Batson's Blog

Man, do I ever remember the build up for the first Wrestlania I ever watched: Wrestlemania 14. As a young child and new fan of wrestling at that point, I didn't realize how big of a deal Wrestlemania was. It seemed like another pay-per-view at that point, but I quickly realized that it was WWE's biggest show of the year. It truly has become wrestling's version of the Super Bowl, even beating attendance records the NFL had previously held. It probably is half nostalgia, but it truly did seem better and more exciting than any Wrestlemania that has happened in the last 10 years. Much like everything else about WWE's product, the last several Wrestlemania events seemed overproduced yet also neglected. There doesn't seem to be much effort in building story lines anymore - at least not entertaining ones. Granted, Wrestlemania 14 had a few thrown together matches, like the tag team battle royal that kicked off the show. Aguila vs. Taka Michinaku didn't get ...

Beth Phoenix vs. Kharma Not only did they miss out on this potential match during Wrestlemania 27, but they missed out on it at Wrestlemania 28 as well. Kharma was already under contract in April 2011, when Wrestlemania 27 occurred. Beth Phoenix had returned from an injury at the previous Survivor Series. WWE didn't debut Kharma until Backlash, though -- one month after Wrestlemania. Then, as we all know, Kharma got pregnant and unfortunately lost her baby. Despite her terrible loss, Kharma returned at the 2012 Royal Rumble. Rather than using her and building towards a match with an injury-free Beth Phoenix at Wrestlemania 28, WWE didn't use Kharma and ultimately released her later on in the spring of 2012. WWE missed the boat on revitalizing a women's division and providing some serious female wrestling. Odds of it happening: slim-to-none since WWE released Kharma last year and Beth retired. With recent reports of WWE wanting to hire back some former Divas...

I recently brushed up on the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot (now renamed Alien Turtles ). Turns out I haven’t been keeping up on the news very well. Michael Bay (director of the Transformers franchise) is the director and he broke the news on his blog that Megan Fox (the woman he booted from the Transformers franchise) has a spot in the TMNT movie. One has to assume she'll be playing April O’Neil, the dedicated and fearless TV reporter who always manages to get captured. It’s actually not a bad choice. I’m not sure she would have been my first choice, but I can see it working – in an updated, not-like-the-cartoon kind of way. I was watching the first two Transformers movies last week and Fox is a decent enough actress. She may not win awards, but she can get the job done in an action movie. If Bay can revive the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the way he did the Transformers, then Fox may have a couple of box office hits coming her way. Fox being cast as O’N...

This week I decided to go North. I went to Cornelius to check out a cupcake shop I found online: Just Baked Cupcakes & Coffee House . They have a nice, little store. Because it's part coffee house, part cupcake shop, it has a different vibe than any of the other shops I've been to. It's in a brick home on Main Street in Cornelius. There are a couple of tables and a few chairs right as you walk in. With a gas station right next door, the shop is definitely a nice place to stop and get a snack if you're on a road trip. They have different flavors each day. That's a good way to get people coming back day after day. When I went they had about five or six to choose from. In addition to cupcakes they have various other kinds of bars, brownies, and cookies. I was there for the cupcakes though! The first one I had was the Sugar Cookie cupcake, which, remarkably, tasted like a sugar cookie. Topped with the sprinkles you'd find on an actual cookie, the...

With the possibility of Jay Leno leaving The Tonight Show (round 2), what’s he to do? He retired once and came back, so the man obviously has too much ambition to ride his Harley’s and live off his fortune (which is what I would do). So, what’s a guy to do with his time? Lucky for Jay, I have a list of possibilities – some probable and others not-so-much: 7. Become a judge on America’s Got Talent Leno could join the cast of other eclectic judges. Leno's addition would actually bring some legitimacy to the show, as he's been a comic for decades. He's had some of the top musical acts in the world booked on his show. He's also seen all kinds of random talent perform on The Tonight Show stage, whether it's a trick involving a BMX bike or a dancing chicken. The only catch is that America's Got Talent is on NBC, which Leno probably isn't too fond of right now. Maybe in a couple of years. 6. Appear in the next season of Celebrity Apprentice Thi...

As WWE is gearing up for Wrestlemania, TNA is preparing for Slammiversary. With their new pay-per-view model, Slammiversary is the next big pay-per-view TNA has -- but it's not until June. We'll see if that new model generates any additional interest or buys. Saturday night they were in Concord, North Carolina for a live event. For $16 (I didn't bother trying to get floor seats), it doesn't matter what event they're gearing up for or how many pay-per-views they have. I'll buy a ticket. I went to a TNA live event in 2008. I got to help out at a different live event in 2009, clearing the broken table (courtesy of Team 3-D) from the ring and taking the photos for the fans as they posed with A.J. Styles in the ring after the event. This time, I wasn't wanting to meet the wrestlers or network with anyone. It's just something to do on a Friday night for a relatively cheap price. I've been reading spoilers and catching bits and pieces of I...

I was surprised to see a new brand of cupcakes (or maybe I just hadn't been paying attention before?) at Food Lion recently. They are cupcake mini's from La Bree's . There are six cupcakes in each pack and four different flavors to choose from: Luscious Lemon, Carrot, Chocolate Caramel, and Red Velvet. The lemon are apparently seasonal. I'm not sure about the Chocolate Caramel, Carrot or Red Velvet. The packages said the Carrot and Red Velvet were "Sweetly Traditional," while the Chocolate Caramel was "Sweetly Salted." Maybe they are all seasonal? I like lemon, so I figured I'd get a pack of those and one of the Chocolate Caramel, in case they were offered for a limited amount of time too. I didn't eat them right away since they were already packaged up. I tried the Luscious Lemon a couple of days after I bought them. To my surprise, they were moist -- as though they were as fresh as a cupcake made that same day. I'm no...