Almor Dayoan's Column Introducing Almor Dayoan's Pop Culture Column... He will be discussing Politics, Music, Movies, Phil NY Jaycees, the NY beat, the Weather and most especially his favorite...Wrestling... Here are his articles...

Transformers the Game Release Party By Almor Dayoan              Transformers is set to be the biggest blockbuster movie of the summer and with a blockbuster movie, the usual follow up is to have a video game based on the movie.  It was no different for this franchise as the release of “Transformers the game” took place in Club Cielo in downtown meat packing district.  This event was an exclusive party sponsored by Stride chewing gum, IGN.com and myspace.com.  Although this was a release party for Transformers, Nintendo WII games, guitar hero 2 and Dance, Dance Revolution was at hand for guests to enjoy.  Since this was an exclusive party, every guest had a chance to try out Transformers.  There were different stages where you play either an Autobot or Decepticon.  The game itself looks beautiful, and has the same format as the incredible Hulk games giving the player freedom to smash and destroy everything in site.  The game seems simple enough with missions to either destroy or get to a certain point in the game.  I asked one of the guests attending the event what he thought about the Transformers Game, he felt that it was a great looking game and looked to be hit, but also noted that  when the Autobots transformed into vehicles, the driving controls seen to be a bit off.  I agreed with this as well, playing Bumble Bee (one of the Transformers character) as a car, it seemed to slip off the road a little more often then it should.  But besides that, this looks to be a solid game.  The night ended with games and an Xbox 360 console being raffled, and the top scorers for Guitar hero 2, and Dance, Dance Revolution receiving giveaways from Acclaim games and Stride gum.  Transformers the game is out now where video games are sold for all consoles.  Be sure to check out Transformers in theaters worldwide on July 4 2007. Transformers  the Game  Event Photo Coverage by: Almor Dayoan  *********************

**************** Wrestlemania 23 DVD Release by Almor F. Dayoan             Wrestlemania 23 held in Ford Field in Detroit on April 1st set an all time attendance record of 80,103.  Discussing Wrestlemania 23 DVD release and the wrestling business is Multiple Tag Team Champion Matt Hardy - on hand for the DVD release press conference.    Matt Hardy competed in the “Money in the Bank” match which is a WWE title contract suspended in the air in a suit case.  A WWE superstar must climb a ladder to retrieve the suitcase.  This will allow a WWE superstar to receive a title match at any time during a 1 year period.  To prepare for this grueling match, Matt discussed how he had to isolate himself for 15 to 20 minutes before the match to get into a “warrior mindset”.  He was very proud of his performance that night when he and the other competitors received a standing ovation.   Although he felt such a high from the match, he felt the tremendous pain in his back from the numerous hits received from the match when his adrenalin worn down.  Besides Matt’s own match at Wrestlemania, his favorite moment of the night was to see Vince McMahon get his head shaved by Donald Trump – Matt thought seeing his boss embarrassed was quite amusing.  Although this is not Matt’s first Wrestlemania, he still feels the excitement of competing is the greatest event in wrestling and feels that it’s a chance to leave your mark in the wrestling business forever.                Matt Hardy also discussed his current position as the other half of the Tag team champions which he holds with his brother Jeff Hardy, and his future goals in wrestling.  In the late 90’s, Matt and Jeff took the tag team division by storm and won the tag team championship multiple times.  Matt believes that he and Jeff can bring credibility back to the tag team division, since there has been a lack of competitors as of late.   Although Matt has gone from being a singles wrestler to holding the tag team championship again, he hasn’t forgotten his goal to one day become either the WWE champion or World Heavy Weight Champion.  For more information about Matt Hardy, you can visit WWE.com or Matt Hardy’s My Space site.  WrestleMania 23 DVD was released on May 22 and is available everywhere where movies are sold. *********************

Post WrestleMania 23 Review by Almor F. Dayoan Another Wrestlemania has come and gone once again; as usual, it was an exciting night for wrestling fans. Both main events had fans on the edge of their seats, the first main event was for the World heavyweight championship with not only the title on the line but The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. It was a hard fought battle between the “Animal” Batista and the Undertaker. Batista was able to hit his finisher - the Batista Bomb on the Undertaker, but it was not enough to keep the “Deadman” down. At the end it was Undertaker’s finisher - the Tombstone that ended Batista’s World title reign. It’s been nearly a decade since the Undertaker was standing in the middle of the ring as a champion in a Wrestlemania main event as he once again continued his undefeated streak at Wrestlemania. The second main event for the WWE title proved to be an emotional rollercoaster with both competitors John Cena and The “Heart Break Kid (HBK)” Shawn Michaels giving it their all in this match. At the end, it was the young champion John Cena who applied his submission move the “STFU”; Michaels had no choice but to tap out. Cena retained his WWE Championship. When Cena extended his hand as a sign of respect to Michaels, Michaels refused to acknowledge Cena and walked away in disgust. The hunt for Champion gold for Michaels is far from being over. The hype for the “Hair versus Hair” match between Trump and McMahon was not a disappointment, it proved to be the highlight of the night. The match started off in stalemate between the powerhouse Bobby Lashley and the “Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga. During the match, the special referee “Stone Cold” Steven Austin was knocked out by Umaga’s finishing move the Samoan spike, Vince McMahon’s son Shane immediately rushed down to the ring and delivered a crushing drop kick to Lashley’s face with a trash can in-between. Shane then revealed his referee uniform and was ready to count the 1-2-3 on Lashley. Austin recovered just in time to interrupt the 3 count. While Lashley and Umaga continued to battle in the ring, Trump - to everyone’s surprise- tackled McMahon on the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face. When Umaga attempted to hit Austin with the Samoan spike again, he was met with a stunner from Austin and a spear from Lashley. Austin counted the 1-2-3 as Lashley was declared the winner. McMahon tried to flee the scene but Lashley chased him down and brought him back to the ring where the barber chair was set up. McMahon was strapped to the barber’s chair while Trump, Lashley and Austin shaved McMahon’s head in the middle of the ring. After the ordeal, McMahon was in disbelief! He crawled out of the ring like a dog with his tail between his legs. Austin, Lashley and Trump celebrated in the ring with couple of beers, but in typical Austin celebration fashion, he delivered a surprising stunner to Donald Trump. Trump was left disorientated as Lashley helped him to his feet. Wrestlemania prove yet again to be the extravaganza of wrestling *************************

Wrestlemania Fever is running wild by: Almor F. Dayoan             Wrestlemania has been the biggest event in wrestling for the last 23 years - The Superbowl of Wrestling.  Wrestlemania 23 will take place in Detroit, Michigan at Fort Field on Sunday April 1st. The last time Wrestlemania was in Detroit was Wrestlemania3 when Hulk Hogan faced Andre the Giant in the Main Event.  Wrestlemania has always been an extravaganza every year with awesome matches and with celebrities in attendance, this year will not be any different.  Aretha Franklin, Ludacris and Timbaland are set to perform throughout Wrestlemania 23.  There are two world titles on the line, the WWE Title with champion John Cena going against Shawn Michaels in a classic youth versus veteran of the ring.  The other championship, the World Heavyweight Championship will have the champion “The Animal” Batista versus the “Phenom” The Undertaker who has a 15-0 record for Wrestlemania.        As enticing as these two main events sound, it didn’t draw the kind of media attention that the “Hair versus Hair” match between Vince McMahon and Donald Trump have.  The two billionaires will not face each other in the ring but will have representatives.  In McMahon’s corner - the Samoan bulldozer Umaga who is an unstoppable force since making his debut, and in Trump’s corner - the ECW world heavyweight champion Bobby Lashley who is a force to be reckon with as well.  The rules of the match is simple  - whoever loses, either McMahon or Trump, will have their head shaved in front of thousands of people in attendance and millions watching around the world.  The media build up for this match has snow balled even since the match had been announced.  Donald Trump himself got into mix with McMahon during the contract signing when Trump pushed McMahon over a table.  Local and National news have covered the anticipation of this match, even celebrities in Hollywood are buzzing about who will have their head shaved.  To make things even more interesting retired legend Stone Cold Steve Austin will be the official referee for this match.  With all the anticipation and great matches for Wrestlemania 23 this is sure to be an exciting event.  ******************************