Wrestling

That accolade is fresh

KSP on Punk vs. Taker:

CM Punk is the first legitimate candidate to challenge Undertaker’s winning streak since Randy Orton in 2005. In retrospect, Henry, Batista, Edge, Michaels, and HHH were all obvious in how they would play out. Henry wasn’t worthy; Batista and Edge couldn’t beat Taker and hold onto their championships; and Michaels’ pair was really all about defining what it means to be a great wrestler. HHH also lost twice.

I laughed out loud at this, but I would propose that HHH’s pair was about defining what it meant to be a great wrestling performer, without necessarily being a great wrestler.

Also, welcome back, Sawyer.

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Wrestling

Team Hurry up the Cakes reacts to WrestleMania

It was Monday afternoon. April 2nd. The day was long. The air was hot. My shoulders were sweaty. But none of that mattered–it was time for WrestleMania.

This was a milestone for me–not only was this the first time I was going to watch WrestleMania with my girlfriend Char (or any girl, for that matter), but THE ROCK WAS GOING TO FIGHT JOHN CENA, YOU GUYS, AND CM PUNK WAS GOING TO WRESTLE CHRIS JERICHO, AND TRIPLE H AND UNDERTAKER WERE GOING TO HAVE AN “END OF AN ERA” HELL IN A CELL MATCH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS MEANT TO ME!!~ NO IDEA~~~!!

*ahem* Sorry about that.

But, yes, this was a big deal.

Much has happened since WrestleMania. And much has been written about WrestleMania since. Some of which are pretty damn good. I have no interest* in adding yet another review or in-depth analysis about the big event–what I am interested it is taking you, dear reader, through the specific roller-coaster of emotions that Team Hurry up the Cakes went through upon watching the biggest wrestling event of the year.

Continue reading

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Food, Wrestling

Mikey’s Eats (January 31, 2012) and Post-Rumble Raw Musings

Mikey’s Eats is a series of chronicles of what Mikey ate in the given day. It is not the official Hurry up the Cakes review of the dish or restaurant discussed.

Last night, we ate at the new Pho Hoa, which is the same as the old Pho Hoa, except it’s in Festival Mall and it shares its space with MyThai and the old College classic Jack’s Loft. Thanks to Anthony Bourdain’s food porn second memoir, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (Amazon link), I had been craving for Vietnamese pho for a while now, so we ordered the Beef Brisket and Tendon Pho, along with some Fresh Spring Rolls and a Grilled Pork and Shrimp Rice Meal.

The Pho was tremendous—the noodles were perfectly cooked, the brisket tender, the tendon heavenly. And the broth! The sexily delicious beef broth, bean sprouts, some chili sauce, and a squeeze of lemon all combined to tell me to say a prayer to God in heaven, because I was having some damn good food. (At Festival Mall. Who would have thought?)

The sudden rush of flavors and spices, salty and sour and spicy and umami, sealed the deal for the Brisket and Tendon Pho to be the star of the evening. She took center stage and didn’t allow her Spring Roll buddies and Grilled Pork and Shrimp chorus to share her moment—the Pho had stolen the show.

This used to be a bowl of Brisket and Tendon Pho. I was hungry, and it was delicious.

Hurry up the Cakes verdict: Good food night.

Monday’s Raw (which I can only watch Tuesday night here in Manila) was one of the best in recent memory, with a perfect balance of pure, athletic wrestling, story advancement, and silly soap opera drama.

Randy Orton vs. Dolph Ziggler was, as expected, clean and violent and beautiful. I wouldn’t mind watching a couple hours of Dolph Ziggler bouncing around and getting beaten up every week. He’s that good.

Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk, even if it was inexplicably interrupted by Chris Jericho, is an early match of the year contender. What excites me is that Jericho’s involvement will make sure there will be several more surefire contenders in the coming months.

The Undertaker’s Return and subsequent WrestleMania challenge to Triple H was melodramatic, soap operatic sports entertainment at its finest. And, just like last year’s challenge, not a word was spoken. We all know that those two are sharing the main event stage with Rock and Cena at WrestleMania, but I’m glad that WWE is taking the time and making the effort to make us enjoy seeing how they get there.

(For full results, go to WWE.com.)

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