Beth’s Best of 2018

I’m back baby! That was an extended hiatus, but the end of 2018/start of 2019 was horrible for me. Sickness and death, and all manner of garbage. Seems like a good time to finally post my 2018 recap and put the year behind me. We’ve done the podcast, but given the number of people that were on (and the way that Dave looked at me for talking about Star Wars as I did) now is my chance to elaborate. There are also some things that came out in 2018 that I hadn’t seen when we recorded so I can talk about those now too. Plus, with everything that’s happened since, that podcast seems like it was recorded a lifetime ago. So here’s my good, meh, and ugly from 2018 in no particular order. Sorry if I repeat from the podcast, but I promise it’ll be worth reading even if you’ve already listened. Well, I promise it’ll have enough differences or new content. I never promise that I’ll write something worth reading.

Home Again – January’s Blu-Ray Releases

Welcome to Home Again, where each and every Tuesday I’ll be running down some of the best genre releases coming to home media.

All info is from the excellent Blu-ray.com. This isn’t every genre release, just the ones I find interesting. For the full list, follow that link.

WWE – SmackDown Roster Rundown 2019

Way back in November of 2015 I wrote a post about the entire WWE roster at the time and what I thought about each Superstar. I just re-read it and I mostly feel the same way about everyone I covered. Plus I actually enjoyed reading it, so I reposted it here. You might find it fun to compare my thoughts then to my thoughts now.

Roster-wise the WWE is in a golden age. They have never before had so much to-notch talent. I struggle to think of more than a few Superstars that I actively dislike. At the very least I can imagine angles in which almost anyone would be entertaining or appealing, even if WWE isn’t necessarily using them in the best way.

How WWE uses talent is really more of a problem than anything. With such a stuffed roster it’s hard to give everyone the time they deserve and it’s often difficult to become as engaged in modern WWE because a Superstar you like could get lost in the shuffle while someone who may not be to your liking gets the spotlight.

But at the end of the day, it’s all wrestling and there’s no denying that WWE is the gold standard for what is now known as Sports Entertainment.

Read on and find out how my opinions from 2015 have aged and where I stand on the huge amount of new talent that has appeared since then!

I posted my thoughts about the RAW roster last week. You can check that out here.

For your convenience, Superstars that were not around for that 2015 Rundown are listed in BLUE. Tag teams will be listed together unless I feel the individuals need singling out.

Needless Things Podcast 249 – Let’s Get Ready to Wrestling!!!

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-8ff9w-a5a3b5

On this week’s episode of the Needless Things Podcast your host, Dave, summons the lions of professional wrestling fandom to form a Voltron of righteous wrestling repartee!

From across the country and representing many corners of fandom, the Needless Things Irregulars gather on the Skype-O-Tron to discuss everything there is to chat about prior to WWE’s Royal Rumble, happening this Sunday! From their own personal histories to the state of WWE today, no topic is off-limits in this n-holds-barred wrestling episode!
Listen in as Darling Dave, Jumpin’ Joe Crowe, Noel “The Gnoll” Wood, Rabid Richie Ewell, and the Howdymaster dissect the squared circle on the newest episode of the Needless Things Podcast!
Be sure to join the Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think!

“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
Interstitial music provided by The Mystery Men?
PLUS:
Watching WWE’s Royal Rumble this Sunday? Here are the rules for the Official Phantom Zone Royal Rumble Game!:
*Number 30 ping pong balls 1-30. Trust me – drawing actual balls instead of just picking numbers adds SO MUCH fun!
*Each player draws numbers until they’re all gone. If everyone doesn’t have the same number, points can be altered to even the odds.
*Each player will need a way to keep track of their points. You earn points through the actions of each Superstar that entered at whichever numbers you drew.
*1 point for each elimination. If multiple Superstars assist in a single elimination, they each get a point. Don’t worry – it’s fair and easier than using fractions.
*2 points for each of the final four Superstars left in the Rumble
*5 points for the winner of the Rumble
*If you’re the host, remember to have fabulous prizes for the contestants!
You can follow Dave as Phantom Troublemaker on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

WWE – RAW Roster Rundown 2019

NOTE: Thanks to a much heavier workload than I had been expecting I only had time to finish the Monday Night RAW portion of my rundown. Check back soon – maybe even before Sunday’s Royal Rumble – for my thoughts about the Tuesday night lineup.

Way back in November of 2015 I wrote a post about the entire WWE roster at the time and what I thought about each Superstar. I just re-read it and I mostly feel the same way about everyone I covered. Plus I actually enjoyed reading it, so I reposted it here. You might find it fun to compare my thoughts then to my thoughts now.

Roster-wise the WWE is in a golden age. They have never before had so much to-notch talent. I struggle to think of more than a few Superstars that I actively dislike. At the very least I can imagine angles in which almost anyone would be entertaining or appealing, even if WWE isn’t necessarily using them in the best way.

How WWE uses talent is really more of a problem than anything. With such a stuffed roster it’s hard to give everyone the time they deserve and it’s often difficult to become as engaged in modern WWE because a Superstar you like could get lost in the shuffle while someone who may not be to your liking gets the spotlight.

But at the end of the day, it’s all wrestling and there’s no denying that WWE is the gold standard for what is now known as Sports Entertainment.

Read on and find out how my opinions from 2015 have aged and where I stand on the huge amount of new talent that has appeared since then!

Home Again – January’s Blu-Ray Releases

Welcome to Home Again, where each and every Tuesday I’ll be running down some of the best genre releases coming to home media.

All info is from the excellent Blu-ray.com. This isn’t every genre release, just the ones I find interesting. For the full list, follow that link.

Needless Things Podcast 248 – Roadhouse Needless Commentary

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-a9hsn-a4e238

Part of an ongoing series – the Needless Things Irregulars gather in the Phantom Zone to provide their own unique commentary on classic genre films!

This ain’t Memphis, but that doesn’t mean that the Commentary Team can’t double down on the Double Deuce with this classic 80s action flick! The Irregulars have been clamoring for a Roadhouse Commentary since the beginning, and after establishing that January was a very Swayze month, indeed, it was determined that it was time to not be nice!
Listen in as Dave, Battle Cougar, Ryan Cadaver, Rad Ranger, and Arian get rough and rowdy for this month’s Needless Commentary!
Be sure to join the Needless Things Podcast Facebook Group and get in on the conversation for this week’s episode! Let us know what you think!
“Procrastibate” by LeSexoflex.com
Interstitial music provided by The Mystery Men?
You can follow Dave as Phantom Troublemaker on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest on pop culture!

Repost: WWE – Roster Rundown 11/2/2015

You might have noticed some reposts like this one lately.

It’s not something I had planned to do when I relaunched the All-New, Slightly Different Needless Things, but there have been a few recent instances where it has been a necessity, as was the case with Beth’s older Days of the Dead coverage. Sometimes we need to provide past work for press purposes and since the import is still ongoing, a repost is the only way to do it.

And yes – the import is still ongoing. Ten years of five(ish) posts a week takes some time to process, as it turns out.

I’ve been wanting to write something about wrestling for a while, and in pulling up old drafts I found this roster rundown from November of 2015. I’m working on an update for next week, but I had fun reading this and I thought you guys might, too.

I don’t plan to make recycling posts a habit because the old material will, eventually, be available. But in lieu of being able to link to relevant content this is our only option for now. And I wanted you guys to be able to see a then versus now once the new post goes up.

So for now, enjoy my thoughts on the WWE of 2015; most of which were spot-on and some of which have changed considerably.

Home Again – January’s Blu-Ray Releases

Welcome to Home Again, where each and every Tuesday I’ll be running down some of the best genre releases coming to home media.

All info is from the excellent Blu-ray.com. This isn’t every genre release, just the ones I find interesting. For the full list, follow that link.

Toy Review – Halloween (2018) Ultimate Michael Myers from NECA

The newest entry in the legendary Halloween franchise comes home tomorrow, so I thought today would be the perfect time to review NECA’s newest – and long-awaited – Michael Myers figure.

After years of near-constant Freddys and Jasons, and even a few Chuckys, the absence of the OG slasher from action figure aisles was conspicuous. While Mezco’s One:12 Myers (from the original film) just barely beat this one to market, off the top of my head I think the last one we got was in the box set with Doctor Loomis and the porch diorama. That’s the one that’s on my shelf, anyway. Sadly the diorama did not survive a move.

Out of all of NECA’s figures, that one has actually aged rather well. One of the advantages Michael has is that he mostly looks the same and there’s not a whole lot of updating to be done at an action figure scale. Of course, as far as being a renewable license with lots of merchandising opportunities, this is not an advantage. I’m sure NECA will squeeze a 1978 Michael out of this figure and might even be able to convince us a couple more are warranted, but I can’t see them doing one for every movie in the same way that they have with Freddy and Jason.

Note: We already know that NECA is releasing a Laurie Strode to go with this Michael and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they pack a slightly different version of Myers in, too. I hope they don’t, but they have a history of such tactics.

After loving the new Halloween I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some merchandise. NECA’s figure took a little longer than I expected to arrive, but now that it’s here, was it worth the wait? Read on and find out!