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10 December 2010 Celebrity Ring Year End Part 2

Page history last edited by Archer844 13 years, 3 months ago

SECTION 2: YEAR IN REVIEW

Posted by simguy on 12/10/2010, 6:30 pm

STORIES OF THE YEAR

The retirement of Catherine Zeta Jones. Not only unexpected, but stunning that Jones would surrender on the heels of a loss to Gemma Arterton, who will forever own the distinction of ending Catherine's career. We can only imagine how lonely and destitute the proud Ms. Jones must have felt, to make such an announcement.

Cassie Scerbo's 'Hit' on Foxfire. Posing as a respectful opponent to Hayden P, Cassie would orchestrate a terrible post-fight stomping of Hayden, while implicating Sarah Carter as the mastermind. When the truth came out, Hayden was so furious she recklessly got herself knocked out by Scerbo in the eventual pay-off fight. At one stroke, little Cassie proved that flyweights are not all mindless scrappers, looking to pull hair and tug tops at the drop of a hat. Yes, they do those things, but they also play chess.

The 'hit' on Britney Spears. Mystery still ongoing, though a collective known as "The Stormtroopers" appears to be taking credit for the successful bounce.

Welterweight Tournament. Some stupendous fights, new names, and a dominant new figure by the name of Amanda Righetti emerged from this epic tournament.

Carter/Scherzinger ponytail war. Hot. 'Nuff said.

The de-fanging of Tractorpull Magazine. Want proof that The Grand Wizard is an evil genius? Once a shining beacon of incorruptible, honest, fearless, and opinionated journalism, TP has been reduced to being a toothless shill for Frontstreet - issuing ethical passes to its fighters, serving up soft-ball questions, and fawning over management. TP reporters are known to socialize every weekend with The Wiz and his inner-circle of cronies (which include supposedly 'rival' managers) - a clear conflict of interest situation that has to be addressed - especially since Tractorpull controls an important ratings agency as well as one of the most prestigious boxing halls of fame. It's Tammany Hall all over again, and we never thought we'd see the day. Sure, TP still has balls when it comes to kicking Charlize Theron - the easiest target in boxing - but we can hear the sinister laughter of the Wiz all the way from his secret off-shore bank accounts. The most brilliant strategic move the man ever made was to cleverly silence the one source of opposition who could have held him accountable.

The 'hit' on Gena Lee Nolin. When Gena Lee was cold-cocked and stomped by a mysterious redhead, Nolin was nearly driven to self-destruction in her hamhanded attempt to bring ALL redheads to justice. In the end, it turned out to be Kate Walsh (the woman so savagely beaten by Nolin on St. Paddy's Day), and Nolin got her revenge directly.

Emergence of Cassie Scerbo. The center of gravity in the flyweight division - if not moving from Hayden Panettiere completely - has shifted somewhat in the direction of Scerbo. Deservedly so or not, Brassy Cassie gets attention.

Bench clearing brawls. 2010 was the worst year ever for out of control stable-riots and post-match gang ups/smother outs. The atrocious behaviour of Sceej/Foxfire in the aftermath of Rmac/Jmac led to substantial changes in the way the FCBA will handle facility-security in the future.

The hardening of Nicole Scherzinger. Has FrontStreet created a paranoid monster? Niki fouling and fighting with a hair trigger following a pair of rough outings in which similar tactics seemed to expose her. Critics - notably Aly Michalka and Sarah Carter in BLONDE! Mag are saying Nicole's going too far, blaming Fronststreet for providing way too much leash.

Lacey Chabert securing the flyweight championship. When she turned pro, nobody dreamed this curvy little slugger would one day pound her way to a legit championship.

Penelope Cruz' "Decision In The Pacific". In March of 2010, Penelope Cruz invaded Australian beach space with designs on taking half a dozen blonde scalps, and plumping up her record. The result was a quagmire of bitter fighting that saw Cruz stagger away with a hard fought 2-2 split, and a newfound grudging respect for Aussie blondes.

Return of Dani Fishel/Charlize Theron. Thought to be well and truly retired, these FCBA hall of famers elected to take yet another run at glory in 2010. Dani's results were mixed, but a stirring victory over Allison Mack proved Fishel's still got the fury of a champion. Theron has battled her way into the lightweight top 10 and seems poised to threaten many of the new names entrenched therein.

The Rise of Aly Michalka. Mocked and disregarded upon her debut, Aly would deliver on each and every promise she made, eventually humbling body-beautiful Annalyne McCord to seize Hegemony at the CW. Talented, charismatic, and hot - few loud-mouthed self-promoters have ever delivered on their proclamations the way Aly seems to be. Now she's billing herself as the blonde Missy Peregrym - which implies that Aly's going to A.) flatten the bantamweight division and B.) move on to conquer lightweight top 10 names as well.

The Rise of The Wiz. Rabid fans call him a promotional guru and Napoleonic strategos, while proclaiming Frontstreet an unstoppable juggernaut destined to rule boxing. Haters point to the lack of titles and an "endless parade of lacklustre 'smoke and mirrors' set-up fights to pamper and protect golden properties" (attributed to anonymous blogger with the initials JM). Opinion varies, but one thing is certain: Frontstreet has become a driver of FCBA trends and undercurrents in 2010.

The Rise of model fighting. Working models have traditionally not been a big draw in the FCBA, but names like Candice Swanepoel, Olga Kurylenko, Marissa Miller, Brooklyn Decker, Adrianna Lima and the like, appear to be changing that. Expect whirlwind round-robin like competition - if not an outright tournament - within this group, to establish a model Hegemon in 2011.

GLN refused entry to the Tractorpull Hall of Fame. As controversial as keeping Pete Rose out of baseball's hall, but TP stuck to their guns and refused to yield to the overwhelming weight of common sense in this case. We kid: TP's got a point - Gena's been awful rough over the years; she had to know what it might cost her.

The Return of the Welterweights. 2010 saw renewed interest in the big women, with improved buy rates for the fights, increased media and fan attention, and a host of compelling new names. The best fighter in boxing is a welterweight; many of the best fights were held at welterweight...it's an interesting turn of events for a sport that had seemed to be trending smaller/snarkier over the last couple of years.