What To Watch: Robot Combat League

Written by Stuart Cooper

What To Watch: Robot Combat League

Real Steel just became a work of non-fiction!

Last week was the debut of a show I never thought I'd see, a robot fighting show called "Robot Combat League"! You heard me right, the premise of that Hugh Jackman movie "Real Steel" has come to life...sort of. The show is a nice middle line between those old crappy Battlebots shows from the mid-90's and "Real Steel". Technology has not quite advanced to the level of "Real Steel" so the Robots are not totally wireless. They are more or less Robo-puppets. The robots are attached to a mechanism that reads the movements of the human. So like in "Real Steel" you control the robot by moving around in a suit of sorts. The movement is limited to punches and dodges. To say the movements of the robots are limited would be a huge understatement. They are not capable of super quick movements, but it's still a lot of fun. It's a live action Rock-em Sock-em Robots. The robots each have a unique look, which gives them character. I pick who I want to win strictly based on appearance of the robot.

The reality portion of the show is hosted by WWE Legend Chris Jericho! I'm a huge pro wrestling fan so I couldn't help but enjoy his hosting, tho it is pretty by the numbers. The stars of the show are various people from around the United States who have some type of talent they could contribute to robot fighting. Some are NASA employees, teachers, engineers...then you have people who are former boxers or MMA fighters, which explores the more barbaric side of the show. The show does unfortunately have that reality trash feel to it at times. You see a lot of that fake conflict stuff thrown in, an unfortunate trait in reality television. The show also tries to give each participant some kind of personality. In the first episode a Father-Daughter team really pushes the sympathy vote when they reveal they both have terminal illnesses, and that this is something they've always wanted to do. So how are you going to root against two people who just told you they are already dying? I thought that was a bit distasteful and exploitative. Other than those small complaints, this show is a blast! The actual fights at the end of the show are pretty enjoyable and while cheesy, live up to the "Robot Combat" name. I would recommend checking this one out, at least for one episode. If it's not your thing then I recommend the Robot Pro Wrestling episode of "Futurama"! Gender Bender is unfortunately not involved in "Robot Combat League".

Episode 1 of the Show:

Checkout "Robot Combat League" Tuesday Nights on Syfy!

Road To Wrestlemania: FilmEnigma's Top 10 Wrestlemania Matches of All-time

Written by Stuart Cooper

We're moving onto the number 9 position and boy is it tough to narrow it down. So many good matches and classic moments have taken place at Wrestlemania, I could make a top 20 if I wanted to. After careful thinking, the list has formed in my mind and it's time to get to one of my favorite feuds of all-time...The Undertaker vs. Kane! I have fond memories of watching the RAW and Superstars episodes leading up to Wrestlemania 14, it was surreal to imagine The Undertaker meeting his ultimate match. So let's dive right into it!

9. The First Time Ever: The Undertaker battles his brother Kane!

Wrestlemania 14 (1998)

Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts

19,028 people in attendance

Thoughts: The months leading up to Wrestlemania were quite thrilling. This time period for wrestling was absolute madness. You had the NWO in it's peak in WCW, Stone Cold's rise to becoming WWF Champion, Mike Tyson and D-X are hanging around...it's truly classic. Towards the end of 1997 The Undertaker entered a feud with Shawn Michaels. This feud led to the first ever HELL IN A CELL match. The match was a brutal classic that many still consider to be the best HELL IN A CELL match of all-time. At the end of the match The Undertaker's brother KANE made his debut. Kane proceeded to walk down the ramp and rip the cell door off it's hinges. The crowd went absolutely nuts when Kane destroyed The Undertaker using his own moves. For weeks following the Undertaker refused to battle his brother in any type of match. It wasn't until Kane cost the Undertaker the WWF Title at the Royal Rumble that the Undertaker began pursuing a match with his brother. The match was set, the heat was on. Wrestling fans had begun to grow accustomed to The Undertaker being a unbeatable phenom, especially in the case of Wrestlemania, so it was going to take a strong opponent to get fans into another Mania match. Kane was the perfect opponent for The Undertaker. It's like watching Superman vs. Bizarro, Green Lantern vs. Sinestro, Goku vs. Vegeta, The Double Dragons vs. The Shadow, it's that legendary Good vs. Evil, Light vs. Darkness battle. Kane had the same size, the same power, the same moves, and even The Undertaker's former manager. It looked like the Undertaker may actually be in trouble.

The match started off with the entrances and boy was Undertaker's memorable. This was one of the first real elaborate Undertaker mania entrances. Druids came out with torches and ushered the Undertaker to the ring. It was absolutely brilliant and really created that classic Undertaker deadman aura the fans love. The match itself was pretty fast paced and hard hitting. Both men exchanged finishers multiple times, there was a sloppy table spot by Undertaker, and ultimately after 3 Tombstone Piledrivers, the Undertaker got the win. Kane was really the first man to go the distance with the Undertaker (without cheating) and this would be the beginning of a long and storied love/hate relationship between the two brothers (kayfabe). The following month was the classic Inferno Match that I would say is almost as good as the Mania 14 match. This match is definitely better than their 2nd mania match that took place 6 years later at Wrestlemania XX. But that's another mania for another day...

Road To Wrestlemania: FilmEnigma's Top 10 Wrestlemania Matches of All-time!

Written by Stuart Cooper

Well the time is upon us. It's Wrestlemania Season! The Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber have now passed and it looks like Wrestlemania 29 will be John Cena vs. The Rock (Champion) for the WWE Title. I'm not exactly thrilled about that, but that's not what this post is about. I wanted to compile what I consider the Top 10 Wrestlemania matches of all-time. I judged these based on Wrestlemania moments, match quality, and crowd reaction. I'm probably biased towards certain matches, so if you have a favorite match that you don't see on the list, feel free to comment with your thoughts. It's very tough to narrow 29 years of wrestling into 10 matches, but I will give it my best shot. I'll be doing 1 match a day, for the next 10 days. The road to Wrestlemania has begun!

10. Hulk Hogan defends the WWF Title against Andre The Giant

Wrestlemania 3 (1987)

Pontiac Silverdome

93,173 in attendance(disputed)

Thoughts:The months leading up to Wrestlemania III were nothing short of pure gold. This would become one of the most historical periods in wrestling history. Hulk Hogan had been the WWF champion for 3 years and was absolutely on fire. He had become a household name. Throughout his title run he had never faced an adversary as large and menacing as Andre the Giant. The feud began when Andre aligned himself with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and turned on Hogan. Andre had grown tired of Hogan's disrespect and popularity. This lead to the a challenge being made.

One on One for the WWF Title Hulk Hogan defeated Andre The Giant. The "bodyslam heard round the world" took place on that night. Hulk Hogan lifted up Andre (briefly) and bodyslammed him. Hogan is known for exaggerating this moment repeatedly in interviews! The match itself was not good by any means. Andre had already begun feeling ill and his back was really bothering him, so he was not able to move around very well in the ring. There was some classic moments that made this match memorable, and that is why it comes in at number 10. The crowd was absolutely mad for this match and considering it's 93,000 people, it's hard not to feel excitement when watching. The characters involved and the atmosphere is really what make this a true wrestlemania classic. The imagery involved in the match is also very memorable. I always think of the moment when Heenan and Andre are on the mini-ring going back down the entrance way after losing and Heenan looks absolutely blown away by what's happened. There would be a few rematches that followed but nothing memorable. If you want a good match-up between Hogan/Andre it won't be hard to find. They wrestled many times in Japan and other regional promotions prior to WWF! Needless to say, it was the clash of two huge wrestling personalities, and it's still talked about 25 years later.

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