Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
If you haven’t been watching, but would like to catch up, you check out the official Jericho site.
There’s something that’s just right about celebrating Ed Wood Jr.‘s birthday a day late. So with that in mind, here’s a fan tribute him.
How then, you might ask, can I title this post, “Shamrock Goes Out a Winner.”? Those of you that saw the fight, probably already know where I’m going with this; but in case you don’t, or you didn’t see the fight, let me explain.
Shamrock came prepared to fight. He was in great shape. When the fight started, Shamrock didn’t rush in. He had a plan. When he and Ortiz came together, Shamrock met him head on. Ortiz went for the big takedown, and Shamrock was able to hold him off… for a bit. When they went to the mat and Ortiz started to ground and pound, Shamrock stayed cool. Ortiz was just too strong. Finally punches began to come through Shamrock’s guard and the fight was stopped.
Ortiz jumped up and began to go into his after fight antics. He did the gravedigger thing that he does. When Shamrock started to come to the middle of the octogan for the announcement of the winner, he reached out to shake Tito’s hand. Instead Ortiz began to flip off Shamrock with both of his hands. In the post fight interview Ortiz made sure to point out that he was wearing a “Punishing Him into Retirement” shirt and then gave the webstie where fans could buy one of their own.
Normally these antics would have sent Shamrock into orbit. But not tonight. Shamrock instead said that Ortiz won and that the stoppage was a good one. Shamrock thanked his fans for the support over the years and said that he wanted to go out with no hard feelings for Ortiz. In fact he wished Ortiz continued success and added “God Bless all of the guys who fight in the octogon.”
Ortiz must have been listening, because he came over and when Shamrock was done speaking, took the mic and apologized directly to Shamrock for his antics after the match. They shook hands and hugged.
Ken Shamrock has probably fought his last battle in the octogan. He went out a warrior. He went out with class. Although defeated, he acted like a winner.
First of all, he must stay off his back. If Ortiz takes Shamrock down, the fight could be over quickly. That’s because Ortiz is at his best when he’s “groundin’ and poundin’.” If Shamrock can avoid the takedowns and push the fight into the second and third rounds, Ortiz will get frustrated.
The second thing that Shamrock must do is to keep moving and punching. If he stands still Ortiz will take him down. If he doesn’t throw a lot of punches, Ortiz will take him down. [Heck, even if Shamrock is moving and sticking, Ortiz may still take him down.] By constantly changing his angles and throwing hands, Shamrock will force Ortiz to slow his attack. And of course open up the opportunity for Shamrock to land a knockout blow.
So, what does Ortiz have to do to win?
Ortiz needs to be careful when shooting for the takedown. Everyone is expecting Ortiz to go for the big slam, so if Shamrock has trained and is able to execute, Ortiz could get hammered coming in. Ortiz needs to be patient and pick his shots. If he takes Shamrock down, he needs to swing away as fast and as hard as possible. Shamrock can be rocked and will then take a few punches before responding. This could lead to another quick stoppage.
So how do I see the fight going?
I believe that Ortiz is going to win. Shamrock has a puncher’s chance, but odds are against it.
Still… I can’t wait to see how it all goes down because, as we all know, it ain’t over until it’s over.
Still, that has not stopped this master from trying… or these guys… or even this cow!
I believe that it’s because of two reasons: 1] They really, and I mean really hate each other and 2] because when anything can happen when two skilled men are trying to knock each other out.
You can see the pre-fight weigh-in on Monday at 8pm on SPIKE. Then tune in to watch the fight for free at 8pm on Tuesday on SPIKE.
Predictions?
I know where I will be on March 9, 2007. Click HERE and I’ll bet you will too!
When I was growing up in the midwest in the late 60’s and early 70’s I was a huge pro wrestling fan. My favorite tag team wrestlers were The Blackjacks [Mulligan & Lanza] with manager “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan.
Sometimes Heenan would even get involved in matches [usually against his will]. If you watch today’s video you’ll see a match where Heenan was signed to wrestle crowd favorite “Cowboy” Bob Ellis. Despite the fact that Heenan had recently busted his knee, he went down to the ring on crutches to seek a short postponement… of maybe six or seven months… click below and you’ll see what happens when the match is forced to go on.
If you’re a fan of low budget movies [like me], then you might want to keep your eye on “Walking Back the Cat.” It looks like a lot of fun. And who couldn’t use a bit more fun in their life?
Comments?
I guess the only thing left is to buy the comic!
