"The Voice" Returns....to the internet!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joeallenshow

3/30/2017

This Thursday night at 11:00pm eastern time, my good friend Barry Bull will join me once again on internet radio! Barry and I shared our high school years together. I met him as a sophomore at Lakeside High School in Evans, Georgia in 1989. He was an NWA guy. I was a WWF guy. His favorite was the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. My favorite was the "Hulkster", Hulk Hogan. We went back and forth hundreds of times on which was greater, but at the end of the day, Barry and I built a bond of friendship which continues today...some 27+ years later!

We invite you to join us LIVE this Thursday, or listen to the archive on Friday! I'll be sharing a link to each show every week on my social media platforms, so don't feel like you have to listen LIVE. People, even wrestling fans, gotta work. I get it. lol. The goal obviously is to have a great time, and get as many listeners as we can, but not necessarily LIVE listeners. When Barry and I were in the planning stages for the show, we agreed that 11pm was late for those on the East Coast of the United States, however, with both of us responsible for families, 11pm on a Thursday night seemed to be the best time where both of us could set aside 30 minutes and do something we both sincerely love to do...entertain and inform.

This Thursday, on Blog Talk Radio. Barry will join me regularly for a weekly broadcast for the first time in over two years. It will certainly be something special. Please join us! We'll be discussing of course, the upcoming WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony this Friday, and I'll be providing my exclusive WrestleMania predictions. We'll also talk about my return to the ring this past Saturday night in Nashville, North Carolina as the newly signed Ring Announcer for EDGE Wrestling, as well as the potential for an EDGE event for the ages coming up April 29th!

All this an more...this Thursday night at 11pm eastern time, LIVE on Blog Talk Radio. It's the return of The JOE ALLEN Show!! Don't miss it!

For The Allen ReAction, I'm Joe Allen.

________________________________________________

Follow Joe Allen

On Social Media!

Facebook Page: www.Facebook.com/AllenReAction

Facebook Profile: www.Facebook.com/JoeTheAnnouncer

Twitter Profile: www.Twitter.com/JoeTheAnnouncer

On Weekly Blog Talk Radio!
Blog Talk Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/joeallenshow
Thursday Nights @ 11pm est.

On the Web!
About Me: https://about.me/joetheannouncer
Website: www.JoeTheAnnouncer.com

______________________________________________________

To follow EDGE Pro Wrestling, Click Here: EDGE Wrestling on Facebook!

April 29, 2017

National Guard Armory

Nashville, NC

______________________________________________________

Disclaimer:

Wrestlers are trained professionals.

Do not try what they do without being trained first.

The Allen ReAction and The JOE ALLEN Show are not for profit.

Joe Allen, www.JoeTheAnnouncer.com, The Joe Allen Show ©2017

Thank You Warrior!

We all hear about it.  We all deal with it.  We all pay tribute to it.  The "it" I'm referring to, is the death of a professional wrestler.  Sometimes you hear about someone who you didn't really watch all that much, and perhaps didn't even know was a wrestler.  Then sometimes you hear about a wrestler you watched, but maybe you just weren't really a fan of that one.  But then....sometimes, you learn of the passing of a wrestler you were very familiar with, someone you watched perhaps every Saturday morning.

Maybe you cheered them wildly when you heard their music hit the arena.  Perhaps you dreamed of watching them in person and watching that entrance in LIVE and in living color.  You imitated them in your back yard or in your bedroom as a kid.  You pretended there was a video camera there and you'd try to re-enact their performance on your trampoline.  And while others around you don't quite get it, and don't understand it.  Those of us who call ourselves wrestling fans...we all understand it.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the thousands in attendance this past Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.  It was my first ever opportunity to witness the splendor, the elegance, and the excitement known as the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.  Why was I so fortunate?  Well many of you know where I'm going with this.  You see three nights ago, The Ultimate Warrior stepped out from behind the curtain, his two daughters at his side escorting him to the platform, where he'd receive his latest accomplishment in the wrestling business: A WWE Hall of Fame Induction.  In fact, the Warrior was this years' "Main Event" inductee.  And while delivering his speech, the most memorable words I heard him say were that his greatest accomplishment ever, was to be the father of his two children.  It was very touching and very moving, and the crowd inside the Smoothie King Center were definitely pro-Warrior.  That was Saturday night.

On Sunday night, I was again, fortunate enough to be one of the over 75,000 fans who witnessed WrestleMania 30 LIVE inside the Superdome.  Mid-way through the event, as the Hall of Fame Class of 2014 stood at the top of the ramp, that familiar music hit yet again.  Out stepped The Ultimate Warrior, to the cheers and adoration of every person present, and millions around the world.  That was Sunday night.

On Monday night, I, my wife and two of our friends (James and Jenni) who went with us to New Orleans, arrived at the location where we would spend the night, Jenni's parents' log cabin home in the mountains of North Carolina.  We would stay the night there, before getting up the next morning to make the remaining five hour trip to home.  Before going to bed, we had decided we would watch RAW, which we had on the DVR, thanks to Jenni's parents who recorded it for us.  We sat and watched The Ultimate Warrior come out to a chorus of cheers and chants of "Warrior! Warrior!"  As he began speaking, none of us watching in that living room Monday night, knew that we were watching The Ultimate Warrior for the final time.  Warrior had perhaps his greatest promo ever on RAW, completely in character and to the point, giving all the credit to the fans for what he had become in wrestling.  It was very fitting.  That was Monday night.

Tuesday, we woke up and made the rest of the journey back home, after having just enjoyed one of the greatest weekends in my life as a wrestling fan.  Tuesday evening, my wife and I turned on the WWE Network and watched the Undertaker's match with Brock Lesnar from WrestleMania.  I needed to hear the announcers call that match and get another point of view of what I would call the most stunning wrestling moment since Ted DiBiase, Andre the Giant, and Earl Hebner robbed the WWF Championship away from Hulk Hogan in 1988 to end his four year reign as Champion.  That was Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning, I said to my wife:  "I guess it's time to get back to real life."  Moments later, I picked up my cell phone to check my notifications.  I largely get my news from Bleacher Report and Wrestling Inc., and there was a notification there that read:  "WWE confirms Hall of Famer..."  Wanting to know what was going on, naturally, I clicked the link.  Waiting for it to load, I just wandered what was going on with some Hall of Famer.  As the headline opened, I dropped my jaw.  I continued reading and couldn't believe what had happened.  The Ultimate Warrior, the former WWF World Champion, one of my childhood favorites, and now a Hall of Famer....had collapsed while walking with his wife in the parking lot of his Arizona hotel.

I was stunned.  I'd just seen him twice in person, and again on Monday Night RAW.  It was very hard to comprehend what I had just found out.  I took to my Twitter and Facebook accounts and numerous of my friends were offering up their tributes, photos, Warrior quotes, memories, and R.I.P. messages.  The Ultimate Warrior had really died.  It was true.  And as the realness of the situation began to sink in, I couldn't help but to take myself back to Saturday night, as the Warrior stood on the platform to give his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, the camera fixed on his wife who was seen blowing her husband several kisses in a row and smiling and telling him she loved him.  And his two daughters...Sitting there listening to their dad tell them that of all his accolades and achievements, his greatest accomplishment ever was to be their father.

We don't always understand it, but it's coming to all of us some day.  Death is that thing that reminds us that our physical bodies aren't immortal.  It reminds us that we aren't in control of every breath we breath.  It reminds us that at any moment, at any time, from out of nowhere, the heart will beat for the final time.  I can only hope that he had a relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ.  Because I'd truly like to see him again one day, to personally thank him for his contribution to something I truly love.  He was one of the main reasons I enjoyed watching wrestling so much in the later 80's and early 90's.  From his ground-shaking victory over The Honky Tonk Man at SummerSlam '88, to his torch-passing victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6, to his surprising and thunderous return to the WWF in the Hoosier Dome at WrestleMania 8, The Ultimate Warrior was indeed electrifying and exhilarating like no one before him or since.  He was one of a kind.  He was a special performer.  And only those who knew him personally, or those of us who call ourselves professional wrestling fans, will understand exactly why he will be missed.

Thank you Warrior!

Best in the World?

Welcome to the latest Blog on the world wide web.  Please allow me to introduce myself.  I'm Joe Allen - a Ring Announcer, a Commentator, a Talk Show Host, and an Author.  But mostly, I'm a fan.  I'm a fan of the most exciting form of entertainment in the world - professional wrestling.  Having been a fan of this fascinating art form since 1980, I've got a ton of stories to share with you in the coming weeks, months, and years....Lord willing that is.

C.M. Punk - Courtesy tvtropes.org

This first post, of my first blog, comes during a week when one of the most shocking events of the year has unfolded in WWE.  C.M. Punk, largely regarded by his legion of fans as:  "The Best in the World", has decided that he would rather be a part of WrestleMania 30, by watching the event on Pay Per View television from the comfort of his own home.  This past Monday night, it's reported that Punk told Vince McMahon that he was "going home".  Now...this isn't the first time Vince McMahon has heard those words from a main event caliber talent.  Back in 2002, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin "took his ball and went home" (in the words of The Rock).  Austin's legacy was tainted some by his decision to simply head off into the sunset of his Texas ranch.  C.M. Punk's legacy will no doubt be tainted as well from his recent decision to simply leave.  No regard for his word, no regard for the contract he signed, no regard for the promoter who helped make him who he is today, and no regard for the fans who paid to see him each and every week and bought his merchandise.

If you read the internet responses to Punk's exodus from WWE, you'll find a vast array of reasons.  However, one reason seems to be clear and consistent.  Punk is said to have been upset at the fact that  so called "part-time superstars" were being put over for big time roles at the company's showcase events such as Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.  If this is true, the anger for Punk likely rests in the fact that the recently returning Batista, who hasn't lifted a finger for the company all year long...no matches...no interviews...no traveling...no injury recovery...no investment whatsoever into the company...suddenly finds himself not only as the winner of the 2014 Royal Rumble match, but also finds himself headlining the Main Event of WrestleMania 30.

Now, this isn't just any WrestleMania.  This is WrestleMania 30!  It will be one of the most anticipated WrestleManias in the event's 30-year history, clad with all the pomp and circumstance of celebrities, legends, and today's biggest superstars.  And Batista, with a single appearance on one Pay Per View, is in the Main Event.  I get it Punk.  I really do.  I feel very similar.  I understand how Punk and other superstars can be so frustrated that WWE continues to put over guys like Batista, Brock Lesnar, Undertaker, and probably somewhere down the line, The Rock again too.  They come in once a year, or at best they appear on the biggest Pay Per Views on the WWE calendar, like WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.  But yet, other than that, they don't do very much to contribute to the company or the product on a weekly basis.

But that still doesn't give superstars like C.M. Punk, Steve Austin, and others who have decided they have had enough, to just walk away.  First of all, they aren't walking away just from an employer.  They are walking away from the fans.  Fans who have "invested" in them.  Fans who have watched a story line develop nearly to his climax, only to have to settle for an fill-in story line.

Such is the case with C.M. Punk, who was on his way to likely face Triple H at WrestleMania, ending the long and compelling feud between Punk and The Authority.  There are some rumors that Punk may not have been happy with the direction creative was going with him coming out of the Rumble.  But assumed match against Triple H would have been capable of upper-card status at WrestleMania.  And to face Helmsley, the man who has put himself into highly significant matches in the last three Mania's (once vs. Brock Lesnar, and twice vs. Undertaker), would have been about a good as a spot for Punk to be in come April 6th.  So, I don't buy the rumors that he wasn't happy with his creative.

I personally believe that C.M. Punk was tired of WWE putting over these part-timers in spots that could have been reserved for buys like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and even himself.  But the fact is that Daniel Bryan is arguably the most popular superstar in wrestling today.  And Dolph has had injuries and some other off camera issues that have held him back.  Neither of those guys are suffering from "part-time" superstars making their appearances.  And neither did C.M. Punk.  He was the WWE Champion for well over a year.  He was in the Main Event of every Pay Per View the WWE promoted during his 400+ day reign as champion.  Even when he was not champion, he was facing the Undertaker at WrestleMania.  Who goes out for popcorn and drinks when the Undertaker is wrestling on WrestleMania?  Nobody.  And here, headed into one of the most anticipated WrestleManias of all-time, he was headed for a match against the premiere figurehead on WWE television in Triple H.

C.M. Punk has no excuse.  And unless there is some information we are not being made aware of as fans, he had no reason to walk out.  None.  It was very classless, very selfish, and very immature.  And he calls himself the "Best in the World"?  Sorry Punk.  Yes, you are a very talented wrestler and you possess good microphone skills.  But that title "Best in the World", is reserved for those who honor their word...those who stick it out in good times, as well as in bad times, including when they don't agree with every little decision that comes out of Stamford, Connecticut.  That title "Best in the World" is for those who take what they consider a bad situation, and they make the best of it.  And as a result, they give the fans who support them what they paid to see.

I respect CM Punk for what he has done in the past.  He is an accomplished over-achiever in a business that's as competitive as any out there.  But just like Bret Hart's decision not to go out in honorable fashion at Survivor Series '97...and just like Steve Austin's decision to "go home" prior to the 2002 King of the Ring, C.M. Punk's decision to walk out will be one of those things that one day he will regret, but will not be able to change.  Sadly, it will be one of the things that he is remembered for.  C.M. Punk was "arguably" the "Best in the World" before RAW on January 27, 2014.  But now, he simply joins a list of wrestlers, who didn't survive the competitive marketplace known as:  WWE.

C.M. Punk:  We wish you well in your future endeavors.