Sludge Central

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.

Nerd Lunch Episode 34: Wrestlemania Memories

Posted on April 25, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Listen to episode 34 of the Nerd Lunch Podcast! Join Jeeg, Pax from Cavalcade of Awesome, Downs from Atomic Geeks and myself on a trip down to the squared circle. We get a little rowdy as we cut promos, and discuss our favorite Wrestlemania matches and moments.

http://player.wizzard.tv/player/o/i/x/133522942140/config/k-28fb6c171299270f/uuid/null/episode/k-51a5cf1530c81239

Great Geek Gorge #1

Posted on April 24, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Geeks need their gratification. Just as the wise men brought baby Jesus gifts, and ancient peeps sacrificed stuff up to the Gods, in the case of geeks the world over, they also need to be indulged or they get a little cranky. Here’s a little rundown of stuff that has satisfied my voracious geek appetite. In this first installment you’ll read about things I’ve added to my collection lately, things I’d like to add to my collection, things I’ve recently received as gifts, food I’ve chowed down on, and events I’m planning to attend.

1. My 2nd favorite film of the Marvel franchise is Thor. My future mom-in-law got me this awesome Thor Pez dispenser! I have a small collection of Pez dispensers and this one fits in nicely beside Captain Jack Sparrow, Darth Vader, and The Incredible Hulk.

2. For my birthday my Dad got me the entire collection of The Muppet Show on DVD! Watching these shows is going to bring back so many memories!

3. Who doesn’t like stuffing their face once in a while? The absolute BEST place to do that in New Jersey is at Harrah’s Resort Waterfront buffet in Atlantic City. That is where you will find The Absolute Greatest Brownies of All Time (among other delicious offerings.)

4. This might fall into the “why the hell did you buy that” category, but I’ve actually been following the production of The Witches of Oz for a long time. I tried watching it and it really isn’t that good, but as a fan of Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz, I thought I might like this. Until the upcoming 3-D production of Dorothy of Oz comes out in a few years, I’ll take what I can get. Clearly it shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same paragraph as those previous films since it’s on the level of The Asylum productions, but alas, I took a chance on it anyway. If you’re thinking of checking this out, take into consideration that I saw Wicked on Broadway and didn’t enjoy that either.

5. The Batman Files. When this ultimate book of Batman first came out it was priced at upwards of $100 dollars at some book stores. I’ve splurged more cash on sillier things, but for some reason I was hesitant on picking this book up. It was wise to wait because, as always, there was a pretty hefty price drop on the book. I got the book at less than half price. If you’re interested – type it into Google shopping. Well worth it for hardcore Batman fans.

6. You know how people say “There’s no such thing as bad pizza?” Well, I feel the same way about Doritos. Even the lamest gimmick Doritos, like the mystery flavor a few years back, were fine by me. I can’t really get behind Doritos Jacked though. The whole idea behind them negates what Doritos are all about. They made these chips harder to create more of a crunch, but I’d rather not break my teeth, thank you. And even though they amped up the amount of Dorito dust on these suckers, the actual chip is twice the size of a normal Dorito chip. They are more like the size of a restaurant style Tortilla chip. You need to take a few bites of one chip rather than stuff a whole chip in your mouth. Bah. Whatever. If you’re going to try them, I suggest the Smoky Chipotle BBQ flavor if you’re into that type of thing.

7. Mighty Man and Yukk. One of my favorite cartoons of my childhood. The concept is completely insane. This dudes dog is so ugly that the dog has to wear a doghouse on his head and the the dude shrinks down to a super tiny size and becomes a superhero. Totally ridiculous, but I love it and have been looking for it literally forever. Found a collection of every episode on DVD taped off of Boomerang. I’ll take what I can get considering there hasn’t been an official release.

8. Finally my friends in one of my favorite bands The Dirty Pearls are celebrating the release of their debut full length album at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City on May 5th! The Dirty Pearls will be performing along with Star Killer and other special guests! If you don’t have plans for Cinco De Mayo or you are tired of the typically mobbed parties at the local Jose Tejas. GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: http://thegramercytheatre.com/event/000048677B6062DE

Move Over NYCC – It’s The Asbury Park Comic Con!

Posted on April 21, 2012 by sexyarmpit

For more information visit:

www.asburyparkcomiccon.com

Finally a comic convention for the Jersey Shore! One of the coolest, most legendary spots in Jersey, Asbury Lanes, will be hosting a comic book convention on Saturday, May 12th. Can’t beat the Free Admission either! That’ll give you more of an excuse to buy Batman #14 when you’re there.

So hop in the Family Truckster and head down to Asbury Park for a day full of comic books, comic artists, vendors, a DJ, and a full service bar (for the adults…) Personally, I have an early afternoon wedding to go to, but if I was free, I’d be there dropping Hamiltons.

May 12th, 2012
11am – 6pm
Asbury Lanes
209 4th Avenue & Kingsley
Asbury Park, NJ

THUMBWRESTLER By Ro-Beast Rollie

Posted on April 19, 2012 by sexyarmpit

by Ro-Beast Rollie via this link at Beauty and the Robeast

While perusing my friend Ro-Beast Rollie’a blog Beauty and the Robeast, I came across something I just had to share with you. As a huge fan of 2008’s The Wrestler, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Rollie’s MS Paint work which transformed The Wrestler into The Thumbwrestler. This is the type of genius stuff that makes my day. If only I could get my hands on a custom WWF LJN style thumb wrestler Mint In Box of Randy “The Ram” Robinson! The Ro-Beast can certainly work some MS Paint magic, but I doubt he can make that one happen! Excellent work Rollie – fresh as monkey’s breath brutha!

Summoning Slot Car Memories

Posted on April 11, 2012 by sexyarmpit

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8GgMrIBT70?rel=0]

Slot Car Racing at Extreme Hobby in Little Falls, NJ posted by wdamiano

Recently I had a few flashbacks to the slot car racing set that I had when I was a kid. I don’t remember owning it for too long because I used to get frustrated that the cars popped off the track a lot, but it was still a really cool set. Plus, it usually took more time to set up and get it working correctly than it did playing with it. Regardless, I feel like playing with it right now just to get that feeling back! Want to join me? If you haven’t ever played with or raced slot cars, the feeling it gives you is way more realistic than playing with a typical die cast model car.

At one time slot car racing was a huge deal, and people were into it as a local competitive sport. Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were even racing slot cars in Wayne Manor in “The Duo Defy” episode of the ’60s Batman show. Nowadays, it’s not as prominent, especially in the toy stores. As always, toy aisles are crammed with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, which is not too different from when I was growing up, but we also had more slot cars back then. The racing sets made by those companies aren’t nearly as fun because unlike slots, you don’t have control over your car.

This flashback that I had got me all nostalgic and prompted me to look up slot cars on YouTube. I found a couple of places in New Jersey that offer slot car racing for enthusiasts. In the videos you can see how insanely fast these cars go whizzing by (especially in the video below). I think I’d lose sight of my car if I was racing on one of those big tracks. The set I had only included 2 cars and I specifically recall them being Ford GT-40 models which I always thought were so badass! The GT-40 is one of my favorite model cars ever and I’d love to own a real one! Of course, that will never happen, but I’ll always have my memories of my short lived slot car set.

Apparently, my sudden jolt slot car memories aren’t out of the ordinary. Slot car racing is clearly still alive and well. There’s a huge fan base in New Jersey and after the video I listed several places all around Jersey where you can go race slot cars yourself or just go and watch.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIVV4_spycg?rel=0]

Video from Speedzone Raceway and Hobbies in Mount Holly, NJ

Speed Zone Slot Car Raceway in Mount Holly, NJ:

http://www.speedzonenj.com/

NJ Slot Spot in Neptune City, NJ

http://www.njslotspot.com/

Dom’s Slot Car Raceway in Cream Ridge, NJ:

http://www.domsraceway.com/

The Race Place in Farmingdale, NJ:

http://www.raceplaceinfo.com/

NJ T-Shirt Tuesday 95: Kermit Springsteen

Posted on April 11, 2012 by sexyarmpit

Kermit The Frog Born In The U.S.A T-Shirt

available at 80s Tees

It’s not 1984, but Bruce Springsteen AND The Muppets are having a pretty damn great year! Bruce’s latest album, Wrecking Ball, (not with the Electric Mayhem, but with the E-Street Band) debuted at #1 on the charts last month and his concerts are selling out like crazy. According to Billboard, this album marks Bruce’s TENTH number one album, which ties him with Elvis for third most number ones in history, behind only The Beatles and Jay-Z.

Also enjoying continued success are The Muppets. For many of us, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzy, and Animal have never left our lives, while others were delighted to see their resurgence. Their 2011 comeback film, The Muppets, was the most lucrative film in the Muppet franchise, even nabbing an Academy Award for best song.

The t-shirt pictured above is a Muppet styled parody of Bruce Springsteen’s most successful album ever, Born In The U.S.A. Forget about the “Rainbow Connection,” there’s definitely a Bruce/Kermit connection that needs to be discussed. In both Bruce songs, “Rosalita,” and “Wrecking Ball” he references “…the swamps of Jersey.” A long time ago, Kermit the Frog was born a little tadpole in the swamp so it’s very possible our little green felt friend may have been born here in Jersey rocking out to BRUCE with his banjo!

The Dirty Pearls Record Release Party on 5/5

Posted on April 2, 2012 by sexyarmpit

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEgbn_OZJ9Y?rel=0]

WIN 2 TICKETS TO THE DIRTY PEARLS RECORD RELEASE PARTY ON 5/5!!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. e-mail sexyarmpit@comcast.net

2. subject STATIC
3. Include Name and Address

The Dirty Pearls and the Official Cinco De Mayo Party Commission have come to an exclusive agreement to combine the two most powerful forces in partying into one huge mega event. Cinco De Mayo is cool, and yes, you’ll most likely be on an alcohol fueled bender, but the only way to experience both the supreme 5th of May style drunkenness AND The Dirty Pearls LIVE in person that night is to have tickets to their first ever record release party on May 5th, 2012 at The Gramercy Theatre in NYC.

As much as I considered my solo marathon of all 6 Star Wars movies in 2010 complete with nonstop food, drinks, and snacks to be one stellar bash, THIS will literally be the party of the century folks. Drinks and ROCK! As old as rock and roll is, The Dirty Pearls make it sound completely fresh and new. They’ll be celebrating the release of the first ever full length album, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, that we’ve been anticipating for a long time here at The Sexy Armpit! Cannot wait to get it on my iPod!

Opening for The Dirty Pearls is Star Killer, and the show will also feature Hussle Club, Ariana and The Rose, Liquid Blonde and more special guests! Tickets are selling fast, but you can follow the directions above to get yourself 2 tickets to the show courtesy of best damn rock and roll band in New York City: The Dirty Pearls!!! If you don’t want to wait then get your tickets NOW via this link!

Gramercy Theatre

127 E. 23rd Street

New York, NY

Zakk Wylde: Guitar AND Word Slinger!

Posted on March 28, 2012 by sexyarmpit

March is Metal Month, so how are you going to honor the almighty METAL? Instead of merely blasting your favorite band and banging your head, why not throw up your devil horns while doing something semi-educational?

Guitar God AND New Jersey native Zakk Wylde is releasing his own book called Bringing Metal To The Children: The Complete Berzerker’s Guide To World Tour Domination. The book was written with author and photographer Eric Hendrikx and includes stories from Zakk’s career, backstage madness, and tips on being a true berzerker. The review listing on Amazon says it all: “…deranged tales of onstage indecent exposure and booze fueled destruction…”

The book hits stores April 10th. Pre-order on Amazon and Kindle here.

TMNT Record Holders, Rutgers, Ousted

Posted on March 27, 2012 by sexyarmpit

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm3sC-OVfdw?rel=0]

Eons ago in 2008, Nawal Qarooni of NJ.com posted the news that Rutgers students broke the Guiness World record for the largest public gathering of people dressed as Ninja Turtles. RU had mega turtle power that night with 748 students parading around as their favorite Ninja Turtle. The legion of students got together and ate pizza and exchanged Turtle talk. Up until April 2008, when the passionate Ninja Turtles fans of Rutgers gathered at the Piscataway NJ campus, the record was a paltry 200 people!

As much as it sounds like total silliness, it’s not. The rules for applying for a Guiness record are no joke! Rutgers had to pass thorough an intense application process and also had to have a representative from the Middlesex County jail system on site to verify that the signatures of participants were accurate. The event also had to last longer than 15 minutes and needed to be documented with video and photographs.

Even a huge surge of Jersey style Turtle Power couldn’t last forever. On March 17th, 2012, the Rutgers record was broken at the grand opening of the Shell Shock Ride at Nickelodeon Universe in Minnesota’s The Mall of America. This gathering brought together 836 people of all ages dressed as Ninja Turtles. For more on the new record holder visit Ninja Pizza at this link.