Monthly Archives: January 2020
Tessa Blanchard on Possibly Becoming the First Female Impact World Champion
Tessa Blanchard confronting Impact World Champion Sami Callihan immediately after he won the title.[/caption]
"When [Blanchard and Callihan] were the main event at Slammiversary we didn't even know until the day of," Blanchard continued. "But going into this pay-per-view knowing we're the main event, knowing that we're doing something different, something that's making some people uncomfortable...it's something that some people support but for some people it disrupts them. It's cool because it shows that we're doing something special. It shows that maybe we are accomplishing something by evolving things on both sides of the locker room. It makes me a little bit nervous too just because it's something that I've thought about for six years. I never knew what making history in my own way would look like but it's all piecing itself together and coming full circle now. There's pressure that comes with that. There are nerves that come with that. But there's a lot of excitement too."
With Blanchard's bout on Sunday, intergender wrestling takes a big step forward, possibly moving away from an "attraction" to something resembling more of a normal modern-era wrestling scenario. "I know it makes some people uncomfortable for obvious reasons," Blanchard said. "Because it's 'just not normal.' It's not what people are used to seeing so they don't think that's what pro-wrestling is. It's not the typical story that we tell. It's not on Monday night. It's not something they're comfortable letting their kids watch. But in my mind I find it very empowering because I think that women can go out there and tell that story with a man. I think there's a way to do it."
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"Some people write it off right away without giving it a chance," she added. "For instance, I had a match during WrestleCon weekend against a man. And Santino Marella came up to me afterward and said 'I wasn't a fan of intergender wrestling, but now I get it.' And that's my goal. I want people to stay open minded it and get it. They don't have to like it. It's not for everyone. It's just like how there are so many different styles of wrestling. There's Strong Style, Luche Libre, and so many others. Maybe you don't like every style. There's nothing wrong with that. But at least give it a chance. What we're doing is something cool."
Impact Wrestling's Hard to Kill PPV goes down January 12 at 8/7c. The official live stream can be found on FITE TV.
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.Tessa Blanchard on Possibly Becoming the First Fmale Impact Wrestling World Champion
Tessa Blanchard confronting Impact World Champion Sami Callihan immediately after he won the title.[/caption]
"When [Blanchard and Callihan] were the main event at Slammiversary we didn't even know until the day of," Blanchard continued. "But going into this pay-per-view knowing we're the main event, knowing that we're doing something different, something that's making some people uncomfortable...it's something that some people support but for some people it disrupts them. It's cool because it shows that we're doing something special. It shows that maybe we are accomplishing something by evolving things on both sides of the locker room. It makes me a little bit nervous too just because it's something that I've thought about for six years. I never knew what making history in my own way would look like but it's all piecing itself together and coming full circle now. There's pressure that comes with that. There are nerves that come with that. But there's a lot of excitement too."
With Blanchard's bout on Sunday, intergender wrestling takes a big step forward, possibly moving away from an "attraction" to something resembling more of a normal modern-era wrestling scenario. "I know it makes some people uncomfortable for obvious reasons," Blanchard said. "Because it's 'just not normal.' It's not what people are used to seeing so they don't think that's what pro-wrestling is. It's not the typical story that we tell. It's not on Monday night. It's not something they're comfortable letting their kids watch. But in my mind I find it very empowering because I think that women can go out there and tell that story with a man. I think there's a way to do it."
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=most-devastating-finishing-moves-in-wwe-history&captions=true"]
"Some people write it off right away without giving it a chance," she added. "For instance, I had a match during WrestleCon weekend against a man. And Santino Marella came up to me afterward and said 'I wasn't a fan of intergender wrestling, but now I get it.' And that's my goal. I want people to stay open minded it and get it. They don't have to like it. It's not for everyone. It's just like how there are so many different styles of wrestling. There's Strong Style, Luche Libre, and so many others. Maybe you don't like every style. There's nothing wrong with that. But at least give it a chance. What we're doing is something cool."
Impact Wrestling's Hard to Kill PPV goes down January 12 at 8/7c. The official live stream can be found on FITE TV.
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.John Boyega Has the Best Response to His Star Wars Haters
The Instagram post, set to music, shows Boyega slicing up tweets he received that night, along with those from other people who have been negative to him on social media, with a lightsaber - as well as chopping them and running over them with a scooter. Boyega capped it all off with "Glad I got that out of my system."
Check out the Instagram video here...
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Click to see video on Instagram![/caption]
Right now, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker close to topping a billion bucks worldwide, fans are wondering about a possible "JJ Abrams cut" of the film, which would include a lot of deleted footage and information that's canonically addressed in the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary.
Here are the Best and Worst Star Wars movies, according to IGN readers, as well as why Babu Frik encapsulates the spirit of Star Wars.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/10/which-franchise-stuck-the-landing-the-best-star-wars-game-of-thrones-or-marvel-what-to-watch"]
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.John Boyega Has the Best Response to His Star Wars Haters
The Instagram post, set to music, shows Boyega slicing up tweets, that's he's still receiving now, weeks later, with a lightsaber - as well as chopping them and running over them with a scooter. Boyega capped it all off with "Glad I got that out of my system."
Check out the Instagram video here...
[caption id="attachment_228472" align="aligncenter" width="550"]
Click to see video on Instagram![/caption]
Right now, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker close to topping a billion bucks worldwide, fans are wondering about a possible "JJ Abrams cut" of the film, which would include a lot of deleted footage and information that's canonically addressed in the Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary.
Here are the Best and Worst Star Wars movies, according to IGN readers, as well as why Babu Frik encapsulates the spirit of Star Wars.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/10/which-franchise-stuck-the-landing-the-best-star-wars-game-of-thrones-or-marvel-what-to-watch"]
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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.Lucasfilm Initially Wanted Respawn’s Star Wars Game To Avoid Jedi and Lightsabers
"There was a little bit of people eye-balling each other and somebody, I don’t remember who, on the Lucasfilm side said, ‘What about making a game with blasters? Something more like a shooter?’ They didn’t mention any games in particular and I said, ‘You know, part of my background is melee and the team that we built is melee-action… I think you wouldn’t be really happy with the results of what we’d make for that, because I’m not super comfortable with doing that.’ And I said, ‘but, you know… lightsabers.’”
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/15/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-review"]That was far from the end of the discussion, Asmussen said. “They talked a little bit more about it, and we went back and forth and they said, ‘Here’s the deal; we can do something with lightsabers and Force powers, but we can’t… we can’t talk about Jedi. We’ve got to refer to them as “Force-users.”’” Asmussen shrugged, “As long as we’ve got lightsabers and Force-powers, I’m cool.”
“That’s the day that I learned; every step of the way, we have to earn it. We can’t just come in and say, ‘This is the game that we’re making.’ It’s gotta be a conversation. It’s gotta be a collaboration, and we have to earn the respect, and that works both ways. But here we are, years later, and the name of the game is ‘Jedi: Fallen Order.’”
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Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).Lucasfilm Initially Wanted Respawn’s Star Wars Game To Avoid Jedi and Lightsabers
"There was a little bit of people eye-balling each other and somebody, I don’t remember who, on the Lucasfilm side said, ‘What about making a game with blasters? Something more like a shooter?’ They didn’t mention any games in particular and I said, ‘You know, part of my background is melee and the team that we built is melee-action… I think you wouldn’t be really happy with the results of what we’d make for that, because I’m not super comfortable with doing that.’ And I said, ‘but, you know… lightsabers.’”
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/15/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order-review"]That was far from the end of the discussion, Asmussen said. “They talked a little bit more about it, and we went back and forth and they said, ‘Here’s the deal; we can do something with lightsabers and Force powers, but we can’t… we can’t talk about Jedi. We’ve got to refer to them as “Force-users.”’” Asmussen shrugged, “As long as we’ve got lightsabers and Force-powers, I’m cool.”
“That’s the day that I learned; every step of the way, we have to earn it. We can’t just come in and say, ‘This is the game that we’re making.’ It’s gotta be a conversation. It’s gotta be a collaboration, and we have to earn the respect, and that works both ways. But here we are, years later, and the name of the game is ‘Jedi: Fallen Order.’”
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Brian Barnett writes news, features, wiki guides, deals posts, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian's antics on Twitter and Instagram (@Ribnax).No, The New Mutants Isn’t an MCU Movie
D23.com incorrectly referred to the upcoming X-Men universe film as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[/caption]
When the purported MCU connection started spreading around social media, fans were intrigued, though doubtful of its accuracy:
From the official D23 site... The New Mutants is the newest addition to the MCU. pic.twitter.com/o8WG0LY1Fo
— Skyler Shuler (@SkylerShuler) January 10, 2020
So the official D23 website is claiming New Mutants is part of the MCU...typo? pic.twitter.com/w0ZzqZlWRp
— TC Lang (@TCLangWrites) January 10, 2020
Directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants is finally hitting theaters on April 3 in the US (April 8 in the UK) after being delayed for almost two years. While promoting the new trailer's release, Boone confirmed that this was the original version of the movie that he shot for Fox, despite the Disney acquisition. If you haven't already, be sure to watch the recently released trailer for The New Mutants below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/the-new-mutants-official-trailer-2"] The New Mutants' release is interesting because, as mentioned earlier in this article, it is a new X-Men universe movie to be released since Disney acquired Fox, and since that acquisition, the future of the X-Men franchise has been unclear. While Dark Phoenix seemingly brought the core X-Men franchise to a close and Gambit is well and truly dead, The New Mutants was designed to expand the scope of Fox's X-Men movies with a more standalone story using other characters from the X-Men comics pantheon -- a move conceived in a pre-Disney/Fox world. Because of its delayed release and the acquisition leaving X-Men's Disney future unclear, there was a concern that The New Mutants might be shelved permanently, though fortunately, that was not the case. This is standalone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pantheon of characters, though, which is why the seeming confirmation of its existence within the MCU earlier Friday would have completely recontextualized The New Mutants movie's function and purpose. Even though they haven't been announced, Marvel's Kevin Feige confirmed he does have plans for the X-Men to join the larger MCU. At San Diego Comic-Con, he told IGN, "Whatever we do will be quite different than what’s been done before." You can watch our full interview with Feige below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/kevin-feige-on-x-men-plans-no-avengers-movie-in-phase-4-comic-con-2019"] The New Mutants stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes and Antonio Banderas as the film's villain. While The New Mutants may not be a part of the MCU Phase 4 lineup, plenty of other titles are. Refresh yourself on what's coming for Marvel over the course of the next few years by clicking through the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Terri Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.there is no way this isn’t an error haha... unless? #NewMutants pic.twitter.com/aLyNCmA7wW
— FrostyMac (@TheFrostyMac) January 10, 2020
No, The New Mutants Isn’t an MCU Movie
D23.com incorrectly referred to the upcoming X-Men universe film as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[/caption]
When the purported MCU connection started spreading around social media, fans were intrigued, though doubtful of its accuracy:
From the official D23 site... The New Mutants is the newest addition to the MCU. pic.twitter.com/o8WG0LY1Fo
— Skyler Shuler (@SkylerShuler) January 10, 2020
So the official D23 website is claiming New Mutants is part of the MCU...typo? pic.twitter.com/w0ZzqZlWRp
— TC Lang (@TCLangWrites) January 10, 2020
Directed by Josh Boone, The New Mutants is finally hitting theaters on April 3 in the US (April 8 in the UK) after being delayed for almost two years. While promoting the new trailer's release, Boone confirmed that this was the original version of the movie that he shot for Fox, despite the Disney acquisition. If you haven't already, be sure to watch the recently released trailer for The New Mutants below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/the-new-mutants-official-trailer-2"] The New Mutants' release is interesting because, as mentioned earlier in this article, it is the first X-Men universe movie to be released since Disney acquired Fox, and since that acquisition, the future of the X-Men franchise has been unclear. While Dark Phoenix seemingly brought the core X-Men franchise to a close and Gambit is well and truly dead, The New Mutants was designed to expand the scope of Fox's X-Men movies with a more standalone story using other characters from the X-Men comics pantheon -- a move conceived in a pre-Disney/Fox world. Because of its delayed release and the acquisition leaving X-Men's Disney future unclear, there was a concern that The New Mutants might be shelved permanently, though fortunately, that was not the case. This is standalone from the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pantheon of characters, though, which is why the seeming confirmation of its existence within the MCU earlier Friday would have completely recontextualized The New Mutants movie's function and purpose. Even though they haven't been announced, Marvel's Kevin Feige confirmed he does have plans for the X-Men to join the larger MCU. At San Diego Comic-Con, he told IGN, "Whatever we do will be quite different than what’s been done before." You can watch our full interview with Feige below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/07/21/kevin-feige-on-x-men-plans-no-avengers-movie-in-phase-4-comic-con-2019"] The New Mutants stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Magik, Maisie Williams as Wolfsbane, Henry Zaga as Sunspot, Charlie Heaton as Sam Guthrie, Blu Hunt as Danielle Moonstar, Alice Braga as Dr. Cecilia Reyes and Antonio Banderas as the film's villain. While The New Mutants may not be a part of the MCU Phase 4 lineup, plenty of other titles are. Refresh yourself on what's coming for Marvel over the course of the next few years by clicking through the gallery below: [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=marvel-phase-4-official-lineup&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Terri Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.there is no way this isn’t an error haha... unless? #NewMutants pic.twitter.com/aLyNCmA7wW
— FrostyMac (@TheFrostyMac) January 10, 2020
