Gareth The Great

I don't follow American baseball that closely, but I've heard about this scandal. How wild that they managed to get away with it for so long.

That's a good one, @didge! I'd call our last decade "The State of Uncertainty" due to Brexit which has dominated many spheres. The vote was in 2016, but the issue was debated years before that, so I think it qualifies.

Nah, I think Fury will knock Wilder out during the first few rounds. I think Fury will take it because he lands more punches than Wilder. His accuracy is phenomenal. Why do you think Wilder stands the best chance?

Can I opt for neither? If I didn't already own a console, I'd wait for the PS5 to come out before buying any of the others. It's supposed to be released sometime in 2020. It will include backwards capability and many other benefits. I'd wait it out.

No way would I skip Christmas. It's my favourite food holiday. The rest of it can go, but I live for delicious meals and treats during this time of year. Do you guys who want to skip the holiday feel like you can't? Is it just family pressure?

I know that Black Widow's death didn't sit well with some fans, but overall I thought The Avengers Endgame was a phenomenal finish to a beloved franchise. Not only did it boast of spectacular action scenes, but the characters and their relationships were well-developed. Usually one is sacrificed for the other, so that was a nice change. I thought The Rise of Skywalker was okay. I don't want to spoil the film as it just came out, but I will say that the finale actually created more questions than it answered in my opinion.

No, I'd be absolute rubbish at it and I'm not keen on losing money so I'm no gambler. My mates and I make odd bets, but it's always about something ridiculous and involves a silly punishment or reward rather than money, if that counts.

I've had a productive weekend of playing PUBG and bingeing old films. I was meant to tidy the house, go round to my parents house, and finish a work project. I'm sure I'll get to all that...sometime. What should you be doing right now?

@TynBox I'm assuming the premise is that she wouldn't be fit if she didn't have the fancy bike. I've rarely been put off by ads and don't often pay attention to them. I'm a runner, but if I was going to cycle I'd much rather do it outside. I'd get terribly bored otherwise, even on a high-tech bike like that.

I wish Excalibur would give more backstory instead of being all hype, but I don't want to trade him out. I think the lineup right now is spot on for the most part. I've been amazed at Fenix's ability to recover a botched move and roll with the unexpected. Britt Baker is still a snore.

It seems a bit lazy when you think about it since it requires no thought or effort to give a gift card. However, I'm not the best at gift giving and will fall back on cash if I truly can't think of anything else.

I get my hackles up over the guru stuff like "mindfulness" and "live your best life." I also dislike bossy art like "live, love, pray" and the different variations of "keep calm and ______." To be fair, I never noticed the bossy art thing until my girlfriend pointed it out and now I can't unsee it.

It's old news, but in case you haven't heard, Cedric Diggory* has been cast as the next Batman. I'm quite shocked at the choice. Do you reckon he can pull it off? *Fine, the actor is Robert Pattinson but I'll forever see him as Hufflepuff good guy Cedric Diggory.

I think Eddie Van Halen has the fastest fingers and is the best shredder of all time. However, none of it really pops in my mind beyond his solo in Jump. On the other hand, five of Slash's solos immediately popped into my head upon reading the thread title. How strange. Maybe Slash's playing is the easiest to identify and the most memorable, but he's not technically the most gifted.

I'd steer clear of Skullcandy's line. I've owned two pricey pairs from them and both fizzled out in less than a year. The experience turned me off the brand completely.

The WWE has a long history of only announcing partial cards and having unannounced/unadvertised matches during PPVs. It's been criticised for ages, but I've never been that fussed about it because the events have usually been good. So no, a partial card didn't clue me in. I hadn't been reading any of the usual blogs that dissect pro wrestling or maybe I would've picked up on it. I thought HIAC would be excellent this year due to the heat from AEW. That's it basically. Though I suppose it's ridiculous to fixate on one bad PPV match. At least SD was very good and redeemed Rollins/The Fiend quite bit. Although it was slightly odd that Reigns did nothing while his bro was drug under the ring.

Did you know that going in, mate? I didn't. I expected a brilliant PPV due to their competition with AEW. Plus, they seemed to pull out all the stops for NXT the Wed before. I thought they were keeping much of the card secret to build anticipation because what we'd get was going to be a big deal. I thought The Fiend would be another unstoppable phenom like The Undertaker and I guess he was, but it just felt off. @Kam Yeah, I'm glad Shorty Gable won, but then he got punked in the end. That bit was ridiculous. And is that a thing now? Calling him "Shorty"? He seems to be embracing it and hey, maybe it'll help him get over with the fans. Whatever works.

How are photographers meant to make a living today? They're encouraged to give their product away freely, more so than any other creator. There are numerous free photo sites like Pexels and Pixabay where photographers can upload their work. Some of the photos are truly stunning and many of them can be used for commercial purposes free of charge. Even popular websites that are high earners have taken them up on that offer including CNN and Buzz Feed. When even the big names won't pay for their own images, how are photographers surviving and what drives them to give so much of their work away?

I don't agree with shaming in general as it never solves the problem. Plus, rails can't go everywhere that a plane can go and sometimes time is of the essence.

Alex Marvez reminds me of Art Donovan when he did the commentary for King of the Ring. I was a young lad then and I still remember how terrible it went! How Donovan didn't know anything about the wrestlers or the sport at all. I mean at all! He kept asking ridiculous questions to Randy Savage, who was doing his best to help Donovan and smooth things over. But yeah, it was pretty clear that Marvez didn't watch wrestling and unlike Donovan, he didn't seem interested in learning more about it. I'm glad he's been replaced. Both were cast in their roles to lend some legitimacy to wrestling entertainment I guess, but if you're not into it the fans will know. I can handle Renee Young and usually enjoy her remarks. Sometimes she stumbles but she comes across as a genuine longtime fan of pro wrestling which helps a lot.

I need a new upcoming contender hero to watch, so thanks for the recs. I'll check them out. I used to think Alex Saucedo had lasting potential, but that loss against Mau rice Hooker about a year ago changed my mind.

Oh, burn! You're one of several TWO fans who checks in every now and then. It's a pity you blokes can't coordinate your schedules because Fletch pops round as does WAYNE sometimes. The forum had to be spectacular at one point or old members wouldn't bother checking it out. So, why not start a thread mate and get some chatter going? Since you were a fan of this forum in the past, I'm guessing that means you were into wrestling. Do you still watch? What do you think about the AEW?

In a few years time I think MJF will slide right into that top spot as the face of AEW. He's talented and comfortable with fans. He just needs some more experience.

It's almost identical to the original except with lifelike animals. It's amazing what a computer can do with that because everything looked real. The music was okay, but not phenomenal like I expected.

That's such a charitable way to look at it and I'm glad you shared this viewpoint. It makes sense really. I always assumed the games hadn't been thoroughly tested or that the developers knew there would be issues, but were rushed to meet a deadline, wanted to hurry up and make money, or just didn't care about the playing experience as long as it sold. I also figured DRM might have something to do with it as most of my games work better once the update comes out that removes DRM.