By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

”The Pull List” is a new feature column that will take a look at a mix of the most noteworthy topics in wrestling, comics, books, Movies & TV Blu-Ray releases, and videogames along with reviews and commentary in each category.

WRESTLING

SMACKDOWN TAPING IN PROVIDENCE ENDS BUSY SUMMERSLAM WEEKEND

I attended WWE’s Smackdown taping on Aug. 25 in Providence, RI. The tapings ended a long and grinding stretch for WWE during SummerSlam weekend that saw an NXT Takeover special, SummerSlam, and Raw sell out the Barclay’s Center on three consecutive days leading into the final taping of a busy four day stretch. There were some scattered seats open in the upper deck of the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, but overall this show appeared to be close to drawing a full house.

Smackdown was a fun taping live. The Main Event tapings gave Adam Rose and Brad Maddox a chance to try out their new heel characters. Rose now calls himself a party pooper and Maddox has died his hair white and goes by the name Lord Ruffles. Yes, he speaks with an English accent and runs down the fans on the mic. Rose and Maddox got beaten in relatively short order by Jack Swagger and Zack Ryder respectively. I don’t see Rose or Ruffle’s acts making it to the main roster on a consistent basis anytime soon.

The big surprise of the night was NXT taping the first match of the Dusty Rhodes Invitational Tag Team Tournament. The video screens all had the NXT theme during the match, so I’m assuming this match will be interested into an upcoming episode of NXT on the WWE Network. It was a huge surprise to see Samoa Joe & Finn Balor come out to face The Lucha Dragons in the match. The crowd gave Joe and Balor very big ovations when they made their respective entrances after The Lucha Dragons had already come out.

The Balor & Joe vs. Lucha Dragons match was my favorite match of the night. The crowd didn’t produce the heat of the fans at The Barclay’s Center did at times over the weekend, but they were definitely into the match. The finishing combination of Joe’s muscle buster and then Balor’s top rope double stomp on Kalisto got over big with the fans.

The Smackdown taping itself seemed to serve as a maintenance show to reinforce the storylines that were introduced on Raw this past Monday. Seth Rollins cut a long promo on Sting and referred to his age throughout the promo. He also seemed to knock Sting for wrestling in the minor leagues for so long in reference to WCW and perhaps TNA without mentioning them by name. He had a funny line saying that he’s the architect and Sting is the relic. Rollins promised to put an end to Sting at Night of Champions. The Wyatt Family opened the show with a promo that saw both Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt cut a promo that lead into Braun Stroman taking off his black mask to a surprise reaction from the crowd. Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose came down to the ring to confront them, but The Wyatt Family backed down.

The Wyatt Family-Reigns & Ambrose storyline was wrapped up during the main event segment, which saw Ambrose get the upper hand on Sheamus only for the Wyatt sound effect to play and then the lights went out. When they came back on The Wyatt Family had surrounded the ring. Ambrose turned right around into a brogue kick from Sheamus for the win.

Roman Reigns seemed to get a more positive reaction from the Smackdown fans than he did on Raw on this show. He came out to make the save for Ambrose, but was ultimately choked out once against by Stroman. The show then ended with The Wyatt Family sound effect playing again and the lights going out, which will likely be what ends Smackdown this week when it airs.

I was a big fan of Jon Moxley on the independent scene, especially his work and promos in DGUSA and EVOLVE. He was quickly signed by WWE after only a short time in DGUSA and EVOLVE. Moxley has gone on to become Dean Ambrose in WWE and he got the chance to close out Smackdown for the live crowd in a fun segment. Ambrose called out Wyatt to come back to the ring once the lights came back on, but instead Seth Rollins ran out and attacked him. Ambrose sent the fans home happy by fighting out of two pedigree attempts from Rollins before hitting him with dirty deeds to end the show.

The fans seemed quite happy with the dark segment to end the Smackdown tapings. A tag match had been advertised, but Ambrose took the time to shake fan with nearly every fan around ringside and then even went up and down the entranceway and along the sides of the stage to celebrate with the fans.

This was a fun night of wrestling overall. The segments moved by quickly and the taping never seemed to drag. Videos played on the Titantron throughout the night to keep things interesting when there was a lull in the taping. I hadn’t attended a Smackdown taping in a long time and the pacing of the Smackdown tapings, especially during the early years, used to be a real chore to get through, but WWE has definitely made these tapings livelier with better pacing. I definitely recommend checking out a Smackdown taping if WWE brings one to your city.

2015 MOTY TOP 10 LIST

This is a running list of the top 10 best matches of 2015. I still have things I need to catch up on and watch, so I will be adding new additions to this list throughout the year. I will eventually make a separate post of my entire 2015 MOTY list and keep it updated regularly. I will also update the top 10 list in this column.

2015 MOTY

(1) Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii, NJPW, "G1 Climax 25: Night 16", Aug. 12, 2015. (*****)

(2) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, NJPW, "G1 Climax 25 Finals," Aug. 16, 2015. (*****)

(3) Kota Ibush vs. IWGP IC Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, NJPW, "Wrestle Kingdom 9," Jan. 4, 2015. (*****)

(4) IWGP Hvt. Chanpion Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada, NJPW, "Wrestle Kingdom 9," Jan. 4, 2014. (*****)

(5) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. A.J. Styles, NJPW, "G1 Climax 25: Night 17," Aug. 14, 2015. (*****)

(6) Zack Sabre Jr. vs Roderick Strong, EVOLVE, EVOLVE 45, July 10, 2015. (****3/4)

(7) Tomihiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto, NJPW, "G1 Climax 25: Night 14, Aug. 9, 2015. (****3/4)

(8) Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kota Ibushi, NJPW, G1 Climax 25: Night 7, July 29, 2015. (****3/4)

(9) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi, NJPW, G1 Climax 25: Night 1, July 20, 2015. (****3/4)

(10) British Cruiserweight Champion Will Ospreay vs. Matt Sydal, RPW, "Summer Sizzler 2015," June 14, 2015. (****3/4)


VIDEOGAMES

EA SPORTS RORY McILROY PGA TOUR 15

This review is based on the PS4 version of the game

After taking a year off, EA Sports returns with “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour 15,” a new golf game with a new spokesperson replacing the longtime face of the franchise Tiger Woods. The game promises a gameplay experience with the tagline golf without limits, but ultimately falls short of that due to a lack of courses, players, and online modes to choose from as well as other areas of the game that lack substance as well. That being said, the core mechanics of the game might make this game worth a look for some people.

The biggest issue with the game is the lack of courses. The game only came with eight real courses, which has been since upgraded to nine, but that’s only about half of what the last game in the series offered. In addition to the nine real courses available, there are four fantasy courses. Another issue is that with the courses is that the textures pop in and out of focus constantly, which is jarring on a next gen system.

Also staggering is the lack of real golfers, as there are only 12 available in the game. This is a massive cut from the previous entry that featured nearly 50 golfers. The character creation in the game is abysmal, as it is so sparse that it seems like it was crammed into the game at the last minute for the Tour Pro Career. There are so few customization options to create your own golfer that it feels like you’re just making an avatar to take to the course instead of really being able to tinker with facial features, eye color, and body shape to make a golfer that somewhat resembles you or whatever zany character you wanted to create.

The commentary is usually fine, but sometimes the commentary doesn’t match what is actually happening while you’re playing. I was having a decent round in career mode, but Rich Lerner and Frank Nobilo were hammering me from the booth. I did enjoy one round when one of the commentators said the hole could be kind of foxy and a fox was shown running across the fairway.

The Tour Pro Career mode is disappointing given the lack of depth. It sounds promising on the surface with a variety of backstories for your created golfer to choose from, but ultimately these have little or no impact on your career. You start out on the Web.com tour. In past editions of the game there were certain landmarks you had to hit in order to get your tour card, but not in this mode, as I was quickly shot onto the PGA tour after playing on Web.com card.

The lack of depth in Tour Pro Career mode can get frustrating, but your character does gain increases in attributes after every round of gold in addition to gaining new clubs and gear. It’s just strange to play without other elements you would expect from a career mode to compliment playing in tournaments.

If you play online, you can only play Head 2 Head and Online Tournament modes. Other than that, there are no other options like Best Ball or Skins, which along with other modes from previous editions of the game are gone.

A big plus in this game is that there is no load time between courses, which is awesome. Playing a round of golf on past editions of this game could take an eternity. That’s gone this year, as the play moves smoothly from hole to hole.

The core mechanics of the game are fantastic. You can choose from Arcade, Classic, Tour, or Custom to best utilize your skills on the golf course. Custom is a fantastic addition here, as you can mix elements of all three styles to create the controls you want to take on the course. Putting will take some time to figure out with or without the guide, but once you do, it’s worth the time and effort.

The new Night Club Challenge is a fun arcade style mode that allows you to test your skills. Despite the arcade elements in this mode, you can definitely improve your overall game by advances through several of the challenges. The putting challenge in this mode is a real help if you’re struggling putting on the links during career more or online.

Overall thoughts: (6.5) – There’s a promising foundation in place once more is added to the different game modes that are sorely lacking in features, especially online and Pro Career. EA Sports has announced that more courses will be added for free through updates in the near future, but hopefully the next edition of this game comes packed with more courses and PGA pros available at launch.


The core mechanics for actually playing golf in Rory McIlroy PGA Tour 15 give a lot of promise for future editions of this game once the lack of options in other modes are addressed. This game plays really well as a fundamental golf game and the ability to customize your controls is a huge bonus, as it allows you to make the game as easy or as difficult as you want it to. I give this game a slight recommendation based on the gameplay alone.

MOVIES

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD BLU-RAY COMBO PACK
AVAILABLE SEPT. 1, 2015

‘Mad Max: Fury Road” is the best action movie of the year and with the Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD combo pack set to hit stores on Sept. 1, it’s a great time to revisit the film and the extras on the Blu-ray disc. “What Mad Max: Fury Road” lacks in exposition is made up for by the wonderful performances of Tom Hardy as Mad Max, Charlize Theron as the Furiosa, and Hugh Keays-Byrne as Immortan Joe. Watching the movie, you’re thrown into the action and the movie never lets up and is enthralling from start to finish.

The plot picks up with a warlord named Immortan Joe chasing after Furiosa, who has gone rogue and taken his five wives that he uses for breeding purposes. Joe controls his people by manipulating the water supply. Joe is accompanied by his war boys, who paint themselves white and sacrifice themselves for him in the hopes of an erotic afterlife. Strapped to the front of one of the vehicles chasing Joe is Max. Max eventually joins Furiosa as they are chased by Immortan Joe through the Wasteland. Furiosa drives a massive vehicle called the War Rig.

Theron steals the movie, as it is very much about her road to redemption from Immortan Joe with Max along for the ride. There isn’t much dialogue in the movie, but Hardy and Theron do a tremendous job of conveying their feelings during their journey with their facial expressions and mannerisms.

Director George Miller used limited green screen and digital effects in making “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which makes the visuals of the car chases in this movie even more impressive. One of the things that makes this movie so impressive is the visuals of the villains. One of the most impressive visuals is the pole boys that swing back and forth on a pole attached to several vehicles in Immortan Joe’s entourage as they pursue Furiosa. The most impressive image is Joe’s version of the pied piper, which is the Doof Boy, who blasts a furious guitar rift while suspended by straps on the front of the Doof Wagon.

Former WWE wrestlers Nathan Jones plays a supporting role in the film as Immortan Joe’s son Rictus Erectus, who is a gigantic presence, but is treated like crap by his father, Joe, because of his unspecified mental problems.

Jones is fantastic in his role, as he mans a large vehicle called Bigfoot. He definitely stands out amongst a memorable roster of villains. Jones appears in the special features and talks about manning Bigfoot, which is based on a 1940s Dodge Fargo. It is really interesting to hear him discuss being Joe’s main gunner and the massive weapons on Bigfoot that he has at his disposal.

The Blu-ray special features are good. The only thing lacking is director’s commentary from George Miller, which would have been a fantastic addition to this set to allow viewers to listen to him explain his vision for the various stunts in the movie as they occur in the film.

The most interesting special feature is called “Maximum Fury: Filming Fury Road,” which features Miller and his production team along with several of the actors in the movie talking about how the movie was put together and how they pulled off some of the big stunts in the movie. It is fascinating to listen to Miller talking about how thousands of storyboards were used to put the movie together before it was filmed. Seeing Miller and his team in a meeting room surrounded by the storyboards is a great visual of the work that went into making this visually stunning movie come to life.

The other top special feature is “Fury on Four Wheels,” which looks at the incredible vehicles in the movie. It’s a lot of fun to listen to Miller talk about how the vehicles are an extension of the characters in the movie. Immortan Joe’s Gigahorse, The Doof Wagon, and Furiosa’s War Rig are all covered in-depth and Miller and his production team talk about what went into making the vehicles in great details. It was interesting to learn that all of the vehicles were based on real cars or military vehicles.

There are several other shorter special features and three deleted scenes included on this release as well. My favorite was “Fury Road: Crash and Smash,” which features a series of raw footage and shots of the various stunts and crash tests during the movie.

The special features give you a well-rounded look at how the movie was made. It was especially fascinating to listen to Miller talk about doing the stunts in the movie without relying on special effects or green screens for the most part while behind-the-scenes footage was shown.

Overall thoughts: (9.5) – I give this Blu-ray release a huge thumbs up. I’m a big fan of action movies, but “Mad Max: Fury Road” goes above and beyond delivering an easy to watch thrill ride with incredible car chase scenes and memorable visuals.

The Blu-ray special features on this release are very good and give you a great look at what went into the making of this film from director George Miller and his production team. You’re definitely going to want to pick this release up when it arrives in stores on Sept. 1.

”Mad Max: Fury Road will also be available as a 3D Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD on Sept. 1, 2015.

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