It Was Only A Matter of Time for WWE and #TimesUp to Smackdown

As a once fervently loyal WWE fan, who struggles with her love of wrestling versus its controversial state of affairs, I never thought I'd wake up to see John Oliver deliver a 23-minute hot-take about WWE’s abhorrent work conditions for its wrestlers. Even at the dawn of the #TimesUp movement, I often said to myself it was only a matter to time before someone put WWE owner's Vince McMahon's ego (or head) up on the chopping block. But this is where we are, it was only a matter of time before attention turned its spotlight on WWE.

For those not in the know, on a recent episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the tv host and self-proclaimed wrestling fan revealed that the independent clauses wrestlers “sign up for” to work for WWE is nothing but unconscionable. Performing 200+ nights a year away from their families and traveling the world, their wrestlers work so tirelessly they barely have a life to save up for when they're not in the ring. Contracted as practically self-employed, wrestlers perform exclusively for WWE facing no annual leave, no pension plan, responsibility for their own expenses for company-initiated appearances, and possible termination if an injury prevents them from working for more than six weeks. In 2016, fifty-three lawsuit former wrestlers who sustained life-threatening injuries filed that WWE wrongly mishired them as independent contractors instead of employees, leaving them to miss the benefits of important employment laws. On an equally a heavily substantial note, Oliver connected the dots between McMahon's monopoly of the industry to wrestlers heightened death rate in comparison to the general population as well as other sports industries including NFL.

As briskly in-depth as Oliver’s editorial was for a half-hour show, he missed key details about WWE's other practices to help wrestlers. From booking to payment, their contracts for talent are much more in-depth than a few highlights to cherrypick and read. In terms of working with talent, their WWE Sponsored Rehab Program assists wrestlers into facilities, provides coverage for in-ring injuries, and the company reimburses talent for educational purposes. Despite Oliver's call for stronger healthcare within wrestling, there's controversy over how the insurance would work for wrestlers and if the talent wants a collective union (as obvious as it may sound).

Additionally, Oliver also misconstrues reporting deaths caused outside of an organization's control versus the result of a wrestling injury. As recent as June 2018, wrestlerdeaths.com recorded that deaths stemming heart-related issues and cancer was 27.9% and 19.06%, respectively, while in-ring related injuries leading to death was 8.52%. Despite the statistics, medical experts still believe professional wrestlers suffer a higher mortality rate via cardiovascular disease due to non-stop physical activity and lifestyle habits such as substance abuse.

Trailer Talk: Stranger Things, Toy Story 4, Lucy In The Sky and More

Ready? Get set! Mark your calendars! Go! sums up how I'm feeling over the past week as several trailers dropped for movies coming up throughout 2019. Instead of doing a usual Trailer Reactions post to all of them (Avengers: Endgame will get its own post soon), I thought about just talking about the movies and tv series that are definitely getting some hype this summer.

What do you guys think about these movies? Are there any other trailers I should check out? Let me know if you're excited or disappointed in the comments below!

Captain Marvel (2019) Proves Her Power

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Fandom hatred for Carol Danvers was sparked long before she hit the screen. From Brie Larson calling for more inclusiveness with film criticism to her heroine being pitted as better or worse than Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel had “something to prove” to the haters, the box office, and the barriers Black Panther obliterated. Despite being underestimated, the film has been knocked down but fights to live another day.

On the planet Hala, Vers (Brie Larson) and her fellow alien race of Kree are fighting a brutal war against tyrannical shape-shifters called Skrulls. Curious and haunted by the mysterious dreams she has of another life, she escapes capture to Earth to uncover the truth about where she comes from and who the real enemies are.

Everything I Love About Captain America in Avengers: Infinity War

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

After a devastating smackdown against Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War, Steve Rogers relinquished the iconic shield and stepped away from the Accords. The 'Star-Spangled Man With A Plan' became the Nomad, living undercover alongside other rogue Avengers such as Black Widow, The Falcon, Scarlett Witch and Vision. Called to reunite with old friends, they rally with T'Challa, Bucky, and Thor to take down Thanos.

Appearing in Avengers: Infinity War alongside a dozen other superheros, Nomad's appearance caps in at six minutes and forty-five seconds. But that doesn't mean his limited time isn't intricate to the longstanding arc of his own series. In fact, pinpointing how deep his appearance is in Avengers: Infinity War was a fun challenge to accept while waiting for the next installment Avengers: End Game. In continuing my series about Captain America, here is a breakdown of his role and the connections to his past films. Hope you enjoy! (This post is gif-heavy and click on the image for credit).

Fighting With My Family (2019) Shines A Light on Sharing The Dream

Universal Pictures

Thousands of screaming fans. Electrifying feuds. Bold outfits. Audacious athleticism. Wrestling is larger than life. Taking the glitz and glamour down a notch, Fighting with My Family shows what happens when fans dare to walk the path their heroes paved and become icons themselves.

Based on the real life story, eighteen year old Saraya-Jade Bevis - popularly known as Paige - (Florence Pugh) who aspires to be a wrestler, is discovered by the WWE and becomes their youngest champion ever. Hailing from a small town in Norwich, England, Paige's dreams are not entirely her own. She shares them with her family - dad Ricky (Nick Frost) and mom Julia (Lena Headey) who runs their own wrestling association, and her brother Zak (Jack Lowden) who misses out on making his own fantasies as a WWE Superstar come true.

The Imperfect Complexity of Jackson & Ally

photographer Peter Lindbergh

When A Star Is Born was released in late 2018, it received acclaim by both critics and moviegoers. But a not-so-subtle critique about the film was how it didn’t change its messaging about the tragic love story or its characters: does a male lead have to sacrifice himself as a woman rises to the top of their industry? Is the relationship between the love birds toxic more than purely romantic? With my love of director Bradley Cooper’s latest version in mind, I wondered about Jackson Maine and Ally Campana both on the page and screen, and if anything has truly changed in eighty-four years. (This post is l-o-n-g. Thanks in advance if you take the time to read it. Hope you enjoy!)

Mount Rushmore of Hot Beards

m.brown at Two Dollar Cinema is holding a blogathon called Mt. Rushmore of Movies, where fellow bloggers pick four actors, performances, or themes that they think should replace the U.S. Presidents on Mount Rushmore.

I've never participated in the challenge before and thought it would be fun to give it a go. If you follow me on twitter, you guys will know I have a type. And that is a dude with a glorious beard. If an actor (on my radar or not) cranks out some scruff, he becomes worthy of being displayed in a museum, or in this case, on a mountain for the whole world to bow down to. My theme was fairly easy to choose after some inspiration from Rambling Film and Mettel Ray. I started questioning my life choices after seeing their magnificent selection, but these are my picks for the Mount Rushmore of Hot Beards. If you think there's a beard I missed including in this list or should check out, let me know in the comments!