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Submitted by Hustle on Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 10:11 AM EST
 Good lookin out for the graphics work, Noc "On behalf of the streets, I just can't be ignored.." Real talk. Today's intro line is from Young Jeezy, and it's something that just fits me, nah'mean? People just can't seem to ignore me, no matter how hard they may try to say otherwise. Welcome back to The HIPE, ladies and gentlemen. I absolutely stay in the lab, putting out product every single day.. some cats call me Aaron, some call me Hustle.. either way, ya boy is back in the building, with swag for days and days. How is everybody doing today? I'm in a good mood. No real reason, just happy to be here. Nothing else to say here except that I think it's about that time. Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed.) Less dew eet!! UFC 91 was last night, and if you've been following my columns recently, you'd already know how excited I was for the show. Because several people have been asking for it, I decided to give my brief thoughts on the show, just like I do for Raw and Smackdown. Again, this isn't a full-on review of the show, just whatever I felt was needed to be talked about. - Demian Maia looked absolutely dominant against Nate Quarry. He came out aggressive, then took it to the ground, where there aren't many people on the planet that could hang with him for longer than a minute or two. Quarry was in serious trouble almost from the get-go. Next up for Maia? Perhaps a fight with Michael Bisping? Yes, please. - Gabriel Gonzaga positioned himself for an upcoming shot at the Heavyweight Title with a minute-long victory against Josh Hendricks. Hendricks looked outclassed from even before the fight started. He looked like he didn't even belong in the same company as Gonzaga, let alone in the cage at the same time to fight him. I said that the fight would be over "really quickly", and I was right. - Dustin "No I'm Not Screech From Saved By The Bell" Hazelett damn near ripped Tamdan McCrory's arm right off of his body with that armbar submission. That was just nasty stuff. - Speaking of nasty stuff, Jeremy Stephens' uppercut on Rafael dos Anjos was the thing of legend. Seriously, that will be shown on MMA highlight reels for a while, as it was one of the best uppercuts I've ever seen, MMA or otherwise. It shows just how quickly these fights can end, and how much momentum can change in a split second, because dos Anjos was probably winning the fight up until that point. It was a great fight, overall, with an even better finish. - Kenny Florian impressed the hell out of people with his relatively easy victory over Joe Stevenson. Once the fight went to the ground, I know a lot of people that were surprised with how quickly it ended, and with how easy KenFlo made it look. He's definitely got a better ground game than a lot of people may give him credit for. - I said, in the preview, that it appeared as if Jorge Gurgel lacked discipline, and he showed that in his loss to Aaron Riley. He was told by his cornerman on numerous occasions not to brawl with Riley, but he kept doing it, and he came out on the losing end because of it. It was a really good fight, don't get me wrong, but he just kept playing right into what Riley was looking for, and it cost him. - The main event was everything I could've asked for, and then it provided even more than that. It has been said by numerous people already, but it really was a "passing of the torch" moment. It's difficult for me to be too excited for Brock Lesnar's victory because of just how much I respect Randy Couture as a man and as a fighter, but I'm happy to be one of the people who gave Brock a chance from the very beginning. I'll be speaking more about Brock in this column[/foreshadowing], so be prepared for that. Congratulations to Brock, though, without question. Ladies and gentlemen, the NEW UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world..  For those of you wondering, both Treisk and myself went 7-2 with our predictions, but I come out as the winner because I picked the correct round for Brock winning his match. Ha. Take that, Guru. Moving on from UFC thoughts, it's time to open up the feedbag once again, as I present another edition of "Ask Hustle" to the masses. Are you a fan of Dane Cook? (Marisa) It's funny that you asked me this question, because I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine the other day. He was talking to his girlfriend about Dane Cook, and he just couldn't figure out, for the life of him, why his girlfriend liked the guy's stand-up. This is, more or less, what I told him when he asked me how I felt about the entire situation.. I have no problem with Dane Cook's actual stand-up routine. Is he the funniest man on the planet? No, of course not. That said, though, he's a funny guy. He says things that I can relate to in one way or another, and his comedic timing is impressive. I'll never take that away from him. He's funnier than I am, that's for sure. I can honestly and safely say that I have enjoyed the work of his that I have seen. I thought his "Vicious Circle" DVD was really funny, for instance. To everyone reading this right now, if you are currently, or have ever been, a member of a fraternity or a sorority, you might want to go ahead and skip ahead to the next question, because you're probably not going to appreciate what I have to say next. Don't say that I didn't try to warn you beforehand when you decide to come at me with hate mail afterwards. Alright, last chance to skip ahead, because the next paragraph starts in two seconds. Two.. one.. My problem is with the live audience that he usually has at his shows. If you watch any of his DVDs, you'll notice that damn near every single person in the audience looks like they just came from a Phi Masta Beta meeting or something. These fucks party too much and don't know how to ease their way back into the real world when it's called for. They go to a stand-up comedy show, and they don't even bother laughing at any of the jokes. They treat it like it's a party, and spend most of the show yelling, screaming, and going "WHOOOOO~!" after every punchline. They're, easily, the most irritating audience in the world of stand-up comedy, and they ruin it for people like me trying to watch at home. Look here, asshats.. if you want to party, do it elsewhere where you can catch alcohol poisoning and nobody will even be concerned enough to help you out. Don't party in a non-party atmosphere, where you ruin the fun for other people around you who are actually trying to laugh at a comedy show. It's an amazing concept, I know, but it's not anything new. It's been done for years and years, and it's made the world a better place. Oh, and while you're at it, put the collars on your polo shirts down. You look fucking ridiculous. What lower-tier wrestlers do you see getting a main event push in WWE during their career? (Jeff Walker) Would Ted DiBiase count as a "lower-tier" wrestler? I've already gone on record a few times in saying that he'll be main eventing WrestleMania before all is said and done. If he can remain healthy and can keep steadily improving like he has been, I see no reason why he wouldn't be a main eventer at some point in his career. He's ahead of Cody Rhodes in this area, in my opinion. If you count fighting for the ECW Title as a "main event push", then I'd also say Mike Knox fits here. Moving him from ECW to Raw, even though ECW is in sore need of people on their roster, is a sign that the company has some sort of big plans for Knox. At 6'6" and 295 pounds, he's big enough to be considered a "hoss", but he's still able to move in the ring. He'd be a nice pick to step in for Kane's "spot" on Raw, since Kane turns 42 next year. Knox will only be 31 in 2009, so he's got plenty of time ahead of him to improve and work on his mic skills. If he can work on those mic skills, I'll feel more comfortable with picking him here. For a bit of a longshot, watch out for Ezekiel Jackson. He's got the size, strength, and "look" of a solid competitor for the future, and he hasn't even been wrestling for two years now, so he's got plenty of time to improve. He's definitely got the build of someone that Vince McMahon would like. He'll just need to get more time in the ring instead of just sitting on the sidelines while The Brian Kendrick is in the ring doing his thing. Do you think it was unfair that Brock Lesnar got a UFC title shot so quickly? (Rianor) Ah, this gem that I've been discussing with people for the last several hours. Because it's such a hot topic at the moment, I had to include it here, instead of letting it come up randomly in a future edition of "Ask Hustle". You can thank me later, I guess. I've read a lot of people's complaints that Brock shouldn't have been given a title shot after only having two fights in the Octagon on his record. They feel that Brock should've had to "pay his dues" more by fighting other people for a while before he could even think of having a title shot. I can see why they might feel this way, but to these people, I only have one simple thing to say.. Thank goodness you're not in charge of running a business like the UFC. Seriously, folks.. you have Brock Lesnar, who is providing the company with more mainstream press than they've ever received. He's bringing in the ever-so-sought-after casual fan to watch and attend your events. For those reasons alone, he should be placed in some sort of a showcase role. However, the story simply doesn't end there. It's not as if Brock is a terrible fighter, just getting by on name recognition, after all. He stepped into the cage with former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir and completely and utterly dominated Mir, before finally making a rookie mistake and getting caught in a submission for the loss. Even in a loss, you can still come out as a winner, and that's what Brock did that night, opening people's eyes that he actually meant business out there. Following that, he faced Heath Herring, who is one of UFC's top heavyweight fighters, and he made Herring look like a complete joke for the entire fight. Brock was merely toying with Herring after a while, just smothering him and making Herring look like the rookie, instead of someone who had been fighting for over a decade. Once again, he opened people's eyes and showed that he was more of a legit contender than people had originally given him credit for. With interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria already scheduled to face Frank Mir at next month's UFC 92 pay-per-view, who else would you people have chosen to face Randy Couture at UFC 91? Why not go with the guy who is going to bring in the most attention, biggest PPV buyrates, and play the perfect "bad guy" to Couture's "good guy" persona? They probably looked at it like.. "Well, even if Brock loses the fight, it's still going to do HUGE numbers, and it raises the sport as a whole".. which is how a business should be run. Besides, it's not as if the UFC Heavyweight division is at an all-time high when it comes to depth and quality fighters at the moment. There's also a short answer to this question, and that answer is the following.. He beat Couture, didn't he? Yeah, I'd say he was deserving. Do you think WWE made a good move in getting rid of Chuck Palumbo and Paul London? (Matt) Getting rid of who? Seriously, though.. yes, I think the company made good moves in getting rid of both Palumbo and London. There isn't much of anything that either guy can do that someone else on the roster isn't already doing, and doing better. If that's the case, is there really any point in keeping either guy around, other than to waste money? With The Brian Kendrick shining on Smackdown, it shows that he was definitely the more charismatic in his tag team with London. London also didn't even have a Shooting Star Press to fall back on, as Evan Bourne's version of the move makes his look like absolute shit. Even with as big of a clusterfuck as the division is at the moment, London would be much better suited as a member of TNA's X-Division. He could even return to Ring Of Honor, where he worked for about a year-and-a-half from early-2002 to mid-2003. RoH could really use whatever starpower London brings to the table. Palumbo.. well.. he could.. umm.. he could.. well, I guess he could focus on his custom motorcycle shop full-time. I'm sure he'll find work somewhere in the world, though, even though he'll be turning 38 next year, and therefore, isn't exactly an up-and-coming young talent. Why is there never a third? (Matt) Ha. I get this question a lot. Big surprise there, huh? It all started as a joke, really. In case you haven't already noticed, I'm quite the silly individual. Something else you may have noticed about me is that I like trying to be somewhat different. That's what I was doing with the "there never is a three" statement. It was just created as something to be "out there" a bit, and to get people to start talking, which it has done in spades. I started typing out in my posts over at LoPForums, whenever I had to list anything numerically, and it just caught on, for whatever reason. To this day, other people will occasionally omit the #3 in their posts there. I always find it funny when they do, but I appreciate the shout-out from them nonetheless. I'm sorry that there wasn't any sort of deep story behind that. I probably should've just made one up for you, just to make you think I was cooler than I really am. Ah well, maybe next time. While I'm answering your question, I must point out that I have A LOT of readers named "Matt". No joke, I probably get one e-mail from a different "Matt" every fucking day. It's the strangest thing. None of them are "Mat", "Matty", "Mathew", "Matthew", or anything else.. just "Matt". It's going to make things funny when I answer 40 "Ask Hustle" questions from the exact same name, even though it's all different people that are sending the questions in. Alright, I got sidetracked a bit there. I apologize. Who are your Top 5 rappers ever, dead or alive? (Taylor) Wow, a question from someone who isn't named "Matt". Odd. Notorious B.I.G. tops this list for me. From the very first time I ever heard him rap ("Party And Bullshit"), his voice just grabbed me and demanded attention. He was something so raw and grimy in an era where the West Coast's laid back flow was dominating the hip-hop scene, but he could still hold his own when he did a song for the ladies, which was impressive. He just changed things for me, and changed the way I listened to the genre. Rest In Peace, Big Poppa. Next up, Jay-Z gets his name on the list. It seems like I can't listen to a single Jay-Z track without just shaking in my head in amazement at something he just said. His lyrical ability is unmatched, and he paints such an amazing picture when you listen to him. I'm also a fan of the fact that he's so versatile. He has so many different styles in which he raps in, and he seems comfortable in each one. Big Pun steps up in the next spot. As someone with Puerto Rican blood, it would almost be illegal for me not to be a fan of the guy. For someone of his size to have been so lyrically nimble just wasn't fair to the hip-hop game. Also, don't let the fact that he was close with Fat Joe fool you.. dude was fire with his lyrics, whether he was being funny or serious, for the ladies or the fellas. His career was cut far too short, otherwise he might actually be ahead of Jigga on this list. Rest In Peace, Pun. Although he's fallen off in recent years, Eminem gets the next spot on this list. He's the creator of some of the most creative songs the genre has ever seen, and the guy's freestyles are absolutely legendary. His popularity goes beyond hip-hop, though, as people who have never heard a rap song in their lives know who he is. My only problem with the guy is what I said earlier.. he seems to have fallen off in recent years. It doesn't appear that he has the hunger that he used to have. I have low expectations for his upcoming album. Rounding out this list, I'll put Masta Ace in this spot. While never the most mainstream rapper out there, he's always put out quality music, all the way back to the Masta Ace Incorporated days, and going back even further to "The Symphony". His "Disposable Arts" and "A Long Hot Summer" albums are classics, in my opinion. He's also the creator of the single most vicious diss track I've ever heard.. "Acknowledge", where he completely buries Boogieman on the second verse of the track. It was simply brutal. The sad thing about this list is that my answer might be different if you ask me again in a month, and then again in a month after that. I'm interested in becoming a pro wrestler, but I'm too young to go to wrestling school. What should I do? (JoeXXX69) Well, first and foremost, you need to make sure it's something that you really want to do. It's not something that you'll ever accomplish with a half-assed commitment. With the low (and sometimes non-existent) paydays that you'll get as a wrestler on the indy scene, it's not something that just anybody can do. If you can honestly sit there and say that you really want to become a pro wrestler, you're going to need to keep yourself in good shape. That might sound like something obvious, but I always read and hear about people who get to any sort of training session, and they're so out-of-shape that they only make it through a day or two. Stay in good shape, keep yourself free from bad physical habits, and work on your cardio training. That's something that is very important. A lot of people can pass the "eyeball" test, but when it's time to get down with the get down, they gas themselves out after a few minutes and can't go on any further. Get your cardio game correct, and you'll be on your way. Another recommendation I have is to study tapes or DVDs of different wrestling. It would be nice if you could learn about numerous different styles, but obviously, you'll want to study the ones that suit you best more than the other ones. If you're small, study the high-fliers throughout wrestling history. If you're a big guy, study the big men, etc. Study everything, not just their matches and what moves they do. Watch their promos. Pay attention to the psychology they bring to their matches.. not just what they do in the ring, but why they do it. You'll definitely want to be well-versed on things when you do get a chance to get to attend a wrestling school. You can already be ahead of your class, and you'll pick things up a lot easier once they're taught, because it's already stuff you've been learning about and studying for a while. Finally, you need to learn how to handle failure. You're not going to step into a wrestling school for your first session on January 1st and be main eventing that year's WrestleMania card. It just doesn't work that way. These guys can spend years working their way up to even get a single shot at the "big leagues", and their journeys are filled with failure after failure, but you need to learn how to get knocked down, but then to get back up, brush your shoulders off, and keep going. Pro wrestling is as much a mental sport as it is a physical one, and you need to be prepared for that. If you're weak in mind, body, or spirit, you won't stand a chance. If you do decide, after everything, that you want to try and become a pro wrestler, I definitely wish you luck, and I hope you make your dreams come true. If you could only buy one wrestling DVD, which would it be? (pngtaipan) Because you didn't specify that it had to be something made by WWE, I'm going to throw out a bit of a different answer here. Highspots.com has a four-disc shoot interview set with Ric Flair that will going on sale tomorrow. It has over 13 hours of stories and interviews with the single greatest performer to ever compete in the wrestling industry. That's probably the biggest shoot interview that has ever been done, and it's the DVD (well, DVD set) that I would choose if I could only pick one to buy. I'm someone that loves to be under "the learning tree" when it comes to my elders and people that have lived interesting lives. I enjoy sitting back and hearing stories of their lives, and just soaking in all the information that I can. As big of a wrestling fan as I am, and as big of a Ric Flair mark as I am, there's no way I could pass up a shoot interview like that. Especially one that won't be edited down by Vince McMahon and the bigwigs at WWE, so Flair is free to say what he wants without worrying about the consequences that will follow. On top of all that, it's only $29.95, which is about the same price as your run-of-the-mill wrestling DVD will cost you, anyway. You can even get the set autographed by Flair himself for an extra $30, which is really nice. For those of you that want to check it out, you can do so at the following link: http://highspots.com/product.asp?id=20407 I hope that isn't breaking any sort of rules, Calvin. Holla at me if it is, and I'll remove the link posthaste. Writer's Note: This is going to be the exact same Writer's Note that I posted yesterday, but I need to make sure everyone gets a chance to see it. I'll probably end up posting this for the next several days, at the very least. On the front page of LoP, some of you may have noticed that only my most recent edition of the HIPE is posted. It's not that the others are gone, it's just to make sure the other columnists get their shine, as well. Do not worry, loyal readers. The rest of the HIPE columns, as well as all of my main page HIPRN columns, are located at the following (just click the link, of course): Click Here For The HIPE & HIPRN Archives What Hustle Is Listening To Right Now: "Lyrical .44" by Damian Marley, Method Man, & Redman.. "To The Sky" by Chepo.. "Heartless" by Kanye West.. "Give Me One Chance" by Kaipo Kapua.. "The Seed 2.0" by The Roots & Cody Chesnutt That wraps up yet another one, kiddos. This shit is getting crazy. This is my 38th column that I've posted on the main page, but if you wanna get real gangsta, this is my 44th column overall. Indeed, #50 is on its way. Believe The HIPE. It's real. I'm in the lab like Dexter when he's trying to stay away from Dee Dee, so you know I'm cookin them thangs up. I'll be back tomorrow.. same Hustle time, same Hustle page.. with the newest HIPE 25 rankings, as well as my look at the college football scene. Keep your peepers peepin for that. Until then, from home sweet home, I bid you farewell. Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa. "I'm exceedin expectations, you barely meeting quota.. I give it to em straight, you cut it with baking soda.." Hustle HIPRNFeedback@gmail.com 
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