Name a wrestling match, television show, movie, food, song, or band that you fully expected to hate, but surprised you with its quality, entertainment value, taste, catchiness, or talent.
The Trish Stratus v. Stephanie match from a PPV a few years ago.
I have a few:
The Trish Stratus v. Stephanie match from a PPV a few years ago.
Also Shane vs. Kurt Angle from KOTR a few years ago, as well.
Indian Food.
Captain Phillips (Which is essentially one big love-letter to the NSA)
Train (The band, not the transportation)
Shameless Plug: I turned that long-winded rant about 'Have a Nice Day' into something a bit more useful
I try to go into things with an open mind, but my gf recently made me watch "Silver Linings Playbook" and I expected to hate it. Actually really liked it
ReplyDeleteAce Ventura: Pet Detective. I remember seeing the commercial trailers for it and thinking that it would be the most stupid movie if all-time. Didn't see it until probably 6 months later and laughed my ass off. You had to admire Jim Carrey's committment to taking that role all the way. With someone less confident in that role, that movie falls on its face.
ReplyDeleteExact same scenario for me. She had seen it in theaters...I balked at going. Wasn't until after the Oscars I gave in. It was really, really good.
ReplyDeleteI dont see "Blog Otters" anywhere above!! YES!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat movie doesn't get nearly enough TV run as it should.
ReplyDeleteX-Men: Wolverine.
ReplyDeleteEverybody I knew talked like it was the worst film in the world. It turned out this was purely down to the changes to Deadpool/the casting of Ryan Reynolds than the film itself.
It's not a classic by any means but as a harmless popcorn action film it's perfectly acceptable. Plus:
''Wolverine, your country needs you!''
''...I'm Canadian.''
*Drives off*
Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show
ReplyDeleteReally thought it was gonna be the drizzling shits, came out being imo the best celebrity wrestling match
Also, Im not a sitcom guy AT ALL. End up hating most of them, my gf last year made me watch a few Big Bang Theories and Parks and Recs. Big fan of both now, especially Parks and Rec.
ReplyDeleteThese non-wrestling posts on this blog I originally visited for the wrestling content.
ReplyDeleteIt is...literally...one of the best shows on TV right now, despite the ratings and NBC abuse. Glad it got to syndication, though.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Mr Traeger. I dont get how it doesnt get better ratings.
ReplyDeleteI generally assume that I'll hate all forms of entertainment. I'm usually right.
ReplyDeleteI'll come back if I think of any decent example.
I like that we can get away from wrestling some of the time.
ReplyDeleteThese are a good chance to just shoot the shit a bit. Some are better than others, but I like the general idea.
You're new here.
ReplyDeleteEA MMA. Totally thought it would be terrible, especially compared to the UFC games. Now, i've probably played it more than all the games in my collection.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Just a good thread to bullshit around in instead of debating HHH for the umpteenth time
ReplyDeleteA few years ago? Did you just wake up from a coma or something?
ReplyDelete2 Words: THE ROCK!
ReplyDeleteMan I thought I would hate that guy....but I quickly realized dude was awesome lol
Agreed (though I still think Lawrence Taylor v. BamBam Bigelow was a tad better)
ReplyDeleteWhen that show Modern Family first came out I assumed that it would blow, but I actually watched the first season and a half pretty regularly.
ReplyDeleteMainly because the Spanish woman reminds me of my own wife kicked up a few notches.
I haven't watched it in a couple of years now.
Flair/Anderson vs. McMichael/Greene was suprisingly watchable.
ReplyDeleteDude, I sporadically comment on the wrestling stuff because, frankly....I have nothing to say that everybody hasn't already said. This....THIS....this is where I am at my damndest. Real life, baby!
ReplyDeleteHe buries my favourites!
ReplyDeleteHow has NBC abused it? They've kept a low-rated show on the air for six years
ReplyDeleteThis is an old and tired complaint. There's tons of wrestling content elsewhere on the blog.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you expect to hate Captain Phillips?
ReplyDeleteI have always disliked fish since I was a kid. It maed the house stink, it made your breath stink. It stinks! When I got married, my wife wanted me to try fried catfish. Wanting to be a man in front of her, and to show that I have no fear, I tried the fried catfish. It tasted like chicken. DO YOU HEAR ME GOD???? I'M EATING ALL YOUR FUCKING CATFISH!!!
ReplyDeleteOne more...Charles Barkley as a tv personality. I grew up in Philly, so followed his career as a Sixer. Just didnt see how his personality would translate to a likeable tv personality. Think hes the most entertaining and endearing sports talking head on tv now. Just love him
ReplyDeleteThought you were going in a whole different direction with "wife" and "fish".
ReplyDeleteHe's saying he likes them if the question is "something you thought you'd hate but actually like"
ReplyDeleteEdited. Wow, I'm dumb. Long day
ReplyDeleteyeah, I usually turn up the raunch a little bit. But nope...catfish.
ReplyDeleteNot a damn thing wrong with catfish.
ReplyDeleteBig Bang Theory has gotten bad.
ReplyDeleteCommunity by Dan Harmon.
ReplyDeleteGood analysis
ReplyDeletewell, first off it's not like much of what NBC shows is highly rated. Second they jerk it off and on the air, taking odd breaks and moving it around all 4 half hours on Thursday night.
ReplyDeleteonly so many times one can say current wrestling sucks, rehash Montreal, bitch about HHH, rebook the Invasion, and debate whether Nick Patrick was bought off by Hogan at Starcade 97.
ReplyDeleteAnchorman. I loathed Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live and in Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back; something about his whole schtick screamed, "Hey, lookit me! Lookit my schtick! I know the scene's supposed to be about something else, but lookit me!" Eventually, I made a deal with my wife's high-school-aged cousins: I'd give Anchorman a try if they agreed to watch Grosse Point Blank. And I loved it, and I loved Will Ferrell in it, and I have absolutely no idea why, because I've hated him in everything since then.
ReplyDeleteAside: My wife's cousins didn't like Grosse Point Blank. I try to not talk to them very much anymore.
ReplyDeleteKane vs Albert, 2001
ReplyDeleteMark Henry as world champ
Indian food
New Girl
Thor
Breaking Bad. I heard about the show when it first aired, but just wasn't into the whole meth cooking teacher thing. I thought I would hate it, so I never watched it. About a year ago, a friend of mine forced me to watch it on Netflix when I was at his house and I got hooked.. big time!! The show made it into my top ten favorites by the time I was finished the first season.
ReplyDeleteYes, work, selfish asshole who'll never accept that he's Joe Piscopo and the Rock is Eddie Murphy, Stephanie should have never been involved and Vince should have thrown money at Sting until he came on board, and yes.
ReplyDeleteYah Com covered it. They keep it on the air but based on reports they have wanted to can it a few times but just have empty cupboards. Even now, they stuck it on hiatus until January.
ReplyDeleteYou're not wrong, though I'd watch the hell out of a show with Amy, Bernadette, and Penny as the leads and the four nerds as occasional supporting characters.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing a story that Steve Martin named Ace Ventura as one of his favorite movies and personally called up Carrey to tell him what a good job he did on the movie. Now that's high praise...
ReplyDeleteWhat?
ReplyDeleteI also did not expect to like Thor.
ReplyDeleteBut it wasn't that bad.
Grey's Anatomy. I'm down a few man cards from watching it, but oh well.
ReplyDeleteBefore my wife was my wife, we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment with one TV. We had to wait two weeks for our cable to get installed, and she had them all on DVD. So for two weeks, that's what we watched. I got hooked - not by the girlie subplots, but by the outrageous medical issues week after week.
Its actually great fun if you get over the girliness factor and don't think too much about the fact that each main character has been near death 6 times.
I watch Grey's, and have since before I met my wife. Of course, Meredith, Shonda Rhimes and I share an alma mater, so that accounts for part of my interest, but the show has kept me interested, mostly with the snappy writing.
ReplyDeleteI really did not expect to like the Goldbergs, but I'm enjoying it a great deal.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I stopped watching after Summerslam 97 and came back at the start of 99 thinking 'Rocky Maivia is now a top guy?'. Soon changed my mind.
ReplyDeleteI would imagine that there are a large number of guys that watch religiously, but won't cop to it.
ReplyDeleteThat's turrible.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch but the quality declined and I stopped a couple years ago. The early seasons, season 1 especially, were quite good.
ReplyDeleteI had my issues with it, but it was much better than I expected. Now, let's hope that EA doesn't fuck up the UFC games.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
ReplyDeleteParks and Rec is the greatest.
ReplyDeleteHa yea. If youve never seen Frank Caliendos Barkley impression, check it out. Spot on
ReplyDeleteBattlestar Galactica and 30 Rock. I absolutely love both shows now but I had to be dragged into them kicking and screaming.
ReplyDeleteAlso, fantasy football. HOlding on to a tie for first in FFLoD right now!
I love Magic, Barkley, and Shaq giving analysis they are fantastic. I'm sad Magic is stepping down. I remember when the Riley Cooper N-Word Gate happened earlier this year, Barkley had the most intelligent commentary on the situation.
ReplyDeleteI was the same on Battlestar. I don't usually go out for sci-fi stuff much, other than TNG. Battlestar was good enough that I watched 2 seasons though.
ReplyDeleteThe ultimate pleasant surprise in wrestling was Triple H's 2000 run. I hated him and was fully expecting his main event push to continue to suck. He proved everyone wrong in spades. Brock Lesnar was another guy who I thought there was no way he could live up to the hype, and he surpassed it.
ReplyDeleteYes but it led to Mongo becoming a Horsemen.
ReplyDeleteI love Parks and Rec. Quickly became my favorite comedy. Hilarious but it's got heart too.
ReplyDeletePumpkin Pie.
ReplyDeleteBlue Cheeses and Goat Cheeses
Olives
The digital shorts by The Lonely Island
Yea. Barkleys brutally honest in a relatable way. Great great listen on sports and anything else really
ReplyDelete30 Rock. I saw an ad and Jack McBrayer's character made me want to punch my TV. Finally watched it after it finished and I really enjoyed it. Everyone I knew talked it up and tried to convince me to watch it.
ReplyDeleteGame of Thrones. I watched half of the first episode and couldn't finish it. I didn't watch it again until the third season was almost over. I caught up and the first episode I saw live was 3x09. Yikes.
I've never seen him do analysis, but I've always liked him in interviews.
ReplyDeleteIf they can expand on the system, add some more variety to it, it'll be great. Also, fix the god damn glitches! Love the game, but the million little fuck ups throughout annoy me.
ReplyDeleteThe internet.
ReplyDeleteIn 1994-5 the BBS scene was drying up as a lot of the regulars were getting net access and not calling in any longer. After having read about the net for a number of years and being pretty psyched about the idea, I had an account briefly in 1993 but wasn't all that impressed.
I got full time net access in 1995 and by then the WWW interface had pretty much caught on which made things a lot cooler. I kept my board up right until 1996 when the local scene had pretty much died.
They should want to cancel it. The show does lousy ratings and has shown no uptick. Another network would've cancelled it and then some.
ReplyDeleteParks and Rec has had six seasons and has yet to develop an audience and is getting its Thursday lineup off to a disastrous start.
ReplyDeleteInstead of complaining about NBC, you should be grateful they have kept it on the air for so long.
Star Trek 2009. Didn't go into it with an open mind at all, was pre-convinced it was going to suck, thought it was going to be a GAP commercial in outer space... and ended up finding it to be solid.
ReplyDeleteSee and I figured "Gay Sex" was going to be your answer! HEY OH!
ReplyDeleteAlso the opening was under 12,000,000 words!
ReplyDeleteYou basically already are
ReplyDeleteGood answer. I concur.
ReplyDeleteThe first date I ever went on in my life was to see the movie cruel intentions. I 100% expected it to be a pile of shit, but I ended up loving it. I'll still watch it occasionally. I also remember first discovering woody allen and thinking I would hate his work, and now I'm a huge fan.
ReplyDeleteHe's working the smarks when he does that!
ReplyDeleteBut... who's next?
ReplyDeleteI was really against the free porn sites, thinking they sucked and would just have short clips and shit selection. Hey my membership to videoz/bang Bros/ reality kings is much better and I'll never switch over. I still keep a rotating membership to those different sites one at a time to try and support the industry but I'll only go to that content on the site or my hard drive maybe once or twice a month.
ReplyDeleteI went to the movie on my own volition and i haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate that movie so much. The gambling scenes were too fake and the portrayal of mental illness was laughably bad and it was too Hollywood for what was supposedly such a gritty story. My outrage is also fueled by the fact that the master didn't even get a nomination for best film (even though take 10 fucking nominees now) on the big night for SLP.
ReplyDeleteThey nominate between 5 and 10 films and nominated 9 films that year.
ReplyDeleteSLP was an amazing movie with incredible performances throughout the cast. Master still got three nominations, all in prestigious categories.
It's Michael Schur's job to make a good television show. It's NBC's job to get people to watch it. So a significant portion of the blame for the low ratings should go to NBC. (A significant portion should also go to people like me, who binge-watch online and watch online, and to the ratings system that hasn't figured out how to evolve the ratings system .)
ReplyDeleteIt's Michael Schur's job to make a television show that people will watch. NBC has given it the spot after Office and it has lost a lot of its lead-in audiences. They have done everything they could.
ReplyDeleteI love P-n-R, it's one of my favourite shows, but it would not be on the air if NBC wasn't in a pathetic state.
Naught America and videobox dude. Best porn bargains out there
ReplyDeleteDont knock it till you try it!
ReplyDeleteI'm such a huge fan of videobox. Some how my post auto corrected to videoz. I have a hard drive full from that site. Love it
ReplyDeleteOh, now I get what youre ssaying. Duh me
ReplyDeleteHa. Yea, my whole outlook on porn changed when I learned about videobox.
ReplyDeleteWell there's that. But the actual things in the match leading up to him becoming a Horsemen were well done. I liked how early in the match the announcers foreshadowed it by saying that Mongo left the Bears at the end of his career to play for their archrival Packers for the money.
ReplyDeleteAnd having Mongo as a Horsemen meant we didn't have to sit through Mongo as an announcer - so that was a step up.
Yummmy. Such a fan of good blue cheeses
ReplyDeleteThe Big Bang Theory. I went from hating the show to watching every episode really fast. TBS running like every epiosde six nights a week made it happen.
ReplyDeleteMost of them aren't nearly as bad as you're making out.
ReplyDeleteThis. I was reluctant to get into it because it was uber-popular, and we know what that leads to more often than not. Plus I wanted to side squarely with the underdog The Middle. But I started watching it and actually like it a lot.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm not alone on this one, but...I expected HHH vs. HBK at SS02 to be NOTHING, and I didn't want it to be anything but so it would give me more reason to despise both guys. But we know what happened.
ReplyDeleteSo help me, my friend got me into some reality and I actually like some of it now. I thought Big Ang was funny as hell cause I actually knew people like her.
Squid. I use to refuse to eat it because, well... you know what a squid looks like, they're fucking gross. Then someone sneaked some into something I was eating while I was hammered and now I'm hooked. Calamari is more addictive than crack. Also, up until I was about 25 I always insisted on eating my beef well done, now if that shit is any more than medium rare I'm sending it back. How the hell did I go so long eating flavorless beef?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, up until a few years ago the free porn sites did suck. Never had a membership to a paysite though, just because I don't have a credit/debit card.
ReplyDeleteBad bleu cheese is the fucking worst though. Especially in restaurants, as someone who cooks for a living I almost find it offensive to my craft.
ReplyDeleteI'm the opposite way with Breaking Bad, thought it would be great but just couldn't get into it.
ReplyDeleteIt's EA. They'll fuck it up. I saw somewhere that they were voted worst company in the U.S. for the last 2 years. Like, really? In a country with Walmart, Bank of America, Microsoft, Monsanto, etc..., and EA is voted the worst company. Dafuq?
ReplyDeleteThose 3 are the only reason I'll watch it. Never thought it was very funny.
ReplyDeleteThat was pretty good. I still maintain that Greene could have become a pretty good worker if he kept wrestling.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not back in 10 minutes, just wait longer!
ReplyDeleteDiscovering food is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI recently had Siriacha for the first time. Good shit.
ReplyDeleteone of the funniest shows out there
ReplyDeleteYes. In '99, he was still just the guy who did a few knee moves and chopped his crotch. By 2000, he was like a new Flair.
ReplyDeleteWhat was wrong with the casting of Ryan Reynolds? He's perfect as Deadpool.
ReplyDeleteThe problem was what they eventually turned the character into.
I LOVE both Inside the NBA and Open Court because of him.
ReplyDeleteThis times 1000. I was expecting what we got from Bret V. Vince a few years later, but wow what a match that was!
ReplyDeleteCommunity and Parks and Recreation. I fully expected to hate them because well, they're on NBC and usually NBC greenlights pure shit and drops the ball on anything even remotely good (My Own Worst Enemy to name just one example), so I watched the first episodes of both shows, liked them but didn't really get invested in the shows because I figured they would join the likes of Lateline and Madman Of The House, good comedies that only lasted a season because they just happened to be on NBC.
ReplyDeleteWhen they lasted longer than one season, then I started to get invested into the shows, especially the development of Nick Swanson on Parks & Rec, it was great seeing him evolve from just being a small bit player on the show to being one of the best comedic characters on television. And Community's done a great job filling in the spot that Scrubs occupied for several years of being a smart niche comedy that remains on the schedule because critics and the people that do watch the show continue to praise it.
Another addition I have to mention: I never paid any attention to Crossing Jordan when it was on NBC a decade ago but I came across the show on Netflix last year and I now absolutely love the show even though I hated the last two seasons and thought the show jumped the shark when they killed off Jerry O'Connell for no reason.
The WWF/E...the second time around. I became disenfranchised with how cartoonish it had become around 93-95. Then, spring of 97 I walk into my buddy's dorm room, and his roommate was using their descrambler to watch WM13. I happened to walk in just as Bret/Austin was hitting its stride. After initially rolling my eyes, I got hooked by the passion & violence. Been back in the fold since.
ReplyDeleteAs for the reverse scenario, it took me 12 years to get my wife to agree to some backdoor action. I couldn't be more "meh" about it, and she fucking LOVES it. Careful what you wish for....
Sandra Oh leaving after this season will kill it anyhow.
ReplyDeleteMy Wife went for it early (wayyy pre-Wife), but she's a bit of a pain in the ass about it.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago? Wasn't that about 12 or 13 years ago?
ReplyDeleteI remember when the concept was first being discussed; the concept was seeing Kirk and Spock back in Starfleet Academy. My first thought was "why in the FUCK would I want to see that? Why are we going backwards?"
ReplyDeleteThen I saw the first trailer, and after picking my chin up off the ground, I declared that I was in.
On the flip side, I was disappointed in the most recent film. I wouldn't say it sucked, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I own the 2009 film; I have no plans to buy the sequel. Might give it another run via rental or Netflix to see if it grows on me.
Yeah, I'm with you. I watched a few episodes of the first season and something about it drove me away. Based on how much folks seem to love it, I may give it another try.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Battlestar Galacta was the same for me. Tried 3 different times to get into it; never could.
Fried cooch-fish?
ReplyDeleteGod help me, fried chicken and waffles. I didn't get it; thought it sounded gross. I've never been more wrong about anything.
ReplyDeleteThere was a great football game in the late 90s called Front Page Sports Football Pro put out by a company called Dynamix. Sierra took them over, and while it took them a few versions, they managed to fuck the game up to the point where they recalled the 2000 release and gave up on the franchise. I fucking loved the game, and really, it was the main reason I bought my first PC. It was the only football game that featured nice graphics, a good coach mode, and the ability to design plays from scratch.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to EA Sports Head Coach 09 for the PS3. It wasn't as good, but it was the closest I could get, and I dug it. Until....all. the fucking. BUGS. Christ. I made the mistake of contacting EA support about it, and all that did was piss me off. The people with whom I interacted were clearly not in the US, complete idiots, or both.
My wife loves The Sims, but she can't get it to work properly on her Macbook. She tries from time to time, but generally winds up ticked off.
In short, fuck EA. Fuck them up their collective ass with a baseball bat. Sideways.
*clears throat*
ReplyDelete*does vocal warmups*
Yup.
Spend some time working in politics, you'll start overusing hyperbole also.
ReplyDeleteOpen Court is so freakin' awesome. I think it was aimed at my demographic though (adult males who grew up watching '90s NBA).
ReplyDeleteShaq is unbearable. You could see on Open Court that the other guys were getting tired of his ridiculous schtick.
ReplyDeleteI bet now there have been tons of Cena matches people get like this about.
ReplyDeleteSushi. I always thought it would be disgusting, then I actually tried it... Holy. Shit.
ReplyDeleteU2.
ReplyDeleteNever got the hype about The Joshua Tree. Saw them as super-serious, dour, preachy. A friend got me into the Achtung Baby album and I ended up seeing them in concert and started liking them.
Sushi is pretty good, but not good enough to justify the cost.
ReplyDeleteDepends on where you go, I guess. I've found a few places where I can get three or four decent size rolls for under $25. And they're as good or better than the trendy joints where people go to be seen eating sushi.
ReplyDeleteTried it for the first time last year. It's just stupid good.
ReplyDeleteYup.
ReplyDeleteThe night after I read this, a friend of mine bought a six of Pabst Blue Ribbon at the packy, on a whim, remembering his father used to be a distributor. Turned out to be quite tasty; enough so the next day I bought a twelve of bottles for myself. Also sushi.
ReplyDeleteSometimes there's a lunch special where you can get three rolls for around twelve bucks, plus the miso soup. That's a pretty good value otherwise I can easily drop thirty bucks to get enough to eat for dinner.
ReplyDelete