Unfabulous Five Review

on May 5, 2016 at 8:48 am

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Publisher: Humanoids
Author: Jerry Frissen
Artist: Bill

Being a wrestling fan for ten plus years and a comics fan since I was able to read, I was surprised when I saw “Unfabulous Five,” a lucha libre comic book I’d never heard of, at my local comic shop. Not that I’ve read every wrestling comic, but I like to think I have an awareness of most, so to see a cover with luchadores taking on a bunch of aquatic monsters took me by surprise and I had to buy it.

Originally published in France, the “Unfabulous Five” follows the adventures of a group of five luchadores as they try to live their everyday lives while fighting monsters in Los Angeles. While this may sound like a familiar premise to superhero fans, the luchadores’ adventures are so outrageous they feel wildly unique. Just the first chapter deals with the luchadores fighting an Elvis impersonator and his army of tribesmen and werewolves while dealing with a rival French gang, Dr. Destruction and his Formidables, and trying to solve the mystery of a dinosaur that’s terrorizing the city. Oh, also the luchadors found out about the dinosaur thanks to a couple of aliens who drive around the freeways of Los Angeles in a spaceship. It’s completely bonkers. I’ve seen a couple of old Luchador movies where they fight vampires and mummies, and even those look fairly sensible next to the Unfabulous Five.

While “Unfabulous Five” is rarely boring, sometimes it goes so completely far off the rails that it gets a little confusing. I often had to go back and check to see if I missed a page or a line of dialogue to see who a character is or what they were fighting for. It may be due to translation issues, but some elements felt really random and unexplained.

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Even though “Unfabulous Five” never holds back on the amount of crazy science fiction stuff they can squeeze into a story, there are plenty of nice quiet scenes between the main characters where they drive around the city or hang out at home joking around and talking about everyday life. It’s amazing to me how well the author keeps the main characters grounded in one scene and then follows it with something completely crazy while keeping it all cohesive. The luchadores always feel like real people, and not just a bunch of tropes waiting to say their catchphrase.

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When it comes to the art, Bill’s work is simply fantastic. The action scenes are always fluid and dynamic, and the storytelling is always very clear so I never get lost with where people are or who’s doing what. The characters are very expressive and the backgrounds are very detailed and give a real sense of the world the characters live in. There are many scenes that could have just been turned into a bunch of talking heads reciting dialogue, but the artwork always gives us something interesting to look at.

One small pet peeve I have with this book is that while the characters say they’re luchadores and they always run around the city wearing luchador masks, we hardly ever see any actual wrestling! There are a few wrestling moves used in fights, but no one ever talks about wrestling and we never see so much as a wrestling ring. Often the luchadores will complain about not having jobs, but even then they’ll talk about looking for work as a gardener or a dental hygienist- not wrestling. I realize this might seem pretty small, and it doesn’t take away from the quality of the book, but I started doing these reviews on Botched Spot to tell people about cool wrestling stuff they might not know about and then realized this book is pretty light on actual wrestling. Even some of the old El Santo movies had in ring action in them or referenced him being a champion!

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All that being said, “Unfabulous Five” still provides an entertaining story with some beautiful artwork. If you like luchador horror movies, you should check out this book. It also comes in a nice hardcover version with one of those cool ribbon bookmarks, which probably won’t affect your purchase, but I still feel the need to point out. Picture Lucha Underground as told by Chikara and if you like what you see, you should pick up this book.

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Vince says AJ and Roman's Payback match will shape the future of the WWE and they're like "you mean the quality?" and he's like no, because Stephanie and Shane are going to interrupt it multiple times.

WWE Payback 2016 Review

on May 3, 2016 at 8:31 am

Payback was the perfect snapshot of the WWE’s “new era”. Great wrestling marred by McMahons stickin’ their noses in the way. It says a lot that Payback ended on a shot of three McMahons fighting over how to book their next show. Heading into Sunday night’s Pay Per View, I was looking forward to it as a fun show that would wrap up some of the loose ends from Wrestlemania and pave the way to Summerslam. Did it achieve that? Lets look through the matches and my predictions and see!

 

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler

I predicted that Baron would easily and obviously defeat Ziggler, but I was proven wrong when Ziggler won with a roll up. Baron Corbin could build his career off of losing to roll ups. I think Ziggler’s win looked like it involved more luck than being legitimately better than Corbin, so ultimately the victory felt underwhelming to me.

Kalisto vs. Ryback for the US Championship.

I predicted that Kalisto would win and I was right! I died when I saw Ryback’s “Pre Show Stopper” weight belt! It’s nice to know that if the Big Guy is going to be dropped off the main show he at least has a sense of humor about it.

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. the Vaudevillains

I predicted the Vaudevillains would win, but the match didn’t even have an ending due to Enzo getting concussed early on. It was brutal seeing Enzo get hurt at the tag team’s biggest match to date. Hopefully he gets well soon and the Vaudevillains make the most out of this opportunity.

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

I predicted that Kevin Owens would win and I was right! It’s no surprise that this match was great and totally lived up to the hype. It felt more brutal and punishing than some of the WWE’s hardcore matches, and showed that these two deserve more than floundering in the midcard. While I was glad to see Owens win clean, it really made Sami look like a sore loser when he attacked Kevin during the next match.

The Miz with Maryse vs. Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship

I predicted that Miz would win and I was right! Cesaro put on a wrestling clinic at Payback, essentially making Miz look like a training dummy that just occasionally kicked out or used a headlock. The whole match really felt like a display for Cesaro’s talents. I wasn’t in love with the finish, which involved Miz rolling up Cesaro while everyone was distracted by Sami and Owens brawling outside, but I’m sure the resulting four way match at Extreme Rules will be good.

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho

I predicted that Ambrose would win and I was right! Jericho was in his peak heel form during the match, even shuffling over to the referee on his knees and holding onto him for help at one point. Maybe it was a little cartoonish, but I was entertained. I was also glad to see Ambrose finally pick up a win.

Charlotte vs. Natalya

I predicted Charlotte would win and I was right! While I didn’t enjoy this match as much as their match at Takeover, Nattie and Charlotte still had a great showing here, except for the ending. I really don’t know why anyone would think it’s a good idea to relive the Montreal Screwjob, but apparently someone at WWE does, because the match ended with the ref giving Charlotte the win despite Nattie never tapping out. Why? Why relive the whole Screwjob when most of today’s fans probably didn’t even see it?! Just a terrible finish that served absolutely no purpose other than getting Bret’s goat a little bit.

Roman vs. AJ Styles

I predicted Roman would win and I was right! Everyone was so jazzed to see what would happen at the end of this match. Would Styles turn heel? Would Roman turn heel? Would Anderson and Gallows attack Styles at the behest of Finn Balor? Nope, it just turned into a pissing match for the McMahon family. I was still impressed with what Styles and Roman were able to do in between the McMahon segments, and it was easily one of Roman’s best showings to date.

 
While I enjoyed the matches at Payback overall, I’m still waiting for WWE to cash checks that were written before Wrestlemania. We’ve been waiting so long for them to pull the trigger on the Bullet Club with Finn Balor and the brand split that I’m starting to question not only if those things are in their plans, but if the WWE even knows what their plans are to begin with. The co-management of Raw reeks of Vince just wanting to stretch out the storyline, giving us more long winded segments to look forward to. While Payback was definitely worth watching, I don’t think anything memorable enough happened to where people will talk about it for years (or months) to come. As far as predictions go, I correctly predicted six out of seven matches (not including the tag match). That is to say, I correctly predicted that Payback would stay the course with no titles changing hands and most all the feuds booked to keep on going. It’s a New Era, folks!

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It looks like the Bullet Club are going to be dominant, until Cena and Roman jointly punch them in their faces.

Predictions for WWE Payback 2016

on April 26, 2016 at 10:55 am

The first pay per view after Wrestlemania often feels like a weird mix of tying up loose ends, setting the course for Summerslam, and a little bit of throwing crap at the wall to see what sticks. While it’s strange that we’re only seeing one rematch from Wrestlemania at Payback, I guess it’s a good thing since I’m not sure anyone would sit through another AJ vs. Jericho match. While I think Payback has a lot of good matches on the card, it really shows how little WWE cares about their storytelling right now. Why hasn’t anyone even mentioned Triple H getting a rematch? Why does Nattie get a Women’s title shot instead of Sasha, who was screwed at Wrestlemania? Has Ryder really been written out of the Intercontinental Championship scene that fast? Let’s dive in to this Sunday’s event and take a closer look at what we’re dealing with.

Kalisto vs. Ryback for the US Championship
WWE has done next to nothing to promote this match and it makes for a sad, sorry situation for Kalisto and Ryback. Their Wrestlemania match was fun, if not groundbreaking, and I think they deserve more than just an off hand announcement about this match on Raw. It’s hard to pick a winner when so little has been put into this match, so I’ll just go with Kalisto for the win due to Ryback mouthing off about finding a different place to work a couple of weeks ago.
Who will win: Kalisto

Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler
Speaking of people losing because they talked about life after WWE, Ziggler will lose to Baron Corbin.
Who will win: Baron Corbin

Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady vs. the Vaudevillains (winner is the number one contender for the tag team titles)
Full disclosure: I only have one NXT shirt in my closet, and it features none other than Aiden English and Simon Gotch, the Vaudevillains. I am a fan. All the same, I can’t deny that they’ve received a poor (quiet) reception on Raw, and I think it’s because the average WWE fan doesn’t know how to react to the gimmick. I think the NXT fans are able to appreciate the goofy old-timey gimmick better than little kids and their drug-along parents, and I think if English and Gotch are going to have any success at this level they will need to tweak or update their gimmick a bit. Maybe something about moustaches and manliness? All that being said, I still think the Vaudevillains will win and go on to lose to the New Day. Enzo and Cass are red hot right now, and I don’t think WWE will rush them to the titles this quickly. I think the Dudleys will probably interfere, but hopefully we’ll see the Vaudevillains win with some sneaky underhanded tactics so people have a reason to boo them.
Who will win: The Vaudevillains

Charlotte (with Ric Flair) vs. Natalya (with Bret Hart) for the WWE Women’s Championship
Charlotte and Nattie’s match at NXT Takeover: The First One, was one of the best matches of 2014, and while I’m glad to see it happen again on a larger stage, I really don’t understand why Nattie gets this title shot over Sasha Banks. While I’m definitely looking forward to the match and it’s great to see Natalya get the spotlight again, it’s hard to look past Sasha Banks sitting on the sidelines.
Who will win: Charlotte

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
It’s great to see these two finally get a match together at a Pay Per View. A lot of people were hoping we’d see this match at Wrestlemania, but I think the extra time on screen has served Sami Zayn well, and given casual WWE fans a better idea of who he is. I’m hoping this match really puts Sami on the map because I think he could be a top babyface like Daniel Bryan was. He’s just so darn likable! I could go either way on who will win, but I guess I’ll go with Kevin Owens since WWE has invested more in him at this time.
Who will win: Kevin Owens

The Miz (with Maryse) vs. Cesaro for the Intercontinental Championship
My deep dark dirty shame is that I actually think Miz is a pretty good heel and I’m glad to see him back in the mix for the Intercontinental Championship. I’m glad to see Maryse back as his snooty wife too, as long as she keeps away from actually wrestling. Cesaro is well known as an underdog in WWE, and it’s great to see him getting a push, especially with his tear away suit. The man looks good in a suit! You can’t deny it. I think Miz will win, but it will be done in a way that will prolong this feud for at least another Pay Per View.
Who will win: The Miz

Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho
Heel Jericho is officially back and he’s better than ever. While I know I should just sit back and enjoy this feud, I can’t help but wonder how long he’s actually going to stick around for. This smacks of one of Jericho’s short lived one-and-done feuds, like the ones he’s had with Bray Wyatt and Ziggler, which aren’t bad, but don’t feel like they matter a whole lot in the long run. It is fun to see how seriously Jericho takes “the Highlight Reel” and how offended he is when Ambrose clearly doesn’t care about the “Ambrose Asylum”, but at the same time I feel like it’ll be done in a week and we’ll never hear about it again.
Who will win: Ambrose. He has to win sometime!

Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
While I’ve no doubt that Roman will win, I’m still excited to see what kind of a match AJ will pull out of him. Roman can have some good matches depending on his opponent, and I think this match with AJ will be much more exciting than Roman’s 27 minute snoozefest with Triple H at Wrestlemania. Of course the real thing everyone’s excited about is Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and Finn Balor and if they will attack AJ or Roman. Personally I think Anderson and Gallows will turn on AJ by themselves with no Balor appearance, but I’ll be okay with being wrong too. While I’m extremely excited to see what happens with all that, I’ve no doubt that Roman will be holding onto the gold for a big ol’ feud with Cena.
Who will win: Roman Reigns

All in all I think the card for Payback looks really solid. All of the matches look really good and will hopefully provide a fun, light Pay Per View to wash away the seven hour marathon that was Wrestlemania. We’ll also see who Vince names as the new authority figure on Raw. I’m predicting he just appoints himself to that role, but maybe he’ll want to see if Stephanie can fall off a Hell in a Cell cage first to see if she wants the job as badly as Shane.

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