This Week in Nerding…

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11/25/25 Survivor Series

This has been a slow week in the world of nerding. So I’m going to talk about something that always has something new happening. If you know me, especially on my social media accounts, then you know I’m a fan of pro wrestling. I mostly just watch WWE, simply because I don’t have enough time to keep up with other promotions. If this doesn’t appeal to you, hopefully I’ll have something more your flavor next week.

This week is one of the “big four” Premium Live Events (PLEs), formerly known as Pay-Per-Views. And with it, brings the War Games match. And this is something that I think the company needs to move away from. As the expression goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. If you’re still reading and unfamiliar with the match, it’s 5v5, 2 side by side rings, encased in a chain link cage. Almost like a double ring Hell in a Cell with a lower ceiling. And just like the Hell in a Cell PLE they used to do, it’s lost its luster.

While these matches might provide some spectacle, in terms of storylines, these gimmick matches don’t carry the weight they used to. Steel cage matches and their big brother, Hell in a Cell, these used to be culminations of feuds. Long time fans will remember, Undertaker vs Mankind was one thing. But when you introduce the cell, the ante has been significantly upped. When Mick Foley/Cactus Jack challenged Triple H to HIAC, we as fans knew that this was about to get nasty. Even as recently as Drew McIntyre vs CM Punk, this was a months long storyline and warranted the gimmick. Even War Games, this made sense when you had the heel group of the Bloodline vs 5 babyfaces that they’ve been tormenting. Same thing with the women’s group of Damage CTRL. Even last year, the Bloodline Civil War. But this year, it’s just 5 random heels vs faces with only the tiniest bit of connective tissue.

A significant number of the fanbase will happily lay this issue at the feet of Paul Levesque/Triple H. While he’s not a perfect booker (I think he doesn’t multitask very well and he’s overly fond of the slow burn storytelling), this isn’t his fault. At least, not fully. The yearly gimmick matches started under Vince McMahon’s watch. If anything, I think they’re trying to steer the company away, as the Hell in a Cell PLE has been quietly retired. I’m of the opinion that if we’re going to keep Survivor Series as a PLE, let’s return to the traditional 5v5 elimination match. It made more sense. 5 from Raw, 5 from SmackDown, you can even make it a triple threat and add 5 from NXT so they get a moment in the sun. A mixture of heels and faces, the best each brand can offer simply so one brand can say they’re the better show. Let’s return to a simpler time. Storylines should build up to gimmick matches, rather than planning the match and then shoving the storyline into it.

I only grant 2 exceptions, but that is because the matches serve a purpose. The first is the Elimination Chamber in February. If you’re still reading and not familiar, I’m shocked and also thankful for the support, but the winner of this match receives a title shot at the biggest show of the year, WrestleMania. The other exception I grant, for more or less the same reason, is the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, where the winner can call their shot and receive their title match anytime, anywhere. Outside of these, can we get back to a time when these matches just made logical sense?

11/18/25, Andor

I’m late to the party, which, if you know me, this isn’t unusual. But I just recently finished the Star Wars series, Andor. I’m going to be talking about the show in its entirety and once again, I will not be sparing details for spoilers, so if you haven’t watched it and you don’t want spoilers, this is your cue to engage your hyperspace drive and get out of here.

If you’re still reading, thank you for bearing with my terrible pun. Now, onto why we’re here. This show does start off a bit slow, with Cassian Andor looking for his sister. This was a good way to humanize Andor and help the audience immediately connect with his character. It was interesting how each event drove him further and further to throw in his lot with the rebellion: killing the Stormtroopers, Aldhani, the civilian uprising at his mother’s funeral. My interest in the show truly started when Andor was imprisoned on Narkina 5.

While he was imprisoned, my natural curiosity was piqued at what they were making. And then, when it’s revealed that they would never be released, only recycled, likely into a deeper circle of hell, escape was necessary. The season finale post-credit scene, showing that the parts they were making for the Death Star, fantastic hook for season 2 interest.

For season 2, what I mainly want to focus on is how they focused on the concept of humanity. For the heroes, and the villains. Luthen states that he fights for a sunrise he knows he will never see. And he has accepted that to win this war, he must become a monster. The stories we love, they often portray necessary evils. They do what they do for the people they love. But Luthen understands that to make the hard choices, he himself must harden his heart. On the flip side of that coin, Syril Karn, Dedra Meero, Partagaz, they were a departure from the movie villains: the faceless (Stormtroopers), the cold officers (Tarkin) and the ones openly taking pleasure in cruelty (Palpatine). All 3 of these villains faced and understood the atrocities that they took part in. This was an interesting take on humanizing your villains. Not to make us feel sorry for them, but to make them see what they’ve done.

Lastly, I was particularly moved by the speech from season 1, Nemik’s Manifesto. Our content is not intended to be political, but I felt this was important to highlight. I do not claim my views to be representative of PCW as a whole. But I have always openly stated my views and that I’m less than pleased with the current state of the world. So I leave you this speech in closing:

There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy.

Remember this, Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they’ve already enlisted in the cause.

Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

And remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear.

Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire’s authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.

Remember this: Try.

11/12/25, MCU Fantastic Four

So, if you’ve followed our podcast, Men Behind the Curtain, you’ll know that we’re avid movie fans. Specifically, we’re nerds.

Well, this week, I finally got around to watching the latest Midtas-er, um, sorry. The latest Fantastic Four movie. As this movie has already had its run in the movies and is now on Disney+, I will not be avoiding spoilers. This is your warning. Leave now if you haven’t seen it yet and want to watch it yourself with no existing knowledge. First off, I don’t hate this movie. There were cool scenes and good things about it. But the hype around this movie did not live up to the final product.

Let’s start with some positives. I greatly appreciated that at the start of the movie, Marvel’s First Family has been operating for some time. We summarize the origin story within roughly 5 minutes. The vintage Fan4 cartoons, nice touch. Excelsior Space Station, Future Foundation being the name of a charity, very nice Easter eggs. The scenes with Silver Surfer (Shalla-Bal) and Galactus were pretty cool. Especially seeing Galactus actually get his hands dirty and get into the fray. Franklin’s powers being the Power Cosmic, it’s a deviation from the comic, but I’m ok with this change. We already have reality warpers in the MCU with Wanda and Billy/Wiccan. Franklin having the Power Cosmic puts him a level above. The scene where they’re fleeing from Galactus and Surfer is chasing, this was an amazing scene. The climax of the scene at the event horizon was fantastic imagery (and it doesn’t hurt that it looks like Gargantua in Interstellar). The CGI around Galactus was a little odd, but I was ok with that, considering who and what he is. I also appreciated that they said on more than one occasion, Galactus is driven by an insatiable, endless hunger. He isn’t inherently evil, he is simply trying to self-preserve. And Johnny learning Surfer’s language, using it to appeal to her empathy, it was good storytelling. Maybe predictable, but well executed.

Now, the not so good. First off, while it may be comic accurate, I don’t like the retro-futuristic aesthetic. I genuinely hate these suits. Mole Man, that could’ve been an interesting intro-villain, only for them to resolve it within the opening montage. Franklin is one of the most powerful characters in Marvel, but I honestly would’ve liked at least one story before his introduction. The pacing of the movie made it all too easy to look at my phone while this was playing. It’s stated that they were using the black hole to slingshot and supplement their lack of fuel to get home. But even with that, how they got home made zero sense. Especially only a month later. Reed’s plan to teleport the entire planet, I had some trouble wrapping my head around that. When he teleported the egg, the egg was within a machine and had an external mechanism doing the teleportation. Reed building multiple structures around the world to create a bubble of sorts, it didn’t translate, apples to apples. Galactus grabbing Reed and pulling at him like a rubber band, that was honestly a cool visual, but I felt like he hit his breaking point a little early. Ioan Gruffudd’s version, I think had more elasticity to him. With Silver Surfer knocking Galactus into the teleportation device and appearing to go with him, I do wonder what happens to her and if we’ll see her again. Unfortunately, I doubt it. I think if we get another Silver Surfer showing, it’ll be the OG, Norrin Radd.

For the future, I was really hoping for something explaining why they ended up in an alternate universe and why their ship appears at the end of Thunderbolts*. I guess we’ll get our answer during Avengers Doomsday, but I’m of the opinion that they should’ve given some indicator, even if it wasn’t the full story. The mid-credits scene where Franklin is playing with Doom, that was interesting, but it’s not the teaser I would’ve chosen. But this changes my theory regarding how Doom will be depicted. Doom is usually very resistant to showing his face, but he is holding his mask, with the hood obscuring his face to the camera. My interpretation is that 1, he doesn’t have the usual scarring/disfigurement and 2, we will see RDJs face in Doomsday (which makes me think they’re going the Anthony Stark route).

Lastly, I think this cast was largely well done. Julia Garner’s depiction of Surfer, I enjoyed this. Shalla-Bal has comic roots, but I honestly would’ve been ok with this and not cared even if she didn’t. The multiverse is their chance to tell any story, with any twist to the character. Pedro Pascal is my only criticism on the casting. And no, this isn’t the “Pedro is in everything” complaint. My complaint is that he’s already 50 and he’s just beginning his Marvel run. Yes, RDJ is also 50, but he’s been at this since 2008.

Anyway, I’m gonna wrap it up here. This was way longer than I thought it’d be. I’ll try not to write as long next time (unless y’all want that). See you next week. Stay nerdy.

-EC Hart