Hey Guys, welcome to the latest edition of "RDLee Free Insanity" with special guest, Russ Taylor!

This weeks guest is a special guest, you may have seen him last Tuesday on ECW in the fight of his life against Vladimir Kozlov in a valiant but losing effort. But what you may not know is that he is one of the brightest, young, up and coming stars on the idependent scene today. He currently wrestles in the EWF (http://empirewrestlingfederation.com) and is currently planning on taking Japanese wrestling fans by storm in the near future. He is a former NWA Heritage Champion and a former EWF Cruiserweight and American Champion. so please help me welcome my guest and Kozlov's new favorite opponent, Russ Taylor! 

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RDLee: Thanks for joing me today on "RDLee Free Insanity" Russ, or Ryan, or whatever you choose to be called today?

RT: Most people in wrestling just call me Taylor because its both my work and shoot last name, but when it comes between Ryan or Russ, i really prefer Russ.

RDLee: Fair enough, I really appreciate you doing this interview with me, I recently saw you compete on ECW in a match with Vladimir Kozlov, you ended up taking the loss but what are your thoughts on that match and how it went down?

RT: It went really well, the best part was during the comercial break i went out to the ring with the ref and they were playing a music video for Jeff Hardy and with the music they used for the video blarring it honestly felt like i was making a real entrance and it got me really amped up and felt great, plus standing in that ring during the commercial break waiting for Kozlov to come out, i was able to look arround the arena and take it in and i just said to Chaos (Joey Munoz) "Look at this man, this is why were in this business", it was great to be able to get that chance to take in the crowd and the actual moment of everything.

RDLee: Do you think you could beat Kozlov in a rematch if given the chance? And if so, how would you do it?

RT: If he was sick and weak with cancer, had 2 broken legs and a massive gash across his eyes causing him to not be able to see....i would still lose.

RDLee: One final question on that match, how hard was that Russian headbutt really? Did he secretly say "Ouch" when he hit it?

RT: Ha Ha, i don't know if he said "ouch", but my neck sure did, when i hit the mat it was a hell of a whiplash, and then i took the Iron Curtain right after it so it didn't make it any beter, you can see me holding my head up with my hands as he pins me, just trying to give my neck some support after that pretty big hit.

RDLee: If the WWE called you and asked you to come work ONE match with any man on their roster that could potentially get you a full time job with them, who would you pick and why?

RT: Well it would have to be agaisnt one of their cruiserweight guys because  i may be 6 feet tale but i'm not as big as guys like John Morrison just yet, so probably someone like Spanky (Brian Kendrick), Jamie Noble or Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne), those guys know what the WWE wants so they would be good to help me out in the match and our styles would mesh well in the ring.

RDLee: You are currently a member of the Empire Wrestling Federation in California, that promotion is one of the best independent promotions in the country wouldn't you agree? What are your thoughts on working there?

RT: The EWF has been my home since i have started, i trained at Jesse Hernandez's school and worked for his promotion the Empire Wrestling Federation. A lot of great guys have gotten their start there in the EWF, and on top of being a great starting point its also a promotion with really great production value and has the most consistent work of anyone out here on the west coast. If it weren' t for the EWF, i never would have been able to train and wrestle properly and consistently, and thats what will seperate the pro's and the guys who are just another indy idiot.

RDLee: Did you know that EWF owner, Jesse Hernandez is actually a big fan of RDLee? He even has an autographed picture of RDLee that I personally signed for him. Are you jealous? I will have Red give you one if need be...

RT: Ha Ha, my jealousy meter is going through the roof, its at about the same point of my jealousy for the guy whos nailing Avril Lavinge, and that's pretty high

RDLee: I recently read a blog from Cincinatti Red that tells the tale of a hiking trip where you all encountered a rather large rattlesnake. Did your wrestling training come in handy when dealing with it or did you run away in classic chicken shit heel style?

RT: My wrestling training was not needed for the rattlesnake, for that i just used my natural instincts seeing as i live in the desert, but trust me we were all in awe of it until it started shaking its rattle, that was the announcer giving us the red pen to take it home and get out of there.

RDLee: Back to the EWF, you have pretty much worked with everyone that has come into the doors there, who are some of your favorite opponents so far?

RT: Yeah ive been fortunate to be around for a lot of good workers, but i would have to say guys like Jason King, Joey Harder, Tj Perkins, Scorpio Sky, Bino Gambino, guys that i knew i'd have to step up my game with and forced me to get better and were a constant reminder of the level i need to be. Dan Korbicks another one i really enojyed, mostly because we'd be sweating our asses off next to eachother at one of Rocky Romero's trainings and then be wrestling EWF a few days later with the rest of the boys who werent training as hard as we were so we were progessing above them all. Liger Rivera's another guy i can have a really good match with anytime.

RDLee: Thanks to Red, I have been following your career for a long time now and have had nothing but positive things to say about you to him, so in return would you care to say something positive about RDLee?

RT: ...you've got good taste in interview subjects...

RDLee: You are given a ring bell and WWE star, Festus, for the night, what would you do with him under you complete control?

RT: Dress him up in a Godzilla costume and let him go to town on "China-Town"!

RDLee: I am gonna wrap up the interview now, is there anything you would like to plug and/or mention to all the readers out there that may want to check out your stuff now that I gave you such a nice rub?

RT: My myspace page can be found at Myspace.com/ryantaylor33, i'll be going to Japan for 3 months to train and wrestle for Michinoku Pro/ Kaientai Dojo, so i'll try and have internet access when i'm over there, if not then i'll see you all when i get back in September.

RDLee: Thanks for joining me today, and I wish you the best of luck in all your future endevours.

RT: ..............................................................

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Wow, again a special thanks to Russ Taylor for taking the time to do the interview with me, be sure to check him out on Myspace and let him know you read this interview. The second half of this incredible column (lol) are my thoughts on the new UFC Undisputed 2009 game for the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

I have been a fan of the UFC since the days of Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie. I remember seeing Mark "The Hammer" Coleman for the first time when I was younger and thinking "how can anyman beat him?" and now here I am, 12 or so years later and now the UFC is a world wide phenomenon. THQ, the makers of our favorite wrestling franchise "Smackdown v.s. Raw" took a chance in making a fighting game that MMA fans and gamers alike would enjoy, and I think that that choice paid off with this solid first attempt outing.

The game has more than 80 fighters in it with all the biggest names standing tall atop their respected divisions. Rampage Jackson, Forrest Griffin, Brock Lesnar and George St. Pierre among many others are accurately recreated with every detail shining through with the character models. There are a few notable exclusions on the roster though such as the UFC Hall of Famers Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture and Royce Gracie, but we might eventually see a DLC pack down the line bringing them to life once again in the game.

Fans of MMA will immediately notice that many of their favorite fighting styles are on display in the game such as Brazilian Ju-Jit-Su, Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Judo. Each character is given 2 different fighting styles based off their real life counterparts to use in the action. The controls are easy enough to master if you actually decide to go through the very detailed tutoral mode. The 4 face buttons act as right and left punches and kicks, with the top 2 left bumpers acting as power modifiers and low swinging movements. The top 2 right bumpers however, are for blocking and countering. The seemingly hard part for most is the ground game however with is EASILY executed by using the right stick on both systems. Simply take the time to go through the training mode and learn how to work the ground game and you will be good to go in no time.

The only thing I see wrong with this game is the online portion primarily in ranked matches. People are able to quit if you are winning without rewarding you a win or a loss for them, so as we all know, most people are pathetic cowards and disconnect from you the second you gain an advantage. It's frustrating beyond belief, but I hear that THQ plans to fix this in 2 weeks with a patch, after it is fixed I believe it will become the best fighting game online this year (that's right! Fight Night being number two!) 

All in all, I can proudly say that ever since downloading the demo a few monthes back that the only game I keep having a nagging desire to play has been the UFC game, its very well done and has everything you would get from a game like Fight Night, but with much more. If you don't believe in what I am saying, than I challenge you to at least rent it and tell me how you feel on the Insanity Message Boards. So my final verdict is that this game is a MUST BUY!

Graphics: 5

Contols: 3.5

Sound: 4.5

Gameplay: 5

Overall: 4.5

Well that's it for me! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed my latest effort and please check back for my recap of WWE Superstars this Thursday night on WorldWrestlingInsanity.com! Have a good one folks and remember to "Stay Classy"!