Back from LA ...

I had a fantastic time in LA this past weekend, though I finally crashed when I got home last night. I've got some fun stories to tell, but I already told you about Thursday night. Here's the rest ...

Friday was the presentation for WWE Day of Reckoning 2 for GameCube. It is the first ever "sequel" in the WWE series of wrestling games, with events taking place immediately following the first game. The demo we played was very limited, but showed off the new rendering engine for the game, as well as the stamina and submission systems. I would have liked to have seen more, but what they showed was fairly polished.

Saturday was the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Universal Ampitheater. The last part was broadcast live (the inductions of Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan), but the truly fun stuff happened earlier in the night, as the Iron Shiek rambled on and on, much to the crowd's delight. Bobby Heenan is still the quitessential heel, playing off the rambunctious crowd, and easily stealing the show ... well, until Hogan arrived, anyway. Hogan got an absolutely amazing reaction from the crowd, and Hogan was clearly choked up by the ovation he received. Several times that night, the crowd started chanting "One More Match". Interestingly, rumors have been swirling that Hogan was slated to meet up with Austin at WrestleMania 21, but they couldn't work out the deal. Anyway, I thought that last year's induction ceremony was more interesting from a "fan of the business" perspective, since the inductees were allowed as much time as they wanted to tell stories, while this year, they were limited due to TV committments.

Outside the Universal Ampitheater for the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

After the ceremony, we hit a local restaurant and bar called "The Saddle Ranch" where I had a couple drinks and was convinced to ride the mechanical bull. I did OK, managing to stay on for about five seconds before I was thrown. Turns out that the guys working the bull work on tips, and my neglecting to tip them ended up in a rougher than normal ride. The group congratulated me when I got back, and then I turn around to see Eliza Dushku getting on the bull after me! The guys ribbed me a bit, joking that I had warmed up the bull for her.

Finally, Sunday was WrestleMania 21 itself, and it was a much better show than I had anticipated, due to the overall lack of buildup. Some very cool visual moments, including Kane's entrance setting some ladders on fire at the entrance way, The Undertaker gliding in on a layer of fog, Triple H rising up from the stage while Motorhead played his theme song live (even if Motorhead sounded awful). Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels had an absolutely amazing match, Taker/Orton was far better than I expected, and the 6-man ladder match was just crazy. Good fun all around. Turns out that the suite next to ours was the WWE suite, and I saw several celebs hanging out, including Marg Helgenberger from CSI, Lance Bass, Shannon Elizabeth, and others.

View of WrestleMania 21 from the THQ Suite in Staples Center.