Hulk Hogan Fired by WWE AND removed as Tough Enough Judge

Some days ago now, Hulk Hogan was trending on yahoo and twitter for suddenly being completely removed from WWE's website. There was a lot of speculation as to the cause of this removal and at the time, the reason wasn't known as to why WWE had taken such drastic measures. That was until it was revealed that Hulk Hogan was actually fired for racist remarks made by the hulkster on tape in 2007, concerning his daughter Brooke sleeping with a black man. Here is what he said below.

"I don't know if Brooke was f****** the black guy's son... I mean, I don't have double standards. I mean, I am a racist, to a point, f****** n******. But then when it comes to nice people and s***, and whatever. I mean, I'd rather if she was going to f*** some n*****, I'd rather have her marry an 8-foot-tall n***** worth a hundred million dollars! Like a basketball player! I guess we're all a little racist. F****** n******."

Current, former WWE Superstars and other public figures had something to say about Hogan's words. Hogan himself has apologised for the offensive language in a statement below.

"Eight years ago I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it. This is not who I am. I believe very strongly that every person in the world is important and should not be treated differently based on race, gender, orientation, religious beliefs or otherwise. I am disappointed with myself that I used language that is offensive and inconsistent with my own beliefs."

As a global company that aims their product to all ages and races, I believe that WWE made the right decision in firing Hogan. However, I wish Hogan all the best.

Natalya's Highs and Lows: Total Divas - Season 4 - Episode 3!

This time in my 'Highs and Lows', we take a look at episode 3 of Total Divas. To summarise, this episode continues to follow the divas leading up to Wrestlemania as more drama unfolds (mostly centred around Eva Marie again, yawn). Click here for the previous Highs and Lows blog, Episode 2! http://natalyaon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/natalyas-highs-and-lows-total-divas.html

Highs

Nikki Bella tries to patch things up with Eva Marie

With the hostility still surrounding Eva Marie; especially with the Bella twins, it was nice to see Nikki Bella make the effort to try and patch things up. It's a little surprising to me just how much nicer and more forgiving Nikki is to Brie, who has quite a cut throat mentality. Maybe not cut throat but she can definitely be a bit harsh and blunt. It didn't go quite the way Nikki had hoped but at least she made the effort.

Daniel Bryan's speech on Connor The Crusher

I got a little bit emotional just like Daniel Bryan when giving his speech about Connor. I also felt teary eyed when watching the video WWE posted up last year of Connor hanging out with WWE superstars, including his favourite Daniel Bryan. It was a touching moment.

Paige wrestles her first Wrestlemania

Paige got a tad emotional after her Wrestlemania match because of how happy she was to be wrestling her first wrestle mania and at the age of 22, which is impressive. I like touching moments involving Paige because it helps me to warm to her. She has always come across to me as someone who doesn't get upset about too many things with her lighthearted and fun personality, so it was nice to see a different side to her.

Brie Bella stays with WWE

After finding out that both Brie and Daniel are fertile and able to have children, Brie decided that she was going to stay with the WWE. This whole time she had been set on leaving, so to hear her say that she was going to stay was a shock. A good shock, dare I say.

Eva lands agent Brad Slater

In the past three episodes Eva has been getting stick, because the Divas in general believe that she is only in the WWE for fame and doesn't have a passion for wrestling. Eva has told the Divas time and time again that she has been working hard to improve and that WWE means a lot to her. Still, she'd been given a hard time, so I was on her side when she revealed to her husband that she signed a deal with top agent Brad Slater who has worked with the likes of The Rock. In her situation I would have crumbled to the wrath of the Divas so good on her, though her getting an agent kind of proves Brie Bella's point.

Lows

Brie Bella on Eva Marie

Brie Bella had pretty much written Eva Marie off after her instagram post about a lion not following the opinion of sheep and when Brie Bella cuts you off, she cuts you off. I wouldn't want to get on he wrong side of Brie because the way she acted towards Eva at times verged on plain nasty. At times it felt a little unnecessary.

Nattie's puppy/kitty joke

I didn't watch the Hall Of Fame, so I don't know how that joke was perceived. They 'edited' in laughter (I don't know if it was edited or just cut awkwardly) but yeah, I didn't find it funny. Of course this is a very VERY minor low since I have very few lows this week but I love my fellow same named Diva so I can't fault her.

Not enough Trinity and Jon

Trinity and Jon are my favourite couple on Total Divas so naturally I want to see more of them. Give them some storylines, Total Divas.

Read here for Episode 4! http://natalyaon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/highs-and-lows-total-divas-season-4.html

Natalya's Highs and Lows: Total Divas - Season 4 - Episode 2!

Episode 1 of season 4 (time goes so fast) brought cattiness to the table, as the WWE Divas bitched like a bunch of highschoolers about he fact that Eva was getting private training, rather than training at WWE's developmental centre NXT. What did this episode bring? More drama of course! There wouldn't be a show without it.

Highs

Trinity Standing Up For Herself

Trinity! I had mentioned before on my review of Total Divas from Season 1 to 3, that Trinity was my favourite character on this show. Check out the review here! http://natalyaon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/total-divas-review-3.html. This episode merely emphasised why I love her so much. There is nothing more that I hate than needless high school like bitching behind someone's back, which is what occurred majorly in the first episode, all because the WWE had sent Eva to train in LA with former WWE Superstar Brian Kendrick.

Trinity didn't agree with the way the girls were bitching about Eva, letting Eva Marie know that the girls were talking about her. WWE Diva Alicia found out about this and accused Trinity of stirring the pot. Trinity stood her ground as the voice of reason, not allowing herself to get sucked in to all of the high school drama. My girl.

Brian Kendrick's Speech

When Eva Marie told Brian Kendrick about what was going on with the Divas, Brian Kendrick's response was 'who cares?' His speech about the Divas hating because WWE expressed an interest in Eva rings true, not just on this show but in life. Jealousy is ugly.

Paige's Fan

I thought it was really sweet when Paige bumped into a fan on the street, who had told Paige that Paige helped her to overcome her eating disorder, because Paige chooses to her herself, not fitting into the typical mould of a Diva. Paige was out shopping with Alicia for a gown to wear for the WWE Hall Of Fame, despite a gown not being Paige's style and choice of clothing. After the encounter with her fan, Paige decided that she wasn't going to switch it up for the Hall of Fame, instead wearing her own style of outfit sending an important message of just being yourself.

Lows

Brie Bella's Not Pregnant

Brie thought that she may be pregnant because she was a couple of weeks late, but after starting her time of the month, we got an up and close look of how it affected her. She was disappointed, being intent on starting a family with Daniel Bryan and I had to admit that I felt for her.

Alicia Fox and Trinity Bust Up

During the altercation, I was naturally on Trinity's side. I like Alicia's feisty personality and understood where she was coming from with Eva, but she, as well as the other Divas went about it the wrong way.

Natalya and her Father

Natalya spent a lot of her time in this episode watching over her Dad recovering from his demons, trying her best to stop him from relapsing. She spent so much time and energy to make sure that her Father didn't spiral back out of control that she lost all focus on herself. Watching this unfold reminded me a little of a parent disciplining their children.

Read Episode 3 here! http://natalyaon.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/natalyas-highs-and-lows-total-divas_23.html

Shenmue 3 Finally being made after 14 years!!!

Excuse me while I go fan girl in the corner in the same way teenage girls fan over their favourite boy bands. When I first heard the news I was disbelieving of what I had just read. I had to read multiple sources on google just to get confirmation that what I was reading wasn't some sort of fabrication, or simply just a misleading title to get traffic for the website in question. After reading more than one source, I could actually allow myself to get a little excited.
Surely I am not the only one, as the Shenmue franchise is a much loved game with a dedicated core of fans. Fans that have been campaigning for years for the epic tale of main character Ryo Hazuki to continue on so that we could reach a gradual conclusion. Will Ryo Hazuki finally find Lan Di and gain the revenge he had worked so hard to act upon thus far? I was certainly keen to find out how the story unravelled and was meant to end. Therefore I was as eager as many fans for Shenmue 3 to come into fruition. I had to admit that somewhere along the line I had accepted the fact that it just wasn't going to happen, but here we are!

Before I go on, I'll recap a little bit of the story for those that may otherwise be unfamiliar. In the simplest of terms, Ryo Hazuki, the 18 year old protagonist of the story witnesses his Father, Iwao Hazuki being murdered by a man called Lan Di at their residence. A dragon mirror is stolen and thus begins a story of revenge as Ryo Hazuki seeks the man who killed his Father. And questions. Many questions that get asked by Ryo to random citizens of the streets to help him come another step closer to finding the man in which he seeks.

At the time of being made, Shenmue had been one of the most expensive games of it's time, costing a hefty 70 million to make. Unfortunately, the game did not profit and went bust. This alone was enough reason to believe another game in the series would never be made.

So how did this come about? Kickstarter. To help fund the next Shenmue, a Kickstarter was put in place after a sony show and in record time reached their funding goal of $2 Million. In addition to this, it seems that Sony is also actually helping to fund the game. It will be very interesting to see how this develops.

Crystal Maze Makes a Return!!!

...as an interactive gaming experience. I heard the news on Crystal Maze hoping for a grande return to our television screens but still, just hearing any news on one of my favourite childhood shows got me all excited.

I actually loved this show as a kid, so much so that I once tried to reenact the crystal dome part of the show. I once actually got some monopoly money and made my cousin sprinkle the money on the ground from her top bunk bed, whilst I scrambled myself on the floor quickly scooping it all up.
Basically, the idea is to bring the 90's game show back in the form of an interactive gaming experience in central london. Apparently this will be happening around autumn and is being developed by theatre company Little Lion Entertainment. This is written on their 'About' page on their website:
"Little Lion's aim is to create the most exciting, engaging and entertaining theatrical attractions London has ever seen, whilst also being a cultural force for change in opening up theatre to broader and more diverse audiences.

There has been a cultural shift in audiences towards content that they can engage in with an active way; modern audiences want to do, not watch."

A little more was written which you can read here http://www.littlelionentertainment.com/about/4587724036, but I think that description sums up what they are hoping to achieve with this Crystal Maze project. I personally think it sounds like a great idea,. The only thing is the price for participating is supposedly £50, yikes. However, if I was hanging out with a big group of friends, I think trying it out would be a great laugh.
Watching Crystal Maze when I was younger, I always thought it would be a fun thing to try out myself. I also felt this way about Supermarket Sweep. I mean, who wouldn't want to run around frantically in shopping isles, just throwing food into your trolley and making a mess while jolly music plays in the background? This is something I also tried in the comfort of my own home. Call me weird, I probably am.

My verdict: bring back the Crystal Maze on TV! If you can bring back Family Fortunes, then you can bring back Crystal Maze :)

Goodbye Bruce, Hello Caitlyn Jenner!!!!!

It's no secret to anyone who pays attention to the news of Miss Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner who was married to Kris Jenner of the Kardashian Klan.

A couple of weeks ago, Miss Caitlyn Jenner took the world by storm when she showed her amazing transformation from man to woman, unveiled in Vanity Fair Magazine. I had heard that this was going to happen a while ago but admittedly hadn't paid too much attention to it, until I saw the pictures of Caitlyn Jenner on twitter following tweets of praise and admiration.
I had to admit, the pictures caught my attention. So much so that I had to add my own 2 cents on twitter.

It is a beautiful thing to see nothing but words of positivity and respect for the courage Caitlyn has showed, unveiling herself in such a way and exposing herself to millions of people for them to view and judge. In this case, the best case scenario occurred where a large view of the twitter population were in support and acceptance of Caitlyn. I truly believe in the freedom of being yourself in a world that can be quite cruel and stigmatic. For Caitlyn to do that is an act of courage in my view.

BGT 'Stunt Dog' Controversy - Stunt Dog used in winning Jules and Matisse Act!

Jules' dog Chase, used to walk the ropes

So, if you have watched or paid any attention to this year's Britain's Got Talent, then you will know that the winners this year turned out to be dog act Jules O'Dwyer and Matisse. This is the second time a dog act has won the show since Ashley and Pudsey back in 2012.
Due to the lack of a TV, I hadn't really been able to catch up on a lot of the acts this year (sad face). However, after seeing the buzz over Jules, her adorable border collie Matisse, and three legged dog Skippy unexpectedly brought out in the act's finale, I had to admit I was taken away by how disciplined and trained Jules' dog Matisse was.
I watched back to their first audition and their semi finale performance where Jules' dog Chase was introduced and I liked the fact that she brought out other dogs she owned,. It brought a new depth to the performance that possibly topped Ashley and Pudsey's. Skippy and Chase were not a huge part of the acts they featured in but in what little we saw of them, they also seemed to be disciplined and trained. This is something I imagine to be a difficult feat, since many dog acts have passed through the Britain's Got Talent auditions and failed, due to the lack of following their owner's instructions. How cute was it that the storyline of Jules and Matisse's final performance was that he stole the sausage from the butchers shop for little Skippy? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch the performance here!) That final moment had me a little emotional on the brink of actual tears! Tears of joy and admiration for Matisse, of course.

There has been an outrage due to the audience being misled into thinking that it was Matisse that had been walking the tight rope, when all along it was Jules' dog Chase walking along the two ropes. I guess this has led some to believe that the act is underserving of their win, or that they were misled into voting for what they thought was an entirely genuine performance.
My verdict on this is simple. If a professional stunt dog had been brought in that Jules didn't know of personally then I would definitely have a problem but Chase is Jules own dog that she trained. Chase had already been introduced in the semi finale performance, so it wasn't like she was hiding him. While being called Jules and Matisse, I get the impression that their act is more of a Jules and Matisse, ft Matisse's dog friends after she brought out Chase and Skippy in their own separate performances. I may actually be biased concerning Matisse since I think he is adorable, but I think the act is totally deserving of their win. That is my verdict!