In The Ring With Steve

Since Mixed Martial Arts could FINALLY arrive in New York as early as this summer and WWE WrestleMania, "The Showcase Of The Immortals," is about to invade the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, I thought it would be cool to try this special blog focusing on all things boxing, wrestling, and MMA. On the card, the new play "THE ROYALE" and a look at Ronda Rousey's attempt at a return to greatness. So, for the millions and millions reading around the world, ladies and gentlemen...

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!

THE ROYALE

Boxing at Lincoln Center? Sounds as ridiculous as the Julliard String Quartet at OzzFest, (Mr. Osborne's erstwhile annual hoedown at Madison Square Garden, among other venues), but believe it or not, the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater is the best place for boxing North of The World's Most Famous Arena, and no, friends,it doesn't cost anymore for a good ringside seat than a good front row orchestra seat. As a matter of fact, it's not for any established titles for any established boxing federation. It's a staged play, and an excellent staged play at that, called THE ROYALE. Set in 1905, a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time before Manny Pacquiao, Oscar de la Hoya, and Muhammad Ali, (ANACHRONISM ALERT! The dialogue refers to radio coverage, but commercial radio wasn't available until 1923.), the play is less focused on the sweet science itself than on Jay "The Sport" Jackson, a stranger in his own land in the middle of Jim Crow, and his relationships with his trainer, his opponent, and his sister, as well as a still-segregated America. The reason why there are no EMTs at the ready with gurneys is that no actual punches are thrown (although Technicolor blood IS used in one scene). Khris Davis delivers a championship performance as Jay "The Sport" Jackson, a young man hellbent on becoming the HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORRRRRRRLD (Apologies for the Michael Buffer allusion, but I just COULDN'T resist.), Montego Glover from the hit musical MEMPHIS is equally hard-hitting as his sister Nina,and the book by Marco Ramirez fails to disappoint. This play has brought houses down and audiences to their feet in London, Chicago. Los Angeles and San Diego, and it's not hard to see why. This play packs a stronger punch pound for pound, but the final bell is scheduled to ring in May, so let your fingers do the shuffling to http://www.lct.org for ticket information! THE ROYALE is a royal KNOCKOUT!

WWE WRESTLEMANIA

THE surprise of the thirty-second renewal of WrestleMania, the Showcase of the Immortals, has to be....SHAQUILLE O'NEAL! Yep, you read right, Shaq Man himself entered the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and clobbered the Big Show and the demonic Kane before realizing he should have kept his day job as an NBA analyst with TNT. (BTW, Baron Corbin won the Battle Royal.)

ALSO MAKING THE CONNECTION AT AT&T STADIUM IN DALLAS, TX:

Roman Reigns beat Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Kalisto beat Ryback to retain the United States Championship.

The Usos beat the Dudley Boyz via pinfall.

Total Divas beat Bad & Blonde. (Brie Bella via submission)

Zach Ryder won the Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match over Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, the Miz, Sami Zayn, Stardust, and Sin Cara.

Chris Jericho beat A.J. Styles via pinfall.

League of Nations beat New Day via pinfall.

Brock Lesnar beat Dean Ambrose via pinfall.

Charlotte (Flair) beat Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to win the Women's Championship.

The Undertaker beat Shane McMahon in Hell of a Cell via pinfall.

The Rock beat Erick Rowan via pinfall.

SPECIAL GUESTS
Shawn Michaels
Stone Cold Steve Austin
John Cena
Mick Foley

While not exactly the best Mania of all time, this one was offered free on WWE Network. It's like they say, you get what you pay for! (Or not.)

IN RELATED WWE NEWS

Have you noticed lately that all WWE documentaries begin with a disclaimer that the WWE Superstars are fictional characters and that you should not confuse them with the performers who play them? NOW they tell us!

FIGHTS TO CHECK OUT

Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley, HBO PPV , Live from Las Vegas, April 9 (Check with your service provider.)
Charles Martin vs. Anthony Joshua, Showtime, Live from London, April 9
UFC FIGHT NIGHT Rothwell vs. Dos Santos April 12, 2 PM (Check with your service provider.)
WWE THURSDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN! Card to be announced USA April 7, 8 PM EST
WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW For card information, visit http://www.wwe.com USA, April 10, 8 PM EST

That's the bell! This preliminary IN THE RING WITH STEVE card is now over. Until next time, see you at the matches!