Ramblings of an Englishman

*Spoilers for the Yakuza series ahead* After several months of hoping and trying and hoping I finally got my hands on a PS5. I wanted to play Yakuza: Like a Dragon on it so to get it in the best light so in the meantime I managed to play through the rest of the Yakuza series which allowed me to get a better respect and meaning of the full series and Kiryu as a protagonist as well.  As a result of this I was worried that Ichiban Kasuga could not live up to the legend of The Dragon of Dojima after such a run of games with some stories I hold in high regard. So with a change in setting, gameplay and main character I was worried this could be a negative for the series. Well I was wrong. Almost from the start I got hooked into the story of Ichiban who buy the end of the game I was all on board and loved his story. The character rightfully set to be the centre of the next saga of the Yakuza series.  I feel Ichiban works his best as he's an opposite of Kiryu the honour bound sto...

Raw for 19th July 2021 was an interesting one. The first Raw back in front of an audience and not a host of TV screens and John Cena's return but as well as this the undefeated NXT champion Karrion Kross made his debut on Raw and lost to Jeff Hardy. Now not to disrespect Jeff Hardy who is one of my favourites of all time but on the 5th July 2021 on Main Event he lost to Veer who is one of Jinder Mahal's bodyguards. Jeff Hardy is not positioned as a threat let alone the person to end an undefeated streak of a champion. It got me thinking, does this match represent more than just a strange booking decision and instead showcase a larger issue when it comes to the synchronisation of NXT and the Main Roster of WWE when it comes to booking philosophy and talents that can be booked and turned into stars. First it's important to look at Karrion Kross. I haven't been a fan of his NXT run as I don't think he fits in overly well with the show. His entrance is overproduced and ...

Over the course of 4 days between Friday 18th June to Monday 21st June WWE held 4 Hell in a Cell matches so on average one a day in line with the annual Hell in a Cell PPV. A structure when initially created was described as one that shortens career saw Bobby Lashley win 2 in 2 days with minimal fuss. I remember the storyline of how in 2000 Vince McMahon himself tried to stop he 6 man cell match at Armageddon from happening due to the irreversible damage a match like this does to people. The match stipulation seems to have lost meaning and care and isn’t the only one. Over the past decade or so WWE has used its gimmick matches as the names of Pay Per Views from Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber, TLC, Money in the Bank to the forgotten one time only PPV Fatal 4 Way in what I can only imagine is a hope of a boost in PPV buys from non regular viewers who like these match types/stipulations. However, to me it feels like this contributes to these match types losing their appeal and how sp...