Month: May 2015

The Spotlight on Attitude Era Raw-12/22/1997

Tom Lynch Spotlight On Raw, Spotlight On The WWE Network, Wrestling , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Just last month the WWE Network launched a collection of 55 episodes of Monday night Raw that were titled “Attitude Era Raw”. The Raws started with the final two episodes of Raw from 1997 & spanned up until the first Raw from 1999. This means that for the first time since its inception, every single Raw from 1998, one of the most successful years in WWF history, is available in the on demand section of the WWE Network. So beginning today, I’m going to go through every single Raw on that list once a week spanning a full year. The idea with this is not to break down every segment of every Raw, but to do the Spotlight on each Raw like I have everything on here with some highlights of each show & also some overall thoughts.  There will also be a “Do You Remember?” feature which will cover a variety of superstars, storylines or matches that you may have forgotten about, most of the time with good reason. My plan is to release these over a full year and drop these posts at 630PM EST so you have the full 90 minutes to check out these classic attitude era Raws prior to this week’s Raw, if you’re so inclined.  Thus, without any further ado let’s get to Monday Night Raw from December 22, 1997 which took place at the memorial auditorium ins Lowell, Massachusetts.

Highlights 

1) Raw Is Christmas–  I’m a sucker for holiday themed wrestling specials.  I always used to feel like the old Survivor Series events that took place in and around Thanksgiving did a great job incorporating Thanksgiving into the show and getting you into the holiday spirit.  Well this episode of Monday Night Raw is, arguably, the most Christmas themed episode of in history (and this includes the Raw hyped around the good santa vs the evil santa just a couple of years ago).  From the infamous clips of Stone Cold giving Santa a stunner the week before, to Sable coming out first dressed as a reindeer then revealing a sexy mrs claus get up, to vader  claus, to the merry DX mas mooning to start the show to even the entire arena being decked out in red & green while snow fell throughout the night, made this a very festive Raw.

2) D Generation-X in Classic Form– The main story of this episode of Raw was the continuing saga of the feud between DX & Commissioner Sgt Slaughter.  The show starts with Slaughter, offended by DX’s antics mooning the crowd & wearing mistletoe G strings to the ring, forcing World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels to defend his European Championship against Dx counterpart Triple H.  The entire show is then built around this developing tension between Shawn & Triple H with the announcers wondering if this was the end of DX.  Of course in the end DX was in on it and Shawn basically lays down for Triple H as the two laugh at Sgt. Slaughter to end the show, but not before Sarge gets one last jab in on DX by saying that next week Triple H would defend his title against Owen Hart.  I always liked this about Raw back then, they always gave you something to look forward to the following week.  I also felt that DX vs. Sgt. Slaughter was a really underrated feud.

3) The Rock Vs. The Undertaker– From an in ring standpoint the only real match that you were able to sink your teeth into was an often forgotten but solid match between the Rock and the Undertaker.  This was during the time period where the Rock was in the Nation of Domination and still finding his way as the intercontinental champion but still this was a fun match that went about 10 minutes.  In the end, their really wasn’t a finish as Kane showed up.  This was during Kane’s first few months in the WWF and so he was still trying to get The Undertaker to fight him.  Kane was so scary upon his debut, the character was so great.

Do You Remember…

Kurrgan?- This was still during the period of time in which Kurrgan was apart of the Truth Commission, with Snyper, Rekon & The Jackyl.  On this show Kurrgan destroys 8-Ball while The Jackyl cuts a promo throughout the entire match.  While Kurrgan looked menacing, there wasn’t much to this match or the entire Truth Commission vs. DOA feud.

Closing Thoughts

This was obviously a taped show as the announcers are shown in front of a green screen.  This was also during the period of time in which they would separate Raw into Raw is War and the Warzone.  They’d end the show at 9 and then have a separate introductions, theme songs and announcers (Except Jim Ross he called both shows) for each half of Raw which I never understood why they did that.  There were also a ton of video packages and highlights on this show so it looked like they filmed the few matches and DX storyline before or after Raw the previous week.  It was also interesting to see how much the crowd was into the Legion of Doom who were taken out the week before.  I also liked that on a Raw in December you already saw some of the pieces coming together for Wrestlemania 14 with Kane-Undertaker, HHH-Owen and Mankind-Outlaws.  Overall a fun show and they got you excited for the next week by announcing that Owen Hart would finally be able to get his hands on DX following the Montreal Screwjob.

The Spotlight On Disney’s California Adventure 

Tom Lynch Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hello everyone and welcome to my first travel series here on thedailyspotlight.com. Over the past month I have had the opportunity to travel to both Walt DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida as well as the Disney Parks in California. Thus, every Sunday I’m going to be shining the spotlight on a different Disney park or something else Disney, related to the theme parks. This 8 part series will attempt to look at both the good and maybe not so good of the Disney parks.  The goal here is to get you geared up if you’re planning on vacationing to the most magical place on earth sometime this summer. So without any further ado let’s get things started with Disney’s California Adventure.

IMG_2418[1]

 My girlfriend and I recently went to Disney’s California Adventure on a trip through California. I always feel that because the parks are smaller, the Disney parks in California tend to be be overlooked but shouldn’t be. California Adventure fell on our sixth day of the trip and it was a real highlight of our trip. We ended up doing California Adventure the day after we went to Disneyland and while we enjoyed Disneyland more, California Adventure also had it’s perks. Let’s get into some of the highlights and some closing thoughts on Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park.IMG_2503[1]

Higlights

1) Ariel’s Grotto- I booked Ariel’s Grotto for my girlfriend’s birthday and I’ll say that she felt just as special celebrating her 27th birthday with the Disney Princesses that many of the kids celebrating their birthday the same day. The restaurant is set up with both an indoor and an outdoor location but I chose the indoor for the “Under The Sea” decor and it added to the experience. The dining experience started with my girlfriend getting a crown for her birthday and a photo/ meet & greet with Ariel. We made our way to our seats when a knight came out to sing some Disney classics and again had the birthday celebrators stand for acknowledgement. From there four different Disney Princesses made there way out one by one, Belle, Tiana, Rapunzel & Cinderella. By staggering out the princesses, it really added to the experience as it kept us guessing who was next throughout the meal. Once they arrived, the princesses walked to each table and were sure to spend a little time with each and every table while taking photos. It was a great experience, not priced horribly at $40 for a meal, drink & dessert, and the food was also really good

IMG_2430[1]IMG_2434[1]

2) Aladdin Live- If you live in NY you know that Aladdin recently went live on Broadway. Well, I haven’t seen the show and now don’t have to because included if your admission to California Adventure is a free 50 minute Broadway like play of Aladdin Live. These are things Disney does that I love and that they don’t have to do as they can easily charge separately for the show but it’s especially great for people who don’t love rides. This show was top notch and they added fun modern tidbits that added to the enjoyment of Aladdin.

IMG_2457[1]

3) Thrill Rides- Whereas Disneyland is about the nostalgia & the classic rides, Disney’s California Adventure is much more about the more modern & thrill rides which is why the park is such a great companion park to Disneyland. From California Screamin to Radiator Springs Racers (my favorite ride, maybe in all of the Disney Parks) to Mickey’s fun wheel and of course The Tower Of Teror, the thrill rides are really a highlight of this park.

IMG_2417[1]

4) Dedication- When we went to California Adventure, the little mermaid ride was down for three hours and the Radiator Springs Racers were down for 11 hours. It would have been easy for the rides to be shut down for the day but the team worked around the clock to make sure the rides reopened and that everyone got to ride them if they stayed in the park for them. Furthermore, there were cast members positioned at the start of the line who were so polite in continuing to answer every time that the ride was being worked on with a smile despite everyone, I’m sure, asking repeatedly when it would reopen.

IMG_2441[1]

5) Anna & Elsa- let me first start off with two pieces of advice 1) if you want fast passes to meet Anna & Elsa get them as soon as you enter the park, we got them at 10am & our return time was for 5:30. 2) if you don’t get fast passes, prepare because this will be your longest wait of the day. The good news though is that your wait will be in a really cool holding area where they play classic Disney videos. Ok Advice over, Anna & Elsa were fantastic. They didn’t rush us at all and had so much enthusiasm, it was infectious. They also have commitment to the character so much so that you can’t help but believe. Kudos to them as well because I’m sure they meet thousands of people everyday, hours on end. Likewise, the cast members were all so pleasant. My girlfriend and I had conversations with a number of cast members who went out of there way to ask how we were and where we were from, they were also sure to wish my girlfriend a happy birthday. They made the wait we did have fly right by.

IMG_2453[1]

6) The Pixar Parade- who doesn’t love a Disney parade? Whether it be the annual Christmas parade on ABC or the midday parade at the magic kingdom, parades are a pretty big part of Disney theme parks. Being that California adventure is focused on newer Disney movies, the parade is indicative of that. Disneys Pixar parade focuses more on the newer classics made by Pixar. While I’m a sucker for the nostalgia of Mickey Mouse, it was both different & interesting to see the characters from Cars & Toy Story prominently featured in a parade setting.    

IMG_2412[2]

Closing Thoughts

1) No FastPasses For MidWay Mania-  Toy Story’s Midway Mania is a great ride that has the longest line throughout the day but for some reason there is no option to fastpass the ride. With such few fastpass options in California Adventure, there’s no reason that a limited number of FastPasses should not be distributed.

2) Only One World Of Color- As with all Disney theme parks there is a fireworks show to end the night in the park. World of Color is, like all Disney fireworks shows, tremendous. However, there is only one World Of Color show each night and it happens at the end of the night a half hour before the park closes. They also need to shut down about half of the park rides in order to make sure that they can put the show on. As you can imagine, this leads to thousands of people clamoring together to see the show and then a major delay leaving the park. Over in Disneyland, literal footsteps away, there are two showings of Fantasmic. What this allows for is people can catch the first show or the second and so it isn’t as crowded. Disney’s California Adventure can easily do this by extending the hours of the park to closing at midnight. One thing I’ve never been a fan of is one park closing earlier than the other. It makes said park, in this case California Adventure, seem less important. When ticket prices are the same for both parks, so too should the hours of operation.

IMG_2510[1]

3) Bugs Land- I should point out that I personally enjoyed Bugs Land. The land itself is aesthetically pleasing & the “It’s Tough To Be A Bug” 4D ride is a lot of fun. That said, it seems that people are over it. My girlfriend & I were able to go in and out of Bugs Land in mere minutes which is great but it also means that more popular areas in the park, like Cars Land are too congested.  It makes sense too as it does seem that the Bugs Life franchise gets as much of push from the people in Disney as other franchises such as Cars, Toy Story, the Disney Princesses or Frozen. I personally don’t expect Bugs Land to be a part of the park five years from now.

IMG_2419[1]That’s going to do it for the spotlight on Disney’s California Adventure but have no fear I’ll be back next week with another disney park to take a look at.  If you have any feedback from your visit to California Adventure I’d love to here it, likewise if you have any questions about California Adventure or any of the other disney theme parks please feel free to ask.

The Spotlight On Wrestling Podcasts- The Lapsed Fan 

Tom Lynch The Spotlight On Wrestling Podcasts, Wrestling , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Forget about Cesaro, they’re the real Kings Of Swing”

As I mentioned on the first post on the spotlight on wrestling podcasts, my idea with these blogs isn’t only to update everyone on a podcast you should go out of your way to listen to for a particular week.  That said,  I’m also looking to make wrestling fans more aware of  podcasts they maybe haven’t heard of or paid as much attention to as they should in the past. Today I’m going to talk about Wrestlezone.com’s Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast.

The Lapsed Fan hosts, JP Sarro & Jack Encarnacio, choose a classic wrestling pay per view from the archives of WWE, WCW or ECW that are currently in the on demand section of the WWE Network at random. When I first heard of the concept, I thought it was genius! This is the type of stuff us wrestling fans need as these podcasts encourage us to go back & watch an old pay per view we may have forgotten in the vast, sometimes overwhelming, library of wrestling events on the Network. Let’s get into some of the highlights of why I feel this is a must listen podcast you should go out of your way to hear.

Highlights 

1) A podcast for wrestling fans by wrestling fans- The thing about this podcast that I really enjoy is that both hosts are obviously lifelong fans of WWE. Even if they may have had periods of being “Lapsed”, at their core they are fans of the industry. Throughout the podcast not only is their attention to detail second to none but they also mix in a variety of stories from their past in which they went to different shows or signings that add a lot to the show or, in my case, lead me to reminisce about my experiences. There is one story, from the Wrestlemania 30 lapsed fan, where JP talks about how Jack got Virgil, yes wrestling superstar Virgil!, to appear at JP’s bachelor party, it has to be heard to be believed. The two hosts are also best friends & you can tell they love being around each other & talking about wrestling so, in turn, listeners like to listen to them talk about said wrestling.

2) 30 Weeks Of Wrestlemania- What’s great about The Lapsed Fan is that they pick the shows at random and so you don’t know which show will be reviewed next. With that said, the best feature theses guys have done thus far, in my opinion, has been there 30 week journey for Wrestlemania.  Every week they did a podcast dedicated to each one of the Wrestlemanias leading up to this year’s big show and even brought in Dave Meltzer for each show to get more of a historical perspective.  It was a great way to get excited for Wrestlemania and I would suggest that everyone who loves Wrestlemania history (what wrestling fan doesn’t? ) go back and check these out, maybe on the road to next year’s Wrestlemania.

3) The impressions-  All too frequently with wrestling podcasts, the material is discussed too seriously.  Well that isn’t the case here as Jack & JP remind you that, at the end of the day, wrestling is supposed to be fun.  JP Sarro in particular does a great job with his impressions of anyone from Vince McMahon to Jesse Ventura to Helen Hart to even Ludvig Borga.  These impressions are done just enough to keep you laughing without getting annoying.  Jack also does great as a counterpart to JP’s antics as the straight man that they end up balancing each other out very well.  The guys even find a way to get you to laugh at the some of the more tragic details of wrestling history such as with their death toll to start each show.

Closing Thoughts

At the end of the day I really think the Lapsed Fan is something that any long time wrestling fan should check out.  It’s important to point out that most episodes will give you entertainment for the entire week as each podcast goes for about four hours, sometimes as many as 7 but the guys do a good job starting off each episode with about an hour breakdown of the show which you can listen to if your short for time.  They then tie in fan feedback even encouraging fans to record audio of their own to send in.  Lastly, they move into a “deep dive” of the show which is the most comprehensive coverage of a wrestling show I’ve ever heard as they cover every match and story from the show.  This past week they just dropped their coverage of WWE Survivor Series 1993 and this week they’ll drop their coverage of WCW Great American Bash 1995.

The Lapsed Fan Podcast can be found at www.wrestlezone.com/tag/the-lapsed-fan

They can also be followed on twitter @thelapsedfan

And if you’re interested in supporting the guys monetarily you can do so here https://www.patreon.com/thelapsedfan?rf=751612&ty=2

That’s gonna do it for this week’s spotlight on wrestling podcasts, until next time, take care!

 

The Spotlight On A Great Night In Sports 

Tom Lynch Sports, The Spotlight On Today's Sports , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m going to change things up a little bit today. Rather than previewing the biggest stories in sports today. I’m going to take a look back at a crazy Friday night in the world of sports. I’m going to breakdown an hour by hour breakdown of everything that went down on a day that reminds you why it’s so much fun to be a sports fan. 

5:00PM- Jaguar Down- On the way home from work I flipped on WFAN only to hear the unfortunate news the Jacksonville Jaguars number one pick & 3rd overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, Dante Fowler Jr. tore his ACL & will miss the entire 2015-2016 season. This breaks your heart for the talented defensive end and for a Jaguars organization who just can’t seem to catch a break. 

6:00PM- Noah’s Arc- It was always a matter of if not when the Mets would be calling up Uber prospect Noah Syndergaard. When Mets Pitcher Zach Wheeler when down for the season with Tommy John surgery during spring training, Syndergaards promotion became that much more imminent. Wheelers injury allowed the Mets to put veteran Dillon Gee into the rotation with the idea that if any of the Mets starting went down for any reason they would have an opportunity to bring up either Syndergaard or fellow top prospect Steven Matz. Syndergaard gets the nod and the start Tuesday in Chicago. While Mets fan rejoice I wonder if this makes Dillon Gee the next Wally Pipp. 

8:30 PM- Harper Makes History- I mentioned Harper’s three homer game the other day on here and the very next time out Bryce Harper followed up that performance with a 2 homer effort. The five homeruns in 2 games ties an MLB record for Bryce & makes him the youngest player to accomplish the feat at just 22 years old. Not bad for Major League Baseball’s “most over rated” player. Remember folks, Harper is just 22 years old. 

9:30pm- “Well The Rangers are done”- this is at least the text I got from a buddy of mine with the New York Rangers went down 1-0 in the 3rd period of Game 5 with under 5 minutes left, facing elimination. Then with only 90 seconds left Chris Kreider tied the game, sending my entire block into a frenzy. This led to overtime & before I knew it… the series was shifting back to DC for game 6 tomorrow night. 

10:30PM- Every Rose Has Its Thorn- Immediately following the fireworks going on at MSG, I got to watch a few more fireworks go down at the United Center. With just 10 seconds left JR Smith drained a clutch 3 pointer (something I have never said as a Knicks fan) to tie the game for the Cavs & set me up nicely for yet another overtime thriller, right? Not so fast, because 10 seconds later Derrick Rose stepped up to drain and equally clutch 3 pointer to give the Chicago Bulls the win & an impressive 2-1 series lead. Talk about drama! 

1:00AM- It’s All In The Family- Going into a momentum shifting game 3 between the LA Clippers & Houston Rockets, the question was whether all star guard Chris Paul was going to be able to suit up. Well Paul did suit up but during game 3 it was another guard who stole the show & propelled the Clippers to a dominant 124-99 victory. That guard was Austin Rivers who came off the bench to drop 25 in only 23 minutes to pick up the slack for Paul, who only played 23 minutes in his own right. If the Rivers name sounds familiar it’s probably because Austin Rivers is the son of former NBA all star, Doc Rivers, the same Doc Rivers who is currently the head coach for the Clippers. 

We’ll talk about a fun day in sports with big stories across the board from football to baseball to both the NBA & NHL Playoffs. Just another reason why I’m proud to be a sports fan. 

The Spotlight on US Airways Customer Service

Tom Lynch Reviews, Travel , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I just returned yesterday afternoon from my trip to Orlando, Florida.  For my round trip transportation during this trip, I decided to fly with US Airways which consisted of four flights (a connection each way).  I’ve recently been flying with Jetblue because they have TVs but I saved a great deal flying US Airways and didn’t feel that televisions were worth the extra few hundred dollars this time around.

Now I’ll get to some of my Orlando trip during posts down the line but long story short between a wedding in which I was the best man, three days in Disney World and two days in Daytona Beach, I was exhausted when I woke up at 6 AM to catch a 10 AM flight out of Orlando International Airport on Sunday morning.  I was so exhausted in fact that I began to doze off while waiting for my flight in the waiting area.  Suddenly I was woken up by the sound of the final page of my boarding to my flight from Orlando to Philadelphia.

I immediately sprung up grabbed my bags and sprinted to the terminal to catch my flight.  When I walked in, I must have looked pretty out of it as the flight attendant offered me a glass of water the second I got on the plane.  I took my seat then checked my personal belongings and make sure I had everything.  I found my cell phone, keys, wallet, headphones, gum and camera.  I sat down to settle in for my flight when I realized that I had misplaced my work cell phone.  I began freaking out and asked if I could run back to check and see if my phone was in the waiting room, which mind you was a solid seven or eight gates down.

I began running as fast as I could back to the waiting area and looked everywhere for the phone.  I looked under the seats and retraced my steps.  I asked one of the  passengers sitting there if they had seen the phone.  He asked what kind of phone it was and when I said a brand new IPhone 5S, he laughed and said “Son, you know that if someone found it, that phone is long gone!”.

Just then I heard an announcement over the loudspeaker calling me out by name and stating if I didn’t return they’d have to take off without me.  I returned to my flight embarrassed by the death stares the rest of the angry flyers were giving me and worried about my phone.  What would I tell my boss? Why did I even bring my work phone on vacation with me?  Would I have to pay the company I work for $500 to replace the phone?  How could I be so irresponsible?

Knowing it was a longshot, I texted the phone from my personal phone.  I texted the phone and said “Hi I don’t know if you found this phone but if you did please call me as soon as possible, this is my work phone and I’ll offer reward”.  I powered my phone to airplane mode and figured I wouldn’t hear anything.  Right before powering off one of the flight attendants wished me luck and told me to check the phone before takeoff.  She stated that I didn’t want anyone to call apple because apple wouldn’t get me the phone back as they’d want me to buy a new one.  I followed her advice and turned on my phone and immediately received a text from someone telling me they found the phone!

I called the number and it turned out that someone who worked for US Airways found the phone and was waiting for me to find him to get the phone back.  I couldn’t believe it but I was already on the flight and the flight was about to take off.  The man, Brian Hicks, explained that he could Fed Ex the phone overnight to me at no cost to me and he wasn’t about to accept any sort of reward.  I thanked him so much and took off to Philly relieved beyond words.

When I arrived in Philly, I got another call from Mr. Hicks who did even better than his first offer.  He contacted his boss and explained that I needed the phone for work and so  they sent the phone on a flight to Laguardia airport and the phone was going to be waiting there for me the next morning.  I arrived at Laguardia early Monday morning and my phone was there, packaged nicely by Mr. Hicks in a huge box with enough paper and bubble wrap to ensure that it would be safe through the air.  The guy at the baggage claims center told me just how lucky I was because he explained that Brian didn’t have to do that and it’s almost frowned upon because it could get damaged.

What a truly great start to the week and I couldn’t be more grateful to Brian and the team at US Airways for providing excellent customer service.  Even though Brian didn’t ask for anything in return, I’m going to be sending Brian two Mets tickets for when they play the Rays in August as he mentioned he was a huge fan.  This day in age people just aren’t nice, it would have been easy for Brian to take my phone and either sell it or find a way to use it for himself.  His generous act has inspired me to pay it forward as it feels good to do nice things for people.

I thought this would be a good first piece for the review section here.  I know reviews online are often negative, I’m sure mine will be sometimes as well, but I had to share this positive review here with all of you.  So in closing I’d just like to say thank you to Brian Hicks and thank you to the fine people at US Airways, I look forward to flying with you again.