It’s NXT Season 4. Let’s see if the returning to male rookies change can help us.

To recap our new pairings:

Rookie / Pro
Johnny Curtis / R-Truth
Byron Saxton / Chris Masters
Brodus Clay / Ted Dibiase
Jacob Novak / Dolph Ziggler
Derrick Bateman / Daniel Bryan
Conor O’Brien / Alberto Del Rio

No Michael Cole tonight. Instead we get the off pairing of Todd Grisham and Josh Matthews. A bit of a whitebread announce team, but they should be inoffensive.

R-Truth calls his rookie the hottest thing since grits. Brodus Clay has a Bam Bam Bigelow build. Daniel Bryan as a pro still tickles me. And Del Rio brings his personal ring announcer and a Mercedes even to a B-show like NXT. Conor O’Brien has a crazy look about him. They give the rookies 30 seconds to try to impress. Johnny Curtis fails utterly. Brodus Clay can at least sound like a heel. Byron Saxton generically kisses up to the audience as well to no avail. Jacob Novak rambles on about Monopoly and owning his competition. Derrick Bateman is in his home state and goes for the cheap pop. He’s Mantastic. Conor O’Brien admits he looks like a rat, but rats are sole survivors and he’s going to take the cheese. We get our first rookie/pro conflict as Del Rio calls his rookie boring, just like Daniel Bryan. This leads to a pro/rookie tag team main event.

Oh yeah, Bryon Saxton used to be on the ECW announce team with Josh Matthews. I wonder if he can wrestle. But the first match is Johnny Curtis versus Jacob Novak. Why is Maryse taking notes? It looks like these two have spent enough time in development to wrestle a basic match. Curtis at least manages a top rope Legdrop for the win. Bland but a big step up from most season 3 matches. Brodus Clay used to be a bodyguard for Snoop Dog. He’ll probably get less contact highs in WWE.

Rookie challenge #1, with immunity at stake once again, involves setting up a ladder to grab a flag then run back looking for the best time. Brodus is not quick. Byron doesn’t really try, just acts cocky. Jacob Novak does okay and that is enough to win.

We come to the main event, where the pros look a lot better than the rookies. Daniel Bryan does an insanely long airplane spin and shows no sign of being dizzy after it. Both Bryan and Bateman show they are willing to dive to the outside. But, in the end, Del Rio gets Bateman in the Cross Arm-breaker and the rookie taps out immediately.

So an attempt has been made to make this show credible again. The new announce team was a huge improvement. The announcers were actually willing to stay in the background and let the show be more important that their banter. Which is not to say they had no banter but I actually liked the pair. This could be the team of the future for all we know.

Lie to Me
Tim Roth’s crime procedural Lie to Me has not gotten a back nine order and will finish out its current 13 episode season. While not officially canceled, this means that FOX is just waiting to see how its new shows do before closing shop. The series is currently in its third season and has been struggling in the ratings department. Roth stars as Dr. Cal Lightman, an expect in telling if people are telling the truth.

The Walking Dead
The first season of The Walking Dead has come to a close and has set Cable ratings records with more than 6 million viewers. As a comparison, the critically acclaimed and Emmy darling Mad Men gets less than half the viewers of the zombie series. While I was surprised by the finale, I was also a bit disappointed in the episode. It was the weakest of the six episode season and I hate the fact that they tried to explain the zombies and confirm that they aren’t human anymore. And that they have no memory or idea of what they once were. I would have preferred the ending of the first graphic novel, “Days Gone Bye.” Regardless of the weak ending, I still very much enjoyed the season and I’ll be waiting on the edge of my seat for season 2. I just hope they decide to air it well before the rumored start date of October 2011.

Chuck
My favorite show on TV, Chuck, might be on a six week break, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop watching the show. Twelve episodes are up online to watch for free, along with a bunch of Web Exclusives. I can’t wait to see what happens next with Linda Hamilton and Timothy Dalton’s characters, both of which have been great additions to the already awesome cast.

Check out these Walking Dead related products…

We still have another ten days until Jeff Bridges reprises his role as Kevin Flynn nearly 30 years later in TRON: Legacy, but to hold us off we have a new video game based on the movies; TRON: Evolution. Check out the trailer below…

We’ve gone over some pretty cool gift ideas over the past month as we countdown to the Holidays (and celebrate ones at the moment).  Gift ideas included tickets to live events (like concerts, plays, and music festivals), classic television show DVD box sets, karaoke machines (for your party loving friends), guitar lessons, cooking classes, and awesome t-shirts (I get at least one of these for most people).

But what do you give the music lover that is an aspiring DJ? How about the pioneer cdj400k.  The pioneer cdj400k is a stylist piece of DJ equipment that is an absoltue must have for anyone that wants to get in the game. It has really good scratching capability along with PC software compatibility and excellent MIDI control. Other features include Digital Looping Function, Loop Divide, Digital Jog Break, Tempo Control with four modes, Cue and Loop Points, Jog Indicator, Digital Output, and Resume Function.

Along with the pioneer cdj400k, every good DJ needs a great set of speakers and amps. Other fun gifts for aspiring DJs could include the 64 gig Ipod Touch, which has more than enough room to store all of the music they might have and be able to take it on the go easily.

Have you checked out Hollywood the Game yet? The web’s best Hollywood simulation game…

The game’s official description:

Ever dream of writing your own film, taking it from conception and development to the masses? You’re not alone! In virtual Hollywood the entire entertainment world is at your feet. You can work with the studios and top TV networks to produce the movies you’d want to see and the television shows that deserve to be on the air. You can also become a renowned critic, or a beat reporter for one of our local newspapers. In Hollywood the Game everything is player run, so one day you might run a studio and make all of the big decisions! Interested in playing HTG? Then join our community of like minded individuals now! It’s free!

You can learn more about Hollywood the Game by heading here.

Welcome loyal My Hollywood Dream readers. We are no longer also display at Hollywood The Game but hopefully our fans make the transition. And hopefully Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole don’t just kiss and make up with no drama. At the same time, let’s hope their interplay doesn’t take over the show. We open with a recap of the Miz/Lawler match. Cole is not out at the announce desk, but he shows up on the entrance ramp with a microphone. The crowd truly hates him but is that the right role for the lead announcer? Cole was the only one to support Miz from the beginning and Miz is like a son to him. Cole is sorry. Lawler still wants to kick his ass. Now Cole says Lawler is equally to blame. King is a journalist and is not supposed to be the headline. So, really, King owes Cole an apology. Yes, that’s logic.

The E-GM sends an e-mail and CM Punk is the only person left to read it. He will not allow violence between Cole and the King. He wants them to shake hands. King finally shakes hands, then holds on while Randy Orton makes his way out. Orton has a message for The Miz. He can’t blame The Miz for cashing in when he did. He would have done the same. But unlike The Miz, Orton has proved himself in the ring. And Orton plans to take back the title, tonight.

AWESOME!

Here comes Miz and Alex Drunky. Miz points out Orton was in the same Money in the Bank match that Miz won. Orton has an injured knee and besides, Miz defended his title last week. So he’s off until the TLC PPV. Orton runs down Reilly so the apprentice challenges him. Orton accepts. Miz’s last surprise is he gets to pick the stipulation at TLC. Orton hits an RKO on Cole to show he still can, injured knee and all.

So no Cole, but we get Josh Matthews to maintain a three man team. Our first actual match, at the 23-minute mark, is mixed tag action. Maryse and Ted Dibiase face Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella. Nikki is jealous and comes to ringside. Nikki pulls the switch, without Bryan knowing, and Nikki rolls up Maryse. The relationship between Maryse and Ted looks to be ending.

They are supposed to interview Wade Barrett but David Otunga takes his place. Nexus needs to stay united, says the lone member. Cena arrives and it turns out Husky Harris is there too. Otunga bails and Cena takes down Harris no problem. The rest of Nexus are on their way to the arena where the tag champs have a four-way elimination title match ahead.

David Hart Smith finally gets a match with Tyson Kidd, but Kidd shows up with some seven foot guy backing him up. A Superplex is usually impressive and DHS’s is good, but Kidd shrugs it off pretty easily and wins with a roll-up counter. Smith tries for revenge but Kidd’s big backup comes to the rescue and DHS gets laid out.

Barrett and the tag champs are joined by a frightened David Otunga. Barrett is fighting to keep the troops calm, but Mr. Not-So-Perfect is out hurt, now Husky is hurt and Gabriel is still feeling the effects of Cena’s attack last week. Barrett will call out Cena and take care of business. Otunga warns of a mutiny. Santino and Koslov, the Usos and the Mark Henry and Yoshi Tatsu get their shot at the tag titles in an elimination match. Yoshi Tatsu goes early taking the World’s Strongest Man with him. Koslov soon finishes off the Usos who did not look bad tonight. Tamita, or is it Tamena? Anyway she stays behind in Santino’s corner. Santino does a split to avoid one shot, hits a stunner and, when Cena provides a distraction, hits the Cobra and wins the title! Man all the comedy wrestlers are getting titles lately.

Tribute to the Troops this year is in Texas. Sure it’s a huge base, but that’s less impressive than Afghanistan, which would have been. It’s good to know that as soon as Sheamus becomes King of the Ring they start dressing him like an idiot. We get another Irish history lesson. Sheamus is now calling himself the High King. RVD has a better shot at that. John Morrison shows up wondering where the elves, gnomes and satyrs are. Sheamus says he’s jealous. Morrison points out they are 1-1 in matches. Sheamus wants Morrison to bow and it ends in violence. Morrison beats Sheamus with his own sceptre and he’s the one standing at the end.

Adding LayCool to the announce team, for 5 in total, is just crazy. The focus is not on Natalya facing Melina. Natalya wins, of course. Then gets a two-on-one beatdown, of course.

Orton versus Reilly isn’t considered strong enough to end the show. That will be Barrett and Cena. Orton is supposed to have a real, but minor, injury so the fact he looks okay here is all we can expect. It’s not like Reilly can carry the match. Orton is set to win when Miz ambushes him with a Skull Crushing Finale. Miz then sets up a table, but before he can put Orton through it the #1 contender recovers. Miz almost goes through the table himself before he is able to flee. That leaves Alex Reilly at Orton’s mercy and a Powerbomb through a table should send a message. The question is, why would Miz stick with a Tables Match after this went this badly?

Barrett is out to chastise Cena for not accepting being fired. He calls Cena out and there are still four members of Nexus standing to back him up. Barrett still won’t rehire Cena; Cena says it’s still not about a job. It’s about making Nexus’s life Hell. Barrett finally gets fed up and orders Nexus to attack. One by one they all bail on him. We get a tease of an Attitude Adjustment through the announce desk but Barrett recovers enough to run. The fired Cena gets to parade around ringside making nice with the fans. The Nexus storyline appears to be coming to a final resolution as Barrett confronts the troops. They have an ultimatum. Rehire Cena or they’ll kick him out of Nexus.

This show went 13 minutes past the hour. Did it need to? The wrestling wasn’t particularly good and the promos could have been shorter. They’re trying to make Miz credible while they put the tag belts on the king of comedy. Miz choosing a Tables Match is out of nowhere. In fact, after Lawler put him through a table last week, it should be the last thing on his mind. Orton has a questionable knee, wouldn’t a ladder match make more sense? And, again, Miz came out on top of Lawler by knocking him off a ladder with the belt. It’s awkward writing when the little things matter more than ever. By no means a bad RAW… but nothing special either.

An all new week has begun, welcome to The Pit!

• The first season of The Walking Dead has already ended! It feels like it had just begun… well, it had. The short six episode season pulled a lot from the comic and did a lot right. The season finale took a big diversion from the comic and tried to offer the audience and characters some explanation about how the zombies rise. It also did something that the comic never did by showing us a flashback of what happened to Rick in the hospital. Have you enjoyed the first season? Looking forward to more?

• Campbell Scott and Julianne Nicholson have joined the new Spider-Man movie as Peter Parker’s parents, In the main Marvel Comic comic they were revealed to be spies before their death, while in Ultimate Spider-Man Peter’s father was a scientist that helped develop the Venom symbiote. It will be interesting to see if they are seen in flashbacks, or if we’ll see Peter as a young child before their death. It might be a bit much to have them die and Martin Sheen’s Uncle Ben also die.  Irrfan Khan and Annie Parisse have also joined the movie as a villain and his wife. Khan’s character is Nels Van Adder, an Oscorp employee who is used as a test subject by Norman Osborn when he is testing his Goblin formula. The incomplete formula turns Adder into a red goblin like monster. Does this mean that Norman Osborn will be in the new film? Sure seems like it. This seems to point a little towards the reboot following Ultimate Spider-Man. I just wish Mary Jane was gonna be in the movie.

• Hawkman, Stargirl, and Black Canary return in this Friday’s Smallville! We had Aquaman two episodes ago, Lionel in the last episode and before the season ends we’ll have Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and other DC Comics characters. I think this has easily been the best season of Smallville. It is a shame that it is its last.

• Looking for a good Holiday gift? You should think about getting wine delivery for friends. It makes an awesome gift.