C.M Punk Archives - Sludge Central

Hulk Hogan’s Birthday and Meeting The WWE Hall of Famer at iPlay America

Posted on August 11, 2014 by sexyarmpit

Super Posedown: The Sexy Armpit and The Hulkster

at iPlay Americain Freehold, NJ

CM Punk once said: “…I have zero faith in Hulk Hogan as a man who’s what…60 years old and tries to dress like he’s 18 and he lives on the Jersey Shore…” While I can’t agree on the faith in the Hulkster part, I sort of agree that Hulk has been looking a little bit Jersey as of late. Or maybe some of us here in NJ have tried to look like him? The horde of Hulkamaniacs on line for Hulk Hogan Uncut at iPlay America in Freehold on August 2nd, 2014 were all donning their red and yellow while some wore black and white N.W.O t-shirts. Since today is the Hulkster’s birthday and there will be a bash for him on WWE Monday Night Raw tonight, let’s look back at the Hulk Hogan Uncut event I attended at iPlay last weekend.

Hulk was usually billed from Venice Beach, and later, Hollywood. California may have some beautiful weather and states like Hawaii and Colorado may have the happiest people in the country, but New Jersey has definitely got to be king of the quirk. If you believe what you see on TV, you probably think all we’re good for is fist pumping guidos at Jersey Shore clubs, but I’m here to tell you, it isn’t all like that. Where else can you run into perhaps the greatest professional wrestling icons of all time, go to a KISS and Def Leppard concert, and stroll around a Punk Rock Flea Market all in one weekend? Last weekend was surely a jam packed pop-culture filled experience and it all kicked off in huge way: a meet and greet with the immortal Hulk Hogan!

To me, nothing beats a weekend where I have absolutely nothing planned. It’s not that it makes me feel like the weekend is full of possibilities, it’s more that I know I can settle in for a couple of days of doing absolutely nothing and kicking ass at it. Many of us claim to be the best lazy f*ckers around, but daddy says I’m the best at it. That was my Vacation tribute.

Winning the championship of couch laying was not in the cards for me. I actually had stuff to do. I felt like it may have been too much, but it was fun stuff, so how I could I complain? It’s one thing if I had to go to some banquet hall and get dressed up for a family function, but it’s quite another that I was slated to go to a nearby cavernous indoor arcade to meet my childhood wrestling hero.

We made our way down Route 9 toward iPlay America in Freehold for Uncut with Hulk Hogan. The event included a Q&A session followed by a meet and greet for fans. I’d passed on two meet and greets with the Hulkster in previous years, but I felt like this was the one that I couldn’t miss. I already had tickets to see KISS later that night with Miss Sexy Armpit, so why not complicate the day even more and tack on another thing for us to do? Fortunately it was on the way down to Atlantic City and the timing worked out perfectly, so it was meant to be.

Accompanied by Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart, The Hulkster answered questions submitted by the fans and offered insight into some of his biggest career milestones. If you’re a fan and have seen WWE’s Hulk Hogan DVD collections, you’ve seen and heard much of the content here, but they did leak the fact that Hogan would appear on Raw in two weeks, which is tonight. That little spoiler was definitely an exclusive for us before it was officially announced by WWE.

The Hulkster was genuinely happy to meet with everyone. He flexed and smiled for photos with each fan and when it came time for The Sexy Armpit, I didn’t pull any punches, brother. First he said “Sweet shirt, brother!” in regards to my Thunderlips t-shirt from Barber Shop Window which is a parody of the classic Hulkamania t-shirt, but with the name of his Rocky III character in the same font. I blasted a “Thanks Hulk!” in reply, then I immediately asked him if we could do one of his iconic poses, one of my favorites from his ring celebrations at the conclusion of his matches. If Hulk said no, my second option would’ve been the Rip’Em hand gesture from No Holds Barred. Surprisingly I didn’t see anyone do that, where’s the love for NHB people?

I’m glad we took part in this event because Hulk was very cool. Often, meeting celebrities turns out to be a big letdown. After my very brief exchange with Hulk, I raked his back and then hightailed my ass out of there. I’m kidding of course, I raked his eyes.

This awesome experience all went down at iPlay America, which is a fantastic place for kids as well as adults. It’s basically an indoor amusement park with an arcade and an upscale Atlantic City casino atmosphere. If you’re in the ti-state area, it’s well worth it to pack the kids into the car and make the trip to Freehold, NJ.

I don’t even think the staff of iPlay had any idea of the onslaught of people that showed up to Hulk Hogan Uncut. I’ve read a few articles about this event floating around that basically referred to this as having “a nice little turnout.” That is a total understatement. I don’t have an accurate head count but a shit ton of people showed up to see Hulk and I’m almost positive that it was completely sold out. It’s not surprising either, considering all the exposure Hulk has been getting since returning to WWE TV this year.

In this case “…and today is his birthday” doesn’t refer to Jason Voorhees, but the Hulkster. Yes, today IS his birthday and Jimmy Hart’s spoiler that Hogan would be on Raw tonight was accurate, but what they didn’t mention is that there are rumors swirling of a possible N.W.O reunion tonight. Tune in tonight, brothers!

http://iplayamerica.com/
110 Schanck Rd.
Freehold, NJ 07728

CM Punk Rescued at Jersey Shore: A Sexy Armpit News Brief

Posted on July 18, 2014 by sexyarmpit

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMleuN4iUNI?rel=0]

If the wrestling news and rumor sites are accurate, it’s been reported that CM Punk is now officially a “former WWE Superstar.” I still have a slight amount of hope that it’s all part of storyline though. Whether Punk ever returns to the ring or not, he still deserves a vacation. His woman, WWE Diva AJ Lee, begged him to go to Wildwood this summer, and becoming a softy in his old age, Punk gave in. Ordinarily he wouldn’t be caught dead in Jersey, but the irony is that he WAS almost caught dead there. Watch the Sexy Armpit news brief above for all the details on this near fatal occurrence. Later in the news brief is a video montage of The Sexy Armpit and Dinosaur Dracula’s trip to the Wildwood boardwalk! Music by The Brigantines. See them live playing shows this summer! Listen to a Free track at their official site: www.thebrigantines.com

WWE Extreme Rules Comes To IZOD Center

Posted on February 6, 2014 by sexyarmpit

WWE Extreme Rules Comes To The IZOD Center In East Rutherford, NJ on 5/4/14

Tickets on sale Saturday 2/22 at 10:00 AM

It’s been the mission of every crowd at televised WWE events to try to one-up the rowdy RAW audience following Wrestlemania 29. Not only was that the same night that The Sexy Armpit’s article was shown on RAW, but it also reminded the crowd that they hold the power. After all, we are the fans and we’re the people keeping the WWE in business.

The 2014 Royal Rumble crowd last month was formidable, but people are still talking about the rambunctious crowd at IZOD. At least we’re good for something here in Jersey. Loud and obnoxious is in our DNA. The big question is, with the Extreme Rules Pay Per View coming to IZOD Center on May 4th, 2014, is WWE trying to make lightning strike twice? WWE sure as hell likes to go back to the same well pretty often. Look at sequel matches like HBK/Razor in the Ladder Match 2, and even most recently, Rock/Cena 2, why not IZOD CROWD 2?

Extreme Rules is one of the few of the “filler events” as I refer to them meaning anything not the big 4 that I actually enjoy. There’s usually some exciting and often insane stuff going on in the matches, but is Batista really their big selling point for this event? This guy gets ALL CAPS? Personally, I really hope the whole CM Punk thing is a big work. The WWE isn’t the same without him. One thing is for sure, Extreme Rules will need to be a superior show to make up for his absence.

Extreme Rules will be available on the new WWE Network and also Pay Per View. Until the option of ordering the event through your cable company ceases to exist, the term Pay Per View will remain, but it’s already becoming antiquated with the Network subscription model. Extreme Rules will eventually just become an “event.” Can the crowd in East Rutherford make it into a truly memorable one? That will be determined on May 4th!

GREAT GEEK GORGE #6: Christmas 2012 Edition

Posted on January 1, 2013 by sexyarmpit

A few friends have asked me what kind of cool stuff I got for Christmas. I told them that in due time they’ll be able to read all about it at The Sexy Armpit. See, that’s the beauty of having a blog. I avoid having to rattle off the same list of things at different times to handfuls of people. I decided to incorporate a run-down of some of the awesome 2012 Christmas gifts I got into one of my favorite columns here, the Great Geek Gorge.

I can’t say that I actually had anything specific that I wanted for Christmas this year, but I did indeed drop a few hints at some items that were bouncing around in my brain.

It’s hard for my family and Miss Sexy Armpit’s family to buy me any kind of media. Buying me a DVD or a CD will usually be futile since I have thousands of them and it will most likely be a duplicate. I’m maturing a bit though. Or should I say I’ve been practicing restraint? I waited on buying The Dark Knight Rises and the WWE’s C.M Punk documentary on Bluray because I knew Christmas was coming up, so I threw that idea out there to Miss Sexy Armpit and her mom got them for me! It was like magic.

Miss Sexy Armpit did a great job picking up cool gifts for me as always. She got me a Batman plush “pillow” and throw blanket. I don’t see how the plush doll is a pillow but maybe since it’s geared toward boys they didn’t want to explicitly describe it as a doll or plush toy. Either way, it’s pretty awesome and I had a similar Superman doll like that but from the Knickerbocker company when I was a kid.

Before I get to the big crowd-pleasers there were a few things that I didn’t ask for, but I was still very happy to receive. First I got an awesome black cross with a diamond in it on a chain as well as a pair of work out pants. There was also an awesome K’nex KISS set, a USB salt rock lamp for my desk, and a knit hat with ear buds built in. Then, there aren’t many other ways to describe it but here it goes – a Coach “man purse,” It’s more like a mini backpack, but really there’s no other way around it. At the end of the day it’s still going to be referred to as a man purse. It’s pretty swank though. It’s a step up from my old TV Guide duffel bag that they sent me for free. I can understand not wanting to be seen in public with a guy carrying that around, especially while on vacation.

For those who know me or follow me on Twitter (@sexyarmpit) I’ve been obsessed with A&E’s Storage Wars for the last few months. I’m not into the other variations on the show, just the original incarnation. My favorite is Barry Weiss – that guy cracks me up. He always puts on these black skeleton gloves before he picks stuff out of lockers and I wanted a pair of my own.

The gloves and the next item you’ll read about were the only items I actually threw out as ideas for Christmas. I was a little sad that I didn’t get the gloves after my girlfriend and I exchanged gifts, but then, soon after, I was ecstatic when Miss Sexy Armpit’s mom got them for me!

One KISS collectible that I always wanted but never got my hands on was a limited edition 24-inch Gene Simmons statue by a budding (at the time) New York toy company called Art Asylum. The statue was part of the full band collection and created in the comic book style of the Destroyer album cover art. When pushed in, the statue’s base plays “God of Thunder.” The 24 inch line was sold at Spencer Gifts in 1999 and they each retailed for about $150.00. Back then it was too pricey for me. Nowadays a full set mint in box would probably go for close to $1,000. although I’m no Toy Hunter. Jordan Hembrough would probably ask $1300!

Around the time their big comeback record Psycho Circus, the KISS craze was on again worldwide. Toys, t-shirts, and comics filled stores like Spencer’s and KISS fans were going nuts buying everything in sight. The 24 inchers were the highest quality figures at the time, but with KISS fans you have to pick and choose what to spend money on, especially back then. There were concert tickets to be purchased, and plenty of other items that I lusted after, so I tried to ignore the most ultimate Gene Simmons figure I’d ever seen. Then, years later, at KISS cons and on eBay, the prices increased a bit.

Aside from my KISS fountain that spews blood out of Gene’s mouth, dubbed “The Gene Simmons Vomitizer” by Sebastian Bach on an episode of MTV Cribs (which coincidentally Miss Sexy Armpit ALSO got for me for Christmas one year), this giant limited edition figure is the Holy Grail of Gene Simmons collectibles in my opinion. It was hot on my mind and I figured I’d tell Santa, Miss Sexy Armpit, or anyone who would listen that I wanted this giant Gene for Christmas. So what if I was 14 years late on the mark?

Miss Sexy Armpit came through and continued to feed my KISS habit! She also came up with the idea to customize a pair of Sexy Armpit sunglasses for me. These are very cool pilot style sunglasses made by a company called Vaunt – check them out! The Sexy Armpit logo and name are etched into the lenses! The company can put anything you want on the lenses so it’s a cool gift idea!

Thank you to everyone who made this Christmas kick ass for The Sexy Armpit!

WWE’s No Way Out From East Rutherford, NJ!

Posted on June 12, 2012 by sexyarmpit

WWE’s next Pay-Per-View, No Way Out is emanating from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ on Father’s Day, June 17th 2012. The print ads and TV commercials for the event are done in an old-timey style and feature Daniel Bryan and his now ex-onscreen girlfriend, A.J. It will be a homecoming for A.J who is one of our past Garden State Playmates and hails from Union City, NJ. The poster pictured above is available from the WWE Shop via this link. The matches are listed below – as always, the card is subject to change.

C.M Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane in a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship

John Cena vs. The Big Show in a Steel Cage

Shaemus vs. Dolph Ziggler for the World Heavyweight Championship

Christian vs. Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Championship

Brodus Clay vs. David Otunga (Pre-Show)

Cena Shows No Mercy in New Jersey

Posted on April 29, 2012 by sexyarmpit

John Cena has busted his ass in WWE for many years. For instance, let’s take you back to October 3rd, 2004 when Izod Center used to be called The Continental Airlines Arena. At WWE’s No Mercy Pay-Per-View, John Cena defeated Booker T in the finals of a 5-match series for the United States Championship. But, it wasn’t until April of 2005 that Cena won his first WWE Championship. Since then, Cena has been carrying the WWE for a solid 7 years whether he’s had the title or not, which is illustrated in the main attraction to tonight’s pay-per-view event.

It’s WWE’s Extreme Rules. Although neither of these guys have a title, the main event is John Cena vs. the chump from UFC, Brock Lesnar. If you haven’t followed WWE lately, Lesnar recently made his return on Monday Night Raw and brawled with John Cena. Ever since he made his WWE TV debut in 2002, I was never sold on Lesnar. His voice irritates me and considering he was an amateur wrestler his in-ring skills aren’t fluid. He’s big, powerful, and has an attitude, but that’s about it. In the early 2000’s there seemed to be an influx of guys like that joining the company. Guys like Batista bored the crap out of me, and regardless of his popularity, Lesnar fits in that same category.

John Cena on the other hand gets a bum rap. Cena is a hard worker and is constantly getting criticized for his limited in-ring repertoire, which I think is ridiculous. Wrestling fans like to boo Cena because it’s the thing to do. They love to be annoying. If you ever watch WWE programming there’s 100% chance you will hear the audience chant “What?” or “Yes!” at any moment just because that’s what they do. Is Cena as technically savvy as Bret Hart or the late Mr. Perfect? Obviously not, but Cena has a hugely successful mix of many wrestling characteristics and he gets no credit for it. Cena’s character is pulled from guys like Sammartino, and Hogan, just like a rock band is influenced by their favorite bands from previous years. That’s the way it should be.

The main event at Wrestlemania 28 was a joke as well. There’s no reason why The Rock had to come back as an obnoxious asshole and WIN against Cena. Cena could’ve used the win over Rock to solidify his legacy. The Rock has lost to plenty of worse opponents than Cena. It’s also been said that Cena carried the Rock and his ring rust the entire match. Why does WWE continue to give in to the half of their fans that dislike Cena? He’s a huge international superstar who is the figurehead of the company. The name associated with WWE nowadays is and has been John Cena for the last several years much in the same was that Hogan’s was in the ’80s and early ’90s. I’m not a fan of seeing the same thing all the time, but if the fans want to see someone new and exciting take the torch, someone has got to step up big time. Lesnar is not that guy.

There’s a new crop of wrestlers finally getting TV time on Raw and Smackdown. Hopefully these guys will show some sort of spark that the company has been sorely lacking. The WWE Superstars, aside from guys like C.M Punk, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes and a few others, just seem like they are going through the motions. So, if half of the WWE fans hate Cena so much, I’d like to see them choose the next young talent who they think will dethrone him. One thing is for sure, Cena won’t mind passing the torch to one of them, unlike The Rock.

WWE fans in N.J can also look forward to No Way Out coming to the Izod Center on June 17th, 2012.

WWE No Way Out Pay-Per-View at IZOD CENTER in NJ

Posted on March 23, 2012 by sexyarmpit

You don’t need to wait until April 7th, 2013 to witness a live WWE Pay Per View event here in New Jersey! Wrestlemania 28 doesn’t happen until next Sunday, but WWE is already priming for their big visit to New Jersey for Wrestlemania 29 with one of their smaller pay per views: No Way Out on June 17th, 2012. The event will take place at the IZOD Center which is right next to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford NJ, home of Wrestlemania 29. There’s a pre-sale going on, but tickets go on sale to the public this Saturday March 24th at 10:00am.

No Way Out will feature several matches that will take place inside of a steel cage. If that wasn’t enough huge WWE/NJ news to handle, you can also tune into this Friday’s WWE Smackdown broadcast which was filmed in Newark’s awesome Prudential Center. I was there and it was a fun show and the crowd was into it. Big pops for CM Punk, Zack Ryder, and Sheamus.

Wrestlemania 29: IT’S IN JERSEY THIS TIME!!!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Vince McMahon’s goal in bringing Wrestlemania to MetLife Stadium was to beat the NFL to the punch by a year. In 2014 The Super Bowl will be taking place at MetLife Stadium, though it’s still referred to by most people in the Tri-State area as GIANTS STADIUM. Tomorrow, Vince and his crew of superstars will join Governor Chris Christie in East Rutherford NJ for the official announcement that WWE’s grandest event will emanate from MetLife Stadium on April 7th, 2013.

Rumors about this have been surging the past couple of months, so this wasn’t a surprise. To say I can’t contain my excitement is an understatement. Pro Wrestling sites, Twitter, and even real live actual people are buzzing about this. Considering that the New York Giants just won the Super Bowl, that makes this announcement even more monumental. There’s no telling how the G-Men will do next year, but either way, WWE chose the right venue.

But wait! The infant MetLife Stadium has no roof! As you may know, the weather in Jersey is whacked out. The first week of April will either be freaky freezies weather, torrential downpours, or swamp-ass city 90 degree heat. We rarely enjoy a happy medium as far as weather goes. I’m not complaining, WWE obviously has a plan for inclement weather. Either way, it’s revenue and publicity for New Jersey and that’s positive.

Now if we can get WWE to stop saying Wrestlemania is coming to New York/New Jersey. If WWE was holding Wrestlemania in Madison Square Garden, that would be New York. Of course it’s still too early to tell, but the fact that Wrestlemania 30 won’t be held in MSG boggles my mind. Since the major turn to stadiums for Wrestlemania, it would seem more appropriate to have the 30th Wrestlemania at MetLife Stadium rather than the 29th, but who knows, I’m sure they have a secret master plan.

This could very well be a once in a lifetime opportunity. As a hardcore WWF/E fan since 1984, I never thought there would be a Wrestlemania held so close to where I live. Now that there finally will be, it may not happen again for a very long time so I’m definitely going to do everything in my power to be a part of it. I have the memory burned into my brain of watching Hulk vs. Andre at the Pontiac Silverdome live on pay per view with my friends and fast forward 25 years later and now it’s blowing my mind that I might be in the audience of an event of a similar scale just mere miles away from home. It’s all come full circle for me. Now if only we can assure that Steve Austin returns for one last match against C.M Punk!

Classic WWF/WWE Event Cards From New Jersey #9: Hell in a Cell

Posted on October 2, 2011 by sexyarmpit

A sub par, 2 year old pay per view event is by no means a classic, but that’s the name of the column so I’ll work within it’s confines. On the night of October 4th, 2009, WWE wrestlers also worked within confines, but not of a blog column, instead they were closed inside of a 20 foot high steel cell. It all went down at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. It was the first Hell in a Cell Pay Per View event and also the first WWE PPV to emanate from the home arena of the New Jersey Devils.

Tickets were pricey considering that the card didn’t excite me at all. Regardless, I knew I wanted to be part of the historic event. I questioned what the hell the company was doing when they announced DX vs. “The Legacy” Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase as one of 2 main events of the night. There was no way that should’ve been the last match. Of course, DX won so it was a good ending to the show, but at least have a title match as the main event.

What’s worse is that the Cena vs. Orton matchup happened AGAIN, since that was during the time that they wrestled on every WWE TV show, every Pay Per View, and just shoved those two guys down our throats for a freakin’ year. Orton won the title from Cena, which was a crowd pleaser, but what should’ve been the last match was actually the first match of the night. In a bizarre move that I’m sure a wrestling insider could provide me with the reasoning behind it, The Undertaker took on C.M Punk for his world heavyweight championship in the opening match. I was so pissed when I realized this match was actually happening first.

I was following this feud on Smackdown like crazy and it was one of the best story lines they had going in a long time. Punk was in top form during his promos and there was an old school Undertaker promo quality to it also. When I heard Punk’s music hit I was hoping he was just coming out to draw some heat and boy was I wrong! Since Undertaker was on the poster for the event and the fact that he’s one of the superstars fans think of when they think of Hell in a Cell, this match should’ve been last. Taker won the World Heavyweight Championship – a big win that should have properly capped off an event called HELL IN A CELL and paid respect to the phenom!

Morrison retained the Intercontinental title against Dolph Ziggler. It’s a shame that 2 years later these guys are still languishing. They are not excelling to the levels they should be, whereas a guy like Sheamus is already one of the biggest stars in the industry in a shorter amount of time. Mickie James retained her Divas championship against Alicia Fox in an abysmal, sleep inducing match. Jeri-Show beat Batista and Rey Mysterio to keep their unified tag team titles. Drew McIntyre beat R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston defeated The Miz and Jack Swagger in a triple threat match for the U.S Championship. Overall, the DVD of Hell in a Cell is a little flat, and the commentary was unenthusiastic, but offers superbly produced recaps of the events leading up to each match as WWE always does. It was a disappointing event, but hey…at least I got this cool chair that collects dust in my kitchen!

Classic WWF/WWE Event Cards From New Jersey #8

Posted on August 13, 2011 by sexyarmpit

Damn, the WWE just doesn’t put on shows like they used to. Take note that Summerslam 1989 featured NINE matches on the card which included basically all their big stars. Of course, this wasn’t as much of a spectacle as Wrestlemania was back then, but still a lot of bang for your buck. Tomorrow, Summerlam 2011 will feature a mere 5 matches. And I don’t want to hear about how much better the wrestling quality is now, because at the end of the show, all that matters is how much was I entertained. I could care less if Daniel Bryan pulled off a near perfect surfboard maneuver. Hell yeah I want to see action, but moreover, I want to see controversy. I want Summerslam 2011 to be so damn good that it will make me want to call up my friends and actually converse with them over the phone – something I try my damnedest never to do. I’m hoping CM Punk pushes the boundaries even further this time.

As a kid I remember being so surprised that Wrestlemania 4 was going to be live from Atlantic City New Jersey. The following year, Wrestlemania returned to A.C! You could imagine how much more shocked and pumped up I was to hear the announcement that Summerslam ’89 would be emanating live from The Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. That was back in the days when it was actually called The Meadowlands. Selling the name of an arena to make millions of extra dollars in revenue is obviously a smart way to monetize an establishment but The Meadowlands Arena is what it still is to many of us in Jersey, not Izod Center. Shit, I’d prefer Brendan Byrne Arena, after all, that’s the guy who had his name plastered on the arena for the majority of my childhood.

I worshipped Coliseum Video as a kid.

Their P.O Box was in Fairfield NJ!

Regardless of what the former home of the New Jersey Devils is now called, back then, having Summerslam take place live merely 20 miles away from me was a real kick. Seeing Hogan and Beefcake tag up was awesome, but actually, Summerslam 89 was just OK. Even back then when I was a kid who loved every bit of it, I didn’t think 89’s Summerslam surpassed the original previous year’s edition fittingly held at MSG. Although, lots of these young punk “smarks” as they are referred to, think Summerslam ’88 sucked. Well, this old school wrestling fan says they don’t know shit. And yes, I’m drawing the heat. See you at Summerslam?