Here is a Lucky 63 bet I have done on correct scores in this weekend's football:

Lokeren 1 Zulte Waregem 1
Chelsea 2 Blackpool 1
Lyon 2 Arles 1
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Wolfsburg 0
Napoli 1 Brescia 0
Levanta 1 Espanyol 0

I've only put 63p on. I will need a bit of luck for one of these to come in, let alone all six.

Plus 24

I have been following the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) negotiations with the NFL and the NFL Players' Association intently ever since the NFL season ended and was ready for today.

This agreement between the two sides ended at 5am this morning (12am Eastern) and I was anticipating the players to be locked out and for the NFL 2011 season to be put in jeopardy with the strike action.

Only it didn't happen.

Not yet, anyway.

The parties agreed to a twenty-four hour extension to the intense talks they have been a part of over the past few days.

When I heard of the extra time given, I thought I would wait until tomorrow to post something but then I realised what could possibly happen - they'll extend it again.

And again.

So I'm just going to sit and wait to see if anything happens before I dedicate another blog post to the NFL.

Call it my very own lockout.

City For The Cup?

It looks like my 'Manchester City for the FA Cup' prognostication is still on the cards after they beat Aston Villa last night to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

I've had a feeling since the summer that they were going to make some noise somewhere. I counted them out of the Premier League title but thought a cup run would be perfect for them.

I know I've probably cursed their chances now.

Steamboat Sale

The official WWE DVD distributor within the UK - SilverVision - does a weekly 24-hour offer each Wednesday and, for the past few weeks, I have clicked onto their website hoping to get a DVD that I have been after.

The problem is, every time they have a title up in this 'Wild Wednesday' deal I have either already bought it or didn't want it to begin with.

I have had a two title shortlist (could be extended to more than that, however) and I am glad to say that number one on this list is available today.

The Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat collection is now available for £12.99. That's seventeen pounds cheaper than it usually goes for and is filled with some of his greatest matches.

33 Days To Go

It is now thirty-three days until WrestleMania XXVII and my interested in it is slowly picking up steam.

Last night's episode of Raw did a relatively decent job of hyping up the event.

Triple H did a good promo in building up his match against The Undertaker by referring to the fact that both of them are the most tenured wrestlers on the WWE roster. He did, however, make a stupid statement when he noted how no one else in the locker room could match them.

Nice way to build the future, eh?

The interviewed Shawn Michaels about the bout and he claimed he was hoping Hunter ends The Undertaker's winning streak but a seed was planted when he commented that he wouldn't know how he would react if Hunter does do what he couldn't for the past two Manias.

The Rock's promo via satellite was awesome. The problem is, WWE have backed themselves into a corner and they need to limit the amount of times he appears on TV in the week's leading to WrestleMania.

The Rock is one of the carrots being dangled in front of the fans and they could have their fill of him by the time Mania rolls around.

Don't get me wrong - it's good entertainment seeing him on TV. I just feel that him appearing all the time will take away something that is unique about this year's event.